Life Dungeon Game

The sun had already disappeared below the city's edge, and night was slowly falling.

He looked up at the sky, hailed a taxi, and got in.

At that moment, the phone received a message from Li Le.

[Breaking news: Moonlight appears to have lost an important superhuman corpse last night. Moonlight's head in Ruodan believes there may be a mole within Moonlight and has sealed off the entire Ruodan headquarters.]

[Now, apart from a C-rank who recently arrived and some of his subordinates who are investigating yesterday's building collapse, all the remaining superhumans in Moonlight in Ruodan have been transferred back to 17 West Road.]

The faint rumble of a train could be heard from the void.

He Ao turned his head and looked at the television on the street.

The missing person notice from this morning was still playing on TV.

The moonlight seemed to have truly prepared a grand feast, awaiting the arrival of 'Hao Yi'.

The faint rumble of a train could be heard from the void.

He Ao turned off his phone and took out a mithril test tube from his pocket, in which a gray secret medicine was swirling.

This was given to him by 'Hao Yi' last night.

[Talent Sequence 72: Stealth Mage]

Main ingredients: Shadow Serpent's gall bladder, Chameleon Tiger's heart

[Additional Materials: Invisible Grass Roots, 100ml Pure Water, Shadow Carnivorous Flower Petals]

[Preparation method: Mix the gallbladder of the Shadow Serpent with the heart of the Chameleon Tiger, crush them in an agate mortar with an agate pestle, filter the crushed residue with fine mesh gauze, then mix the filtered juice with the roots of the Invisible Grass and steam for thirty minutes, then filter again, mix the second filtered liquid with the petals of the Shadow Carnivorous Flower and pure water, steam for three hours, and immediately pour off the clear liquid on top after steaming.]

[Promotion Ceremony: A 'miracle' performed in a way that no one knew about, attracting widespread attention.]

Chapter 520 The Curtain Rises (Mega Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

The hazy clouds obscured the bright moon and stars, while brilliant lights illuminated the spacious hall.

Busy staff members came and went, filling the round dining table with a sumptuous spread of food.

It includes many local delicacies from Ruodan, famous dishes from the Tia Empire, and cuisine from the Central Plains.

The gray-haired man sat at the dining table, raised his hand to look at the jewel-encrusted mechanical arm on his wrist, then turned his head to look at the bright moon outside the window, which was just covered by clouds.

Time ticked by, second by second, as the hands of the clock turned.

The staff continued to fill the table with dishes. They moved in unison, their footsteps so soft that they were almost invisible, and no one uttered a single word.

An eerie silence enveloped the brightly lit hall, broken only by the ticking of the clock.

Time itself seemed to blur in this quiet.

woo-

The silence lasted for an unknown period of time until a piercing whistle filled the entire hall.

An old-fashioned train suddenly drove into the spacious hall, startling the surrounding staff.

Immediately afterwards, the door at the front of the train opened, and a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses jumped down from behind the door.

The train behind him did not stop and plunged into the chaotic void once again.

He straightened his clothes and walked to the sumptuous dining table.

"Mr. Hao Yi, you've arrived."

The gray-haired man raised his head, looked at He Ao, and smiled. He said in the Middle-earth language, "Let me introduce myself. My name is Rhodes, and I am the head of Moonlight in Ruodan. My code name is 'Explorer'."

“Mr. Rhodes, it seems you’ve done a lot of research.”

He Ao glanced at the food on the table, saw the classic Chinese dishes, and chuckled softly.

Many people in the Western Lands and the Tia Empire were not used to authentic Chinese cuisine, and many dishes had been adapted for local tastes.

This has resulted in many Chinese dishes that are famous in the West being unheard of in China.

At this moment, Rhodes laid out authentic Chinese dishes on the table, without any of the strange and unusual things that were only popular in the West.

Of course, He Ao was referring not only to these Central Plains dishes, but also to the space above his head.

The headquarters of Moonlight in Ruodan is a pointed tower that resembles a castle. At this moment, the space above the first floor of this tower has been sealed off, seemingly to guard against a breakthrough by the Verola.

"Since Mr. Hao Yi appears in the world in the guise of a person from the Central Plains, he must have some special feelings for the Central Plains. It's just a small token of his affection, and of course, he also used some insignificant extraordinary items."

Rhodes smiled, then looked up at the staff who were still serving the dishes in an orderly manner. “It’s still a bit early, so there are still some dishes that haven’t been served yet. If Mr. Hao Yi doesn’t mind, we can chat while we eat. I’ve heard that cooperation between China and the Central Plains is often decided over meals.”

A device that can seal off space is no small matter.

The "missing person notice" posted by Moonlight was supposed to be posted at 9 o'clock, but it's not even 8 o'clock yet.

He Ao's advance time seems a bit...

This was beyond Rhodes's expectations.

"So, Mr. Rhodes, what kind of cooperation do you want with me?"

Heo didn't sit in the chair, but instead held onto the back of the chair, smiling as he looked at Rhodes.

“Mr. Hao Yi, you must already know,” Rhodes said with a smile. “The passage to the ruins is about to open in Ellen City. This is a very important event for all the major organizations in the world. I think you’ve come here for this reason, Mr. Hao Yi.”

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Normally, the passageways to the ruins belong to the local powers. However, Ruodan is located in a border region, closer to the World Tree headquarters than to the Moonlight headquarters. It's not a peaceful place, and we don't have the strength to completely control this passageway."

At this point, he smiled, "And as you know, Moonlight had a minor clash with the research institute before, resulting in damage to its advanced combat capabilities. Currently, headquarters doesn't have the resources to attend to us."

He looked at Heo and said, “So we now need the ‘support’ of a strong person. As a collaborator, we can give you control of the last third of the spots to enter the ruins.”

"What Mr. Hao Yi needs to do is to help us if we end up in a B-level situation."

"Of course, we have also taken into account your personal preferences, Mr. Hao Yi. You don't need to worry about any conflict with the Research Institute. According to the Research Institute's consistent strategy, they will not interfere in matters that are too far from the Central Plains, so we are unlikely to encounter any B-level personnel from the Research Institute."

“Of course, these are the conditions we have set,” Rhodes said with a smile. “If Mr. Hao Yi has any other requirements, he can also make them. I believe that we will eventually reach a solution that satisfies both parties.”

The terms offered by Rhodes were already extremely generous.

The two B-rank members of the World Tree, Rudel and Heo, were seriously injured and should still be recuperating. As long as Heo stands up for Moonlight, the World Tree will most likely not send B-rank members to confront them head-on.

As long as they don't break off relations, the superficial alliance between the World Tree and Moonlight will remain, and Dawn will not dare to make any rash moves, as it would easily be attacked from both sides by the World Tree and Heo.

From Moonlight's perspective, setting aside past grievances and seeking cooperation with He Ao would be entirely beneficial.

After all, Moonlight Headquarters had just lost a B-rank, and at this point, they were completely unable to cross the ocean to provide support to Ruodan.

When a B-rank appeared in this competition, Moonlight, who held a dominant position in Ruodan, was actually at the biggest disadvantage.

Moonlight's original plan was to rely on the apparent peace between the two World Trees, and to share the ruins passage without deploying any B-level units.

However, He Ao's appearance led to B-level players being eliminated, changing the situation.

What Rhodes meant by giving Heo one-third of the slots was actually dividing the slots for this passage into three parts: one for Moonlight, one for World Tree, and one for Heo.

This is the best way to unite everyone and form a community of shared interests, and it's also the way to ensure that Moonlight isn't kicked out.

Of course, if He Ao really gets involved, World Tree might not be able to get a third of the spots. With B-rank members and Ruo Dan in control, Moonlight already has a clear advantage and can...

They don't care that much about the World Tree.

Moreover, from Moonlight's perspective, Rhodes should have also considered Hao Yi's relationship with the research institute, and winning over He Ao was also a way to alleviate the relationship with the research institute to some extent.

They concede some of their profits to maintain their status as the "cake divider."

It was indeed a clever solution for Moonlight.

If it really is Moonlight who proposed the collaboration...

"I only have one question: who will be my partner, Moonlight or..."

Heo looked at Rhodes, his hand gripping the back of his chair, a smile on his face, and paused for a moment before asking, "The Mysterious Shadow?"

Rhodes' expression changed slightly as he looked at He Ao and chuckled softly, "What does Mr. Hao Yi mean by this?"

"In fact, until last night, I had always thought that the Puppet Master was the leader of the Mysterious Shadow Primal Cult, and his behavior seemed to fit this assumption."

He Ao lowered his head and glanced at the wine glass on the table. "Miss Rose, the puppeteer's deputy, has become the main force spreading the pollution. The entire World Tree Ruodan branch has become a breeding ground for pollution. This easily leads people to think that the World Tree Ruodan branch is the location of the Mysterious Shadow Primal Cult, and the puppeteer is the leader of this Primal Cult."

A staff member with a decanter came over and poured half a glass of red wine into his glass. Just then, his hand trembled, and some red wine spilled onto the table.

The staff member took out a towel, intending to wipe up the spilled drinks, but He Ao stopped him.

"no need."

He blocked the staff member, then continued to look at Rhodes.

"But I found a footprint at the Ruodan branch of the World Tree. It was extremely faint and hidden in the dark shadows. If I hadn't been looking a little more carefully, I probably wouldn't have noticed it."

He Ao dipped his fingers into the crimson wine scattered on the table.

"This footprint came from a powerful C-rank. His control over force was near perfect. Clearly, he came to World Tree to 'provoke' or 'show his power.' At the time, this footprint piqued my curiosity. Who would come to World Tree's branch to show their power, especially in such a short period of time?"

He Ao's fingers began to trace patterns on the table, leaving red marks on the pristine white surface.

"The most crucial point is that this footprint is very new. I don't know whether it appeared before or after the World Tree Ruodan branch was contaminated."

"However, some doubts arose in my mind at that time, and these doubts reached their peak when I fought with the puppeteer, because I did not see any trace of my 'old acquaintance' in the puppeteer's performance."

"Given my 'acquaintance's' abilities, it's impossible that he couldn't find the Ruodan branch of the World Tree, nor could he be unsure who the leader of the Primitive Cult was. I thought I was being ambushed, but nothing happened."

"At that time, I realized that there might be some gaps in my analysis."

Heo drew a triangle on the table, looked up at Rhodes, and continued, "After that, I thought of something interesting, 'Gade'."

"When I killed Rose, the puppeteer, in order to save herself, abandoned the body of the puppet Gade, which fell into the 'Moonlight'."

He held it in his hands, and then later retrieved the body intact.

"All of this seems reasonable at first glance, but how did the puppeteer know that the moonlight was about to arrive? You know, he abandoned his body at the very beginning of the battle, when your people hadn't even appeared in my sight yet."

"And why is he so confident that the moonlight won't harm Gade's body, or even dissect him, and that he can successfully retrieve the body?"

“Of course,” He Ao smiled, “you gave a perfect explanation, ‘There’s a mole in Moonlight,’ and then you sealed off Moonlight’s Ruodan headquarters under the pretext of investigating the mole.”

"With the help of an inside manipulator, it's perfectly reasonable for the puppeteer to accomplish all this; it all seems so logical and flawless."

He lowered his head, dipped his fingers in red wine again, and continued drawing on the pristine white table.

"But this morning, I went to the places where the 'murders' had occurred again, and I found that some of the crime scenes still had corrupted servant monsters active, and their behavior was very orderly, as if they were perfecting some kind of ritual."