Chapter 157 : The Situation in Wan City is Dire! The Core Pollutant Source Revealed!
Chapter 157: The Situation in Wan City is Dire! The Core Pollutant Source Revealed!
Hang Yu had taken notice of what was happening over at White Tiger Mountain.
This He Song was not a historical figure, yet his level had reached an astonishing 22. While he didn’t possess the foundation of a Commander-tier, his strength was not inferior to top-tier elites of the same level. By visual estimation, he wasn’t any weaker than the Fallen Dualform or the Four Generals of the Mortal Realm in the Wo Niu Mountain area!
For a Native Inhabitant to possess such strength and level? Considering the Thousand-Eyed Centipede, the various high-level monsters encountered by the three legions, and the Abyssal Undead Citizens wandering near the Abyssal Fog Gate in the southern part of White Tiger Mountain, it was clear that He Song hadn’t lied.
The Wan City map had likely existed within the Abyssal Nightmare for at least a century!
So, it made sense for it to have birthed so many high-level monsters—some of the Undead Citizens had even reached Level 18!
At this moment, Toasting the Moon was still stalling and negotiating with various pleasantries. As a seasoned member of the national intelligence and security agency, he was extremely experienced. With the added confidence of being a deathless Scourge Army member, he fearlessly played dumb and used indirect probing, successfully extracting a substantial amount of intel!
“Interesting.”
“This guy’s pretty capable!”
Hang Yu hadn’t expected Toasting the Moon to be this effective. Even in captivity, he managed to obtain quite a bit of valuable intelligence.
Based on both direct and indirect information revealed by He Song, the timeline of the Wan City map didn’t correspond with the period of the Battle of Wan City, but rather sometime after the battle had ended—when Cao Cao and his forces had already withdrawn.
A few players were slightly disappointed.
Who wouldn’t want to witness the elegance of Boss Cao?
But on second thought, the map's difficulty was already sky-high. If Cao Cao and his army were also present, the Scourge Army's challenge would likely increase several times over—possibly by a factor of ten.
Even without Cao Cao—
That didn’t mean this area was going to be easy!
From the information He Song disclosed, it wasn’t hard to analyze the current situation.
Right now, Abyssal Wan City was divided into two major factions: one was Old Wan City, and the other was New Wan City!
Old Wan City was the historical administrative center of Nanyang Commandery, once a strategically located and densely populated northern Jing Province stronghold. But after the Abyssal Descent, it had become the core pollution zone.
Dian Wei and Cao Ang had both been resurrected by the Abyssal Will.
Their deaths in Wan City had been part of fate. When revived in such a state, they were directly transformed into Abyssal Fallen and placed under complete control of the Abyssal Will.
This was different from the situations at the Luo River Execution Grounds and Wo Niu Mountain.
The core pollutant source of this map was identified right from the start.
“It’s Dian Wei!”
“A Fallen that has existed for a hundred years is already hard enough to deal with!”
“Not to mention this Fallen is the legendary Dian Wei himself!”
Though Hang Yu had mentally prepared himself beforehand, confirming the identity of the core pollutant source in the Wan City region still placed considerable pressure on him.
At the very least, with their current strength—
If an Extreme Dark Day were to occur—
Hang Yu wasn’t confident he could withstand Dian Wei’s all-out assault.
Beyond identifying the core pollutant source of the Wan City Nightmare,
Hang Yu had also gleaned a lot of crucial intel from the conversation. For example, New Wan City was likely established after the Abyssal Catastrophe. The warlord Zhang Xiu had led his people in time to retreat from the pollution zone, and after numerous tribulations, finally founded New Wan City.
For over a hundred years—
Old and New Wan Cities had been at odds.
Abyssal forces led by Dian Wei and Cao Ang had repeatedly attacked New Wan City.
Yet, for some unknown reason, they had never succeeded in conquering it.
Hang Yu believed Jia Xu, Zhang Xiu, and others must have played a major role in its survival. Otherwise, there was no way New Wan City could have lasted for over a century. As for how exactly they managed it—that remained unclear.
This map posed significant difficulty.
Fortunately, they had received intelligence in time.
Thus, preparations could be made early.
Satisfied with the players’ performance, Hang Yu issued quest rewards.
【Ding! You have completed the mission. Abyssal Essence +20,000, Contribution Points +40,000, Dragonmark Blood-Essence Pill ×2!】
While distributing rewards, Hang Yu also considered that He Song’s presence, though not catastrophic, was still a troublesome variable. The man was formidable, and once in hiding, he would not be easy to capture again.
Even though He Song wasn’t from the Abyssal faction—
New Wan City was still a potential problem for their territory.
No one knew the current state of Jia Xu, Zhang Xiu, and others—whether they had been corrupted or not.
If He Song were allowed to roam freely within the territory, he could soon gather intelligence on White Tiger Mountain, Wo Niu Mountain, and the Luo River Base's entire town layout, and even grasp the true strength of the territory’s forces—posing a significant threat.
They couldn’t be careless!
They had to find a way to make him stay!
With this in mind, Hang Yu began drafting a new quest.
At this moment, Toasting the Moon and the others were visibly delighted.
They had just received the quest rewards—among the five exploration tasks, the one about investigating Wan City’s basic information had now been completed by them first!
Though it was the lowest-difficulty and lowest-reward task of the five, twenty thousand Abyssal Essence was still nothing to scoff at for them.
More importantly—
Despite the presence of so many big shots across the three legions,
None had completed even a single mission so far.
Yet Toasting the Moon, with just eight people, had claimed first place—greatly boosting his personal reputation.
“Filthy rats! How dare you toy with me!” He Song quickly realized that these people never intended to cooperate. His fury surged to the extreme.
Blind Swordsman: “Uh, we got exposed!”
Toasting the Moon remained calm: “Doesn’t matter. Mission accomplished!”
Knight of Dawn immediately taunted: “Idiot. So what if we fooled you? You think you can throw your weight around in our territory? Better get on your knees and call me grandpa—maybe next time I’ll give you a swift death!”
Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind even struck a heroic pose: “Hahaha! What man fears death? Come at me with all your tricks, old man! If I so much as frown or whimper, I’ll be your obedient grandson from now on!”
“Die!”
He Song summoned bluish-white ghostly flames and burned Toasting the Moon’s body inch by inch into charcoal in the most excruciating way, then proceeded to burn the Knight of Dawn as well. But throughout the process, neither Toasting the Moon nor the other players even furrowed a brow.
“Hahahaha!”
“Brilliant! I’ll go first!”
“Sure, I died—but what a haul today!”
“Come on, hurry up with the burning. Why you dawdling... Uh, boss, I’m logging off real quick to grab some pork rice. Let’s keep grinding Undead Citizens later!”
The players had all turned their pain settings to the lowest level. Even as they were incinerated to ash, they joked and laughed, appearing entirely at ease.
They weren’t afraid of dying.
They were just annoyed by delays.
Dying quickly meant getting ready faster for the next round.
But just as the flames burned through three of them and were about to consume the proud and unyielding Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind, a sudden system prompt echoed in his and the other dead players’ minds.
【Ding!】
【Random Mission Triggered!】
【Mission Name: Hunt He Song!】
【Mission Description: He Song appears to be a scout sent by New Wan City to investigate the territory. His presence may pose a major threat—he must not be allowed to gather intelligence freely!】
【Mission Objective: Kill or capture enemy NPC He Song!】
【Mission Rewards: Each player will receive between 2,000–20,000 Abyssal Essence, 5,000–40,000 Contribution Points, with a chance to obtain attribute potions, equipment, or item rewards!】
【Mission Time Limit: 10 Hours!】
【……】
“Holy crap!”
“We triggered a mission!”
“And it’s a rare encounter mission just for us!”
“……”
Toasting the Moon, Blind Swordsman, and the others had respawned at the White Tiger City revival point. Upon receiving the mission, they all looked stunned.
Knight of Dawn: “Ahh! The mission only lasts 10 hours!”
Warrior Like the Wind: “Who knows where He Song will go? If he returns to Wan City, the mission’s a bust!”
Blind Swordsman: “The rewards are solid—and it’s a rare encounter mission! We’ve got to figure something out!”
Toasting the Moon’s expression also changed: “Pissing hasn’t died yet? Tell him to stay alive! As long as he remains near He Song, we can track He Song’s location at all times!”
Clearly, the sudden quest had caught them off guard.
He Song was strong. The mission would be tough. But the rewards were incredible—worth any attempt.
However, with a time limit, if they couldn’t complete the quest within ten hours, it would automatically fail, and they would lose a chance at massive earnings of Abyssal Essence, Contribution Points, and attribute boosts.
……
Meanwhile—
He Song grew increasingly suspicious of this group. They clearly had self-awareness, but it remained unclear whether they were subordinates of the Lord or Native Inhabitants of the region.
Even if they were suicide troops who didn’t value their lives—
They still wouldn’t treat life and death like a joke.
He couldn’t figure out what kind of minds these people had. When faced with death and physical torture, they not only showed no fear but even mocked and joked about it.
Had they been corrupted by the Abyss?
Was that why they were so bizarre and abnormal?
Regardless, it didn’t matter. They were nobodies. Once he eliminated them, he would resume his reconnaissance. With his speed and mobility, it wouldn’t take long to uncover the truth of this territory.
However—
Just then—
Thud!
The moment before the flames reached the steadfastly defiant Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind, he suddenly knelt down.
“Dear Grandpa, wait—don’t kill me yet! I suddenly don’t feel like dying anymore!”
He Song: ???
Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind said, “I just remembered—I’ve got an eighty-year-old mother above and a three-year-old son below, still waiting to be fed. Just spare my life, Grandpa, and I’ll do anything for you—except give up my chastity!”
He Song sneered, “You think I’ll still believe you?”
Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind said, “Don’t be like that! I’m serious this time—absolutely genuine, guaranteed real, fair and square! There’s no benefit to killing me. Why not let me stay and be your guide?”
Guide?
Was he offering to lead the way willingly?
If he truly behaved and led the way, perhaps he could still be useful.
He Song looked at the man’s sycophantic, terrified expression—completely different from before—and felt these people were increasingly strange and suspicious, as if they were hiding something.
But after a brief hesitation,
He Song still agreed.
Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind was only Level 10—He Song didn’t take him seriously at all.
“Fine. I’ll trust you one more time. If you obediently lead the way, I’ll spare your life. But if I detect even a hint of suspicious behavior, I’ll make your end worse than the others’!”
“Don’t worry, don’t worry!”
He Song asked, “Are you subordinates of the Starsea Lords?”
Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind’s eyes darted about. He initially wanted to lie, but fabricating an identity on the spot might create too many flaws. So he simply nodded and said, “We are indeed soldiers under the Lord’s command!”
He Song asked, “Where is the core of your territory?”
Pissing Three Thousand Feet didn’t even think before replying, “Of course it’s in White Tiger City!”
White Tiger City had once been the Dragon Lizard Lord’s headquarters—so wasn’t that naturally the core of the Lord’s territory? He Song only asked for the Lord’s core base, not necessarily the player's actual core, right?
He Song said, “Take me near White Tiger City! Don’t try any tricks!”
Pissing Three Thousand Feet: “No problem!”
With a wave of He Song’s hand, countless talisman papers flew out from his robes. These white talismans intertwined midair, finally forming into a giant bird resembling an immortal crane. In a flash, he grabbed Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind and leapt onto the talisman bird’s back.
“Screeeech—!”
A sharp cry echoed.
The talisman crane flapped its wings and soared into the sky.
Pissing Three Thousand Feet Against the Wind was completely stunned. Damn, so that’s how he arrived in the territory so quickly—what a headache. This meant the players had much less time left.
He Song opened his information panel.
Warrior Like the Wind: “Pissing bro, even if you have to sell your ass, survive—our only hope now is you tagging him with a location marker!”
Toasting the Moon: “Pissing, how’s the situation? Stall He Song for now—we’re working on summoning reinforcements!”
“……”
Pissing Three Thousand Feet was speechless.
More than one teammate was telling him to sell his ass to stay alive.
He silently jotted down this debt—he wouldn’t let it slide later.
Ignoring his teammates’ “advice,” Pissing Three Thousand Feet directly replied to Toasting the Moon, “Boss, I’m alive for now—but the situation’s not looking good!”
Toasting the Moon immediately replied, “What’s going on? I see your marker moving fast on the map!”
Pissing Three Thousand Feet quickly gave a rundown: “We’re heading directly toward White Tiger City! At this pace, we’ll arrive in at most an hour!”
Toasting the Moon said, “It’s fine. We’ll just lure him here. Your job now is to keep him occupied—we’re working on calling in backup and setting up an ambush on his route!”
Pissing Three Thousand Feet: “Got it!”
Although He Song knew of the Lord’s existence, he had never dealt with him personally, so he didn’t understand the Lord’s true capabilities—especially not Hang Yu, who had the powerful AI assistant Xiao Ba.
Pissing Three Thousand Feet and Toasting the Moon were communicating entirely through the in-game friend PM function.
This method wouldn’t expose any flaws.
With knowledge that He Song was heading toward White Tiger City, and with access to the map and party tracking, Toasting the Moon could easily determine He Song’s movement path and set ambushes accordingly.
…………
Luo River Main City.
The revival plaza between the Lord’s Fortress and the main urban district.
One figure after another began appearing on the square.
They were all Scourge Army members who had fallen in battle and respawned—including leaders from the Three Great Legions such as Black-Eyed Sharp Bro, Salty Fish Thrust, Mad Blade Old Wang, Ye Limeng, and Little Bell.
Clearly—
The operation had failed!
The players had underestimated the difficulty of Centipede Valley.
Even with 300 players challenging the valley, when 100–200 Tier-3 Thousand-Eyed Centipedes swarmed from all directions—and a hidden Commander-tier BOSS of unknown strength launched surprise attacks—the Scourge Army elites didn’t get completely steamrolled, but they were nearly wiped out in a one-sided defeat.
“Down again!”
“What the hell happened!”
“That BOSS was way too devious!”
“Yeah, the hundred-some Thousand-Eyed Centipedes were hard enough, and then the BOSS kept ambushing us from outside our perception range—there’s no way we could win under those conditions!”
“……”
The players all frowned deeply.
Two full wipes in half a day.
This map-opening difficulty was ridiculous!
Black-Eyed Sharp Bro added, “We did kill over twenty Thousand-Eyed Centipedes, so it’s not a total loss—but with our current strength, we’d probably have to die five to eight more times before even seeing the BOSS.”
Ye Limeng looked frustrated: “Forget five or eight more deaths—even one more and I’ll drop back to Level 14.”
Salty Fish Thrust: “Maybe we should try a different route. Challenging a Tier-3 Commander with our current power is too much. I doubt every area has a Tier-3 Commander guarding it.”
Dawn: “It’s not that easy. Even if other places don’t have Tier-3 Commanders, they still have tons of tricky Tier-3 elite monsters and all kinds of lethal terrain traps.”
“So what now?”
“Maybe hold off on opening maps!”
“Let’s go to Wo Niu Mountain and grind levels first!”
“……”
Just as the players were at a loss—
“Holy crap! Good news! Really good news!”
“What’s up, Old Pig? What good news?”
Midnight Butcher excitedly said, “Toasting the Moon made a major breakthrough over at White Tiger Mountain!”
He quickly gave a summary. When everyone learned that the Abyssal Wan City could also be accessed through the southern Fog Gate of White Tiger Mountain, the elite players of the Scourge Army were all overjoyed.
Demons and Phantoms: “So that’s how it is—we should’ve realized the territory had more than one path to Wan City.”
Little Bell: “That’s great! If Toasting the Moon is right, the south of White Tiger Mountain is not only easier to fight through, but might also contain a nearby town or ruin!”
Just when it seemed like all was lost,
a new path revealed itself!
Why stubbornly die over and over in Centipede Valley?
Breaking into Wan City via White Tiger Mountain seemed far more manageable!
At that moment, Toasting the Moon used a full-server Broadcast Stone to briefly explain He Song’s situation and request assistance from fellow Scourge Army members. Ye Limeng, Black-Eyed Sharp Bro, Little Bell, and the others immediately teleported to White Tiger Mountain without hesitation.
Even though this mission had nothing to do with them—
As members of the Scourge Army, they shared honor and disgrace!
He Song was clearly a scout or spy sent by Wan City’s forces to investigate the territory. If allowed to move freely, he could bring unpredictable consequences. This affected everyone’s interests—it was their duty to act!
More importantly—
Toasting the Moon had been the first to discover the White Tiger Mountain entrance to Wan City, complete the basic intel gathering task, and even locate a potential forward stronghold—this created a new opportunity and breakthrough for the entire Scourge Army.
The main force of the Scourge Army had originally planned to head to White Tiger Mountain anyway.
Helping take down a scout or spy along the way? No big deal!
When Hang Yu saw that the Scourge Army’s main force had all respawned, he immediately teleported via the main city to White Tiger City. Just the group teleportation cost over 100,000 Contribution Points.
Nice!
Whether it was teleport fees,
or revival fees,
they were both powerful tools for reclaiming Contribution Points!
As long as players were constantly short on Contribution Points, they’d trade their resources for more, helping fill the territory’s treasury and inventory.
“This He Song is doomed!”
Once Hang Yu saw top players like Ye Limeng, Lone Boat, and Black-Eyed Sharp Bro all heading to White Tiger Mountain, he knew He Song wouldn’t escape.
First, He Song’s movements were under full surveillance by the Scourge Army—they could set ambushes on his route. Second, though He Song was strong, he wasn’t at Tier-3 Commander level.
With the Scourge Army elites all mobilized—
There was no chance for escape.
Highly likely he’d be captured alive.
Hang Yu had issued the mission with a dual objective: capture or kill.
Naturally, capturing him was harder and the rewards would be greater.
Players always enjoyed a challenge, preferred higher difficulty for better ratings, and more importantly, He Song carried a lot of valuable intel—intel that could help with territorial expansion into Wan City!
Hang Yu had full confidence in the Scourge Army.
But just in case, he summoned Zhou Cang.
“Lord!”
Zhou Cang bowed respectfully.
Hang Yu briefed him on the situation.
Then ordered him to bring a few Azure Dragon Guards to White Tiger City as a backup.
“At once!”
Zhou Cang immediately set off.
“With this, nothing can go wrong!”
Hang Yu was already very confident in the players. Now with Zhou Cang and the Azure Dragon Guards deployed as insurance, there was no chance the capture mission would fail. Meanwhile, he needed to make some preparations back at the territory.
“My territory’s facilities are still lacking!”
“As more hostile forces emerge in the future, there’ll definitely be criminals within the territory. I need to build secure detention facilities and facilities for interrogation and punishment!”
So Hang Yu opened the marketplace.
Besides continuing to purchase Spirit Field blueprints,
He also began acquiring two types of Tier-2 blueprints:
【Blueprint: Dark Dungeon】, Tier-2 Building, Construction Cost: 3000 Mana Crystals, 5000 Tier-2 Material Essence.
【Blueprint: Execution Platform】, Tier-2 Building, Construction Cost: 2500 Mana Crystals, 4000 Tier-2 Material Essence.
As their names implied—one was for imprisoning criminals, the other for executing them. As Tier-2 extraordinary buildings, they of course came with unique abilities, and were commonly found in the territories of high-level Lords.
Though Tier-2 buildings,
These blueprints weren’t too rare, nor were they prohibitively expensive.
In fact, Hang Yu’s territory didn’t currently need these facilities urgently. Even if He Song were captured, there was no need to build a special dungeon or guillotine just for him—he wasn’t that important.
Hang Yu was simply planning ahead—buying and building in advance to improve the territory’s infrastructure for the future!