“Mr. Yan, it’s not that we don’t respect you,” the Poet of the Myriad Springs Division said with a bitter smile. “But do you really think the Abnormal Affairs Bureau will let this thing be distributed?”

As he spoke, his image instantly transformed into that of a medieval bard. He wore gorgeous, intricate clothing, including a white knee-length robe and a light-colored, open-fronted cape. A small, exquisite hat sat atop his head.

A recorder appeared in his hand.

His entire aura began to climb steadily.

He wasn’t the only one.

At almost the same time, the town clothes on every other player vanished, replaced by their original player equipment. The cavern suddenly became a dazzlingly diverse sight.

The clashing styles of equipment made one think they had arrived in some bizarre online game. It felt as if someone would jump out at any second and shout, “If you’re my bro, come and chop me!”

Although they didn’t have Wu Wang’s 【Vision of Truth】 to directly see the effect of the 【Tree of Sighs】, everyone knew the truth.

This seed was the culprit behind the Instance’s current state. Its value was far beyond any other 【Relic】.

An item like this could never be distributed evenly. Whichever faction obtained it would become the common enemy of all the others.

“Brother Yan, it seems this can’t be settled by talking,” Xiezhi said, his tone just as helpless. “The Abnormal Affairs Bureau came here with a mission. Coincidentally, the price of death here is just exiting the Hidden Map. It seems the only ones taking this seed will be the last ones standing.”

Right and wrong no longer mattered. With things as they were, this was the only way forward.

As he spoke, Xiezhi’s familiar Charm Papers began to rotate around him, defending his position.

Clap!

A white shadow shot out from an unknown direction, streaking straight for the eyes of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau player named 【Cang Qiong】.

Though the object was fast, it didn’t seem to carry much destructive power. But there was no guarantee it didn’t have some special effect.

Cang Qiong swung the dagger-like equipment in his hand and sliced it in two.

He looked up and shouted, “They’ve made a move!”

This shout was the fuse that lit the powder keg.

The already tense atmosphere shattered. Whether for self-preservation or to claim the seed of the 【Tree of Sighs】, everyone began to reveal their equipment and items.

Swoosh swoosh swoosh!

In the blink of an eye, at least five players with hovering abilities shot straight up, attempting to use their air superiority to attack from above.

A sharp glint flashed in Xiezhi’s eyes.

“Court of Judgment! Open!”

Countless Talisman Papers flew out in all directions. They stuck firmly to the walls, instantly making the cavern look like some kind of religious shrine.

“In this place, flight is forbidden!” Xiezhi’s voice was majestic. “Exceeding a height of three meters will result in punishment by lightning!”

Omm—

As he spoke, the few players who were still ascending felt a wave of weakness wash over them. Their flight equipment and items seemed to be under some kind of restriction.

Boom!

Two players who couldn’t descend in time were struck by one lightning bolt after another. The power was so great that they were instantly zapped into charcoal-black husks.

Poet Mei Yige appeared silently beside Xiezhi. She wore a tight-fitting, black infiltration suit and held only a single silver needle in her hand.

Clearly, this unassuming woman specialized in assassination.

Clang!

Just as her silver needle was about to pierce Xiezhi’s skin, it stopped dead, held back by an invisible wall of air.

The Duke’s voice became extremely cold. “This is my territory. I hold the power of law enforcement.”

His gaze was glacial.

“The crime of intentional injury is punishable by beheading.”

The moment he spoke, Poet Mei Yige suddenly felt a chill at her waist. She looked down in horror to find her upper body sliding sideways off her lower half.

No… that wasn’t right.

She had been cut in two! Her upper and lower body were completely separated.

“Myriad Springs! Catch!” Mei Yige shouted just before she vanished from the Hidden Map.

She pulled a canned beer from her backpack and threw it to her teammate not far away.

The moment the Poet of the Myriad Springs Division caught the item, he saw Mei Yige’s figure vanish from the spot.

She was out.

【Brave the World (Fine Quality): Using this item will cause all targets within a five-meter radius to enter a drunken state】

【Note: Damn! Big bro!】

“Mine!”

Next to the 【Tree of Sighs】 seed, a Rogue Player let out a wild laugh of success. While everyone else was setting up their abilities to restrict their opponents, he had used some kind of special stealth equipment to get close to the prize.

If he could just get it into his backpack, he could die immediately and exit the Instance with his reward.

The Poet of the Myriad Springs Division roared, “Don’t even think about it!”

He popped the tab on the beer can he had just received and threw it forcefully toward the seed’s location. The can exploded the moment it hit the ground.

The Rogue Player reaching for the seed was instantly overcome with a wave of intense dizziness. His footing became unsteady, his eyelids grew heavy, and in his drunken state, he could barely stand.

The next second, countless offensive items flew toward his position.

【Fine Quality】 items, which would be fought over tooth and nail in the outside world, were now being tossed around like they were free.

In the blink of an eye, the Rogue Player was blown to pieces and forcibly ejected from the Hidden Map.

It wasn’t just the Poet of the Myriad Springs Division who was watching the seed. In this situation, whoever dared to touch it would face the frenzied bombardment of a group of high-level players.

They were all on the same level. Who knew what other powerful offensive items their opponents had up their sleeves?

The area was now enveloped in a pale white, alcohol-scented mist. The effect of 【Brave the World】 had not yet dissipated.

The Poet of the Myriad Springs Division, however, quietly took two steps back. He gently played the recorder in his hand.

Two small, cute things crawled up from the ground, looking like miniaturized, palm-sized versions of the Poet himself. They charged into the drunken mist, trying to fish in troubled waters and retrieve the seed.

Mei Yige had given him the beer because she knew he possessed equipment that granted immunity to the drunken state.

Whoosh!

But before the little poets could act, a fierce wind howled, swirling through the entire cave. The wind was so strong that players struggled to keep their footing, nearly getting blown away.

A few players who were in a standoff were inadvertently lifted into the air.

Their height exceeded three meters.

Boom!

Xiezhi’s no-fly zone was still in effect.

He turned to look. Yun Ze was standing to the side, wildly waving a white and green item shaped like a banana leaf.

A smug look flashed in Yun Ze’s eyes. “So the organized factions have more people, huh? Let me show you how a Rogue Player gets things done!”

The seed!

At his words, most people reacted. They whipped their heads around to look at the ground.

The mist had been blown away, but the seed within it was also gone.

The seed was only the size of a fava bean. A gale strong enough to knock people over had naturally sent it flying.

Now, its whereabouts were unknown.

“Boss! Do we find the seed first or clear out the people?” Bei Lang, covered in wounds, asked while panting heavily.

He was only around level ten. In a battle like this, where dozens of 【Fine Quality】 items were being tossed around and everyone was clad in 【Epic】 gear, he was lucky to have survived for even a few minutes.

Xiezhi turned his gaze to the Duke, the acting leader of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau team. Their actions were under his command.

“Clear out the people first,” the Duke ordered. “Don’t let them get a free hand to look for it!”

The words had barely left his mouth when two Abnormal Affairs Bureau members threw out large area-of-effect damage items.

The Rogue Players who had been about to search for the seed frowned, using their own methods to deal with the sudden attack.

A game had begun to see who could survive to the end, or rather, who would be lucky enough to find the seed.

No one noticed.

At the entrance to the cave they had jumped down from, a woman in casual clothes stood wearing a magician’s top hat.

She pulled a new lollipop from her pocket, tore off the wrapper, and popped it into her mouth.

About ten meters in front of her, a green and white seed rested peacefully on the ground.

No one knew that in the instant the wind had kicked up and blinded everyone, she had used her magician’s hat to silently transport the seed to the cave entrance.

“Heh, you all can fight it out down there. This lady’s leaving.”

Swoosh!

Just as she was about to pick up the seed, a sword shadow streaked past.

Her instincts screamed at her to dodge, but her body moved on its own, dropping to one knee. Her hands shot up, clasping together before her forehead.

Clap!

To her bewilderment, she found she had caught a broken sword between her palms.

“I knew you’d be making trouble in some strange place.”

A voice rang out.

“You’re not taking the seed, Zhuge Yue!”

Wu Wang grinned fiercely and pressed 【Xiaochuan】 down.