Teaming Up

Less than three hours later.

Four adventurers cleared Novice Mode in succession.

They were: Sleeping in the Wind, Lonely Swordsman, Black Stone Hammer King, and Bright Moon Reflecting Snow.

"The numbers are finally complete!"

Sleeping in the Wind was full of anticipation.

"Checkpoint Mode! Let's get started!"

Black Stone Hammer King laughed wildly and smugly. "Hahaha, Lord Qi Ji, your secret realm's difficulty is completely lacking. Watch us tear through your Checkpoint Mode!"

"Looks like we have a chance to get higher-grade Soul Essence!"

Bright Moon Reflecting Snow's eyes gleamed. "We won't accidentally grind the lord into bankruptcy, will we?"

Lonely Swordsman said, "That wouldn't be good. There aren't many distinctive secret realms these days, and Doomsday Frenzy is basically irreplaceable."

Black Stone Hammer King said, "Protect the treasure lord and sustainably drain the pond dry. I suggest we turn in as much of the Soul Essence we get for recycling as possible, so the lord can recover a little. Don't let him go bankrupt and shut down after just a few rounds."

The adventurers all gave their approval.

"Alright!"

"Hammer Bro is righteous!"

"Even fishing has a closed season."

"Miracle City is just a delicate newbie right now."

"This tiny body can't withstand all of us taking turns ravaging it."

"Protecting seedlings is everyone's responsibility. A quality lord should be fattened up a little, then whipped hard so he can make more fun secret realms for us!"

"..."

Listen to that.

Were those even human words?

Qi Ji nearly rolled his eyes into his sphincter.

The relationship between adventurers and lords was actually very subtle.

Neither could do without the other, but they were definitely not loving partners. Most of the time, their relationship was full of maneuvering, calculation, and intrigue.

Yet these guys were worried whether Boss Qi would go bankrupt?

Did they think they understood the game after clearing Novice Mode?

What a bunch of fools who had no idea how high the sky was or how dangerous the world could be!

Little did they know!

The real torment and suffering had only just begun!

Today, he wanted to see exactly how these adventurers would clear this carefully designed apocalyptic slaughterhouse!

For a time.

All the other adventurers waiting in line.

Gathered around the Crystal where the four were located to watch.

After Black Stone Hammer King selected Multiplayer Mode, an interface appeared before them, offering Random Matchmaking and Opening a Room to form a team. The four quickly formed a party through Opening a Room.

The game began!

The four adventurers arrived on the rooftop.

The surroundings and layout had changed slightly compared to Single Player Mode. For example, there were four pistols, four axes, and four Medical Kits on the workbench—one set per person. It was truly generous.

Black Stone Hammer King said, "Even though there are more of us, we can't let our guard down!"

Sleeping in the Wind said, "Old Blade has more experience, so Old Blade should be the captain this time!"

Bright Moon Reflecting Snow said, "No problem with me!"

Lonely Swordsman said, "First clear the stairwell and loot supplies. Otherwise, we won't get out with just a few pistols. We must be especially careful of Special Zombies!"

They pushed open the door.

At the bottom of the dark stairwell.

They saw the Turning Head Smile Zombie again.

"Tch, the same old trick. Let me handle it!"

Black Stone Hammer King grabbed the great axe and killed the Zombie with a leaping cleave, splattering blood everywhere.

"Hahaha, how was that? Was my play sick or what?"

"Nice job!"

Everyone felt completely secure. More people meant more firepower and a higher margin for error. Fighting Side by Side greatly enhanced the immersion and fun, while the potential Special Zombies were full of unknowns and excitement. Everyone felt that the secret realm was becoming more and more entertaining.

But then Black Stone Hammer King heard a faint scraping sound.

"Listen carefully."

"There's a strange noise!"

The adventurers poked their heads out to look, only to lock eyes passionately with a full twenty or thirty pairs of eyes in the corridor!

"What the hell?!"

The hideous, bloodied Zombies heard the commotion and instantly charged like beasts that had caught the scent of blood.

"Not good!"

"Retreat!"

"There are too many!"

"Fire! Fire! Open fire!"

"..."

Bright Moon Reflecting Snow pulled out her pistol to shoot the Zombies, but her hands trembled from nerves. A bullet went straight into Black Stone Hammer King's knee.

"Fuck!"

"Why did you shoot me?!"

Black Stone Hammer King fell straight to the ground.

In no time, he was swallowed by the surging Zombie Tide.

The others fired in a panic, but even after exhausting their ammunition, they had only barely taken down less than half.

"Fight them!"

The three pulled out their melee weapons and continued fighting. Although they successfully hacked down several Zombies, they were soon pounced on by the others. They could not even make it through one corridor. Without encountering a single Special Infected, the entire team was wiped out.

The other adventurers watching all burst out laughing.

Lone Wolf said, "Hahaha, I'm dying! Love at first sight around the corner!"

Pig King said, "Hammer Bro, didn't you say the secret realm was too easy?"

Cat MeowMeow said, "More people doesn't necessarily mean more strength. You might even hurt your allies!"

Irritable Little Chicken said, "That's what you get for bragging your asses off just now! Know how tough it is now?"

"..."

The adventurers exited the secret realm.

They had not expected to clear it in one try, but wiping out so quickly was still incredibly embarrassing.

Black Stone Hammer King said, "Lord, what's going on? Explain yourself. Why were there so many Zombies in the corridor?"

Qi Ji spread his hands. "The number of challengers quadrupled, so I multiplied the number of Zombies several times too. That's reasonable, isn't it?"

Everyone stared at one another.

"That does sound somewhat reasonable."

"Can't you do something less hellish?"

"Does it make sense to cram so many Zombies into such a narrow space?"

"Don't panic, everyone!"

"We were careless!"

"Yeah, we alerted the horde in advance and got caught off guard. That's why the tragedy happened!"

"If we had prepared beforehand and arranged our tactics properly, then with the firepower of four guns, the coordination of four people, and the stairwell terrain, taking out twenty-plus Zombies wouldn't have been a problem!"

"This round doesn't count!"

"Again!"

"..."

The four discussed their tactics in advance: luring them in batches, alternating fire, and coordinating ranged and melee combat. This time, they successfully cleared the stairwell Zombies, but they also used up all their bullets.

The tense adventure had only just begun!

The adventurers discovered that Multiplayer Mode allowed them to cooperate with each other, and supplies along the way were more plentiful. However, the random Zombie spawn rate and the number of fixed Zombies had both increased, while the new Special Zombies with unknown abilities were even more troublesome.

Aside from Boomers and Smokers.

Two new types of Zombies appeared in succession: Hunters and Jockeys.

A Jockey looked much like a skinny monkey. It would suddenly climb onto someone's head, causing them to lose their vision and sense of direction before being controlled.

A Hunter looked like a hooded parkour runner. It was incredibly agile, like a Ninja, running across roofs and walls. If your aim was poor, you could not hit it at all, and its pouncing ability was terrifyingly powerful.

Adventurer "Lonely Swordsman" has died. Soul Crystal +1, Mental Strength +1!

Adventurer "Black Stone Hammer King" has died. Soul Crystal +1, Mental Strength +1!

"Ah!"

"Dead again!"

"The Hunter Zombie is too agile!"

"The most disgusting ones are still the Smokers and Jockeys!"

"Why would the lord create such hellish monsters? Is there really nothing less hellish?"

"Heh, if you're bad, practice more. I think the lord is a genius. You can't find such interesting monster concepts in other Dungeons!"

"Looking for a team!"

"I cleared Novice Mode too!"

"Looking for a pro to carry me through Checkpoint Mode!"

"..."

Although the adventurers were being thoroughly abused in Checkpoint Mode, and although they constantly complained about it, the continuously generated Mental Strength proved that their bodies were honest despite their words!

Multiplayer Checkpoint Mode.

Was far more fun than Novice Mode.

Time passed second by second.

The Dungeon had been open for ten hours today. Thirteen adventurers had cleared Novice Mode, but all of them were stuck at the official checkpoint. Every adventurer had exhausted their energy, and the Dungeon's reception capacity had reached its limit. It seemed impossible to advance any further today.

Qi Ji took stock of his gains.

Today had been a bountiful day!

He had received 125 adventurers.

A total of 636 Soul Crystals and 1,222 points of Mental Strength had been produced!

In addition, Qi Ji had recycled 18 Zombie Soul Essences. An ordinary novice Dungeon might not get that many in half a month.

Currently.

Soul Crystals: 732.

Mental Strength: 1370/1000.

Mental Strength was the core resource for creating secret realms and also the experience used by a lord to level up.

Every time a Dungeon Lord advanced in rank, they could increase their territory's level cap and their own lifespan. In addition, they would gain one chance to open the Sea of Inspiration and awaken an Inspiration Crystal.

In other words.

Every level-up.

Allowed him to draw new materials.

The current upgrade required 1,000 points of Mental Strength.

His current reserves were more than enough. He could already level up and draw a brand-new Inspiration Crystal.

He had only become a Dungeon Lord a week ago, and had only been officially open for business for three days!