Chapter 269: Dungeons and New Dungeons

"Inner World Residents in Huang Family Village?"

Out for his morning jog, Wang Changnian faltered.

"I'm here. What's wrong, Xiao Jing?"

He had been quite happy to receive a call from Yan Jing so early in the morning, but he hadn't expected the young man's opening question to throw him so completely.

"Huang Family Village... That was eight years ago, wasn't it?"

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the towel draped over his shoulder and asked warily, "Did another Inner World incident break out somewhere?"

"No, no. The tasks for my next Dungeon just came out yesterday."

Yan Jing explained, "This time, the task is in a place called Paima County over in Bianliu County. I heard about it during my last Dungeon. Huang Family Village is right next to it, and the task requires me to..."

Yan Jing recounted the task he had spent all night fabricating. He had refined it several times to ensure it perfectly matched the style of tasks issued by the Inner World System.

On the other end of the line, Wang Changnian frowned.

"Isn't this task a bit too difficult?"

Is it difficult?

Yan Jing blinked, caught off guard.

He had fabricated it based on the difficulty of his previous tasks.

"It's the effect of my title."

Yan Jing said, "My Personal Title increases task difficulty while boosting the Dungeon's settlement rewards."

Wang Changnian nodded and sighed, his tone earnest. "Xiao Jing, don't push yourself too hard. You're still young. When you reach my age, you'll realize that cultivation isn't always about whose strength grows the fastest, but who can endure the longest. You have to learn to pace yourself for the long game."

"Understood."

Yan Jing smiled. "Then... Uncle Wang, about what I just mentioned?"

"No problem."

Wang Changnian agreed immediately.

"We secured samples and replicas of those Inner World Residents' remains a long time ago. Since you only need to take a portion with you, it's no issue at all. The main problem is that with so many corpses, you probably won't be able to carry them all in yourself, right, Xiao Jing?"

"Do you need me to arrange some people for you?"

"I'll try to find people on my end first, so I won't trouble you with that, Uncle Wang," Yan Jing said.

"If I come up short when the time comes, I might still have to bother you."

Wang Changnian couldn't find any fault with that response. He smiled faintly.

"Rest assured, Xiao Jing. If you run into any problems, just come straight to me like you did today. Let's leave it at that for now; I have a meeting shortly."

"Understood. Sorry to interrupt your rest, Uncle Wang."

Yan Jing hung up. He didn't immediately call Shen Youran to look for people, opting instead to wait for the system to issue his tasks.

He had asked Wang Changnian for help this time, and he would definitely have to find an opportunity to return the favor.

Although Wang Changnian's investment in him was driven by self-interest, that was just how interpersonal relationships worked. If someone thought highly of you, you had to display corresponding value.

Soon, the System Panel popped up in front of him.

[The location for the next Dungeon has been determined.]

[Heavenly Kingdom — Peace Heavenly Kingdom — Wastewater Street]

[Now issuing the Stage A tasks for the Dungeon.]

[Task: Assassin of the Peace Era]

[Task Description:

Across a vast, boundless wasteland, the people here have gradually lost all hope for survival after enduring radiation, natural disasters, mutations, and pollution.

That was until the appearance of the 'Heavenly Kingdom', which awakened their last shred of love for life.

Rumors say that numerous 'Heavenly Kingdoms' are hidden deep within this wasteland. If the people of the wasteland could one day enter them, they would obtain the stability, joy, and happiness they dream of.

You were lucky enough to be born into one of these Heavenly Kingdoms, named the Peace Heavenly Kingdom.

The rulers of this Heavenly Kingdom resolutely oppose engaging in war with the outside world.

Although situated at the junction of several Heavenly Kingdoms, its policy of prioritizing peace has ensured it never clashes with other nations.

However, while there are no external wars, other struggles are inevitable.

There are two distinct factions within this Heavenly Kingdom that rule in rotation according to policy.

You have become an assassin. Your task this time is to kill an internal election councilor from a faction known as the Reconciliation Faction.

It is time to show these Inner World Residents your true strength.]

[Note: This is the only task for Stage A of this Dungeon. You will have five automatically matched teammates to form an assassination squad.]

[Note: Another team will participate in this Dungeon simultaneously. Their objective is to kill a different election councilor who also belongs to the Reconciliation Faction. Once one of your teams completes its assassination, the difficulty of the other team's assassination will sharply increase.]

[Note: After completing the assassination, you must survive for six hours for the task to be considered complete.]

A very interesting task.

Yan Jing nodded after reading through the task description.

It involved teamwork, PvE, and even competitive survival and evasion.

With this level of difficulty just in Stage A, the difficulty of Stage B was easy to imagine.

Unfortunately, he had to choose a different Dungeon first this time.

He took out the Dungeon Selection Voucher and crushed it, causing the tasks to shift.

[The new Dungeon location has been determined.]

[Minhu — Paima County — Huang Family Village]

[Now issuing the Stage A tasks for the Dungeon.]

[Task 1: Unexpected Outlander]

[Task Description: Huang Family Village is a small village located next to Paima County. It contains forty-nine households, with three people in each. They are extremely xenophobic and will even ruthlessly attack outsiders.

You accidentally trespassed into this place. Please earn the trust of the residents, help them complete five requests, and obtain their positive feedback.

Note: The residents must be Inner World Residents who have lived in that house for more than three days.]

[Task 2: Only By Entering Can One Exit]

[Task Description: Huang Family Village cannot tolerate outsiders, but please find a way to stay there.

Since each household can only have three people, the best method is to reduce the household by one person first.

Please be careful, however. If you kill one of the three, there is a high probability of inciting the wrath of the other two. Stopping at that point will not be a wise choice.]

[Note: Due to the Dungeon Selection Voucher, the difficulty of this Dungeon has been substantially increased.]

[Note: Due to system rules, Stage A of this Dungeon will reuse previous tasks, but minor adjustments have been made to increase the Dungeon's difficulty while still ensuring it can be completed.]

After finishing the task description, Yan Jing stared blankly.

According to the system's description...

It seemed like it had glitched.

The Stage A tasks were similar every time, but with one key difference: there was no one left in Huang Family Village now.

This was naturally a good thing for him. Task 2, for example, could be completed without expending any effort at all. But if there was no one there... where were these so-called residents' requests supposed to come from?

Finally, his gaze lingered on the last sentence.

The system had made minor adjustments so that it could still be completed.

...

After pondering for a moment, he found the answer.

The so-called residents didn't necessarily have to be original inhabitants of Huang Family Village. Just as the task description stated, the residents had to have lived in that house for more than three days. This was actually a hint.

So the correct way to clear the stage would be for Yan Jing to enter the Inner World, find some Inner World Residents, make them move to Huang Family Village, have them live there for over three days, and then complete their requests to receive positive feedback.

This way, the difficulty of the task had indeed increased significantly compared to before.

First, the time required was massively extended, and he also had to interact with Inner World Residents to gain their trust or arrange an exchange of benefits.

And if he chose to use force, it would involve the territory of Paima County.

The task location was Huang Family Village, which meant that the moment he entered Paima County, his Mental Immunity Value would drop to zero.

For Yan Jing, however, none of these issues were worth worrying about.

Soon, he dialed Shen Youran's number. He told her the details of this Dungeon, then added:

"Teacher Shen, I recall you had some people on your end who wanted to enter a Dungeon with me, right?"

"Could you pass a message to them? Tell them they can join my Dungeon, but they'll need to help me carry some things."

"However, I need people who can keep their mouths shut and can be trusted."

On the other end of the line, Shen Youran agreed.

"Alright, no problem."

The two chatted for a little while longer.

She quickly screened a few trustworthy individuals and gave them a call to hash out the details.

These people had either used Dungeon Postponement Vouchers to backlog their tasks for a while, or were preparing to advance a tier. They were initially thrilled to hear they could cling to a powerhouse's coattails, but when they heard they had to collectively use Dungeon Selection Vouchers—and that the destination was Minhu—several of them hesitated.

In the end, Mo Lian, who had previously entered the Sun-Swallowing Tower with Yan Jing, was the first to agree.

"Fine, I have no problem with it. I'm just tagging behind that guy to scavenge the scraps anyway."

In truth, she knew she didn't have a choice. Knowing Shen Youran's temperament, even if she refused, she would highly likely be forced into the Dungeon anyway.

She hung up the phone.

She quickly received messages and calls from the others Shen Youran had contacted, asking her just how capable Yan Jing really was.

Some of them weren't even in the Fifth Ring Domain and knew very little about him.

"He's strong. Extremely strong."

She told them, "At the same stage, he is stronger than anyone from the former Zhoulin, including their leader."

She had participated in the last Super-Large Dungeon as well. Just by quietly coasting along in the background, she had made a killing.

Hearing Mo Lian's words, especially the comparison that he was stronger than Zhoulin had been back then, those people immediately agreed to Shen Youran's request.

"The people are gathered, Xiao Yanzi."

Shen Youran called Yan Jing back.

"But regarding that matter you asked about earlier, are you serious?"

It was a rare instance of Shen Youran questioning Yan Jing's decision.

During their earlier conversation, Yan Jing had actually asked her if there was a way to shorten the downtime before entering the Dungeon.

"That kind of item does exist, and it isn't even expensive."

Shen Youran said solemnly, "After all, very few people would choose to shorten their downtime before entering a Dungeon. People always need rest. Even if you enter early, the difficulty won't be lowered."

"It's fine, Teacher Shen."

Yan Jing smiled. "I'll have to trouble you to prepare it for me. Let's set the time for five days from now."

"Alright."

Shen Youran finally agreed.

Setting down the phone, an unshakable worry lingered between her brows.

She didn't know why, but she could hear it in his voice. Yan Jing seemed even more exhausted than when he had first emerged from the Super-Large Dungeon.