The Fourth Calamity: Starting with Dungeon Slimes

"So Lilith, let's have a chat."

Jiang Chen looked at Lilith with a hint of malice.

The latter instinctively took a few steps back.

Her voice trembled slightly.

"Jiang Chen, what mischief are you up to now?"

"It's about the core thing. By the way, it shouldn't be just your succubus race that has it, right? Other races should have it too, shouldn't they?"

Upon hearing this, Lilith immediately understood what Jiang Chen wanted to do, and began shaking her head frantically.

"Don't even think about taking our race's core. Without it, our race will face annihilation."

"Didn't I promise you I wouldn't try to harm the core members?"

"Don't I have even this much trust?"

In response to Jiang Chen's question, Lilith wanted to say that there was none at all, but she still rationally shook her head.

Given Jiang Chen's nature, Lilith was certain that if she said no, he might actually go along with her and send someone to steal the core.

"So could you help me find one from another race? I desperately need one right now."

Hearing what Jiang Chen said, Lilith secretly groaned.

You make it sound so easy for you, but where the hell am I supposed to get that for you?

Jiang Chen really thought this thing was like cabbage, everywhere, something you could just grab whenever you wanted.

At this moment, Lilith's expression also showed some hesitation.

Aside from the one her own race had, she really didn't know where else she could find one.

"Jiang Chen, how would I know? Didn't you take all the undead cores we dismantled before? These things are very rare, I don't know where to find them."

As she spoke, Lilith seemed to have thought of something.

"By the way, Jiang Chen, if I'm not mistaken, we should be able to find it among the Dark Elves and Nightmare Clan."

"Jiang Chen, I have a plan. We'll find a way out, and then I'll get the succubus race to join forces with you to wipe out those two races. Maybe then we'll succeed."

Upon hearing what Lilith said, Jiang Chen looked her up and down.

"Really?" she asked, feigning surprise.

"Of course it's true. When have I ever lied to you?" Lilith replied.

"You'll be the one to facilitate the cooperation with the succubus clan."

The latter nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"Yes, that's how we cooperated with the succubi and then wiped out the dark elves and the nightmare race."

"If we can find the core, that would be the best."

Hearing this, Jiang Chen smiled.

"Sure, no problem. We'll figure out a way to get out of here, and you can handle the arrangements."

Upon hearing this, the latter naturally agreed.

What is Jiang Chen's opinion on this matter?

Lilith's scheme was almost backfiring. Jiang Chen had to admit that he admired Lilith for having a "heart in Cao Cao's camp but body in Han's" mentality.

Why do I say that? The reason is actually quite simple, just look at the current pathetic state of the succubus race.

Jiang Chen was certain that Lilith had no place to stand anymore. In fact, if Lilith went there, she might be arrested and tortured.

The problem is that this guy still has his eyes on the succubus race.

This truly proves the saying: "The succubus tribe has tormented me a thousand times, yet I still love the succubus tribe as if it were my first love."

With such a wonderful vision, Jiang Chen felt that as an upright and great Pata, it was still very necessary for him to help this lovely Lilith.

Lilith looked so happy at that moment.

Her gaze would occasionally drift in his direction, and a slight smile would involuntarily appear at the corner of her mouth.

This was Lilith's triumphant smile, a smile Jiang Chen had seen far too many times.

Jiang Chen did not tear down this beautiful layer.

With his petty scheme, Jiang Chen was willing to jump on him; it was a case of one willing to hit and the other willing to be hit.

"So this little succubus is sometimes really hard to judge."

"He's got all sorts of little schemes up his sleeve every day, but why can't he ever learn his lesson?"

"I get tricked by players every day, but I never learn from my mistakes. I don't know how someone like that has survived this long."

Jiang Chen's willingness to help Lilith was certainly not because she had spent so much time with him.

The main reason is that Lilith is just so useful.

When Lilith returns, Jiang Chen is certain that she will be targeted by her stepsister and fiancé.

By then, the players Jiang Chen sent to escort him will definitely be dead.

That's exactly the moment Jiang Chen wanted.

What is the name of the player you take out? It's called Shi Cheng.

The envoy died on the side of the succubus clan.

Since the envoy is dead, I have no intention of distinguishing right from wrong; I will just fight.

This doesn't count as a breach of contract, since the original contract didn't include a clause about not fighting back when being attacked.

It has to be said that Lilith has gone to great lengths for her family, but for Jiang Chen, none of that matters.

Pulling himself back to reality, Jiang Chen looked at the players who were cleaning up the battlefield.

"Hey salted fish, come here for a second."

Upon hearing this, the latter nodded.

"Here's what we'll do: take a group of people to the 59th floor and scout out the situation there first."

"Understood." Upon hearing Jiang Chen's arrangement, Xianyu immediately called on players number seven and eight to follow him and run towards the 59th floor.

As for the other players, they continued to collect their loot. Among all the loot this time, Jiang Chen was only interested in one bead dropped by the Flame Demon.

High-grade special materials.

This is what I need to evolve to the next stage.

Starting from level 60, the number of special materials for evolution has increased to two. The first is the core, which is something you need before and is very difficult to obtain.

The second type is this special material dropped by high-level players. This material can only be dropped by dungeon guardians.

"I've found the materials for this upgrade, but for the next level, I'll probably have to challenge the entrance to the 70th floor to get them."

Thinking about this, Jiang Chen also felt a headache coming on.

The materials needed for the upgrade are becoming increasingly precious, making it more and more difficult for Jiang Chen to collect them.

However, Jiang Chen didn't have much of an opinion on this point; in fact, he felt it wasn't unacceptable.

After all, I am just a weak Pata. Given my current situation, the fact that I can continuously advance and improve my life level is worth any price.

Pulling himself out of his thoughts, Jiang Chen returned to his territory after receiving the Flame Demon Bead.

This place is, after all, the front line, and Jiang Chen was unwilling to stay here for too long. If he was unlucky and the enemy attacked again, he would be in an awkward situation if he didn't have time to escape.

"Let's go back."

And so, Jiang Chen left with Athena and Lilith.

On the way back, Athena hesitated several times before speaking.

It's obvious that they want to say something.

"Just say what you want to say, okay?" Jiang Chen couldn't stand Athena's attitude.

"Um...you want to leave the dungeon?"

Hearing this, Jiang Chen nodded.

"I suggest you don't leave. The unique nature of the dungeon means that even if the races outside want to attack you, they can't send too many people."

"The strength you just displayed, though I hate to admit it, is enough to protect yourself in the dungeon."

"But once you leave the dungeon, there will be no restrictions on many races outside, and it will be very easy for them to eliminate you."

Jiang Chen naturally understood what Athena was saying.

Ultimately, this underground city is both a restriction and a protection.

For Jiang Chen, it is indeed safer here than outside, but he can't stay here forever.

As for the dangers outside, it's good if there are dangers; Jiang Chen wouldn't want to go out if there weren't.

While the dungeon contains many rare resources, there are still many others that are unavailable. Without venturing out to plunder, developing one's own resources is no easy feat.

Moreover, once they go outside, that's when players can truly roam freely.

Given the players' skills and their high level of education, it would be easy for them to stir up trouble outside.

This world, in the end, is a world of extraordinary powers.

Before transmigrating, Jiang Chen had read many novels similar to those set in ancient dynasties.

For example, a time traveler might use their business knowledge to create all sorts of random things.

Such an operation would have been virtually impossible in ancient dynasties, because you would be overthrowing the entire system, and no one would allow you to do as you wish.

But in this world of extraordinary power, things are different; everything is determined by strength.

As long as you possess sufficiently powerful extraordinary abilities, you can continuously expand your influence like a snowball until you establish your own kingdom.

After all, he had finally managed to travel through time, so Jiang Chen felt he would be letting down his time travel experience if he didn't cause something big.

"I will definitely go out, but not now. Don't worry, I'm not stupid. I will make sure I'm fully prepared before I go out."

"I would never do something as stupid as going out to get myself killed."

Although Jiang Chen gave his assurance, it was clear that Aiseya was still very uneasy.

Of course, Aiseya wasn't really concerned about Jiang Chen; rather, because of the contract, she was genuinely worried that Jiang Chen might accidentally kill her, which would be quite awkward.

Whenever she thought about how she, a mighty dragon, was sharing life and death with this little rascal, Athena felt her future was bleak.

"well..."

"In short, until you have enough strength, you should just stay here obediently. If you really want to get out, you need to reach at least level 80."

"If a race doesn't have a strong leader, it's easy for them to be wiped out by strong individuals from other races."

Jiang Chen naturally understood this principle, but for him, level was not the key; the key was technology.

Jiang Chen wouldn't be foolish enough to go to the front lines himself; it would be embarrassing if he messed up.

Compared to battles between kings, Jiang Chen prefers bombardment; no matter how strong you are, I'll suppress you with artillery fire.

"Don't worry, I understand the stakes of these things better than you do."

"In short, I have my own plans, and you don't need to worry about being implicated by me. I'm not as weak as you think."

And so, the group chatted all the way back to their gathering place.

As soon as Jiang Chen returned to the settlement, he saw the Attacking Salted Fish coming out from there.

"Um?"

Jiang Chen was taken aback when he saw the attacking salted fish; he hadn't expected to see him here.

At that moment, the attacking salted fish saw Jiang Chen and the others returning, so it quickly went to greet them.

"Chief, something terrible has happened! You just sent a few of us to check on the situation on the 59th floor. You don't know that the Dark Elves and Nightmare Clan have deployed a lot of troops at the entrance."

There was a hint of indignation in his voice when he spoke of salted fish.

"Damn it, we brothers got ganged up on and beaten up as soon as we went out."

"That's really infuriating, but luckily I activated my skill in time, and took down a large group of people before I died."

Then, the salted fish shared its guess.

"Judging from their actions, they seem to be planning to build a fortress at the entrance. This would make it much harder for us to get out, and they could come in and harass us at any time."

Hearing this, Jiang Chen frowned slightly.

"I didn't expect them to have such creative ideas."

The entrance is a huge passageway; indeed, setting up a fortress there would make it easy to defend but difficult to attack.

However, it's not a big problem for Jiang Chen.

"Since they're going to make arrangements, then we'll go to the front lines and make arrangements too."

"It's not like they're the only ones who build fortresses."

"Tell the other players about the situation and tell them to set up fortresses over there as soon as possible."

"It won't be so easy for them to get in then. We'll establish new strongholds on the front lines as our new bases."

"At that time, we will need to have members of our clan guarding the area for an extended period, just in case."

The Nightmare Clan and the Succubus Clan clearly intend to gradually eliminate themselves through this method.

Simply put, they are preparing to officially wage war against us; it's a large-scale war.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to build these things to block the exit, but Jiang Chen is not afraid.

After all, this floor is their own base, and it is very easy to send supplies and other resources there.

On the contrary, it's not so easy for the succubi and nightmare clans to resupply.

"These two races only have two paths ahead of them. Once war breaks out, if they want timely supplies, they will definitely build large teleportation magic arrays."

"But unless someone is stupid, it's impossible to build it to 59 floors, because if they build it to that level, once their fortress falls, we can use a large teleportation magic circle to go directly to their territory."

"So, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they will likely resupply on the 55th floor, or even the original 50th floor."

"This also means that their supply lines will be relatively long."

"If a war really breaks out, the logistics will not be able to keep up, and the pressure on them will be considerable."

As he spoke, Jiang Chen immediately issued a garrison duty that would cost 5 gold coins per day.

As long as you stay there, you can get an extra 5 gold coins every day.

With this task in place, there will be a lot of players active there for a long time.

Then you won't have to worry about the enemy suddenly sending a large army to invade without your knowledge.

Of course, this incident also made Jiang Chen realize that things might not be peaceful on his side, and he had to prepare for war in advance.