PFC Chapter 113 Magic Powder
Chapter 113 Magic Powder
Chapter 113 Magic Powder
Upon seeing the message from Mad Shark, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. Yu Wang's first thought was, "Deep Diver!"
Only these monsters could silently appear out of thin air in this waterway isolated from the open sea!
According to his previous rough assessment, the Deep One's strength was around level E, slightly weaker than the Lion Ants of the God War era.
If the four of them work together and coordinate properly, they are not invincible.
But he quickly dismissed the idea as soon as it came to mind.
Deep-diving creatures are typical gregarious predators, relying on sheer numbers to hunt large creatures.
They rarely act alone, and it's even less likely that they would spawn in such a narrow waterway that can only accommodate one person at a time, as this would not be in line with their hunting habits.
Moreover, it is not nighttime now, and the underwater world has not yet changed, so the conditions for the formation of deep-sea divers are not present.
"If it's not a Deep One—then what could it be?" Yu Wang's mind raced, instantly ruling out the most dangerous option, but the unknown is often more unsettling.
Is it some kind of amphibious or aquatic monster native to the instance? Or is it another survivor with special abilities?
But the situation was urgent, and he didn't have time for detailed analysis.
Since that thing didn't attack immediately, it means it had other purposes.
In the end, Yu Wang simply swapped positions with Ya B and Kuang Sha, and then continued swimming forward with the team.
Now, it's become: Mad Shark in the lead, Lin Wei second, Old Wang third, Yu Wang bringing up the rear, and Duck B beside Yu Wang.
The Blood Coral Set offers at least better defense than the Mad Shark's pure physical body.
They hadn't swum very far, shortly after they adjusted their formation.
Yu Wang suddenly felt a small, icy hand gently grasp his left hand, which was paddling!
His hand was small, cool and delicate; he could almost completely envelop it by clenching his fist slightly.
Between your fingers, you can clearly feel the slippery membrane structure!
The remaining distance is not long.
The group swam a few dozen meters more, and just as the map showed, the passage ahead began to slope upwards!
As they approached the murky water, they suddenly burst out of the water!
The area after emerging from the water was a classroom-sized space eroded by the rising seawater. Leaving the oppressive underwater environment, the group couldn't help but gasp for breath.
They scrambled ashore, quickly gathered together, and warily looked at the water behind them.
The water was still rippling, but nothing immediately rushed out.
"Where's Yu Wang?!" Lin Wei was the first to notice something was wrong. She shone her flashlight, counted the figures, and suddenly cried out in surprise.
Old Wang and Mad Shark were startled upon hearing this and immediately started counting again: one, two, three, plus a duck.
The three then realized that Yu Wang had not come ashore with them!
I was so anxious and nervous when the water broke that I didn't even notice someone was missing!
Old Wang's expression changed: "He's still down there?!"
"I'll go back and find it." Without any hesitation, the mad shark was about to jump back into the water.
"Splash!"
Just then, Yu Wang emerged from the water on his own, moving smoothly, seemingly unharmed.
Old Wang and Mad Shark had just breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately became extremely vigilant again! Their gun barrels and blades were turned towards the water behind Yu Wang, worried that something might be chasing after them.
"Don't be nervous, nothing is chasing me underwater." Yu Wang waved his hand, signaling them to relax.
Even so, his gaze as he looked at the now calm, dark green water was thoughtful.
"You—" Lin Wei looked at him, still shaken, then at the water. "What happened just now? Why didn't you come up with us?"
Old Wang and Mad Shark also cast questioning glances their way. Old Wang even suspected that the person in front of him was a monster switched out.
Yu Wang didn't intend to hide it; it was true that there was something underwater. So he explained, "I have a friend who is a siren merchant, and I asked her to help me find some things. But siren merchants are followers of evil gods and are restricted by the rules of their faith, so they cannot appear during the day."
But she kept her promise, so she asked a child in her community who didn't yet have a religion to bring me things.
It's common knowledge among survivors across all 14 regions that the Siren Merchant has set up a temporary shop in the "Lion Ant Dynasty" instance, selling all sorts of strange and unusual supplies and items.
Many people have dealt with them and exchanged for much-needed supplies.
However, most people are hearing for the first time that sirens have the restriction of "not being able to appear during the day," but upon closer examination, it makes sense.
The siren shops we encountered before seemed to be open only at night. Many people complained that it was dangerous to trade in the dungeon at night, and wondered why they weren't open during the daytime.
After hearing the explanation, Mad Shark's tense body relaxed slightly, no longer as wary as before. Old Wang said "Oh," accepting the explanation. Lin Wei breathed a sigh of relief and patted her chest.
After the brief incident, the group continued along the passage toward the Royal Palace. Duck B seemed disappointed that he hadn't seen the young siren, and kept turning back to look at her.
According to the "Survivor Area Map", a fast-moving group of more than 20 people has already reached the edge of the "Royal Court Hall".
Therefore, they quickened their pace.
However, there was something Yu Wang didn't say.
Besides bringing back the magic powder, the little sea monster also brought back some bad news.
"Sister Cersei told me to tell you that you've been targeted by the Deep Ones. You'd better get to land or a safe place before dark."
"Also, my sister said that the effect of driving away the monsters near the ship for you can only last for a maximum of two days, so you should prepare in advance."
After delivering the letter, the little sea monster happily swam away with the lollipop Yu Wang had given her.
After recalling what happened underwater.
Yu Wang glanced at the time displayed on the system panel: 11:30 AM.
There are about eight hours until it gets dark.
He must kill the boss, leave the instance, and safely return to his "Little Yellow Duck" within eight hours!
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Only by returning to the ship can we put up a fight against the large group of deep-sea divers!
Time suddenly became incredibly tight.
Yu Wang was somewhat moved. The world was so full of coincidences. If he had chosen the safest option of hiding in place, even if he had received the message from the siren and organized the survivors to kill the boss, it would have been too late.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the Lion Ant Dynasty.
The name "Royal Court Palace" is a misnomer.
It was not the magnificent, heavily guarded palace one might imagine, but rather a spherical mound of earth, about thirty meters in diameter, suspended in the center of a huge underground cavity, tightly wrapped by countless thick, ancient plant roots that gleamed with a dark green glow.
The plant's root system was in poor condition due to the presence of this group of lion ants.
The plants above seemed to be on the verge of death at any moment, which explains why the local ethnic groups urgently needed to introduce "beneficial people" to deal with these pests.
Perhaps the plants to which these roots belong are an important spiritual pillar for that ethnic group.
The cavity where the clod of earth is located is incredibly spacious, with a vertical height of over 100 meters. The surrounding rock walls are covered with more than a dozen deep holes of varying sizes, leading in different directions.
The lower half of the cavity has been completely submerged by seawater, forming a bottomless underground lake.
The lower half of that spherical clod of earth was also submerged in seawater, with loose soil being eroded by the water flow from time to time, falling down and sinking into the dark bottom of the water.
Through the holes in the soil clod, one can vaguely see the ten-meter-long queen ant, whose enormous body occupies almost a third of the soil clod's interior space.
The thickest part, a huge plant root system resembling a natural arch bridge, extends from the rock wall on one side of the cavity and connects precisely to the upper middle part of the spherical soil block, forming the only bridge leading to the royal court.
At this moment, a dozen or so guard soldier ants, which are significantly larger than ordinary soldier ants, with thicker carapaces and more ferocious mouthparts, are marching in a line, hurrying along this root bridge, heading from the direction of the soil ball towards a hole in the rock wall, as if they are rushing to a battlefield to provide support.
On the edge of the bridge near the rock face, behind a natural shelter formed by a huge clod of earth piled up from the collapse of the dome, about sixty exhausted survivors were hiding.
They were among the first group of activists to join forces with the survivor "Pineapple Bun".
Following the principle of clearing out the smaller enemies before fighting the boss, they planned to use the "pineapple bun" item to lure the worker ants in the ant nest and slowly bring them down.
The soldier ants were cleaned up.
After survivors from all 14 districts cleaned up the nest day and night, the density of lion ants in the nest was no longer as exaggerated as the initial two or three per square meter. Now, all the lion ants together number only a little over two or three thousand. Sometimes, when walking in the nest, you might only encounter one after a long time.
At first, everything went according to plan. They lured one and killed it, and when a team was lured, they killed the team. Everyone earned a backpack full of materials.
But the plan went awry.
A giant lion ant with a dark red carapace suddenly appeared and easily broke up the survivors' monster-slaying formation.
Who would have thought that ants were so powerful back then!
Although I learned from the message "You're going to hit the jackpot" posted in the group that these lion ants are ants from the era of divine wars ten thousand years ago.
But the disastrous consequences have already occurred.
"Pineapple Bun" and his team members, who were acting as bait, were bitten in two by the God-War Ants after a few short screams, without even having time to leave their last words.
The others, lacking the special scent that attracts lion ants, fled for their lives and managed to escape. Leaderless, they were caught in a dilemma.
Just when morale was about to completely collapse, I saw the suggestion in the chat channel that "You're going to hit the jackpot." Following the instructions, I arrived early at a relatively hidden observation point near the Royal Palace, anxiously waiting for support.
That's quite a positive attitude.
However, an hour later, almost all the lion ants guarding the place had been transferred away, but there was still only their team of survivors at the entrance of the royal palace.
New support has been slow to arrive.
However, none of the more than sixty people who had been waiting patiently complained.
In the chat channel, the ID "You're going to hit the jackpot" kept posting, directing the other lone survivors to move around in their anthill.
"@WanderingDiary, you'll come to a three-way intersection ahead. Take the far right one; it's not a dead end. After moving the rocks inside, you'll see a hole."
Wanderer's Diary: "Received!"
You're in for a ton of luck: "@Nowhere to Escape, keep going straight. You're in a danger zone. Listen for footsteps. Turn right at the fork in the road ahead and meet up with the 'Wandering Diary' group. After you meet them, I'll tell you the shortcut to the waterway."
Nowhere to escape: "Understood."
Due to their size, the God Warrior Lion Ant only moves and patrols along the relatively wide main paths within the anthill.
Therefore, the inconspicuous, narrow, winding paths and abandoned passages in the ant nest have become routes for the survivors to move safely.
You're going to hit the jackpot: "@Dongmen Chuixue, post another picture of the royal palace. When the number of guard ants around the queen drops to 20, you should attack first."
Dongmen Chuixue: "Alright! Let's take the picture right away!"
At this moment, at the entrance to the royal palace.
The young man with a fresh bloodstain turned off the panel, carefully peeked out, found a suitable angle, took a top-down view of the ant queen's nest, and posted it on the chat screen.
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At this moment, some impatient people in the crowd couldn't wait any longer. A young thug with dyed yellow hair, his clothes covered in jingling metal rings, and a roguish look on his face finally couldn't hold back and complained in a low voice, "We've been waiting for almost an hour! Where's the backup? Why hasn't it arrived yet?"
"Count them yourselves! There are only about thirty patrolling lion ants left in the nest! This is clearly a perfect opportunity to attack! What are we waiting for?"
Another woman, pale from blood loss, whispered, "Let's wait a bit longer. Didn't Brother Yun say we should wait until the number of Guardian Ants is less than 20 before making a move? Most of us are injured, and our supplies are almost gone. It's too dangerous to rush out rashly—"
They had no experience in similar activities and thought it would be a quick and easy boss battle, so they didn't bring many resources.
Having already used up most of their resources in the previous battles against the God-War Lion Ants and escaped their pursuit, many are now facing a dire situation of running out of ammunition and supplies, with no cure available.
It was daytime, and the Siren Market was not open, so even with pearl coins, supplies couldn't be bought.
The thought of being disciplined made Huang Mao feel uncomfortable all over, and he spoke with a foul mouth: "There are more than sixty of us. How much difference is there between 30 and 20? That Da Yun was just really lucky. He only got a few notices. Does he think he is stronger than all of us combined?"
If you ask me, we should hurry up and attack, lest these ordinary lion ants can't hold out and the atavistic lion ants get here, leaving us attacked from both sides!
He became increasingly agitated, deliberately lowering his voice to add, "Haven't you noticed? Now, apart from Dongmen Chuixue posting photos, nobody's talking in the chat channel! Who knows what everyone else is busy with! Maybe they've already gone around to steal the BOSS! And we're just sitting here like idiots!"
"Shh—! Another lion ant patrol is coming!" A young man wearing broken glasses, who had been nervously listening to the outside world, hurriedly interrupted.
His time-limited abilities seem to be related to hearing.
Everyone immediately fell silent, pressing their bodies tightly against the cold earthen wall.
Not far away, the sound of footsteps slowly passed by the mound of earth where they were hiding.
Only when the footsteps faded into the distance did everyone dare to let out a long sigh of relief, many of them already sweating profusely.
The atmosphere became even more oppressive and uneasy.
Through the crack, they watched helplessly as the number of guard lion ants patrolling outside dwindled further, until there were less than twenty left.
Inside the burrow, the plump queen ant, ten meters long, seemed almost within reach.
Once you stab the queen ant with the knife and kill her, you can leave the instance and return to the safe ship!
Similar thoughts uncontrollably popped into everyone's minds.
They didn't have the [Area Survivor Map] like Yu Wang did, so they couldn't check the specific locations and movements of other survivors in the instance in real time and could only wait passively.
But the temptation to escape the dungeon is real.
Yellow Hair was secretly delighted and seized the opportunity to incite others again: "Count them, it's already below 20! Let's go!"
"The longer the night, the more things can go wrong! Who knows what might happen next? What if those 'reverted lion ants' break through the front lines and get here? Then we'll have even less of a chance!"
This time, no one raised any objections; his words resonated with many. The long period of infiltration, the unknown wait, the seemingly unattainable goal—all of these were eroding their already dwindling patience.
"I agree."
"Brother Huang Mao is right."
"We've waited this long, might as well give it a shot! If we win, we can go home and sleep soundly; if we lose, we die!"
Those who are selected by the administrators of their respective divisions to participate in the boss battle are already the best in their respective divisions. They are proud and have their own trump cards.
In addition, the twenty zones with the highest dungeon exploration levels mostly grant temporary abilities related to attack, providing ample firepower.
This strength instilled in them a sense of confidence that "I can do it," even amidst their fear.
Seeing his teammates' increasingly agitated reactions, and then glancing at the silent chat channel, Dongmen Chuixue knew the situation was out of control.
He gritted his teeth and stepped forward: "Alright! Since that's the case, we won't wait any longer! But we can't just rush in recklessly! Next, I'll quickly divide everyone into groups according to their abilities and remaining status! Those for direct attack, those for ranged support, those for mobile containment, those for early warning and healing—we're a team, we must cooperate!"
Without further hesitation, they were certain that the guard lion ant that had just left would not return.
The group of over sixty people quickly split into several small teams with different functions and moved towards the earthen ball where the queen ant was located.
At that time, following the guidance of the [Area Survivor Map], Yu Wang's team went through many twists and turns and finally met up with another survivor team of 100 people in a narrow passage in the area behind the "Dynasty Hall".
They had fought many battles and suffered some casualties, but their morale was still good and their weapons and equipment were relatively intact.
The two team leaders had nowhere to escape. When they saw Yu Wang in the "Survival Diary," they were overjoyed. After all, most of them were able to stand here safely thanks to Yu Wang's remote command. No matter which fork in the road they came to, Yu Wang could always immediately give them the safest route, as if he had a god's-eye view!
The scent of humans emanating from large gatherings is a deadly temptation for the Divine Lion Ants.
At that time, they were almost trapped in a desperate situation, surrounded by the God Lion Ants!
It was Yu Wang who remotely directed them through the chat channel to take a hidden, narrow path and escape the encirclement.
Therefore, Yu Wang's intelligence capabilities and decisiveness demonstrated on the channel have earned him the trust of some people.
Upon meeting, Yu Wang didn't waste time on pleasantries and immediately issued a crucial warning: "According to my intelligence, when the queen ant is injured, she emits a special pheromone that summons the male ants, who are in a semi-dormant state, to appear!"
Yu Wang opened the aerial view of the royal palace sent by "Dongmen Chuixue" in the chat area. Pointing to several huge holes at the edge of the photo, he continued, "These male ants may number in the dozens or even hundreds. Each one is larger than the guard lion ants, with a thicker carapace, greater strength, and a level of E1. They are the queen ant's last resort!"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.
Just imagining dozens of giant "male ants" rushing out from all directions to surround the soil ball where the queen ant is located is enough to make one's scalp tingle.
If these ants manage to surround and kill the queen ant at the crucial moment of attack, the consequences will be unimaginable.
"So we need to split into two teams, one to quickly kill the male ants while they are still dormant, and the other to support Dongmen Chuixue, who has already begun his attack."
At this point, Yu Wang paused.
Splitting into two teams sounds simple, but the team that goes to kill the male ants is destined to have nothing to do with the reward of getting the final blow from the queen ant.
Who would be willing to go?
A brief silence.
Just as the atmosphere became somewhat tense, a voice rang out first.
Lin Wei raised her hand: "I—I'm just a coward, but I also want to do my part. The ant king in hibernation shouldn't be in danger, so I'll choose the team that goes to the ant king's side."
"Then I'll go too." The speaker was a middle-aged woman with an ordinary face in the group. "I wasn't really interested in this BOSS battle to begin with, but the system forced me to come. I think it's more meaningful to help everyone clear obstacles for us."
"Count me in." Another young man with a bleeding bandage on his arm raised his hand and gave a wry smile. "I've run out of supplies, and my injuries haven't fully healed. I'm not asking for any reward; I just want to get back outside safely. Clearing out the dormant ant king might be relatively safer."
Count me in!
"And me! I'm not good at head-on fights, but I'm good at raiding enemy strongholds!"
"Damn it, it's much more satisfying to raid their nest than fight those giant ants head-on!"
More and more people are stepping forward.
Perhaps it was due to injuries, insufficient supplies, personality traits, identification with the team, or simply the belief that ensuring the team's overall victory was far more important than the individual's "final blow."
There were at least thirty people.
With these people present, it would be enough to clear away the threat of male ants for the main force attacking the queen ant in the shortest possible time.
At this moment, in this dark underground lair, survivors from different zones who might have been rivals have temporarily set aside their narrow zone identities and are working together for the common goal of "victory".
Looking at the faces of those who had volunteered, Yu Wang's heart stirred slightly, and he nodded: "Alright! The team tasked with eliminating the Ant King will be led by 'Nowhere to Escape,' and the rest of you will follow me to the main entrance of the Royal Court."