Bai Qiu had actually been quite restrained.
Over the past few days, he had been gathering information about Zone 2203.
Through his friends’ messages, he had asked Li Shi to investigate the incidents occurring there.
What he discovered was that the vast majority of people in Zone 2203 were being exploited by a gang of several hundred, led by Tang Sang…
Their levels were lower than the gang’s, and they were forced to hand over their equipment and Sanctum Coins.
At first, some people cursed them out in the cross-zone channel, but later those individuals were tracked down by Tang Sang and killed.
Gradually, no one dared to mention the matter in the cross-zone channel anymore…
It could be said that these people were steeped in evil deeds—on average, each of them had at least three lives on their hands!
Therefore, Bai Qiu planned to deal with these villains in his own way and slaughter them all.
However, Li Qingshan found him and urged him to stay his hand for the time being.
The military had already taken over Zones 2200 to 2202 and was preparing to take control of Zone 2203.
But those villains were hiding inside the safe zone and refused to come out, making it difficult to eliminate them.
Thus, Li Zhongjun hoped Bai Qiu would consider the bigger picture—stabilize the group first and sign an agreement not to harm them, luring them out of the safe zone.
That way, Bai Qiu wouldn’t have to break his word or take action himself—the military would handle them.
After all, such scum, who treated human life as worthless from the very beginning, would never be tolerated by the military!
Bai Qiu agreed.
As for the numb survivors in Zone 2203, in his eyes, they were neither worth saving nor deserving of pity—but he also had no reason to harm them.
However, Safe Zone 2203 still had its purpose.
Whenever all 51 zones successfully held out against a wave, everyone could freely gain 5 points of a chosen attribute from the system.
He could gain attributes without interfering with his enemies’ demise—why not?
Bai Qiu could afford to wait this long.
Returning to reality, Bai Qiu cast a cold glance at Fei Wu and was about to leave.
At that moment, the [Blacksmith] of Zone 2203 brought over Bai Qiu’s Purgatory Darkflame Spear.
From the outside, the weapon looked as good as new, as if it had been meticulously maintained.
“This is your weapon, right? Transcendent Adventurer, I now return it to you…”
Before the deferential [Blacksmith] could finish speaking, Bai Qiu merely raised his hand slightly.
The spear passed through the Sanctuary barrier and flew straight into his grasp.
Cold sweat broke out across Fei Wu’s forehead.
The [Blacksmith] had been less than five meters away from him—at that distance, Bai Qiu controlling the spear to kill him would have been as easy as child’s play!
Fortunately, Bai Qiu was a man of principles who honored his word!
Otherwise, the two hundred-plus lives here would have been wiped out in an instant…
Bai Qiu had no interest in observing Fei Wu’s reaction.
Instead, he looked directly at Huang Weiming and said, “Since Commander Li wants to see me, will you be coming along?”
“Our orders are to guard this place. Please go and negotiate with him yourself!” Huang Weiming replied.
Bai Qiu nodded and was just about to head toward Zone 2201 when a strange aura of curse suddenly came from afar, causing his heart to stop for an instant!
“A class curse? How is this possible…” He abruptly turned toward the direction of Zone 2204, his eyes filled with shock and gravity!
Without hesitation, Bai Qiu took a step forward and vanished like a ghost, disappearing completely without even leaving a shadow behind.
Huang Weiming was utterly confused, not understanding what Bai Qiu had meant.
However, adhering to the principle of following orders, he relayed everything Bai Qiu had just said to Zone 2201…
Although Bai Qiu didn’t know why Li Zhongjun wanted to meet him, it no longer mattered—he had to get to Zone 2204 immediately!
He had already witnessed the terror of a class curse.
If left unchecked, it would ultimately turn someone into a monster driven solely by slaughter!
A class curse occurs when one’s inner beliefs collapse, plunging them into madness and filling them with endless malicious thoughts…
As a result, a second class is formed, granting new class enhancements.
If allowed to continue distorting, it may even overwrite the original class.
This is an irreversible process, and no one knows what the future might bring…
Each safe zone was about 20 to 30 kilometers apart.
With Bai Qiu’s speed, combined with the assistance of his wind-riding skill, he quickly arrived at the source of the curse.
However, due to the expansion of the surface, the distance between safe zones was increasing every day.
It might be 25 kilometers today, but tomorrow it could be 25.5…
The curse’s aura did not come from within the safe zone, but from the entrance of a subway station outside it.
After landing, Bai Qiu surveyed his surroundings.
Confirming that the curse was indeed coming from inside, he began adjusting his Gilded Eyes to examine the environment at the subway entrance.
After the calamity descended, many buildings on the surface had been damaged to varying degrees, but underground areas often managed to escape destruction.
Although they would eventually collapse under the force of the expanding surface, for now, the subway station was still relatively intact.
With the power cut off, the entrance was shrouded in darkness—an ordinary person would have visibility of no more than fifteen meters here…
But Bai Qiu was unaffected.
His ocular technique could adjust itself to different environments, allowing him to see clearly.
On the ground, he noticed numerous traces left behind by humans…
Things like handprints from struggling—though there was no blood, it was evident that many people had been dragged into the subway station and killed.
The bloodstains left along the way had naturally been cleared by the system.
However, the marks they left behind before dying remained…
Descending the stairs, Bai Qiu finally entered the sprawling underground subway network.
The facilities here were almost perfectly preserved, aside from a few cracks caused by surface expansion and layers of dust that hadn’t been cleaned for many days.
This actually saved him from searching blindly.
He followed areas where the dust was thinner or where clear footprints could be seen.
“A storage card?” Bai Qiu picked up a card lying on the ground, murmuring in confusion.
The powerless, dim subway environment could indeed become a monster’s lair—but this clearly didn’t make sense.
Because monsters wouldn’t drag people here just to kill them.
But humans…
The contents inside the storage card were still intact.
No matter how evil or arrogant someone hiding here might be, they couldn’t possibly be unaware of the value of a storage card—unless…
As Bai Qiu pondered, a sense of foreboding rose in his heart.
While observing his surroundings, he continued picking up the storage cards scattered across the ground.
He moved through the pitch-black subway station, collecting items as he went, passing through one section after another—across powerless escalators, from Line 8 to Line 5 and then to Line 3…
Soon, he had gathered all the storage cards—there were a total of 68 of them…
Suddenly, a black shadow darted out from behind a pillar and charged at Bai Qiu.
It held an unknown long-handled weapon, its entire body wrapped in a cursed aura, making its true appearance impossible to discern.
Even his detection ability couldn’t reveal anything—only from its silhouette could he tell it was an adult male.
Bai Qiu drew his Purgatory Darkflame Spear and clashed with the opponent’s weapon.
In an instant, he knocked the weapon aside and retreated a few steps.
“My weapon is being corroded?” Bai Qiu found it hard to believe.
After that brief clash, he had already gauged the opponent’s attributes.
All around C+, with higher agility and strength.
However, the opponent’s weapon was extremely strange—the energy attached to it could actually erode his weapon.
And this was without him channeling magic or activating the Abyssal Hellfire.
If it could corrode his weapon, that meant the opponent could easily deal with any unit at C-level attributes or above.
The curse-consumed figure turned into a black blur and lunged at Bai Qiu again.
Bai Qiu used his wind-riding power, combined with the Abyssal Hellfire-infused Purgatory Darkflame Spear, to sweep him away in a single strike.
Unexpectedly, the opponent effortlessly dispersed the force and continued advancing with another thrust…
“Clang! Clang! Clang!”
Back and forth they went—no matter what techniques the shadow used, Bai Qiu parried and countered each one!
After several exchanges, Bai Qiu suddenly felt something was off.
This spear technique…
He spoke to the shadow in disbelief, “Are you Ye Lingtian?”
The shadow paused for a moment, then let out a roar and charged again, its spear striking like a torrential storm.
Gripping the end of his spear, Bai Qiu moved like a dragon in motion, his strikes reflecting starlight as their spear tips clashed once more, perfectly canceling out Ye Lingtian’s assault.
“Ye Lingtian! Don’t let the curse control your will!” Bai Qiu shouted.
Against such an assault, anyone else caught at close range would be in extreme danger.
Ye Lingtian intensified his attacks, and Bai Qiu responded in kind, countering every move.
He could tell that although Ye Lingtian had not regained his sanity, the cursed aura around him was no longer increasing.
Instead, it was gradually weakening over time.
If the spear battle continued, his own will might suppress the curse.
Thus, Bai Qiu stopped holding back and unleashed all the spear techniques he had mastered, forcing Ye Lingtian to respond with his full strength.
In terms of spear technique origins, Ye Lingtian might have been the pioneer—but Bai Qiu had surpassed him.
Even without relying on his superior attributes, he could firmly suppress him!
The cursed aura could no longer bypass Bai Qiu’s wind-riding power and Abyssal Hellfire to further corrode the Purgatory Darkflame Spear.
Realizing he was outmatched, Ye Lingtian began to retreat while fighting, switching to guerrilla tactics.
He fought while withdrawing—sometimes circling pillars to launch sudden attacks, sometimes slicing down overhead direction signs to use as obstacles against Bai Qiu.
But such hindrances could not stop him.
Bai Qiu easily shattered or swept them aside, while Ye Lingtian used those brief moments to widen the distance or counterattack…
A fierce duel between two Lancer unfolded passionately within the empty subway station—unseen and uncheered.
As he retreated, Ye Lingtian made use of everything around him to slow Bai Qiu down—metal railings used to block paths, advertisement boards, and more…
The subway station’s complex, multi-level structure gave Ye Lingtian ample space to maneuver and kite his opponent.
During this time, his skill improved by leaps and bounds!
But it still wasn’t enough.
Even after reaching this level—even though Bai Qiu had never shown any hostility—Ye Lingtian still couldn’t gain the slightest advantage against him…
Half an hour later, Bai Qiu forced Ye Lingtian into the train passage of the subway station.
Behind him was a stationary train; in front of him stood Bai Qiu, who could completely suppress him; and on both sides were solid concrete walls…
With a sudden burst of speed, Bai Qiu dashed forward.
With a single thrust, he knocked the weapon out of Ye Lingtian’s hand, then grabbed him by the throat with one hand and charged ahead, slamming him into the front of a train—leaving a deep dent before finally stopping!
“Wake up!” Bai Qiu shouted angrily.
Just as he was about to take further action—planning to use some physical force to snap Ye Lingtian out of it— The cursed aura clinging to Ye Lingtian suddenly peeled away from his body and shot toward Bai Qiu, who was only a few centimeters away…
Of everything, this cursed aura was the one thing Bai Qiu did not dare to underestimate.
He rapidly retreated while unleashing his Transcendent-level magic power.
At the same time, he drew the Dragonslayer Star Breath Spear, compressing its energy into a single point.
Before the cursed aura could touch him, he thrust his spear forward.
“Ugh… AHH!!” A sharp gust echoed alongside an enraged wail as the battle finally came to an end…
Bai Qiu withdrew the Dragonslayer Star Breath Spear and looked at Ye Lingtian, who lay atop the train’s front.
His state had returned to normal, and the cursed aura around him had been dispelled—but Bai Qiu knew this was only superficial.
This curse and malice came from within a person’s heart.
As long as that malice remained, the cursed aura would inevitably return sooner or later!
“Cough… cough!” Ye Lingtian coughed and slowly opened his eyes in confusion.
Seeing nothing but darkness around him, he immediately activated a sensory-enhancing skill.
He then saw a figure clad in gray-black armor and a cloak.
“You are… Bai Qiu?” Unable to read any of his information, Ye Lingtian could only infer his identity from the Purgatory Darkflame Spear in his hand.
“How did I end up here? Right… I remember being ambushed. I need to… take revenge!”
As he spoke, his memories resurfaced, and he struggled to get up, intent on seeking vengeance.
Bai Qiu took out a thick stack of storage cards and tossed them over.
Ye Lingtian instinctively caught them, but was immediately startled—these were storage cards that only players possessed.
Having this many meant at least dozens of people had been killed…
— The end of the Chapter–
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