Illusion
Prison Rock.
Zhang Chongshan is still missing.
But a bolt from the blue struck first.
This doesn't mean that Lu Xiu creating an SSS-rated dungeon at this critical juncture will immediately have any practical effect on the battle or help the players of Nine Provinces.
While SSS-level dungeons offer high rewards, they are certainly not easy to clear.
Players from Prison Rock have experienced Lu Xiu's dungeon before, and they've seen how players Lu Xiu Nine Provinces feel about it.
It's obvious that players in Nine Provinces could never clear such a dungeon quickly in a short time, let alone convert the dungeon rewards into immediate combat power.
Besides, under the current arena rules, what does it matter if it's an SSS-rated dungeon? You can just not choose it.
Unless someone actively chooses to participate, this instance will remain idle for the time being, and Lu Xiu may not even be able to verify her success.
But the problem is—what Lu Xiu did was too demoralizing!
The Cross-Realm Arena has reached a point where it's no longer just about the depth of the Chosen Player, but also about the morale of the lower and middle-level players. Before this, Lu Xiu's sudden nine-game winning streak in the recapture battle had already crushed the fighting spirit of the Prison Rock players.
They've been losing more than winning in the regular arena these past few days. Aside from attribute bonuses, it's hard to say there wasn't an element of hesitation or timidity involved. The Architect in Nine Provinces are so powerful; won't they also find other low-rated dungeons quite difficult?
Because of this mindset, players in Prison Rock are extremely cautious when choosing a dungeon, fearing they might step into a trap.
Although I've seen the influence rankings of special events, I'm basically familiar with the Architect ecosystem in Nine Provinces.
But what if?
And that effect has just subsided.
Not long ago, Lu Xiu, who had disappeared for a few days and whom the players of Prison Rock thought would not dare to easily start a recapture battle and would probably not participate in the arena anymore, actually created another ceiling-level dungeon without saying a word.
The system even created an anomaly and an invasion event to promote her dungeon!
What are the players of Prison Rock supposed to think about this?
The difference in skill level between the two Architect is so vast—this is practically a case of overwhelming superiority!
So when this strange phenomenon struck, the morale of the lower-level players in Prison Rock, which they had managed to stabilize through the recapture battle, was once again completely drained.
Prison Rock Royal Court.
The atmosphere was somewhat tense.
The Prime Minister sat quietly on his high seat, motionless.
Below the steps, Helag, the chief Architect of Prison Rock, stood stiffly, looking somewhat dazed.
Not long ago.
It was in this very hall, and it was these same two people.
Helag also confidently asserted that Lu Xiu would definitely not get involved in this mess and was probably studying a copy of Prison Rock.
Although the Prime Minister had doubts and even some dissatisfaction, he swallowed his hurtful words out of respect for the chief Architect of the Prison Rock.
And as it turns out...
Lu Xiu indeed did not get involved in the messy waters of the arena.
But she went to Constructed Instance —researching the Prison Rock dungeon? She created an SSS-rated dungeon, right?
If true, then this would be the most ridiculous, and also the most disheartening joke, since the inception of the Cross-Realm Arena.
But that's impossible.
"Helag ----"
After a long silence, the Prime Minister finally spoke, his voice hoarse and weary. "What do you think an SSS-rated dungeon is really like?"
The Prison Rock prime minister did not question the matter through gritted teeth.
At this point, venting emotions is pointless.
Instead of wasting time on this, it would be better to figure out what an SSS-rated dungeon is like and how much the invasion mechanism affects the arena.
But when questioned, Helag did not respond.
She didn't realize what was happening until the Prime Minister called her for the third time.
She slowly raised her head, her face pale and blank, and looked at the Prime Minister. She opened her mouth, wanting to give a reasonable guess based on her years of experience in Constructed Instance.
But Helag racking his brains for a long time, all that finally came out of his throat were a few dry syllables. "I----
I have no idea----"
Yes.
have no idea.
Let alone SSS-rated dungeons—she couldn't even see through Sekiro and her Sifu.
This suddenly led her to speculate about what an SSS-rated dungeon would be like—it was simply asking the impossible.
"You are the best Architect in our Prison Rock."
The Prime Minister leaned forward slightly, suppressing his anxiety. "Starting from the mechanics, the monsters, and your experience, use all your experience to think: what exactly makes an SSS-class monster different from an SS-class monster? What is it that would make the system break the rules for it?!"
Faced with interrogation.
"Your Majesty Prime Minister----"
Helag paused for a moment, then said, "You asked me to use all my experience to deduce this—but it's precisely my experience that tells me it's impossible, utterly impossible! I'm more curious than you about how it was done. Leaving aside the new SSS-rated dungeon, I don't even know about the Sekiro dungeon. How did she, as Architect, verify the clear?"
1
Seeing her completely demoralized state, the Prime Minister's face twitched a few times, and his anxiety and helplessness reached their peak.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions, stared at Helag, and asked one last question.
"Can you imitate it? If the opposing Architect actually verifies and clears the dungeon, and I have Gallagher and the others attack this instance, with that intelligence, can you imitate it?"
That was his real purpose in summoning Helag.
These words were spoken.
Helag, who had been in a daze and numb, suddenly jolted awake as if he had been electrocuted.
She looked up abruptly, her pupils contracted, and she began shaking her head frantically, saying, "Prime Minister—have you forgotten that I can barely construct an S-rank dungeon, how could I possibly imitate an SSS-rank dungeon?"
The Prime Minister was stunned.
yes.
He forgot.
Or rather, the Architect from Nine Provinces named Lu Xiu acted too abnormally and too casually, creating one commotion after another that defied common sense, to the point that it gave him a kind of illusion.
Subconsciously, I thought that since the opponent could create an SSS-rated dungeon during the arena period, my own highly respected chief Architect, even if he was less talented, could at least follow suit and replicate a degraded version.
Even if they knew there was a gap beforehand.
But at this moment, he couldn't help but hold onto hope.
This is probably because the system matched Prison Rock and Nine Provinces together, making him subconsciously feel that they were still on the same level.
But reality is cruel.
The Prime Minister looked down at Helag, whose face was deathly pale. He had previously felt anger upon hearing Lu Xiu's name, but now he felt no anger at all.
This shows that even a top-tier Architect has lost their ambition.
That's a dimensional reduction attack from theirs, while their own chief Architect doesn't even have the courage to look up to them.
He couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
At this moment, even the Prime Minister, known for his iron-fisted approach, lost control of his emotions.
no.
How exactly does this system's matching mechanism work?
Isn't it supposed to only match two regions with similar overall strength?
How are they even on the same level? How are the two Architect on equal footing?
The Architect on the other side can build SSS-rated dungeons!
Even building an S-rated dungeon is a struggle for our own Architect!
So why was Prison Rock matched with Nine Provinces?
The difference is simply too exaggerated—it wasn't this exaggerated before!
But the thought was fleeting.
Because it's pointless, we still have to face reality.
The Prime Minister regained his composure, looked at Helag below the steps, and said, "Alright—since you can't imitate it, you should go back and study Lu Xiu's copy carefully. Even learning a little bit will be good."
Helag opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing, simply nodded, and turned to leave the hall.
After Helag left.
The Prime Minister rubbed his throbbing temples and began to consider the possible next steps.
Helag is completely unreliable.
Therefore, the Prison Rock faction will absolutely not actively seek out this new dungeon called [Dark Souls].
Let's just pretend it doesn't exist.
Offense is absolutely out of the question.
Now, it remains to be seen whether the Architect can successfully complete the level.
And what will be the actual impact of the upcoming invasion on the arena and on the players in Prison Rock?
etc.
Now that Lu Xiu has created an SSS-rated instance, will she still participate in the arena?
The Prime Minister's expression stiffened slightly at this thought, and a sense of unease arose in his heart.
----Surely not?
It must take her quite a while to verify an SSS-rated instance, right? She probably doesn't have that much energy.
at the same time.
Nine Provinces, Coordination Bureau.
Yan Fushou didn't go to the arena either. After these few days of exploration, the Coordination Bureau had completely figured out the arena rules. The system's requirement for everyone to match was most likely just to allow more players to participate.
However, if you really don't want to participate in the arena, there is a way. The dungeon is not closed, and you can enter any dungeon after the matchmaking countdown appears. In this case, the system will not forcibly invite you.
Therefore, these days, the higher-ups in the Coordination Bureau have basically not been matched with any instances.
Yan Fushou, of course, did not have it either.
Not long ago, he had just come out of a lower-level alternate instance and hadn't even had a sip of water when he saw the strange phenomenon in the sky and heard the system announcement.
SSS-level dungeon----
Yan Fushou stood by the window, watching the strange phenomenon in the sky dissipate, his mouth slightly agape, his face full of astonishment.
Lu Xiu has been quiet for the past few days.
He had asked her about it—and knew she was Constructed Instance, but he hadn't expected it.
She actually created an SSS-rated dungeon!
Moreover, this time the system actually used a celestial anomaly as a premonition—they really weren't going to put on an act anymore.
This should have been fantastic news.
But as the director of the Combat Strategy Division, he had begun to worry about the difficulty of the dungeon challenges—he was starting to fret.
He knew Lu Xiu all too well.
Aside from Titanfall, which was slightly better due to the poor quality of the frontline soldiers, every other dungeon caused chaos for the Strategy Group.
She has now constructed an SSS-rated dungeon. According to the system, only twenty-two district Architect have ever constructed such a dungeon.
Yan Fushou simply couldn't imagine how many unreasonable and inhuman mechanics this dungeon called [Dark Souls] might contain, or how many inhuman demands it would place on players.
And how much time would the Strategy Group need to spend to conquer this dungeon?
This is absolutely incredible.
But the headache really is a headache.
He has a headache.
The office door was suddenly pushed open.
Li Shengkai from the Dungeon Resource Management Division rushed in, his face flushed, his voice filled with barely suppressed excitement. "Old Yan! Did you see that?! SSS-level! Lu Xiu has constructed an SSS-rated instance! That's amazing! I heard from an undercover agent that the leaders of the civilian Construction Club still can't believe it. They're still looking up at the sky, muttering, 'How is that possible?'"
And this time the strange arena has appeared, I guess there's one on Prison Rock's side too! That's really something else!
This wave of players in the Prison Rock will definitely deal a huge blow to their morale! Our Architect can not only reclaim their nine-game winning streak, but also build the ultimate dungeon! We need to intensify our offensive!
Yan Fushou turned his head, looked at Li Shengkai's excited face, and sighed, "Increase the offensive my ass, didn't you see the special event?"
Li Shengkai was taken aback. "What's wrong with the special event?"
"Invasion—do you think the enemies in the Lu Xiu instance are like the stiff wooden stakes in Prison Rock?"
Yan Fushou took a deep breath and explained, "They don't distinguish between friend and foe. This event doesn't specify anything, so it's highly likely to be an indiscriminate attack. They will indeed attack players from Prison Rock, but they will also attack players from Nine Provinces. Are you trying to send Nine Provinces players to their deaths by blindly escalating the offensive?"
Li Shengkai frowned and retorted, "The arena isn't like entering a dungeon for role-playing—all players can use their skills, and the enemies in a dungeon aren't launching a large-scale invasion, so the players shouldn't be unable to win, right?"
Yan Fushou looked at him and shook his head. "The arena has been open for so many days now. Think about it carefully, out of all those players, who can say they've defeated the Wolf Played by the Constructor in Sekiro?"
Li Shengkai opened his mouth: "----"
Upon closer reflection, it seems there really isn't one.
On the contrary, I've heard that many players were bullied by the Wolf Played by the Constructor.
As for Jian Li and the others...
They were only matched against Sekiro once, and their victory objectives were both related to One Mind.
And One Mind —according to them, is also very strong.
"Not to mention this is an SSS-rated dungeon—so we absolutely cannot escalate the offensive right now; we need to slow down and assess the situation first."
Yan Fushou continued, "Of course, Jian Li and the other members of the Strategy Group will continue to match. This is a good opportunity to take advantage of the invasion event to learn about Lu Xiu's new dungeon from the sidelines. Once we have gathered enough information, we will have a better understanding of the situation when our Strategy Group actually enters the dungeon."
Li Shengkai thought for a moment and nodded, "That's true—let's go to the meeting first."
Yan Fushou nodded.
When Li Shengkai rushed over to find him, he had a premonition.
The SSS-rated dungeon has been released; such a big event certainly won't only be attracting the attention of the two of them.
The two Open Gate and walked together out into the corridor.
Halfway there.
Li Shengkai suddenly remembered something and lowered his voice, "By the way, the bureau chief and those higher-ups seem to want to meet Lu Xiu in person—what do you think?"
Yan Fushou paused, then shook his head. "Let's talk about it after the arena ends."
The arena, the SSS-rated dungeons, and the invasion events—it's all a complete mess.
Lu Xiu is still verifying her progress in clearing the new dungeon.
It's not appropriate to say these things now.
Moreover, Yan Fushou's mind is currently preoccupied with the difficulty of that SSS dungeon and the potential impact of that so-called invasion event.
The system announcement stated that Lu Xiu had successfully completed the new dungeon phase, and the invasion event had officially begun.
Now.
Players currently engaged in combat should have already encountered this, right?