Chu Fu led her people into the dungeon.
The moment they appeared, an overwhelming army of undead descended upon them from the distance.
[System Notice: Attention! The undead army is attacking! Protect Linjiang City from assault!]
[System Notice: Retreat to the vicinity of Linjiang City’s teleportation array to leave the dungeon. A teleportation fee of 1 gold coin will be deducted.]
The exit for this dungeon was not located in the wilderness but in Linjiang City. This meant that if a player failed to reach Linjiang City, they would be unable to leave the dungeon.
They could only wait to die.
If no one survived inside the dungeon, the entire party would be wiped out there.
However, there were an enormous number of monsters in the “Destroy the Undead Calamity” dungeon.
Many players would voluntarily retreat to Linjiang City and use the city’s arrow towers and archers to clear out the monsters.
If they could not fight them, they could simply return to the teleportation array and spend 1 gold coin to leave the dungeon. For Level 30 players, that was no longer a significant expense.
[Charge Horn] [One Heart, One Legion]
Feng Huimin continuously applied buffs to everyone.
Their movement speed skyrocketed.
The effect was particularly noticeable among the few wealthy players, who felt as if they were about to take flight.
It was easy to imagine how high the Thorn Guild players’ attributes were.
Not only did they dare to clash head-on with the undead army, but they also showed no fear when facing that massive force. The others had already wanted to retreat, and although they slowed down within the formation, someone forcibly dragged them along.
Chu Fu canceled the legion buff and flew out alone. The Poison God’s Wings resembled an agricultural drone spraying pesticides as it scattered poisonous mist below.
She waved the staff in her hand, unleashing calamity skills.
Terrifying undead soldiers fell one after another. All the others had to do was follow Chu Fu.
Soon, they arrived at the BOSS area.
Five Lich Kings had formed a formation resembling a pentagram. At each point of the star stood a gigantic tomb.
Inside each tomb was a massive coffin covered in black energy. Countless monsters crawled out of the coffins, making the place look like a mass grave for ten thousand people.
Chu Fu summoned the Gatling Corn Sprites, but did not order the sprites to attack.
The dungeon timer reached 8 minutes and 14 seconds… 15 seconds… 16 seconds…
“Attack!”
Leaving five seconds on the clock was a show of confidence in the party’s damage output.
Everyone’s attacks landed on the Lich Kings.
Boom!
The five Lich Kings died simultaneously.
[You have cleared the dungeon: Destroy the Undead Calamity (Hard).]
[Dungeon completion time: 8 minutes 19 seconds.]
[Your party has taken first place on the speed-clear rankings. You have received +5 to all attributes and a Golden Chest.]
Everything went smoothly.
The dungeon also dropped Golden-tier equipment, whose attributes were better than those of Level 20 Dark Gold equipment. Everyone bid on whatever they could, then immediately began the next run.
Half an hour later.
All the dungeons had been cleared.
…
At the same time, the secretary team under Feng Huimin submitted a proposal. After Chu Fu reviewed and approved it, they published an announcement.
The official accounts of the Thorn Guild on various platforms, as well as the “Gate of Origin” forum, released statements one after another.
[The Thorn Guild will help players who accidentally joined the evil faction remove their faction bindings free of charge!]
The announcement caused an uproar as soon as it was posted.
The number of comments surged.
“When I was young, I didn’t know any better. Now I just want to be a good person.”
“I used to think the Golden Mask was great, but the quests kept getting harder. Every time I went to complete one, a group of people would kill me. After killing me, I’d still have to find someone to rescue me. I practically lost my pants over it.”
“You’re lucky someone rescued you. I had to remake my account several times, and I still couldn’t take off the mask. My talent level dropped by several grades.”
“There are really that many players who joined the evil faction? Luckily, I started playing late. I saw the guides and knew to fight the werewolves.”
“Do we have to go to the city? I’m only Level 16!”
“Can this event only be held in Linjiang City? Haven’t the teleportation arrays between cities been activated yet?”
“The Level 30–40 maps now have teleportation arrays. You can go to the Linjiang City sanctuary.”
“Thanks for the tip, expert!”
Feng Huimin’s announcement specified several locations.
In-game locations: east of Linjiang City and the sanctuary in Linjiang City’s Level 30–40 map.
Real-world location: Origin University in Linjiang City.
The registration link was instantly overwhelmed.
After all, there were 1,000 servers and 58 regions had already been opened. Countless players had been unable to defeat Werewolf Tuge. Some players who never read the forums had accidentally joined the evil faction and regretted it deeply.
As players grew stronger, the attributes provided by the Golden Mask became less and less appealing, while the mask itself had become a major nuisance.
They all wanted to get rid of it.
After the Thorn Guild made its announcement, it was practically acting like a saint.
…
Within the Flower Nation’s Analysis Bureau.
Not long after the Thorn Guild released its announcement, the Analysis Bureau also took action.
“Director, the analysis report on Werewolf Tuge is here as well. Overseas countries have been thrown into complete chaos.”
The report showed that the disruption was not limited to the game. In the real world, large numbers of players had also joined in the destruction.
This period coincided with the crucial stage when Level 30 players were beginning to cash out, and crime rates in overseas countries had soared by 1,400 percent.
Although the situation was not as severe domestically, it still had to be taken seriously.
More importantly, Werewolf Tuge was currently the only revealed divine envoy of an evil god, and was connected to the clues surrounding the “Gate of Origin.”
“Publish an announcement. All agents of evil gods are prohibited from operating within the Flower Nation!”
“Yes, sir!”
And so, right after the Thorn Guild released its quest—
the official authorities of the Flower Nation also issued a notice.
[Official Notice: Western forces are strictly forbidden from taking advantage of the chaos to incite internal conflict. Effective immediately, all evil-faction players will be purged. All players must register under official supervision and leave the evil faction.]
This was tantamount to the authorities publicly backing Chu Fu.
Afterward, Linjiang City and the official organization Military Soul also released an announcement.
[The early game is your chance to obtain the Golden Mask! Join Military Soul Town and help defeat Werewolf Tuge. Players with talents of Grade B or higher will receive free assistance in killing 100 targets and obtaining the Mask of the Impostor.]
This was clearly a recruitment message.
Thorn Town was already extraordinarily famous. Huge numbers of players flooded into it, and it was packed to capacity every time!
The Military Soul Guild had also built a town capable of accommodating 20,000 players for leveling. However, many players would rather go to newly opened areas—for the all-attribute rewards from defending villages and towns—or to Thorn Town than come to Military Soul Town.
Moreover, the people of the Flower Nation felt not only respect but also a certain dread toward military organizations.
Who wanted to be managed under a military system?
But the promise of a Golden Mask right at the start was enough to tempt some players.
…
Inside Linjiang City Women’s Prison.
Prison guards distributed gaming helmets.
“You were the best-behaved inmates in this group, so you have a chance to reduce your sentences. These gaming helmets were provided by the authorities.”
“From now on, you won’t be working the sewing machines. You’ll be serving your sentences inside the game.”
A middle-aged woman hesitated.
“Officer Wang, I don’t know how to play games! I’m already in my fifties.”
Officer Wang said coldly, “You don’t need to know how to play. Create an account within five minutes. Your account name must be your real name followed by your assigned number. Use the quick-selection options for everything else, then enter the game. We’ll meet you at the starting point. Once you’re there, simply follow orders.”
Some of them were still completely bewildered.
Some people, however, felt that their opportunity had arrived.
Sun Jingya gripped the helmet excitedly, thinking about the recent news and the messages her parents had sent her.
Only by acknowledging the game and accepting it as real could she awaken an ultra-high-level talent.
She wanted to get out of prison. She wanted to leave this place. She didn’t want to spend the rest of her life behind bars!
