"A powerful monster isn't actually going to charge out of this house in the end, is it?"
Lin Bei stared intently at the swaying Small Wooden House in the distance, feeling suspicious.
"Forget it. I'll focus on grinding enough experience first!"
"As for the other matters, we'll talk about them later!"
Lin Bei gritted his teeth, continued issuing commands, and launched a massive sweep of the surrounding Black Mist Area.
Another half hour passed.
This time, Lin Bei had mastered the process, commanding the Tank Army with greater ease, and his efficiency in killing monsters was greatly improved.
Before long, he finally lit the last Bonfire.
It was close to the hundred Bonfires he had imagined—there were actually ninety-nine Bonfires in the surrounding Mist Area!
Of course, excluding the very first Bonfire, he had personally lit ninety-eight Bonfires in total.
In other words, just the experience gained from lighting the Bonfires added up to 490,000 experience points!
As for the experience gained from grinding monsters, it remained constant at 100 experience points per Mist Monster, regardless of how strong they became.
Therefore, throughout the entire sweep, he killed tens of thousands of monsters and gained over a million experience points!
Although the harvest was this abundant, the entire process only cost him some fuel, ammunition, and less than two hours of time.
Lin Bei was not in a hurry to level up and gain Combat Power. Since he was currently in the Underworld, if he carelessly increased his Combat Power here and ran into trouble, Heaven knows what result awaited him!
So, to be safe, he planned to return to his own territory before slowly leveling up and improving his Combat Power.
"According to Stinky Treasure, I've not only swept clean all the Mist Monsters but also lit all the Bonfires. Logically speaking, if I return now, I should be able to get a Challenge Rating surpassing excellent, right?"
Lin Bei glanced at the solitary Small Wooden House standing far away and dismissed the idea of going closer to investigate.
He knew well that "curiosity killed the cat." He had already gained enough experience, and it was time to use the Teleportation Stone to return and claim the final Underworld Challenge reward.
"I don't know what's going on with the sturdy Barrier surrounding this area. With my current firepower, I could originally continue exploring larger Mist Areas to gain experience."
"It's a shame that this place is entirely covered by the Barrier, preventing me from exploring the Mist Areas further away."
"It seems I'll have to ask Stinky Treasure about the Barrier later."
"And that strange Small Wooden House always gives off a peculiar sense of incongruity."
Lin Bei took one last look at the swaying Small Wooden House, put away the Tank Army, held the Teleportation Stone, and silently chanted "Teleport" in his mind.
However, the Teleportation Stone in his hand remained completely still, emitting no energy fluctuations whatsoever.
"Damn it, this thing isn't fake, is it?"
"Why is it failing me at the critical moment?"
"If I get trapped in this godforsaken place, what the hell am I supposed to do?!"
Lin Bei panicked internally, repeated the operation several times, but found that the Teleportation Stone still had no reaction!
At the same time, the strange feeling deep in his heart became increasingly obvious.
It seemed... he really had been targeted by some unknown entity!
[Notice: Because you lit all the Bonfires in the Mist Area and cleared all surrounding monsters, the sleeping Disqualified One has been awakened!]
[Notice: You have been locked onto by the Disqualified One, and Space Teleportation Items are temporarily unusable!]
[Notice: Hidden Challenge triggered—The Disqualified One's Pursuit!]
[Notice: Persist for half an hour under The Disqualified One's Pursuit, and you will receive amazing rewards!]
Suddenly, a series of notification messages rang in Lin Bei's ears.
But before he could recover, a chilling, cackling laugh ("Jie jie") suddenly came from inside the swaying Small Wooden House in the distance.
Creak.
The wooden door, which Lin Bei couldn't break even with a powerful punch earlier, was slowly pushed open by a bloodless, ghastly white hand.
Subsequently, a thin, humanoid figure stumbled out of the dilapidated wooden house, illuminated by the flickering light of the Bonfire.
Only then did Lin Bei truly see its real appearance.
The humanoid figure was wrapped layer upon layer in white cloth, resembling a mummy.
However, its hands were exposed, ghastly white as if all the blood had been drained. Its dark claws shimmered with an eerie glow; just a glance was enough to make one dizzy, as if suffering severe Spirit pollution.
"Damn it, what kind of monster is this mummy called 'Disqualified One'? It feels different from those little runts in the Mist before; this is clearly a Boss!"
"And I apparently can't look directly at it, or if I stare for too long, I get dizzy and feel like vomiting!"
Lin Bei sensed the aura of pollution emanating from the humanoid monster wrapped like a mummy, and his expression was grave.
According to the notification, he needed to survive the opponent's pursuit for at least half an hour.
But this thing... for some reason, its body was filled with an aura of decay, causing him instinctive revulsion.
"Blood... blood..."
"Fresh... delicious... Jie jiejie..."
In the distance, the mouth of the mummy monster, wrapped in white cloth strips, opened and closed, emitting low, yet maniacal, cackling sounds.
Swoosh!
An afterimage flashed by, and the mummy monster instantly burst with speed, rushing towards Lin Bei's location like an arrow shot in the dark night!
"Jie hahahaha! Fresh blood! Fresh blood! Hahaha!"
The sound arrived before the creature.
The Disqualified One mummy forcefully spread its exposed hands, the dark glow on its claws captivating the soul, and lunged straight for Lin Bei's throat!
"Holy crap, so fast!"
Seeing this, Lin Bei's expression changed drastically.
Almost instantaneously, he subconsciously activated Potential Surge.
Boom—!!!
A torrent of hot Qi and Blood Power surged from his body into his limbs. Lin Bei's skin turned pale red, and wisps of steam floated out from within him. His appearance... was exactly like Pirate King Luffy when he activated Gear Two!
At this moment, the trajectory of the Disqualified One mummy's attack was no longer blurry to him; instead, it became clearly visible!
In the span of a breath, Lin Bei's Combat Power doubled entirely!
His Combat Power instantly soared from the original 1005 points to 2010 points!
[Potential Surge: Active Skill. When activated, it unleashes the potential surging within the body, increasing Combat Power by 100%. Duration: 30 seconds. Cooldown: 300 seconds.]
However, this was not the end!
"Explosive Destruction, activate!"
Lin Bei roared and directly activated his Demolitionist Level 20 Exclusive Skill.
"Extreme Speed!"
"Extreme Flash!"
These were the two Combat Effects of the Lingbo Treading-the-Sky Boots!
"Heaven Moves Vigorously!"
"Earths Embrace!"
These were the two Combat Effects of the kun bag!
In an instant, Lin Bei's pupils contracted sharply, his will to survive exploded, and his brain raced, applying every temporary power-boosting method he could use onto himself!
A Bagua Formation Plate descended from the sky, enveloping the surrounding area. At the same time, Lin Bei felt a surge of mighty power rise within him!
[Notice: You have gained the "Heaven Moves Vigorously" bonus effect! All attributes increased by 100%. Duration: thirty minutes!]
Simultaneously, an Energy Daoist Robe embroidered with the Taiji Yin-Yang Fish pattern covered the surface of his body, instantly sweeping away the Spirit pollution inflicted by the Disqualified One mummy!
[Notice: You have gained the "Earths Embrace" bonus effect! Defends against all surrounding attacks. Duration: thirty minutes!]
A mighty aura instantly erupted centered around Lin Bei!
Before Lin Bei even made a move, the massive Qi and Blood Power impact directly sent the aggressively charging Disqualified One mummy flying away faster than it had arrived!
"Gah?"
The Disqualified One, utterly confused, landed awkwardly like a kite with a broken string, face-planting directly into the ground.
At this moment, it lay sprawled on the ground in a large 'X' shape, motionless, its mind blank.
Its originally chaotic thoughts surprisingly regained a moment of clarity.
"What exactly is going on?"
"Clearly... I was supposed to be the Hunter, right?"