Absolute Death Game

"Who should we save?" Zhang Yaoyang asked hesitantly.

The crowd was abuzz with discussion, but for a time, they could not reach a consensus; after all, there were no clues about the situation at hand.

Xiao Buli asked curiously, "Why don't we just ask them? Wouldn't we know then?" The 'them' he referred to were naturally the NPCs.

Upon hearing this, everyone suddenly fell silent.

Xiao Buli felt several people's gazes on him and couldn't help but ask, "What, did I say something wrong?"

"Haha, you didn't say anything wrong; on the contrary, you're absolutely right!" Liu Xing laughed and then directly shouted to the NPCs, "Hey, what's in it for us if we save you?"

Wealthy Landowner: "Save me, please. As long as you get me out, I'll give you money, I have a lot of money at home."

Niu Dazhuang: "If you rescue me, I'll help you fight those thieves."

Old Taoist: "This old man truly has nothing to repay you with, but if you could save this old man, I could predict your fortune for free."

Corpse: ".........."

After a brief discussion, the group came to a basic consensus. It was clear that saving the Wealthy Landowner would provide a monetary reward, though it probably wouldn't be much. Besides, with the support of the Xuanwu Group's funds, they didn't really need the money.

Saving Niu Dazhuang would likely provide an NPC to assist in battle, but given his appearance, he didn't seem too powerful, comparable to an uncontrollable tank that might even cause trouble by luring monsters randomly.

The Old Taoist's fortune-telling was probably some sort of BUFF, but as for the corpse, it was unclear—perhaps there would be a quest item, or possibly nothing at all.

"Let's save the Old Taoist. The upcoming BOSS fight might be tough, and having a BUFF would be better. The others don't seem to provide much help for our upcoming battle," Wu Tao suddenly said.

Seeing no objections, Zhang Yaoyang nodded. "Then let's save the Old Taoist." Zhang Yaoyang said as he used the key to open the cell door imprisoning the Old Taoist.

With a creak, the iron gate of the cell slowly opened, and the Old Taoist walked out with a chuckle, "I see that you all have ruddy complexions and radiant auras. Your upcoming adventures are sure to be blessed with good fortune, easily within reach. However, as the saying goes, where there's fortune there may lie misfortune, and where there's misfortune there may rest fortune.

This stroke of luck might just be the prelude to misfortune next time; you all must be careful."

Xiao Buli's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this. He would not dismiss the words of NPCs in this game lightly. Since the Old Taoist had spoken thus, there might well be some reason for it.

Yet the Old Taoist spoke again, "Since we have met by fate, this old man shall exert his modest effort." Saying this, he waved the banner in his hand, and suddenly, a white light filled the screen, and everyone received an additional BUFF over their heads.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Luck Shines High: Your luck is increased by 1 point for 24 hours.

Xiao Buli thought to himself that compared to the blessing Lu Jiang gave them initially, this was far inferior, but it was still better than nothing.

Ignoring the crying and screaming of the strong man and the Wealthy Landowner, the group left the dungeon and returned on the same path. Xiao Buli suddenly felt someone tugging at his sleeve. Turning around, he saw Wu Tao, "What's up?" he asked.

Wu Tao spoke mysteriously, "After we finish the dungeon, don't leave. Yaoyao knows how to pick locks, and nobody knows about it; I only know because I'm on good terms with her. After the others leave, let her unlock all these cells; who knows, there might be something good in it for us."

Xiao Buli looked at Wu Tao's cunning expression and thought to himself that this guy was quite sly. Why hadn't he noticed this when they were in the same guild? However, he naturally wouldn't divulge such matters.

They didn't walk far along the main path before they encountered the altar Bai Yunfei had mentioned before; it was three or four Zhang high, built with huge rocks and massive wood. Hundreds of captured slaves were transporting stone and timber back and forth, constructing the altar.

All these slaves were neutral units with yellow names, indicating they would not initiate attacks on adventurers. However, many Black Mountain Foremen wielding whips around them were undoubtedly red-named monsters.

"Li Chuang, lure the foremen out and kill them, but be careful not to aggro those slaves."

Long-range pulling of monsters in this game was a technical job since it's a non-lock targeting game, and carelessness could easily lead to misfires. Fortunately, Li Chuang had excellent shooting game techniques, and with a few precise shots, he lured the red-named Black Mountain Foremen out one by one, dealing with them effortlessly.

With the foremen dead, the captured slaves broke free from the chains on their bodies and scattered without a trace. The group did not pay much attention and continued their way inward, soon sighting the mountain stronghold's Hall of Righteousness. A few minor monsters guarded the entrance, and they fought their way inside.

Seated on the chair at the center of the Hall of Righteousness was the BOSS—an assassin dressed in black leather armor with twin blades at his back—a formidable sight—Traitor Luo Zhan.

Traitor Luo Zhan: "Oh, do we have guests? How rude of me. Well, let me entertain you all properly."

With a loud bang, the door behind everyone firmly shut. The battle burst forth—three tanks took the lead, two healers frantically healed, and the rest went all out with their damage.

This Luo Zhan was much weaker than everyone had anticipated; he only had 3000 health points. However, he was incredibly fast, dashing around and hard to hit. Yet, after a barrage of slowing spells were cast on him, he slowed down, since being a small-volume boss, he was susceptible to control abilities.

His health points quickly dropped by a third and seamlessly entered P2 phase without a hitch.

The traitor Luo Zhan: "Damn it, it seems I've underestimated you all."

With a gesture, two Black Mountain Stalkers, who had been hiding behind him, leaped out. These two assassin monsters had semi-translucent shadowy bodies, each with over a thousand health points, elite monsters.

Zhang Yaoyang shouted urgently, "Zhao Yunlong, pull the one on the left; Wu Tao, take the one on the right; Zhang Qiang, tank the boss. Focus fire on the minor monsters, hit them fast and hard!"

The P2 phase seemed to pose no real challenge either. The minor monsters had a lot of health but didn't pack a powerful attack. They were swiftly dealt with, and the group turned their focus back to the boss. Everyone's guard was down, thinking the dungeon wasn't that hard.

When the boss's health dropped below 1000, he suddenly leaped into the air.

Traitor Luo Zhan: "You can actually hit me; that is surprising. But, can you do the same in darkness?" While speaking, he shot out four darts in quick succession, extinguishing the torches that illuminated the room from the corners. Darkness engulfed the space, followed by a series of muffled sounds of blades piercing flesh.

What's going on? Xiao Buli realized his screen had gone black and was shocked, instinctively casting Ethereal Armor on himself, but clearly, he wasn't the only one affected.

"Damn, why is my screen black!"

"It's the game's light effects! Light your torches." shouted the players in front of their computers, but the torches were stored in their bags, and in the chaos, they weren't easy to find.

A loud boom thundered as a flame sprang up from the middle of the room, the Five Elements Warlock Du Yibo was the first to react, summoning a firewall to provide temporary illumination and saved everyone from being picked off in the darkness.

"Good job, Yibo, keep the light up. Zhang Qiang, go get the boss!" shouted Yaoyang, but upon calling a second time, there was no response.

Looking closely, they discovered that Zhang Qiang, who was holding off the boss, had already fallen in a pool of blood.

"Damn, what's there to tank, I'm already dead!" said Zhang Qiang with a morose expression. Shield Bearers, as tanks, excel in using shields to block frontal attacks. In terms of armor and skills, they don't have much over other classes. In the darkness, he couldn't effectively block, and no one knew how many hits he took, nor was there anyone to heal him.

His high health points of over four hundred were drained in an instant.

"Second tank, take over! Stop standing there!" Yaoyang shouted, his heart sinking a bit. He hadn't expected such caution only to lead to death at the last moment. Buli was sweating coldly, relieved that it wasn't him the boss had attacked in the darkness.

Seeing the boss in a Fury state heading for Du Yibo, Zhao Yunlong stepped forward, "Ha! Do you dare to fight me!"

Of course, he wasn't typing idly; that was the warrior's aggro-pulling ability 'Solo Charge' which could only be used on a single target but had excellent effects. The boss, hearing this, actually turned and charged at him.

After a round of focus fire, there were no more surprises this time. With the light of the fire, the boss couldn't play any tricks, and with a final scream, the boss fell.

Traitor Luo Zhan: "The light—I see the light, really... so dazzling... ah!!!"

The Green Dragon Group: "......"

There was no cheer; everyone silently looked towards Zhang Qiang, both in the game and in reality.

"Hey, don't look so gloomy; you've made a sacrifice for the group. You'll definitely get a severance pay of 100,000 yuan."

Zhang Qiang's mood lifted a bit after Yaoyang's comforting words. Xiao Buli scanned everyone and saw that although a few seemed to relax a bit, most had a complicated, unspeakable look on their faces. Liu Xing, in particular, had an incredibly dark expression.

He stood up from his seat as if wanting to say something, his fists clenched tight, but in the end, he remained silent, turned away, and poured himself a drink from the liquor cabinet.

Xiao Buli glanced again at Bai Yunfei, who was constantly staring at Zhang Qiang's back as if there was something on it. In his gaze was not anger or sorrow but seemingly a hint of—fear?

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