Chapter 197: "Relatives" Meet

"This incident is known as the Huang Family Village Riot."

Fan Jue stood beside the paintings and photographs, acting as a temporary tour guide as he explained to Yan Jing,

"In truth, it isn't just us humans who can enter the Inner World through the Inner World System. Since the system first appeared, we have discovered Inner World Residents appearing in the Surface World on more than one occasion."

"It's just that compared to how frequently we enter Dungeons, this happens very rarely. Because of that, the Federation classified these occurrences as 'accidents.'"

"But about nine years ago, a massive invasion of Inner World Residents occurred right here in our Fifth Ring Domain."

"The incident took place in Binhai City, one of the Central Municipalities in the Fifth Ring Domain."

"During a census in one of Binhai City's districts, they unexpectedly found that the population had dropped drastically compared to previous years."

"Even though the deaths had all been ruled accidental, such abnormal data still caught the attention of the local Public Security Association."

"After investigating, they finally locked their sights on an ordinary meat vendor."

"The strange thing was that during the investigation, whenever we were on the verge of capturing the suspect, he always managed to escape."

"So, as the Public Security Association meticulously peeled back the layers of the case, they were shocked to discover that over a hundred Inner World Residents were hiding in the district."

"They all came from a village called Huang Family Village in the Minhu Domain. They operated covertly under the guise of humans and had been secretly providing assistance whenever the suspect fled."

At this, Fan Jue's expression turned serious.

"The corresponding Inner World region for our Fifth Ring Domain and Fourth Ring Domain has always been a large-scale Domain named the Eerie Capital. This incident, however, was a rare case originating from the Minhu Domain—and a massive invasion at that."

"The Public Security Association quickly launched an operation and contacted personnel from the Third Ring Domain and Second Ring Domain to analyze and discuss targeted countermeasures against Minhu."

"Unexpectedly, the enemy's counterattack was incredibly fierce."

"In the end, nearly half of Binhai City was reduced to a living hell. It cost the lives of over eighty Peacekeepers from the Public Security Association before they finally wiped out or subdued all of those Inner World Residents."

"A dozen or so Inner World Residents were captured and escorted to a designated area for supervision."

Fan Jue slowly exhaled.

"But even though the incident ended, the lingering issues remained massive."

"Once those Inner World Residents realized their defeat was inevitable, they did something truly terrifying."

"What did they do?"

A young woman, drawn in by Fan Jue's explanation, asked.

Fan Jue glanced at the vibrant-looking girl and slowly replied, "They publicized the method of entering the ranks for their Pathway."

As soon as those words left his mouth, all the onlookers froze in shock.

Someone in the crowd gasped. It was a method they had never even considered.

To some extent, Players on an Inner World Pathway were no different from Inner World Residents.

They would experience the same physical mutations, become just as paranoid, and even descend into madness. Furthermore, compared to Inner World Residents, those who stayed in the Surface World year-round were far more prone to losing control.

And the actions of the Huang Family Village residents that Fan Jue described were undoubtedly mass-producing these uncontrollable "ticking time bombs."

Think about it—whether it was ordinary people who hadn't been chosen to enter the Inner World or terrified Players living in constant fear, who could resist Transcendent power placed right in front of them?

"So the current Binhai City...?"

Yan Jing looked at Fan Jue.

Fan Jue nodded.

"Over the past eight years, Binhai City's crime rate has continued to rise, and its number of dangerous cases is now the highest in the entire Fifth Ring Domain."

"..."

Hearing this, the onlookers' eyes flickered with various emotions, and some spoke up in anger.

"Those damn bastards..."

"They aren't even the same species as us. Those who are not of our race must have a different heart..."

"If my next Dungeon is in this so-called Minhu, I'm definitely going on a killing spree right from the start..."

But right then, a crisp, bell-like laugh abruptly rang out from the back of the crowd.

Upon hearing it, the crowd shot unfriendly glares toward the source of the laughter, wanting to see who was acting so inappropriately.

"Sorry, sorry..."

The one laughing was the same girl who had asked Fan Jue a question earlier. Dressed in a short skirt and white socks, her hair tied in a long ponytail, she brimmed with youthful energy.

She smiled and waved dismissively, then turned and walked away with her hands behind her back, ignoring the crowd's displeased stares.

Yan Jing watched the scene with an indifferent expression.

He looked at Fan Jue and smiled.

"Mr. Fan, let's continue."

"Alright."

Fan Jue nodded, leading the group toward the next exhibition area.

At this moment, Shen Youran leaned close to Yan Jing and whispered, "That person just now is from the Third Ring Domain. She belongs to a newly rising Player team that's emerged over the past few years."

"Mm."

Yan Jing nodded slightly.

He could tell she was indeed quite capable.

...

The girl with the ponytail tapped her toes lightly, bounding like a small deer until she reached a group of people resting on a sofa in front of one of the exhibition areas.

"I saw him."

The girl smiled.

"How was it? Is he just like the rumors say?"

A man who was sitting and looking at his phone raised his head and smiled.

The hand he used to hold the phone was very unusual—every single knuckle was thick and pronounced, resembling bamboo joints.

"Hmm..." The girl extended a finger, lightly tapping her chin with a smile. "He didn't feel like anything special. At the very least... he isn't as strong as I imagined."

"I knew Mu Wan was talking nonsense."

A woman whose build was visibly a full size larger than the others laughed loudly. "She just didn't want us targeting her man, so she randomly pulled someone out to use as a meat shield."

Her laughter was hoarse and extraordinarily uninhibited, like a wild beast.

"Boss, what do you think?"

The bamboo-knuckled man looked toward another man beside him who was playing a game on his phone.

Rather than describing him as a man, "boy" would be much more accurate.

He looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, a lollipop dangling from his mouth.

However, when he looked up, the maturity revealed in his eyes clearly did not match his youthful appearance.

"I don't know. The card draws are available today, Zhang Cheng. You pull for me."

He spoke with a grin, handing his phone over to the robust, heavily built woman.

"Boss..."

The bamboo-knuckled man smiled helplessly. "Weren't you the one who said this Super-Large Dungeon was incredibly important?"

"Did I say that? I don't remember."

The boy laughed. Seeing the woman pull a gold card for him, his eyes immediately lit up.

"We have liftoff! Zhang Cheng, your luck really is amazing! You haven't even gotten into the game and you've already got a built-in buff!"

"Boss..."

The bamboo-knuckled man prompted again.

The boy finally showed a proper reaction. As he maneuvered his character right up to the boss, he smiled and said, "It's fine. Bu Ran hasn't returned yet, right? Let's hear his opinion."

After saying this, he paused, then chuckled.

"Do you guys know what the most important thing is during PVE (boss battles)?"

"What is it?"

Seeing the boy bring up the game on his own initiative, the group focused their attention, knowing he was about to get to the main point.

The boy smiled faintly.

"It's dropping all your skills onto the boss and ignoring the small mobs it summons."

Perfect!

The phone screen just so happened to display that he had achieved a perfect kill.

...

...

Yan Jing followed Fan Jue through the entire exhibition area, gaining a general understanding of the Surface World's stance on the Inner World:

Maintain high vigilance, even harbor significant hostility, but if cooperation is possible, try to pursue it. The bottom line was: under no circumstances are Inner World Residents allowed to enter the Surface World.

"Is the assembly about to begin?"

He looked at Fan Jue.

"Almost."

After Fan Jue spoke, he looked at Yan Jing, seemingly wanting to say something.

"Mr. Fan, if you have something on your mind, you can just say it."

Yan Jing smiled.

"It's like this, Mr. Yan. For this Super-Large Dungeon, judging from past experience, First to Third Tier individuals should be entering one instance, while Fourth to Sixth Tier individuals enter another."

Fan Jue explained, "So I was thinking, how about you team up with our Public Security Association for this Dungeon? The Association will have three Third Tier members participating this time, and I've also reached the Second Tier."

"Come on, Old Yan."

Xu Weizhou chimed in at that moment.

"I'll think about it."

Yan Jing smiled.

Just as they were chatting, a hearty voice suddenly called out from afar.

"Brother Yan, let's team up."

The group turned to look at the newcomer. He was dressed in a coarse cloth robe, boasting a muscular build and an honest, dependable face. It was none other than Chen Dalang, who had fallen unconscious during the self-destruction of Dandelion Manor last time.

Fan Jue's gaze darkened.

"Mr. Chen, your Chen Family's team should only have one Third Tier member participating."

"There is indeed only one."

Chen Dalang smiled. "But according to convention, it will be a team-based format once inside. A group can have a maximum of ten people, and I'll definitely be in a group with my uncle. With Brother Yan included, of course."

"What about you? Can Brother Fan guarantee that you'll definitely be sorted with the Third Tiers from your Public Security Association?"

"At the very least, Ling'an's Public Security Association shouldn't have any Third Tiers joining this Dungeon, right?"

"..."

Fan Jue's eyes grew even darker, and the atmosphere grew tense, with swords drawn and bows bent.

At this, some of the surrounding people began to murmur among themselves.

They recognized Fan Jue and Chen Dalang, so they were curious about exactly who Yan Jing was to provoke both sides into fighting over him.

"How lively."

At that moment, another squad approached from a distance.

They immediately drew everyone's sidelong glances.

This was solely because the person leading the group was the strongest member of the Yan Family's previous generation, Yan Yan—who also happened to be Yan Jing's cousin.

"Cousin, it's been a long time."

Yan Yan smiled.

"It's been a long time, Cousin. And..."

Yan Jing smiled and shifted his gaze to the space behind Yan Yan. Following right behind him was none other than Yan Lei, his older sister whom he had beaten up last time.

"Sis."

Seeing the smile on Yan Jing's face, Yan Lei's expression darkened. She let out a cold snort. Just as she was about to speak, Yan Yan raised a hand to stop her and smiled.

"I heard that when you sparred with Lei Lei last time, you ended up hurting her?"

"That's right."

Yan Jing smiled.

"Was it on purpose, or was it an accident?"

Yan Yan asked with a smile.

"I was deliberately careless."

Yan Jing chuckled.

"Hahaha, Cousin, you're quite humorous."

Yan Yan said, "Lei Lei came running to complain to me for a long time, saying you were too heavy-handed. As your older cousin, I have to give you a bit of a lecture—as a younger brother, you really shouldn't behave like that."

Yan Yan's words naturally carried a lecturing tone as he put on a lofty, authoritative air in front of everyone.

"Lei Lei also said she wanted to find an opportunity to win her dignity back. Since you're here today, how about this? I'll make the call. The two of you can spar one more time. Perfect timing, too—there's a training ground right downstairs."

Yan Yan's smile was incredibly gentle. After speaking, he even looked toward Yan Lei in a show of "democracy":

"How about it, Lei Lei? You two siblings can bury the hatchet right here and now."

"I'm fine with it."

Suppressing the joy welling up in her heart, Yan Lei nodded.

She had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Because right after the last Dungeon, she had already advanced to the Second Tier.