This post-battle debrief…

There’s nothing much to debrief.

Just three words: Xinghe is awesome.

Sure enough, a farming master has everything in his inventory…

Truly divine.

“But regardless of whether the walls were blown up or not, what we can confirm is…” Bai Jie said solemnly, “We have to move. If we don’t, we simply can’t fight from here.”

“That’s right,” Heiye sighed. “My rear is already in deep trouble; your front lines must be even worse. The area is too vast—it’s impossible to defend against everything.”

Merging really does have its pros and cons. One of the downsides is exactly this: the area is too vast.

But in any case, the pros still outweigh the cons.

At least…

Jian Xingyi said, “Everyone, let’s work hard to farm Bond Points tomorrow. We can definitely do it—we’re only 360 points short, and I’ve got 200 points as a safety net.”

“Huh?”

Everyone was stunned.

You can’t even get that much from doing it in Snow Mountain Holy Son II, can you?!

Jian Xingyi explained the mission card to everyone.

“……”

The farming master really does have everything in his inventory.

Bai Jie and the other executives of the Grapevine Peak Summit Guild all felt… like they were being swept away.

So satisfying.

“It requires five people to run the dungeon… is there a level restriction?”

Jian Xingyi had earned 240 million by now. After spending 100 million to buy the quest card, he read it carefully and discovered there really were restrictions.

To get the full 200 points, it had to be an S-rank dungeon.

…Ugh, there really are so many hidden pitfalls.

“Ugh…” Huiguang frowned. “S-rank dungeons aren’t easy.”

In the end, everyone decided that the high-powered members of Grapevine Peak—excluding Bai Jie, namely Cola, Shanhai, Firelight, Nana… plus Jian Xingyi—would team up to tackle the S-rank dungeon in the Fire God’s Belly: Nectar of the Gods II. This was the mirror version of Nectar of the Gods with doubled difficulty.

They chose this one because, first, it was the closest S-rank dungeon—after all, clearing S-rank dungeons takes time—and second, aside from Shanhai, who had cleared it earlier for an anchor point, no one else had completed it yet, so they could still claim the rewards, making it a worthwhile endeavor.

Jian Xingyi laughed nervously, “You four big shots… taking me along? Won’t I just slow you down? “Why not bring someone else—someone with high combat power from Long Live?”

Cola waved his hand. “No need. Shanhai could clear this dungeon alone. Let him watch your back, and with Firelight, Nana, and me working together, we’ll make it through.”

Nana nodded as well. “Besides, we can’t split you and Shanhai up—that’d be a waste. This arrangement is the best deal.”

“……”

Alright.

After Jian Xingyi went home to rest, he discovered that his Reputation Points in the Savior System had actually increased again.

【Reputation Points: 133】

Jian Xingyi: “……?”

What happened? Why did they suddenly increase by 37 points?

One level is worth 100 points—37 points… that’s a lot!!

Jian Xingyi nervously clicked on the details.

【Gained recognition from top-tier combat players】

Jian Xingyi thought for a moment. Could it be that because he blew up the wall today and provided Bond Points, many big shots on Grapevine Peak—including Bai Jie—thought it was awesome, so his Reputation Points went up?

That’s… that’s amazing.

Regardless, this was a good thing—it brought him one step closer to his guild.

Jian Xingyi closed the app with a satisfied smile and went to sleep.

The next day, after everyone gathered, Jian Xingyi habitually hopped onto Shanhai’s motorcycle, sat in front of him, and leaned against him to sleep.

Shanhai silently let Jian Xingyi adjust into a comfortable position, shielding him so he could sleep soundly, his expression incredibly gentle.

Cola: “……”

Nana: “……”

Firelight: “……”

I’ve… I’ve seen a ghost.

Love really does make people… change!

This is so outrageous!!

These two keep saying they’re just friends, that they’re not together, and all that… but their behavior is actually pretty intimate!

Cola muttered under his breath, “I’ve never seen Shanhai show such intense emotion in my entire life.”

Nana gritted her teeth, “So this guy actually can be gentle? He does have feelings after all.”

Firelight: “Captain, you’re the best!”

Jian Xingyi only then realized there were outsiders present. He jolted awake and tried to sit up, but Shanhai held him down and said, “…They’ve already seen it.”

Getting up now wouldn’t change anyone’s preconceived notions anyway, so he might as well just get some comfortable sleep.

Jian Xingyi: “……”

That makes sense.

Jian Xingyi drifted back to sleep, feeling both pained and content.

Since the dungeon was located inside the Fire God’s belly and had an S-rank difficulty, the system was actually quite lenient. For instance, only one player needed to reach the actual entrance of the dungeon and then invite teammates to join; it wasn’t necessary for everyone to be present. Therefore, Shanhai took Jian Xingyi and used that thrilling downhill method to quickly head to the Fire God’s belly, and only then did he call everyone else over.

After all, although everyone had high combat power, not everyone possessed the same precise motorcycle handling skills as Shanhai.

Perhaps Jian Xingyi had gotten used to it; this time, he didn’t make a sound during the descent and was even able to hold onto Shanhai while half-asleep. Only when they actually reached the entrance did he stretch lazily and sit up.

Once everyone had entered the dungeon, Jian Xingyi immediately received a system notification.

【Ding!】

【Welcome, players, to the Lava Volcano – Fire God’s Belly Core Dungeon: 【Nectar of the Gods II】!】

【S-Rank dungeon rewards will be customized based on your wishes! The system is listening to your wishes…】

【Ding! Listening complete. The three items most desired by player 【Xinghe】 have been detected. Please select one as your reward for completing this mission!】

【1. 200 million Dawn Coins; 2. 50 Combat Power Points; 3. 2 Special-Grade Battle Vouchers】

First off, Combat Power is definitely out of the question. It wouldn’t be of much use to a noob like Jian Xingyi. After all, he’s managed to scrape his way up to T3 by sheer luck.

As for the Special Combat Exchange Vouchers… they’re nice, but for the same reason as above, so Jian Xingyi chose Dawn Coins.

He might need to buy cement or other items from the shop later on, so Dawn Coins are the most essential. After all, he has 140 million left after buying the quest card, and his next transaction won’t be until the fourth day of the Zombie Tide—there’s still some time left. Having a few extra Dawn Coins to use gives him peace of mind.

Once everyone had made their choices, the system continued explaining the quest.

【In 【Nectar of the Gods I】, you all defeated the priest, yet even after his defeat, the souls in the cave remained restless.】

【In 【Nectar of the Gods lI】, you will become priests once more to guide the souls to the afterlife. Brave priests, may the Fire God bless you.】

Jian Xingyi still remembered that during the previous Nectar of the Gods quest, he had unlocked an additional story by obtaining the Fire Spirit Divine Flower.

At first, the priests of the Lava Volcano taught the residents to use fire and lava to burn the zombies to death. After all, back then, there were no guns or bullets, so the Fire God and their faith became the pillars of their survival. But for some reason, the message evolved into the belief that everyone had to drink the Nectar of the Gods to survive.

In the end, the people of Lava Volcano gathered in the cave to drink the Nectar of the Gods, turning into vengeful spirits that polluted the volcanic land, preventing good trees from growing there.

To perform a spiritual exorcism, the priest at the time merged with them, tricking them into drinking the lava once more so they would be completely obliterated.

But…

Firelight looked up in awe and said, “Back then, the captain performed a physical exorcism—he used a cannon to kill all the souls.”

Jian Xingyi looked at Shanhai in shock.

It still seemed absurd—Shanhai had actually wiped out all the souls in this cave while chatting with him earlier.

Literally. Physical exorcism.

“So…” Jian Xingyi chuckled dryly, “Are we going to do a physical exorcism now, too?”

“I’m afraid that won’t work,” Nana sighed. “Having more people increases the difficulty; the number of souls in this dungeon has increased fivefold.”

Firelight added, “Plus, the Snow Mountain group had run this dungeon before. Their feedback was that there’s a chance the dungeon will split the party up after entering. So back then, they used a flanking tactic—blending in with the cultists and posing as priests to trick them into drinking the lava.”

Jian Xingyi glanced at Shanhai. Great, he’d have to play the priest again.

Shanhai raised an eyebrow, beginning to imagine what Jian Xingyi would look like in a priest’s robes.

Cola winced. “You two… stop flirting. Shanhai, you rascal, just lead the way already.”

Shanhai raised an eyebrow. “If you don’t like what you see, you can go to hell.”

“Aaaargh, you go to hell!!!”

So what if you have a wife!

Regardless, the group pressed on, chattering away.

There were no priests in this dungeon, but what was even harder than killing priests was that they had to kill every single soul—every single one!

For example…

As Jian Xingyi’s group reached the first cave, they noticed lava beginning to drip from the ceiling.

Everyone immediately pulled out their umbrellas to shield themselves, while countless cultists surged in from all sides, shouting “May the Fire God protect us” and “Let them drink the lava.”

Jian Xingyi: “……”

Oh my god, those familiar memories are coming back.

Shanhai immediately pulled Jian Xingyi behind him. The two dodged the falling lava and retreated to the side, leaving the battlefield to the rest of the group.

But even from a distance, Shanhai could still pick off enemies with pinpoint accuracy.

Hiding behind Shanhai and providing support with his rifle, Jian Xingyi was also somewhat awestruck.

No matter how many times he watched the players fight on Grapevine Peak, he was always left in awe.

Everyone was fighting… with such ferocity, truly reckless and unstoppable.

Feeling that momentum, he thought any enemy would be terrified to tears.

The flood of crazed followers kept pouring in endlessly; watching it made Jian Xingyi feel a bit numb.

The zombie horde was surrounded by zombies, and now the dungeon was about to be surrounded, too.

Wait a minute…

Jian Xingyi’s eyes lit up. “Shuixi, setting aside our physical exorcism, what was the original objective of this dungeon?”

Shanhai replied, “Just like the priests—make them drink the lava.”

Jian Xingyi pointed at the lava dripping from above. “Is there a possibility that… If we find the source of the lava, we could just douse them with it and kill them?!”

“……”

Good idea.

Jian Xingyi’s mind began to race. Even if we take the most extreme view, this dungeon originally required players to get the cultists to come into contact with the lava, so the lava here must be something that can be carried away and moved.

So… could it be taken out?

Though that sounds far-fetched.

“Let’s give it a try,” Shanhai said, turning around. “You guys keep going; we’ll head out first.”

With that, Shanhai led Jian Xingyi away.

Since the dungeon would eventually split them up anyway, it was better for him and Jian Xingyi to leave first to avoid getting separated.