Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Lock-On by Evil God Worshipers
Crimson Courtyard, Red Wave Space, Dungeon Waiting Hall.
After hearing Cotton’s words, Lei Huo had a "you gotta be kidding me" expression.
"You mean our people got caught up in Peaceful Town because Sword Star sneaked in with the newcomers and queued for the dungeon?"
Cotton glanced back at the big boss behind him, and seeing the boss nod, he said, "Yes."
Sword Star is the genius that the Evolution Sect has high hopes for, naturally aligning exceptionally with the Sword Dao profession.
Not only did he acquire the hidden profession of Sword Sect, but he also unlocked the Sword Cultivator’s reincarnation prerequisites while in the Desolate Realm.
In the Abyss Second Layer, the strength of Sword Cultivators is recognized as top ten.
One could say that as long as Sword Star grows, there will definitely be a seat for him at the Management Bureau big table in the future.
This kind of genius is the future of the Management Bureau.
When it involves Sword Star, Lei Huo and Meng Yawen’s expressions turned serious.
Zhong Deng, sent by the Evolution Sect to support the scene, although seasoned, has a fixed talent and has lost his drive, destined to be phased out by time.
Both of them can choose not to respect Zhong Deng, but they can’t ignore Sword Star.
The world is just so realistic, absolute fairness never exists, even in organizations like the Management Bureau that emphasize rules and order, the rules must give way to certain special beings.
Lei Huo asked, "What is Sword Star doing mixed in with the newcomers? Don’t tell me his reincarnation task is leading newcomers through dungeons."
Cotton, wiping the sweat from his forehead, said with a slightly aggrieved tone:
"The higher-ups instructed me to find a few trustworthy newcomers to lower the dungeon matching score for Sword Star, coordinating the reward permissions to enter lower-level dungeons."
The instruction from above was the lower the matched dungeon level, the better.
He thought it was an effortless achievement, with six rookies responsible for lowering the score, even if they couldn’t queue for a D-Level dungeon, at most, it’d be a weak C-Level.
Who is Sword Star? A genius player at Level 20 with a hidden profession, waltzing through B-Level dungeons, has even cleared an A-Level dungeon once, wouldn’t he wreak havoc in a C-Level dungeon?
But who could have thought, out of hundreds of C-Level dungeons, they ended up in the deadliest one—the Peaceful Town?
Now, not only has he lost the achievement, but he’s also going to be resented by the entire Order Sect.
There must be some bad luck involved, it has to be bad luck!
Cotton’s answer did not satisfy Lei Huo but rather made him more puzzled.
"You mean Sword Star is too weak to enter a dungeon alone?"
Cotton’s expression stiffened, looking back at the big boss.
This time he wasn’t seeking approval but rather he didn’t know why either.
"Let me take over from here."
The middle-aged man from the Evolution Sect waved his hand, indicating Lei Huo and Meng Yawen to chat with him in the lounge.
Entering the lounge, they found two people already seated inside.
They were familiar with the bald, robust man—it was none other than their own Commissioner Gao.
The other person they had only seen from afar a few times.
The man appeared to be only in his early thirties, but his presence was as steady as a man in his fifties or sixties. He was not dressed in flashy outfits or items but wore a standard military uniform.
The middle-aged man from the Evolution Sect, who could be called a big shot by Cotton, greeted that person respectfully with "Hello, Elder Xu."
Xu Dejun, a true big shot, was among the first Management Bureau members to enter the Abyssal Game when it started absorbing players on a large scale twenty years ago.
He is one of the three highest in charge of the Management Bureau in the Desolate Realm, a neutral faction, not caring whether the future aligns with the Evolution Sect or the Order Sect, only concerned with results.
If it strengthens Xia Country, if it makes the Management Bureau stronger, that’s enough.
Only by bringing out a big shot of such level can today’s matter be suppressed. Otherwise, based on the way Lei Huo and Meng Yawen act like rabble-rousers, plus Commissioner Gao lurking sinisterly behind, it would absolutely blow up until everyone in the Management Bureau knows.
Xu Dejun looked at everyone and said, "Lin Jiang has just told me the basic situation. They concealed issues and chose inappropriate handling methods; indeed, they are at fault."
"But that child Sword Star is indeed a good seedling; we’ve got to find a way to keep him safe. I’m not here to show favoritism. Lin Jiang and the others have admitted their mistakes and are willing to take punishment. If they come out alive, they’ll pay compensation. If they die, they’ll pay bereavement money. The amount will be double the ceiling value according to the standard. If they don’t pay, I’ll get it for you."
In just a few words, Xu Dejun has already outlined a direction for solving the problem.
Lei Huo and Meng Yawen glanced at the middle-aged man named Lin Jiang, cursing under their breath, calling him an old fox.
As soon as the situation was exposed, he invited Xu Dejun to intervene. Even though the two were unhappy, they dared not confront Xu Dejun, so they had to reluctantly accept.
Seeing no objections from the crowd, Xu Dejun looked at Lin Jiang and signaled him to explain the situation to everyone.
Lin Jiang sighed and slowly explained the situation to everyone.
The cause of the incident was indeed related to Sword Star’s reincarnation task.
In an A-Level dungeon, Sword Star triggered a prerequisite task for reincarnation. The item needed to complete the task happened to be in the hands of a player who worshiped the Evil God.
In completing the task, Sword Star simultaneously thwarted the player’s plans, demolished his altar, and dissected the temporary body required for the Evil God’s descent, extracting the item he needed from the heart of the body.
Since then, Sword Star has been targeted by that group of Evil God followers.
According to the task requirements, Sword Star must carry the task item through five dungeon worlds, and he must clear at least two dungeons to absorb it.
But the task item he obtained was tainted with the Evil God’s aura and continuously tracked by Evil God followers through special means.
In the first dungeon world, halfway through, a player suddenly went berserk and destroyed an important item, causing the main task to fail directly.
In the second dungeon world, the native NPC under protection suddenly got possessed, resulting in a suicide that allowed the BOSS to reach its full form, nearly wiping out their team.
Two consecutive dungeon failures made Sword Star and the Evolution Sect wary.
In the third dungeon world, to ensure Sword Star wouldn’t be disturbed, the Evolution Sect specifically applied for the authority to lock a near-out-of-control C-Level solo dungeon.
Unexpectedly, midway through the strategy, the dungeon suddenly and without warning lost control. If not for Sword Star using a life-saving item to forcefully escape, he would likely have been trapped in the out-of-control dungeon.
Three consecutive failure attempts not only put Sword Star’s reincarnation task on the brink of failure but also penalized him for failing three consecutive times, deducting 14 points from his willpower limit.
If he fails the fourth consecutive time, this will deduct another 16 points from his willpower limit.
Sword Star’s allocation on the will attribute was already limited; failing again would make him lose control before considering the prerequisite task.
As a last resort, the Evolution Sect came up with this desperate measure, planning to have Sword Star blend in with new players to lower the match rating and utilize the reward dungeon item to enter lower-level dungeons.
The lower the better.
Against ordinary D-Level or C-Level dungeons, with Sword Star’s abilities, he can easily crush them. Even if Evil God followers try to disrupt, they cannot make waves in the face of absolute values.
However, what Lin Jiang and his radical faction didn’t expect was that Sword Star was queued into Peaceful Town.
The true difficulty of Peaceful Town probably exceeds that of an out-of-control C-Level dungeon. Coupled with the reduction in Sword Star’s willpower limit, he must constantly guard against losing control. He can only exert about seventy to eighty percent of his full power, making it exceptionally dangerous to clear.
Having said that, Lin Jiang bowed to those from the Wanghai City branch and said:
"Though I know this is shameless, I still hope to borrow the power of the Order Sect and use the item managed by the Wanghai City Strategy Bureau to send an assistant to Sword Star."
Before Director Gao could respond, Xu Dejun lightly coughed and pointed to the sky.
Under Xu Dejun’s manipulation, the ceiling above them became transparent, revealing a massive countdown above the Crimson Courtyard.
Wu Chang had seen this countdown when he first entered the public area of the Crimson Courtyard. It was initially at 100; now only 80 remain.
"There are only 80 days left until the World Dungeon at the Desolate Realm, and we need as much power as possible. If Sword Star can reincarnate into a Sword Cultivator in the Desolate Realm, his strength won’t be much weaker than Cold Mountain."
Xu Dejun’s intent is clear: Sword Star must be saved.
After a brief silence, Director Gao sighed and said, "You can borrow the item, but you need to figure out who enters the dungeon. Also, once inside, I want you to ensure the safety of our newcomers as much as possible."
Lin Jiang breathed a sigh of relief and assured, "No problem, Sword Star has the same thought. Initially, we promised to provide intermediate reward dungeon authority to further reduce the risks the newcomers face, which is why he agreed to cooperate with our plan."
"I’ve looked at the information of the personnel entering the dungeon. With Sword Star’s protection, the safety of most players can be assured. For example, there’s a player named Hamster among them; his entire skill set is defensive. Even in a standard C-Level dungeon, he might still survive."
"But this player, rated D-, Level 7 with only 2 skills, doesn’t have survival or defensive skills. Even with Sword Star, no one can guarantee his survival. Let me be blunt, if necessary, I might even advise those entering later to abandon him."
Inside the dungeon, Wu Chang was about to engage a player lazing under a tree when he sneezed.
Which little cutie was thinking of him now?