Lin Deyou quickly analyzed their current situation. Zhuang He was dead, and Bai Liu was now completely isolated. If nothing unexpected happened, the specter's next target would undoubtedly be Bai Liu.
An overwhelming anxiety filled his heart as he desperately racked his brain for a way to survive.
“If only...”
If only they had a few more specter items. Even if they only bought them a little more time, it would be better than nothing.
Wait.
Hold on.
Specter items?
Right, where were the specter items of this dungeon?
After a brief moment of thought, Lin Deyou gave up on the idea. This dungeon seemed massive, and there wasn't a single building in sight. In these barren, desolate mountains, there was simply nowhere to look.
It was better to focus on the present.
Princess Jinyang asked, “The one killed just now was Zhuang He. Does that mean Bai Liu is next?”
Lin Deyou nodded. “Undoubtedly. The specter shouldn't come for us first.”
Zuo Lin'an indeed shared that thought.
After finishing off Zhuang He, he secretly pursued Bai Liu. After all, playing on his phone the entire time felt a bit like slacking off, and right now, he was on the clock as the dungeon boss.
Hearing Zhuang He's agonizing screams had completely terrified Bai Liu. He was running around like a headless chicken, pushing his qinggong to its absolute limit. By now, he had already reached the white mist at the edge of the dungeon.
Nearly half of his true qi had been depleted. Paranoia gripped him, making him jump at every shadow as he frantically scanned his surroundings while running.
He didn't dare step into the white mist.
During his very first supernatural world dungeon, he had tried to break through the white mist to escape that bizarre place. But the moment he set foot in it, an overwhelming sense of impending doom had washed over him.
The deeper he went, the stronger the sense of danger became.
It wasn't until he witnessed someone who had run ahead of him instantly drop dead that he realized the sheer terror of the white mist. He had been forced to turn back.
Since then, he knew that the white mist existed to confine players to a specific area. It was absolutely off-limits.
Bai Liu glanced back once more, only to see Zuo Lin'an, who had intentionally revealed himself.
Those crimson eyes instantly sent a chilling sensation of impending death straight down his spine.
“Damn specter!”
“Why aren't you going after those three wretched bastards instead?!”
Since it wasn't time yet, Zuo Lin'an was in no hurry. He casually trailed behind Bai Liu at a leisurely pace.
He didn't need to chase him down aggressively; he only needed to ensure that every time Bai Liu looked back, he would see him.
“Damn it! Damn it all!”
“I just broke through to become a Second-Rate martial artist! I've done so much, and I was so close to taking over as the fifth leader!”
“I just plundered so much money, food, and so many treasures and antiques! I haven't even enjoyed them yet! I haven't even started to enjoy my life!”
“My life has only just begun! I was going to slaughter those corrupt officials, seize everything they own, and climb my way up to become the stockade chief! How can I die here?!”
“How can I...”
Listening to the man's indignant roars, Zuo Lin'an remained entirely unmoved. He even had the leisure to recall this person's identity.
He was from... the Flying Flower Stockade?
This Bai Liu had just broken through to become a Second-Rate martial artist, yet he still had to compete just to become the fifth leader of the Flying Flower Stockade. Meanwhile, Zhuang He, who was only a Third-Rate martial artist, was already the second-in-command of Poison Dragon Mountain.
From this, it was clear that the Flying Flower Stockade was far stronger than Poison Dragon Mountain. No wonder Bai Liu had dared to show attitude to the Duke's young master earlier.
And... to be fair, the blood aura on Bai Liu was even denser than Zhuang He's!
His earlier attitude made him seem entirely anti-imperial court, despising royals and nobles, but this man himself was definitely no saint either.
Just like Zhuang He, he was a bandit who had fled to the mountains.
To feed so many bandit brothers, they would naturally have to resort to pillaging homes or highway robbery.
There weren't that many wealthy households out in the open for them to rob anyway. Besides, the rich lived in fortified cities, employing private guards, with government troops stationed nearby.
So, what did they do when they needed money?
They would inevitably target passing merchants or raid villages and small towns where the government's reach fell short, plundering money and food.
In the process, they must have slaughtered countless innocent people. The dense blood aura clinging to both of them was undoubtedly accumulated this way.
On the other hand, although Lin Deyou was also a Second-Rate martial artist, his blood aura was very sparse.
Clearly, Lin Deyou didn't like to kill, or at least, he didn't do the dirty work himself.
Based on their identities, speech, and behavior, Zuo Lin'an could roughly deduce the state of their country. It was, without a doubt, a chaotic, war-torn era.
By now, Bai Liu had been running along the edge of the white mist for quite some time, and the hour was fast approaching.
Sensing that his execution window was open, Zuo Lin'an stopped his leisurely pursuit and instantly closed a massive distance between them.
This sudden burst of speed scared Bai Liu half to death.
He completely ignored how much true qi he had left, blindly and frantically pushing his qinggong to its absolute limit, desperate to use raw speed to escape the specter's grasp.
Yet, no matter how fast he ran or which direction he fled, every time he looked back, those scalp-numbing, crimson eyes were right there.
By this time, a faint light had begun to appear in the sky.
However, the area was perpetually shrouded in thick, dark clouds. Sunlight never reached this place, leaving it gloomy and dim even at noon, let alone in the early morning.
Bai Liu hadn't even realized that dawn had broken.
Seeing Bai Liu's deathly pale face from afar, Zuo Lin'an could tell the man's mind had completely collapsed under the pressure. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of disdain.
This was a so-called Second-Rate martial artist?
Zhuang He, who was only a Third-Rate martial artist, at least had the courage to fight back and make one last desperate attempt when cornered.
But this Bai Liu...
Since he had been constantly targeting Lin Deyou, Zuo Lin'an had initially thought he might be some sort of righteous hero who hated evil and robbed the rich to feed the poor. In the end, he was just another piece of trash.
He ran fast, but unfortunately for him, running was utterly futile in front of a specter.
Zuo Lin'an caught him without lifting a finger. For the next few minutes, Bai Liu's agonizing, blood-curdling screams echoed through the mountains, lingering for a long time.
Extremely annoyed by him, Zuo Lin'an went out of his way to torture him for a while, using his specter aura to keep him barely alive.
Only when there was practically nowhere left to stab did he finally allow the man to draw his last breath.
Once he was done, he casually kicked aside a piece of leg bone clinging with bits of flesh and began walking toward where Lin Deyou and the other two were hiding.
“Hmm?”
His phone buzzed.
He pulled it out and saw a message from Xu Youyou.
【Xu Youyou: Brother An, I'm done on my end. How much longer do you need?】
He hadn't expected the guy to be so fast.
【Zuo Lin'an: If nothing goes wrong, I still need about three hours.】
【Xu Youyou: Ah, so there are still three players left. Alright, keep at it then. I'll come find you in a bit.】
【Zuo Lin'an: Sure.】
Zuo Lin'an put away his phone and quickly arrived near Lin Deyou and the others' hiding spot.
There was a cave here, very shallow, extending only about four or five meters inward. The three of them were currently huddled around a campfire inside.
Although the cave was brightly lit, the expressions on their faces were grim.
Rate on N.U.
