Chapter 198: No Weakness (Smile)

It's funny, it seems that every surface‑exploration survival game has someone who loves digging tunnels to make a home.

From the simplest three‑by‑one dig, to complex underground mazes, and even the massive subterranean metropolis that "gets posted to D‑Station".

Although the construction time and complexity vary, the goal of hiding underground remains unchanged, and this seems to give players the greatest sense of security.

So after fleeing into this underground plain and seeing all sorts of absolutely untouchable powerful beings, Edgar's first move was to hurriedly find a hole to hide in.

Little did he know that while evading lizard‑people hunters, by chance he actually found a suitable spot: a coal mine that once belonged to the mole people.

Although both are burrowing animals, unlike the treacherous, cunning, almost unintelligible dog‑headed goblins, mole people are an honest yet timid and cowardly race.

Edgar simply took out a few bottles of liquid whose effect even he didn't know; when tossed on the ground they immediately emitted crisp tinkling sounds and kept bubbling, scaring the upright, bald giant rats into squealing, dropping their shovels and raising their claws in surrender.

Thus he proclaimed himself the Cave Lord, seized the largest and sturdiest chamber deep in the cave, and effortlessly enslaved the pitiful big rats.

In the first few days he felt a uneasy anxiety being away from civilization, but he quickly adapted to underground life, after all…

This carefree life of eating, drinking, doing nothing, and being served all day is just too blissful!

It's not only safe, but he can collect tributes from the mole people daily, lying down while gathering precious alchemical materials.

Had he known there was such a great place, why would he have risked sneaking around the Lingxi Kingdom doing human experiments?

He might as well come straight here, study alchemy day and night, fully unleash his great talent, and achieve the pinnacle of life!

Just like now…

Referencing a tattered parchment, Edgar added the final liquid to the big cauldron and began wildly stirring with a nearby wooden stick.

As the viscous liquid swirled, a deep vortex formed, causing the multicolored ingredients to fuse into one.

When the reaction finished, the color clarified, the state stabilized, and seeing the stick half‑melted, he nodded in satisfaction.

He stood up, casually lit a fragrant incense stick with a nearby lamp, held it in his mouth for refreshment, and waved to his side.

Rough iron nails, ugly sutures, twisted limbs of mismatched skin tones, half‑dry, nauseating pus…

A muffled bellows groan rose from the darkness, and stepping into the light was a massive abhorrent stitched monster.

Just as Ji Ming, the alchemist, boasts his rejuvenation elixir, this gigantic bizarre creature is Edgar's artistic expression as a mad alchemist who focuses on human transmutation.

Moreover, to showcase his great achievement, he seriously spent a long time naming it.

After thinking for a very long time, he finally arrived at a perfect—

"Beaker!"

…indeed, how could he not be crazy to fight over a nest with a mole pup?

"Come over, hold the cauldron for me."

What is a huge pot for Edgar is just a big bowl for the abhorrent.

In some low tunnels, hunched over, it lifted the potion and followed Edgar to another chamber.

To satisfy the alchemy madman's growing appetite, the mole people have been mining ore these past few days.

Just a few days ago, when they dug deeper into the cave, they discovered a huge stone statue that looked terrifying.

Edgar rushed over, pored through massive references, studied for ages, and finally deduced its function.

—It turned out to be a gargoyle!

Apparently it suffered a soul‑shattering blow in life; in short, it lost its mind and reverted to a statue.

Thus, if he can brew the corresponding soul solution to awaken it, he can directly control it as its new master!

Imagine it: a terrifying hulking beast with bulging muscles and wings—how impressive a subordinate that would be!

Brimming with excitement, he rushed back to his room, flipped through notes, and found he already possessed the soul solution formula!

So he forsook sleep and food, researched for several days, consuming many reserve materials, until he finally refined this alchemical concoction.

Staring at the three‑meter‑tall gargoyle before him, with wings on its back, fierce claws, and a face absurdly handsome (?), he had already thought up its name.

Indeed.

"Funnel!"

But just as Edgar was about to command the abhorrent to pour the liquid onto the gargoyle statue, a gurgling sound suddenly came from outside the cave.

He knew that sound well; these mole folk are extremely timid and can make such odd noises several times a day.

Acting on his lordly authority and responsibility, he had even previously asked the moles what was happening and offered to help resolve it.

After all, even though he stole corpses, cut out hearts, killed children, harmed villagers, and even silently killed several enforcers on the road, he still considered himself a good alchemist!

He toiled for ages, only to discover it was just a scorpion or a long snake that slipped in, and fled as soon as it saw many people inside.

His precious downtime was wasted, and a furious Edgar brandished a whip, striking mice everywhere.

"Stupid mouse, earth mouse, don't bother me with this crap again!"

But this time it was clearly not that simple.

Because the trembling intruder was not an ordinary mole person, but the whitest and largest one.

The mole chieftain, upon seeing Edgar, began to shriek excitedly.

"Squeak squeak squeak squeak~"

Unfortunately, Edgar's face was lewd, his limbs short and stout, his head huge, and language isn't something you can learn just by looking.

He could only wave viciously.

"Mole, shut up, don't ruin my plans!"

He's busy; who has time to listen to Mouse Kid's screeching?

Just as he was about to kick the still‑dancing, hopping giant mole out, he felt he vaguely grasped a bit of its body language.

"Outsiders have arrived? And… many?"

But just as the newly‑enlightened Mouse Kid can't state an exact number, the giant mole's "many" is extremely vague.

In fact, beyond the Tribe's cave, two groups of people have already gathered.

Guarding the doorway, ready for battle, is an NPC squad sent by Ji Ming.

Leading the group is Fei Er Luo, followed by Qi Mi Si, and then a large crowd of village guards who look very serious but are somewhat funny because they all wear cute pet heads.

The ones standing opposite are the Crazy Dimensional production crew.

In order to obtain more instance intel, the guests led by Hu Bian are frantically flirting with NPCs.

"Oh, so you were sent by the Lord of the Soul Spirit Throne? Could you give us a brief hint about what this instance will be like?"

"Mr. Fei Er Luo, could you introduce yourself to the global audience watching this program on screen?"

"Qi Mi Si, sister meets you again, mua!"

If it were the old Fei Er Luo, he would already be brandishing a cleaver and chopping these annoying critters into mush.

Yet, although he hasn't been in the dungeon long, the thing he hears most about is the importance of the Pioneers—or rather, the players.

As Elder Da Huang said.

"The very existence of our entire dungeon is to promote their development; if something goes wrong on their side, everything will be for naught!"

So he can only press his lips together and pretend he heard nothing.

This is all a test from the Supreme Deity and the Messenger Lord!

In fact, things were proceeding smoothly; they waited here, ready to launch the instance at twelve o'clock sharp to welcome the players.

But at half past eleven, this bunch of whiny scum—who don't even look like warriors—suddenly barged in.

Originally Fei Er Luo wanted to lead everyone to hide and slip away, but Qi Mi Si, as a "two‑dynasty veteran", had already figured out the players' tendencies.

"Those folks ran over from afar just to roam around; if they spot us and we can't explain, wouldn't that be even more awkward?"

They had no choice but to grit their teeth and stand there playing dead, which of course gave them away at a glance.

As for why Crazy Dimensional came here…

After the initial exploratory phase, the program planners had a rough understanding of the game.

The underground plain is vast, but there aren't many points that are both fun and allow them full control.

The other world has no lighters; if they keep doing big live streams, they'll soon run out of content, and without content who will send them gifts?

So they decided to pause and take the old variety‑show route to balance things.

Besides…

Even with Hu Bian and Li Tianzun's soaring popularity, what can they actually do!?

Their fans are too "rational", unwilling to be data workers or to spend gold coins.

Instead they love to needle the production crew, always shouting dissent, making the crew's job hard!

So if you really want money and fame, you have to look at Lin Xiao and Xia Qiu's fan circles.

They're just that loyal; even if their idol endorses a pile of crap, the fan leaders can still get the dimwits to pay, boost hype, and self‑organize anti‑black.

This is why these traffic stars appear more and more, constantly slipping into big‑budget productions—because it feels great!

The Crazy Dimensional production crew naturally thought the same and acted accordingly.

But the program proved uncontrollable; since its launch, its popularity has gravitated to others, pushing these two money‑making cores to the sidelines.

Not only did it fail to raise hype or status, it instead exposed countless embarrassments in social conduct, drawing scorn from passersby.

All of this naturally left their fanbase extremely dissatisfied; they've already started a campaign on Weibo, ready to flame the officials for "uneven service".

Therefore, whether for profit or the show's stability, Hu Bian and Li Tianzun can no longer be allowed to have fun; Lin Xiao and Xia Qiu must be harshly promoted!

With that goal, Liu Zhen and his think‑tank studied for hours and finally devised the two tactics of name‑tag tearing and hide‑and‑seek.

Hu Bian and Li Tianzun may both be homebodies in reality—one chubby, one skinny—but they can't compare to our top‑tier idols who constantly train and strictly control their diet for their figures.

If you really compare stamina, it's bound to be embarrassing—that's the advantage zone of our money‑making big C!

Just when they finally found a relatively simple, monster‑free wilderness, they saw a huge pack of Dog Kids gathering in the distance.

Now, if they try to run any mini‑games, the audience will refuse outright!

They can only grit their teeth, go up and chat, gather game info, and thus it becomes Hu Bian and Li Tianzun's main stage again.

After all, you want fresh meat to politely talk to NPCs… keep dreaming!

The director even ignores them; whatever the drama, just rush to line up stand‑ins one, two, three, four, show the face and get paid.

Nevertheless, although the players discovered this spot early, Fei Er Luo could hold out a few minutes longer and still start the instance normally at twelve.

The downside is that after such a delay, almost all players finished their current tasks and teleported here directly.

Seeing thousands of Pioneers, fierce as wolves and tigers, their eyes even glowing green, even Fei Er Luo felt a chill down his spine.

But after spotting the Supreme Deity's Messenger standing among the crowd, he steadied himself and decided to perform well.

Finally, the clock struck twelve exactly; Fei Er Luo led the long‑idle Dog Kids into the "cutscene".

Because it truly was a cutscene, performing this script as a stage play before a large audience was naturally awkward—awkward for the content, the audience, and even more so for the actors.

Yet who exactly is Fei Er Luo? And who are the Dog Kids who have been internet celebrities for a month?

They shot it in one uncut take, completing the narrative performance.

The dogs took the initiative to act for the Pioneers' safety, wanting to survey the surrounding ecological environment, but, guided by their digging talent, they discovered the hidden mine here, and then, using their exquisite sense of smell, they detected the presence of life inside, and based on experience estimated an 80% probability that it was mole people.

The Dog Kids proactively acted for the Pioneers' safety, trying to assess the surrounding ecology; guided by their digging talent, they uncovered a hidden mine, then, using their keen scent system, detected life inside, and based on experience estimated an 80% chance it was Mole People.

Originally Ji Ming hadn't intended to tell the players that the tribe called Dig Soil belonged to a group of friendly giant moles.

But on further thought, the earth moles have already suffered heavily under alchemical monsters' oppression; if this instance's opening leads players to slaughter them repeatedly…

Even if they could be revived, wouldn't that be too pitiful!

Moreover, Mouse Kid has already earned himself some merit; Eleanor should have already started a decapitation raid along the map with Sterling and others, so give it a bit of face and rescue its kin.

Therefore, to boost players' sympathy and reinforce their firm stance as order‑aligned good, Ji Ming even had Fei Er Luo plant a sign beneath a tree, pointing to the typical image of Mole People and delivering the final line.

"Mole People are a very gentle race. They generally don't do bad things, and we, the merciful and kind Pioneers, naturally are the same."

"So I propose we let the Pioneers go in and explore first; I can offer some rewards, and who knows what good stuff might be inside!"

As the words faded, the Special Instance·Dig Soil Tribe officially launched, its transparent info box filling the players' view.

Great Achievement Award: Given to the player who contributed the most after clearing the dungeon.

Reward·Brave Heart: Resurrection time halved, consecutive deaths within one minute can stack (as fast as one second).

Justice Trial Award: Given to the player who killed the final boss.

Reward·Tortoise-shell Beast Cubs x3, and personally unlock the pet system early.

Virtue and Good Deeds Award: Everyone gets a share, settled after clearing the dungeon based on the number of surviving Mole People.

Highest Reward·Mole Liberator (Title): When facing Mole People, automatically gain their basic goodwill, and can daily obtain a portion of vein output for free.

There are also some minor rewards, such as being the first to find the final boss, or killing the final boss's summoned beast, etc., but the rewards are not as big as these three major ones, so they won't be listed one by one.

The information was so overwhelming that players even fell silent for a few seconds before starting to chatter.

Hey hey hey, this Brave Heart is too strong, directly returning to the battlefield at light speed.

I say, the pet system is also preparing to go online? I've always wanted to raise that big dog at the city gate!

This universal reward is a copy of the closed-beta Dog Dog Village Guardian title, right? As the red-card spectators said, it's true the game really doesn't like players being too crazy.

However, compared to most players still discussing game-related topics, the bullet screen is much more 'free'.

【Internal love don't be excessive, why not release a Beauty God Descends title for my brother? Hehe, without my brother, could Guiyou have such high heat? Forgetful things.】

What does Tortoise-shell Beast mean, mocking players as shrinking-head turtles? Suggest strictly investigating internal staff composition (smile).

Again with the lectures, why must everything I play be lectured about? What damnable order goodness, once public test arrives I'll just slaughter NPCs, huh?

These few who like to scream and cross-dressing idiots can be slightly blacklisted; I want to see them later screaming, scratching, crying bitterly, desperately begging for mercy.

Faced with some people who like to nitpick at dinner, he still couldn't be hard-hearted; after a slight discussion with the small boss about future game atmosphere, Ji Ming refocused his attention on the game.

Although players all want to rush into the cave to show off their skills, as the home of the Mole People, many places here are actually not spacious.

In order to avoid players generating unnecessary conflicts, and also to emphasize the importance of unity, he also launched a new design this time.

Eh, this dungeon requires at least a three-person team to enter.

Fei Ying carefully read through the introduction, enlarging one section.

How about we three... I mean four, go explore together?

Four?

Ji Ming looked around doubtfully, discovering that Cang Lang, Fei Ying himself, plus Aurora really are four.

Just...

How did Aurora just get automatically brought along? Don't you doubt the danger of bringing outsiders during action?

Possibly guessing Ji Ming's doubt, Fei Ying shrugged.

How could we not trust the people you bring? Besides, it's just a game.

Cang Lang also nodded.

Yeah yeah, hurry up, it seems entering the cave mouth also requires queuing, first come first served.

Looking at Aurora beside him, who although still silent had visibly eased a bit, Ji Ming scratched his head.

I always feel you guys are weird...

No choice, he had to agree to Fei Ying's four-person team request.

However, after entering the cave, he pulled Aurora and walked behind.

Sewing your mouth shut to deceive brothers, right? Tell me, have you also known Fei Ying all along?

You figured it out, huh.

Bai Yesheng's face rarely showed a hint of sorrow, returning to that literary cool demeanor that should have been there, but had disappeared due to his usual eccentric speech and actions, plus the brother filter.

He let out a slight sigh, about to speak.

Don't you dare talk about single-parent divorced mom bringing two kids, or old mom divorcing to find a stepdad's melodramatic bizarre story!

I... I didn't intend to deceive you, you're getting angry for nothing!

She angrily let out a low growl, then returned to calm.

He is my second cousin.

……

Good grief, he really is my second cousin, I'm not joking!

Wuu wuu wuu, tomorrow is the 12th, starting at 2 PM this book will enter a two-day free state.

Free-loading, please be gentle, this is still the first time coming QWQ