Chapter 85
Soon, word reached Lu Chuan about the target Dongyang had set its sights on.
“Edith, come take a look. Could this be someone you know?” Lu Chuan rarely paid attention to other players, unless they could offer him some value.
But this time, the report was detailed: the target’s in-dungeon name, weapon from the last tournament, techniques used, past achievements—all listed.
No ordinary NPC could collect such complete intel. Most likely, Dongyang’s players had unsealed a detection tool or skill. But since they needed underlings to do the fighting, they leaked the info downward.
Whoever ended up with it, Dongyang would still benefit if the rival was eliminated.
Edith leaned in, studying the data carefully before pulling up a memory.
“If the person I recall also came, then this player should be Ocean Heart Guild’s [Megalodon03]. His name is Wu Yue, like me he’s a Swordbearer, but he leans more toward physical combat. Back in Noah, the guild even hired him to give a lesson. It was just one session, and there were other students, but I still learned a lot from him.” Edith summed up her impression: “He’s strong—the kind who can solo a dungeon. If he placed third last time, the only reason he’s still here now must be because he wants first.”
She found it hard to imagine that such a skilled Swordbearer had only managed third place.
“Noah’s guild hired outside instructors for you?” Lu Chuan picked up on something else.
“Ah, yes.” Edith blinked. “Those of us raised by guilds since childhood usually had this treatment. I’m combat-focused, so they sent me to strong fighters in other guilds for training. If I’d been a strategist type, they would’ve sent me to someone similar instead.”
All the big guilds did the same.
While guilds competed, players inevitably interacted in dungeons. Interaction bred connections, and connections made it hard to refuse “reasonable” requests.
Compared to them, the Star Guild’s training of newcomers was pathetic.
“No wonder Dongyang wants to eliminate him fast. A real dark horse.” Lu Chuan chuckled. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Edith, you’ve been running errands for me all this time—it’s about time you stretched your wings. How about today you check out whether Dongyang’s target is indeed Wu Yue? If it is, pass on my offer to cooperate. If not, observe him and see what he needs.”
“Alright.” Edith’s eyes shone—finally, a chance to show her skills in this dungeon.
*
In front of a temporary tent.
Wu Yue stopped short before entering.
The air smelled different.
Someone was here.
He came to a halt.
“Since you’re here, why hide?” Wu Yue frowned slightly. Whoever had such good concealment skills was no simple character.
“Teacher Wu’s senses are still as sharp.” Edith stepped out slowly with a smile. “It’s been a long time, teacher. I didn’t expect to see you in this dungeon.”
Wu Yue studied her for a while before finally recognizing who she was.
“It’s you. Edith, didn’t you transfer to the Star Guild?” Wu Yue glanced around Edith but didn’t spot anyone else nearby.
“Teacher, don’t bother looking, I really came alone.” Edith shook her head. “I came on behalf of my team leader to speak with you. Dongyang is planning to gang up on you and take you out early. We couldn’t bear to watch, so we wanted to propose cooperation—we’ll help you deal with Dongyang. What do you think?”
“Edith, this dungeon is a combat dungeon, isn’t it?” Wu Yue gave her a disapproving look.
“Of course, Teacher.”
“Since it’s a combat dungeon, then problems should be solved through one’s own combat power.” Wu Yue continued, “In this dungeon where abilities and items are sealed, it’s the best place to actually improve our personal strength. Edith, I’ve always had high hopes for you, but now you want to throw away your strengths and play at alliances like everyone else? Only the top three here can win medals. That means you either kill 20 or more high-level NPCs or players—or else give up. As for defeating the king, forget it. I’ve tried—it’s nearly impossible. In other words, no matter how strong your team is in the early stages, in the end, to pass, you’ll have to turn on each other.”
This wasn’t Wu Yue’s first time in this dungeon. He had seen too many teams form, collapse, and repeat the same tragedy over and over. He was already tired of it.
In the end, this dungeon could only be cleared through one’s own power.
“Teacher, our team isn’t like the others.” Before, Edith might have admitted Wu Yue had a point. But with Lu Chuan leading now, normal logic no longer applied.
“Everyone thinks they’re different.” Wu Yue sneered. “For a team to hold together, either the leader must have absolute strength to suppress everyone, or must use profit to unite them. What does your team rely on?”
Edith thought seriously for a moment, then answered, “Probably on the fact that everyone’s afraid of dying.”
—
Elsewhere.
Lu Chuan was in the middle of discussing how to seize power with his men.
“Dongyang’s team has gathered quite a lot of supplies.” Lu Chuan spread out a map and pointed to the warehouse. “We don’t need Dongyang’s people, but we must take their supplies. And their weapons—we need those under our control too.”
In this dungeon, there was no money. Only supplies, weapons, and people.
Lu Chuan declared—he wanted them all!
As long as he held manpower, supplies, and weapons, no matter how powerful an enemy was, he would still have a way to counter them.
“But Leader, Dongyang guards their warehouses strictly. They’ve got lots of patrols. Breaking through their defenses won’t be easy,” one subordinate said hesitantly.
Among them, everyone had survival skills, but when it came to real combat strength, only Edith could truly fight.
With just Edith and this ragtag bunch, they’d probably be exposed long before they could move all the supplies.
“We don’t need to steal.” Lu Chuan raised his brows. “Didn’t Dongyang’s leader order you to go fight enemies? To fight, you’ll need supplies and weapons, right? So go and request them openly, as loudly as you can. Take as much as possible. As for what you can’t take away—don’t worry, I won’t let them have it either.”
They had served under Dongyang long enough—surely asking for supplies wasn’t unreasonable.
What, did he expect the horse to run without feeding it? Impossible.
If they weren’t even given enough weapons and supplies, who would risk their lives for him?
“When the time comes, I’ll teach you some slogans. Just make a big fuss—cry, yell, threaten to hang yourselves. Even if they don’t want to give, they’ll have to.” Lu Chuan gave them a questioning look. “Surely you’re not going to bring up things like dignity or pride at a time like this, are you?”
Of course not.
His men nodded in understanding, promising to follow his instructions.
Good, good.
At least they could understand human words. That was enough—he couldn’t expect too much from them.
“…That’s about it. For the rest, just follow my directions when the time comes.” Lu Chuan finished his instructions and waved them off to prepare.
[Host, this is only the second round. Only 500 players can move on to the third round. Fewer and fewer will advance. Doesn’t that make these people useless?] #888 was puzzled. This duel dungeon was supposed to be about improving strength, but Lu Chuan’s methods didn’t seem to benefit him much.
“As the rounds go on, the number of people able to advance does shrink. But haven’t you noticed? The system’s restrictions are actually increasing.” Lu Chuan smiled. “On the surface, each round lets us unseal an item or ability. But in truth—first round, we could still eat the food we brought. Second round, only dungeon-provided food. So what about the third round? Won’t we be forced to use only system-issued weapons?”
It looked like restrictions were loosening, but in reality the game system was tightening its grip.
If it truly wanted no restrictions, why bring 80 high-level NPCs into the dungeon?
With no limits, how many players could possibly beat them? From the early info, it was clear that by the later stages, battles would basically be one-on-one between players and high-level NPCs. That allowed for a lot of manipulation.
Since the system designed it this way, it meant reducing the gap between NPCs and players.
And if NPCs were nerfed, wouldn’t the super-strong players also be nerfed?
Lu Chuan thought—it had to be so.
Otherwise, why go to all this trouble?
Divided into different regions, players and NPCs weren’t at a massive disparity—more or less balanced from a higher perspective.
The point was to select players of similar strength to move to the next round.
If the winner was obvious from the start, what was the point?
Besides, the dungeon’s premise had been clear all along.
The duel tournament was set up by the King. Their job was to entertain him. He had designed it all for bloodshed.
If he were the King, he too would wait until the final players were perfectly balanced—abilities, items, weapons, even healing supplies—before making them fight.
But absolute fairness was just another kind of unfairness.
“If I’m not wrong, the system will soon reduce the amount of supplies while increasing weapon wear rates, forcing contestants to constantly replace weapons.” Lu Chuan smiled. “That way, the dungeon gets interesting. The King will see two evenly matched players fight a battle where no one can predict the outcome. It’s called the Blood Kingdom Duel—without enough blood, how would it live up to the name?”
[So Host, your plan is to monopolize supplies and weapons early on?]
“And people,” Lu Chuan said calmly. “Before the finals, I’ll recruit as many strong players as possible. They’ll always need food, weapons, and intel. Even if they think they can endure without, when they see their enemies getting those things, it’ll be different.”
Think about it—everyone’s been through dungeons, and yet others get benefits I don’t, while the system calls this fair? Who could stand that?
Lu Chuan certainly couldn’t.
After all, this dungeon had 20 players and 80 high-level NPCs. Dongyang’s side, including Lu Chuan and Edith, already accounted for nearly half the players.
As for dealing with high-level NPCs from other worlds—Lu Chuan was far too experienced.
[I understand now, Host.] 888 finally got it.
The Host’s plan was to grab as many supplies and tools as possible before the system tightened restrictions, then later use them to buy loyalty and crush enemies, climbing to the top with these “hard currencies.”
“You’ve grown, little system.” Lu Chuan sounded pleased. “Actually, there’s an even simpler way, but I haven’t found the right medicine yet.”
[What way?] 888 pricked up, sensing something unusual.
“These players and NPCs, stripped of abilities and items, are nothing more than enhanced humans—at most cyborgs. Still made of flesh and blood, still needing food and water.” Lu Chuan sighed. “If only I had some laxatives or poison. Just slip a bit into the food or water, stir up a fight among the strong, and I might’ve already cleared this dungeon with a perfect victory.”
Unfortunately, this dungeon still restricted him somewhat.
Otherwise, one packet of laxatives could settle things easily.
888 fell silent.
Its expectations for its Host had been too high.
Lu Chuan could speak such shameless, despicable words without a hint of guilt.
