Chapter 11: Burn Someone Just Because the Color is Wrong?

As the figures of the five completely vanished into the rift.

On the desolate rocky beach, only the howling cold wind remained.

Ye Hongyu leaned against the hood of that stretch limousine, pulled a pack of ladies' cigarettes from her bosom, lit one, and took a deep drag.

Amidst the swirling smoke, she raised her head, her gaze landing on the area above the rift.

Recorded there was the historical clear record for 【Hard Mode · Ghost Gubao】.

【Current Highest Record: 1 hour 15 minutes 23 seconds】

【Record Holder: Mei Yixuan, Chen Jin, Liu Shu... (18 years ago)】

"1 hour 15 minutes..."

Ye Hongyu stared at that number, muttering to herself.

This record was like an insurmountable Dashan, standing squarely in front of all new professionals below level 5 in Long Country for a full eighteen years.

It was a miracle created jointly by the most brilliant geniuses of that year, which no one has been able to break to this day.

"If it were the Young Master..."

Ye Hongyu's eyes flickered.

That terrifying micro-control, that command over skills as if they were an extension of his own limbs, indeed qualified him to challenge this record.

One could even say that the Young Master's personal strength, placed in any year, would be the absolute core DPS position.

But the next second, Ye Hongyu shook her head again.

"Pity."

"Records are never broken by just one person."

She exhaled a smoke ring, her gaze turning somewhat regretful:

"Although that girl from the Xia family is an A-rank Water Mage with solid fundamentals, and those two boys, although their strength is not bad and their equipment is top-notch."

"But... they are merely 'not bad' at best."

To ordinary people, this might seem like a luxurious elite squad.

But in the eyes of Ye Hongyu, who had witnessed Lin Mo's "perverted" maneuvers, the configuration of this team was truly a bit unworthy of her own Young Master.

"Clearing the dungeon is definitely no problem, but breaking the record... these few little kids will probably just become dead weight dragging down the Young Master's pace."

Ye Hongyu flicked the ash from her cigarette, no longer thinking about that unreachable record.

Her task now was very simple: to guard here and wait for the Young Master's triumphant return.

At this moment, inside the Team Fuben.

After a wave of vertigo that made the world spin, Lin Mo opened his eyes.

Before his eyes lay a gloomy and terrifying Gubao corridor.

The walls were built of blackened bluestone bricks, covered in withered vines and moss emitting a fishy stench.

The air was filled with a smell of decay and dampness.

And on both sides of the corridor, every few meters hung a grotesque skull-shaped lamp.

Burning within the wicks were clusters of ghostly blue flames.

"This Team Fuben is a bit too underworld-ish."

Lin Mo looked around, joking.

Hearing Xiao Huo also began to become active at the right moment.

【"Fireball": Does this even deserve to be called fire? Blue and cold, this is an insult to the dignity of fire! This is heresy!】

【"Fireball" emotionally agitated: I am the orthodox fire element! I am light! I am heat! This bunch of trash impersonating fire simply makes me sick!】

【Status Update: Wrathful Purifier (It has sworn to burn all the fake fires here!)】

【Current Mood: Irritable and Killing Intent Boiling (Damage against Undead monsters +100%)】

The corner of Lin Mo's mouth twitched slightly.

Good heavens, it can get angry over this?

Are you a racist? Do you want to extinguish anyone just because the color of their fire is wrong?

But there was one thing Lin Mo still hadn't figured out.

That was why this little fireball could so often buff himself with a damage increase.

Lin Mo pondered for a while.

It was probably about the same as the male protagonists in those hot-blooded manga he watched in his past life?

As long as the shout is loud enough and the emotion is intense enough, the output can double.

Things like "My pain is greater than yours," "It's not my fault, it's the world's fault," and so on...

Just then,

Xia Qingyue ahead had already quickly entered a combat state.

She gently tapped her staff on the ground, and a soft water-blue halo spread out, slightly dispelling some of the surrounding chill.

"Everyone, perk up!"

Xia Qingyue's voice was cool, yet carried a sense of calm:

"This is a Hard Mode Team Fuben; whether in attributes or combat skills, it is on a completely different level from wild monsters of the same rank."

She quickly scanned the group and began to arrange tactics:

"Form up."

"Wang Meng, you hold the shield at the very front, focus on drawing aggro; absolutely do not let the monsters break through the line."

"Yes!"

Wang Meng let out a low roar and slammed that thick Tower Shield heavily onto the ground.

"Zhang Kai, you are on my left; handle ranged physical damage and reconnaissance, and keep constant watch on the ceiling and shadowed corners."

"Understood!"

Zhang Kai drew his longbow, his eyes scanning the surroundings with vigilance.

"Weiwei, you stay in the middle, ready at all times to shield and heal Wang Meng."

The little priestess named Liu Weiwei nodded nervously and tightened her grip on the cross in her hand.

Finally, Xia Qingyue's gaze fell upon Lin Mo.

"Lin Shao... you just stand in the middle of the formation."

Having spoken, she turned her head to look at Zhang Kai again and intensified her tone:

"Zhang Kai, if monsters ambush from behind, you must support Lin Mo immediately."

Zhang Kai instantly grasped the meaning and patted his chest, promising:

"Rest assured, Captain! As long as I have one breath left, I absolutely will not let a single hair on Lin Shao's head be harmed!"

"Fine, I'll just stay in the back and shout '666' for everyone."

Lin Mo did not care about Xia Qingyue's arrangement for him; instead, he pulled snacks mixed with Fire attribute from his pocket.

He had just grabbed them casually while at home earlier.

【The "Fireball" sneered coldly: Shout '666'? Let these noobs protect this Seat? A joke! A huge joke!】

Lin Mo was also too lazy to pay attention to the little Fireball; this skill was truly too talkative.

The formation advanced slowly.

Inside the Gubao, it was terrifyingly quiet, with only the heavy footsteps of the group echoing in the long corridor.

Creak—

Suddenly, a faint sound came from the dark corner ahead.

It sounded like bones grinding together.

"Stop!"

Xia Qingyue barked, and light flared at the tip of her staff.

"Something is coming!"

Everyone's nerves instantly tensed.

In the darkness ahead, two pools of ghostly blue flames slowly emerged.

Then, borrowing the faint light, the group finally saw the true form of that monster.

【Nether Spirit Cat (Elite), Lv. 5】.

Called a cat, its body size was actually comparable to a cheetah.

It had no flesh or blood, only stark white bones, with eerie blue flames burning in the gaps between the bones, staring fixedly at the group.

"It's a high-agility monster! Didn't expect to encounter an Elite on the very first monster..."

Xia Qingyue's expression changed. "Wang Meng, raise your shield! Its speed is too fast; ranged attacks will hardly hit it. Wait until it pounces before attacking! Do not waste spiritual energy!"

Before her words had even finished.

Whoosh—

A streak of orange-red light flared up without warning from the very rear of the formation.

Then, accompanied by a wave of heat.

A fist-sized fireball, carrying a certain rash momentum of moving forward without retreat, whistled past Xia Qingyue and Zhang Kai's ears!

"Lin Shao, wait until it's closer to attack; you won't hit it from so far away."

Zhang Kai shouted instinctively.

Facing such a high-agility monster, at such a distance, it was almost impossible for them, a group of new professionals who had just changed classes two days ago, to hit it.

Throwing skills randomly at this moment was completely wasting spiritual energy!

Just as the fireball was about to strike, that Nether Spirit Cat's body suddenly flashed to the left, and the fireball flew past its side.

"Sigh, missed as expected..."

Zhang Kai sighed.

However, the next second, that fireball which had clearly already flown past suddenly halted in mid-air, as if forcibly grabbed by an invisible pair of giant hands.

【The "Fireball" let out a sinister laugh: Dodge? You dodge what egg!】

Whoosh—!

The fireball turned direction in mid-air and smashed heavily into the waist of that Nether Spirit Cat!

"Meow-ao—!!"

The Nether Spirit Cat let out a piercing shriek and was blown rolling onto the ground.

"This... it turned?"

Zhang Kai, Xia Qingyue, and the others all paused for a moment.

Before they could come to their senses, another fireball whistled past their sides.

Thanks to the "Purple Cloud Set" on his body, which provided a cooldown reduction of up to 60%, the "Fireball," which originally required a 3-second cooldown, now only needed 1.2 seconds!

Almost the instant the first fireball exploded, the second fireball had already whistled out!

Then came the third!

That Nether Spirit Cat tried its utmost to dodge, only to find it was all futile.

Boom! Boom!

Two violent explosions roared.

The flames dispersed.

That Level 5 Elite Monster was blown into shattered bone fragments by a triple strike.