Chapter 114: I'm Showing My Cards, I'm a Sneaky Player

Wu Chang knew that if a dungeon on the verge of spiraling out of control was not cleared in time, it would follow the path the players took to enter and erode the real world in reverse.

He had also heard of the disasters caused by dungeons eroding the real world.

But this was his first time seeing such an erosion with his own eyes.

Moreover, he was more concerned about the way this out-of-control dungeon appeared than the dungeon itself.

If he was not mistaken, the out-of-control dungeon currently appearing seemed to have been summoned artificially.

There were many questions to explore, but with big shots at the front and the entire Administration providing support from behind, he did not need to collect this intelligence himself.

Soon, intelligence from the Wanghai City Administration branch came through his earpiece.

The area eroded by the dungeon was centered on Wanghai University, covering the entire Heping District, as well as parts of the Xuanwu District and Meishan District, affecting an area of about 600 square kilometers.

At the boundary of the eroded area, there existed an erosion barrier that isolated the inside from the outside.

Except for the special communication devices used by the Administration, all signals were cut off.

Because of the existence of the erosion barrier, the outside could not observe the situation inside; it looked as if a thick fog had shrouded the eroded area.

The Administration had blocked all roads leading to the eroded area and announced to the public that extreme weather conditions had caused the situation, urging citizens not to go out for the time being.

Beyond the isolation of signals and vision, the erosion barrier also physically separated the inside from the outside.

The barrier was very sturdy and difficult for Wilderness players to break; since it was inconvenient to use heavy firepower at the moment, Director Gao could only ask for help from above.

Players from the second layer of the Abyss under the Administration would arrive soon, and breaking the barrier would not be a problem then.

This should have been good news, but to everyone's surprise, Shi Ning was the first to object, contacting Director Gao on the spot to demand that the barrier not be broken by force unless absolutely necessary.

When Director Gao asked for the reason, Shi Ning only replied with one sentence.

"The out-of-control dungeon that has appeared is the work of the Painter."

Just this one sentence made Director Gao understand the situation.

"I understand, Professor Shi. Be careful inside. If you cannot break the core of the abnormal erosion, do not force it. Also, if you discover the Painter, you must transmit the information immediately."

After disconnecting the communication, the eyes of everyone present turned to Shi Ning, as if waiting for his explanation.

Jianxing was the first to ask, unable to hold back: "Professor Shi, who is the Painter, that even you have to be so cautious?"

"It is not just me; in the entire Wilderness, from the four major organizations to the Evil God cults, no one with any real foundation dares to underestimate the Painter."

A grave expression appeared on Shi Ning's face as he recounted the origin of the Painter.

Half a month ago, a mysterious new player cleared the Extinction-level Moonlight Nursing Home dungeon during their newcomer trial, causing major organizations around the world to scramble to recruit them.

The last time such a grand spectacle of poaching occurred was five years ago, and the protagonist at that time was the Painter.

Although the Painter was not as outrageous as the mysterious newcomer, this still showed the strength of his talent and ability.

People at the time thought he was a rising star, not knowing he was a monster who had already been raised into a complete entity.

Investigations into subsequent events revealed that the Painter had been cultivated by a small organization that worshipped an Evil God, and the founder of the organization was the Painter's biological father.

Logically speaking, the Painter should have been exceptionally loyal to the organization.

But in the second year after the Painter became famous, he sacrificed the entire organization, piecing together the bodies of over a hundred players into a huge statue, which he erected in the center of the Crimson Courtyard public area.

At the very top of the statue, pierced by hundreds of iron skewers, was the founder of the organization—the Painter's biological father.

A true display of "fatherly kindness and filial piety."

Since then, it was rumored that several organizations had tried to win the Painter over, but before long, the entire organization would turn into pieces of art displayed in the public area.

Just like that, the Painter became the most unique existence in the Wilderness; as long as they were in the Wilderness, even the four major organizations had to steer clear of him.

The Painter's greatest reliance for acting recklessly in the Wilderness was that he possessed an S-rank item.

That item could save the dungeons he had cleared and replicate them in their entirety.

Including dungeons on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Once a dungeon on the verge of spiraling out of control came into contact with the real world, it would immediately go out of control, indiscriminately eroding the surrounding space.

Relying on this trick, human-wave tactics became useless against the Painter.

With the Painter's ability, he could have entered the second layer of the Abyss long ago, but he kept lingering in the Wilderness in pursuit of so-called art.

And in the Abyss game, once you enter a lower layer, you cannot return.

This resulted in him being invincible below the Wilderness in the Abyss game, while above the Wilderness, people simply could not touch him at all.

Of course, there were organizations that did not believe in evil and wanted to deal with him from the real world via the internet.

But as long as they failed, they would face the Painter's truly insane retaliation.

Among the four major organizations, one that once considered itself an international police force was not prepared to tolerate the Painter; upon hearing that the Painter possessed a dungeon capable of producing energy, they immediately mobilized a large number of second-layer Abyss players, attempting to control the Painter and seize the S-rank item in his hands.

After the operation failed, the Painter spent three years summoning one A-rank out-of-control dungeon and five B-rank out-of-control dungeons at their home, until both sides reached an agreement and he stopped. Since then, the Painter had become the most transcendent existence in the Wilderness.

It was just that the Painter had not appeared in recent years, and various organizations tacitly stopped talking about him, leading the new generation of players to be unaware of his existence.

Shi Ning pointed and said: "I have seen the Painter use his ability. The patterns on the body of the person who suddenly appeared just now are the work of the Painter."

"The out-of-control dungeons created by the Painter have one characteristic: the dungeon merges with the entire space. Forcing a breakthrough from the outside will cause the space within the dungeon to shatter. Conservatively estimated, at least one-third of the people within the eroded space will die from spatial turbulence."

Wanghai City had a population of nearly ten million. Heping District and the adjacent Xuanwu District were the two most densely populated districts outside the city center, with over a million people trapped inside the eroded dungeon.

At least one-third dead...

Just thinking about it felt unacceptable.

"If we don't want things to reach that point, we must find a way to clear the dungeon from the inside. The difficulty of a B-rank out-of-control dungeon is already close to A-rank; in the worst-case scenario, a boss above level 20 will appear. Those who want to withdraw from the raid can leave the team now and find a place to hide."

Ling Hu and the others hesitated for a moment and chose to withdraw.

Having just reached level 10, they could not help at all in a B-rank dungeon and might even become a burden.

!

Rather than acting tough and going to their deaths, it was better to withdraw from the start.

Facing the withdrawal of several newcomers, Shi Ning did not show much emotion; such a choice was very wise, and there was nothing to criticize.

Instead, seeing Wu Chang standing in place, wanting to join the raid, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

On the way here, he had read the report on the Quiet Town incident. Wu Chang, who became a town councilor, had achieved the highest dungeon exploration rate among everyone, so he had checked Wu Chang's file additionally.

If he remembered correctly, he should be a survival-type player and should not have a very strong desire for combat.

Seeing that Wu Chang did not withdraw, someone became anxious.

Zhao Yan came to Wu Chang's side calmly, tugged at his arm, and whispered: "You are a perfectly good survivalist player; why are you acting up at this critical moment? Get out quickly, don't cause trouble!"

It was well known that the higher the difficulty of the dungeon, the worse the survival environment for survivalist players.

Not to mention that Wu Chang hadn't had time to transition yet; even if he had successfully transitioned, wouldn't this level just be sending him to his death?

If the sky fell, the high-level players would hold it up. Whether as Wu Chang's instructor or having received Meng Yawen's entrustment, he had no reason to watch Wu Chang go to his death.

Wu Chang suddenly pointed to the sky and shouted: "Instructor, what is that?"

Taking advantage of Zhao Yan turning his head, he pulled his hand away and activated Social Phobia.

"Where is there anything... Huh? Where is the person?"

Zhao Yan turned around and found that Wu Chang was gone.

How could a living person that big disappear into thin air?

He looked left and right twice, and even looked down at the ground, but did not find where Wu Chang had gone.

He looked at Shi Ning in confusion, preparing to ask, when suddenly his back was patted.

Turning his head, he found Wu Chang standing behind him.

Stunned for a moment, he instantly reacted.

"Invisibility?"

Shi Ning spoke up, "It is not invisibility. He was standing there the whole time; he just weakened the aura of his own existence. What a strange skill; even I was almost fooled by him."

Jianxing on the side nodded in agreement. Like Zhao Yan, he had also been fooled into looking up at the sky, and when he turned back, his naked eye could not capture Wu Chang's existence.

If he didn't possess the Sword Heart skill, he would have been fooled by Wu Chang just like Zhao Yan.

Amidst the surprise of the crowd, Wu Chang demonstrated Social Phobia.

"This skill is exceptionally compatible with me. It is by relying on it that I have been able to get through dungeon after dungeon without any attack skills."

After speaking, he looked at Zhao Yan and said: "After all, I am a member of the Wanghai City Administration, and I also want to contribute to this city. Give me a chance; if I feel I can't hold on, I will voluntarily withdraw."

Zhao Yan opened his mouth, but in the end, he did not say any words of refusal.

Seeing this, Shi Ning made the final decision: "Since you are willing, then come along. Your skill effect is very strong; it might have a miraculous effect."

Wu Chang showed a determined look, "I will try my best not to hold everyone back."

Are you kidding? With such a big dungeon placed in front of him, could the raid be short of his share?

Acting alone away from the crowd was indeed feasible, but if he didn't give Shi Ning, Jianxing, and the others enough sense of participation, and didn't let them think that clearing the dungeon depended on them, they would definitely investigate extensively to find out who cleared the dungeon.

If they discovered him through some method, that would be losing more than he gained.

At the very least, for now, he was not prepared to expose his identity as a "monster newcomer."

Since that was the case, he could only reveal a little bit of his "scallion" talent.

I'm showing my cards; I'm not pretending anymore. Besides being a survivalist, I can also be a "Lao Liu" (a sneaky player).

(End of chapter)