Xia Ni stood at the entrance of the passage, eyes slightly closed.
"This is her first time participating in actual combat; she's learning and will enhance and optimize her combat strategy afterward," explained Xia Huilan.
Wu Xiaode nodded, looking at the undead man hovering mid-air.
"We still need to guard for seven minutes before everyone in the passage can completely evacuate," the undead man said.
"What was up with that monster just now? He was clearly human, so why did he have so many tentacles? And he even dared to flirt with a girl?" Wu Xiaode asked again.
"He was originally human," the undead man said.
"Human?" Wu Xiaode exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, he was a traitor—he betrayed humanity and was transformed into that form, specifically to hunt and kill us," said the undead man, his voice laden with resentment.
"Who transformed him?" Wu Xiaode asked.
The undead man shook his head, not answering.
At that moment, another undead appeared signaling that another monster was approaching.
"Is the passage below us number five?" Wu Xiaode looked down at the cliff below.
"Yes."
"Actually, you did the right thing by coming to me."
"How so?"
Wu Xiaode sat down at the entrance of the passage and said, "This is my first time entering this different space, so the fluctuations on me are obvious. The monsters will come for me—since their attention is on me, they won't pay too much attention to the others."
Besides the will wall, he had already opened a second wall.
Should he decide on the function of this wall?
...It's too hasty.
He hadn't really thought through how to use this wall.
In the long run, it was incorrect to hastily set an auxiliary ability during such a time.
Wu Xiaode dismissed the idea.
The undead remained silent for a moment, then spoke up: "Six minutes left."
Xia Huilan came over, gently touched Wu Xiaode's head, and asked, "Little Wu, are you hurt?"
"No, I need to kill about three more monsters, and then we can go back," Wu Xiaode said.
"Three? Wait, has your Soul Power limit reached six points? You broke through so quickly!" Xia Huilan said in astonishment.
"Is it slow for others?" Wu Xiaode asked.
"According to the statistics, it generally takes at least several entries to increase the Soul Power by one point," Xia Huilan said.
I knew something was off!
Wu Xiaode revealed a look of relief.
The reason his Soul Power was increasing so rapidly was actually because of the help from the Crow Spirit here.
If everyone could absorb Soul Power and increase their limits just by killing a few monsters, wouldn't they have to keep killing here indefinitely?
—A man shouldn't compete for speed.
He still had Sister Lan with him; it had been dangerous for her earlier!
Next time he came alone, he would consider leveling up to his full potential.
Wu Xiaode, deep in thought, used telepathy to communicate with Ya on his shoulder:
"For the upcoming battle, don't give me excessive Soul Power anymore, just replenish what I consume."
"Are you afraid that if you continue to expand your Soul Power limit, you'd have to keep killing monsters and then never get to go back?" Ya said.
"Yes," Wu Xiaode said.
"Good, you know to resist the urge to improve; that's correct, especially since the current situation is very treacherous and dangerous. I've already sensed the smell of death," said Ya gravely.
The smell of death...
Wu Xiaode thought for a few moments and gestured to Xia Ni.
"What is it, Little Wu?" Xia Ni said with a smile.
"Fighting tough battles is no fun; how about we play some tricks since it's my first time here?" Wu Xiaode said.
"Tell me how you want to play," Xia Ni said.
"Well, I have a kind of sensing ability that lets me know where the enemy is coming from—"
He glanced at the undead man in mid-air.
The undead man nodded.
They still could guarantee this matter.
"You hide in advance; once the monster appears, it will definitely be attracted by the fluctuations on me, and you can attack it from behind," Wu Xiaode said.
"Sounds like a good idea," Xia Ni said.
Suddenly, the expression of the undead man changed.
Another undead passed through the wall and whispered something to him.
The undead man immediately said, "Passage 23—on the wall opposite you, the fifth row from the left, the sixth passage, a dual-headed viper is about to appear."
Wu Xiaode pointed at that passage, "Xia Ni, go to the tunnel entrance over there with the ivy and find a place to ambush."
"Got it," Xia Ni said.
She flew over and landed above the 23rd passage, sticking close to the wall.
In no time, she was out of sight.
"Sister Lan, hide behind the passage, wait for us to finish killing here before you come out."
"Okay."
Everything was arranged.
Waiting.
One, two, three, four, five.
A monster emerged from passage 23.
It had two women's heads but shared a body resembling that of a scorpion, with pincers for hands and a poison needle at the end of its long tail.
The moment the monster appeared, it saw Wu Xiaode.
"This fluctuation... are you the backup?"
One of the monster's female heads said.
Wu Xiaode, sitting across in the entrance of the passage, waved at it: "That's right, it's me—I'm here for the first time. Could you tell me what world this is?"
The monster sneered, "How green and naive you are, perfect for a sacrifice. Soon, you'll find out what this world is."
A gentle cool breeze swept by.
Suddenly, the monster felt the world spinning uncontrollably.
It swiftly tried to come to its senses, shifting its senses to the other head.
But the only thing that head could feel was unbearable pain—
Xia Ni silently descended from above the tunnel entrance, her hand aglow with a blazing light-shaped blade, severing one head of the monster and immediately starting to hack at its body.
Just like slicing a sausage—
By the time Wu Xiaode, transformed into a crow, arrived, the monster was left with only half a body.
Xia Ni pulled out several heavy iron spears and, like hammering nails, pinned the monster to the ground.
"I'll leave the last blow to you."
She said with a smile.
"Much appreciated."
Wu Xiaode's fist smashed the ground to rubble.
The monster's corpse, mixed with rocks, kept rolling downwards.
Crow Spirit hurriedly followed.
"These monsters don't seem very strong..." Wu Xiaode muttered.
"They still retain some human characteristics, which proves they have just begun to transform into fallen ones, the lowest beings among our enemies," the undead man tried to explain.
Not strong?
You have such powerful helpers, setting baits and lying in ambush, and then you come up to deliver the final punch.
And you still have the nerve to say they're not strong?
Let another newcomer try, and they'd probably be eaten within minutes!
"So it just acquired some kind of power, making it a newcomer like me?" Wu Xiaode, crossing his arms, asked.
"That's one way to put it," replied the undead man.
"Is there anything more challenging? Never mind, it's my first time here, I don't want any accidents," said Wu Xiaode.
Four monsters killed.
Two remaining.
Wu Xiaode looked at the Book of the Dead, where a line of ice crystal letters emerged:
"You have killed a Dual Soul Monster."
Crow Spirit flew back from below the cliff and landed on his shoulder, joyously saying, "So much Soul Power! I'll share some with you when we get back."
Dual Soul Monster!
Perhaps it was two people fused into one monster?
Wu Xiaode looked at the undead man with a puzzled expression, "If they were clearly human, why did they turn into monsters?"
This time the undead man answered.
"Did you read mythology or fairy tales as a child?" he asked.
"Of course," said Wu Xiaode.
"If one day the events in those myths were proved real, what do you think would happen to human civilization?" posed the undead man.
"Mythology... Then wouldn't everyone want to become Immortals and Gods?" suggested Wu Xiaode.
"You're thinking too much. Any demon would devour millions of humans and even start nurturing Believers, turning humans into Demon Seeds," said the undead man.
"What about the Gods? Don't the Divine beings care?" Wu Xiaode spread his hands.
"Gods? What gods are there, demons are the gods, and they feast on humans for fun!" the undead man declared.
A shiver ran through Wu Xiaode's heart.
If that were the case, this world would be too terrifying.
"The one I just killed – does that mean they were…?"
The undead man interrupted him, "It's better not to think too much. After their transformation, they no longer belong to the human species. They have become lives of the Demon Seed, and will soon cause chaos and destruction."
Several ghosts emerged from the walls, quickly murmuring something.
After listening intently, the undead man said to Wu Xiaode, "The user of Evil Magic has just entered the underground shelter and is heading your way."
"How many?" asked Wu Xiaode.
"Two."
"Is one of them wearing a grey rhinoceros mask?"
"Yes, and the other has ghastly green flames swirling around their hand."
"Ghastly green flames..."
Wu Xiaode immediately remembered the so-called Ghost Fire Team when he first entered this world.
The words they used to recruit him were written with ghastly green flames.
—No matter how you look, it's the same person.
Guessing Magic dared to bring such a person to kill him.
What kind of skills does this person have?
Wu Xiaode closed his eyes, deep in thought.
Xia Huilan had said this world was vast and many places were unknown; professionals were transported randomly.
Then.
How could they find him so quickly?
Keep in mind, the Evil Mage, Guessing Magic, wanted to kill him, but while in the Capital, he couldn't find him, let alone catch up with him!
That green flame...
The flame-formed characters could appear directly in front of him.
They also quickly located him and were on their way.
Which means—
Guessing Magic's helper must possess some ability to pass through space to find targets and the Power of Space Transmission!
Back when Xiao Baihong was recruiting him into the S-rank club, among all kinds of people on the screen, aside from shadows and the Evil Mage with the grey rhinoceros mask, who else was there?
...I remember now.
There seemed to be someone who was always holding a candle, its flame so faint it was hard to distinguish the color.
Perhaps that was the person?
An Evil Mage that could control corpses, coupled with a mysterious ability user who could move through space and find targets.
They were coming to kill him.
—Both were experts with more than 10 points of Soul Power, making it a tough situation!
Wu Xiaode turned and asked, "Sister Lan, I might have a bit of a problem here, do you have any options?"
"Is it a big problem?" both Xia Huilan and Xia Ni asked in unison.
"I reckon it's quite big," said Wu Xiaode.
"What about using nuclear weapons?" the two women asked together.
Wu Xiaode said speechlessly, "With nuclear weapons, we'd be done for too, right...?"
"Use a mini one, we can control it with a timer, set it and we'll fly off," suggested Xia Huilan.
Wu Xiaode glanced at the undead.
The group of ghosts shook their heads frantically.
"—The radiation's too great, there are still people hidden all around," Wu Xiaode said, spreading his hands.
"Then let's use a Thermal Bomb, the most terrifying thing next to nuclear weapons, suitable for this place full of underground tunnels," Xia Huilan decided.
Wu Xiaode nodded slightly.
As long as everyone in Secret Passage No. 5 had left, dropping a Thermal Bomb might be okay.
"Hey, you should do some work too," Wu Xiaode said to the undead.
"What do you need me to do?" the undead man asked.
"Take your men and check the passages. If they show up, give us a heads-up in advance."
"But that's risky."
"You're already dead, what are you afraid of?"
"That's true, I'll go then."