Mutual Redemption with the Villainous Boss [Infinite] - Chapter 33

“Red Gu in the Deep Mountains. A multi-player dungeon with a Difficulty Level of Hard (SR). A group of people live deep within remote and treacherous mountains what secrets are hidden within their bodies? And what is the connection between the travelers who strayed into this place and the land itself?”

Zhu Ci felt deeply helpless regarding such an ambiguous dungeon introduction. Without a single hint, Tong Lexi had actually dared to enter this dungeon.

Opening her eyes, she found herself lying on a bed in a dilapidated hotel. She propped herself up and sat; before her was a standard guest room, and on the neighboring bed lay Tong Lexi, sleeping soundly.

Zhu Ci got out of bed and shook her awake.

Tong Lexi let out a yawn, but before she could speak, she was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Students, are you awake? It’s time to assemble,” a gentle female voice called out from behind the door.

Zhu Ci gave an affirmative response, indicating they would be out immediately, and urged Tong Lexi to get dressed.

Tong Lexi moved slowly, nearly putting her jacket on backward before hurriedly grabbing her carry-on bag to head downstairs for the assembly.

The female teacher leading the group was the same person who had just knocked. She counted the heads one by one; Zhu Ci also did a count there were nine students in total.

Basically, everyone wore a sleeve band on their arm. Having learned from her experience in the second dungeon, Zhu Ci no longer dared to hide her sleeve band.

Aside from those like Tong Lexi who didn’t understand the situation, the people entering a Hard dungeon included some who appeared very capable and had surely experienced many dungeons before. While Zhu Ci was observing them, they were also observing the other players.

Naturally, there were also many who were reckless, wanting to soar to success in one go, and were overly confident in challenging a Hard dungeon.

A man with a large belly, wearing an ill-fitting suit, spat a thick glob of phlegm onto the ground beside him and said, “Can this idiot teacher move any faster? I want to go back; this place is a dump, the sleep was terrible.”

A tall, stout man beside him echoed, “President Lu, soon, soon. We just need to go through the motions. Once you use your item cards, it’ll definitely be over. I’ll treat you to a drink when we get back.”

The man addressed as “President Lu” raised an eyebrow with a huff, quietly surveying the surroundings. “We should have just picked a Hell difficulty dungeon and gotten it over with in one go, so we wouldn’t have to keep coming back.”

Another round of flattery and boasting followed.

“Heh, you won’t even know how you died when the time comes.”

A woman stood with her arms crossed, her short skirt fluttering, a long halberd strapped to her back. Her expression was one of contempt and disdain as she glanced sideways at the two men. Though she wasn’t particularly tall, the halberd appeared exceptionally massive on her.

“President Lu’s” face turned red with anger. He stepped forward, wanting to argue, but was held back by the stout man. “President Lu, President Lu, the dungeon has only just begun. Let’s not bother with her for now.”

To their surprise, the woman directly pulled out the long halberd with her left hand. The heavy weapon felt like a chopstick in her grip as she pointed it straight toward his eye. “Want to try me?”

The sharp tip was inches away. “President Lu” froze, not daring to move.

In a Hard dungeon, unlike the initial Simple dungeons, no one would step in to break up a fight between two parties. On the contrary, the others wanted to see whose skill level was superior.

Clap. Clap.

Two crisp sounds of clapping rang out.

A couple stood nearby; the man had his arm around the woman’s waist, while the woman blew a soft breath into his ear, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder.

The woman raised an eyebrow and smirked, letting go of the man. She spoke: “As expected of Yan Wenxue, ranked second in District C. To suppress other players with just a look it’s truly fate that has brought us together here.”

“I have no ‘fate’ with you.” Yan Wenxue turned her head arrogantly and retracted her halberd, not sparing her a single glance.

The couple felt a bit awkward. The woman turned instead toward the others. “Allow me to introduce ourselves. We are the couple team ranked eleventh on the District C Team Rankings—’Hearts in Harmony.’ My name is Xue Yaru, and this is my lover, Ye Yang. I believe you’ve heard of us.”

No one present took the bait. However, a woman roughly forty years old smiled and greeted them.

Tong Lexi wasn’t even aware of the existence of the nightly team rankings, and Zhu Ci didn’t usually spend time researching them. Since the two men from the beginning had lost face and were merely standing aside indignantly, no one responded to her.

Finally, a young boy who looked quite small in age and wasn’t very tall introduced himself of his own accord: “I am Qian Kai, ranked seventh in District C.”

The couple’s pride instantly wavered. She turned and asked Zhu Ci and Tong Lexi, who had remained silent: “What about you two?”

Tong Lexi looked toward Zhu Ci.

Zhu Ci replied, “We are members of Team Qiming: Zhu Ci and Tong Lexi.”

“Qiming?” Xue Yaru thought for a moment. She didn’t seem to have heard of them, and her mood relaxed slightly; it seemed she had regained some ground.

“Why aren’t you asking about us? Our President Lu is someone who possesses SSR item cards!” The two men from earlier couldn’t hold back and interrupted.

“Oh?” Xue Yaru turned slightly. “May I ask what your rank is?”

“Those rankings aren’t accurate. After all, I haven’t been to any dungeons above Simple difficulty until now. Isn’t this why I’ve come to take the challenge?” Facing the pressure, “President Lu” immediately put on an air of importance.

The sidekick beside him quickly added, “He says it’s a challenge, but in reality, he breezes through them.”

The woman around forty was very accommodating. She spoke up, asking, “I don’t know your names yet. I am Jing Miaozhen. I used to be a geologist, which is why I chose this dungeon.”

“President Lu” had an expression of ‘finally, someone asked.’ “Lu Jun. He is called Ruan Liangyan.”

The nine people shifted from bickering to self-introductions. Only then did the female guide finish exchanging the tickets. She called for them to board the bus, preparing to depart.

“Students, you haven’t left anything behind, have you? The driver is about to start the engine. The mountain we are visiting this time is called Mount Fengcheng. We expect to stay in the mountains all day, and the driver will come to pick us up at dark. Please make sure not to forget your detection instruments; everyone, please check.”

As the female guide spoke, she counted the people once more to ensure not a single one was missing.

The ten of them boarded the bus that would traverse the winding mountain roads. The female guide wanted to liven up the atmosphere and encouraged everyone to sing songs or tell jokes.

Once inside the dungeon, Tong Lexi wasn’t as scared or nervous as she had been at home. She was very active, raising her hand eagerly, and picked up the microphone on the bus to sing.

Jing Miaozhen even encouraged her.

The bus traveled for an hour. The scenery outside the windows had been entirely replaced by lush green forests. Looking out, deep cliffs lay below, and the bus moved at a moderate pace along the edge of the precipice.

Another ten minutes passed, and the bus stopped on a slightly wider platform.

The bus driver shouted in a thick local dialect, “We’re here! We’re here! Everyone get off!”

The guide reminded the driver once more that he must return at dark, then led the players off the bus.

Tong Lexi whispered to Zhu Ci, “He won’t be coming back.”

She knew very well that the plot had begun.

Xue Yaru hung onto her boyfriend, complaining incessantly, “There’s so much walking in this dungeon…”

Ye Yang picked her up and carried her on his back, comforting her: “It’s fine, we’ll be there soon. I heard that except for the top-ranked player, no one has successfully cleared this dungeon. Our ranking will rise again once we get out.”

Zhu Yuan had been in this dungeon?

Lu Jun was panting heavily; clearly, he had never walked this much in his life. He pressed his hands against his lower back and said, “What kind of crappy escape dungeon is this? Let’s just leave from here!”

“You mustn’t be so reckless,” Jing Miaozhen reminded him. “You must follow the progression, otherwise, you will be trapped here forever.”

Ruan Liangyan felt a bit apprehensive. Jing Miaozhen glanced at the two of them and sighed inwardly, then turned to Qian Kai, who had remained silent. “How old are you this year? It’s dangerous to enter a dungeon alone. Aren’t you going to look for a companion?”

Qian Kai curled his lip. “Auntie, do you like prying into other people’s secrets that much?”

Jing Miaozhen narrowed her eyes and smiled; she seemed to have a very good temperament. “No, I was just curious. If you dislike it, I won’t ask.”

“Hmph, everyone is in the same dungeon; what secrets could there be? You’ll see what needs to be seen soon enough.” Yan Wenxue gave a cold snort, dissatisfied with Qian Kai’s attitude.

The atmosphere between several of them was like drawn swords and bent bows. Tong Lexi leaned closer to Zhu Ci, feeling very uneasy.

Zhu Ci didn’t want to involve herself with them and simply said to her, “Don’t forget the purpose of this trip. Remember to cover your arm.”

Tong Lexi suddenly remembered and pulled her jacket sleeves down.

This small movement was fully observed by Xue Yaru.

They walked until it was nearly noon. The guide found a stream and called everyone over to have lunch.

She carried ten lunches in her large bag, packed in iron meal boxes that were still steaming.

Qian Kai looked a bit disgusted; he didn’t want to eat and sat alone to one side.

Ruan Liangyan took Qian Kai’s portion as well and presented it to Lu Jun like a treasure.

The guide just smiled. “We’ll reach the mountain peak soon. This mountain isn’t dangerous; there are no wild animals. Everyone can explore with peace of mind.”

Just as she finished speaking, a rustling sound came from the thickets.

Zhu Ci set down her meal box and summoned her blade.

Seeing this, the others also assumed defensive stances.

Lu Jun snorted. “Look at how scared they are.”

The rustling stopped.

In its place came wave after wave of wolf howls.

They came from the front, from behind, and from the mountaintop.

“How can this be? Why are there wolves here!” The guide said exactly what an NPC should say.

Jing Miaozhen said, “Everyone stay calm, don’t run blindly! Wolves are pack animals; if we scatter, they will surely hunt us down.”

Yan Wenxue drew her long halberd and charged out. With one horizontal sweep, she shredded the bushes in front of her, then with an upward thrust, the corpse of a wolf was thrown onto the ground nearby.

She turned her head and asked, “How many more are there?”

“Judging by the calls, there are at least seven. You killed one, so they won’t come forward again. They will only follow us and wait for someone to fall behind before they take their revenge,” Zhu Ci answered her.

Sure enough, the howling weakened, and the surroundings gradually returned to silence.

Yan Wenxue didn’t spare her a glance, only asking, “What is your name?”

“I’ve said it: Zhu Ci.”

Ye Yang spoke somewhat sarcastically: “The name is very similar to the top-ranked player. It wasn’t taken specifically for that reason, was it?”

Yan Wenxue ignored Xue Yaru and him but chose to learn about someone without a rank whom no one had heard of; he felt a faint sense of displeasure in his heart.

“No, I don’t know Zhu Yuan,” Zhu Ci lied calmly.

Zhu Ci continued, “If they see that we don’t separate, they will go and destroy our bus. By then, there will be no way to get down the mountain. I suggest we leave first.”

Support Mutual Redemption with the Villainous Boss [Infinite]