This assassin is upright

Chapter 436, Excerpt 9

The appearance of a brand new dungeon is bound to attract a lot of attention, and almost all players who are qualified to enter it will want to try to conquer it.

After all, if you're lucky enough to get a perfect first clear, the opportunity to make a name for yourself and the amazing rewards are right in front of you.

Therefore, the newly launched [Wilderness Elegy] dungeon almost immediately saw a surge in matchmaking activity.

Even with an unprecedented 50,000 servers matched, this carnival, encompassing half of the servers, quickly began.

The moment the match count was full, Yu Zhun and his group of five felt a dizzying sensation, and then found themselves in a vast wilderness.

Even with its astonishing scale and capacity, including 50,000 raid teams and over 200,000 random teleports, the Lv90 dungeon still felt somewhat crowded.

Within 10,000 meters of Yu Zhun's group, there were two other expedition teams.

At their level, 10,000 meters is already quite close.

Seeing that the two teams had no intention of coming up to their deaths, Yu Zhun withdrew his gaze and looked at Helmod beside him.

"Contact the people you assigned and tell them that this level requires stepping on a button to kill the dungeon monsters."

Helmod nodded slightly.

The other four members of the team are already very clear about the minor adjustments made to Yu Zhun in the [Wilderness Elegy] dungeon.

While stepping on and killing dungeon monsters isn't the only thing to be careful about in this wilderness, it's enough to ensure your own safety.

While giving instructions to Helmod, Yu Zhun was also observing the surrounding environment to determine his location in the wilderness.

Soon, upon seeing the distinctive area he had deliberately reserved, Yu Zhun had his answer.

Once you've confirmed your location, the rest is easy.

“Over there, over there, and over there.” Yu Zhun quickly pointed out three areas. “We will split into three groups and enter these three ‘Lands of Sorrow’.”

"Stop immediately after segment number 9 is released."

The group nodded in unison, and then split into three groups.

Helmod acts alone, Yu Zhun and Yu Zhu act together, and Udir acts together with Rail, who is joining the team for the first time.

The moment he stepped into the Land of Elegy, a familiar lament resounded, and giant scorpions sprang from the ground, charging towards Yu Zhun like a tidal wave.

The moment the first beat arrived, Yu Zhun easily broke through the scorpion encirclement and plunged his dagger into the body of one of the giant scorpions.

"Om-"

The void trembled violently, and the echo of the kill transformed into rhythm and drumbeats, causing the volume of the lament to suddenly rise.

Without the slightest pause, Yu Zhun thrust out his dagger again the instant the second beat arrived, reaping the life of the second giant scorpion.

According to Yu Zhun's plan, by cooperating with the Elegy to kill the giant scorpion throughout the process, you will obtain the [Elegy Fragment] and a lyre fragment.

The former is one-tenth of the lament. Gathering all the fragments together forms a complete lament, which is the key to entering the Tower of Eternal Sleep.

The latter corresponds to the key item required for a perfect clear; only this item can trigger the final boss's second form.

Of the ten different segments in the elegy, segment number 9 has the lowest probability of appearing and can only appear in certain specific areas.

The three areas that Yu Zhun just casually pointed out were actually three areas where fragment number 9 could be found.

However, it can only be revealed.

Yu Zhun did not leave a backdoor in the instance, and even he himself could not predict when he would be able to obtain this crucial fragment for the plan.

However, if his current advantage is not enough to deal with the unexpected changes that will naturally occur in the instance, then he would not be himself.

As the tragic song ended, Yu Zhun raised his hand and killed the last giant scorpion. Two beams of light converged from the void and fell into his hand.

One of them was a glowing object, and the other was a curled string.

"Not bad luck, the lyre fragment that fell out turned out to be a string." Yu Zhun glanced at the string in his hand and showed a satisfied expression.

Among the scattered fragments, the strings are considered one of the larger, more complete pieces.

What number is 【The Lament of the Tragic Song】?

Yu Zhu quickly approached and asked curiously.

Although she didn't join Yu Zhun in the attack, she remained vigilant about any potential troublemakers around her.

"Number 6," Yu Zhun said casually, glancing at it.

The ten different fragments of the "Elegy" were not numbered and had only slight differences in shape. As the designer, Yu Zhun could naturally identify them at a glance, but for others, realizing that the fragments were different was also a small test.

"It's such a pity it's not number 9," Yu Zhu sighed.

“Fragment number 6 is already considered a relatively low-probability fragment,” Yu Zhun chuckled. “As for fragment number 9, barring any unforeseen circumstances, we’ll need to try at least a dozen different [Land of Lament] locations separately…”

Before he could finish speaking, the communication device suddenly vibrated.

The message was sent by Udir.

[Udyr: Rael has fired the number 9 clip!]

Yu Zhun: "..."

Seeing the teasing look Yu Zhu gave him, Yu Zhun chuckled, "It seems our new member has a bit of a lucky charm quality."

[Yu Zhun: Meet up and prepare for the next step]
-
"Om-"

With a slight tremor, the surging lament came to an abrupt end with the death of a giant scorpion.

The player who killed the giant scorpion grunted, his expression turning grim. "My health has decreased by 3%!"

"Purify! Purify me!"

The companion, a priest-type player, quickly made a move, but a purification skill landed on the opponent and had no effect whatsoever.

"Attribute degradation cannot be purified!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the raiding team stirred slightly.

"Quiet." Xue Jiajia spoke calmly, and the moment her voice appeared, the surrounding commotion immediately subsided. Everyone looked at the figure with awe, their eyes filled with reverence.

After thinking for a moment, Xue Jiajia said softly, "Try someone else."

Soon, the second test subject stepped forward.

This time, however, Xue Jiajia did not stand outside the Land of Sorrow, but followed the other person into the interior of the Land of Sorrow.

"My lord! You..."

The tester's expression changed slightly. Just as he was about to say that he could do the test alone and not implicate Xue Jiajia, Xue Jiajia raised her hand to interrupt him.

"I have my own judgment." Xue Jiajia paused slightly as she listened to the mournful song that could only be heard in the [Land of Sorrow].

"Now, follow my instructions."

"Only if I say kill, can you deliver the final blow to the dungeon monster."

"Yes." The tester nodded quickly, without any suspicion.

The giant scorpion surged up from beneath the open field and attacked the two.

The test subject dodged and weaved through the giant scorpion's attacks, quickly avoiding them while waiting for further instructions from Xue Jiajia.

"kill!"

As Xue Jiajia gave a soft shout, the tester reacted quickly and instantly killed a giant scorpion that was right in front of him.

"Om-"

Another resounding tremor echoed, the echo of the slaying of the giant scorpion transforming into drumbeats and rhythms, quickly resonating with the lament.

This time, the lament didn't end abruptly; instead, it became even clearer. Success!
Everyone simultaneously revealed excited expressions as they looked at the beautiful figure within the [Land of Lament], their eyes filled with increasing awe.

The right way was found after just one try.

Is this the strongest divine child of the Second Divine District?

Meanwhile, Xue Jiajia, inside the Land of Sorrow, appeared calm on the surface, but secretly breathed a sigh of relief inside.

What a blessing.

She had experienced a similar situation once before in a 5A difficulty dungeon controlled by the former three gods, so she planned to try it in the same way.

Unexpectedly, it really is like that.

However, this dungeon is surprisingly similar in design to the 5A dungeon, which seems to suggest that it is not as easy to conquer as rumored.

However, as the music ended, two things appeared before her eyes, and Xue Jiajia temporarily suppressed her doubts.

One of the things was a ball of light, within which seemed to be musical notes pulsating and melodies intertwined.

The other thing was a tiny fragment, less than half the size of a fingernail. If it hadn't emitted a faint light, Xue Jiajia probably wouldn't have noticed its existence at all.

"Is this the special area where you can hear mournful songs, and what you can obtain?" Xue Jiajia stared at the two objects, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Needless to say, the appearance of fragments suggests that there is likely something that needs to be collected to piece together.

This means they must continue into the Land of Sorrow.

As for that ball of light…

Xue Jiajia couldn't figure out what it was for a moment, so she had to put it away for the time being and then turned to look at the people around her.

"Let's move on to the next area, just like before."

"and many more!"

She paused, then suddenly turned her head to look in a certain direction.

Five figures were rapidly approaching them from that direction.

What surprised Xue Jiajia was that the other party seemed to be able to predict the location of each [Land of Sorrow] and easily bypass it during the journey, without being blocked by any [Land of Sorrow].

Those differences that are imperceptible to the naked eye in the "Land of Lament" are crystal clear to the other party.

This extremely unusual situation instantly piqued her interest; she wanted to see who these people were and how they had managed to do it.

Soon, a figure drew closer.

Upon seeing several familiar figures among them, Xue Jiajia's pupils contracted slightly.

"Is it you?"

"It's been over twenty years since we last met. I never expected you would still remember us." Yu Zhun paused, stopping a kilometer away from Xue Jiajia.

"Hmph, of course I remember." Xue Jiajia snorted lightly, instantly recalling the past when she failed to defeat Ji Chen, the Divine Son of the First Divine District, in the [Desolate Ruins] because of the influence of Yu Zhun and others.

However, Ji Chen has been silent for many years, and there are even rumors that he has been killed by the Demon Lord of the First God District. It is unknown whether this is true or not.

Therefore, Xue Jiajia didn't exactly dislike Yu Zhun and the others.

"I heard that you guys disappeared for over twenty years, but then suddenly came back." Xue Jiajia paused, "Looks like you haven't made any progress."

"It's been over twenty years, and I still haven't reached level 90."

“If you’re interested in our experiences over the past twenty years, I wouldn’t mind telling you about them once we finish the dungeon walkthrough,” Yu Zhun chuckled. “But for now, let’s get down to business.”

"I've come to you to discuss cooperation."

"Cooperation?" Xue Jiajia looked puzzled. "What could we possibly cooperate on?"

"Could it be that you're planning to give me the cross-server perfect first clear of this dungeon?"

"If you agree to cooperate, it's not impossible." Yu Zhun thought for a moment and nodded seriously.

He doesn't really need such a perfect first clear across servers.

Moreover, there's no sense of accomplishment in clearing a dungeon you designed for the first time.

"...Huh?" Taken aback by Yu Zhun's response, Xue Jiajia took a while to come to her senses and couldn't help but shake her head with a smile.

"Who do you think you are?"

"Even I wouldn't dare say that I can get a perfect first clear of a dungeon just by wanting to, let alone hand it over to someone else."

“I really can.” Yu Zhun nodded seriously. “Didn’t you notice? On my way here, I bypassed every single [Land of Sorrow].

Upon hearing this, Xue Jiajia's smile faltered.

Indeed, she noticed this scene when the other party arrived.

But in Xue Jiajia's eyes, the other party simply had some special methods to identify the location of the [Land of Sorrow].

"You're not trying to say you know this dungeon inside and out, are you?" Xue Jiajia said calmly. "All the teams entering this dungeon are doing it for the first time. Do you think you could have done it beforehand?"

“No, not at all.” Yu Zhun shook his head slightly. “But this instance was designed by me.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xue Jiajia looked surprised, then couldn't help but shake her head and laugh, "After more than twenty years, you've gone a little crazy."

Design a copy?

That's something you should only do during the third stage of the transition.

Yu Zhun, a mere second-tier graduate, is so arrogant.

"If there's nothing else, please leave." Xue Jiajia's pretty face gradually turned cold. "With the strategy in the works, I have no time for pleasantries."

“Alright.” Yu Zhun nodded, not surprised. “I’m just here to say hello.”

"If nothing unexpected happens, we'll see each other again soon."

After saying that, Yu Zhun, along with the other four, turned and left without hesitation.

Watching the other person's departing figure, Xue Jiajia frowned.

They came seeking cooperation, and then simply left?

What exactly is Yu Zhun up to?

More than twenty years ago, she couldn't see through him. Now, more than twenty years later, she has clearly left them behind, but the feeling of not being able to see through Yu Zhun seems to have become even stronger.

Watching Yu Zhun stroll leisurely past each "Land of Sorrow," moving freely across the wilderness, it was not a composure that any insightful ability could achieve, but rather a familiarity that seemed etched into his very bones.

Xue Jiajia suddenly had a feeling that Yu Zhunzhen was very familiar with this place, so familiar that it was as if he were in his own home.

But... how is that possible?
In an instant, Yu Zhun's words resurfaced in Xue Jiajia's mind.

This copy was designed by him…

Could it be… no, impossible!

Shaking her head slightly to clear her mind of the jumbled thoughts, Xue Jiajia turned to look at the people behind her, her expression returning to its usual indifference.

"Speed ​​up, let's continue searching other areas!"

The crowd responded enthusiastically and followed Xue Jiajia into the next [Land of Lament], attempting to conquer it using the method Xue Jiajia had just tried.

New fragments and the [Elegy Remnant] appeared, and the crowd cheered, casting admiring glances at Xue Jiajia.

However, Xue Jiajia stood there, her mind racing with thoughts.

What exactly is the cooperation that Yu Zhun mentioned?
(End of this chapter)