New Enemies, New Challenges
The Bede Family grants priority access to workers, monopolizes ore acquisition, and taxes adventurers.
Gong Qiying, sensing something was amiss, learned this information simply by using a clone to wander around Bede City.
No wonder when the dungeon opened today, the first hour or two were filled with large numbers of workers.
As soon as these workers entered the dungeon, they headed straight for the Bloodstone Ore resource point. Only a few who seemed to have some strength went to the Gourmet Area, while some adventurers hired by the Bede Family went to the outskirts of the Swamp Area to hunt Straw Man in order to harvest the various antidote mosses they dropped.
Currently, the Bede Family is focusing on developing these three resources for the Zane Dungeon, not only because of their unique effects, but also because of their stable output.
Gong Qiying treated these things as welfare benefits, since they were surprisingly cheap to manufacture and could also be used to attract people, allowing gold miners and bricklayers to earn income.
Now it seems
"I guess I'm just too good-natured,"
Gong Qiying, with a gloomy face, flipped through the list of Available Monster.
The Bede Family's attempt to monopolize the Zane Dungeon is outrageous and must be punished immediately.
If there's more than one portal, Count Philip's worker priority order might not be a bad thing for the dungeon. Everyone would welcome a large number of ordinary people coming in to die and explode their Spirit Power.
But his mistake was in levying taxes and selling tickets.
Most adventurers don't actually have much money; buying and repairing weapons and equipment, purchasing potions and items, etc., can be a huge expense.
When they're exploring the dungeon, they're already being quite generous by accepting the resurrection fee and Teleportation Crystal fee from the Resurrection Room. Why would you expect them to spend extra money on tickets?
Dream on!
While the rewards of the Zane Dungeon are extremely unique and enticing, its difficulty is also high. Adventurers already have to bear increased resurrection and Teleportation Crystal fees, and making them pay taxes on top of that is another matter.
A number of people will inevitably be disgusted and leave.
"We need to teach the Bede Family a good lesson," Gong Qiying thought for a moment, then added, "We need to beat them hard, but we have to keep it within limits. It wouldn't be good if we drove them all away."
He intended to teach Count Philip a rather severe lesson if the latter remained obstinate and insisted on monopolizing the market—
The methods we devised earlier will now need to be put to use.
"Blood Therapy Potion, are they really that tempting?"
He drank a bottle of it, and its effects were to quickly heal injuries, temporarily enhance physical fitness and strength, and stimulate the nerves, putting people in a state of excitement. If consumed in large quantities, it could cause hallucinations and an extreme high.
This effect reminded Gong Qiying of something from his past life that he couldn't even mention.
Okay, it does look tempting.
"For monsters, choose the Bazelgeuse," he said, tapping on the Available Monster and adding some useful gadgets to the map.
What he's thinking now is to give the Bede Family a warning, to make them realize their mistakes and stop doing such pointless things.
However, this is just a current thought.
Soon, he won't think that way anymore.
"Rumble rumble rumble"
A series of noises suddenly came from the Shrine beneath Gong Qiying, forcing him to jump down and frown as he examined the Shrine.
This thing was actually slowly rotating, and the pale blue runes gradually lit up, looking like it was about to summon a heroic spirit. Something was slowly taking shape in the middle of the Shrine!
[Spirit Power reserves have reached the required level, and global recognition is on the horizon.]
"?"
A map was unfolded in front of Gong Qiying. It had no markings for mountains, lakes, cities, etc., only a general outline.
He had seen this shape somewhere before; it seemed to be the very continent he was currently on!
However, the maps provided by the dungeons are more accurate and the graphics are more detailed.
The entire map is colorful, with various colors randomly distributed on it. If you count them carefully, there may be hundreds or even two hundred subtle differences in the colors.
Crimson, pure black, and pure white are the three colors that make up the largest proportion of the map, and they can be seen everywhere.
There are scattered, faint patches of grass green in the west-central part of the continent, which are quite conspicuous.
If you compare it with the real map, you will find that the area with the most grass green is right near Bede City!
Besides Bede City, there are scattered green patches on the map, so faint they're just a few pixels. Even on the westernmost continent, there's green!
"Green represents my influence, and other colors represent other dungeons." As the information flooded his mind, Gong Qiying quickly understood everything. As a veteran player, the idea of coloring the entire map green quickly took root in his mind.
But what he didn't understand was why a separate system for global recognition had to be created.
Besides checking the dungeon's influence, what other use does it have?
Just then, the summoning of the heroic spirits ended, and with a "thud," a tattered ancient book fell onto the Shrine.
Gong Qiying carefully opened the ancient book that seemed to be on the verge of turning to ashes and saw the opening text.
Greetings, Godwyn of the Zane Dungeon!
Holy crap, a box!?
Gong Qiying made a reference to his past life, but no one around him responded, and even if someone did, they wouldn't understand the meaning of his words.
He chuckled self-deprecatingly, then continued reading, but his expression instantly turned serious.
My name is Godwyn, and this is no coincidence. If I had to explain, I am the past you, and you are the future me.
[Don't worry that I'll take over your body. By the time you see this, I will have completely dissipated due to exhaustion of my Spirit Power. You will inherit my body and live on as "Godwyn" until you run out of Spirit Power.]
[Godwyn, this body is passed down through generations, never changing. The only thing that changes is the spirit within it. I am just one of the many passersby in this body, and so are you. Of course, I hope you will not be a passerby, but become the true Godwyn.]
If I'm not mistaken, you might wake up one day to find yourself transformed into a terrifying Living Dead, unable to leave the dungeon forever, right? Whether you're a farmer, adventurer, mercenary, knight, or a prince or Princess of some kingdom, once you become Godwyn, you can never go back to your former life.
The author of this book seems to have never considered the existence of time travelers.
[Dungeons, those disgusting things! When the city lord's spirit disappears, it captures the souls of others and forcibly turns them into the new city lord. I was once a successful adventurer with a gentle wife and lively, adorable children. It's all because of this damned dungeon!]
The amount of information in these words is off the charts.
The author of this book harbored deep resentment towards the dungeon, but unfortunately, the following content was damaged, so Gong Qiying had to turn to the part where there were still words to continue reading.
The underground city seals something, but as long as the city lord's body remains, the seal will never break.
It's another long section of missing material.
[The fact that you can see my notes means your Spirit Power reserves have reached the required level, right? You have a real talent for managing dungeons. Whether you love this job or not, you are a qualified dungeon lord.]
Now, please heed my advice and don't repeat my mistakes.
[You can already see the popularity map, which unfortunately means you're about to enter a brutal battle.]
The moment you step onto the map, you enter the view of other dungeons. Don't look at others with kindness; harbor the greatest malice.
Those who actively approach you will become your enemies; those who are far superior to you may pity you and help you.
I think you understand what I mean. Due to the rules, I can't go into too much detail. Please understand.
[Publicity is extremely important to you; it determines whether you can survive the competition.]
Because the key to victory was never your monsters, no matter how powerful they were. I made a fatal mistake on this point.
Those who love your life, love this dungeon, love everything you created, and have formed bonds with the dungeon—they are the true ones.
The text abruptly ends, and large sections of the following text are damaged and completely unreadable.
"."
Gong Qiying discovered that he could understand the contents of the ancient books, and the riddles were not a problem for him at all.
It was as if the spirits that had once resided in this body were also helping him understand everything.
He already had a fairly accurate guess as to what the abrupt ending was.
The struggle likely refers to battles against other dungeons.
But each dungeon is far apart, and the lord and the monsters cannot leave their respective territories. How will the battles take place? In what form will they fight?
It's truly baffling, yet it also brings a sense of unknown dread.
It felt as if a life-threatening terror was about to strike at any moment, making it impossible to eat or sleep.
Therefore, once the map of fame was opened, Gong Qiying entered into a never-ending arms race.
"Come on then, I'm not afraid," he exhaled, his eyes gleaming.
But when he turned to the last page with the text, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.
Do not open any envelopes.
Do not touch any of the envelopes.
Do not look at any envelopes.
[. envelope!!!]
What made Gong Qiying widen was not the words themselves, but the things on the Shrine.
A Deep Blue Letter lay there quietly.
This chapter went through numerous revisions and over 10,000 words, but I'm finally satisfied with a version.