Chapter 68: Enter the Dungeon! Masquerade Ball!

Returned to Mingyang City.

Wu Wang contacted Old Xiezhi the next afternoon.

He had to allow a time gap to avoid the other party suspecting he was originally from Mingyang City.

Come to think of it, he had to thank his own boredom during university.

Though not a broadcasting or hosting major, he still passed the Mandarin Level One Grade A exam, leaving him with absolutely no dialect accent.

The reason was simply that he originally wanted to sneak into the school broadcasting station to do something.

Because of this, he had even been warned by the school.

It seemed that during the broadcast for the school sports meeting, he carelessly blurted out the principal's affair, coincidentally noting the precise date he checked into a hotel with the woman, carelessly pointing out the hotel name and room number, carelessly mentioning that the excuse he gave his wife that day was to go to a university in another city for exchange and study, that the woman was a teacher at that school, and even more carelessly projecting WeChat chat records, and even a close-combat video, onto the large screen in the playground.

The key point was—the principal's wife was present on the day of the broadcast.

Haha, I really am a careless little fool.

There were so many carelessnesses.

"Brother Yan? What are you staring at?" Old Xiezhi asked in confusion.

Wu Wang came to his senses and shook his head: "Nothing, I just thought of something happy. It was truly an unforgettable experience."

Seeing the look in his eyes, full of nostalgia and longing.

Old Xiezhi couldn't help but feel a sudden respect.

This big shot must be recalling past dungeon experiences.

It seemed he had met good companions; it was probably another legendary tale as stirring as clearing a Nightmare-tier dungeon.

"Then I'll continue. You need to wear a formal gown and a mask of any style that covers at least half your face, and go to the seaside beach to step in the water at exactly midnight tonight." Old Xiezhi listed a string of conditions for entering the dungeon.

Wu Wang listened, stunned.

Is entering a dungeon this complicated?

"My subordinate will wear a wolf-face mask; please take good care of him. This is equipment and props I personally sponsored for you, convenient for movement in both reality and the dungeon." As Old Xiezhi spoke, he took a nondescript brooch from his pocket.

【Hai Lan Zhi Jia Brooch (Fine): Wearing this equipment allows the user to change their attire at will, with no consumption and no cooldown.】

【Equipment Condition: Conquer the brooch with your charm.】

【Note: This is what every beauty-lover dreams of; having it is like owning the world's entire wardrobe. Not 998, just conquer her!】

Wu Wang raised an eyebrow and took the brooch.

He had to admit the consideration was very thorough.

In a sense, this prop was very suitable for the current dungeon's ball theme, and quite useful in reality as well.

Of course, he meant hiding his identity.

It wasn't some man's wardrobe, Hai Lan Zhi Jia.

Especially paired with his own 【Fake Smile Mask】, it was a perfect disguise; appearance, figure, and clothes could all be changed at will!

Now Wu Wang was truly a master of transformation.

Moreover, this was actually an equipment piece with no consumption and no cooldown!

He could use those consumable equipment pieces regardless of the cost because of the existence of 【Undying】; once the consumption was exhausted, he just died once and recovered.

But others couldn't do that.

Such a non-consumable prop would probably fetch a sky-high price on the forum!

Even though it had no attribute bonuses and could only be counted as auxiliary equipment, for some players needing to hide their identities, it was no less than an Epic-tier piece of equipment!

"I considered that you probably don't need combat equipment or props, so the compensation consists entirely of special auxiliary items." Old Xiezhi explained.

After all, he had seen the other party's combat power with his own eyes the day before yesterday.

So he took out two yellow talisman papers.

Both were of 【Fine】 quality.

They could block all perception within the area except for the user's, lasting a full half hour, with a range of about one hundred square meters.

It was clear that Old Xiezhi had gone all out.

This equipment and these props were absolutely top-tier among auxiliary items.

Wu Wang couldn't help but feel curious.

"Is he your illegitimate son? Or a talent with some special ability? You're so willing to give things away?"

But the other party just shook his head and replied: "Just an ordinary subordinate, level fifteen. He has two elderly people, a wife, and a daughter at home waiting for him to return tomorrow morning for breakfast. I don't want him to die in the dungeon."

"This has nothing to do with ability; I am his boss."

"A boss's meaning isn't to let subordinates take the bullets and reap the benefits without effort, but to lead them to develop and grow strong; if the sky falls, I'll hold it up."

Old Xiezhi's eyes were unusually firm.

He spoke expressionlessly: "If I hadn't met you, who cleared a Nightmare-tier dungeon, I intended to go in myself to save him."

Old Xiezhi's voice was very flat.

He spoke of this matter as casually as discussing what to eat for late-night supper, as if this was simply what he ought to do.

Even though he himself had no confidence in clearing a Nightmare-tier dungeon.

But Wu Wang could just feel that this person wasn't lying.

He couldn't help but smile: "Your subordinate is very lucky to have a boss like you; it makes me want to follow you too."

Old Xiezhi shook his head: "No, I am very grateful that they think highly of me; the lucky one is me."

Wu Wang finally understood why Chen Baili's personality seemed so out of place among ordinary players.

The top beam was just too damn straight!

In ancient times, he would surely have been supported by the local people and called a parent-official.

"By the way, after clearing a Nightmare-tier team dungeon, there will be an opportunity for an audience. I heard that those who receive an audience will rapidly increase their strength in a short time. If you receive an audience, could you provide relevant data?" Old Xiezhi reminded Wu Wang.

"Audience? More details?"

That term is fresh.

Audience with whom? Why does completing an audience make one stronger?

"I'm not clear. Up to now, players worldwide who have received an audience can be counted on one hand, but without exception, they are all top-tier pillars of various organizations, and they won't reveal information," Old Xiezhi said, shaking his head.

Actually, Director Qinglong of the Strange Affairs Bureau has also received an audience, but for some reason, he too chose to remain silent.

Even the archives of the Strange Affairs Bureau contain no detailed information about the audience.

So, he only mentioned it.

After all, surviving a Nightmare-tier team dungeon is already difficult; wanting to gain a massive power boost from an audience is simply a fool's dream.

Even though the other party just cleared a Nightmare-tier solo dungeon, Old Xiezhi still felt it was as hard as climbing to the sky.

After all, the difficulty of team dungeons is higher than solo dungeons, let alone a Nightmare-tier one?

To be honest, it's not just the audience.

Even if Yan Shuangying could successfully rescue his subordinates, Old Xiezhi felt the hope was slim.

Crises in a Nightmare-tier team dungeon usually leave players unable to look after themselves; where would they have time to save others?

It was only because the other party's chance of success should be slightly higher than his own, plus the transaction requirements specifically included this part, that he chose to provide the dungeon information to Yan Shuangying.

Even if it was just that little bit of hope.

It might save his subordinates.

What if...

"I'll give you the walkthrough for 'Chronicles of the Wasteland Village' at noon tomorrow. You prepare the reward on your end. As for the news on the audience, we'll discuss it then. The meeting place is still here."

Having said that, Wu Wang stood up and walked out of the café.

Old Xiezhi sighed, picked up the coffee on the table, and took a light sip.

The other party's words were, in a way, an implicit promise to him.

Because if they wanted to trade tomorrow, Yan Shuangying would definitely have to clear the Nightmare-tier team dungeon tonight.

He was very confident.

He hoped he hadn't misjudged the person.

If Yan Shuangying's character was acceptable, after this dungeon ended, he could be invited to that plan of the Strange Affairs Bureau.

The plan was exactly missing someone like this!

As for ability, there was no need to worry; he had solidly cleared a Nightmare-tier solo dungeon polluted by the Abyss. Just surviving the team dungeon should be no problem, but that was limited to survival; he probably wouldn't get any rewards.

His thinking and logic were not simple either.

This café, the meeting place, was chosen by Yan Shuangying.

It was located in the most bustling district of the city center.

If anything went wrong during the transaction, as a member of the Strange Affairs Bureau, he wouldn't dare to act rashly in such a place, or it would affect the social order of Mingyang City; he had considered all these things.

He was very smart and very cautious.

A person with comprehensive development in morality, intelligence, physique, aesthetics, and labor!

"Mr., hello. The total for this table is 358. Thank you."

Just as Old Xiezhi was preparing to stand up and leave, a waiter approached with a smile.

Looking at him with a puzzled expression.

The waiter explained, "Your friend just said you would pay the bill. Here is the check, please take a look."

Looking at the check, besides the two cups of coffee on the table, there were consumption records for two other cups of coffee and quite a few desserts.

Old Xiezhi froze.

"We didn't order these things?"

"Those were packed in advance by your friend, kept at the front desk, and picked up when you left." The waiter had extremely high professional standards, maintaining a smile throughout the service.

But Old Xiezhi couldn't smile anymore.

He discovered a flaw in Brother Yan—

His thinking was a bit too unique; making friends with him might require preparing a few quick-acting heart pills in advance to avoid high blood pressure attacks.

Where was the logic in him choosing the meeting place and quietly making you pay the bill? Old Xiezhi didn't believe the other party was that poor.

It was mostly just a bad sense of humor!

Little did he know, Wu Wang was truly incredibly poor.

The money he earned before was basically used to purchase all sorts of strange and weird things; back then, hand-crafting 'Aka' also required a huge amount of materials for training! Not to mention those homemade landmines.

After leaving the café.

Wu Wang took the packed coffee and desserts home and put them in the refrigerator, so his second sister could eat them when she got off work.

After packing up the things he needed to prepare.

He pinned on the brooch and headed to the seaside beach of Mingyang City.

Until midnight twelve o'clock.

Late at night, the salty, damp sea breeze blowing on the body was somewhat bone-chillingly cold; there were no passersby on the beach long ago.

Only then did Wu Wang stroll over.

His clothes gradually transformed into a magnificent Western-style formal gown, and a half-mask with gold filigree edges appeared on his face, covering the area above the nose bridge, revealing only his sparkling eyes.

Looking at the constantly rising and falling sea surface, washing back and forth along the beach edge, creating colors of different depths.

He smiled and walked forward.

When the seawater advanced onto the beach and the moment it touched his feet, he didn't even feel the cold sensation yet.

The game's prompt sound echoed in his ears—

【Nightmare-tier Team Dungeon Matched】

【Welcome to the Mary Cruise Ship】

【Dungeon Name — Masquerade Ball】