Chapter 403: Sea of Lava

Nie Yan returned to the game. A new day had begun in Faith. The streets gradually became more crowded and lively. The events of the previous day had spread among the players. The loud explosions could be heard in dozens of villages and towns nearby.

“I heard Bull Tribe just obtained a batch of black powder, which was discovered and destroyed by Warblade Crimson Blood.”

“Who said that? A friend of mine personally saw Bull Tribe transporting the black powder into the Everlasting Fortress. There were at least a dozen large jars.”

“What about those loud explosions?”

“I don’t know.”

Players speculated wildly. Bull Tribe had kept a tight lid on the information, as leaking news of the intercepted black powder would be too embarrassing. As for Warblade Crimson Blood, they were also reluctant to disclose the exact details of the incident. After all, it was a fact that the Bloodthirsty Blade had been defeated, even their leader had been killed. How could they feel comfortable talking about it?

The entire matter was suppressed. Even if some rumors leaked out, without confirmation, players considered them just rumors.

Nie Yan didn’t care about these rumors. Bull Tribe’s goblin magitech cannons were being manufactured, and that was enough.

Nie Yan gave Guo Huai some instructions regarding the Bull Tribe’s affairs, asking him to occasionally send some elite members to assist the War God Tribe in attacking fortresses. The more fortresses the War God Tribe controlled, the more profitable Nie’s company would be.

Bull Tribe’s daily expenses were substantial. Fortunately, the income from several auction houses, Star Pharmacy, and shop rents could cover Bull Tribe’s expenditures. However, if the auction houses, Star Pharmacy, and shops weren’t upgraded, they wouldn’t keep up with the city’s development. Upgrades required significant funds, but the money earned by these businesses was invested into Bull Tribe, leaving no funds for upgrades, which would significantly impact future development.

Therefore, Nie Yan needed to earn more money to invest back into these businesses. The most profitable venture was undoubtedly reselling equipment between the two factions.

In a few hours, Nie Yan’s Dark Portal would open.

Warblade Crimson Blood had suffered a loss and Nie Yan wondered how they would respond. It was likely they would retaliate soon. If Nie Yan left, there might be problems. However, Nie Yan had to go to the Dark Faction to earn more money and completely resolve Bull Tribe’s crisis. Moreover, this task couldn’t be entrusted to anyone else, as only he could use Bennett’s Diary, an item that was non-tradable and non-droppable.

Thinking about it, Bull Tribe had been operating in Carol City for a long time, with Blue Temple, Holy Roman Empire, and Light Flame, three major guilds and five branch guilds supporting them there. If they were wiped out within five days, they wouldn’t have the heart to continue playing anymore!

Even if he went underground, he could still direct operations remotely.

“It’s time for me to go underground. How are the equipments you prepared for me?” Nie Yan sent a message to Guo Huai.

“A total of 300 pieces. I’ve stored them all in your personal warehouse,” replied Guo Huai. Collecting these equipments had taken a lot of effort, with his subordinates scouring auction houses in every city. Nie Yan’s requirements were very strict—he needed equipment level 45 or higher, usable by Evil Order, and with attributes valuable underground. It was difficult to collect even about a hundred items in a day across all city auction houses.

It was also troublesome for Duo Duo to gather equipments usable by Good Order underground. If Nie Yan hadn’t contacted him, this business wouldn’t have been easy.

After a while, all 300 pieces of equipment were stored in Nie Yan’s personal warehouse. Nie Yan completely emptied his backpack and selected 270 better pieces from the equipment, stuffing them all into his backpack. Then he filled his Soul Pendant with various consumables. Everything was ready.

The next Dark Portal’s destination was unknown, but one thing was certain—Bennett’s soul would definitely guide him to collect another item for Phineas’s quest.

Nie Yan’s gaze fell on a corner of the warehouse, where a treasure map lay quietly—the Lich Insoll’s Treasure!

Following normal procedures, traversing long caves from the surface to the underground would require at least level 100+ players, with a very low success rate. However, Nie Yan was different. He could use the Dark Portal to teleport underground and search for the location of Insoll’s treasure. The only regret was that his current level was too low. At his current level, seeking Insoll’s treasure would be a suicidal act. If he could reach level 70 or 80, it might be feasible.

This time returning from underground, he should earn a considerable amount of money—at least a million gold coins. According to the cooperation details he and Duo Duo had agreed upon, transporting Good Order equipments underground would earn him about 30% of the profits. Based on the information Nie Yan had gathered, delivering these equipments to Duo Duo’s people would earn him over 300,000 gold coins. Then transporting Evil Order equipments back to the surface and selling them would earn another substantial profit.

Nie Yan could cooperate with anyone, but Angel’s Fall could only cooperate with Nie Yan. It was only natural for Nie Yan to take a larger share—that was the value of the Dark Portal!

After handling all matters properly, Nie Yan arrived at the Star Pharmacy’s laboratory in Carol City, waiting for the Dark Portal’s activation time. He used the Dark Portal skill, and a dark portal opened.

Nie Yan stepped into it. The scenery shifted, and when he opened his eyes again, he had already arrived in the underground world.

A fierce wind blew, bringing a scorching, searing breath. He didn’t know where he was. Looking into the distance, he saw molten lava flowing, turning the sky a fiery red. This lava sea stretched as far as the eye could see, like an endless ocean.

System: You discovered the Lava Sea.

Legends say the Lava Sea is located at the extreme north of the underground world. Every year, massive amounts of lava surge from the earth’s core, eventually destroying the entire underground world. Therefore, the inhabitants of the underground world yearn to return to the surface, and they continuously wage wars against the surface world every year.

This area was still part of the Undead Empire. Fortunately, he hadn’t been teleported to the Demon Tribe’s territory. Otherwise, it would be somewhat difficult for Angel’s Fall members to find him.

Bennett’s soul appeared again, floating around him, as if to guide him to a certain location.

However, Nie Yan wasn’t going to pursue Phineas’s quest right now. He needed to complete the transaction first.

Nie Yan summoned his Falkner Warhorse, riding it in a furious gallop across the plains, gradually expanding the map. At least he needed to know his location before he could summon Angel’s Fall members over.

Nie Yan found a landmark—a tall stone tower on the edge of the Lava Sea, already somewhat damaged, with broken fragments scattered on the ground. This place had once been a village, later destroyed, leaving only this stone tower.

With such a landmark, he could let Angel’s Fall members find him.

Nie Yan initiated the game logout.

System: Logging out, loading… 3%… 8%…

Forced logout during combat or guild wars is impossible. Logging out requires a 30-second loading period. If attacked, the logout will be interrupted. In case of emergencies, players can directly remove their helmets, but their in-game characters will remain, losing consciousness until they log out and disappear. If attacked during this time, the characters will not retaliate.

Nie Yan removed his helmet and dialed the phone number provided by Duo Duo. The person who answered the call was a young man, not Duo Duo himself, but one of his subordinates. Nie Yan sent his approximate address to them.

This young man would relay Nie Yan’s arrival to Duo Duo.

Nie Yan re-entered the game and stayed in this area. Thinking for a moment, he recalled Falkner Warhorse and waited in place.

To ensure a successful transaction and earn one million gold coins, waiting for a few hours was worth it.

After a while, an undead rogue wearing gray leather armor appeared in his vision. After spotting Nie Yan, the undead rogue waved at him and walked over.

Nie Yan walked towards the undead rogue. Suddenly, he noticed that the other party hadn’t switched factions and was still in Evil Order status.

The undead rogue was about to open his mouth to ask, saying, “Our leader…”

At that moment, Nie Yan suddenly attacked, rushing toward the undead rogue with a Stun!

The undead rogue suddenly froze in place. With terror in his eyes, Nie Yan’s dagger landed a critical strike on the undead rogue, targeting a vital spot.

Nie Yan’s attack was too fast. The undead rogue never expected Nie Yan to attack him. Taken completely by surprise, he was hit before he could even think of dodging.

Nie Yan’s dagger slashed across the undead rogue’s throat, blood spurting out.

Nie Yan delivered a finishing blow, killing the undead rogue instantly.

The undead rogue’s corpse lay silently on the ground. Since the undead rogue hadn’t switched factions, if Nie Yan had approached him for contact or equipment trade, the consequences would have been very serious. To protect himself and avoid accidents, Nie Yan immediately killed the undead rogue! Nie Yan frowned slightly. Had Duo Duo forgotten their agreement? Logically, someone who had reached the position of Angel’s Fall leader shouldn’t be someone careless enough to make such a basic mistake. Perhaps something unexpected had occurred, or the undead rogue had been too careless and hadn’t taken sufficient precautions. Duo Duo shouldn’t push aside such an important partner as Nie Yan.

Nie Yan and Duo Duo’s transaction absolutely couldn’t afford any accidents. The process must be extremely cautious, or both would face trouble!

Better safe than sorry. Nie Yan didn’t want to be targeted by Carol City’s city guards.

Thinking for a moment, he continued hiding in the corner. If Angel’s Fall wanted the transaction to continue, they would definitely make their presence known. If Angel’s Fall didn’t send someone within half an hour, he would have to find another partner.