Zuo Lin'an was speechless. From the looks of it, Xu Youyou had definitely done exactly that. It seemed the guy had a few tricks up his sleeve as well.
【Zuo Lin'an: How many did you kill?】
【Xu Youyou: The moment the dungeon started, I spent a few minutes catching half of them. Now there are only ten left in total in the dungeon. I'll see how they hold out over the next three days.】
【Zuo Lin'an: Also, once your specter body restores in three days, you're not completely out of options.】
Just then, Zuo Lin'an had thought of a solution.
【Zuo Lin'an: Since all other marks disappear once a single mark is triggered, you should find a way to make the players kill each other. As long as they kill just one person, that will do it.】
At that point, not only will all the marks disappear, but you might even gain an extra unsolvable specter.
【Xu Youyou: Oh, right! And with food being scarce for those three days, they're bound to turn on each other. Maybe I can get a bunch of unsolvable specters for free!】
【Zuo Lin'an: If you really can't find an opportunity, just play it safe. Hide away and wait for them to die on their own.】
【Xu Youyou: No problem.】
After offering a few suggestions, Zuo Lin'an got out of bed, intending to head over and check on the construction site.
Honestly, if those players hadn't turned on each other from the very beginning and had instead actively shared their specter items and talents, then...
...they might have been able to quickly assemble a team capable of locking onto Xu Youyou's specter body the moment it restored and repelling it immediately.
Unfortunately, there was zero trust among the players, making cooperation completely out of the question.
It was also smart of the player with the unique special talent to reveal his ability right at the start. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived this long.
“It looks like he should be fine this time.”
Zuo Lin'an washed up and headed out. He arrived at the construction site and took a general look around. Everything was proceeding in an orderly fashion, and nothing seemed to require any changes.
“Not bad at all.”
It was certainly a service worthy of the Contribution points he had spent.
Since everything was fine, there was no need for him to linger.
Before leaving, Zuo Lin'an spotted Feng Xingyun off to the side and quickly walked over.
“Have you been here this whole time?”
Feng Xingyun was slightly startled to see him, then offered a brief bow.
“Yes.”
“I find it quite fascinating. I've never seen anything like this before. Besides, since I'm always staying here, I rarely get to see outsiders anyway.”
For the past thirty-odd years, Feng Xingyun had been accustomed to a displaced, wandering life, rarely venturing into crowded places.
Now, he found himself particularly disliking quiet, desolate places.
He hoped that once he gained his freedom in the future, he could stroll through those bustling cities.
Zuo Lin'an seemed to perceive the longing in the man's heart.
“Don't worry. In the future, as the world gathers more energy and the supernatural world's vitality gradually recovers, our area might also connect to those cities and regain its hustle and bustle.”
“Will I be able to go out then?” Feng Xingyun asked.
“Of course,” Zuo Lin'an replied. “But without official identification, you won't be able to go very far. So, you'll have to work hard.”
A light, carefree smile appeared on Feng Xingyun's face.
“As it should be.”
Zuo Lin'an didn't linger long and quickly took his leave.
He had only come over this time to check on the progress.
Over the next few days, he occasionally dropped by to check on things. As long as there were no issues, he didn't show himself. A few times, he was too lazy to even walk over, opting to monitor the site using his God's-eye view instead.
About three days later, things on Xu Youyou's end reached a critical juncture.
【Xu Youyou: Brother An, my specter body has restored.】
He then began sending a barrage of messages, detailing everything that had transpired in the dungeon over the past few days.
Zuo Lin'an read through the updates carefully.
Due to a series of coincidences, very few of the twenty players who had entered the dungeon remained alive.
To Zuo Lin'an's surprise, the player with the unique special talent turned out to be just an ordinary person.
“No wonder...”
No wonder he had revealed his talent right off the bat—it was to seek protection.
“That makes sense. Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived long.”
As for the other players, the strongest were only First-Rate martial artists. However, there were a whopping five of them, and their strengths were on par with each other.
The remaining Second-Rate and Third-Rate martial artists only totaled four.
The rest were all ordinary people.
Among those five First-Rate martial artists, two possessed the 【Perception】 talent.
Ideally, the best approach would have been for the five First-Rate martial artists to band together to protect this ordinary person with the unique special talent, ensuring they all cleared the dungeon in the end.
However, the two First-Rate martial artists with the 【Perception】 talent had other ideas.
The reason was simple: there wasn't enough food.
If it were just the two of them, they could have gritted their teeth and easily protected one ordinary person for three days.
But now, there were three other players of equal strength who contributed absolutely nothing toward clearing the dungeon.
How could they tolerate such freeloaders?
Thus, on the very first night, the two players with the 【Perception】 talent joined forces. They schemed to separate the other three, ambushed them in a two-on-one fight, and successfully crippled two of them.
The remaining third First-Rate martial artist had sensed the danger early on and managed to slip away.
But he had no intention of rolling over. He secretly rallied the remaining four Second- and Third-Rate martial artists to form a temporary team, actively opposing the two players with the 【Perception】 talent.
Over the short span of three days, the two factions clashed no less than five times.
Yet, neither side managed to gain the upper hand.
During one of the skirmishes, one of the players with the 【Perception】 talent flew into a frenzy and lost control, accidentally killing two Third-Rate martial artists with a single palm strike. Consequently, he was instantly killed by an unsolvable specter.
In addition, several other players perished due to starvation, dehydration, and lingering injuries.
By the time Xu Youyou's specter body fully restored, only three people remained in the entire dungeon: the ordinary person with the unique special talent, the severely injured First-Rate martial artist with the 【Perception】 talent, and the cautious First-Rate martial artist who had escaped the initial ambush.
There were only three survivors left.
【Xu Youyou: Now that the player with the 【Perception】 talent knows my specter body has restored, the Causality Loop has been triggered. I've likely been marked again, so I can't make a move for the time being.】
【Zuo Lin'an: Then you only have two choices right now.】
【Xu Youyou: I know. Either I just hide and wait a few more days for them to die of natural causes, or I orchestrate a scenario where one of the three kills another.】
【Xu Youyou: As long as someone dies, the mark will disappear. Then my specter body can make its move, wipe out the survivors, and end the dungeon.】
【Zuo Lin'an: But you probably haven't confirmed whether those three have any specter items on them, right?】
【Xu Youyou: Exactly. So what should I do now? Should I play aggressively or conservatively?】
【Zuo Lin'an: How many unsolvable specters do you have in the dungeon right now?】
【Xu Youyou: There are three in the dungeon right now. Two were created from accidental kills during their fights, and the other was born from ordinary people killing each other.】
【Xu Youyou: Honestly, that's already a pretty good harvest.】
【Zuo Lin'an: Then lay low for now and see how things develop. If an opportunity presents itself, you can try to secure one more unsolvable specter. If not, just starve them out.】
【Xu Youyou: No problem!】
Zuo Lin'an put down his phone and looked off in the direction of Xu Youyou's dungeon.
“I hope everything goes smoothly.”
Rate on N.U.
