After reading through this information, Zuo Lin'an more or less finalized the list of high-level players he had been keeping track of.
Among them, Ming Ruofeng was prominently featured.
He wrote down each of their talents and specter items one by one.
Once he finished updating his list, he noticed that some of the specter items owned by these players had incredibly powerful effects, capable of directly repelling specters, while others were rather weak and could only serve as distractions.
Furthermore, the details of many specter items remained unknown.
However, he quickly figured out the reason behind this.
Those weak specter items most likely originated from dungeons run by Human-Specter Symbiont bosses, whereas the powerful ones mostly came from naturally converted dungeons.
After all, among all the supernatural dungeons, Human-Specter Symbiont bosses only accounted for a tiny fraction.
The specters in many dungeons evolved naturally. The specter items that appeared alongside them were usually tied to the specters' own past experiences; these specters could not predict or customize the specific effects of their items beforehand.
That was why such powerful specter items existed.
Of course, if Human-Specter Symbiont bosses wanted to, they could also create specter items that directly repelled specters. But they weren't fools—they had no intention of aiding their enemies.
As for why the effects of so many specter items remained unknown, that was also easy to understand.
Not every dungeon boss posted details about their dungeons on the forum, nor did they go around announcing what their specter items did or which player had taken them.
In fact, some supernatural dungeons formed naturally. The bosses inside didn't even have work phones, let alone sentience, making communication impossible.
These types of dungeons were usually one-time instances, but there was still a significant number of them.
“Getting this much intelligence is already pretty good... I shouldn't be too greedy.”
Zuo Lin'an checked the time. There were still several hours left before midnight.
He continued browsing the forum to pass the time while polishing his records. It wasn't until half an hour before midnight that he changed his clothes and headed toward the white mist in the inner ring.
This time, he didn't bring any drinks or snacks, carrying only his two phones.
Arriving at the familiar flat stone from before, he sat down casually, waiting for the last bit of time to tick away.
Just then, a message from Xu Youyou came through.
【Xu Youyou: Good luck, Brother An!】
【Zuo Lin'an: You too.】
After replying, Zuo Lin'an slipped the phone into his pocket and stepped into the white mist.
He achieved perfect fusion in an instant, then switched into his specter body form.
Once midnight struck, he needed to kill his first player within one minute to weaken the overall strength of the player group.
If he was lucky, the player he killed might even have held a key to survival.
For example, possessing a special specter item that could repel specters, or a similar talent.
But that was just wishful thinking.
Zuo Lin'an looked ahead.
He remembered that when the dungeon opened for the first time, the players had spawned at the peak of the tallest mountain. In that case, he would head over there ahead of time, conceal his presence, and wait.
Time ticked away second by second, and soon, it was exactly midnight.
Within his perception, the presences of ten living humans quietly materialized at various spots on the mountaintop. Zuo Lin'an picked the one at the very edge, the furthest away from the other players.
In just two short steps, he was already standing right behind the person.
Zuo Lin'an remained highly alert. If this person showed any sign of using a talent or a specter item to attack him, he could instantly switch to his living body form, rendering the attack useless.
His specter aura spread, completely sealing off all noise and movement in the surroundings.
Zuo Lin'an grabbed the person and dragged them far away from the spot before preparing to use his knife.
The moment the player regained consciousness, they felt the bone-chilling cold of the surrounding air. Shivering violently, they screamed in terror while struggling desperately to escape.
The person was completely consumed by fear and confusion, utterly lost. It seemed like... they didn't know anything at all.
Furthermore, there was no true qi in this person's body, nor any signs of martial arts training. They were simply dressed reasonably well, likely coming from a moderately wealthy family.
They were probably a complete novice player, and a regular ordinary person at that.
Holding his boning knife, Zuo Lin'an pinned the person to the ground, preparing to execute his rules.
This was the first player he needed to kill in this run. Since he didn't know yet if there were any powerful martial artists among the other players, he had to finish this as quickly as possible.
This would prevent anyone else from sensing something amiss and coming to interfere.
Seeing how violently the person was struggling, Zuo Lin'an grabbed their head and slammed it against a nearby tree trunk. After two or three strikes, the player was knocked unconscious, completely blacking out.
He then used his specter aura to keep the person barely alive, smoothly executing his Death Rule until the very end.
As his final slash landed and killed the player for good, he once again concealed his form and hid himself away.
And at this moment...
As Zuo Lin'an retreated to a distance and focused his attention on the other players, he suddenly discovered that the leaf he had hung on a branch had already been taken!
Zuo Lin'an: “...”
In that instant, his mind went blank. It took him a long moment to snap out of it.
It was found just like that?!
Though Zuo Lin'an was somewhat surprised, he quickly composed himself.
If they found it, they found it. It was no big deal.
Actually, he had wanted to hide the specter item better. The problem was that before the dungeon started, he had to ensure the item's location was something players could logically deduce and find.
Therefore, he absolutely could not hide the specter item beforehand.
And right when the dungeon opened, he had to capture a player and execute his rules within a minute, leaving him with no time to hide it.
Thus, his plan had been to kill one player first and then immediately head over to hide the specter item.
Of course, he couldn't hide it too excessively either. Snapping the branch and letting it blend in with the other leaves, just like before, was already the limit.
After all, the players needed a path of survival, and the specter item he provided could be considered one of those paths.
But he never would have guessed that in just a brief two or three minutes, the specter item 【Withered Leaf】 would already be found.
One had to keep in mind that it was currently the dead of night; ordinary people wouldn't be able to see a thing.
Moreover, this Wuxia World was set in an ancient era, where many people were practically blind at night due to night blindness.
Therefore, the player who had managed to get this leaf was definitely no ordinary individual. They had to be at least a First-Rate martial artist and possess exceptional night vision.
Perhaps they had trained in a special martial art meant for improving eyesight.
Without a clear grasp of these players' backgrounds, Zuo Lin'an had no intention of acting rashly.
He utilized his privilege as a dungeon boss—the God's-eye view—to observe the players from a distance.
The player who had obtained the 【Withered Leaf】 was wearing dark dragon-scale robes. The edges of the black fabric were embroidered with golden dragon scales, a design that clearly associated them with the imperial family.
Additionally, they wore a dragon-scale mask.
Rate on N.U.
