Chapter 30: Exorbitant Skill Card

“Han Chong makes a good point. If we’re all still here for the next dungeon run, you and Mr. Bai can team up on your own. After all, your abilities are quite strong, and having us around would only hold you back,” Lou Su decisively fixed the team for the next dungeon run with a single sentence, simultaneously alleviating Zhou Quan’s concerns.

Indeed, Bai Jinli and Han Chong were stronger than the other three, but after their previous dungeon experience, Lou Su believed that no matter how strong a team was, if there was discord among them, survival in the dungeon would be impossible.

Rather than let Han Chong and Bai Jinli create tension within the team, it would be better to choose three slightly weaker teammates who wouldn’t stir up trouble.

Han Chong sneered, “To put it bluntly, you just want to exclude me and Jinli, right? Fine, you all are a team; we’re outsiders!”

With that, he stood up and kicked over a nearby coffee table before storming downstairs with a flashlight in hand.

“Han Chong!” Bai Jinli called after him, but he didn’t look back.

Seeing that Bai Jinli didn’t immediately get up to chase after him, Zhou Quan asked, “Aren’t you going to go talk to him, Mr. Bai?”

Bai Jinli shook his head. “Forget it; let him cool off for a bit. Lou Ge, let’s review the dungeon again. Also, Xi Hen should share what he encountered so we can see if we can find any patterns.”

Lou Su agreed with this idea, and the two of them began to methodically go through every clue they encountered in the dungeon and their methods for clearing it.

Zhou Quan and Su Yan occasionally chimed in with details they had noticed along the way.

In fact, the dungeon set in Mogu Village was not simple at all. Especially as the first dungeon, with most people yet to awaken their abilities and only five players in a team, this was hardly an opportunity for humanity to save itself; it was more like a way to eliminate those who hadn’t awakened their powers.

Unlike Chu Xihen’s quick clear of the dungeon, Lou Su and his group started searching for clues as soon as they entered. They chose not to take the shortcut into the village but instead followed the riverbank from where Scarface had taken Ling Ji hostage, directly confronting the poisonous Mogu lurking in the pit.

Fortunately, at that time, the poisonous Mogu was asleep; they couldn’t kill it.

They then proceeded along the path that villagers had barred Ling Ji from taking into the village. Because of their unique approach to entering the village, the villagers immediately became alert and didn’t allow them to stay at any inns.

From conversations with the villagers, Lou Su found clues indicating that they couldn’t sleep outside at night. So they sought refuge in an abandoned shack within the village.

That night, they witnessed how the entire village was covered in purple venom from the poisonous Mogu as it devoured a living villager right before their eyes. The villager’s dying screams kept them awake in fear throughout the night; none dared to close their eyes.

The next day, a relative of that villager approached them under pretense and revealed information about the poisonous Mogu. He explained that Mogu Village had suffered a famine a century ago when the poisonous Mogu emerged from its pit and produced food that saved everyone in the village.

Once they recovered from starvation, out of gratitude towards the poisonous Mogu, villagers began feeding it chickens and ducks and revered it as their mountain deity. They even renamed their village Mogu Village.

Generations of villagers worshipped the poisonous Mogu—starting with feeding poultry and eventually culminating in human sacrifices.

The first human sacrifice was an outsider who happened to pass by the pit. After that person died, during the same time in the following year when villagers brought offerings of chickens and ducks again, one villager was snatched away by the poisonous Mogu.

From then on, everyone understood that the poisonous Mogu had grown dissatisfied with mere poultry offerings; it had begun to consume humans!

Since most villagers were closely related by blood, they were naturally unwilling to let their own kin be eaten by the poisonous Mogu. Thus, they turned their sights on tourists from outside villages.

The villager recounting Mogu Village’s history wasn’t a good person either; he shared all this information just to trick them into going near the pit to kill the poisonous Mogu. Even if they failed, someone would still accompany his son in death.

Lou Su’s group approached the pit with utmost caution. Although they failed to kill the poisonous Mogu during their attempt, they learned a crucial piece of information from that deceased villager’s relative.

The poisonous Mogu became very weak around noon each day—a perfect opportunity for an attack—but Lou Su felt there were still clues they hadn’t uncovered yet.

After failing once to deceive them, another villager was taken by venom that same night.

Lou Su’s group found it strange; since everyone knew that the poisonous Mogu would consume humans at night, why did some villagers still venture outside?

After enduring several more encounters with hostile villagers throughout one morning, they finally discovered why: if villagers failed to present a living sacrifice on time, for that entire year afterward, the poisonous Mogu would seek out food on its own. Its scent could confuse people’s minds and lure them outside willingly.

When weakened, the poisonous Mogu would kill continuously; when strong, it could go months without claiming a victim.

At a critical moment before their final attempt against it, Lou Su learned that day marked an annual sacrificial day—the reason behind its rampage was that it would be at its weakest point all year long on this day. They timed their attack perfectly at this crucial moment and successfully cleared the dungeon.

After hearing their recounting of events, Chu Xihen understood that Lou Su’s group had gathered all relevant information about the dungeon—that’s why their final reward was so generous.

“So Xihen,” Bai Jinli asked Chu Xihen curiously. “How did that big shot you encountered clear his dungeon?”

Given how he managed to lead Chu Xihen through without any harm during his run against the poisonous Mogu dungeon, Bai Jinli figured that big shot must have been an experienced survivor of this game.

Chu Xihen replied casually: “I’ve mentioned before; we were invited by villagers into an inn where we ate and slept every day. On our last day at noon we killed off the poisonous Mogu and cleared.”

The others were left speechless: “…”

They had thought this explanation was just Chu Xihen trying to provoke Han Chong; little did they know it was true!

Now even they felt frustrated about it too.

“By the way,” Chu Xihen continued thoughtfully. “I met people from other cities in my dungeon run; their situation is quite similar to ours.” He believed this was noteworthy—if they formed fixed teams later on but still wanted contact with outsiders, they could enter dungeons separately to gather intelligence.

This news indeed surprised everyone else; even without phones or televisions in future runs, they could still learn about conditions elsewhere—quite promising!

“Take a look at the trading mall! It seems someone has started selling skill cards!” Zhou Quan suddenly exclaimed.

After exiting their dungeon run, they found that virtual marketplace still existed—not only could they keep cards obtained within their personal inventory but also exchange points anytime in basic malls or trade within trading malls.

“What kind of ridiculous skill is this? It costs two hundred points? We only earned one hundred points for perfectly clearing our dungeon! Who can afford that?” Zhou Quan complained.

However, since points could be traded among players if someone genuinely wanted to buy one of those cards—they could always gather points together with friends nearby.

Still—two hundred points for a skill card truly felt like an exorbitant price!