Chapter 576: Wu Yue Taken Away Alone by the Dungeon Boss

Chapter 576 Wu Yue Gets Taken Away Alone by the Dungeon Boss

Wu Yue watched expectantly as Shang Baiyi returned, and her face fell when she saw his gloomy expression. She gritted her teeth.

"Fu Yanqi didn’t even give a single talisman! What a cheapskate!"

Shang Baiyi said, "They said that once teams are formed, no private exchanges are allowed, or it’ll be treated as cheating."

Wu Yue was furious, "They? Who are 'they'?"

Shang Baiyi replied, "Shen Que, Shen Qingci, Wu Xiuli, Fu Yanqi, Chun Ya."

Wu Yue and Shang Baiyi exchanged a glance, both green with envy. "Why does he/she always get the all-star lineup?!"

Wu Yue exclaimed, "If Fu Yanqi were assigned to me this round, I could claim the throne right inside the dungeon!"

"Claiming the throne in a dungeon is beneath your status. You’d have to go to the Order Realm to do that."

Wu Yue turned and glared at Shen Que, "Stop eavesdropping on us! Our battle plan is confidential—listening in is cheating!"

Shen Que said calmly, "I don’t need to eavesdrop. I can hear you just standing here."

Wu Yue waved her hand, "Come on, Baiyi, let’s get away from this eavesdropper with super hearing."

Mo Ke curiously followed Wu Yue, eager for gossip, "Did you have a fight with Thor? I heard this morning in the men’s dorm emergency exit..."

Seeing Wu Yue’s murderous expression, Claude quickly covered Mo Ke’s mouth, "Mo Ke! No one will think you’re mute if you keep quiet!"

Mo Ke looked disappointed, "Then let’s talk about this dungeon."

Claude explained, "This orphanage was established before the apocalypse. At that time, there were about 60 children inside.

When the apocalypse arrived, evil energy poured in, covering the orphanage in darkness. All the children died silently.

These children aren’t aware that they’re dead—they continue living as they did before.

But once they realize they’ve died, they’ll instantly turn into vengeful ghosts and go on a killing spree."

Shang Baiyi pondered, "About 60 children, and we only have 40 teams. That means some teams can complete two rounds of points."

Claude nodded, "Exactly. This is a great opportunity to boost their scores."

Wu Yue declared, "One should have ambition. The organizers never said a single team can’t take all the points."

Everyone gave her exasperated looks. Shang Baiyi sighed, "...No wonder your skills got banned before it even started. All the Arcane Arts Practitioners are watching you like you’re a ghost. Can’t you stop trying to exploit loopholes in the rules?"

As soon as Wu Yue finished speaking, everyone’s communicators flashed three times with an event announcement:

"Each team can complete at most two infant ghost rescue missions. Any excess will be treated as cheating and result in disqualification!!"

Wu Yue grumbled, "...I shouldn’t have said it out loud. I should’ve just gone for it once we got inside."

Everyone snapped in exasperation, "Just shut up!!"

Wu Yue kept eyeing the term "infant ghost" and suddenly smirked, "Why is an orphanage that existed before the apocalypse still referring to these ghosts as infant ghosts? Based on the timeline, they should be several years old at least by now.

Calling them little ghosts would be more accurate. If they’re infant ghosts, it’s... kind of weird."

Seeing the thoughtful look on Wu Yue’s face, Zhang Peng couldn’t help but duck behind Shen Qingci.

"Captain, I’m really scared. I feel like Wuyue looks completely different now."

Fu Yanqi, "...Isn’t it different? Wuyue has never had a proper instance with only souls before.

She’s about to officially enter her domain, fully opening Pandora’s box. It can be said that the combined 40 teams aren’t as terrifying as she is."

As the countdown for the competition ended, the terrifying illusion phase officially began.

All 40 teams entered simultaneously. From the outside, the entire orphanage appeared very tranquil, with green vines climbing up the walls of the white building.

Under the sunlight, decay and vitality coexisted.

However...

Even in the most desolate place, when 200 people from Shennongjia rush in all at once, it becomes as bustling as a market.

The orphanage wasn’t very large, consisting of only one main building, a small square in front of it, and a small riverside garden behind it.

With so many people arriving at once, it felt like a tourist spot during the May Day or National Day holidays, making it hard to find a place to step.

Zhang Peng, "Damn... With this sea of people, even the ghosts have hidden away!"

Wuyue, "Soon, you won’t see these people anymore."

Zhang Peng, "What do you mean?"

Wuyue, "If I’m not mistaken, once we trigger the personal storylines of different ghosts, we will enter a world similar to the surface world, where people who no longer exist in reality will appear. These people, or rather, spirits, are forever trapped in the surface world.

They endlessly repeat the same actions, like a cycle of hell, without end."

Until external factors intervene, and the gears of a stagnant timeline begin to turn once more. Whether this turning of time’s gears will push one’s fate toward heaven or hell, no one knows.

But one thing is certain: beneath the seemingly harmonious and tranquil surface of the outer world lies limitless, treacherous dangers. As the storyline of the outer world progresses, the existence of the inner world will be completely exposed.

That is where true hell resides."

Wu Yue curled her lips into a sinister, uncanny smile and turned to look at Zhang Peng, whose face was filled with terror.

"Listen, doesn’t that description sound just like the instances we’ve been clearing?

The people in the instances are always following the same plot, living out the same unchanging story day after day.

It’s as if they are NPCs programmed with predetermined routines, repeating the same cycles of unfulfilled desires, unattainable love, and painful separations.

The monsters can never be truly defeated; as long as their obsessions remain, they will resurrect infinitely.

When these obsessions are amplified to the extreme, turning into fixations and delusions, they fall into madness, completely becoming slaves to desire—what we call spectral bosses."

The originally noisy scene gradually quieted down as Wu Yue spoke. Everyone instinctively listened to her words.

Her voice wasn’t particularly loud, but it carried an unnerving clarity that pierced through, clearly reaching everyone’s ears.

Someone asked reflexively, "Then how do we eliminate these obsessions?"

Wu Yue’s gaze lifted toward the orphanage’s attic, where a pair of eyes behind the skylight seemed to be observing her with deliberate ambiguity.

The gaze was filled with curiosity and yearning, yet also heavy with gloom and twisted intensity.

Wu Yue slowly replied, "It’s very simple—if they want candy, give them candy; if they want love, give them love."

"If he wants companionship, then give him companionship."

"What if... he doesn't want anything at all?"

Wu Yue curled her lip, her gaze gradually turning cold. "If a child wants nothing, his heart has long been eroded by anger and hatred into a puppet of desire..."

"Then without hesitation, kill him."

After saying this, Wu Yue seemed to have already chosen the target of this rescue mission and strode toward the building.

Shen Que suddenly grabbed her hand. Wu Yue glanced sideways. "What's wrong?"

Shen Que, "I'll take a team to handle the one on the rooftop. Stay out of it."

Wu Yue lifted her head, white mist rapidly clouding her vision.

Along with Wu Yue's disappearing figure, her voice drifted on the wind:

"But Shen Que, he has already chosen me."

Shen Que's expression darkened as he grabbed empty air. The four members of Wu Yue's team beside him blinked repeatedly. "Wait, why didn't the ghost bring us along?"

Shang Baiyi, "Let's go. The four of us can just solo one. Split up and handle two targets."

Shen Que looked at Fu Yanqi. "Get me inside. The one on the rooftop is the strongest psychic boss in this instance."

"He took Wu Yue alone—who knows what he's up to."

Fu Yanqi shook his head. "I can't send you in directly. Unless you can find something related to that little ghost, then I can locate his spiritual form, establish a psychic link, and open a portal."

Shen Que nodded. "Alright. Don't enter the instance; wait here for me."

Shen Qingci, "Then we'll handle one of them."

Wu Xiuli/Chun Ya, "OK."