Slaughter Realm

After confirming the surroundings were safe, Lu Li quickly stepped forward to inspect.

Every Iron Shell Beetle bore cutting marks, clearly indicating that their Origin Crystals had been removed.

If monsters had done it, there would definitely have been bite marks on the Iron Shell Beetles' corpses. They would not have remained so intact.

"Someone still got here first... but why aren't there any Burrowing Bee corpses?"

Lu Li was somewhat puzzled.

Like Burrowing Bees, Iron Shell Beetles were monsters that liked to burrow underground.

But because of their differing habits, it was absolutely impossible for the two to live in the same place.

After pondering for a long while, Lu Li decided to continue deeper.

It was not that he intended to do something like murder and steal treasure.

He simply wanted to satisfy his curiosity.

When he reached the second underground level, Lu Li discovered that there were even more Iron Shell Beetles here.

The subway station's power had yet to be cut off. The flickering lights added a touch of horror to the dark underground space.

Standing at the fork in the passage, Lu Li focused and listened carefully.

He found that faint voices were coming from one of the entrances leading to the underground parking lot.

He crouched low, pressed himself against the wall, and quietly made his way over.

The view before him suddenly opened up.

It was an underground parking lot.

The lighting here was far dimmer than inside the subway station.

Thus, glow sticks had been tossed onto the ground every dozen meters or so.

In the distance, Lu Li saw a group of fully armed men in black surrounding an expanding rift, keeping their guard up.

"A Realm entrance?!"

Lu Li instantly understood why Tianyi Square had become a massive Burrowing Bee nest in his previous life.

The global apocalypse had brought monsters, along with all kinds of Realms.

Treasure Realms that concealed opportunities, Struggle Realms that required people to compete against one another, And Rule Realms that could only be cleared through logical deduction, among others...

If he was not mistaken, the rift in the distance should lead to a Slaughter Realm!

Under normal circumstances, Slaughter Realms did not limit the number of Players who could enter. As long as enough people entered within the time limit, even an entire army could go in.

But likewise, the beings within Slaughter Realms were equally terrifying.

Either there were monsters equal in number to an army, or an exceptionally powerful lord.

Once one entered the Realm, it was considered that the slaughter trial had been triggered.

Either the Players killed every monster within the Realm and left successfully after winning;

Or the monsters wiped out or repelled the Players who entered the Realm, causing the Dimensional Rift to completely lose control and the monsters to flood into reality.

Combining this with memories from his previous life, the Dimensional Rift before him was certain to lose control.

Lu Li immediately had the thought of fleeing!

Because once the Dimensional Rift lost control, it would form an Isolation Barrier around the surrounding area.

By then, even if he wanted to run, he would not be able to escape!

However, before this thought could linger in Lu Li's mind for long, an abrupt change occurred ahead!

The Dimensional Rift hovering in midair suddenly trembled and spat out four women covered in blood.

The black-clad men standing guard immediately rushed forward, shouting something in panic.

But they were too far away for him to make out the words at all.

However, Lu Li did not need to hear them clearly.

Because the fluctuating Dimensional Rift had already explained everything.

It had lost control!

The originally narrow rift rapidly expanded, and swarms of Burrowing Bees flew out, blotting out the sky as they charged toward the crowd.

The barrier formed instantly after the rift lost control, enveloping the entire underground space.

Lu Li was trapped inside as well.

"Damn it!"

Lu Li cursed under his breath, forming a blade in his right hand.

[Swift] and [Mighty Strength] activated simultaneously as he cleaved apart a Burrowing Bee charging straight at him.

This kind of monster was smaller than a Blade Mantis, but extraordinarily fast.

Moreover, the stinger on its tail was incomparably toxic. An ordinary person stung just once would stop breathing within a dozen seconds.

These dangerous creatures were still barely manageable alone, but the troublesome part was that they lived in swarms!

"The barrier has already sealed shut. Looks like we can't leave without killing every monster here..."

Watching the crowd screaming in agony in the distance, Lu Li frowned deeply.

He quickly strode over to the Burrowing Bee that had been split in two and reached into its abdomen to retrieve something.

It was not an Origin Crystal, but a thumbnail-sized red sac.

Lu Li swallowed it with an unpleasant expression.

Shortly afterward, the status bar on the Data Panel displayed the effect "Toxic Affinity."

The Burrowing Bee's deadly poison had an antidote, and that antidote was the sac within its abdominal cavity.

Taking it beforehand ensured that one would not be harmed by the toxins on the Poison Needle.

But even so, the overwhelming swarm remained terrifying!

"Just in time to test out the ability I just took."

Lu Li focused his thoughts.

[Bloody Slaughter] (Platinum) activated!

Crimson mist slowly seeped from his pores, enveloping Lu Li's entire body.

Lu Li could clearly feel his speed and strength rise to another level.

"Soul Soldier!"

At Lu Li's command, a black Blade Mantis swiftly condensed into being.

The Soul Points he had accumulated from looting corpses had already reached 150, enough for Lu Li to raise the Blade Mantis to Lv.4.

Most Burrowing Bees were Lv.2, with only a rare few reaching Lv.3.

Therefore, even without Lu Li splitting his attention to control it, the Blade Mantis could handle them through sheer level suppression.

Man and insect soon began charging and slaughtering their way through the bee swarm...

Lin Qinyue stared at the overwhelming swarm before her, her eyes filled with fury.

They had been played by the Zhao Family.

The information they had obtained at great cost had actually been false!

According to the Zhao Family, there was a dimensional rift beneath Tianyi Square that led to a harmless Opportunity Secret Realm.

But after the four Lin Family sisters entered, they discovered that this was actually a Slaughter Secret Realm.

Because they had been completely unprepared, Lin Qinyue and the others had nearly died in the secret realm.

Had their awakened talents not been somewhat special, they would likely have long since become food in those Burrowing Bees' bellies.

"Everyone, don't panic. Qinyue's [Holy Blessing] can render bee venom harmless. Maintain the formation—we're retreating!"

A mature, magnetic female voice rang out from ahead. It belonged to Lin Qinyue's eldest sister, Lin Qinfeng.

If she had not activated her ability to draw the enemies' aggro at the front, the overwhelming swarm would have swallowed the group long ago.

"Big Sis, Third Sister's bleeding won't stop at all! What do we do?!"

Lin Qinhua shouted tearfully as she used her ability to heal the woman in her arms.

Lin Qinxue's face was deathly pale. A shocking wound stretched across her chest, blood continuously pouring out and soaking her entire shirt red.

The wound seemed to be afflicted by a curse. No matter how hard Lin Qinhua tried, there was not the slightest sign of it healing.

"Second Sister... cough, cough... don't worry about me... just go..."

Lin Qinxue spoke with difficulty.

"Third Sister, what are you saying?! We'll never leave you behind! Zhao Jin, you bastard—when I get out, I'll kill you!!"

Lin Qinyue encouraged Lin Qinxue while gritting her teeth in hatred.

But in that brief moment of distraction, the effect of [Holy Blessing] weakened.

The radiance around eldest sister Lin Qinfeng dimmed, and several Burrowing Bees seized the opening to sting her viciously.

Her fair skin swiftly turned purple, while the wounds expanded and festered at a visible rate.

The defensive line, already on the verge of collapse, crumbled in an instant!

Watching her sister get knocked down by the swarm, Lin Qinxue closed her eyes in despair.

However, just as she thought she was about to suffer the painful death of being stung by countless bees, the buzzing of the swarm suddenly grew much quieter.

As though drawn away by something, they were rapidly retreating from the sisters...