Beneath the quest scroll, Zhou Heng discovered the prerequisite quest reward: a Thunder Potion.
Thunder Potion Quality: radiant Splash it forward to inflict "paralysis" on all units at level 60 or below. Duration: 60s
With the quest scroll and the Thunder Potion (radiant), Zhou Heng felt he could not only persuade Black Bear Ba, but also compete with him and the Black Bear Guild for the spoils.
Putting away the Thunder Potion (radiant), Zhou Heng continued exploring the Deepwater Cave.
His main objective was still to find an exit, while farming level 10 wild monsters along the way to improve the Sakast Imperial Sword and his +50 damage reduction against all elements.
While Zhou Heng ventured deeper into the Deepwater Cave, the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm was feeding ravenously in the other cave tunnels.
The Deepwater Cave offered hope of survival, but certainly not for everyone.
Those who ran slowly were guaranteed to become food for the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm.
Some players thought themselves clever, believing that after luring the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm into the Deepwater Cave, they could escape its slaughter by killing themselves.
But after dying, they soon revived on Yang Kai's Revival Platform, only to be thrown back into the Deepwater Cave by Black Bear Guild members in despair.
The new players had no way out.
They would either die in the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm's belly or endure until the quota of ten thousand was met and become the survivors who escaped afterward.
Everything perfectly illustrated a line from their textbooks.
"In the Boundless Endless World, the strong prey on the weak. Only by exercising caution upon caution can you seek a slim chance of survival."
Countless entrants had once scoffed at this, thinking that the Boundless Endless World was so vast that anyone could be the protagonist.
But now, they only wanted to survive-to live through this battle royale confronting thirty thousand new players.
[You killed a Deepwater Snake] [Experience +100] [Copper coins +2] [The Sakast Imperial Sword (holy sword) absorbed power] [Killing +1; Protection +10] [You killed a Deepwater Snake] [Experience +100] [Copper coins +2] [The Sakast Imperial Sword (holy sword) absorbed power] [Killing +1; Protection +10]
Zhou Heng ventured deeper into the Deepwater Cave and killed another 300 Deepwater Snakes, bringing the Sakast Imperial Sword's (holy sword) total bonuses to 600 and 6,000.
"With my current strength, I should already be able to take the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm (darkened) head-on."
"So, should I fight or keep farming?"
Zhou Heng narrowed his eyes slightly, waiting quietly as he weighed his options.
[Fate is not always passive. Choices in major events can often influence its course. You wish to slay the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm (darkened) to reduce the slaughter.] [Fate offers you hints] [Fate Hint 1: Wielding the Sakast Imperial Sword (holy sword), face the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm head-on using the various combat techniques you learned at school. Your chance of victory will reach 100%, with no worries afterward. You may even trigger a special event.] [Fate Hint 2: If you act now, some may call you a bleeding heart, but to survive, you must proceed cautiously. You carefully farm wild monsters, preparing to act before maxing out Killing and Protection.]
Zhou Heng's expression turned solemn as he read the Fate Hints appearing on his retinas.
With the Fate Hints putting it that plainly, choosing the second option would really be hard to justify.
"In that case, let's fight!"
Zhou Heng did not consider himself a particularly kind person, but since he could stop the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm (darkened) from continuing its slaughter, why should he let his fellow humans suffer its ravages?
These people had nothing to do with him now, but who could say they would not help him confront the Longevity Family in the future?
As he thought, Zhou Heng accelerated deeper into the cave. He had to find a junction before he could use it to search for traces of the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm (darkened).
An hour later.
Zhou Heng finally reached a junction.
The moment he arrived, a pungent stench of urine hit him.
The smell stretched from the other end of the junction all the way into the depths, lingering stubbornly.
Zhou Heng's expression darkened.
It took no thought to know that this stench came from new players wetting themselves in despair between life and death.
"From the looks of it, it should be up ahead!"
Zhou Heng quickened his pace, heading toward the source of the stench.
However, before he found the new players and the Deepwater Flood Dragon Worm (darkened), he encountered someone he had never expected-Black Bear Ba.
Sensing someone sprinting up behind him, Black Bear Ba turned to look.
At the sight, his eyes went wide, blazing with vicious ferocity.
"Zhou Heng!!"
"You've made me search long and hard!"
"I was wondering where to find you, yet here you are, delivering yourself right to me. I searched everywhere in vain, only to find you without any effort!"
With that, Black Bear Ba abruptly struck, reaching for Zhou Heng with lightning speed.
Unhurried, Zhou Heng raised his hand and tossed over a scroll.
"I think you should take a look at this before killing me."
Black Bear Ba caught the scroll and looked at Zhou Heng with a slight frown, opening it without hesitation.
As he read, the ferocity in Black Bear Ba's eyes gave way to disbelief.
He stared fixedly at the quest scroll in his hands, trying to verify its authenticity using his experience as a level 50 player.
But something like this could not be faked. It had definitely dropped from a slain player.
And that was precisely what made this a major problem.
If the quest on the scroll was real, very few people in this Black Bear Guild branch could know about it.
After all, even he, the vice guild leader, was a disposable pawn being plotted against. The other branch members were even less qualified to know.
That meant the only people with this quest were Yang Kai, the branch's guild leader, and Su Ling, the Longevity Family player who had suddenly come calling last night.
Zhou Heng could not have killed Yang Kai. That man was still stationed at the Deepwater Cave's entrance.
This meant Zhou Heng had killed Su Ling, the Longevity Family player.
If that conjecture held true, it was even more terrifying.
Because this kind of quest scroll would only drop when a player died in the truest sense.
If his conjecture was correct, it meant Zhou Heng had completely erased the Longevity Family player "Su Ling."
Could an ordinary new player erase a Longevity Family player with at least ten chances to revive?
In an instant, countless thoughts raced through Black Bear Ba's mind.
There was no longer any contempt in his eyes as he looked at Zhou Heng, only profound wariness.
"Zhou Heng, you're even more formidable than I imagined!"
"She was the second young lady of this generation of the Su Family, a Longevity Family. You killed her. You won't be able to hide it for long."
Black Bear Ba stated his conjecture outright. Tossing the quest scroll back to Zhou Heng, he spoke gravely.
"Generally, Longevity Family players leave the Boundless Endless World within a month after obtaining their resources. So you only have 26 days."
"Once that time is up, the Su Family will definitely conduct a thorough investigation of Little Bird Town. When that happens, you're guaranteed to be exposed."
"Don't underestimate a Longevity Family's methods."
Zhou Heng had anticipated that Black Bear Ba might deduce Su Ling's death from the quest scroll, but he had not expected the entire process of deduction to take only an instant.
If Black Bear Ba was not deceiving him, he indeed had only 26 days left-and that was the maximum.
If anyone from the Su Family came looking for her, there was no way he could keep it hidden for as long as 26 days.
"All right, I understand. Thank you!"
"Don't thank me. I should be thanking you!"
Black Bear Ba's face was filled with malice as he spoke.
He had devoted so much to the Black Bear Guild. Even without achievements, he had at least put in hard work.
But what had the Black Bear Guild done?
They had actually made him nourishment for the Deepwater Flood Dragon so it could evolve into a level 60 Deepwater Flood Dragon King.
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