High-risk coordinates
The chaos of the Void Market gradually faded into the distance as Jiang Yu returned to a safe spot in the Endless Corridor. His brief encounter with the "Scavenger" made him realize that although he possessed the trump card of "Envoy Authority," he still needed to be cautious when facing the materialized power of the Infinite Game's underlying rules. Improving his strength was now an urgent matter.
He sat cross-legged, placing the rusty compass in his palm. The list emitted a soft glow, enveloping it and aiding his analysis. His mental energy probed into the compass like fine threads, immediately sensing a tough and ancient seal. The power system of this seal was unlike any he knew, filled with some kind of... ultimate meaning of "weaving" and "positioning," just as Zero had mentioned, "the legacy of the Void Weavers."
Jiang Yu didn't force his way in, but patiently guided the "Envoy Authority" to penetrate and analyze it bit by bit. This process was extremely mentally and physically demanding. Within the safe zone, time seemed to stand still. When he finally opened a tiny gap in the ancient seal, a vast and fragmented stream of information instantly flooded into his mind.
No longer whispers, but fragments of countless scenes:
Against an absolutely empty background, countless shimmering points of light, like stars, are connected by countless delicate and crystalline threads, forming a network of indescribable size—it seems to be some kind of… map?
Some areas of the map were dark and lifeless, with broken threads, and the corresponding "points of light" resembled extinguished stars. One particularly large, dark area gave him a sense of familiarity—it was the Main God Tower and the infinite array of instances it governed.
The view then zooms in on a corner of this dim network, pointing to an extremely distant point of light, almost invisible on the "map," yet radiating a faint but pure resonance of "key" energy. However, this coordinate system is incomplete, containing only a general direction and vague spatial parameters.
Finally, a thought, calm to the point of indifference, flashed through his mind: "...The path has been marked...Heir...Beware...the hounds..."
The flow of information abruptly stopped. A small piece of rust seemed to have peeled off the compass in the palm of the hand, revealing a crystalline material like stardust beneath. The pointer no longer swung erratically, but stubbornly pointed in a specific direction that transcended the concept of three-dimensional space.
"Hounds..." Jiang Yu pondered the warning. Did it refer to the minions of the "Nullification Core," or to an entity like the "Scavengers" that upholds some kind of rule? In any case, the road ahead was bound to be fraught with danger.
He took out the list and found that on the map, in the far distance of the endless corridor, in the chaotic void representing the edge of the known world, there was indeed an extremely faint golden arrow marker that matched the direction of the compass. Next to it was a note: "Key fragment reaction (weak), coordinates incomplete. Risk level: extremely high (signs of 'hound' activity detected)."
The target has been identified. But getting to that incomplete coordinate is a major problem. Conventional instance teleportation or space jumps simply cannot reach that unexplored void region.
He thought of the "Man of a Thousand Faces" and "Zero." The businessman might have a way, but his trust level was zero. Zero... though mysterious, had currently shown some goodwill (or at least a tendency towards mutual benefit). Perhaps, he could try contacting him?
Just as Jiang Yu was considering his next move, the list in his arms suddenly began to vibrate violently on its own, emitting an urgent red alarm light!
On the inventory map, a dungeon area originally marked as a "white dot" (normally overdue) – the "Fairy Botanical Garden" – is rapidly turning from white to red, eventually becoming a deep red indicating "high pollution"! An urgent warning pops up next to it:
"warn!
A high-intensity contamination of the 'Annihilation Core' has been detected in the 'Fairy Garden'! The contamination is spreading at an abnormal rate! It is expected to completely corrupt this instance within 3 standard hours and may affect adjacent instance areas!
"Emergency mission generated: Immediately proceed to the 'Fairy Garden', control and eliminate the source of pollution, and prevent its spread."
Task priority: Highest!
The inventory proactively generated an "emergency task" for the first time. This indicates that the speed and severity of the pollution outbreak have triggered the inventory's underlying defense protocols as part of the "management system".
Is it retribution from the "Nullification Core"? Or just a coincidence?
Jiang Yu's eyes sharpened. Finding the key fragments was important, but protecting the foundation of this "building" and preventing the spread of pollution was the envoy's primary responsibility. Moreover, such a sudden and intense outbreak might also provide clues about the movements of the "hounds" or the enemy.
Without hesitation, he grabbed his machete and compass, instantly dashed out of the safe zone, and sped toward the "Fairy Botanical Garden" coordinates marked with an emergency sign on the list map.
The entrance to the "Fairy Botanical Garden" was an archway entwined with vibrant vines and flowers, which should have been full of life, but now it presented a sickly decay. The vines were withered and blackened, the flowers were rotting and dripping viscous sap, and the entrance itself was twitching irregularly.
As Jiang Yu approached, he was met with a pungent odor mixed with the sweet scent of flowers and the stench of decaying corpses. Without hesitation, he pushed open the door and entered.
The scene behind the door was like hell.
The once magnificent botanical garden, brimming with birdsong and magical charm, is now a desolate ruin. Exotic flowers and plants wither and twist in large numbers, and tree trunks are covered in disgusting pustules and eye-shaped fungal spots. Dark purple spores float in the air; inhaling them causes hallucinations and erodes one's sanity.
Even more terrifying were the fairies—these beautiful creatures, originally only the size of a palm with transparent wings on their backs, had mostly undergone horrific mutations. Some had swelled several times their original size, their skin cracking to reveal tentacles and mouthparts beneath; others had lost their original form, merging into decaying plants to become symbiotic monsters; only a few light fairies huddled in the last remaining patches of vegetation emitting a faint purifying glow, desperately holding up the last vestiges of the barrier, but even the barrier was teetering on the brink of collapse.
The source of the pollution lies at the heart of the botanical garden—the "Eternal Tree," once a sacred relic that sustained the entire instance's life energy. Now, the tree's trunk is pierced by a jagged, pulsating, dark purple fissure, from which viscous, petroleum-like polluting energy pours forth, corroding everything in its path. Deep within the fissure, it seems to connect to a terrifying alternate dimension.
Beneath the ancient tree, where roots intertwine, a colossal throne forms from decaying plants and the body of a mutated fairy. Seated upon this throne is an exceptionally enormous mutated creature—its silhouette still faintly resembling that of a fairy queen, but its crown has twisted into thorny tentacles, and its scepter, once a symbol of life, has become a bone spur dripping corrosive liquid. She, or rather "it," is the core of this pollution outbreak, the deeply corrupted instance boss.
"Another one... fresh... nourishment..." The mutated queen uttered a hoarse, distorted voice, her countless compound eyes locking onto Jiang Yu who had intruded. Although the intensity of the pollution emanating from her was not as great as that of the "Ancient Whisperer," its pervasiveness and distortion of the rules of life made it even more bizarre and troublesome.
Jiang Yun could sense that the rules of the entire instance were rejecting him. The spores in the air, the decaying plants, the mutated fairies—everything was conveying a message to him: extinction, assimilation, becoming part of annihilation.
This didn't seem like a planned ambush; it was more like a test—a test of the practical effectiveness of this new type of highly diffuse pollution, and a test of the limits of his response speed and capabilities as the "rent collector."
The tentacles of the "Nullification Core" are indeed everywhere, and their actions are becoming increasingly rampant!
Jiang Yu didn't waste any words. He immediately activated his envoy privileges, his cleaver humming and flashing with a clear light, temporarily repelling the surging low-level aberrations. He had to act quickly and decisively, destroying the spatial rift and the aberration queen before the contamination spread completely.
He leaped into the air, his blade flashing as he aimed at the contaminated crack in the ancient tree.
"Foolish! Embracing annihilation... is... eternity!" The Aberration Queen shrieked, brandishing her bone-spiked scepter and drawing upon the corrupting power of the entire botanical garden, transforming it into a gigantic python composed of thorns, tentacles, and putrid sap, which charged toward Jiang Yu.
Purification and pollution, life and annihilation, erupted in an instant in this withering garden.
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