"Bastards!"
Lin Xiyue ground her teeth, forcing the word out through clenched jaws.
Her Paladin's sense of justice made her feel physically disgusted by such vile treachery hidden beneath the mask of an ally.
Xia Lian pressed her lips together tightly, silent.
Her eyes, usually tinged with shyness, now held only cold, lingering fear.
They had nearly become nameless sacrifices in this massive conspiracy.
If their squad hadn't been strong enough, if Lin Qingyue hadn't possessed those absurdly powerful "ultimate moves," what would their fate have been?
Forcibly "converted" by the Evil God Avatar, turned into mindless fanatics to nourish the Evil God.
Or, "purified" as "heretics" by that cold Steam Mecha Legion.
The thought that many fellow compatriots, and even teams from other nations, were still fighting desperately in this meticulously arranged slaughterhouse...
...made the air in the cave grow increasingly heavy.
The enemy had never been just the monsters and Evil Gods in the dungeon.
The deadliest blade came from the so-called "ally" lurking in the shadows, holding all the informational advantage, ready to strike from behind at any moment!
As the saying goes, "When fellow countrymen meet, they shoot each other in the back"...
"This is already beyond what a rookie squad like ours can handle." Xia Lian's voice was low, but every word was clear.
"This intelligence must be sent out immediately! All the Purifiers in this dungeon are in danger!"
"How do we send it?" Lin Xiyue asked anxiously. "Use a Life-saving Talisman? After a forced exit, who knows where in the world we'll be teleported when we re-enter!"
Conventional methods were clearly not an option.
But...
Lin Qingyue looked at her teammates' anxious and grave faces, her own gaze turning utterly calm in that moment.
It was an absolute coldness that arose when a bottom line had been crossed.
Yet beneath that icy exterior, a flame named "excitement," belonging to a chaos-lover, still burned.
Nation-level PvP?
Heh, now this was interesting.
"I have a way!"
She spoke suddenly, silencing the cave.
Under the astonished gazes of her three teammates, Lin Qingyue performed an action they couldn't comprehend at all.
She extended her right hand, her slender fingers lightly tapping the ground before her.
A palm-sized golden array lit up silently. Its intricate runes seemed to have been directly "carved" from the very fabric of reality, quietly taking shape.
[Ding! "Chronocognitive Anchor No. 3" successfully set!]
"Sis, what are you..." Lin Xiyue's voice cracked with shock.
Lin Qingyue didn't explain, just turned back and smiled at them.
That smile was filled with the calm reassurance of someone saying, "Just sit back and watch the show."
The next second, a much larger, pale gold magic circle erupted beneath her feet!
Layers of light surged upward, and space twisted violently.
Ten seconds later, her figure vanished into thin air.
Inside the cave, only Lin Xiyue, Su Wan, and Xia Lian remained, staring blankly at the spot on the ground that now showed no trace of anything unusual.
Space teleportation?
No!
This was... cross-world teleportation?!
What kind of unheard-of, outrageous ability was this?!
After a dozen seconds, Lin Xiyue finally broke free from her petrified state and muttered to herself.
"Sis... she just... went back like that?"
She felt like her sister had completely evolved into a being beyond her comprehension.
"It must be some kind of extremely rare Space Beacon ability."
Su Wan forced her brain to work, data streams flashing rapidly in her azure eyes as she performed a logical analysis.
"The cost and limitations must be immense; otherwise, she wouldn't have kept it unused for so long."
Xia Lian was the first to recover from the shock. A hunter's instinct made her immediately grip her shortbow, her gaze as sharp as a blade.
"On guard! The Captain could return at any moment. We must ensure this 'beacon' remains absolutely secure!"
Lin Xiyue and Su Wan instantly snapped awake.
They cleared their minds of all distractions, flanking the invisible teleport point on either side. Their expressions turned grim, and their entire focus locked onto the cave entrance.
-
Tianshu University, Tingzhu Garden, Dorm 206.
After a slight spatial fluctuation, Lin Qingyue's figure appeared beside her soft, large bed.
The familiar scent of her bedsheets washed over her, a stark contrast between heaven and hell compared to the dungeon's earthy stench.
"Home sweet home,"
she managed to sigh before turning and rushing out of the dorm room.
Her long pink hair streaked across the campus in a stunning arc, drawing countless gazes.
Ancient Martial Arts Academy, Vice Dean's Office.
Bang!
The door was violently thrown open.
Chen Jing, buried in paperwork, looked up, startled by the loud noise. She saw Lin Qingyue leaning against the doorframe, her chest heaving violently.
Chen Jing froze for a moment, then her eyes flashed with sharp intensity. A powerful aura, as solid as a mountain, erupted from her before she forcefully suppressed it in the next instant.
"Lin Qingyue?!" Chen Jing's voice was incredibly grave. "How did you get back? Did you abandon the mission?"
"No, something terrible has happened!"
Lin Qingyue rushed to the desk in three quick strides. In the fastest, most concise language possible, she poured out everything about the dungeon: the "Prophet," America's shocking conspiracy, and the truth that the "Joint Purification" was actually a "Joint Strangulation."
As Lin Qingyue spoke, Chen Jing's expression darkened with each passing moment.
By the end, her face was ashen.
"Good! Very good, America!"
Bang!
She slammed her palm on the desk, and fine, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the surface of the solid ebony wood!
"They're trying to wipe out all of China's geniuses stuck at the critical point in one fell swoop!"
The terrifying killing intent radiating from this usually gentle Ancient Martial Arts master made the air in the office feel as if it had frozen solid.
"Qingyue, you did well."
Chen Jing took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her boiling rage. Her gaze burned as she pressed, "Can you go back? To your original position?"
"Yes," Lin Qingyue nodded.
"Good!" Chen Jing's eyes grew incredibly sharp. She didn't ask how Lin Qingyue could do it; that wasn't important.
"This intelligence is invaluable! I'll report it immediately and activate the highest-level emergency protocol!"
She stared at Lin Qingyue and said in a commanding tone:
"Return at once! Your primary mission is to ensure your absolute safety! If the situation allows, you may inform other teams at your discretion! But remember, if the situation becomes untenable, retreat immediately! Your lives are more important than any achievement! Understand?"
"Understood," Lin Qingyue nodded obediently.
But inwardly, she was silently complaining:
Retreat? What kind of international joke is that?
That's a fragment of my Queen Wifey's world. I won't yield a single inch!
Besides, I've already faced an Evil God's avatar head-on. This is just some guy hiding behind the scenes, playing strategist.
Perfect. This adds some thrilling PvP difficulty to my otherwise tedious 'anti-fraud' work!
After bidding farewell to Chen Jing, Lin Qingyue returned to the Dungeon Cave amidst a ripple of spatial fluctuations.
Seeing her appear out of thin air, Lin Xiyue and the other two finally felt their anxious hearts settle back into place.
"It's done."
Lin Qingyue waved her hand, dispelling the anchor point on the ground, and gave her teammates a supremely confident smile.
"The intel has been reported through Teacher Chen. The higher-ups told us to act according to the situation, prioritize safety, and retreat if necessary."
She scanned her three teammates, her pink eyes sparkling, and asked:
"So, do we find a place to lie low and wait for reinforcements, or..."
"Lie low?"
Lin Xiyue was the first to slam her massive shield, Blackstone's Protection, heavily onto the ground!
Thud!
The dull, heavy sound echoed through the cave.
"Those bastards are practically stomping on our faces! How can we tolerate this? Let's fuck 'em up!"
"I agree." Su Wan adjusted her non-existent glasses, her lenses reflecting cold killing intent. "That 'Prophet' must pay for what he's done."
Xia Lian said nothing.
She simply nocked a special arrow, coated with a potent neurotoxin, onto her bowstring.
Her stance said it all.
Excellent.
The whole squad's in villain mode, their spirits soaring.
Lin Qingyue smiled with satisfaction.
"Since we're all in agreement, the original plan remains unchanged."
Her gaze pierced through the cave entrance, fixed on the long, narrow darkness in the canyon depths that swallowed all light.
"Plan B 2.0, proceed as scheduled!"
Lin Xiyue shouldered her massive shield, asking excitedly, "Sis, what's the plan? Do we lie in wait for those metal clunkers to come to us?"
"Wait?"
Lin Qingyue's lips curled into a smirk, her pink eyes gleaming with a mix of cunning and fervor.
"No, we're going to them."
In her hand, the phantom image of a new card flickered briefly, revealing a gray-haired figure on its surface.
"This is the perfect chance to test one of my 'Heroic Spirits' on them."
"She might be surprisingly effective against purely mechanical constructs."
"Let's go, partners."
Lin Qingyue took the lead, striding into the profound darkness.
"Today, we'll show the Mother of Rebirth and her 'Prophet' strategist exactly..."
"What a professional Gundam demolition team looks like!"