Gamers Are Fierce

During their conversation, the sixth barrier contraction was about to begin. This contraction would last for a full twenty minutes, with the final range ending near this basement.

"The Demon Prison might descend at any moment now," Ji Jiu said rapidly and urgently. "I assume none of you here want the Mirage Dragon to leave, release the Demon Tide Disaster, and then flee with the All Bright Moon Palace Lantern, right? The only way now is to use the Palace Lantern to enter the Misty Territory. Once there, whether we look for another way out, negotiate with the Mirage Dragon, or directly kill the Datura Leader and seize control of the Mirage Dragon, we can adapt to the situation on the fly."

Although Ji Jiu was addressing everyone present, his eyes remained fixed on Li Ang. He had noticed that among all the players present, Liu Wu Dai and the two members of the Mobile Detachment would most likely choose the plan he proposed, but the final decision rested with the strongest player present—the "Batman" who had killed his teammate earlier. After all, everything hinged on the All Bright Moon Palace Lantern.

Li Ang remained silent, rapidly weighing the pros and cons.

With my strength and speed, I could strike first and kill Chuyin Huijin and Wu Mu. After the effects of the Light Seal Sword fade, I could then eliminate the Resentful Demon and Ji Jiu, leaving Gulu Lugu to initiate the Ball Technique. Once the mission is complete, I could exploit the chaos to kill Liu Wu Dai and Gulu Lugu, silencing them. As the Misty Territory fully manifests, I could take the All Bright Moon Palace Lantern, rush to the Suburb of Yin City, and escape quickly with Wang Congshan and the others. The advantage of this plan is that it entirely avoids betting on whether Ji Jiu's words are true and facing the dangers deep within the Misty Territory, ensuring maximum safety. By the time the Demon Tide arrives, the Special Affairs Bureau won't have the spare resources to pursue the matter. Even if everything Ji Jiu said is a lie, and there's no Demon Prison or Mirage Dragon, killing all the players present would still net me a large amount of Experience Points and Game Coins. It's a win-win. But, if Ji Jiu isn't lying, this plan would lead to the annihilation of all Datura sufferers, the Misty Territory swallowing Yin City, and the Demon Tide becoming inevitable.

Seeing Li Ang's silence, Ji Jiu and the other players grew anxious. Liu Wu Dai, Chuyin, and Ash each had their own reasons for wanting to enter the Misty Territory, but from their perspective, they couldn't see why Li Ang would need to.

There was only one All Bright Moon Palace Lantern. Friend or foe?

Ji Jiu heaved a sigh, swallowed, and said, "Although I am a member of the Datura organization, I don't agree with—in fact, I detest—their ambition to live as superiors forever. I also have my own reasons for joining this deathmatch..."

Li Ang raised a hand to stop him. "How can we enter the Misty Territory?"

PHEW... Ji Jiu breathed a sigh of relief. "Actually, the outermost layer of the tower-shaped Demon Prison has several secret passages. We can use the Palace Lantern to access them, and they lead directly to the bottom level. The mist breathed out by the Mirage Dragon spreads to the outside of the Demon Prison through these passages. The real-world coordinates of these passage entrances are also nodes of the Misty Territory's anomalies. As the Demon Prison and the real world continuously overlap, the rock layers where the nodes are located will fracture, releasing an endless stream of mist. Aside from the largest entry node at Qianhua Road, this abandoned subway station beneath our feet is also one of the nodes. Just take the All Bright Moon Palace Lantern, follow the cracks in the ground down, and you can reach the bottommost layer of the Demon Prison."

With that said, Ji Jiu stood up and pointed towards the middle of the subway station, indicating a deep chasm several meters wide from which thick mist continuously poured.

"That chasm is the passage."

Li Ang moved a little closer, tossing several stones of various sizes down the fissure and using Cat's Eye to peer in. The crevice was pitch-black. The stones he tossed in seemed to vanish without a trace, like clay oxen swallowed by the sea; there was no sound of them hitting anything, only a faint, almost inaudible, dull gust of wind from deep within the fracture.

At this moment, the System announced that the barrier was beginning to contract for the sixth time, with twenty minutes remaining until the mission's end.

"Everyone," Li Ang looked at the players present with an indifferent expression and said softly, "what are your thoughts?"

Ash and Chuyin looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, then said to Li Ang, "As members of the Mobile Detachment, our primary duty is naturally to protect the lives and safety of the people."

These two Special Affairs Bureau members had already used drones to transmit everything Ji Jiu knew to the Bureau's internal system. The Special Affairs Bureau would undoubtedly take appropriate measures based on this intelligence, such as evacuating the public and reinforcing defense lines. Although System restrictions would prevent the Special Affairs Bureau from directly aiding Ash and Chuyin, the Bureau could still make independent decisions outside of this mission's constraints. In the real world, this meant the Special Affairs Bureau had begun mobilizing troops again. They used the city's broadcasting system to further expand the evacuation radius and issued high-value bounties to all Bounty Hunter players. These players were offered a hefty sum to head to various strongholds in Yin City and assist the Mobile Detachment in preparing defenses against the impending arrival of the Misty Territory. Furthermore, the Special Affairs Bureau, keenly aware of the urgent situation, had the Heterodox Academy unseal a batch of supernatural items, preparing for the worst-case scenario.

Neither Ash nor Chuyin had any objections. Liu Wu Dai said nothing, simply nodding slightly at Li Ang. After a moment of hesitation, Wu Mu clenched her teeth and stood with Ash and the others.

"Alright." Li Ang looked at Ji Jiu and pointed to the Light Seal Sword suspended above his head. "When does that piece of equipment of yours lose its special effect?"

"About two minutes," Ji Jiu answered truthfully.

"That's enough time."

Li Ang nodded. He didn't hurry to descend into the dense fog but instead stood beside the unconscious Resentful Demon and Gulu Lugu, holding the Triangular Bone Tipped Spear, his breath held as he concentrated.

No matter what, these two demons that had unleashed psychic-type skills on me had to die.

Sensing Li Ang's resolute killing intent, Ji Jiu didn't make any excuses or plead for the Resentful Demon and Gulu Lugu. He borrowed pink shackles from Ash, cuffed himself, and stood aside, counting down for Li Ang until the Light Seal Sword's special effect ended.

"Five, four, three, two, one."

As the countdown ended, the Light Seal Sword vanished. Miss Chai, who was standing next to the All Bright Moon Palace Lantern, quickly took it. Simultaneously, Li Ang channeled all his strength into his Ripple Energy, thrusting the Triangular Bone Tipped Spear directly through the Resentful Demon's skull.

[Player "Resentful Demon" has been killed by player "Li Rising"]

[Player "Gulu Lugu" has been killed by player "Li Rising"]

Alerts sounded one after another. Li Ang shook his spear and, under the silent gaze of everyone present, stored the bodies of the two enemy players in his inventory. He then took the All Bright Moon Palace Lantern from Miss Chai and said indifferently to the shackled Ji Jiu, "Lead the way."

Based on the shape of the Resentful Demon's skull and the condition of its teeth, it had very likely been a domesticated, golden retriever-sized large dog before becoming a player. Perhaps it and Gulu Lugu had entered this life-or-death mission to save a human owner who had been trapped in the Misty Territory for months.

Amidst the distant sounds of Special Affairs Bureau personnel in a real-world subway station reporting on the Misty Territory, Li Ang glanced at the grey-white world. Holding the All Bright Moon Palace Lantern and led by Ji Jiu, he stepped into the deep, fog-filled fissure with the others.