Chapter 6 The Sixth Barrier

With those words, the sixth barrier contraction was about to begin, this time lasting a full twenty minutes, with the final contraction range around this very basement.

The Sacrifice Wine Steward said urgently, "The Qiumo Grotto could descend at any moment. I assume none of you want the Mirage Dragon to leave, unleashing a demonic tide, while you escape with the Bafang Mingyue Palace Lantern, right?

"The only way right now is to use the palace lantern to enter the Mist Realm.

"Then, whether you find another way out, negotiate with the Mirage Dragon,

"Or directly kill the Datura leader and seize control of the Mirage Dragon, you can improvise as needed."

Although the Sacrifice Wine Steward spoke to everyone present, his eyes remained fixed on Li Ang.

He could tell that among all the players present, Liu Wudai and the two Mobile Task Force members would most likely choose his plan.

However, the final decision rested on the strongest player present,

The "Batman" who had killed his teammate earlier.

After all, everything depended on that Bafang Mingyue Palace Lantern.

Li Ang remained silent, weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

With his strength and speed, he could completely strike first, strangling Chuyin Ashes Wumu. Once the Light of En封 Sword effect ended, he could strangle the Wraith Demon and the Sacrifice Wine Steward, leaving Gururugugu to activate the spherical spell.

After completing the mission, he could then take advantage of the chaos to eliminate Liu Wudai and Gururugugu, silencing them, and take the Bafang Mingyue Palace Lantern to the outskirts of Yin City while the Mist Realm fully arrived, taking Wang Congshan and the others to escape quickly.

The advantage of this plan was that he didn't need to gamble on whether the Sacrifice Wine Steward was telling the truth or not, and he didn't need to face the dangers of entering the Mist Realm. The safety factor was maximized.

When the demonic tide arrived, the Special Affairs Bureau would not have the extra energy to investigate.

Even if the Sacrifice Wine Steward was lying and there was no Qiumo Grotto or Mirage Dragon,

Killing all the players present would earn a lot of experience points and game coins, a sure profit.

But, if the Sacrifice Wine Steward wasn't lying, then this plan would lead to the complete annihilation of the Datura patients, the Mist Realm engulfing Yin City, and the demonic tide would be unavoidable.

Seeing Li Ang's silence, both the Sacrifice Wine Steward and the other players felt tense.

Liu Wudai, Chuyin, and Ashes all had their own reasons for wanting to enter the Mist Realm.

However, from their perspective, they didn't see Li Ang having any reason to enter the Mist Realm.

There was only one Bafang Mingyue Palace Lantern.

Friend or foe?

The Sacrifice Wine Steward took a deep breath, swallowed, and said, "Although I am a member of the Datura organization, I do not agree with, and even resist, their ambitions to be superior forever.

"I also have my own purpose for participating in this deathmatch mission."

Li Ang raised a hand, signaling him to stop. "How do you enter the Mist Realm?"

"Huff."

The Sacrifice Wine Steward breathed a sigh of relief. "Actually, the outermost layer of the pyramidal Qiumo Grotto has several secret passages that can be used with the palace lantern to directly reach the bottom.

"The mist exhaled by the Mirage Dragon permeates the outside of the pyramidal Qiumo Grotto through these passages.

"The coordinates of these passage entrances in the real world are the various nodes of the Mist Realm's mutation.

"As the Qiumo Grotto and the real world continue to overlap, the rock layers at each node will fracture, releasing a constant stream of mist.

"Coincidentally, besides Qianhua Road, which is the largest access node, this abandoned subway station beneath our feet is also one of the nodes. As long as you take the Bafang Mingyue Palace Lantern and follow the crack in the ground, you can reach the bottom of the Qiumo Grotto."

Having said that, the Sacrifice Wine Steward stood up and pointed to the deepest crack in the center of the subway station, several meters wide, which was constantly spewing out thick fog.

"That crack is the passage."

Li Ang moved a little closer and threw several stones of varying sizes into the crack, using his cat's eyes to look into the crack.

The crack was pitch black, and the stones seemed to disappear without a trace, without any sound of collision or falling. Only a faint, muffled wind sound came from the depths of the crack.

At this time, the system broadcasted the message that the sixth barrier had begun to contract, with twenty minutes remaining until the end of the mission.

"Everyone,"

Li Ang looked at the players present with an indifferent expression and said quietly, "What are your thoughts?"

Ashes and Chuyin looked at each other, hesitated for a moment, and said to Li Ang, "Our Mobile Task Force will naturally prioritize the safety of the people."

These two Special Affairs Bureau members had used drones to transmit the information known by the Sacrifice Wine Steward to the internal system of the Special Affairs Bureau.

The Special Affairs Bureau would presumably take corresponding measures based on this information, such as evacuating the masses and strengthening the defensive line – the system's limitations would prevent the Special Affairs Bureau from directly helping Ashes and Chuyin.

However, outside of this mission, the Special Affairs Bureau was still free to make its own choices.

In the real world, the Special Affairs Bureau had begun to redeploy troops and use the city's broadcasting system to further expand the evacuation area.

It also issued high-value bounties to all bounty hunter players, hiring them to go to various strongholds in Yin City to assist the Mobile Task Force in defense and prevent the Mist Realm from descending.

In addition, the Special Affairs Bureau, knowing the urgency of the situation, had also unsealed a batch of extraordinary items to prepare for the worst.

Ashes and Chuyin had no objections.

Liu Wudai said nothing, but silently nodded lightly at Li Ang.

Wumu hesitated for a moment, gritted her teeth, and finally stood with Ashes and the others.

"Good."

Li Ang looked at the Sacrifice Wine Steward and pointed to the light sword hanging above his head. "When will the effect of that equipment of yours stop?"

"About two minutes," the Sacrifice Wine Steward answered truthfully.

"In time."

Li Ang nodded, not rushing into the thick fog, but standing beside the unconscious Wraith Demon and Gururugugu, holding the trident bone spear, holding his breath and concentrating.

In any case, these two demons who had released mental skills on him had to die.

Realizing that Li Ang was determined to kill, the Sacrifice Wine Steward did not plead for the Wraith Demon and Gururugugu.

He asked Ashes for pink handcuffs, put them on himself, and stood aside, counting down the end time of the Light of En封 Sword effect for Li Ang.

"Five, four, three, two, one."

As the countdown ended, the Light of En封 disappeared, and Miss Chai, who was standing next to the Bafang Mingyue Palace Lantern, took the palace lantern.

Li Ang then used all his strength, activating Ripple energy, and thrust out the trident bone spear, directly piercing the Wraith Demon's head.

[Player "Wraith Demon" has been killed by player "Li Risheng"]

[Player "Gururugugu" has been killed by player "Li Risheng"]

The prompts sounded one after another. Li Ang shook the spear, and in the silent gaze of the crowd, he put the bodies of the two hostile players into his backpack.

Then, he took the Bafang Mingyue Palace Lantern from Miss Chai and said indifferently to the Sacrifice Wine Steward, whose hands were cuffed, "Lead the way."

Judging from the shape of the Wraith Demon's skull and the condition of its teeth, it was likely a large, golden retriever-sized dog that had been kept as a pet before becoming a player.

No one knew its past, and no one knew that the reason it and Gururugugu participated in this deathmatch mission, where nine out of ten died, was to rescue their ordinary human master who had been trapped in the Mist Realm for months.

Amidst the sounds of the Special Affairs Bureau reporting the situation of the Mist Realm in the subway station in the real world, Li Ang glanced at this gray and white world, carrying the Bafang Mingyue Palace Lantern, and followed the Sacrifice Wine Steward, stepping into the deep crack filled with thick fog with everyone else.