Chapter 182

The comments section in the live stream exploded.

"My goodness, is this what they call narrowing down the search area? This is practically pinpointing the enemy's location!"

"Six hundred and sixty-six, someone's cheating on the spot!"

"I'm really stunned by what I'm hearing. Is there anyone who can come out and verify whether he's talking nonsense or making a reasonable analysis?"

"What's wrong with all the comments above? You guys just believed him like that? Have you all forgotten that the poster he showed us earlier was just a piece of paper? He's a monster disguised as a human, all his seemingly logical analyses are just an act to confuse people!"

"What they said is right. So many of us viewers were watching the live stream the whole time, and we didn't even see where he came from. This person has a serious problem!"

"This group is doomed. They're being played like fools by a monster."

"Even the peak is nothing more than this, and the god-level players are even more trash. I thought that a dungeon with Xie Xubai would be a sure thing, but I wasted my time and energy. I might as well have gone to watch [9]."

"Wait a minute, a bold idea suddenly occurred to me: is it possible that this young man is Xie Shenbian?"

"Come on, why would Xie Xubai need to disguise himself and infiltrate the players? He thinks he can fool you with a bunch of nonsense? If he were Xie Xubai, I'd do a handstand while washing my hair live on stream!"

.

Inside the instance, the players were still staring blankly at Xie Xubai.

Faced with more than a dozen pairs of wide eyes, the young man seemed to realize he had gone too far and was a little embarrassed. He touched his nose and mumbled, "I was just saying, it might not be right... Captain Xu!"

Startled by being suddenly called upon, Captain Xu instinctively responded, "Ah... um, what's wrong?"

Xie Xubai floated over: "Do you have any thermal imaging or other reconnaissance equipment here?"

Not only that, the peak member next to Captain Xu was about to take it out of his spatial backpack.

The team member's gaze towards Xie Xubai immediately changed, filled with surprise and uncertainty.

Does this person have mind-reading abilities? Otherwise, how would they know they had props and were planning to use them?

Even Captain Xu was momentarily dazed after listening to Xie Xubai's series of analyses, suspecting that the other party had already guessed that they were going to bring out the props.

But when she looked up again and met Xie Xubai's expectant gaze, which showed no sign of anything unusual, she wondered if she was overthinking things.

The top members then took out the props.

The use of items will be affected by the magnetic field of the dungeon, and the degree of impact varies proportionally with the level difference.

For example, the effectiveness of a Rank C item will decrease in a Rank B dungeon, while the effectiveness of a Rank A item will increase in a Rank B dungeon. If the rank difference is too large, sometimes it's better to use ordinary tools.

Therefore, in the later stages, when encountering high-difficulty dungeons, players who lack the ability to obtain high-level items will significantly reduce their reliance on items.

Relying on one's own innate skills and stats is clearly more reliable than using items. The same applies to weapons.

To conduct large-scale reconnaissance of S-rank dungeons, only A-rank and B-rank items are barely usable; anything lower won't work.

Rank B is manageable, but Rank A items are extremely difficult to obtain. Even at the peak, it's impossible to allocate too many resources to the third squad.

The member searched through all the inventory before finally managing to pull out an A-grade item with X-ray vision. It had a limited number of uses and would be destroyed after use, which made him feel extremely pained.

As the captain, Captain Xu was used to being meticulous and frugal. Seeing this, he coughed lightly and said, "I think Brother Chu Yi's analysis makes a lot of sense. Why don't we first identify that building as our target, plan our route through the ventilation ducts, and go in to look for it? If we don't find it, we can use props to investigate."

Xie Xubai said, "Actually, it doesn't have to be that complicated."

Whether they were still in shock or trying to come up with a solution, the players all turned their heads and looked at him in unison when they heard him speak: "Hmm?"

[Gravity] The player was the most direct, asking with bright eyes, "Hey bro, do you have any good ideas?"

"It's not a great idea, but my thinking might be a bit simplistic and crude." The young man scratched his cheek. "We have Brian, right? He's so strong and his body is so tough. The walls here are so fragile, why don't we just dig them down from the outside?"

The players present were suddenly enlightened.

Holy crap!

This is truly something I never expected!

There was a time when players were also very brave (reckless), wanting to destroy houses whenever they saw a secret room, wanting to destroy any traps they saw, and trying every possible way to exploit loopholes.

As the saying goes, Middle-earth players have three major obsessions: nuking/exploding, speedrunning, and exploiting bugs.

Why do the effectiveness of items vary in different dungeons? It's because many skilled players use low-level items to exploit movement tricks and slowly whittle down the bosses in high-level dungeons in order to reduce the cost of clearing the dungeon.

Some people even used the terrain and simple bows and arrows to farm monsters without time limits to earn points, achieving the glorious result of fighting against thousands of enemies single-handedly.

It wasn't until the system seemed unable to function properly, repeatedly patching the rules and using various hidden traps to make them stumble badly, that this unhealthy trend began to subside.

The current rules don't say anything about not being able to forcibly demolish!

Most importantly, the god-level player Brian was there! He could shatter amusement park rides into charcoal, so digging through a wall would be a piece of cake for him.

Looking at the blond mercenary exuding a menacing aura, people exchanged glances, somewhat intimidated.

In the end, it was Captain Xu who stepped forward to act as the mediator.

Surprisingly, Brian agreed very readily.

Instead of immediately digging at the location of the basement Xie Xubai had indicated, he first walked up to Xie Xubai and looked at the young man expressionlessly.

Xie Xubai saw Brian's lips move slightly, his light-colored pupils filled with inquiry, and the next second the other's voice rang in his mind.

When you appeared, I didn't find any trace of you. There are many suspicious things about you.

Xie Xubai: "..."

He was unaware of how outrageous a god-level player's perception could be, and he was prepared to be suspected.

However, considering that Brian was beaten to the point of near death, he was still able to spare the time to pay attention to his movements, which was quite surprising.

Is the reason she didn't directly expose him as a threat?

Xie Xubai calmly adjusted his words, when he suddenly heard Brian's message.

But I also didn't sense any malice from you.

You're very smart, and I admire smart people. I'll keep an eye on you, and I hope you don't have any bad intentions, or I will definitely kill you.

Seeing Brian's serious expression, Xie Xubai was stunned and a little surprised.

He suddenly realized that the voice in his head wasn't English, but Chinese. Because he wasn't familiar with the pronunciation, it sounded awkward and dry, which explained why it was a short and dry sentence.

For top-tier players, acquiring language skills isn't difficult; however, they rarely take the initiative to learn the languages ​​of other continents. The reason is that the previous trial dungeons don't cross geographical boundaries, and there's no trade or communication between continents due to restrictions, so there's no need to learn them.

Someone with Xie Xubai's mental strength is strong enough to communicate directly in their mind using their thoughts, overcoming all language barriers, so there's no need for any other methods.

Brian, however, took the plunge and started learning Chinese.

Xie Xubai thought for a moment.

It seemed that as the people around him quieted down to listen to his analysis, Brian glanced at him.

The blond giant's first reaction was to furrow his brow and frown, then hesitate for a moment—because he couldn't understand Chinese.

He turned his head and whispered, asking the only teammate who had followed him in. Unfortunately, his teammate only knew a little Chinese, and the speaking speed that a normal person from Central Asia could understand was fast and difficult for him to comprehend.

Brian frowned, looking left and then right, trying to appear indifferent but unable to hide his curiosity.

Seeing everyone gradually showing expressions of sudden realization and surprise, he crossed his arms, becoming increasingly conflicted, tapping his fingers on his arms like a cat tormented by curiosity.

In the end, Brian couldn't resist. With a blank expression, he opened the system store, bought the language learning package, and barely managed to hear the second half of Xie Xubai's analysis. His cold and arrogant expression gradually changed, and he blinked and even let out a soft "wow."

—In short, it's not a bad thing; at least now everyone is free from communication barriers.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Brian arrived at his destination. He placed his hand on the wall and closed his eyes, seemingly gathering his strength.

His teammates, from a distance, frantically warned him: "This neighborhood is very dilapidated, Brian, you must be careful to control your strength. Don't smash the whole garage, or we'll all be buried alive!"

Captain Xu and the others remained silent, simply raising the barrier in quietude.

Brian opened his eyes and glanced impatiently at his teammates, just as Xie Xubai floated over.

Xie Xubai wanted to know how god-level players manipulated their power.

Unlike the bizarre, this was a power system he had never experienced before, or rather, this path of evolution from human to god was more in line with his situation, since he had never been transformed into a monster from beginning to end.

Brian also possessed the same divine aura as Yan Shuo, but the evil god was more powerful and mighty, more reliable and steady, like an emperor, radiating authority without anger.

Brian didn't expect that the young man would dare to approach Xie Xubai right after he warned him.

He stared at Xie Xubai for a long while, until the young man looked up in confusion and asked strangely, "Aren't you afraid? Why don't you stay away?"

"Hmm?" Xie Xubai was a little surprised. "Micro-management should be very easy for you?"

Powerful people don't just blow up the world like a nuclear bomb; on the contrary, their control over power is incredibly precise.

The improvement of a god-level player is all-round. Even without specifically strengthening their mental power, their mental calculation capacity is much higher than that of an ordinary person. Brian only needs 5 minutes to learn Chinese to the point of fluency.

However, this only indicates that they have outstanding learning and calculation abilities; other aspects cannot be guaranteed.

Brian looked at Xie Xubai for a while after hearing this, and seeing that there was no doubt or worry on the young man's face, he suddenly chuckled: "Of course, it's very easy."

Before he finished speaking, a surge of power emanated from his palm. With a cracking sound, a fissure suddenly appeared in the wall where Brian's palm was facing, and a circular spiderweb rapidly spread outwards, climbing up the ventilation duct in the ceiling in the blink of an eye!

“Brian…!” The other players’ hearts jumped into their throats.

The crack is too big; this feels like something terrible is about to happen!

Two people remained unmoved: Brian and Xie Xubai.

Brian then believed that Xie Xubai was truly unafraid, slowly withdrew his gaze from the other party, and pushed his palm forward.

A series of cracking sounds, like firecrackers going off, suddenly caused the crack to burst open. Half of the fan-shaped wall collapsed inward under the unstoppable force, crashing to the ground and breaking into countless pieces, raising a large cloud of lime dust!

The players peered out and couldn't help but marvel.

Not only was the noise minimal, but the cut was also perfectly smooth, creating half a hole through the air without affecting the surrounding walls in the slightest!

After a few seconds of astonishment, the players who had looked past Xie Xubai and the other two to see the scene before them suddenly fell silent, their expressions varying.

The dug-out basement was indeed here! The room was dark and gloomy with no lights on, and the cramped space was cluttered with plastic bags, cardboard boxes, and other miscellaneous items, making it look messy.

A male corpse lay sprawled in the middle of the room, beneath the sofa. Large clumps of thick blood pooled beneath him, gushing outwards, and a strong, pungent smell of blood and a musty, damp odor filled the air.

Everyone involuntarily looked at the corpse's neck; his head had vanished!

Judging from the smooth and flat cross-section, it was definitely not broken by a collision or accidentally run over by a tire, but rather intentionally chopped off with an axe or similar tool.

Why behead someone?

Also, since the victim is here, then the murderer...?

Just as someone was about to ask a question, the lights behind them suddenly blazed on, and the vehicle's engine roared to life once again!

Even though the players were hanging on the wall and out of reach of the car, their lingering fear still made them instinctively back away.

Including Brian.

The cars were rushing towards them with much more ferocity than at the beginning. Without thinking, he grabbed Xie Xubai and dodged to the side!

Unexpectedly, the vehicles were not intended to attack the two people who had discovered the murderer.

Several private cars roared into the basement, and the wall, which was only half open, collapsed upon impact! Large chunks of lime bricks shattered, kicking up clouds of dust as they relentlessly crashed into the deepest part of the basement!

In a flash, Xie Xubai seemed to catch a glimpse of the murderer. The murderer was hiding in the corner of the cabinet, clutching a butcher's knife, blood dripping from the blade. Seeing the car rush in, the murderer actually stepped out and faced the speeding vehicle head-on!

In that instant, Xie Xubai felt that the murderer was smiling.

Immediately afterwards, the person and the vehicle collided, but there was no dull thud as if something had been hit; it was as if they had struck a wisp of air.

The cheerful announcements from the amusement park rang out from all directions.

[Ding! The "real player" has been hit by the "real ball," congratulations to all players for winning the current round! The next round is about to begin! Please wait one minute...]

One after another, deafening explosions echoed through the underground parking garage. All the cars turned on their lights, started their engines, and drove out of their parking spaces, rampaging wildly through the vast garage!

Fortunately, the elite team was prepared and shouted, "Come here!" and quickly deployed a barrier.

Everyone quickly gathered behind the barrier, watching helplessly as countless oil-leaking cars collided with each other in a self-destructive manner, causing violent explosions.

The flames surged forth, the impact violent, and the fragile walls and load-bearing pillars were repeatedly struck. Finally, at a certain moment, a cracking sound rang out as they collapsed abruptly, large chunks of stone and steel plates crashing down from above—

[Scene loading complete! A new game is now starting!]

The scene changed abruptly.

When Xie Xubai opened his eyes again, he found that they had appeared in a new scene.

With him included, there were exactly twenty players present, some lying down and some standing, most still shaken.

"What just happened? Did the real player commit suicide? We haven't even found the ball yet!"

Someone frowned and noticed the problem: "It wasn't suicide. We didn't hear any screams. It's more like a desperate attempt to survive by cutting off a tail."

"No way, didn't we win?"

"Perhaps the murderer didn't want to reveal their identity."

"Never mind all that, what kind of place is this?! Holy crap!"

Looking at the sparse and ordinary furnishings in front of you—tables, chairs, benches, coffee table, television, refrigerator, and warm-colored blackout curtains on the balcony—there is no doubt that this is a residential house.

But this place is just sooooo huge!!

Can you imagine? Your usual home suddenly expands dozens or even hundreds of times, becoming larger than a football field, with no end in sight!

The furniture and decorations haven't changed much; they're still the same size, just countless copies made in the same proportions and arranged at the same intervals in this seemingly boundless space!

It's like stepping into a furniture store, where every few steps you see a sofa and a bed, and you can almost see countless template rooms without walls separating them.

Viewers in the live stream were so disgusted by the malicious scene that they developed PTSD.

Good news: The terrain is open. Bad news: The terrain is open.

"With so many obstacles, it's definitely going to be a chase."

The players present also realized this and swallowed hard.

They were searching for clues on their own when suddenly, the television was turned on right in front of everyone.

The screen was playing the news. The anchor's face was deathly pale, his eyes were as dull as a statue, and he was broadcasting in a stiff tone, in a rigid manner.

"At 11:33 PM yesterday, a stabbing murder occurred in a residential building in XX Community of our city. A family of three was killed simultaneously in their home. The husband and wife were brutally decapitated, and their heads were suspected to have been taken away by the murderer. The whereabouts of their eight-month-old baby are unknown..."

The players exchanged surprised glances.

"Beheaded? If I'm not mistaken, the corpse in the last round also had its head cut off, right?"

"Could these two murders be committed by the same killer?"

"I've run into a transsexual killer, holy crap!"

Although the victims are pitiful, the most urgent task is to win the game.

Someone tried to extract key information from the news, but after listening for a long time, they frowned and were completely confused: "The real player should be the murderer, but what is the club this time? Apart from the murder knife, nothing else seems to have been mentioned. It's not like they're going to rain knives on us, is it?"

The other players looked around, searching.

Suddenly, someone froze, as if seeing something terrifying, and stammered out a panicked murmur: "I... I'd rather it was a knife..."

All eyes turned to him, and they froze instantly, just like him, taking a deep breath.

At the very top of the sofa lay a grotesque, bluish-purple ghostly infant, its limbs thick and chubby like lotus roots, its eyes empty, blood constantly oozing from its dark, gaping holes. Its face still retained the innocence and naivety of a baby.

As if afraid that this level of activity wouldn't scare them enough, in the blink of an eye, rustling climbing sounds filled the air.

Countless identical ghost infants silently appeared on the table, cabinets, and ceiling... like hyenas that have smelled blood, staring straight at them with sinister eyes, densely packed and omnipresent.

Players simply couldn't breathe.

Before you know it, you've locked eyes with the ghost baby's deep, dark, pupil-less eyes.

The ghost baby slowly grinned at them.

In an instant, everyone's adrenaline surged, their blood boiled, and they suddenly let out a sharp scream.

"Don't tell me these ghost babies are balls!"

"Damn, it really is! It pounced on me! Aaaaaaaah!"

"Holy crap, they bite! Their teeth are poisonous! Damn it! They can also cause mental pollution and possession! Quick, use talismans to exorcise them!"

They had a limited number of exorcism items, but the ghost infants seemed to be endless. Furthermore, the effectiveness of their items was reduced by dungeon runs, making this stalemate very disadvantageous for them!

"We must find the murderer and the real ball as soon as possible!"

At some point, Captain Xu noticed that Xie Xubai was motionless, staring blankly at the television, as if he hadn't noticed the danger around him, nor could he see the ghost infant that was about to attack him.

Captain Xu quickly set up a barrier for Xie Xubai, and as he approached, he heard the young man mutter to himself, "That couple..."

yes!

Suddenly, Captain Xu had a flash of inspiration and shouted to the crowd, "Parents can recognize their own children! Go find the murdered couple; they can help us find the real ball!!"