Chapter 246: Red Moon Trap (Revised)

Father of God heard that and his complexion changed at once.

After darting his eyes away, the previously lively expression vanished, and, feigning confusion, he said:

"Father of God? Who is the Father of God? Isn't he already dead?"

Li Yifan looked at the outright denying Father of God, and, half‑smiling, said:

"What? Still trying to play dumb with me? I've already killed one of your counterfeit clones; I still remember that face of yours."

"Y‑you're Lin Yifan, big brother?" Father of God's complexion grew even worse; after a series of color changes, he finally spoke cautiously:

"Big brother Yifan, I never expected to see you here. I was immature before, spewing nonsense in the chat channel, but I've long known I was wrong, so I've been trying to reform."

"If you, a great person, forgive the petty, then don't stoop to compare with a small character like me! I would never dare oppose you."

Lin Yifan looked at Father of God's ingratiating demeanor and sneered inwardly.

He changes his face fast; earlier he was arrogant in the chat channel, now he acts like a grandson.

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in arguing with you," Lin Yifan said calmly, "but you'd better not do any behind‑the‑scenes tricks, or else…"

"Wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare!" Father of God waved his hand hastily, cold sweat beading on his forehead, "How could I? Rest assured, big brother Yifan, I'll be perfectly honest!"

Ruan Qingtan pursed his lips aside and muttered softly, "He changes his face faster than flipping a book; truly hypocritical."

Hong Shaoqiang remained silent, staring coldly at Father of God, clearly distrustful.

At that moment, the Countdown on the golden light shield suddenly sped up, the numbers flashing rapidly; the remaining minutes vanished to zero within a few seconds!

"What's happening?!" the surrounding Survivors shouted in alarm.

"The time jumped ahead?!"

"Look! The light shield is disappearing!"

Accompanied by a burst of blinding golden light, the light shield over the golden resource chest slowly faded, revealing the massive golden chest.

The chest's surface was etched with mysterious runes, emitting a heart‑pounding energy pulse.

"It's open! It's open!" someone shouted excitedly.

However, just as the crowd stirred, ready to rush forward for the resources, a chilling voice echoed from all directions—

"Foolish Humans, you really think this is a gift prepared for you? It's a death‑sending talisman!"

Lin Yifan's pupils narrowed, and he snapped his head up: "The Hunters are here!"

Before the words finished, dozens of black shadows darted out from the surrounding thicket, moving as fast as phantoms.

Their slender bodies bore dark‑purple skin and pointed ears—they were Night Elf hunters!

"Bad! We've been tricked!" Lin Yifan reacted instantly, "The golden resource point is a trap!"

The Hunters sneered as they surrounded all the Survivors present; leading them was a tall male Night Elf, brandishing a black curved blade, his gaze icy as he scanned the crowd.

"Humans, your greed has doomed you," he said slowly, "Now, hand over your 'Survival Mark' obediently, and I can make your death a little more pleasant."

Lin Yifan heard this and, puzzled, asked, "What is the Survival Mark?"

"Big brother Yifan doesn't even know the Survival Mark?" Father of God whispered from beside him:

"It's a seal; everyone who steps onto this battlefield receives one, and if you lose it, you die instantly."

As he spoke, he pulled a triangular seal from his pocket, bearing two twin‑blade engravings and delicate patterns along the edge.

When Lin Yifan saw the seal, a string of information instantly appeared before his eyes.

Survival Mark: All Survivors participating in the resource contest receive a Survival Mark, each with a unique ID; if a mark is away from its holder for more than three hours, the owner dies instantly.

Lin Yifan looked at the Survival Mark, his mood turning sour: "Why don't I have a Survival Mark? Do you all have one?"

At that moment, Ruan Qingtan and Hong Shaoqiang somehow produced a mark, speaking awkwardly:

"We have one; when we entered the resource contest, the seal fell into our hands, and I thought everyone got one."

Lin Yifan frowned, his posture growing more unsightly.

Everyone has it, except him!

Why is that?

Was he missing it from the start, or was it unintentionally taken by someone?

If it was unintentionally taken, it must have been snatched by the Night Elves during the earlier battle with the Hunters!

If that's true, he's in danger!

Because nearly two hours have passed since then, and with another hour he would be certain death.

But the few dead Night Elves he examined left no items beyond the usual Treasure Chest drops.

If his Survival Mark was indeed taken by those Hunters, it could only be on the leader of the Hunters.

But that guy's goal is to make Lin Yifan die; if he loses his Survival Mark he dies, so the guy would hide it, never letting him find it easily.

Not to mention he has only an hour left; finding that Night Elf in such a short time is as hard as climbing to the heavens!

"If the Survival Mark is already lost, is there any way to remedy it?" Lin Yifan asked, his expression grim.

"I don't know that!" Father of God shook his head,

and at that moment, the scene erupted into noise!

"Bullshit!" a Survivor shouted angrily, leaping up and roaring at the Night Elf Hunters:

"You alien scum are like rats in a gutter, disgusting to look at. If you want my mark, first ask whether my fist agrees!"

He finished speaking and charged straight at the Hunter.

However, the Hunter merely sneered, flickered, and the black blade slashed—

"Pfft!"

With a single slash, the Survivor's head flew up, blood spraying everywhere!

The whole area fell silent instantly.

"Anyone else want to try?" the Hunter leader flicked the blood off his blade and asked coldly.

Yet no one dared to lift their heads and meet his gaze; his recent ruthless slaughter had chilled everyone to the bone.

Lin Yifan clenched his fist and whispered to Ruan Qingtan and Hong Shaoqiang, "Prepare to break out; don't fight head‑on!"

Staying here any longer will only increase the danger!

There are as many as twenty‑to‑thirty dark night elves here; even though the three of us are fairly strong, we are certainly no match for so many dark night elves.

Not to mention that these dark night elves all have a Life Tier of Extraordinary Second Tier.

Lin Yifan is only at Extraordinary Second Tier himself; facing one is no problem, but against so many, he is certainly outmatched.

Therefore, they must immediately find a way to break through the encirclement; only then can he serve as bait to draw away all the dark night elves and allow more Survivors to live.

Of course, merely breaking out of the circle is far from easy!

Yet Ruan Qingtan and Hong Shaoqiang did not flinch.

Ruan Qingtan gritted his teeth and nodded, fidgeting with the growth bow in his hand, while Hong Shaoqiang silently drew his weapon; though he made no sound, his tensed muscles showed he was on high alert.

Then, at that critical moment, a cold yet familiar female voice suddenly echoed from the sky—

"Rotas, you have crossed the line."

The crowd looked up at the words and saw a silver figure descend from the heavens, landing steadily atop the golden resource crate.

She wore silver armor, wielded a long spear, and a pair of pure white wings slowly folded behind her.

"Silver Dragon Knight Corps?!" The leader of the hunters' face changed color.

"Ai Rui Li Ya!" Lin Yifan recognized the newcomer and felt an instant relief.

However, he soon wore a puzzled expression, because Ai Rui Li Ya was wearing Silver Dragon Knight Corps armor.

Ai Rui Li Ya stared coldly at the hunters, her voice icy: "You dark night elves have trespassed into the other‑realm resource war; are you trying to provoke an extermination war?"

"Don't you fear that Humans will spare no expense to fight you?"

The hunters' leader Rotas' expression grew grim, his demeanor cold as he gritted his teeth and said:

"Ai Rui Li Ya, this is a matter between us and Humans. You are now wearing Silver Dragon Knight Corps armor, so you are a member of the Silver Dragon Knight Corps; I advise you not to intervene, otherwise this becomes a issue between the Dark Night Temple and the Dawn Light."

"You must have forced your way into the resource war; if you die, you'll truly die, with no chance of resurrection. Are you sure you want to do that for a stranger?"

"Heh, cut the empty nonsense." Ai Rui Li Ya scoffed, her face full of sarcasm, and said, "Running wild on my territory and then telling me not to intervene? Do your day‑dream."

She swung her long spear, a flash of silver appearing: "Now, get out of here, or all your dark night elves will die here!"

"Of course, you can ignore me; I will use my spear to show you exactly how powerful I am."

The hunters' leader's eyes flashed with a hint of fear; finally he gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, Ai Rui Li Ya, wait for me. Sooner or later, I will kill you with my own hands!"

In an instant, all the hunters retreated like a tide, vanishing into the dense forest.

The crisis appeared suddenly and was just as suddenly lifted; not only Lin Yifan was momentarily stunned, but most of the Survivors present were the same.

Ai Rui Li Ya sheathed her spear, scanned the crowd, and finally fixed her gaze on Lin Yifan: "You, come with me."

Lin Yifan was startled: "Me?"

"Yes." Ai Rui Li Ya nodded, "There are some matters I need to discuss with you alone."

Ruan Qingtan, somewhat worried, said, "Captain…"

Lin Yifan patted her shoulder: "It's fine; you all go with the others, stay safe."

Having said that, he followed Ai Rui Li Ya to the side and asked, puzzled:

"Princess Ai Rui Li Ya, didn't you say that your non‑human race cannot enter political mission realms? Why then have so many dark night elves come, and even you?"

"We didn't want to come; we had to." Ai Rui Li Ya sighed lightly, her face bitter, and said,

"In fact, what I said earlier wasn't absolute; this world has countless possibilities, and even things that are fundamentally prohibited can have various exceptional items."

"The Dark Night Temple obtained a 'Group War Mission Card,' which is why they could send so many in; such a Group War Mission Card is extremely rare, only dropping at a tiny chance when completing high‑difficulty group missions—roughly… about one in a hundred thousand, maybe."

"As long as one possesses a Group War Mission Card, a hundred‑person team can enter any war realm with the same permissions and restrictions as Survivors of the original realm, joining this war mission; thus the card is extremely valuable, because the resources and benefits it represents are enormous!"

"If there aren't special circumstances, such a Group War Mission Card would only be used in certain special benefit wars and would never be employed in a resource‑grab war, because the profit is too small and the risk too great!"

"So they still came?" Lin Yifan frowned, his face speechless, and said,

"Although the number of Humans in our District is considerable, it hasn't reached a level that would make the Dark Night Temple wary, right? To think they want to wield Red Moon power to slaughter us is truly using a bull's knife to kill a chicken."

It's not that Lin Yifan is being self‑deprecating; that's simply the fact!

So far, Lin Yifan is the highest Life Tier among this batch of Survivors.

Yet he's only at Extraordinary Second Tier; most others likely haven't even attained Transcendent, so it would be impossible for them to attract the attention of such a large organization.

"What are you talking about!" Ai Rui Li Ya rolled her eyes, irritated, and said,

"A District that can sustain forty‑to‑fifty thousand people—do you know what that means? It's practically defying the heavens!"

"From what I know, among the over ten thousand Initial Domains this time, besides your District, the other Districts with the highest numbers only have a few individuals from outside the mountains, while your District has 48,000 survivors, three times as many."

"Moreover, it is the District with the highest survivor count ever in the first elimination of all Initial Domains; do you think that still wouldn't draw attention? Are people idiots?"

"Is our District really that impressive?" Lin Yifan was at a loss for words.

To be honest, the fact that so many survived is largely thanks to him.

If not for his privileged assistance, they certainly wouldn't have survived in such numbers, and his motive was simply to earn better rewards in the disaster missions.

Yet he didn't expect that, in a moment of carelessness, he would set a record!

It is said that a tree standing out in the forest will inevitably be felled by the wind!

No wonder the Dark Night Divine Cult has taken notice of them; no wonder Princess Ai Rui Li Ya, as a natural spirit tribe's princess, even came personally.

In the end, the whole truth turned out to be just like that.