Chapter 278: The Most Fatherly, Most Filial Episode

Although the overwhelming majority of players don't have the personal hobby of frolicking and bonding with Mouse Kid, it's because this mine is a very important large‑scale dungeon.

So besides incidental sightseeing, the players' main goal is to challenge the epic‑level boss behind the gate, the one recommended for group raids: 【Thousand Hands, Thousand Legs, Thousand Eyes, Thousand Mouths, Super Cool, Super Handsome, Triple Speed, Invincible Great Abhorrence】.

Ji Ming: Who came up with this bizarre name, Wei Er Mo?

Xier Wei Ya: It was mainly because the artificial life at the time wanted Wei Er Mo to help it get a larger jar, so…

In that way, it's actually normal…

Mouse Kid: Wait a moment!

What's the matter? In the deepest part of my home there's a huge lump of rotten flesh that can hit people, walk, and even shout loudly in the middle of the night?

Even so, Mouse Kid is also a pet from the Dragon's Merit, having listened day and night to the sage's teachings; how could the side of this mouse king's couch…

Ji Ming: Wait a bit longer!

No, who told you to advertise that you're my pet? I am fairly respectable, a notable figure; you wouldn't use my banner to do bad deeds, would you?

Ji Ming certainly doesn't want to go anywhere and be greeted by a crowd of mice bowing to him and shouting to the upper deity, making strangers think he's some white mouse spirit ready to forcibly bind a traveling nun's offspring…

God of Holy Light: What's up, brother, first time?

It's fine, just arrange more like me; actually I've already completed the mental preparation for you to, by order, burn, kill, loot, and even be forced to don a yellow robe.

Ji Ming: Damn, what is this big sun saying? The mice's squeaks are so loud here I can't hear anything…

In short, Mouse Kid, besides being cunning… clever and agile, also inherited many of Ji Ming's virtues, at least being quite understanding of subordinates' difficulties.

Fearing that this freak might go berserk and tear apart its own base, it tried every means, attempting to contact the core Production Team to move this thing out of the mine.

After having Mouse Kid's descendants set up a mouse‑field vortex with their bodies, it also successfully drew Xier Wei Ya's attention.

As a model of dungeon attendance, she was patrolling the skies at the time, and at a glance saw a huge black bitter‑tea seed hanging on a distant mountaintop, which frightened her into flying over to investigate.

When she got closer and took a look, wow, the whole area was actually filled with mice, all surrounded by players who turned it into a nighttime entertainment livestream!

"All mice, your outrageous behavior will anger the upper deity!"

After repeatedly emphasizing that this Abhorrence is now fully controlled by the Holy Seat, and after Mouse Kid personally punched and kicked the unresponsive 【Abhorrence·Inactive】 for experimentation, it finally felt reassured and launched its mouse‑human army plan.

Thus the Abhorrence deep in the mine became, in players' minds, a Level‑3 subject—a high‑difficulty stage that must be tackled during the closed beta.

Note: Players currently recognize that Beginner Phase Subject 1 is a solo kill of a goblin warrior, Subject 2 is a series of advanced challenges to break through to the apprentice rank.

As for Subject 4, opinions vary: some think it should be "single‑handedly overturning the entire Sunlight City gang," but that clearly isn't enough for players to kill; others think it should be "solo clear the Abhorrence," yet that's too difficult for beginners, so the debate remains heated.

In front of the gate imprisoning the giant Abhorrence, although other players were thrilled, ready to form parties and rush in to fiercely debate with the boss, Ji Ming, who had already farmed enough experience, was definitely uninterested.

But back when AdaiEr was at the combat training camp, she was itching to act; now that such an interesting monster appears, not going in to take a look would be indefensible,

so he took AdaiEr to a hastily assembled wild squad and negotiated with the leading Da Chui Ge.

"Oh, you have a crossbow and a mage, right? What level are you… ah, okay, okay! Come on!"

"Ha, just consider it as keeping the kids company…"

Tank and strong DPS on the anti‑line are highly valued in group combat; basically no one refuses such players' participation.

Thus one dressed as a crossbow, the other as a mage, and they easily slipped into the raid party.

…Of course, Ji Ming, as an alchemist, is a crossbow shooter, while AdaiEr, as a bona‑fide warrior, is a glass‑cannon mage.

After all, although there are Valkyries among the over a thousand players who charge ahead, each of them is famous, worthy of being internet celebrities.

AdaiEr is ultimately just a temporary fake, and wouldn't dare impersonate these big‑shots in their teams, lest she be exposed on the spot.

"I'll stress it once more: anyone can take the boss's head, but you must give everyone three points of compensation, got it?"

As players poured into the laboratory, the massive stone door slowly closed, and the meat mountain that sat on the ground facing away from them also began to tremble slowly.

Some overly nervous players couldn't hold back and fired an arrow, but the boss was still in the "entrance animation phase," so the arrow was blocked by the air wall separating the two sides.

But Da Chui Ge, upon seeing this, quickly whispered a reprimand, or rather a reminder.

"Who fired that arrow? We're in a raid now; even if the team can't coordinate perfectly, you still have to obey the commander!"

And with that remark, the Abhorrence boss completed its activation ceremony, turned its ugly, snarling head toward them and let out a roar.

"According to the previous plan, everyone, go up!"

Da Chui Ge immediately called all the warrior players forward, trying to keep the boss confined to a small area, giving the DPS enough room to operate.

The idea was good, the logic clear, and it had been verified by masters as the optimal strategy, but the plan still depends on who executes it.

Although this massive lump of rotten flesh is now just a program set by Yang Yue to grind experience for players, its ferocity hasn't diminished at all.

So for these makeshift temporary teams, achieving this goal is rather difficult.

Just as they faced each other, an unlucky soul who hadn't managed to brake was slapped by the Abhorrence and sent flying, face‑first into the ground, then somehow scraped back.

"Ah, it hurts so much!"

Yet, with a head full of blood, he struggled to rise, casually poured some red liquid onto his torn wound, and sprinted back onto the battlefield.

Ah, are they all this brutal?

AdaiEr, unaware that players have the "Pain Perception Reduction" setting, was busy conjuring fireballs and musing, when she suddenly smelled a very familiar scent.

Wait, red liquid!?

She didn't foolishly ask, but instead paid closer attention to the Pioneers' subsequent medication behavior.

It was then she realized that the spring‑reviving liquid she usually guards zealously, fearing any loss, was here just an ordinary potion the players could freely take!

That's not right.

Since the doctor's identity is fake, could the source of the spring‑reviving liquid and other stories also be false?

Could it actually be a divine elixir bestowed by that supreme being, allowing the Pioneers to develop safely in the world?

This could explain why the doctor possessed such powerful medicine and could, within two months, suddenly reverse fate…

But medicines always have a usage limit; even if every player had an immortal herb, in combat it would only serve as a supplement.

So even with such divine aid, the front‑line defense would inevitably encounter mishaps.

Because, according to the preset mechanism, when the Abhorrence's four thickest main arms are broken, it will straighten all its myriad limbs and enter a twenty‑second "Big Windmill" mode.

Originally Da Chui Ge's arrangement was very steady: after breaking three of them, don't attack the last one; using this skip‑class tactic can greatly reduce the dungeon difficulty.

But the point of a plan like this is to go wrong; he originally wanted to command ranged firepower to focus on the Abomination's thigh to reduce its movement speed.

As a result, the Abomination happened to turn sharply, and those flying projectiles landed precisely on its remaining arm, which had already taken many cuts and was about to break.

"Damn!"

Now, having lost its main arm, the Abomination went straight into a berserk state, like a flesh‑filled top studded with blades, sweeping toward the surrounding players.

If they are high‑level players who have already advanced to official professions, they aren't scared; Cang Lang, the Lost Ones, and other violent types can even confront it head‑on, wrenching off several of its arms with a reverse grip.

But this group of players clearly lacked experience; even though someone outside the circle warned them in time, two of them failed to dodge, were swung away, and broke their necks on the spot.

The people who were just hopping around were instantly gored twice; even though AdaiEr had already learned from Ji Ming that the Pioneers are summons, she still couldn't help confirming it again.

"Will they really never die?"

"Don't worry, they should have already returned to the Urine… Hall of Heroes, probably lamenting inside."

On the battlefield, losing two sub‑tanks in a row was a heavy blow to the team; the previously intact encirclement was ripped open with two huge gaps.

Although Chui Ge can assemble a temporary team and clearly has some skill, he, from the Legend Guild, swings a fine‑steel great hammer with great vigor.

But if he could solo the BOSS, why would he bother with these idle players who are likely to hold him back?

The frontline pressure suddenly became overwhelming; if we can't win quickly, today is likely to end in disaster.

On the outer ring of the battlefield, Ji Ming, holding a giant crossbow and firing occasional arrows, gradually regained his senses.

No, why does trouble follow me as soon as I arrive…

"Yang Yue, you wouldn't have done that on purpose, would you?"

【No, I just wrote a script; all the paths are generated by it itself.】

The text flowing on the blue translucent box stops abruptly here; if nothing unexpected happens, it's probably already an accident.

【Uh】

【Savior, I might not be able to fix this bug well; the situation is complicated, and as an outsider I can't handle it. It's hard to describe in words, you should check it yourself.】

With a clatter, several layers of heavy‑armor plating were stacked, and finally the box displayed a scene Ji Ming knew all too well.

—Back then, behind the Sanctum's curtain.

During the game's closed beta, when players were like fragile seedlings being chased by goblins across the whole map, Ji Ming would sit here all night like an old nanny, watching them.

But after the open beta began, his focus shifted and he rarely stayed here to monitor; the furniture next to that big radish turned from a sofa into a sturdy wooden rack.

After all, as mentioned before, with a bigger operation and more hands, Ji Ming no longer intended to handle everything personally; many things were handed over to other members of the Production Team, including the loot—Artificial Life—obtained from the Abomination's body.

No matter how miraculous, with limited time he still gave it to subordinates who seemed interested, comfortably becoming a hands‑off manager.

The last time he heard about it was the previous time; it was said to be studying diligently and can already compute ellipse‑related values.

So…

Little Fat‑Head Fish's repeated "dad" calls weren't empty; Ji Ming was so busy doing splits that he had long forgotten the matter, yet it still remembered that ridiculous setting after all this time!

Moreover, for bystanders a low‑power Suggestion Technique might be sufficient, but for higher beings such as angels, giant dragons, and Artificial Life, the impact of this mental method is less fierce than encountering a giant southern cockroach in a bathroom.

Thus, at some point, the Little Fat‑Head Fish, sharing vision with the corpse, instantly saw its own dad mingling in the crowd, looking around while admiring other humans waving swords, spears, and clubs at its arm, and simultaneously holding a giant crossbow that occasionally shot an arrow toward its own face.

If it were an ordinary child, faced with such filial piety, even if they didn't wail, they'd at least deliver a deliberate thunder punch that would launch their dad onto the ceiling, where he couldn't be pulled down.

But Little Fat‑Head Fish is different; its mother—namely the twisted alchemist Edgar—has a strange family tradition, and its upbringing is equally bizarre, mistakenly thinking that its dad had brought a few uncles and aunties over to play with it!

In its haste, the surge of spiritual energy turned into an invisible bridge, allowing it to instantly retrieve its lost old account and remotely control the meat‑mountain behemoth that was once part of its own body.

Ji Ming: Oh, so this is why it chased me to death, spinning like a huge top for three minutes nonstop…

"Damn it, can't you find a way to kick it out of the account?"

【Savior, did you forget? My way of controlling the Abomination is less about logging in and more like putting on a skin suit; now the suit has its own ideas—what can I do?】

"Gah!"

The original siege turned into a war of attrition; players who thought it was a game bug came to their senses and began wondering why this Abomination ignored everyone else and kept targeting… who was it hitting?

AdaiEr was even more stunned; she still hadn't figured out what the Underground World actually was, and the doctor who brought her in was being relentlessly chased by that disgusting thing!

But Ji Ming also had his reasons; he wanted to bring AdaiEr to experience the big‑guy's passionate team‑building atmosphere, never expecting there would be a demolition‑loving brat who smashed the entire laboratory.

Fortunately, in earlier battles the Abomination's underdeveloped vocal organ had already been damaged; otherwise its repeated cries of "dad" would have forced it to become the eighth urban legend of "Code · Yang Yue".

Facing this situation, ignoring it is certainly not an option; even if my massive health could allow me to jog and walk the dog all day, as a disguised "bow‑crossbow professional" I still couldn't.

And if I countered on the spot, with my current strength I could indeed burst out and gank the Abomination on the spot, but that still feels inappropriate given my current role.

But isn't the purpose of a disguise to tear things apart?

Anyway, players will refine the causal logic for me; dare you hit your dad? Today I'll let Little Fat‑Head Fish know what a benevolent father's iron fist feels like!

【Please wait!】

Fortunately, at this moment Xi Er Wei Ya had already returned to the Sanctum, and with Bu Long Fei Er De's assistance, successfully negotiated with the Artificial Life.

The specific scene was roughly—

"Stop, Archangel, if you throw that punch it'll just gank it; after all, it's the son—or daughter—of the Supreme Deity, so show some mercy!"

"Don't block me; you dare chase after my master and strike this, which is no ordinary Artificial Life; a heavy punch is required!!!"