Chapter 1 The Dark

Gu Fei, a phantom in the darkness, appeared with an average frequency of about once per minute. Each time he emerged, he inevitably claimed the life of a torch-bearing player. The players had specifically chosen warriors with high HP to carry the torches, hoping they would last longer, but Gu Fei showed no pressure at all. So what if they were warriors? Just add a few more spells. With Gu Fei's rapid-fire attacks, it still felt like instant kills. The priests were under immense pressure. Gu Fei wasn't instantly killing with a single skill but with a combo of multiple skills. No matter how fast, there was still an opening, but the priests couldn't catch it. Every time a healing spell was cast, the target was already bathed in white light…

Back and forth, five torch-bearing players had already been killed. They died so quickly that they didn't even have time to hand the torch to someone else before dying. At first, some people claimed to use this as bait to lure Qian Li Zui over and kill him, but because there were several torches, they couldn't pinpoint which one Qian Li Zui would attack. So they set up arrangements at each location, but the personnel were too scattered. When Qian Li Zui appeared, they couldn't effectively surround him. Shuang Yan Shan not only killed the torch-bearer but also took care of three surrounding personnel. The person who came up with the idea quietly shrank to the side, not daring to speak anymore.

The players counted, and only six torches remained. The light was dim, casting a pallid glow on everyone. The six torch-bearers were surrounded by the crowd, but they didn't dare to huddle too closely, or else two area-of-effect spells would be a problem. The group was now in a dilemma, unable to gather or disperse, each with their heart in their throat. The torch-bearers were surrounded, afraid to move, and the search mission couldn't continue. The players were all extremely anxious.

At this moment, the members of Dui Jiu Dang Ge were rushing towards the coordinates indicated by Ni Liu Er Shang outside the cave. As they gradually approached their destination, they soon saw a large, conspicuous group of people. The other party also noticed Dui Jiu Dang Ge. Only a large guild could gather so many people. When the two groups met, they recognized each other's guild emblems.

Dui Jiu Dang Ge.

Cai Yun Jian.

"What a coincidence…" Both sides greeted each other with smiles, while secretly sending messages to their guild leaders.

"Dui Jiu Dang Ge's people are here!"

"We ran into Cai Yun Jian's people!"

In the dim cavern, Ni Liu Er Shang and Gu Xiao Shang received the messages almost simultaneously, then simultaneously searched for each other's figures in the crowd, gazing, meeting eyes.

Gu Xiao Shang, a straightforward person, didn't like beating around the bush and directly said, "Guild Leader Ni Liu, you've worked hard, gathering a large force."

"Likewise, likewise," Ni Liu Er Shang said, but this was nothing alike. Cai Yun Jian had a mission and gathered people to ensure its completion. Dui Jiu Dang Ge was just here to tag along. Now they were also gathering their entire guild. What were they up to?

Wu Shi Zhi Jian cut in halfway. As long as Gu Xiao Shang was present, eighty percent of his attention was on her. Of course, Wu Shi Zhi Jian noticed Gu Xiao Shang talking to Ni Liu Er Shang and immediately approached, "What's the matter?"

"The main force has arrived," Gu Xiao Shang said lightly.

"Oh? Your people are all here? Then my side doesn't need to come anymore, right?" Wu Shi Zhi Jian said. He had also called for people, but not with the malicious intentions like Ni Liu Er Shang. He had called for people early on. He only urgently called for assistance after Qian Li Zui's elusive attacks left their two hundred people helpless.

"No need. With my side and Dui Jiu Dang Ge, it's enough. Any more and I don't think this place can hold it," Gu Xiao Shang said.

"Dui Jiu Dang Ge's people are here too?" Wu Shi Zhi Jian frowned. He was also a thoughtful guild leader, and the rivalry with Ni Liu Er Shang went back a long way. There's a saying, the person who knows you best is often not your friend but your opponent. This situation happened with Wu Shi Zhi Jian and Ni Liu Er Shang. Wu Shi Zhi Jian hadn't figured out what Ni Liu Er Shang was plotting, but he was sure that this guy definitely wasn't planning anything good, at least, it definitely wasn't consistent with the goals everyone wanted to achieve right now. Wu Shi Zhi Jian had always been more generous than Gu Xiao Shang in front of her, so he immediately asked directly, "What kind of tricks are you trying to pull?"

"Huh? Nothing. I think Qian Li Zui is very troublesome, so I called people to deal with him together," Ni Liu Er Shang said calmly, because what he had to do was indeed deal with Qian Li Zui, and no one could object to that. It's just that after Qian Li Zui was dealt with, the other party's mission would be destroyed, then Duan Shui Jian would no longer reveal the mission information that Cai Yun Jian needed, and he couldn't be blamed for that.

Wu Shi Zhi Jian couldn't detect this deeper intention for a while because he only understood Ni Liu Er Shang. He hadn't seriously thought about the original intention of Duan Shui Jian's group. However, he didn't understand Duan Shui Jian's thoughts, but someone else did. Han Jia Gong Zi floated out at the right time, "This matter has to start with Duan Shui Jian and his group. Their true intention is just to stop Qian Li Zui's mission. As for helping us complete the siege mission, it's just a choice under duress. But killing Qian Li Zui is obviously also a way to destroy his mission. Imagine if, in the current situation, by killing Qian Li Zui, he completes his goal of destroying the mission, then we won't be able to hitch a ride on the siege mission, right?"

As soon as Han Jia Gong Zi said this, many people were stunned and looked at Duan Shui Jian together.

"Guild Leader Ni Liu, don't glare at me. I'm not targeting you; I'm just targeting that guy," Han Jia Gong Zi added when he saw Ni Liu Er Shang staring at him unhappily. With his intelligence, he could certainly guess what Ni Liu Er Shang was thinking. Although he didn't say it directly, what Ni Liu Er Shang was thinking now was already a commonality with Duan Shui Jian's intentions. Exposing one of them also meant that the other's goal would not be achieved.

"You kid, you're actually planning this? Just want to use us to help you destroy Qian Li Zui's mission?" Wu Shi Zhi Jian was annoyed.

"Not help me," Duan Shui Jian said calmly, "Help you. Is it the siege players who suffer when Qian Li Zui completes the mission, or me?"

Everyone was stunned. It was true. This Duan Shui Jian, and that Hong Chen Yi Xiao, were clearly neutral players without guilds, but they were tirelessly trying to disrupt Qian Li Zui's mission. What exactly was their motive? What were these guys after?

The players had a topic to discuss and collectively became distracted, giving Gu Fei another chance. However, because the torch-bearing players were all protected in the circle, Gu Fei had the opportunity to approach but not the opportunity to retreat. So this time, he changed his mind and directly killed the outer circle players, throwing out spells in one go.

"Damn!!" The players screamed, their faces pale in the white light. Gu Fei saw that this was a pretty good opportunity and wasn't in a hurry to leave. His sword was like a swimming dragon, flying around. Those he could kill instantly, he killed. Those he couldn't kill instantly also thought they would be killed instantly. The players scattered and fled in panic. The guild leaders were all yelling, so everyone listened to their own guild leader. There was no harmony at all. You bumped into me, I bumped into you. After a chaotic mess, everyone finally calmed down and realized a serious problem, "Where's Qian Li Zui?"

"Did he leave?"

"I didn't see him!"

The players were only concerned with escaping, and no one noticed Qian Li Zui's whereabouts.

"Could it be… that he's mixed in with us?" Someone tremblingly proposed this hypothesis.

"Emblems, show your emblems!!" Wu Shi Zhi Jian shouted. Because the members were complex, it was impossible to know each other, so they could only rely on emblems. Everyone held their chests high, so others could identify them. Soon, a scream came from the crowd, "What kind of emblem is that?"

"Isn't that me? Why are you asking?" Gu Fei was pretending to be a human and brought an emblem to fool everyone, underestimating the players' eyesight too much. As a result, he was recognized at a glance. So he raised his sword and killed this person, another round of bloody rain. The players were all anxious and jumping in anger, but they were helpless.

"Hey, think of a way," Gu Xiao Shang now admired Han Jia Gong Zi more and took the initiative to ask him for advice. This guy had been silent about Qian Li Zui's attacks, which was unlike his style.

Han Jia Gong Zi spread his hands, "I'm also in a difficult situation now. If we get rid of this guy, then your mission will fail. Now we also need him to be a little fierce, forcing Comrade Duan Shui to tell us what the mission is. But speaking of which, this guy forgets himself as soon as he has a fight! He's not afraid of Duan Shui killing him like this, he's only afraid of that guy completing the mission. This idiot, could it be that he still doesn't know what the mission content is after arriving at this place?"

"No matter what, find a way to restrain him first. Are we just going to watch him wipe us all out?" Gu Xiao Shang said.

"Frankly, I don't have any way," Han Jia Gong Zi said, "Look, I can't even see where you are now. Where are you?"

While Han Jia Gong Zi was talking, everything suddenly returned to darkness. Gu Fei hadn't forgotten his mission to eliminate the torches in the midst of the chaos. The last few torch-bearing men were finally killed by him.

"Spells, spells!!!" The players shouted. This was the only thing they could use to illuminate the area. But the skills were all brief and dazzling, and the light flashed by, unable to replace the role of the torch at all.

"Don't release and stop together, give it some rhythm," the players said in exasperation.

"Damn, why don't you guys come do it?" Mages, priests, archers, and other players with a bit of illumination skills were very indignant.

They couldn't handle Gu Fei even when they had torches. How could they support themselves with these skills now? These professions were all being used as lighting tools, and the players' combat power was even worse. Gu Fei ran around and slashed, completely as if he had entered an uninhabited area.

"Found the place yet? Aren't you coming in yet!!" Ni Liu Er Shang saw that these people were completely unable to resist and could only rely on reinforcements.

"But Cai Yun Jian's people are also there," his subordinate reported.

"So what?"

"Who goes in first… we're still discussing this issue…" the subordinate said.

"Damn!" Ni Liu Er Shang wanted to cry but had no tears. In the darkness, he sent a message to Gu Xiao Shang, "Guild Leader Gu, at this critical moment, can we not argue about who goes first?"

Gu Xiao Shang obviously knew the situation outside, but because she knew that Ni Liu Er Shang had bad intentions, she didn't flinch, "Okay, let us go in first."

"A hundred people at a time," Ni Liu Er Shang bargained.

"Guild Leader Ni Liu! My people are also coming in to kill Qian Li Zui! This is very similar to your goal! Why are you doing this?" Gu Xiao Shang replied, neither soft nor hard, directly hitting Ni Liu Er Shang's ulterior motives.

"Gu Xiao Shang, you should be nervous now, right? Don't forget, if everyone here is killed by Qian Li Zui, it will include your guild's mission players. Will the mission still be able to continue then?" Ni Liu Er Shang said.

Gu Xiao Shang was stunned. During the city war, death would lead to mission failure. Although most could be re-received, where would Cai Yun Jian's people know where to receive this mission that was forcibly intervened in halfway? And Duan Shui Jian, who provided the mission information, wasn't only cooperating with Cai Yun Jian.

"Okay, a hundred people at a time, we'll go in first," Gu Xiao Shang had to give in.

Ni Liu Er Shang didn't push his advantage but just reminded her, "More torches."

"You don't need to tell me that," Gu Xiao Shang said while sending a message to Yu Yi, "How are you? Don't die."

"It's difficult, Guild Leader…" Yu Yi replied. Whether or not he died was now a matter of luck. As long as Qian Li Zui found him, he would definitely die.

"Run a little further away, our people are coming soon," Gu Xiao Shang said.

"I know, everyone knows…" Yu Yi said. At this time, the players no longer had the spirit of "gathering together" and were all running around in the dark, making it impossible for Qian Li Zui to catch them.

"Everyone persevere, the main force is coming soon!!" Ni Liu Er Shang's voice echoed in the darkness, giving everyone the confidence to persevere.

"Guild Leader Ni Liu, it's not good to speak so loudly," a gentle voice appeared near Ni Liu Er Shang. Ni Liu Er Shang immediately slapped himself in the face. He was really cheap! Was this the time to act cool, pretend to be calm, and act like he had leadership skills? Everyone was keeping quiet and pretending to be non-existent. He was actually shouting. See, he had called the wolf over, right?

Gu Fei's ability to locate sounds had undergone special training and was naturally not on the same level as ordinary people. Ni Liu Er Shang's yell immediately attracted him. Even if the players were just ordinary targets that could be cut at will in his eyes, killing a guild leader was also more rewarding. Gu Fei heard the sound and rushed over. Ni Liu Er Shang was obviously far behind in this regard. He didn't distinguish which side Gu Fei was on when he heard him speak and fled in a random direction, only to run into someone a few steps later.

"Quick, Qian Li Zui!" Ni Liu Er Shang grabbed this person and told him to run quickly.

"It's me. Are you very excited?" Gu Fei asked.

Ni Liu Er Shang was so frightened that his soul was gone, cursing his bad luck. He didn't run away and even ran into this guy.

"I'll die with you!" Ni Liu Er Shang roared and activated a spell, wanting to blow himself up with Gu Fei.

"You even know how to use idioms?" Gu Fei slapped him, interrupting the spell and knocking Ni Liu Er Shang to the ground.

"Fire at me!!!" Ni Liu Er Shang issued an epic cry, and the coordinates were sent to the guild members via message. But it was pitch black. What could they do with the coordinates? Just as the players were at a loss, they suddenly saw a fireball rising slowly, and Ni Liu Er Shang's embarrassed figure lying on the ground was vaguely visible in the light. The players' eyes were wet. Guild Leader Ni Liu, this is your plan, right? You sacrificed yourself, preferring to die rather than not send a signal to mark Qian Li Zui's location. We will never betray your hopes!

Not only mages but even archers launched attacks together, all aiming at the area illuminated by the fireball.

"Wait, he ran away!!" Ni Liu Er Shang chased after and shouted again, but it was too late. The attacks had already been launched, and the momentum drowned out Ni Liu Er Shang's shout. The flying arrows fell gracefully in an arc, and the spells emitted a different kind of light in the darkness. Ni Liu Er Shang transformed into a white light and sublimated in the worshipful eyes of everyone. Before he died, he left a last word, "Qian Li Zui, damn you!!!"

Of course, Gu Fei didn't die. Ni Liu Er Shang had been slapped to the ground at that time. Where was there room to release spells? After issuing an epic cry, Gu Fei gently replied to him, "I'll fulfill you." Then he released a fireball spell towards the sky and teleported away, letting Ni Liu Er Shang exclusively enjoy the fruits of his cry.

"Did Qian Li Zui die?" All the players were still researching it!

"I don't seem to have seen any other white light," someone said.

"Alas, what a pity," they were filled with emotion, for the tragedy of Ni Liu Er Shang.

"Qian Li Zui is still alive…" After the emotion, it was continuous fear.

The fear lasted for a long time until this world suddenly had light. The light was above everyone's heads. Everyone looked up, and the entrance they came in through appeared brightly lit. Everyone was excited. They cheered, waved, and welcomed the guys who brought them light.

Gu Xiao Shang had given instructions on the route down, and the tragedy of dumplings being dropped didn't happen. Almost everyone who came in had a torch in hand, dividing into two groups, one on the left and one on the right, going along the steps. The torches meandered into a fire dragon, spiraling down. The cave became brighter and brighter. The players who had survived in the darkness looked around, not knowing where they had run to in the mess.

A steady stream of players reached the ground, and there were still continuous troops behind. The pile of torches thoroughly illuminated the entire space. Space, this was only called a space. There was no decoration, no arrangement, just a hollowed-out cave. And the pipes in the middle were indeed for water transport, with mottled rust and some strange corrosion marks on them.

And the players had already forgotten the mission. In the light, everyone was looking for Qian Li Zui. Where was that terrible guy now?

None, there was none!

The bottom layer had been illuminated as bright as day. It was very spacious, without any cover to hide in. The players swept around and saw no sign of Qian Li Zui.

"Where's Qian Li Zui?" the players whispered.

"Could he have been accidentally killed?" someone thought.

"Is that so? Did anyone attack him?" This answer was difficult to confirm. People who were found by Qian Li Zui would subconsciously put up some resistance, but because they died quickly, it was really unknown whether the resistance had worked. After everyone asked in the guild, almost everyone said that their attack might have hit Qian Li Zui.

"What do you think?" Gu Xiao Shang asked Han Jia Gong Zi.

"Old Duan, it's time for the mission," Han Jia Gong Zi said to Duan Shui Jian.