Chapter 76: She Went Alone
After confirming the direction of the Ghost Mother’s Lair, Lin Huai spoke through the comms: “The heaviest concentration of Yin energy is coming from the northwest. That’s where the Ghost Mother’s Lair is located. All of you should head in that direction.”
She added, “If any monsters block your path, kill them immediately. If they show no hostility, you can decide how to handle them yourselves.”
Old Wang was the quickest to notice the phrasing, and he asked with suspicion, “All of us? Boss, what do you mean by that? Aren’t you coming with us? Are you going off on your own?”
Dragon Emerging from the Sea also piped up, “Boss, do you have something else you need to take care of?”
Lin Huai did not intend to reveal the truth, so she kept her answer simple: “Yes, I need to make a trip to the southwest first. There’s a special reward hidden there, and I want to see if I can claim it.”
If You’re Bad, Practice More laughed heartily. “Haha! Is the Boss going after another server-wide announcement? Go get it, Boss! Don’t worry about us; we can take care of ourselves!”
The others chimed in with words of encouragement through the channel.
Dragon Emerging from the Sea spoke up again: “Then should we rendezvous with the Three Knight Brothers first, head to the Ghost Mother’s Lair, and wait for you there?”
Before Lin Huai could reply, a floating screen popped up in mid-air, and the instance’s designated automated announcer began broadcasting the rules.
An eerie, chilling female voice echoed through the valley: “Registration has closed. Welcome, players, to the Ten-Zone Joint Instance—Ghost Mother’s Lair!”
“Monsters will spawn endlessly within this instance. The players’ primary objective is to clear them all. First place will be determined by each team’s total kill count.”
“The zones participating in this joint trial are: Zone 01, Zone 11, Zone 23, Zone 444, Sector 888, Zone 78, Zone 37, Zone 78, Zone 29, and Zone 53.”
As she spoke, her tone turned intensely manic, laced with a bloodthirsty thrill: “The game officially begins!”
The moment her words fell, the silent, boundless desert erupted into chaos.
The endless sea of sand churned and split open violently, like boiling water. From the depths of the dunes, countless twisted, hideous monsters clawed their way out.
They tore through the shifting sand, their glowing crimson eyes cutting through the dusty yellow haze. In perfect unison, every single creature locked its gaze onto the nearest players and their roaring vehicles.
Sand cascaded down their bodies, exposing withered, stick-thin limbs covered in dark, crusted blood.
Some scuttled forward on all fours, moving so fast they were little more than a blur against the dunes.
Others stood upright, unleashing harsh, screeching roars as they spread their razor-sharp claws, lunging straight toward the survivors.
The announcer’s voice cut off, but Lin Huai’s eyes remained wide with shock, her face pale with disbelief.
Her shock was not caused by the tide of monsters crawling out of the earth—it was triggered by the list of participating zones!
She tried to reach Old Hei immediately, but inside an active instance, he was barred from interfering with the local system assistant and could not respond.
How is this possible? How could Chen Feng possess enough influence to pull all these specific zones into one place?
In this game, special zone designations always belonged to regions that housed top-tier powerhouses. Lin Huai did not know the exact mechanics behind it, but in her previous life, the final outcome had been identical.
She remembered clearly: Zone 01 was home to Old Demon of Xiangxi, ranked 3rd. Zone 23 belonged to Dragon Crossing the River, ranked 4th. Zone 11 was led by Master Cloud Cliff, ranked 2nd. Sector 888 was the territory of Chen Feng and Su Wan.
The system’s matchmaking algorithms would never naturally pit the top four leaderboard champions against each other so early just to grind them down. Lin Huai realized without a shadow of a doubt that the other three zones had been dragged into this trial by Chen Feng himself.
Her suspicions were confirmed: Master Cloud Cliff truly was allied with Chen Feng. They had orchestrated this entire setup just to corner and execute her!
A complex knot of emotion tightened in Lin Huai’s chest as she glanced at her teammates in the rearview mirror.
She kept her voice steady and gentle: “Alright. Go regroup with the others first, then head to the lair and wait for me. If I don’t show up in time, kill the Ghost Mother immediately and clear the instance. Securing the completion reward is your top priority—don’t let anyone beat you to it.”
If the server’s top-ranked monsters were joining forces to eliminate her, her chances of walking away alive were razor-thin. This was a private blood debt between her and Chen Feng, and she had no intention of dragging her companions to their graves.
Even if she was walking straight into a slaughterhouse, she would go—and she would face it alone.
These people called her their Boss and supported her with everything they had. Though she had never truly acted like a traditional leader or micromanaged their growth, they had placed their trust in her. Even if she couldn’t guarantee their survival in this brutal world, she refused to be the reason they died.
Unaware of what she was planning, the others genuinely believed she was simply chasing a rare individual reward.
Around them, the monsters burrowed through the dunes, trying to cling to the vehicles to drag them down into the quicksand. Drivers caught by the swarms were forced to step outside and fight their way through the tide to keep their wheels turning.
Lin Huai activated her hearse’s Yang energy barrier, which repelled the low-level creatures with ease.
She engaged her vehicle’s automated defense grid, instantly clearing a wide perimeter of shrieking monsters with sweeping bursts of fire.
Stepping down from her cab, Lin Huai walked briskly toward Dragon Emerging from the Sea’s heavy off-road vehicle.
Seeing her approach, Dragon Emerging from the Sea leaned over and pushed the passenger door open, waiting for her to step inside.
“Is something wrong?”
Lin Huai grabbed the grab handle and pulled herself up into the tall cabin. The passenger side lacked a standard seat; instead, he had secured a simple wooden table and chairs, holding nothing more than a couple of water cups and a kettle. The setup was completely in line with his minimalist, practical nature.
Lin Huai nodded, looking at the steady man behind the wheel. “Brother Long, there are a few things I need to discuss with you in private.”
Understanding immediately, Dragon Emerging from the Sea closed his interface screen and muted his connection to the group voice channel.
Lin Huai spoke in a low, serious tone: “The instance rules state that all monsters must be wiped out to complete the trial. These creatures swarming us right now are actually ‘Ghost Children,’ spawned directly from the Ghost Mother. The moment we reach the Ghost Mother’s Lair and eliminate her, every single Ghost Child on the map will die instantly.”
“Keep pushing toward the northwest. Along the way, keep an eye on Sister Cai and make sure she doesn’t get reckless or lose herself in the fighting. Don’t waste time racking up small kills on the Ghost Children. Taking down the Ghost Mother is the only objective that matters. Once she falls, the kill credit for all the remaining minions will automatically be added to your team’s total.”
Dragon Emerging from the Sea nodded firmly, his voice calm and dependable. “Understood. Go ahead and secure that special reward without worrying about us. I’ll make sure the rest of the squad stays focused and safe.”
Lin Huai let out a quiet, self-deprecating laugh. “To be honest, Brother Long, you’re far better suited to lead this team than I am. I’ve always been a lone wolf, completely lacking in team spirit. From here on out, I’m leaving the squad in your hands.”
