A New Dungeon Appears, Different Fates

At this moment, the advantage of having two Priest became apparent again—even though the two assassins tried their best to avoid damage, their health was dropping very quickly. Fortunately, the two healers cast spells at the same time to ensure that everyone survived.

The loot chest contained a Golden Tier piece of equipment, which was the biggest reward from this dungeon run.

All five of them were in a good mood.

Compared to the misfortunes in the real world, they are certainly Fortune.

They used to lament that being assigned to Chongxing meant they wouldn't get ahead, but now they're relieved.

Currently, most players' main equipment is either high-level but of average quality, or of outstanding quality but of slightly lower level.

In comparison, the stats of gold equipment dropped in dungeons far surpass those of items dropped by high-level wild monsters.

"Seaside Wave, hurry up and level up! Get to the top today, the four of us are waiting for you!"

The next morning.

As soon as "Seaside Wave" went live, it was immediately urged by several level 60 guild leaders.

"How can a Priest like me level up faster than you guys?"

"Do you know how hard I've worked? Dishitian and Death Scythe are almost as good as me! If you're so capable, go and urge the Great God Chongxing!"

"If we could get him to come, why are we just waiting here? I can't wait to see the unique skills of the Heavenly Strategist."

"Now the skills for Shield Guard, Mages, Archers, and Berserkers are all available, only the skills for Tian Ce and Priest haven't appeared yet, and the Chongxing Xing hasn't been able to get them yet."

War Sky said helplessly, "What's the use of being anxious? Chongxing hasn't even used his class's unique skill yet. He's the one who should be anxious."

"Let's just sigh for the god here. It's so sad. Almost all other professions have been affected, but the Priest is the only one left."

"That's really bad. But the Shield Guard's unique skill is quite funny; it actually heals teammates. No wonder it's called 'Healer' now."

The Dragon Diagram Frenzy, recalling the expressions of the Shield Guard upon seeing the new skill, sparked a heated discussion on the forums at the time.

"Bloodspill: Shield Guard exclusive skill".

"Raising the shield grants temporary health to five random members of the team. The health bar disappears after being broken or after five seconds. Cooldown is 100 seconds."

War Sky couldn't help but chuckle.

"Ha, speaking of 'healers,' the Bloodspill skill is actually pretty good. It can improve the team's survivability and is a group buff."

"But it certainly can't compare to the skills of our Tian Ce."

Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven had to pour cold water on the idea. "Don't forget, I'm also a Tian Ce."

"If the first exclusive Skill Book is released, I'd still like to compete for it."

Whether it's offensive moves like a berserker, or defensive skills like a mage or Shield Guard, I'm happy to use them all.

"You two, stop arguing."

"Either we wait until next week to Chongxing again, or we can try it ourselves today! If Skill Book for any class in the team drops, we'll just assign it to that class."

"Anyway, let's wait for the Priest to level up Seaside Wave. We've already arrived at the Wolf Barbarians territory, so we'll hunt in the wild while we wait for you. Take your time."

"Seaside Wave" couldn't help but think to himself, "Isn't this just deliberately putting him under immense pressure?"

"I've finished the battlefield, but I'm still short on experience. If you guys are in a hurry, hurry up and find me someone to transfer my power! I can level up in no time!"

The rest of the team were speechless. If they could find someone to pass on their skills, why would they be waiting here idly?

As evening approached, the Seaside Wave finally picked up.

Several people couldn't wait to team up and rush into the "Wolf Barbarian Protector" instance entrance.

"Wow, the game starts with a major boss?"

As soon as they entered the instance, they were teleported into a huge, plaza-like room, where a massive monster stood prominently in the center.

"Note that the name isn't red, it's green, representing friendly forces—he should be an ally."

The boss, known as the chieftain of the Wolf Barbarians, was bound in heavy chains, and several people tried to free him.

Since they are allies, the first step of the mission will most likely be to rescue him.

"Hatred will never die! One day, my Wolf Barbarian Clan will surely return!"

A system notification sounded, "Please protect the Wolf Barbarians Chieftain as he escapes from his prison! Pay special attention to the chieftain's health."

Seeing that the clan leader had already walked outside, everyone quickly followed.

"As expected, they are allies."

"Remember to focus on healing him, no wonder Seaside Wave said we can't get through without Chongxing Priest."

The five had a clear division of labor: the other members were responsible for covering the chieftain and drawing fire, while Seaside Wave was dedicated to healing.

At first, things went fairly smoothly. Except for the occasional time when the whole team's health was critically low and they almost couldn't be healed, the overall difficulty was about the same as Chongxing described. The monsters in the dungeon were not particularly troublesome.

"This dungeon seems pretty average so far. Maybe next time we can bring an extra Priest, a healer, and a full healing team."

"Seaside Wave," the busiest person there, couldn't help but complain, "How is this normal? Do you know how tired I am?"

"Hurry up and get ahead of the boss, otherwise I won't be able to keep up with healing, my whole body is on edge."

As the group walked down the corridor, archers suddenly appeared from above and fired arrows. The melee fighters in the group were all helpless, but fortunately they had a mage.

While taking damage, Wushuang Zhiyu eliminated all the archers.

Only then did they realize—the chieftain was gone!

After searching for a while, they finally spotted the guy rock climbing! The group quickly gave chase.

"This clan chief always chooses the strangest paths and completely ignores orders!"

"Everyone speed up! Seaside Wave, go ahead and catch up with the chieftain quickly, I'm afraid he won't be able to hold on!"

Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven observed the terrain and mountainous landscape.

Upon reaching the summit, they found the clan leader bleeding profusely; the group rushed to his aid.

Without bothering to count the number of monsters, he immediately activated his skills to draw aggro. Seaside Wave swallowed a mana potion and immediately healed the clan leader.

"That was close! If the clan leader dies, the dungeon ends immediately! Once the opportunity is lost, it's gone forever! We must hold on!"

Upon seeing the platform room appear ahead, everyone's spirits lifted—this scene often signifies the arrival of the final boss.

As soon as the clan leader stepped into the mechanism room, all the mechanisms around him activated simultaneously, and a barrage of attacks instantly descended upon him.

The damage dealers rushed forward to destroy the mechanism, while "Seaside Wave" disregarded the danger and endured the damage to heal the clan leader.

"Hurry up! This health is dropping too fast, I can't keep up with the healing!"

"No way! The damage from these traps is calculated as a percentage! And their defense is extremely high! Even with my ultimate attack, I can't break through them! What about you guys?"

"Same here! The mechanism is too sturdy; it can't be dismantled in a short time!"

Several people desperately cleared the traps, but they still couldn't stop the clan leader's health from plummeting.

Faced with rapidly declining health, everyone could only watch helplessly as the Seaside Wave, leaving them drenched in sweat, with healing proving inadequate.

"No! I... I will definitely come back!"

With a mournful roar, the clan leader collapsed to the ground, and their week's dungeon runs were wasted.

Fortunately, this was the first time, and everyone hadn't had high expectations, so they weren't too disappointed. Unexpectedly, they gained something else.

Server-wide announcement: "Congratulations to the teams: Dragon Diagram Frenzy, War Sky Steel Bone, Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven, Wushuang Zhiyu, Lives by the Sea Wave!"

"As the first team in the God's Domain to fail in the mission to protect the Wolf Barbarians Chieftain's escape, the 'Protection of the Rout' achievement has been achieved, rewarding 1000 achievement points."

"The Mechanism Island instance (60, 79) has been successfully activated. Eligible players are welcome to challenge it."

"For some reason, even though I got the server-wide achievement and achievement points, I still feel really embarrassed..."

"We've lost face across the entire server. Every region will see the news of our wipe. How will the people in the guild ever see us again?!"

The moment the world announcement rang out, War Sky felt everything go black.

The cheers and teasing that erupted in the guild chat made his lips twitch uncontrollably.

"The guild leader is awesome! Even if he fails at clearing a dungeon, he can still become famous throughout the entire server!"

"Looking at it this way, Chongxing has tried so many times but never made it onto the leaderboard. Doesn't that mean our guild leader has found a different path and is even more amazing than him?"

War Sky wiped his face and replied weakly in the channel, "... Go ahead and insult me all you want. You bunch of bastards!"

Zhang Mingzhen also noticed the announcement.

He raised an eyebrow slightly—so the announcement trigger mechanism for this dungeon was based on a failed raid attempt?

I tried to trigger it by myself so many times without success; it was only through their accidental discovery that the secret was revealed.

"Mechanism Island"... he murmured the name of the newly appeared instance.

Does it refer to the numerous traps and mechanisms scattered throughout the interior?

Now that we know, there is no reason to wait.

Meanwhile, War Sky and his teammates were discussing whether to head there immediately.

"Everyone's here now, and the reset deadline is next week. If we delay any longer, we might not have enough time."

"Why don't we just give it a try?"

Someone suggested it.

The other person, however, had reservations. "Perhaps we should wait. Chongxing will definitely go."

"Last time we destroyed the Wolf Barbarians, we didn't get an 'Execution Order,' but maybe we'll get one this time in the dungeon."

"If he can lead the team, we can save a lot of effort by following him."

"Oh yeah! How could I forget about him!"

Dragon Diagram Frenzy, who had once been blacklisted, slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "He's efficient; following him is a sure way to make money!"

"Quickly, find out his current location!"

"Found him—the coordinates show he's already on the Mechanism Island!"

The moment Zhang Mingzhen stepped into the Teleportation Array, four options appeared before his eyes: Easy, Normal, Hard, and Hell.

Recommended number of participants: 20. This is a much larger number than any previous instance.

Without hesitation, he chose the highest difficulty level – Hell.

His long-term cheating had made him subconsciously ignore the difficulty of the game.

The view shifts, and the place we arrive at is not the island scenery we imagined, but rather resembles an ancient palace buried deep underground.

The walls were made of huge stones, with torches on them casting a dim yellow light. The enormous shadows cast into the corridor were eerie.

The only path ahead is a deep, downward passage.

According to the map, this area is currently Safe Zone.

The structure of the entire replica resembles a multi-tiered palace extending downwards in layers.

He walked along the passage to its end, where a heavy stone door, seamlessly integrated with the rock wall, blocked his way.

Clearly, it requires a specific method to enable.

Just then, the ground suddenly shook, and dozens of wooden mechanical puppets burst out of the ground.

They are crude in appearance, but move with extraordinary speed. With each rotation of their joints, they shoot out blinding, scorching rays of light, weaving into a deadly net.

Zhang Mingzhen dodged quickly, casting a healing spell on himself as he evaded the attack.

These seemingly primitive wooden structures can actually unleash magical attacks.

He had no intention of getting entangled, and swiftly moved behind the puppet formation, unleashing an area-of-effect skill that wiped them all out in an instant.

However, even after clearing out these guards, the stone gate remained completely unmoved.

He re-examined the space and finally discovered ten hidden vertical levers on the stone walls on both sides of the stone gate.

They are deeply embedded in the cracks in the stone and require both pulls to be applied simultaneously to take effect.

He tried pulling them one by one, but there was no response.

"It seems this instance is designed to require at least ten people to work together," he thought to himself.

As expected, relying solely on single-player gameplay is not enough.

He glanced at the level leaderboard and saw that there were only eight players, including himself, who had reached level 60.

Without enough personnel, the organization cannot be activated.

Do we have to wait until next week, when more players have leveled up, before coming back?

Time should not be wasted like this.

To open the door immediately, at least ten units capable of operating the levers are needed...

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

What if we include summoned creatures?

Can Summoned Beast trigger mechanisms?

With a thought, the enormous body of the Wildsea Candle Dragon appeared beside him.

Guide it to try touching the lever—it worked! Although the dragon claw's manipulation of such delicate mechanisms was somewhat clumsy, it did indeed work.

This means that we only need to find five more players who possess physical Summoned Beast.

Summoned creatures of the magic-based spirit type, or those lacking limbs, cannot perform this action.

Let's see if we can gather enough people first.

Zhang Mingzhen opened the world channel and sent out a long-awaited call to action.

Chongxing: "The Mechanism Island instance requires personnel to assist in activating the mechanisms."

"As is customary, those without a need for rewards should join the team."

"Requires a physical Summoned Beast with hands and claws. Those who meet the requirements, please apply immediately."

The world chat was once again abuzz with recruitment messages for Cheater.

People soon discovered that this Cheater had already set his sights on a brand new challenge—the exploration of the Mechanism Island.

"That guy's teaming up to explore the Mechanism Island again!"

"I'm so envious. It's a pity I'm not high enough level, so I can only watch the opportunity slip away."

"If only he had recruited later... I'd be level 60 tomorrow, and now I feel like I've suffered a huge loss."

"Making that person wait for you? You're overthinking it."

"Our guild leader has already joined the team; hopefully, we can learn some strategies for conquering the Mechanism Island from him."

After Zhang Mingzhen sent the message, several players who met the level requirements immediately responded and rushed to apply to join the team.

"Qin Xiao Youhui" is also among them, and the team that Chongxing the dungeon is one they must participate in no matter what.

The happiest person among them was Dishitian, who had just raised his level to sixty.

"Luckily, we made it just in time."

"I originally planned to stay up all night grinding to catch up with someone's ranking, but I didn't expect this unexpected bonus."

The "Seaside Wave" he mentioned spoke in a low voice, "You DPS classes level up so easily, you're about to surpass me."

The team now consists of nine people: Chongxing, Qin Xiao Youhui, Dragon Diagram Frenzy, War Sky...

"This is my first time trying this dungeon, and I'm still unsure about what happens next."

"The first stage requires ten people to work together to activate the mechanism. We currently have nine people, and with my summoned creature, we have exactly one."

"I anticipate there will be more stages requiring teamwork later on, which I'll leave to you guys. You're free to do as you please otherwise."

Zhang Mingzhen judged that the subsequent difficulties would not be too high. They might not be needed to deal with the leader; at most, they would need manpower for the traps and mechanisms.