Zhao Lin looked at the white mist before him, hesitating slightly.
Would walking into the white mist not cause any harm now that the dungeon had ended?
He sighed and ultimately followed him inside.
After walking for only a short while, he found that he had indeed passed through the white mist.
Looking around, the surroundings were completely desolate.
The dim starlight was not enough to illuminate the area, leaving him able to see only some dark, blurry outlines.
Zuo Lin'an had already walked quite a distance ahead. Seeing this, Zhao Lin hurriedly caught up.
The two did not walk for long. Upon reaching a patch of flat ground, Zuo Lin'an casually came to a halt.
Seeing that he truly had no intention of continuing further, Zhao Lin finally found an opportunity to ask.
“Excuse me...”
Zuo Lin'an turned to look at him.
“I know what you want to ask.”
“If a player fails to clear a dungeon and remains inside, they will become a puppet belonging solely to that dungeon boss.”
“And the dungeon you were just in belongs to that woman from earlier.”
“In other words, you had already become her puppet.”
“However, she gave you to me, so you are now my puppet.”
“Now, you're coming back with me.”
Zhao Lin was stunned.
He was clearly digesting everything Zuo Lin'an had just told him.
However, having cultivated to this day, he had experienced many things. No matter the circumstance, his state of mind was not easily shaken, and he quickly accepted reality.
“Then... you are also...”
Zuo Lin'an replied, “Yeah, I'm a dungeon boss too.”
“You're coming back with me now, which means returning to my dungeon.”
“As for the finer details, someone will naturally explain them to you once we get back.”
The implication was to not ask too many questions right now.
Zhao Lin understood and, being very cooperative, nodded in agreement.
“Alright.”
He had no choice but to be cooperative.
He already knew that the person in front of him was not actually human.
He was a dungeon boss.
A specter.
He was that brutal specter who skinned, deboned, and dismembered people alive. There was no way such a creature would deign to explain the basic circumstances to him.
Just as silence fell over the scene, Fang Tang's voice echoed from behind.
“Zuo Lin'an!!”
Zuo Lin'an turned around in slight surprise.
Fang Tang had just run up to him.
“Is something the matter?”
Could she have regretted it and wanted to take Zhao Lin back?
Fang Tang tossed her multicolored long hair.
“We agreed earlier that you'd let me look at your specter item after the dungeon ended. I almost forgot just now.”
Zuo Lin'an sighed.
He pulled a gold hairpin from his pocket.
“Here, take a look.”
Fang Tang's eyes were filled with curiosity. Her eyes shone as she took it to inspect it.
“Oh my god, so strong!”
“And it has two special effects.”
“First, both your living body and specter body must be killed at the same time to truly kill you. That alone is terrifying enough, but to think there's even another layer of security behind it.”
“When facing a fatal crisis, it can absorb and reflect the damage.”
“Which means...”
“Even if a player discovers your secret and somehow manages to kill both your living body and specter body at the same time, they will still fail.”
“On top of that, they themselves will be killed by the reflected damage. The cooldown of the second ability is three days, which means the player would have to strike you again within three days to truly repel you.”
Zuo Lin'an took back his gold hairpin and casually stuffed it back into his shirt.
“That is indeed the case.”
Fang Tang's eyes remained glued to his chest.
“So... where did you hide it before?”
Zuo Lin'an's expression remained unchanged.
“Inside my specter body's stomach.”
Fang Tang's lips twitched at his words.
“You're truly underhanded!”
“If you do that, anyone who wants to get this specter item would have to repel you first. But to repel you...”
“I reckon no player could possibly pull it off.”
Zuo Lin'an chuckled.
“Who can say for sure? Maybe I'll meet my match one day.”
Fang Tang rolled her eyes.
“Hmph!”
“I won't waste my breath on you anymore. I still need to go bring my puppet out.”
With that, she left as quickly and abruptly as she had arrived.
After she left, the place fell back into silence.
However, Zhao Lin, who had overheard their entire conversation, could not calm his mind for a long time.
So... dungeon bosses could also use specter items?
Furthermore, only now did he realize why this specter could not be killed in the dungeon earlier.
It turned out to be because of this specter item.
He couldn't help but smile bitterly.
It was exactly as that female specter had said; no player could possibly repel the specter before him.
After some more time passed, Zhao Lin suddenly saw headlights appearing in the darkness ahead.
Were those car headlights?
The lights pierced through the thick darkness, rapidly drawing closer.
Before long, he saw clearly that it was indeed a bus. Beneath the vehicle, a pitch-black, smooth, and spacious road stretched out toward them.
And this driverless bus was traveling right along this road.
“Is this...”
The specter bus?
How miraculous.
Following Zuo Lin'an onto the bus, he found that there was no one else on board, so he casually picked an empty seat and sat down.
As the bus started and accelerated, the chassis was enveloped in a thin layer of mist.
Withered Forest and Barren Mountains Zone Two.
The specter bus stopped in front of the house.
Zuo Lin'an got off the bus, only to see that the lights inside his home were all on.
It was almost two in the morning. Why were these people staying up late again?
He led Zhao Lin into the house.
“Brother An!!”
Hearing the familiar voice, Zuo Lin'an visibly froze.
“Youyou?”
“You're back?”
Sweeping his gaze across the room, he indeed saw his long-lost good brother in the living room.
Xu Youyou casually set a plate down on the dining table.
“Yeah, I got back less than an hour ago.”
He pointed to the lavish spread of food on the table.
“I bought all of this to celebrate!”
“Let me tell you, I got a super strong auxiliary rule this time!”
Zuo Lin'an looked down at his filthy state.
“Hold on a second, I'll chat with you in a bit.”
Then, he looked at Feng Xingyun, who was standing to one side of the living room.
“Xingyun, come here for a moment.”
He then pointed to Zhao Lin behind him.
“I'll leave this person to you first. Explain the situation here to him.”
Feng Xingyun walked over.
“Alright.”
He quickly led Zhao Lin to the last, and only, remaining empty room.
Xu Youyou glanced over casually, waiting until they were out of earshot before continuing to brag to Zuo Lin'an about how incredibly powerful the rule he acquired was.
Zuo Lin'an raised a hand.
“Though I am indeed curious, I've just returned from a business trip. Let me take a shower and change my clothes first.”
Only then did Xu Youyou notice his condition.
“Huh?”
“I say, Brother An, how did you get so dirty? Did you go mine coal or something?”
Zuo Lin'an thought of his experiences in the mine shaft, and how he had constantly used his killing boning knife to shatter rocks later on.
In a sense, he really had gone to mine coal.
Rate on N.U.
