903

Chapter 861

“What do you mean?” Cheng Cheng turned towards Chen Xiaolian, her eyes narrowing. “Are you worried that he has arranged for forces outside this instance dungeon and is simply waiting to ambush us the moment we leave?”

“Not an ambush. I have already made arrangements with the GM to teleport us back to Zero City the instant we leave this instance dungeon. Given the power we currently possess, even if he arranges for several hundred angel bodies to attack us all at the same moment, there is no way for them to kill us instantly.”

Chen Xiaolian slowly turned towards the hologram. “You guys… have cleared all the instance dungeons, haven’t you?”

“Cat’s out of the bag.” The hologram smiled once more. “Indeed. You have quite the keen mind.”

“As expected, I was still too careless. Before leaving Zero City, I have already inquired the GM about the total number of remaining instance dungeons. There were still 3,412 back then.” As he spoke, Chen Xiaolian walked towards the Pope.

Due to the attack from Cheng Cheng, which grazed him earlier, the Pope was already reacting towards them. He swung his sceptre, summoning thick dark clouds above him. Countless bolts of lightning – like poisonous snakes – emerged from the thunder clouds.

Chen Xiaolian flicked his fingers gently and the resulting impact caused the dark clouds above him to disperse. At the same time, an enveloping ray of light descended to completely encase the Pope.

“I should have thought about this back when you provided those three Players the freedom to redeem things for free. Since you guys can turn on this kind of authority for them, you guys can also do the same for all the other Players. Rather… even your Exclusive Accounts can be distributed endlessly.”

As Cheng Cheng was unleashing the slash with her blade earlier, a spark flashed across Chen Xiaolian’s mind and he figured it all out.

Chen Xiaolian and the others had already read the source code within the wings, giving them the authority and ability to enter and exit any instance dungeon at will. If the Development Team had not manually sealed up this instance dungeon, they would have been able to exit it directly.

Even with the instance dungeon sealed, Cheng Cheng could still – with her Dimensional Rip Blades – cut the instance dungeon’s space to create a passageway leading to the outside world.

In other words, once the negotiation was over, there was absolutely no need for the Development Team to release the Pope whom they had hidden away and prompt them to leave by completing the instance dungeon.

Additionally, the hologram had used such a long time to tell them everything.

Naturally, Chen Xiaolian himself had been yearning for the truth. If this was the only thing to happen, Chen Xiaolian would not have felt so suspicious.

But for those two things to happen together, something was up.

Appearing before them in hologram form and taking the initiative to inform them the truth of what happened in the past, all of it was for the sake of buying time.

They must have issued a sudden summon for the Players, just like how they forced the Players to login back when they attacked Zero City in the past.

And while he was talking to the hologram inside this instance dungeon, all the remaining instance dungeons throughout the world were being cleared at a rapid rate.

Just the ability to redeem everything from the system at will, like what Swift Swallow and the others had in the beginning, would have been enough to give the Players an overwhelming advantage inside instance dungeons. Furthermore… the Development Team could also give them Exclusive Accounts for them to use.

With these cheats, completing over 3,000 instance dungeons would not take a long time at all.

And now, this instance dungeon was the only one left before the conditions were met for the Development Team to activate the refresh.

“You were hoping that we would kill the Pope ourselves because you wanted to minimize the amount of reaction time that we would have, didn’t you?” Chen Xiaolian gave the hologram a cold look.

“You knew that once we leave this instance dungeon, the GM would immediately inform me about the situation, that Players are completing instance dungeons en masse. I would also react to that news immediately. Only by activating the refresh the instant we leave can you ensure the highest chances of killing us all.”

“In truth… there isn’t much of a difference.” The hologram smiled, shaking its head. “The moment all the other instance dungeons were completed, the ending has already been set in stone. We have checked all the records within this instance dungeon. That plan of yours to make a copy of the GM inside Zero City, you probably haven’t implemented it, have you?”

Chen Xiaolian’s face was cold and he did not reply.

It was true. He had yet to make a backup for the GM.

He didn’t think that this day would come so soon.

Originally, he had planned to make a copy for the GM when the number of remaining instance dungeons had been reduced to less than 100. Then, he would have the GM leave Zero City to prevent the refresh from affecting the interior of Zero City through the GM.

Once the refresh was over, Chen Xiaolian would – relying on the backup – restore the GM once more.

But now, once they end this instance dungeon, the Development Team would, without pause, activate the refresh. No matter what he did, he would not have enough time to make a backup for the GM.

There may be only several seconds left for him to work with. At most, a few minutes.

And, asking the GM to leave Zero City while there was no backup would mean… letting him alone be refreshed, becoming the sacrifice to save everyone.

True, in the past, the second GM, Taiyi, had made this sacrifice for Mr San and the others.

However, Chen Xiaolian was not sure if this GM would be willing to make the same sacrifice.

At the very least, he would not be making such a decision so quickly.

The safe haven known as Zero City was no longer safe.

Swiftly pondering all the cause and effect involved, beads of sweat began oozing out from Chen Xiaolian’s forehead.

It would appear that…this was already a dead end.

At that very moment, he hated his own feelings of curiosity.

Back when Cheng Cheng had slashed open a passageway, he should not have allowed himself to be seduced by the offer of truth from the hologram.

If he had left this instance dungeon back then, the GM would have instantly informed him everything that the Development Team was doing. Then, he would have sufficient time to complete his plan to deal with the refresh.

“Looks like… we messed up.”

Du Wei sighed before smiling at Chen Xiaolian. “You’re not the only one to blame here.”

“Yes. He is not the only one at fault here. Every one of you here must be responsible for your own choices.” There was a triumphant look on the hologram’s face. “Although there is still a considerable distance between your power and that of becoming an eye of the storm… how can we possibly allow threats like you all to continue existing?”

“Since you guys are unwilling to take action to end this instance dungeon, then… we’ll have to leave it to the Players.”

Following those words, row after row of beams of light began descending from the sky.

After descending, every beam of light gathered to form a humanoid figure with a pair of wings on its back.

There were several hundred angel bodies there, all sent into this one instance dungeon.

Naturally, this time around, they were not just powerless holograms.

Chen Xiaolian bit his lips and raised the Flash Bow of Ketu-Rahu.

The difference in power here was too great.

While the Players could not utilize the full power of the angel bodies, they would still be strong enough.

In the face of such massive numbers, their side had no chance of winning, not even a shred of it.

Moreover, the Players did not even need to kill them. All they need to do was to kill the Pope.

Once the Pope was killed, this instance dungeon, the last one here on this world will end and the Development Team would be able to initiate the refresh from the Upper Plane.

“Now then, choose how you wish to die.” The hologram swept its gaze across Chen Xiaolian and the others before finally landing on the Pope.

“Will you defend this final BOSS and die a heroic death? Or… escape from this instance dungeon and face the refresh that will envelop the whole world? I will give you ten seconds to make your choice. Ten…”

“There’s no need to count.”

Shen suddenly said with a cold voice.

“Nine…” The hologram ignored him and continued to count down, a triumphant look on its face while sporting the smile of a victor toying with their prey.

Behind the hologram were row after row of angels, all in an orderly line, just waiting for the hologram’s command.

A sword light suddenly lit up.

Chen Xiaolian had already raised a defensive shield over the Pope’s body, but this sword attack from Shen easily cleaved it apart.

Chen Xiaolian was stunned.

Shen had… without so much as a word, killed the Pope?

He didn’t even discuss it with them?

What was he planning?

There wasn’t a single hint of expression on Shen’s face. After killing off the Pope with one sword attack, he immediately shouted, “Back to Zero City!”

With the death of the Pope, the surrounding panorama of the instance dungeon instantly shattered, returning to that of the city area of Athens. However, both the hologram of the Dev and the many angels up in the sky did not disappear.

One by one, exclamations of shock rang out from the crowd below.

“Chen Xiaolian, just now, all of the instance dungeons have been completed…”

At the same time, the GM’s voice spoke from within Chen Xiaolian’s ears.

“No shit, Sherlock!” Chen Xiaolian harrumphed. “Teleport us back! All of us!”

Far in the distance, a green curtain of light had appeared upon the skyline and was rapidly advancing towards them.

A curtain of light that left only nothingness in its wake.

Just as the curtain of light was about to make contact with Chen Xiaolian and the others, beams of light descended upon them.

“Chen Xiaolian, the refresh has been initiated.”

The moment Chen Xiaolian re-appeared in the central plaza of Zero City, he saw a full-body hologram of the GM there. There was a grim look on his face as he looked at Chen Xiaolian. “I don’t have the time to leave Zero City and the refresh is beginning to affect this place.”

Far in the distance, sharp screams had begun to rise as the space within Zero City was also falling apart.

The ground began collapsing and disintegrating. The buildings fell, transforming into the most minute of particles.

“Bullshit! I can see it myself!” Chen Xiaolian growled.

“Shen, whatever it is you plan on doing, hurry!”

Shen’s eyes were stern and he shouted, “Send us to the Longevity Palace! Go get the Oddity!”

“This new Zero City doesn’t have a Longevity Palace. GM, to the main room.” Chen Xiaolian had no time to even hesitate.

The GM did not hesitate either. The very next moment, space spun and they re-appeared within the main room.

Back when he was building this new Zero City, Chen Xiaolian did not fully copy the layout of the previous Zero City.

In the past, when Mr San and the others built Thirty-three Heavens, they had designed a place to house the Oddity. It was a palace so vast it seemed to be without boundaries.

Firstly, Chen Xiaolian did not possess enough strength to open up that much space. Secondly, there was no such need.

The layout of the main room retained the design of the original base. It was about the size of a school classroom. The only difference was that the metal sphere located at the centre of the room had been replaced by a semi-circular crystal dome.

At the centre of the crystal dome, a mass of chaos revolved slowly.

There were several rooms around the main room, allocated for everyone from Meteor Rock Guild, including Chen Xiaolian.

In all of Zero City, only members of Meteor Rock Guild could enter this main room.

At that very moment, however, every one of them was already gathered before the Oddity.

“Xiaolian! What happened just now?”

There was a highly anxious expression on Qiao Qiao’s face. When she saw Chen Xiaolian appear there, her face immediately lit up. “GM informed us that the instance dungeons are being completed at a rapid pace while you are unreachable because you are inside an instance dungeon. And now…”

She stretched a finger out, pointing at her back. The entire main room and everyone’s rooms were swiftly disintegrating. Everything there was sweeping their way towards the Oddity.

“We’ll talk about it later!” Chen Xiaolian swiftly moved past Qiao Qiao, his hand patting her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine!”

He believed in Shen.

At this point, all he could do was to believe in Shen.

During that critical moment, Shen had made the decision to kill the Pope. It meant that he must already have a plan in his mind.

“Stand behind me!” Shen ignored the exchange between Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao. He had already made his way forward and was standing before the crystal dome. His finger jabbed lightly and the crystal dome shattered. Next, he inserted his right hand into the revolving chaos.

Chen Xiaolian stood behind Shen, doing his best to maintain a calm face. However, his palms were already full of sweat.

Shen’s original plan involved obtaining the Oddity. Then, after modifying it, patch up the loopholes of the world template so as to control the entire world.

With that, he would be able to cut off the Development Team’s control over this world.

And now, the opportunity to do so had fallen into his hands.

The brief amount of time they had earlier was like the lifespan of a spark and Chen Xiaolian did not have the time to ask Shen to explain what he planned on doing.

The Oddity was now under Shen’s control. Should he insist on carrying out his original plan, no one would be able to stop him.

Shen… what would he do?

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Chapter 861

“What do you mean?” Cheng Cheng turned towards Chen Xiaolian, her eyes narrowing. “Are you worried that he has arranged for forces outside this instance dungeon and is simply waiting to ambush us the moment we leave?”

“Not an ambush. I have already made arrangements with the GM to teleport us back to Zero City the instant we leave this instance dungeon. Given the power we currently possess, even if he arranges for several hundred angel bodies to attack us all at the same moment, there is no way for them to kill us instantly.”

Chen Xiaolian slowly turned towards the hologram. “You guys… have cleared all the instance dungeons, haven’t you?”

“Cat’s out of the bag.” The hologram smiled once more. “Indeed. You have quite the keen mind.”

“As expected, I was still too careless. Before leaving Zero City, I have already inquired the GM about the total number of remaining instance dungeons. There were still 3,412 back then.” As he spoke, Chen Xiaolian walked towards the Pope.

Due to the attack from Cheng Cheng, which grazed him earlier, the Pope was already reacting towards them. He swung his sceptre, summoning thick dark clouds above him. Countless bolts of lightning – like poisonous snakes – emerged from the thunder clouds.

Chen Xiaolian flicked his fingers gently and the resulting impact caused the dark clouds above him to disperse. At the same time, an enveloping ray of light descended to completely encase the Pope.

“I should have thought about this back when you provided those three Players the freedom to redeem things for free. Since you guys can turn on this kind of authority for them, you guys can also do the same for all the other Players. Rather… even your Exclusive Accounts can be distributed endlessly.”

As Cheng Cheng was unleashing the slash with her blade earlier, a spark flashed across Chen Xiaolian’s mind and he figured it all out.

Chen Xiaolian and the others had already read the source code within the wings, giving them the authority and ability to enter and exit any instance dungeon at will. If the Development Team had not manually sealed up this instance dungeon, they would have been able to exit it directly.

Even with the instance dungeon sealed, Cheng Cheng could still – with her Dimensional Rip Blades – cut the instance dungeon’s space to create a passageway leading to the outside world.

In other words, once the negotiation was over, there was absolutely no need for the Development Team to release the Pope whom they had hidden away and prompt them to leave by completing the instance dungeon.

Additionally, the hologram had used such a long time to tell them everything.

Naturally, Chen Xiaolian himself had been yearning for the truth. If this was the only thing to happen, Chen Xiaolian would not have felt so suspicious.

But for those two things to happen together, something was up.

Appearing before them in hologram form and taking the initiative to inform them the truth of what happened in the past, all of it was for the sake of buying time.

They must have issued a sudden summon for the Players, just like how they forced the Players to login back when they attacked Zero City in the past.

And while he was talking to the hologram inside this instance dungeon, all the remaining instance dungeons throughout the world were being cleared at a rapid rate.

Just the ability to redeem everything from the system at will, like what Swift Swallow and the others had in the beginning, would have been enough to give the Players an overwhelming advantage inside instance dungeons. Furthermore… the Development Team could also give them Exclusive Accounts for them to use.

With these cheats, completing over 3,000 instance dungeons would not take a long time at all.

And now, this instance dungeon was the only one left before the conditions were met for the Development Team to activate the refresh.

“You were hoping that we would kill the Pope ourselves because you wanted to minimize the amount of reaction time that we would have, didn’t you?” Chen Xiaolian gave the hologram a cold look.

“You knew that once we leave this instance dungeon, the GM would immediately inform me about the situation, that Players are completing instance dungeons en masse. I would also react to that news immediately. Only by activating the refresh the instant we leave can you ensure the highest chances of killing us all.”

“In truth… there isn’t much of a difference.” The hologram smiled, shaking its head. “The moment all the other instance dungeons were completed, the ending has already been set in stone. We have checked all the records within this instance dungeon. That plan of yours to make a copy of the GM inside Zero City, you probably haven’t implemented it, have you?”

Chen Xiaolian’s face was cold and he did not reply.

It was true. He had yet to make a backup for the GM.

He didn’t think that this day would come so soon.

Originally, he had planned to make a copy for the GM when the number of remaining instance dungeons had been reduced to less than 100. Then, he would have the GM leave Zero City to prevent the refresh from affecting the interior of Zero City through the GM.

Once the refresh was over, Chen Xiaolian would – relying on the backup – restore the GM once more.

But now, once they end this instance dungeon, the Development Team would, without pause, activate the refresh. No matter what he did, he would not have enough time to make a backup for the GM.

There may be only several seconds left for him to work with. At most, a few minutes.

And, asking the GM to leave Zero City while there was no backup would mean… letting him alone be refreshed, becoming the sacrifice to save everyone.

True, in the past, the second GM, Taiyi, had made this sacrifice for Mr San and the others.

However, Chen Xiaolian was not sure if this GM would be willing to make the same sacrifice.

At the very least, he would not be making such a decision so quickly.

The safe haven known as Zero City was no longer safe.

Swiftly pondering all the cause and effect involved, beads of sweat began oozing out from Chen Xiaolian’s forehead.

It would appear that…this was already a dead end.

At that very moment, he hated his own feelings of curiosity.

Back when Cheng Cheng had slashed open a passageway, he should not have allowed himself to be seduced by the offer of truth from the hologram.

If he had left this instance dungeon back then, the GM would have instantly informed him everything that the Development Team was doing. Then, he would have sufficient time to complete his plan to deal with the refresh.

“Looks like… we messed up.”

Du Wei sighed before smiling at Chen Xiaolian. “You’re not the only one to blame here.”

“Yes. He is not the only one at fault here. Every one of you here must be responsible for your own choices.” There was a triumphant look on the hologram’s face. “Although there is still a considerable distance between your power and that of becoming an eye of the storm… how can we possibly allow threats like you all to continue existing?”

“Since you guys are unwilling to take action to end this instance dungeon, then… we’ll have to leave it to the Players.”

Following those words, row after row of beams of light began descending from the sky.

After descending, every beam of light gathered to form a humanoid figure with a pair of wings on its back.

There were several hundred angel bodies there, all sent into this one instance dungeon.

Naturally, this time around, they were not just powerless holograms.

Chen Xiaolian bit his lips and raised the Flash Bow of Ketu-Rahu.

The difference in power here was too great.

While the Players could not utilize the full power of the angel bodies, they would still be strong enough.

In the face of such massive numbers, their side had no chance of winning, not even a shred of it.

Moreover, the Players did not even need to kill them. All they need to do was to kill the Pope.

Once the Pope was killed, this instance dungeon, the last one here on this world will end and the Development Team would be able to initiate the refresh from the Upper Plane.

“Now then, choose how you wish to die.” The hologram swept its gaze across Chen Xiaolian and the others before finally landing on the Pope.

“Will you defend this final BOSS and die a heroic death? Or… escape from this instance dungeon and face the refresh that will envelop the whole world? I will give you ten seconds to make your choice. Ten…”

“There’s no need to count.”

Shen suddenly said with a cold voice.

“Nine…” The hologram ignored him and continued to count down, a triumphant look on its face while sporting the smile of a victor toying with their prey.

Behind the hologram were row after row of angels, all in an orderly line, just waiting for the hologram’s command.

A sword light suddenly lit up.

Chen Xiaolian had already raised a defensive shield over the Pope’s body, but this sword attack from Shen easily cleaved it apart.

Chen Xiaolian was stunned.

Shen had… without so much as a word, killed the Pope?

He didn’t even discuss it with them?

What was he planning?

There wasn’t a single hint of expression on Shen’s face. After killing off the Pope with one sword attack, he immediately shouted, “Back to Zero City!”

With the death of the Pope, the surrounding panorama of the instance dungeon instantly shattered, returning to that of the city area of Athens. However, both the hologram of the Dev and the many angels up in the sky did not disappear.

One by one, exclamations of shock rang out from the crowd below.

“Chen Xiaolian, just now, all of the instance dungeons have been completed…”

At the same time, the GM’s voice spoke from within Chen Xiaolian’s ears.

“No shit, Sherlock!” Chen Xiaolian harrumphed. “Teleport us back! All of us!”

Far in the distance, a green curtain of light had appeared upon the skyline and was rapidly advancing towards them.

A curtain of light that left only nothingness in its wake.

Just as the curtain of light was about to make contact with Chen Xiaolian and the others, beams of light descended upon them.

“Chen Xiaolian, the refresh has been initiated.”

The moment Chen Xiaolian re-appeared in the central plaza of Zero City, he saw a full-body hologram of the GM there. There was a grim look on his face as he looked at Chen Xiaolian. “I don’t have the time to leave Zero City and the refresh is beginning to affect this place.”

Far in the distance, sharp screams had begun to rise as the space within Zero City was also falling apart.

The ground began collapsing and disintegrating. The buildings fell, transforming into the most minute of particles.

“Bullshit! I can see it myself!” Chen Xiaolian growled.

“Shen, whatever it is you plan on doing, hurry!”

Shen’s eyes were stern and he shouted, “Send us to the Longevity Palace! Go get the Oddity!”

“This new Zero City doesn’t have a Longevity Palace. GM, to the main room.” Chen Xiaolian had no time to even hesitate.

The GM did not hesitate either. The very next moment, space spun and they re-appeared within the main room.

Back when he was building this new Zero City, Chen Xiaolian did not fully copy the layout of the previous Zero City.

In the past, when Mr San and the others built Thirty-three Heavens, they had designed a place to house the Oddity. It was a palace so vast it seemed to be without boundaries.

Firstly, Chen Xiaolian did not possess enough strength to open up that much space. Secondly, there was no such need.

The layout of the main room retained the design of the original base. It was about the size of a school classroom. The only difference was that the metal sphere located at the centre of the room had been replaced by a semi-circular crystal dome.

At the centre of the crystal dome, a mass of chaos revolved slowly.

There were several rooms around the main room, allocated for everyone from Meteor Rock Guild, including Chen Xiaolian.

In all of Zero City, only members of Meteor Rock Guild could enter this main room.

At that very moment, however, every one of them was already gathered before the Oddity.

“Xiaolian! What happened just now?”

There was a highly anxious expression on Qiao Qiao’s face. When she saw Chen Xiaolian appear there, her face immediately lit up. “GM informed us that the instance dungeons are being completed at a rapid pace while you are unreachable because you are inside an instance dungeon. And now…”

She stretched a finger out, pointing at her back. The entire main room and everyone’s rooms were swiftly disintegrating. Everything there was sweeping their way towards the Oddity.

“We’ll talk about it later!” Chen Xiaolian swiftly moved past Qiao Qiao, his hand patting her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. Everything will be fine!”

He believed in Shen.

At this point, all he could do was to believe in Shen.

During that critical moment, Shen had made the decision to kill the Pope. It meant that he must already have a plan in his mind.

“Stand behind me!” Shen ignored the exchange between Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao. He had already made his way forward and was standing before the crystal dome. His finger jabbed lightly and the crystal dome shattered. Next, he inserted his right hand into the revolving chaos.

Chen Xiaolian stood behind Shen, doing his best to maintain a calm face. However, his palms were already full of sweat.

Shen’s original plan involved obtaining the Oddity. Then, after modifying it, patch up the loopholes of the world template so as to control the entire world.

With that, he would be able to cut off the Development Team’s control over this world.

And now, the opportunity to do so had fallen into his hands.

The brief amount of time they had earlier was like the lifespan of a spark and Chen Xiaolian did not have the time to ask Shen to explain what he planned on doing.

The Oddity was now under Shen’s control. Should he insist on carrying out his original plan, no one would be able to stop him.

Shen… what would he do?

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