Chapter 218: End of Stage A, Republic-Era Monopoly

To hand them over, or not.

That was the question.

And it was the question currently facing every faction in Bianliu County.

West Street.

The short-haired woman with a scarred face sat at the entrance to Mengji Carving Shop, her expression incredibly gloomy.

The members of the Public Security Association exchanged nervous glances. None of them dared approach within ten meters, leaving a wide, empty circle around her.

Finally, she lifted her head and looked in a certain direction.

Over there, the Peacekeepers automatically parted, making way for a smiling man with tightly shut eyes.

"You were waiting for me?"

The man's voice was gentle.

"Did you hand yours over?"

The woman's voice was ice-cold, clearly suppressing her fury.

She had wanted to seize those territories back, but the craftsmen behind her had disagreed.

As an enforcer, she couldn't defy the commander's will on such matters.

As a result, her already surging rage burned even hotter.

Chilling killing intent rippled around her.

"I handed them over."

The man smiled, his tone unexpectedly relaxed.

"You were willing to just hand them over like that?"

The woman eyed him with suspicion.

The man before her was far from simple. Ever since entering the Inner World dungeons, his evaluation for every clear had been an A or above. He was hailed as the number one dungeon player in Rainbow City, cultivated as a Seed for the Fifth Ring Domain.

Although she was confident she was no weaker than him, going by their comprehensive evaluations, she had not yet reached his level.

"If you don't want to hand them over, it's actually quite simple."

The man smiled.

"The territories he occupies are right outside. You just need to snatch them back one by one. Once you take five and he dies, the rest will be yours."

"..."

The woman's gaze darkened as she looked at him. "You went and tried?"

"I can't say."

The man finished with a smile, stepped over the threshold past her, and walked into the carving shop.

It was only upon returning to his own room that his tightly wound aura finally relaxed. His previously full, perfectly rounded Weird Energy now resembled a cracked water pitcher, draining away in a flood. Two trails of bloody tears streamed from his tightly shut eyes.

No one knew what he had just experienced. If he hadn't withdrawn from that Regional Grid at the last possible moment, he absolutely would have perished right then and there.

The last time he had encountered such a terrifying opponent was when he faced the man who had swept aside their entire generation.

And this time, the man wearing the Advisor robes felt every bit as formidable.

His proudest dreamscape abilities had been directly suppressed by the other's Fear.

A complete, crushing defeat at the level of the Ritual Tier.

"My Ritual is yellow-purple, purple, and purple-black..."

He muttered as he reached out, grabbed a few sheets of paper, and wiped the blood from his face.

However, compared to the woman, his emotions were far more stable.

He hadn't managed to get A-grade evaluations in so many dungeons by just brute-forcing his way through.

If this dungeon was primarily combat-focused, he would just accept his bad luck. But if the next two stages weren't, there was still a chance for a comeback—because the strongest man in Rainbow City had also entered.

Besides, there was at least one piece of good news right now.

And that was that he and that person weren't considered enemies.

...

...

Atop Stone Mountain.

Outside the Curtain, the long-haired man's expression was exceptionally ugly.

He never expected that the vice-captain of his squad would fall here.

They had always been the strongest team in Longhe City and had never suffered a setback, yet here, this was the result.

"Look, look, what did I tell you?"

Bai Qiu's voice drifted out from the Curtain.

"Don't provoke that man! Do you really think you're stronger than him?"

Bai Qiu's tone was filled with contempt.

"What do you mean, Mr. Bai?"

The man with waist-length hair stood up, his gaze utterly frigid.

"I'm saying that since you lack the skill, you shouldn't take on such a delicate task."

Bai Qiu stated bluntly.

"..."

The long-haired man's face darkened. "Mr. Bai, I'm giving you face. Don't mistake me for someone easy to push around."

"Is your situation any better? You've been forced to hide on this Stone Mountain, caught in a dilemma between advancing and retreating."

"Heh."

Bai Qiu laughed. "I did lose, but my defeat wasn't child's play like yours."

"Besides, I've only lost for the moment."

"You don't understand how I was defeated at all, so you have no right to speak."

"At the very least... I didn't lose as stupidly as you did!"

"..."

The long-haired man took several deep breaths, finally steadying his emotions. He walked out the door, his eyes glinting. "I'll tear him to shreds in the next stage."

"Heh."

Once the long-haired man had left, Bai Qiu called out to the young girl in the corner. "What do you think of him?"

"He's alright."

The young girl smiled, brimming with youthful vitality. "He'd be just about right to serve as a substitute for our team."

...

...

Inside a certain restaurant on East Street.

A group of people surrounded a black Screen, waiting to hear the person inside issue orders.

They were teams from the cities surrounding Rainbow City. Although they had the numbers, compared to other teams, they still lacked someone who could truly hold down the fort.

They were only slightly stronger than that group from Ling'an at Feinan Temple.

Therefore, after seeing the notice posted on the city wall, they had rushed back immediately to inform the commander inside the Screen and seek his opinion.

However, one could easily guess that, lacking a strong leader, handing over their territory was their only option.

Unexpectedly, a resonant, forceful voice rang out from within the Screen:

"Preposterous!"

"This County Magistrate Luo really doesn't take me, Bi Jie, seriously!"

"Someone get over here and go deliver a letter for me!!!"

Hearing this, the crowd's eyes immediately lit up. Could it be that the person they were following was actually a major big shot?

Shortly after, a letter was handed out from the Screen.

The messenger immediately took it and ran all the way to North Street, handing the letter over to Tiger, who was guarding beside the Regional Grid.

He specifically noted that it was a letter from Lord Bi Jie for County Magistrate Luo.

Lord Bi?

Tiger blanked for a moment. Somehow, this title didn't quite match up with the perpetually smiling Bi Jie in his memories.

However, he didn't dwell on it. Not long after, this letter was delivered into Yan Jing's hands inside his Screen.

Yan Jing opened the envelope:

[To be opened personally by County Magistrate Luo]

[Young Master Luo, based on my understanding of you, you are definitely someone who honors your agreements.]

[We made an agreement back then; our mutual alliance must be indestructible.]

[Fifty grids is too much, let's make it thirty. I have no capable subordinates under me, there's truly nothing I can do. But in the most crucial Third Stage, I, Bi Jie, will definitely lend County Magistrate Luo a helping hand.]

[Yours, Bi Jie.]

Yan Jing chuckled.

In the end, Bi Jie handed over thirty grids.

And what Yan Jing hadn't expected was that Liu Ye, who had been completely silent the whole time, actually handed over fifty grids.

Just like that, excluding the initial one hundred Regional Grids, his total number of Regional Grids reached two hundred and forty-seven.

And all the Regional Grids had already been fully occupied several hours ago.

After spending a bit more time, Yan Jing seized all the Regional Grids in Tranquil Valley, bringing his grid count to two hundred and ninety-seven.

Finally, he sought out three Regional Grids in Zhennan County, collecting exactly three hundred grids and reaching the limit.

"It's full."

Beside him, Old Master Liu nodded in gratification.

"I misjudged you last time, kid. You're truly impressive."

"Not at all, you're quite impressive yourself."

Yan Jing said with a smile.

"I'm old, I'm old."

Old Master Liu raised his head. "I was indeed formidable in my youth. In the Third Lake Prefecture, out of all the martial arts dojos in the entire prefecture, I, Liu Fu, single-handedly challenged and defeated sixteen of them!"

"That impressive?"

Yan Jing asked.

"Of course! The Third Lake Prefecture is famous for its dojos. Back then, my master's sect wanted to establish our own dojo there. According to the rules, a disciple had to successfully challenge eighteen dojos. So they sent me to do it..."

The Old Man nodded. He was in high spirits and had intended to boast extravagantly.

But in the end, for some unknown reason, he took one look at Yan Jing, opened his mouth, and then automatically dropped the topic, saying nothing more.

For the remaining time, as the various factions finished dividing the territories and quieted down, Yan Jing lay peacefully on a recliner inside the Curtain, reading a comic book.

He waited quietly for Stage B to begin.

Finally, once the full twenty-four hours were up, the notification for the completion of Stage A of the dungeon appeared before everyone.

[Super-Large Dungeon Bianliu County Stage A completed]

[Dungeon evaluation in progress...]

[Quest "Occupy Land as King" evaluation: The Player has occupied a total of 300 Regional Grids. Based on comprehensive assessment, the evaluation for this quest is: S+ (Maximum is S+ rank)]

[Overall Dungeon Evaluation: S+]

[Reward calculation in progress...]

[Basic Rewards: 4% Experience, 10,000 Eerie Coins]

[S+ Evaluation Extra Rewards: 40% Experience, 40,000 Eerie Coins, Mental Immunity Potion (Bound Item) x2, Physical Enhancement Potion (Bound Item) x2, Ritual Blessing Coupon (Bound Item) x1, Advanced Healing Potion x2, Inner World Box Key x2 (Bound Item)]

[Chaos Mode Extra Rewards: 20% Experience, 20,000 Eerie Coins, Lucky Scratch Ticket x1]

[Now issuing Stage B quest]

[Quest: Minhu Monopoly]

[Quest Description: The initial scramble for territory has ended. What comes next is the truly bloody competition.

The commander of each faction will select the strongest member on their side to participate in the Monopoly contest, and they may choose anyone to roll the Dice.

During this day of rest, the commanders will transform their owned Regional Grids into various configurations, categorized into three types: Combat, Random, and Specialty.

As pieces on the board, you will circulate continuously in the following order: Stone Mountain — Tranquil Valley — Baile Manor — Crop Plains — Zhennan County — Mechanism Alley Entrance — West Street — South Street — East Street — North Street — Feinan Temple.

Ultimately, when only five factions remain on the board without going "bankrupt," Stage B will end.]

[Note: Bankrupt factions will be forcibly acquired. This is also the crucial key to Stage C.]

[Note: Commanders will be issued a certain number of special effect cards. At the same time, the number of Players and Regional Grids owned by a faction serves as their starting assets. When assets are transferred, the faction a Player belongs to will be transferred as well. When fines are levied, there are only two choices: sell Regional Grids, or sell Players.]

[Note: Because the faction you belong to only has you as a Player, aside from the Regional Grids, your starting asset is 1.]

Have fun.