Chapter 251 Old Acquaintances

The three passersby who had followed along were startled when Ling Mo mentioned that the Hedgehog Head had been captured.

Then they decided to cling to Ling Mo and not leave.

After all, given the terrain and their current strength, whether facing monsters or other players, they were basically cannon fodder. Although they joined this competition knowing they wouldn’t achieve much, being eliminated in the first round was quite embarrassing.

Now that they saw Ling Mo looking relatively approachable, they were more than happy to attach themselves to him.

Xia Xinyan asked them why they were here, and their response was… their mission target was also here.

They had encountered the first clue of their mission shortly after entering the dungeon, and after some effort, they found this place. However, after searching for a while here, the first living beings they encountered were Ling Mo and his companion.

Hedgehog Head had previously been saying whether they had come to the wrong place.

With this, Xia Xinyan somewhat understood the nature of this dungeon—since it was a PVP dungeon, the game had no reason not to integrate players together for missions. If they never encountered other players, the PVP aspect would lose its meaning. Therefore, Xia Xinyan speculated that the mission targets of all players would likely lead them here in the end.

At that point, it would turn into a triad of player versus player versus monster—the true challenge of this dungeon.

As for why they were given such a large abandoned city as a stage… it was probably so that the monsters could stretch their muscles.

This underground area might very well serve as the initial meeting point for all players, but it wouldn’t necessarily be the final battle area.

Moreover, given the current average strength of the players, if they truly faced monsters that had grown several stages, especially in such an extreme environment, they would hardly stand a chance. The game wouldn’t do that—just like the earlier tentacle attacks, which were actually quite easy to dodge. The monster had no intention of attacking them; at most, it was a warning that this place was no longer safe.

As for why Hedgehog Head was caught, it was simply because he didn’t make any dodging moves.

He was just unlucky.

As for the three clinging to them, Xia Xinyan couldn’t care less as long as they didn’t hinder her actions. However, when danger truly arose, she had no plans to protect them.

Currently, Ling Mo’s personality was a bit better than Xia Xinyan’s. As a fellow player, he still tended to help when he could, believing that doing good without harming his own interests was definitely not bad.

In such circumstances, they reached a strange alliance.

Xia Xinyan’s current plan was to find traces of the monster they had just seen. She wasn’t sure if it was the same one that had escaped before, but only by determining the monster’s specific location could they turn passivity into initiative.

However, her luck was also good, as she quickly discovered a clue—one might say the clue found them.

Suddenly, there was a loud noise ahead, shaking the entire underground ruins and causing several more collapses in the already unstable structure, making the situation even more dangerous for those inside.

Moreover, the noise showed no signs of subsiding; it felt like it was going to completely collapse the whole underground ruins.

Xia Xinyan immediately rushed in that direction: “Let’s go check it out.”

Judging by the sound, it was likely that someone was fighting that monster.

Ling Mo quickly followed, leaving the three behind in the dust, prompting them to shout, “Big shot, wait for us! We can’t keep up!”

Xia Xinyan soon arrived at the source of the noise. The entire area had almost collapsed into solid ruins, forming a huge space above, resembling a cavern built with steel cities.

Below this space, countless tentacles were wildly attacking a group of figures moving through the hollow. Those figures weren’t in a good mood either; any tentacles that got too close were swiftly cut down.

However, the more they cut, the more tentacles appeared, gradually slowing the movements of those figures.

By the time Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo arrived, they were already at a disadvantage.

“Should we help?” Ling Mo assessed the surroundings and looked at Xia Xinyan.

“No, let’s observe the situation first.” Xia Xinyan squinted slightly.

Engaging with the monsters here was definitely an unwise choice, and frankly, in this dungeon, it was unwise to fight monsters at all. Considering the current scene, Xia Xinyan felt it was a mistake upon mistake.

Their interference would do nothing but create trouble for themselves.

But before she could think of a proper response, someone approached them: “Oh! You guys are here too! What a coincidence!”

Instinctively turning around, she saw it was Monica.

And behind her were An Xiao and Murong Yue, who had come with Monica.

Ling Mo was taken aback: “You guys are in this dungeon too?”

Monica winked at them, her expression somewhat ambiguous.

Xia Xinyan understood right away.

With that girl’s strength, it wouldn’t be difficult for her to manipulate the matchmaking system.

Murong Yue was even more concerned about the battle in the center: “They actually dared to fight such a monster… tsk, we inadvertently provoked a little zombie before and it turned into a super gorilla that almost killed me with one punch… the monsters in this dungeon are terrifying.”

An Xiao glanced around and asked, “Where are my brother and that chubby guy? Aren’t they here?”

“We split up to gather information, but Mo Mo notified them earlier; they should be here soon.” Xia Xinyan explained, then asked, “Are you planning to help or just watch?”

“Of course, we’re here to help,” Murong Yue replied without a second thought. “Do you guys not recognize them? Lin Nan! This is a big deal! If we save them, we might gain some favor with them!”

Xia Xinyan paused, taking another look at the group entangled with the monsters.

She hadn’t looked closely before, but now she recognized them—they were indeed a bunch of old acquaintances.

Especially Lin Nan, who was a significant figure in the Ability Bureau in her previous life.

The Ability Bureau was an institution backed by the government, officially established after the God of War Cup, signifying the country’s entry into the fray. It mainly dealt with ability-related crimes and maintained public order, and its existence played a key role in balancing several major social forces, preventing complete societal collapse when the Cataclysm struck.

In other words, forming a good relationship with Lin Nan could offer no downsides.