The copy has 0 error tolerance, and the last words on the ground are all wrong for me.

Chapter 534 The Suddenly Out-of-Control Dungeon

Flash grabbed Wu Chang, who was about to move. Wu Chang clutched his head, feeling his brain momentarily shut down. After a moment, his brain restarted, and he said:
"Wait, you mean you want to enter the eroded instance and try to break it?"

Wu Chang nodded and said:
"Faced with an absolute disparity in strength, nothing can be changed. Staying at Base 44 without seeking change will only mean that it will be swallowed up by the erosion instance sooner or later."

Wu Chang's words sounded reasonable, but upon closer inspection, they made no sense at all.

Flash showed no sign of letting go, and said:

"Don't you think there's something wrong with this? Even Base 44 is powerless against the Erosion instance, so what can you possibly do?"

“I need to remind you that this is the Realm of Reason. Even if your speculation is correct, and the Erosion Instance is not much different from Base 44, it is still a β-level Erosion Instance.”

"In the Desolate Realm, its difficulty is no less than that of the legendary S-rank dungeon. Don't even mention that you have just been promoted to the Realm of Reason. Even the top leader of the base at level 48 cannot break through the β-rank erosion dungeon on your own."

Wu Chang shook his head and said:
"The problem shouldn't be viewed that way. The difficulty of the Erosion instance is indeed very high, but in order to deal with Base 44, its zombie horde and elites were all deployed. At this moment, the interior is empty, which is a great opportunity to enter and conquer it."

"I didn't find any beings with the aura of a controller in the horde of zombies. If I'm not mistaken, the final boss of the erosion dungeon should still be inside the dungeon."

"To catch the thief, first catch the king. As long as we kill the zombie king, the zombie horde will fall apart. If we kill the zombie king, we can complete the strategy directly. Without the support of the rules of the erosion dungeon, we can quickly clear out the zombie horde as long as we activate the turrets."

A hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes. To be honest, he was somewhat persuaded by Wu Chang.

If what Wu Chang said is true, compared to facing a fully-rested zombie king after clearing out the zombie horde head-on, their chances of winning are extremely low.

If they could just kill the zombie king, that would indeed be a good way to break the deadlock. But the question is, how could they possibly kill the zombie king?

The Zombie King must be incredibly powerful to control the zombie horde. Even if you tied all four leaders together, they might not be a match for him, let alone Wu Chang.

"What makes you think you can kill the zombie king?"

Wu Chang explained:
"I am proficient in stealth and can move safely within the eroded dungeon. Based on the movements within the eroded dungeon, I can find clues about the Zombie King."

"As long as I find the zombie king and have enough time, I will have a chance to kill it."

"If you've seen my file, you'll know that my job change ability is mental attack, which erodes the rules of the dungeon plane. It only targets elemental damage and has no damage reduction effect on mental damage. However, zombies are species with low mental resistance, so mental attacks are particularly effective against them."

Wu Chang paused for a moment, then continued:
"The rules of the erosion dungeon grant those within it damage reduction against elemental damage, but this reduction does not make them invincible. I possess the ability to release toxins that are colorless, odorless, and difficult to detect."

"Back when I was in the Desolate Realm, when I was just over level 10, I used this poison to wear down a B-level erosion dungeon boss. My record is documented."

"Once I find the zombie king, I will use poison to wear it down first. By the time it realizes something is wrong and tries to fight back, it will already be severely crippled. I will then activate my ultimate skill and use mental energy to finish it off."

"Even if I can't kill it, I can still leave a mental mark on it. If Base 44 is destined to fall, we have one last trick up our sleeve: we can leave the base empty, have all members pretend to escape, and then use the mental mark to surround and kill the Great Crippled Zombie King."

"With the Zombie King dead, even if Base 44 is temporarily captured, it's only a matter of time before we can take it back."

After Wu Chang finished explaining the plan, he immediately looked at the flashlight with a confident gaze.

Upon entering the Realm of Reason, even as the true form of scallion, it could no longer remain by the roadside.

After all, the Realm of Reason is different from the Realm of Desolation. Without demonstrating any strength, one cannot participate in anything. If he wants to investigate what happened on Blue Star back then, he must demonstrate some value and climb the ranks.

He had already revealed the battle plan in advance. When the actual operation took place, no matter how much Flash doubted it, he would treat it as part of the plan and fill in the gaps in his own mind.

More importantly, the abilities involved in the plan he used had all been demonstrated to everyone in front of others as an onion.

Stealth and poisoning techniques were already demonstrated to Sword Star and Shi Ning when tackling the Erosion dungeon in Wanghai City.

The Heartfire skill he was about to use was registered in his file as the ultimate skill for his job change.

As for his ability to find the Zombie King, one can only say that he has meticulous logic and exceptional talent, which is beyond doubt.

As long as he follows the plan, he can demonstrate his value without worrying about exposing his hidden abilities and arousing suspicion from others.

This time, Flash was somewhat persuaded, but he didn't believe that Wu Chang had the ability to kill the zombie king. Instead, he was interested in Wu Chang's plan B: to mark the zombie king with mental energy and then surround and kill it.

All tactical shifters, if things are not going to work out, then give up Base 44 and concentrate superior forces to attack the enemy's lair in the invasion instance.

If they can break through, the rewards they will receive will be far greater than if they could hold Base 44.

Wu saw that Shan Guang was being persuaded and was about to continue to convince him when he saw Shan Guang raise his head to look at him and then say:

"Are you really sure?"

Wu Chang said in a definite tone:

"At least 70%!"

Flash seemed to have figured something out. He took a deep breath and said:
"Really? I don't believe it."

Wu Chang almost couldn't catch his breath and nearly elbowed Flash. That's the downside of being a true human; you can't fight openly.

He said with a hint of helplessness:

"Time is running out for Base 44. If this drags on, it might be until the zombies break through the city. How can you possibly believe me?"

Flash said, "Unless I join you."

Wu Chang looked at Flash with slight surprise. As a player of the Realm of Reason, Flash should know the dangers of the Erosion Dungeon.

"This isn't a good idea. My stealth technique can't cover two people."

Flash replied:
"I also know some stealth techniques, so you don't need to worry about me. Even if I'm discovered by zombies, it won't affect you."

Seeing that Shan Guang's tone was resolute and left no room for negotiation, Wu asked:
"You just want to witness the death of the zombie king?"

For a moment, he had a doubt: could all of this be a setup by the Bureau of Reason, deliberately having Flash monitor him to confirm his relationship with Peace?

Faced with Wu Chang's question, Shan Guang did not hesitate at all and immediately replied:
"I'm an agile player, skilled in chasing and escaping. If your plan fails, I'm here, and I can find a way to get you out of here."

"I agreed to let you go to the erosion dungeon on your own. If something happens to you, how am I supposed to face the consequences?"

Wu Chang wrinkled his nose and asked in confusion:
"Is that why?"

Flash scoffed and said:

"Why not?"

Wu Chang narrowed his eyes and began to think. If he didn't bring the flashlight and insisted on acting alone, it would seem too deliberate, as if he was guarding against someone. After conquering the erosion dungeon, it would definitely arouse suspicion.

Wearing a flashlight and having eyewitnesses can make his actions more credible.

Just like when dealing with the erosion instance of Wanghai City, with Jianxing witnessing the whole process, the report Jianxing made afterwards saved him a lot of trouble and doubt.

He sighed, looked helplessly at the flash, and said:
"Let me make this clear from the start: if your stealth skills aren't up to par and you get discovered by zombies, I won't save you."

Flash said nonchalantly:

"They can't catch me if I want to run."

"What should we do now?"

Wu Chang said:

"These zombies retain some intelligence. If we fly the aircraft in directly, they will definitely realize that someone has broken into the eroded instance. So from now on, we need to start stealth and sneak into the eroded instance."

Flash gave an understanding gesture, immediately landed the aircraft, and entered stealth mode with Wu Chang. They jumped off the city wall and approached the eroded instance.

Although Flash possesses the fundamental power related to light, his stealth ability at this moment is somewhat similar to that of Shadow.

He manipulated himself, absorbing all the light shining on him, transforming into a humanoid black silhouette, much like the uniform appearance of a murderer in a certain elementary school detective world.

As he concealed his own light, he also completely withdrew his aura, standing in the shadows and becoming one with the darkness, making his presence extremely difficult to detect.

Flash thought his stealth ability was special enough, but when he turned around, he was almost scared back to reality.

Because Wu Chang did nothing, he didn't even change out of his camouflage or ghillie suit, he just jumped off the city wall.

He rushed to the city wall, ready to rush down to save people, but found that Wu Chang had not changed at all, standing calmly in the horde of zombies. The zombies around him seemed not to notice his presence and passed by him naturally.

Flash jumped off the city wall, puzzled:

"how did you do it?"

Wu Chang said:

"Just a little trick to reduce your presence," Flash said, puzzled.
"Then why do you appear the same to me as before?"

He had barely finished speaking when he suddenly heard a voice.

"what about now?"

He was stunned for a moment, and quickly looked around, only to find that Wu Chang was nowhere to be seen.

Not only did his aura disappear, but even when he used his Root Power to sense the changes in the surrounding light, he still couldn't detect Wu Chang's presence.

As Wu Chang said before, he was not stealthily moving, but rather concealing his presence.

In his daze, he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Following the hand, he saw Wu Chang standing behind him, saying:
"We have important business to attend to, it's time to get started."

Flash nodded somewhat stiffly and said:

"Okay, let's get started."

This time he was really sweating. If Wu Chang hadn't reminded him, he wouldn't have noticed that Wu Chang had come up behind him at all.

If they were enemies instead of allies, and if Wu Chang hadn't patted him but instead attacked his neck, wouldn't a level 30 Wu Chang have been able to kill a level 44 Wu Chang when he was completely unprepared?

The answer is obvious.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and a thought popped into his mind: Wu Changyou's exaggerated assassination skills might actually be able to take down the zombie king.

Flash's stealth technique is not as good as Wu Chang's, but it is more than enough for zombies with dulled senses.

The two traversed the battlefield space and quickly entered the space where the erosion instance was located.

Upon entering the Erosion instance, Wu Chang couldn't help but let out a long breath. For him, the rules of the Erosion instance were much more comfortable than those of Base 44.

With the battlefield locked in instance 44, he couldn't make a move even if he wanted to. If he accidentally used an area-of-effect skill and got hit by a horde of zombies, he might be instantly killed by the base's rules.

Upon entering the Erosion instance, the pressure of stealth decreased dramatically. The entire instance space was dark, and even the sun in the sky cast grayish-white sunlight.

Although it was daytime inside the eroded instance, they couldn't feel any light or heat; instead, they felt a chill.

The two hadn't walked two steps when they saw a collapsed billboard by the roadside. Wu Chang helped it up, and saw that it read:

Welcome to Ain City.

Judging from the background of the eroded instance, it is the city of Ein on the billboard.

One advantage of tackling the Erosion dungeon is that you can check information at any time.

Wu Chang opened the Bureau's intelligence database and, using his own privileges, searched for information about Ain City.

The four organizations were very thorough in their intelligence gathering, and he quickly found a copy of the story in the database that took place in a city called Ein.

"Instance Name: The Source of the Plague"

"Instance Type: Multiplayer Co-op Instance"

Dungeon Difficulty: β

"Replica Status: Highly Contaminated (Contamination Value 73)"

Main Mission 1: Survive in Ain City for 60 days and complete the evacuation in time.

Main Mission Two: Find at least thirty survivors and eventually bring them out of Ain City.

Main Quest 3: Investigate the true cause of the plague in Ain City.

Looking at the intelligence they had found, Wu Chang and Shan Guang both fell silent.

The current erosion instance is very similar to the background of the Plague Source instance. If nothing unexpected happens, the current instance should be the Plague Source instance.

But isn't there something wrong with the information provided by the Administration Bureau?

The instance is rated as heavily polluted, and the pollution value is only 73. How long has it been since the database was last updated?

What puzzled the two even more was that the system recorded that the Plague Source instance had already been completed.

Wu Chang looked at the flashlight and asked:
"What's going on? Is it just a simple mistake, or does it have some other meaning?"

While the flashbang didn't play a significant role in clearing the dungeon, it demonstrated the experience of a veteran player, explaining to Wu Chang:
"It must be a mistake. The Realm of Reason is different from the Realm of Wasteland. The four major organizations are much stronger in the Realm of Reason, but their authority over the Realm of Reason is not complete. They cannot accurately detect every instance like they can in the Realm of Wasteland. They can only perform fuzzy detection on most instances."

"Generally speaking, if a copy of a game disappears from the detection list when its contamination value is below 85, it will be considered as having completed the game."

"The eroded instance before us is very likely to be this situation."

Wu Chang nodded slightly, meaning that the Plague Source instance encountered an extremely rare situation. During the instance's duration, the contamination value not only jumped from 73 to the brink of being out of control, but also went out of control directly after the instance ended, transforming into the Corrosion instance.

Because the jump was too fast and exceeded the normal pattern, it was assumed that the walkthrough was completed.

Wu Chang clicked his tongue, thinking to himself that this was interesting.

However, for them, the Administration's mistake was actually a good thing.

All information about dungeons marked as completed will be made public and used as example material for members to analyze and learn from.

Because the source of the plague was mistakenly believed to have been conquered, the two were able to easily obtain relevant information.

According to intelligence recorded by the Administration Bureau, the source of the plague is a standard zombie crisis scenario.

In the background of the game, Ain City is known as the City of Misfortune, as it is frequently plagued by various disasters, both natural and man-made.

Two years before the plague began, various illnesses started to appear intermittently here, most of which involved symptoms such as high fever and difficulty breathing.

The authorities sent expert teams to the site four or five times in succession, but the result was always the same: the cause was unknown.

The cause of the disease is unknown, the degree of infectivity is unknown, and the treatment method is unknown.

Judging from the report's conclusions, the experts had even more doubts than the residents.

No one knew where the strange illness plaguing Ain City came from, until one day, a car suddenly went out of control, causing a series of crashes in the city center.

Rescuers pulled the driver of the out-of-control car out of the water and found his face covered in blood, burning hot, and vomiting black blood.

On the way to the hospital, the target suddenly opened its eyes, lunged at the medical staff in the ambulance, and began to bite at their flesh.

What followed was similar to what happens in other zombie movies.

An ambulance loaded with zombies entered the hospital, like a giant guzzler entering a buffet.

People were either infected by a mysterious plague or bitten by zombies. In just three days, more than 70% of the citizens of Ain City turned into zombies, plunging the entire city into chaos.

However, these zombies are different from the ordinary zombies in the movies. Their movements are not slow, but rather very agile. They can not only run, but also sprint. They have extremely strong athletic ability and powerful regenerative ability.

And these are just ordinary zombies. Some beings who possessed special skills or extraordinary powers in life become zombies after death, which are even more powerful than ordinary zombies.

Their specialties, their strength, and even their unwavering convictions transformed into power.

According to the intelligence reports, the mysterious plague is more like an evolutionary agent that can develop and realize the talents of zombies.

For example, a bodybuilder in life might become a zombie giant, comparable to a human tank, after turning into a zombie; or a company boss who was good at managing subordinates might be given the talent for coercive commands after turning into a zombie, triggered by the plague.

There are countless records of this type.

In short, the zombies in the Plague Source dungeon are extremely strong. Aside from the lowest level of zombies who have no dreams or special skills, almost everyone has a unique ability. Even a skinny zombie sitting by the roadside may suddenly unleash its power and instantly kill an unsuspecting player.

According to the relevant records of the Administration, the danger rating of the "source of the plague" was not high, and it was considered to have a low risk of getting out of control.

The reason is not simply that the pollution value is low, but that, according to the Bureau's records, the survival rate of the Plague Source Projection instance is close to 90%, which means that as long as players don't take risks, they can basically leave the instance safely.

The high survival rate at the source of the plague is not due to the dungeon mechanics or the simplicity of the quests, but rather because there is a group of local survivors within the dungeon who can provide players with powerful assistance.

Wu Chang raised his eyebrows slightly as he read the intelligence report.

If nothing unexpected happens, the reason why the source of the plague suddenly got out of control should be closely related to these survivors.

(End of this chapter)