Just as the fifty players entered the script…

In the city, on a certain street.

A manhole cover, infested with rot, suddenly shifted. Then, a white, powdery substance billowed up from underground.

This "bone sand" initially just flowed, but quickly evolved into a true "gusher." In a matter of seconds, the manhole cover was blown open, and a pillar of sand shot into the sky, creating what felt like a sandstorm within a radius of dozens of meters.

Where the sand passed, ghostly figures flickered… Before long, those shadows solidified, transforming into nine bizarre living (dead) beings.

"Indeed, a place permeated with deathly aura..." A massive skull, engulfed in strange flames, floated in the air and intoned.

It was called "Duoling" (Soul Snatcher), a high-ranking entity second only to the Four Pillar Gods.

Beside Duoling were eight other monstrous figures:

Curse Spirit, appearing as a Latino male; tall and sturdy, clad in a hooded brown robe; his features were no different from ordinary humans, except that his eyes were pupil-less, like amber, with a shimmering, ghostly light.

War Spirit, with the appearance of a human female, but nearly three meters tall, her entire body covered in solid biological scales, with a pair of dragon wings sprouting from her back.

Banished Demon, its body like monstrous vines cast from flesh, gnarled and intertwined, making it difficult to distinguish limbs; its head was a huge ball of flesh, without nose or ears; its eyes were two enormous compound eyes; it had a gaping maw filled with rows of jagged, intersecting teeth.

Formless Demon, currently in the state of a black stone floating in mid-air, about three cubic meters in volume, with a texture similar to crystal, irregularly shaped, the surface of the stone adorned with grayish-white patterns.

Bloodlust Demon, eight meters long, with a blue face and fangs; its upper body had three heads and six arms, while its lower body resembled a snake's tail. Its entire body was covered in ruby-like insect carapace armor, radiating a scarlet color.

The Penitent, a brown-haired woman in her thirties, wearing a tight-fitting leather armor, every inch of her exposed skin covered in sutures, her eyes and mouth sewn shut with steel wire.

The Beheader, a Caucasian woman in her twenties, red-haired, tall and shapely, wearing a suit of soft armor; her face and right arm were covered in a kind of metal-like alien bone armor.

The Seer, a four-meter-tall male giant, with a god-like armor of perfect muscles, azure skin, and long white hair woven into a bundle hanging behind him, like the tail of a giant beast.

These nine monsters, each with a different form, were the Nether Abyss Underlord's—Nine Undead Fiends.

"Everywhere...wandering undead..." The Penitent spoke in a hoarse, weak voice, her sewn-shut eyes seemingly not affecting her vision, "Millions of them..."

"And others...a pile of filth." The Seer added in a deep, resonant voice.

"Shall we cleanse them?" The Beheader immediately chimed in.

"Hold on a moment." Duoling said in a tone of leadership, "There seems to be something strange here..."

The Curse Spirit then spoke, "Otherworld travelers, perhaps..." The ghostly light in his eyes grew brighter, "Hmm...I have never seen so many otherworld travelers appear in the same place at the same time."

"Heh...They're all just trash anyway, let's just deal with them all." The Bloodlust Demon muttered darkly.

As they were talking, suddenly, in the night sky above them… an eerie white line appeared without warning, surrounded by the flickering illusion of data streams.

Seconds later, the white line was stretched open, and an arm reached out from within. Then, a person's head... then, the entire torso squeezed out... finally, a lithe figure burst out of the rift, descended from the sky, and landed right in the middle of these nine demons and monsters.

This uninvited guest was a woman, nearly one meter nine in height, with bluish-green hair. Her identity was one of the Source Organization’s Derivatives, named L2-Xuelan.

At this moment, Xuelan was scanning the nine monsters around her with indifferent eyes. In her eyes, she saw only groups of flowing, white-glowing number matrices, and as an extension of the program, she could directly analyze this data…

Data Identification:

——Breaching firewall…

——Downloading data…

——Initiating countermeasure strategy…

External Identification Database initiated, downloading, writing correcting writing writing.

[Name: Duoling (Soul Snatcher)]

[Faction: Nether Abyss Underlord]

[Race: Undead]

[Level: ???]

[Height: 0-139 cm]

[Weight: ???]

[Combat Style: ???]

[Skills: ???]

[Danger Level: Medium]

Voice recognition: Established.

Location: y-012.

Tracking Location: Cannot initiate.

Control Status: Out of control.

Tactical Control Options: Calculating…

The scene Xuelan saw on her "Tactical Interface" was roughly like this. Since her level was still only Tier Two, she could not completely analyze the other party’s information. Some of the data still needed to be unlocked through actual combat or intelligence gathering.

"You are...what..." The Seer spoke again, his speech slow and his tone somewhat clumsy.

"Neither the aura of the living, nor the characteristics of the dead." The War Spirit took half a step forward, "Interesting… Are you an enemy? If so, that's just great."

"Can you state your intentions?" Duoling, as the highest-ranking of the Nine Fiends, naturally had the highest intelligence, and since it knew of the existence of Derivatives, it raised a more constructive question.

Xuelan’s analysis of the nine undead before her had been completed before the other party finished speaking. At this time, she simply replied coldly: "My mission does not conflict with your interests. My superiors are not interested in this land. As long as you do not interfere with me, we can coexist peacefully."

Duoling paused slightly, then continued, "So...your target is the otherworld travelers?"

"Curiosity will do you no good." Xuelan replied. Neither of her answers gave any substantial information, but she also did not directly fall out with the other party. After all, she was currently facing nine sets of unique data with her own strength. If they really started fighting, she would only have the option to run.

"Let me chop her up!" The Beheader interjected eagerly from the side.

"No..." Duoling said, pausing slightly before adding, "We're leaving..."

"What did you say?" The other eight Fiends all looked puzzled (if they had faces).

"No need to say more..." Duoling said sternly. As the leader, he still had some authority. As soon as he said this, the other spirits fell silent.

"Split up and cleanse those trash in the city." After a few seconds, Duoling continued, "But try to avoid the otherworld travelers, and..." It looked at L2-Xuelan, "Those creatures similar to her."