Perhaps sensing their gaze, Zuo Lin'an subconsciously turned his head to look in their direction.
Feng Xingyun kept a smile on his face, looking to be in an excellent mood.
Xuan Jiu, on the other hand, had a complex and despondent look on his face.
Zuo Lin'an only glanced over casually before Bai Yuan wrapped an arm around his neck and dragged him back.
“Hey, don't even think about escaping! You're drinking with us too!”
His attention was instantly diverted.
“Alright, alright, I'll drink! Just stop choking me.”
The group bantered and fooled around for quite a while.
Once they had their fill of food and drinks, Bai Yuan and the others bought their bus tickets, preparing to leave.
Zuo Lin'an and Xu Youyou stood with them to wait for the specter bus. At its fastest, it would arrive in a few minutes, but if it was running late, they might have to wait for ten to twenty minutes.
The group chatted idly as they waited.
Xu Youyou looked at Song Yangxia. “Hey, what's happening to that dungeon boss who caused the massive disaster earlier? What are they actually going to do to him?”
At those words, everyone's attention was instantly drawn over.
To be honest, Zuo Lin'an was quite curious as well.
He knew that Bai Yuan was the biological brother of that powerhouse Bai Mo, so he figured Bai Yuan would have some inside information.
Bai Yuan and Song Yangxia exchanged a look.
“Actually, it's already been decided.”
“Originally, the higher-ups wanted to torture him thoroughly to serve as a warning to other dungeon bosses so they wouldn't make similar blunders.”
“But after thinking it over carefully, they realized that might not be the best approach.”
“You have to understand that our supernatural world is currently on the brink. One wrong move could lead to total destruction, so everyone is already under immense pressure.”
“So they decided to change their original plan and just host a live broadcast instead. As for the location of the broadcast, it will probably be at the World Furnace.”
As for the content of the broadcast, there was no need to spell it out. It was definitely going to be throwing the culprit into the furnace.
Zuo Lin'an thought about it and understood the higher-ups' concerns.
Every dungeon boss knew their world might face destruction, and the pressure weighing on their minds was indeed immense. Under such stress, minor slip-ups and errors were occasionally inevitable.
This was actually understandable.
If the punishment this time was too brutal, it might trigger a backlash. After all, an excessively severe punishment would raise the ceiling of penalties across the board.
If other dungeon bosses made minor mistakes in the future, they might face much harsher punishments than before.
Consequently, this might prompt some of the less experienced or capable dungeon bosses to go on strike. After all, in most cases, whether a dungeon opened or not was entirely up to the dungeon boss.
As long as they didn't apply to open their dungeons, they wouldn't have to. Of course, the higher-ups could issue commands and use coercive measures to force them to open.
But where there is a will, there is a way.
These dungeon bosses would only need to go easy on the players during the run, allowing one or two of them to clear it.
That way, their dungeons would close legitimately, and they could just lie down and wait for death.
At least they wouldn't have to worry about making an accidental mistake that led to a blunder, triggered a chain reaction, and ultimately landed them in the same tragic fate as this culprit.
If they simply threw the errant dungeon boss into the World Furnace, although the punishment was still severe, at least it would be quick.
The other dungeon bosses would also find it reasonable when they saw it.
After all, that boss had indeed made a massive blunder. As long as their own minor mistakes didn't reach that level, they wouldn't be thrown into the furnace.
They wouldn't even be tortured.
At most, they would be penalized with Contribution points, causing their assets to drop into the negatives.
Zuo Lin'an sighed inwardly.
Had the supernatural world really deteriorated to this extent?
From the looks of it, they truly desperately needed a victory to boost morale.
Bai Yuan added.
“As for when the live broadcast will start, we have to wait for the outcome of the 【Wuxia World】.”
Zuo Lin'an snapped out of his thoughts and quickly pressed for more details.
“So what's the current world assimilation progress?”
Bai Yuan fell silent for a moment before gesturing a number.
Nine?
Zuo Lin'an was somewhat surprised. “It's already at ninety percent?”
Bai Yuan nodded solemnly.
“In the entire Wuxia World, apart from two major nations, all other countries have already fallen.”
“And these two major nations lie to the east and west. To the east is the Great Xuan Dynasty, and to the west is an empire named Ferla.”
“According to the intelligence I gathered from my brother earlier, the Great Xuan Dynasty won't be able to hold out for much longer.”
“The current Emperor, Xuan Jingyuan, ignores state affairs and pays no mind to the rebel armies and bandits. He even ordered a portion of the army guarding the western border to be withdrawn just to search for some divine technique.”
“He doesn't care about the security of the western border in the slightest. Meanwhile, inside the imperial capital, the Crown Prince is poised to usurp the throne at any moment.”
He gave a soft chuckle.
“Right now, the Great Xuan Dynasty is in absolute chaos from top to bottom. The number of people dying every day from all kinds of internal conflicts is almost overtaking the number of those killed by specters.”
“As long as the number of living humans falls below a certain threshold and reaches a specific ratio with the number of specters, the territory of the Great Xuan Dynasty will collapse on its own.”
“We won't even need to lift a finger.”
“As for the Ferla Empire, the higher-ups plan to deploy my brother.”
Zuo Lin'an was somewhat astonished.
“Brother Bai? Is it the next National War Dungeon?”
Bai Yuan shook his head.
“The higher-ups have calculated the timing precisely.”
“Given the current state of the Great Xuan Dynasty, it will likely collapse within two months, so they've given the Ferla Empire about two months as well.”
“And my brother's appearance won't be in the upcoming National War Dungeon on February second, but in an Ultimate Dungeon.”
Zuo Lin'an didn't know much about this.
“What is an Ultimate Dungeon? I haven't seen any posts about it on the forum.”
Bai Yuan explained briefly.
“Basically, a certain player from the Ferla Empire will obtain a specter item during a dungeon run, which allows them to bring a specific number of players into the Ultimate Dungeon.”
“As long as a single player clears it, the entire 【Wuxia World】 will gain peace. In other words, the assimilation will fail, and we will retract all our specter energy.”
“But if the players are completely wiped out, then the Ferla Empire and the entire world will fall instantly.”
“Which means the assimilation will succeed.”
Naturally, the first thing Zuo Lin'an thought of was Bai Mo's domain.
If he was the one taking the stage...
“So, that means our victory is guaranteed?”
Bai Yuan smiled and nodded, his face brimming with confidence.
“Of course. With my brother in play, what player could possibly clear it?”
He reached out and patted Zuo Lin'an's shoulder firmly.
“Alright, don't worry about the rest. Over the next two months or so, just focus on setting up your own dungeon. Prepare to welcome the next world with a brand-new look.”
Song Yangxia sighed with emotion.
“I wonder what kind of world the next one will be.”
Just then, the specter bus arrived.
Zuo Lin'an and Xu Youyou saw them onto the bus, then watched them leave.
The previously lively atmosphere instantly quieted down.
Xu Youyou rubbed his hands together.
“Brother An, what name do you plan to give your persona in the dungeon?”
Rate on N.U.
