Lin Yuan did not linger at the entrance for long.
The crowd was too dense and the noise too loud; the monsters had long since been scared off.
Carrying Purple Lightning on his shoulder, he followed the route he had taken yesterday evening, walking at a leisurely pace deeper into the woods.
After walking for about twenty minutes, the surrounding examinees gradually thinned out. Most people chose to stay in groups at the edge of the safe zone.
They roamed the outskirts in parties of three to five, steadily accumulating points by hunting low-tier monsters.
Lin Yuan had a different idea.
The monsters on the outskirts were of too low a grade. A Tier 1, Level 3 Gray-skinned Jackal was only worth one point; he wouldn't be able to gather many points even if he hunted until dark.
Moreover, there were too many people and too few monsters. With multiple teams fighting over a single kill, the efficiency was far too low.
He wanted the depths—where there were fewer people, more monsters, and higher grades.
As for the danger?
He had soloed a Tier 2, Level 2 Rock-armored Great Bear yesterday evening.
In these hills, the things that could actually pose a threat to him could be counted on one hand.
After walking for about forty minutes, not a single examinee was in sight.
Lin Yuan found a clean rock to sit on and pulled out his phone.
The signal was down to one bar, but it was enough for him to open the Ability User Association's official app and pull up the detailed map of this D-rank danger zone.
The map was clearly marked.
His current position was a small blue dot on the map, located toward the outer edge of the danger zone.
If he continued west, the grades of the monsters would gradually rise, shifting from primarily Tier 1 to primarily Tier 2.
At the westernmost end of the map, there was an area marked with red diagonal lines, with a label beside it that read: “Tier 3 and above, strictly prohibited.”
Without hesitation, Lin Yuan shouldered Purple Lightning and headed toward the west.
What he didn't know was that at an unknown depth beneath his feet, a conversation was taking place that was vastly different from anything happening on the surface.
Deep beneath the earth in Hangzhou, there was a place that the Dragon Nation officials had never publicly marked on any civilian map.
The Abyss Magic Cave.
The reason Hangzhou was built here wasn't for the scenery or the convenient transportation, but because of this thing underground.
From the very first day of its construction, the entire city of Hangzhou had served as a giant sealing formation placed over the entrance to the Abyss Magic Cave.
The West City Combat Base, the Ability User Association building in the city center, and the City Defense Army camp in the east—the locations of these three structures were not chosen at random.
They formed a triangular suppression barrier, firmly locking the entrance of the Abyss Magic Cave beneath them.
The Magic Cave was divided into nine levels, corresponding to the nine tiers of ability users.
The first through third levels were low-tier areas, occupied by Tier 1 to Tier 3 monsters.
The fourth through sixth levels were mid-tier areas, ranging from Tier 4 to Tier 6.
The seventh level and above were high-tier areas for Tier 7 and beyond. At the deepest ninth level, it was said that a Tier 9 monster—the Abyss Wolf King—resided.
There was only one race of monsters in this cave.
The Shadow Abyss Wolf.
They possessed intelligence, language, a strict social structure, and hunting techniques and ability cultivation methods passed down through generations.
Low-tier Abyss Wolves were similar to ordinary wolf-type monsters, fighting with claws, fangs, and instinct.
But once they reached Tier 4 or higher, the Shadow Abyss Wolves would awaken a racial talent called Shadow Traverse, allowing them to teleport short distances within shadows.
It was said that at Tier 7 and above, they could even take on human form.
Currently, in the fifth level of the Abyss Magic Cave.
A group of Shadow Abyss Wolves stood around a giant dragon head pattern on the ground.
At the very front were three Shadow Abyss Wolves whose sizes were significantly larger than their kin, with shoulder heights approaching two meters.
Tier 5 Shadow Abyss Wolves. They had already awakened the full Shadow Traverse ability, and their combat power was equivalent to a human Tier 5 ability user.
Behind them were over a dozen Tier 4 and Tier 3 Shadow Abyss Wolves, arranged in a semicircle with their heads lowered in a respectful posture.
Opposite them were three humans.
Despite the heat, they wore deep gray coats with red hoods pulled over their heads.
Their attire was identical to that of the three individuals Lin Yuan had seen on the streets of Hangzhou yesterday evening.
The leader's hood was pulled low, revealing only the lower half of his face. His skin was pale, and his lips were almost colorless.
The lead wolf among the three Tier 5 Shadow Abyss Wolves spoke.
Her voice was deep, carrying the guttural tone characteristic of beasts, yet she spoke in human language.
“Is everything ready? The leader has already agreed to your request.”
The man in the red hood slowly raised his head.
Under the shadow of the hood, deep within the pupil of his left eye, an inverted eye pattern was slowly rotating.
It was a blood eye identical to the one belonging to that rune master in Donghai City.
“Rest assured,” his voice was soft, as if he were afraid of startling something.
“This time, it is foolproof. We have united all the forces we could within a hundred miles of Hangzhou—the Scaled Python swarms of Black Marsh, the Red-eyed Fox clans of Qingqiu, and the Iron-spined Rhino herds of Woniu Mountain. A total of over thirty thousand monsters, with thirty percent being Tier 2 or higher.”
He paused.
“When the time comes, we will strike from both sides.”
The lead Shadow Abyss Wolf fell silent for a moment, her emerald pupils staring at the red-hooded man for a long time.
“What does your Blood Eye Cult want?”
The corner of the red-hooded man's mouth curled into a cold arc.
“We will help you break the sealing formation of Hangzhou, expanding the exit of the Abyss Magic Cave from Tier 1 to Tier 5. Your Shadow Abyss Wolf clan has been trapped underground for centuries. The feeling of the high-tier members being unable to leave cannot be pleasant, can it?”
The Shadow Abyss Wolf did not answer, but a low vibration rumbled in her throat.
“In exchange,” the red-hooded man extended a pale finger.
“We want one thing from the surface. As for exactly what it is, you do not need to know.”
One of the Tier 5 Shadow Abyss Wolves stepped forward, her claws carving new marks into the stone floor.
“Human, if you deceive us...”
The red-hooded man interrupted her.
“Relax. The Blood Eye Cult never deceives; we only make deals.”
The Shadow Abyss Wolf stared at him for a long time.
Then, she took a step back.
“Three days from now, at the weakest point of the sealing formation—the night of the full moon.”
The red-hooded man nodded and turned toward the shadows of the cave.
The three red-hooded figures twisted within the shadows and vanished.
The three Tier 5 Shadow Abyss Wolves remained where they were.
“Sister,” the slightly smaller Abyss Wolf on the left spoke. “Do we really trust them?”
The lead wolf's voice dropped low. “The leader said that this time, no matter what, we must go out and get that item!”
...
On the surface, deep within the C-rank danger zone in the Hangzhou West Suburbs.
Lin Yuan was completely unaware of the conversation taking place underground.
He was currently focused on counting money—no, counting points.
In the three hours since entering the danger zone, he had taken down eleven monsters.
Two Tier 1, Level 7 Green-maned Wolves, 5 points each, for a total of 10 points.
Three Tier 1, Level 8 Iron-spined Boars, 5 points each, for a total of 15 points.
One Tier 1, Level 9 Thorny Giant Python, 5 points.
One Tier 2, Level 1 Shadow Cat, 10 points.
Two Tier 2, Level 2 rock-armored lizards, 10 points each, for a total of 20 points.
One Tier 2, Level 3 Wind-patterned Leopard, 12 points.
The Wind-patterned Leopard was fast, so its assessed point value was slightly higher than other monsters of the same tier.
Rate on N.U.
