Solo Run

The city.

On the rooftop.

The lead-gray sky hung low over the jungle of steel and concrete like a shroud soaked in industrial wastewater. Wind wandered through the damaged buildings, thick with the stench of blood and rot. Whether the distant skyscrapers or the nearby power lines and water towers, everything was vivid and meticulously detailed.

"Where the hell did this bring me? Is this really a secret realm?!"

At first sight alone!

The Old Adventurer was stunned, utterly shocked by what lay before him!

He had spent his entire life studying secret realms.

He had seen no fewer than a thousand types of secret realms.

He had thought no type of secret realm could still feel fresh or unfamiliar to him!

Yet none had ever delivered such a sense of immersion... This did not feel like a secret realm at all. It felt like a bizarre, real, and vibrant Different World!

No wonder it was so appealing to young people!

This really had substance!

As he felt the atmosphere of the secret realm and the vigor of his youthful body, a long-lost restlessness that had been extinguished for years began to grow and burn in the depths of his heart!

How many years had it been since his last adventure?

It felt like a lifetime ago.

White Crane Hermit had not personally challenged a secret realm in far too long!

"Miracle City, then let this old man see what you're truly capable of!"

He began to move!

His first priority was gathering supplies.

White Crane Hermit began recalling Sleeping in the Wind's forum posts. They recorded the abilities, habits, and weaknesses of the secret realm monsters, as well as the resource distribution and general routes through the beginner level.

Although this was his first challenge.

Although the city felt bizarre and brimming with exotic style.

White Crane Hermit's powerful memory and comprehension still allowed him to grasp seventy or eighty percent of the information.

He opened the door.

The first Zombie appeared.

He stepped forward in three strides. Blood splattered as he killed it with a single axe strike!

White Crane Hermit continued onward, wielding a Fire Axe. He killed gods if gods blocked him, killed Buddhas if Buddhas stood in his way. Ordinary adventurers had to use pistols to be safe when facing even two Zombies at once.

However.

When four Zombies appeared simultaneously.

White Crane Hermit used the terrain to dart and evade.

The gleam of his axe precisely split open every Zombie's skull.

"Holy shit!"

"The Old Master is too strong!"

"I can't believe this is his first time challenging Doomsday Frenzy!"

"No matter what cultivation you have outside, everyone is the same inside a secret realm!"

"But why can't we pull off moves like that with the same physical abilities?!"

"..."

White Crane Hermit had used nothing but a Fire Axe to kill more than a dozen, perhaps twenty Zombies in a row, never once drawing his pistol. His battle techniques and veteran use of terrain left the other adventurers dumbfounded.

Amazing!

This was incredible!

He slaughtered Zombies like mad!

Flesh and blood flew everywhere, brains splattering in all directions!

It had been far too long since he had felt such exhilaration!

The pent-up frustration that had accumulated in White Crane Hermit's chest for years was released during this process!

This secret realm did not have much of anything, except Zombies in endless supply. It let him kill to his heart's content, and this pleasure of mowing down monsters was something he had never experienced even throughout his decades-long adventuring career!

These monsters were weak.

But there were far too many of them.

They most likely did not require Mental Strength!

Could it be that the Lord had awakened inspiration material with zero consumption?

That alone made him a one-in-a-million genius. With just this one type of monster, the Raging Tide Secret Realm could become unique in Black Stone Town!

This secret realm!

It was too satisfying!

Of course, White Crane Hermit was very strong.

But this was still his first time challenging Doomsday Frenzy.

After fighting his way out of the building, he accidentally triggered a Zombie Tide because he was unfamiliar with the surrounding area, ultimately giving up his first death.

"Interesting!"

"Again!"

White Crane Hermit had come to demand an explanation, yet at this moment he realized he was hooked too. He had never encountered such an exhilarating secret realm, so he immediately began a second challenge.

This time!

With only a Fire Axe.

He killed one or two hundred Zombies without taking a single hit.

Finally, with prompts from the onlookers, he found the Safe Door surrounded by a horde of corpses. Using the ammunition and firearms he had gathered along the way, he unleashed overwhelming firepower in an instant, sweeping through the streets amid flying flesh and blood until Zombie corpses covered the ground.

He entered the Safe Door!

A perfect clear!

Everyone erupted in cheers and excitement!

After White Crane Hermit left the secret realm, his face was flushed red with excitement. He still had not recovered from the frenzy of that uninhibited slaughter.

This secret realm... was way too satisfying!

He had practically relied on nothing but an axe to carve through the beginner level of the Doomsday Frenzy Secret Realm. What had been a place of suffering for countless adventurers had been turned into a pure mowing-down thrill ride in his hands.

Forget the experience of the person involved.

Even the spectators watched with tremendous satisfaction.

The shock this scene gave the young adventurers was easy to imagine!

"Strong!"

"Too strong!"

"This is the true worth of Black Stone Town's former undisputed number-one adventurer!"

"..."

After clearing the level, White Crane Hermit received a Common Zombie Essence Soul as a reward, and it truly was a type of Soul Essence he had never seen before.

Bright Moon Reflecting Snow: "So? We weren't lying to you, were we?"

White Crane Hermit's blood was still boiling. He had cleared countless secret realms in his life, and the underlying logic behind every Dungeon Lord's secret realm design was to harvest adventurers.

"Doomsday Frenzy" was different.

The Lord had a hundred ways to make the secret realm harder.

Yet he had not done so. Instead, he had chosen to create the ultimate sense of experience, fun, immersion, and exhilaration!

Whether it was the supply locations, replenishment points, weapon and item designs, or the placement and respawning of Zombies, everything was filled with positive feedback.

This felt more like a work of art!

White Crane Hermit: "It... it's alright!"

Bright Moon Reflecting Snow: "Is it really just alright?"

White Crane Hermit coughed lightly. "It's a little too easy. There may be many monsters, but they're not strong enough."

Cat MeowMeow: "Old Dean, you only cleared the beginner level. The truly difficult parts are still waiting ahead!"

Sleeping in the Wind immediately said, "Elder Crane, why not form a team with us and challenge Checkpoint Mode together?"

"Why would I need a team?" White Crane Hermit pointed at the secret realm interface. "Doesn't this secret realm also have a Single Player Mode? This old man won't meddle in you young people's adventures!"

"What?"

"Single Player Mode!"

"Old Dean, you mustn't! Single Player Mode is a huge trap!"

"Although the number of monsters is greatly reduced in Single Player Mode, once you're ambushed by a Special Zombie, there's no way to save yourself!"

"..."

White Crane Hermit's desire to conquer and competitive spirit only grew stronger.

"Enough chatter. When this old man was challenging secret realms, you little brats hadn't even been born yet!"

The adventurers looked at one another. Seeing how stubborn the Old Master was, they stopped trying to persuade him and gathered around to watch the show.

He challenged it again!

Single Player Checkpoint Mode activated.

White Crane Hermit swiftly gathered supplies with practiced ease, using an axe to kill every Zombie he encountered along the way. His killing efficiency and proficiency were even greater than in the previous run, leaving the other adventurers in awe and unable to help marveling that experience came with age.

However.

It was obvious.

Although White Crane Hermit's skills were exceptional and his experience extensive, the difficulty of the Raging Tide Secret Realm's Single Player Mode still exceeded his expectations.

More precisely.

It was the abilities of the various Special Zombies.

They caught White Crane Hermit off guard. No matter how sharp his instincts were, it was difficult for him to respond perfectly to every unexpected situation.

In the first run, White Crane Hermit died to a sudden pounce from a Hunter.

In the second run, White Crane Hermit skillfully counter-killed the Hunter, only to be ambushed by a Smoker and perish together with it.

In the third run, White Crane Hermit defeated several Hunters and Smokers without taking damage, dodged Jockeys, Boomers, and Spitters, yet was badly wounded in a one-on-one fight with a Charger. In the end, he encountered a Tank and was instantly killed without suspense.

"It really is difficult!"

As one distinctive monster after another, each with different abilities, appeared, they not only fully ignited White Crane Hermit's desire for a challenge but also made him completely recognize the potential of this secret realm!

There were too many monsters!

What was even rarer was that.

Its style was unique and stood in a class of its own!

This Lord possessed tremendous talent for inspiration!

Miracle City truly had the potential to rival top-tier Dungeons in the future!

Although everyone had expected the Old Master's stubborn attempt to force his way through Doomsday Frenzy alone to end this way, seeing his performance throughout the process still left the young people deeply shocked.

"Old Dean is still amazing!"

"I've never seen anyone fight a Charger Zombie one-on-one!"

"That's incredible!"

"At this rate."

"Could he fight a Tank one-on-one tomorrow?"

"Holy shit, has he gone mad? Is that really possible?"

"Trash players like us definitely can't do it, but I think Old Dean absolutely could!"

"The Old Master might become the first adventurer to clear Doomsday Frenzy's First Level solo!"

"..."

Under the young people's admiring gazes.

A long-lost sense of pride and glory rapidly welled up in his heart.

This feeling of hot blood and passion was truly nostalgic. Secret realms had been far too boring in recent years. Only this Doomsday Frenzy made him truly feel like he was on an adventure!

White Crane Hermit was even reluctant to stop!

The First Level already had such difficulty and such a rich variety of monsters.

Quite a few adventurers were already tackling the Second Level. Bright Moon Reflecting Snow had said that even more monsters, and stronger ones at that, would appear there. This could not help stirring White Crane Hermit's intense curiosity.

He wanted to know.

Just how much depth and how many limits.

The Doomsday Frenzy Secret Realm still possessed!

Although he could not play, he could still watch...

Of course, it was not because the secret realm had attracted him. He was merely fulfilling his responsibility by continuing to assess its quality for the younger generation!