Chapter 161: Coming Back to Life-Huh? This Isn't a Dating Sim?(Mouth with three corners)

The words "plaything" pierced like two needles into Yu Shujun's heart, causing an uncontrollable surge of fury to ripple across his habitually icy face.

His fingers gripped the hilt of the lightsword so tightly that his knuckles turned white, pushing him to the very brink of explosive rage.

Yet even so, Yu Shujun did not strike immediately. Instead, he simply stared fixedly at the face just inches away, as if trying to pierce through the silver mask and that somewhat morbid expression to read the true thoughts hidden in the other's depths.

Taking in Yu Shujun's restraint, Silver Thorn let out a cold scoff.

"That man from the Ghost-Controller Alliance may be a scoundrel, but after all, he is one of the Nine Legends. At the very least, his strength is undeniable.

"Yet what does that man named Ye Jiu possess? He is nothing more than a newcomer who has just cleared a trial map, with a player level so low it barely scrapes the threshold of the Bronze tier.

"Given your player rank, can you truly be resigned to being controlled by such a low-tier player?

"Why don't you let me go? I can help you finish off that good-for-nothing, and once and for all—"

Before Silver Thorn could finish her sentence, golden light erupted outward from Yu Shujun's entire body.

In a single instant, every single strand of the silver-white hair wrapped around Yu Shujun shattered into pieces.

Within Silver Thorn's body, every bone felt as though it were being ground to powder, and every meridian seemed to be cleanly severed.

Like a withered leaf, she staggered and collapsed backward.

Before drawing her final breath, she looked at Yu Shujun and revealed a smile of profound relief. "Thank..."

Before the final word could leave her lips, she closed her eyes, and dark, thick blood welled from the corners of them.

Stowing his longsword, Yu Shujun turned, intending to race back at full speed toward the main headquarters building of Irene Corporation, when a notification popped up in his system interface:

[Qiqi: Xiaojun, that item has been cast into the furnace.]

[Qiqi: It's all over.]

……

Ten minutes earlier, directly beneath the headquarters building, beside the subterranean furnace.

Under the watchful eyes of the three people beside him, Wen Nan reached into his equipment standby slot, his fingertips gently caressing the edge of the tiny metal piece, while his gaze remained locked onto the scorching furnace below, lost in deep thought.

Neither of the soft calls from the other three elicited any response from Wen Nan.

Yang Mingzhong frowned, casting a heavy, brooding look toward the guild leader.

Feeling nervous, Huang Yan sidled up to Yang Mingzhong and lowered his voice. "What's wrong with the boss? We've made it all the way here, and all we need to do is toss out that source of the pathogen to complete the mission. Why is he suddenly freezing up?"

Observing the expression on the man opposite him, Huang Yan turned his head to glance at the blindingly hot furnace below, suddenly feeling as though this exact scene had been witnessed somewhere before...

An inspiration struck him, and he nudged Yang Mingzhong's shoulder with a sudden "Ah." "I think I get it. Could the boss... possibly want to... keep that thing for himself?"

Yang Mingzhong turned to look at his jumpy companion. "That pen? Why would anyone want to keep something like that?"

Huang Yan shook his head. There was no figuring out the guild leader's mind; he merely felt that the current situation bore an uncanny resemblance to a certain old movie.

"Maybe the boss... needs a Gollum?"

With that, Huang Yan elbowed Yang Mingzhong. "Your turn. I think that role suits you quite well."

Yang Mingzhong had no idea what his erratic companion was babbling about. "What role? What suits me?"

Huang Yan pointed his chin toward the guild leader. "I think the boss right now needs someone to give him a little push from behind and help him throw the thing in."

Yang Mingzhong finally grasped Huang Yan's meaning, but he remained still, replying only, "The Guild Leader found the item himself. How to dispose of it is his own affair, and that decision must be made by him alone."

Huang Yan stared at Yang Mingzhong in disbelief. "There's only one critical prop! If we don't completely destroy it, completing the mission is impossible, and then we're all going to die in this map!"

Hearing Huang Yan's words, Yang Mingzhong's expression remained as calm as ever. It appeared that he didn't care in the slightest about the prospect of dying in this map.

Huang Yan looked over at Qiqi. The round-faced young girl was quietly gazing at the man beside her with a look that suggested if the guild leader asked her to leap straight into the furnace, she would do so without the slightest hesitation.

At that moment, Huang Yan felt a touch of despair.

Was he the only normal person here?

Wen Nan's prolonged contemplation finally triggered the system prompt in his mind:

9527: [Main Quest 5: Eradicate the root of the disease, and achieve ultimate life harmony with Irene!]

9527: [Countdown for this mission: 02:36:58——]

9527: [Quest Description: As long as the root of the disease remains uneradicated, Irene will perpetually run the risk of relapsing into illness. Irene needs your help!

Now, the root of the disease is in your hands, and you have successfully located the furnace. Help Irene completely purge this source of illness from the world!]

9527: [Only the final step remains to complete Main Quest 5 and enter the settlement phase. Competitor, keep up the good work!]

System notifications rang out one after another in Wen Nan's mind, all serving to remind him of a single fact—

Completely eliminate that object to complete the mission; otherwise, it would be deemed a failure.

The countdown continued to tick away in his mind.

Wen Nan finally took a step forward, walked to the edge, raised his hand, and extended his fingertips, pinching the tiny metal piece directly over the roiling molten lava.

He released his fingers.

The minuscule metal piece vanished from Wen Nan's fingertips in an instant.

Almost simultaneously, the system prompt rang out in his mind:

9527: [Congratulations, competitor! Main Quest 5 current completion rate: 100%.]

9527: [Congratulations, competitor! The current instance 《Office Taboos**》 has been fully completed!]

9527: [Please return to the respawn point within 20 minutes to complete the final stage settlement!]

9527: [Entering settlement countdown now——]

[20:00——]

[19:59——]

Clearly, the exact same prompt was echoing through the systems of the other players as well.

Huang Yan leaped into the air with a shout of excitement. "It's done! The boss is a legend!"

Glancing up at the tangled network of passages overhead, he hurried back the way they came. "We need to get out of here fast and return to the respawn point!"

However, the moment he took a step back, the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently. "What the hell? An earthquake?!"

The others looked up toward the ceiling simultaneously, their expressions turning grim.

Scorching fragments of stone rained down from above, clattering heavily against their "safety airbags."

The hidden passage leading to the furnace was collapsing.

"What on earth is happening outside?!" Huang Yan's voice trembled slightly.

At that moment, a message popped up in the guild chat:

[Yao: Holy crap! Irene Building! That building! It's come alive!!!]

(End of this chapter)