Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal rang out as the players attacked the vines with their various 【Relics】.

Yet the vines connecting the seed and the husks were completely unscathed.

Baili Dao grumbled in frustration.

“This… we can’t even cut through this.”

Swoosh!

The moment he spoke, a black shadow appeared before him. Its speed was jaw-dropping.

Xiezhi’s voice came from a distance.

“Get down!”

Out of trust for his leader and pure combat instinct, Baili Dao dove forward, pressing his entire body to the ground without daring to lift his head.

The next second, a violent gust of wind swept over him. He could faintly feel a few strands of his hair being snipped off.

Only then did he realize that the black shadow was a 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】!

“No way, what the hell! This thing wasn’t this strong before!”

Less than two meters away, the pitch-black 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 clutched a sharp blade. It performed an incredibly casual sword flourish, then raised its hand slightly, aiming at Baili Dao.

“Sever!”

Even more terrifyingly, an icy voice emanated from the spirit’s mouth. Its gender was indiscernible, sounding like a chaotic mixture of various tones.

As it softly uttered the command, the sword in its hand vanished.

A bone-chilling sensation crawled up Baili Dao’s spine.

Danger! Danger! Danger!

His body instinctively screamed warnings at him. With his hair standing on end, he rolled to the side with all his might.

But in that instant of movement, he still saw a silvery-white blade appear right before his eyes.

The opponent’s sword hadn’t vanished. It was just too fast.

With his supernatural powers sealed, his eyes were no different from an ordinary person’s. He couldn’t track the blade’s trajectory at all!

I can’t dodge this!

A flash of despair appeared in Baili Dao’s eyes.

He also realized that he wasn’t alone. Three or four other players had already fallen to the ground, their life force gone.

After all, this wasn’t the only 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 that had been born.

But no one had expected these spirits to be far more powerful than the ones on the surface. Many of them were even holding 【Relics】 and using them with proficiency!

It was almost like facing a Spirit Calamity Player.

Xiezhi’s voice rang out from nearby.

“Baili! Sorry!”

Before Baili Dao could react, a gunshot echoed through the cave.

Bang!

Baili Dao collapsed to the ground, his eyes vacant. A large hole had been blown through his forehead.

Xiezhi looked at the gun-type 【Relic】 in his hand, which was still faintly smoking, his face filled with helplessness.

Wu Wang was stunned.

He had been about to tell Mary to rescue Baili Dao. He never thought Xiezhi would just shoot the man dead.

What was that? Am I seeing things?

Faced with this scene, the other players looked at Xiezhi and the members of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau with terror in their eyes. They never imagined that infighting among players would break out at a time like this.

In response, Xiezhi quickly explained to Wu Wang.

“Brother Yan, listen to me! This is the way to leave the 【Hidden Map】!”

Wu Wang stared back, confused.

You’ve got a point, buddy.

This is more than just leaving the Hidden Map. This is fucking leaving the mortal plane!

Seeing that he could no longer hide it, and knowing this information would have to be shared with the other players sooner or later, the Duke also shouted loudly.

“Everyone, listen up! If you are killed by your own items or by other players here, you will not truly die!”

“After you die, you will exit the Hidden Map and return to the desolate town where you first entered the Instance!”

“But! Do not, under any circumstances, be killed by the 【Twisted Resentful Spirits】!”

“If they kill you, you will really die!”

“Players who can’t hold on any longer can commit suicide or ask a companion to help!”

These words made everyone’s pupils contract.

What the hell? Dying lets you exit the Hidden Map? As long as you aren’t killed by a 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】?

No wonder the Abnormal Affairs Bureau had such a low casualty rate every year. So that was how.

Wu Wang glanced at the expressions on Xiezhi and Bei Lang. There was indeed no sorrow.

Based on his understanding of their personalities, Wu Wang believed that they weren’t the kind of people who could kill a comrade and remain completely unfazed.

It seemed this absurd method was actually real.

But now, a problem arose.

I fucking can’t die!

When Wu Wang, the coffin-bearer, had first jumped down into the cave to explore, he had already fallen to his death once. But he hadn’t exited the Hidden Map at all. He had just resurrected and woken up as usual.

This is bad… Don’t tell me I’m stuck here?

Swoosh!

As he was lost in thought, a flash of sword light streaked toward him. Just before it could strike, it was caught and crushed by Mary, who was standing beside him.

Her words were as reassuring as ever.

“Sir, please focus on finding a way to destroy the husks. No one will disturb you.”

Wu Wang nodded and walked to the stone wall.

He watched as the nun, gritting her teeth, plunged her hands into a husk’s chest cavity. She completely disregarded her previous elegance and etiquette.

As if venting her anger, she dragged out the vines, like she was tearing sinews from bone.

Huh? Wait a second. How can you pull them?

Wu Wang was taken aback for a moment. He couldn’t help but reach out and touch the nearest vine.

Although it was slightly hard, it still had some resilience. It felt like a real, taut plant vine from the real world.

Scrape!

He tried to dig into the vine with his fingernails. Unexpectedly, he scraped off a small bit of plant tissue.

I managed to damage the vine? But the other players couldn’t even harm it with their 【Relics】! Why is that?

The Abyss God’s Mark provided a timely prompt.

【These vines grow by relying on the Townsfolk of Aiguyi Town. Only the bloodline of Aiguyi Town can harm them.】

A flash of understanding lit up Wu Wang’s eyes.

Of course!

The initial Instance description had mentioned it.

【As descendants of the town’s residents, you have returned to your hometown after a hundred years.】

Here, the players’ background was that of the Townsfolk’s descendants.

Although according to Wu Wang’s speculation they were likely the descendants of those who left the town before the Day of Extinction, the setting was undeniable.

They had the bloodline of Aiguyi Town!

Wu Wang shouted.

“Everyone! Stop attacking the vines with 【Relics】! Use your hands! Grab them and tear them! Our physical bodies can affect them!”

Curious, the others reached out to try it themselves.

Rip!

Sure enough, a hard pull could snap some of the thinner vines directly.

This discovery lifted everyone’s spirits.

After all, the newly emerged 【Twisted Resentful Spirits】 were simply too strong. In just a few short minutes, nearly ten players, unable to withstand the spirits’ attacks, had chosen to commit suicide to exit the Instance.

And more 【Twisted Resentful Spirits】 were slowly forming out of thin air.

Right now, it took about ten players to barely suppress a single Resentful Spirit. Wu Wang estimated that if a few more were born, the players would be at their mercy.

But now that there was a way to destroy the vines and the husks, it meant they still had a fighting chance, as long as they could get it done before more spirits were born.

Thus, everyone began to tear at the vines with even more vigor. Some even started gnawing on them with their teeth.

The sounds of battle and shouting echoed through the cave for a full twenty minutes.

After paying the price of another eighteen rogue players exiting the Hidden Map, all the vines were finally broken.

The instant the last vine snapped, the seed glowed with an intense, dark green light, enveloping itself. Finally, it transformed into a dark green orb and fell from its suspended state to the ground.

The moment it hit the ground, the Spirit Calamity Game’s system voice appeared before every player and sounded in their ears.

【The residual Mysterious Power has sealed itself. The player seal has been lifted.】

【Player levels, equipment, items, and other functions have been reopened.】

This announcement sent a jolt of excitement through everyone.

Their powers had returned so suddenly. But everyone present was a high-level player with a terrifying ability to adapt to sudden situations. They reacted immediately.

Everyone subconsciously turned their gazes to the 【Tree of Sighs】 seed on the ground.

Now, it seemed they could fight for it with their real strength. This thing was clearly the most valuable prize!

However, in a corner no one was watching, Wu Wang quietly reached into his backpack and took out an item.

【Holy Hand Grenade】