Chapter 69: Mutation

【The Longya Empire, after weathering years of turbulence, perished.

Only a frontier fortress remained, along with a Crusader Legion that swore to defend it to the death. Later, the Crusader Legion turned into the undead, still protecting the fortress and fending off foreign invasions...】

After finishing the plot of this group dungeon mission, Su Xi could not help but feel a sense of sorrow and deep emotion.

Although the Yunze Dalu was only a Lou Hu World, it carried the memories of her growth and was also her "Empire"!

Now the "Empire" had vanished, leaving her alone and drifting. She didn't even have a fortress she could guard.

"Da Miao, our group dungeon this time is A-Grade, requiring at least twenty-eight team members, divided into main attackers, defense, and support. Which one do you want?" Hao Ming asked Su Xi.

Su Xi replied: "I'll choose support. Since it's my first time participating in such a large-scale mission, I'd better learn from the rear first. Even if I can't keep up, at least I won't hold you all back."

Wang Laoshi put on his defensive gear and laughed upon hearing Su Xi's words: "How could that be? Originally, the other teammates were all dragging their feet, but as soon as I said a beauty was joining, they all arrived immediately. Everyone is full of spirit, one can take on ten!"

Su Xi: "..."

The next instant, she used Nita to become a calico cat, "I will maintain this state to fight."

"Even better! That way, when we fight, we won't be distracted by your beauty." Wang Laoshi was a cat lover; seeing the calico cat Su Xi had turned into, he was even more excited than seeing a beauty!

And it wasn't just him; many liked it very much. There were also two female players who had originally been somewhat dismissive of her, as being Level Zero made it hard to trust her strength. But after seeing her Nita, they also softened their attitudes and were not as repelled.

Hao Ming also chose support, staying by Su Xi's side, feeling that only by being close to her was he safe.

Zou Hui teased: "Is this Da Miao protecting you, or you protecting Da Miao?"

Su Xi did not speak.

Hao Ming replied: "That must be Da Miao protecting me."

Zou Hui gave him a look of contempt, and Zhang Tu, standing to the side, directly made a thumbs-down gesture.

Hao Ming rushed over and started wrestling with him, but it was all just friendly banter; not only did no one stop them, but others even egged them on.

As the commander for this mission, Wang Laoshi took a stack of Resurrection Cards from the System Space and handed one to each person.

With a Resurrection Card, there was no need to worry about losing gear or points, and one could grind the group dungeon with peace of mind.

Su Xi held the Resurrection Card, her pupils suddenly constricting.

【Er Miao, look at this.】

【It is exactly the same as the Resurrection Card Xiao Mi gave the host; it is very likely she has been here.】

【She is very likely to come again; help me keep an eye out for Xiao Mi.】

【Yes, Host.】

Putting away the Resurrection Card, Su Xi looked toward Longya Fortress.

Like a giant beast, it lay prone on the earth, the pitch-black gate of the fortress looking like the beast's gaping maw, waiting for players to walk into their own graves.

Su Xi followed by Hao Ming's side, looking around as she walked.

She felt as if a pair of eyes were staring at her, "Old Hao, have you noticed anything?"

Hao Ming replied: "We have already entered the fortress territory and locked the mission. Before all team members are wiped out, no other players will come over. And once the mission is locked, we cannot retreat."

"I know. That's not what I mean; it's that someone is staring at us, didn't you feel it?" Su Xi asked.

"No." Hao Ming replied, then looked around as well, discovering a female player looking at Su Xi, and immediately laughed: "Lin Ran is looking at you."

"..." Su Xi looked toward Lin Ran, whose ears turned slightly red—the embarrassment of being caught peeking.

Su Xi had also been looked at by them while in Nita form, so she was very clear that this gaze felt different from how they looked at her.

It was a feeling of looking through her cat body and seeing her Soul!

She couldn't help but feel her hair stand on end.

Perhaps she would know once they went inside.

【Er Miao, spend some points to unlock the System Map, the larger the range, the better.】

【Understood, Host. 100 points for a seven-day, 500-meter radius map.】

【Fine.】 Su Xi opened the System Map, and upon looking, the hair on her back immediately stood up; a row of invisible undead soldiers was quietly approaching them.

She turned around and swiped her paw without hesitation!

The ground instantly cracked, and the previously invisible undead soldiers were immediately exposed.

The other invisible undead soldiers also began to reveal their forms one after another, attacking the main attackers in front.

Wang Laoshi looked at Su Xi in surprise; he hadn't expected that she would be the one to discover the enemy ambush first. Hao Ming had said her strength was above his, and she was a new player...

After killing a wave of undead, the entire fortress was already packed with dense swarms of them.

"I never heard that this fortress was this hard to clear."

"My friends just cleared it not long ago, they said it was very easy to pass, and they got quite a bit of gear and 300,000 points."

"It definitely wasn't like this before."

Wang Laoshi opened the system, and after some inquiries, he cursed, "The A-Grade has mutated, it's now S-Grade! There's no way we're leaving here alive."

It was fortunate he had bought enough Resurrection Cards before coming, otherwise everyone would inevitably lose points and gear.

"S-Grade is absolutely impossible to complete." A player holding dual hammers charged toward the undead army, "Even if I die, I'll die fighting!"

Su Xi said to Hao Ming: "I'm going inside to take a look."

Hao Ming nodded, "Alright, go ahead, my level of strength won't make it through."

"We'll contact each other outside."

"No problem."

Su Xi leaped nimbly, each time she landed on the head of an undead soldier, she would swipe at it, eliminating one undead soldier.

And following behind her was Wang Laoshi.

"Aren't you commanding the group battle?"

"Some players bought clues for the S-Grade; I spent quite a few points on Resurrection Cards, I can't go back empty-handed."

"If I have information, can I sell it?"

"Of course, you can come to me if you have any news. My side business is as an intelligence merchant; I don't just sell information, I buy it too."

"Alright." Su Xi used another claw to finish off an undead soldier.

Wang Laoshi exclaimed in admiration, "It's hard to believe you're a Level 0 player."

Su Xi did not reply, instead using Teleportation at extreme speed toward the fortress's tallest tower-shaped building.

Wang Laoshi let out a whistle, "Beautiful!"

Su Xi stood atop the tower, looking down over the entire fortress; dense crowds of undead soldiers... actually, not just undead soldiers, but also some undead that looked like players, were crawling out from underground one after another.

She opened the system's recording function and captured all the footage of those undead crawling out from the ground.

Suddenly, a giant exuding an aura of death appeared directly in front of Su Xi.

Su Xi took a photo of it as well while she was at it.

It was pitch black, with only two eyes glowing red, like two red lanterns in the dark night.

"If I kill you, does that count as clearing the level?" Su Xi asked.

"Yes!" The voice was hoarse, filled with ferocity and resentment, yet also carried a sense of sorrow and desolation.

"Look at my eyes, is it you?"

"Yes!"

"Why are you looking at me?"

"Because it was you who awakened me!"