132: The illusion of the Mirror Sea Corridor

After a brief rest, Lin Mo led the elite team of the Shadowless Hall into the newly appeared Teleportation Array.

A faint sense of weightlessness washed over them, and the scenery before their eyes shifted rapidly. When their vision cleared again, they found themselves inside a dazzling, bizarre corridor.

The walls, floor, and even the ceiling of this corridor were constructed from a strange, mirror-smooth crystal.

Inside the crystal, streams of light seemed to flow slowly, illuminating the entire space to look like a surreal dream.

Countless rays of light refracted back and forth between the mirrored surfaces, creating thousands upon thousands of distorted reflections, making anyone who looked feel dizzy.

"Where... where is this place?" Glass under the Moon looked around in awe. "It's beautiful, but also... so eerie."

Her voice stirred up layers of echoes in the corridor, as if countless people were speaking at once.

Lin Mo’s brow furrowed tightly. He keenly sensed that the space here seemed unstable.

The air was filled with a dense concentration of water elements and mental energy, making it feel as if one had fallen into a deep-sea dream.

"Everyone, back to back, form a defensive formation," Lin Mo commanded in a low voice. "Scouts, lead the way, watch your footing and... everything in the mirrors."

As soon as the order was given, the team immediately sprang into action.

However, just as the scout "Night Raven" cautiously took his first step forward, an anomaly suddenly occurred!

On the mirrored wall in front of Night Raven, his reflection suddenly displayed a sinister smile.

The next second, that reflection seemed to gain Life and literally "walked" out of the mirror!

This "Night Raven" that stepped out of the mirror was identical to the original—equipment, ID, and the weapon in his hand—except for his eyes, which glowed with a faint blue light.

[Mirrored Phantom · Night Raven] (LV61 - Special)

"Holy crap!" Night Raven himself jumped in fright and instinctively took a step back.

The Mirrored Phantom, however, did not hesitate for a moment. Its movements were swift as the wind, and the dagger in its hand flashed with cold light, thrusting straight toward Night Raven's throat! It was clearly the scout's signature skill, [Garrote]!

"Watch out!"

Fortunately, Iron Wall reacted quickly. He dashed over with [Intervene] and blocked the fatal blow with his shield.

"Clang!"

Sparks flew everywhere.

"What's going on? How does it know my skills?" Night Raven yelled, still shaken.

"It's a mirror image! This place is copying us into phantoms!" Lin Mo instantly understood the mechanism. "Everyone, prepare to fight! Your opponents are yourselves!"

As soon as he finished speaking, one "Mirrored Phantom" after another—copies of the Shadowless Hall members—stepped out of the countless mirrored surfaces lining the corridor.

Iron Wall, Summer Rain, Glass under the Moon... even Lin Mo himself had an identical duplicate.

In an instant, the entire corridor was packed, and an unprecedented massive brawl of "fighting yourself" began.

"How... how are we supposed to fight this?" A chorus of wails immediately rose from the team.

They knew their own skills, equipment, and attributes better than anyone.

Facing an opponent identical to themselves, whose AI might even operate with more precision than they did, everyone felt a profound sense of powerlessness.

Iron Wall's opponent, also shielded by [Aegis of the Sea God], perfectly executed the essence of "defensive counterattack" with every move, making him feel like he was wrestling an insurmountable mountain.

Summer Rain’s opponent accurately predicted her every Healer spell and countered with skills like [Silence] and [Dispel], leaving her with ample healing power but no way to use it.

The battle instantly fell into a stalemate, or arguably, a disadvantage for them.

Because these Mirrored Phantoms were fearless, their attacks were executed without hesitation and their coordination was flawless, while the players were constrained, having to constantly guard against their own signature killing moves.

"Guild Master, we can't keep this up! Our mana is running out!" Wind Whisperer shouted anxiously.

Lin Mo's situation was equally grim.

His opponent, [Mirrored Phantom · Lin Mo], had perfectly inherited his ghostly movement technique and tricky attack angles, and even the Endless Poison Source talent had been copied!

Two purple figures constantly weaved through the battlefield, the crisp sound of daggers clashing echoing incessantly.

Lin Mo already had over a dozen stacks of Deadly Poison on him, and his Life was continuously dropping.

While dodging "his own" attacks, he rapidly thought of a countermeasure.

A head-on clash would definitely be a dead end.

The energy of these Phantoms seemed infinite, while the players' mana and potions were limited.

He had to find their weakness!

Weakness... what was the weakness?

Lin Mo's gaze quickly swept across the entire battlefield.

He noticed a detail: although these Mirrored Phantoms were powerful, their behavior pattern seemed to be an exact "replication" of the players' actions.

That is to say, whatever skill you used, it would use a skill to counter it. Whatever tactic you employed, it would respond with the exact same tactic.

They... lacked "creativity"!

A bold idea surfaced in Lin Mo's mind.

"Everyone, listen to my command!" Lin Mo’s voice was clearly transmitted through the guild channel to everyone's ears. "Abandon your most practiced fighting styles! Switch your attack targets!"

"What does that mean?" Everyone was stunned.

"It means the Tank goes after the Healer phantom, the DPS goes after the Tank phantom, and Healers... you use discipline spells to attack the Mage and Archer phantoms!" Lin Mo's instructions sounded insane.

"Isn't this... just reckless?"

"Execute the order!" Lin Mo's tone was absolute.

Although full of confusion, everyone immediately complied out of trust in Lin Mo.

Thus, a comical yet bizarre scene unfolded on the battlefield.

The tough and durable Iron Wall abandoned his evenly matched opponent and instead chased after a fragile "Mirrored Summer Rain," hacking fiercely at her.

Meanwhile, Glass under the Moon and the other Ranged DPS began frantically outputting damage onto the tough "Mirrored Iron Wall."

The most ridiculous sight was Summer Rain and the other Priests: they put away their Healer staves, muttered clumsy attack incantations, and sent slow, faint Holy Light bolts toward the high-attack, low-defense Ranged Phantoms.

The moment the tactics changed, a miracle occurred!

When Iron Wall started attacking "Mirrored Summer Rain," the Phantom's AI seemed to plunge into Chaos.

Its Logic, set as a "Healer," made it subconsciously try to heal itself and retreat, rather than engage in a head-on clash like "Mirrored Iron Wall."

And when the Ranged DPS started focusing fire on "Mirrored Iron Wall," the Tank Phantom, which only knew [Taunt] and [Block], had no effective way to counter the overwhelming spells and arrows, and could only passively take the hits.

In that instant, the tide of battle reversed!

"It's working!"

"Damn, these Phantoms got stupid!"

"The Guild Master is a genius! He figured this out!"

Bursts of surprised cheers erupted in the guild channel.

A slight smile also appeared at the corner of Lin Mo's mouth. He had gambled correctly.

The AI of these Mirrored Phantoms was based on "class counterplay" and "combat templates."

When the players broke convention and attacked them with completely illogical "random strikes," they essentially attacked the weakest point of their AI Logic, instantly turning them from "experts" into "idiots."

"Don't stop! Press the advantage and clear them out!"

Lin Mo himself abandoned the difficult one-on-one fight with "himself" and, with a flash of movement, joined the ranks besieging "Mirrored Iron Wall."

[Poison Blade]! [Corrosion]! [Poison Burst]!

Stacks of Deadly Poison rapidly accumulated, rendering Mirrored Iron Wall's proud defense completely useless in the face of the Corrosion effect.

Ten minutes later, as the last Mirrored Phantom dissolved into motes of light, the entire Mirror Sea Corridor returned to tranquility.

Everyone was panting with exhaustion, but their faces were alight with the excitement of having survived a close call.

"That was too intense... I almost thought we were going to die here today," Iron Wall said, still feeling lingering fear.

"Guild Master, how does your brain even work? You managed to figure out a way to break this situation," Glass under the Moon said, her eyes sparkling.

Lin Mo smiled, not offering much explanation.

He walked to the end of the corridor, where all the mirrors had vanished like melting ice and snow, revealing a massive water curtain gate leading to the next area.

In front of the gate, an ornate treasure chest quietly floated, emitting the enticing glow of a clearance reward.

Lin Mo stepped forward and opened it.

This time, the chest contained no equipment, but a skill book radiating a faint golden light.

[Mass Ghost Shadow Step] (Rare Skill Book)

Requirement: Shadow of Deadly Poison class or related advanced class.

Effect: Consumes a large amount of energy to allow you and all teammates within a 50-yard radius to simultaneously enter Stealth, increasing movement speed by 30% for 10 seconds.

The first attack while in Stealth will deal 50% additional damage. Cooldown: 1 hour.

"Mass Stealth!"

Seeing the attributes of this skill book, everyone gasped.

This was practically a strategic divine skill!

Whether used for mass assault, dodging fatal attacks, or strategic retreat, this skill could play a role beyond imagination.

A team that possessed "Mass Stealth" essentially possessed infinite possibilities!

"Guild Master, this... this is too heaven-defying!"

A trace of delight flashed in Lin Mo's eyes.

He learned the skill book without hesitation.

With [Mass Ghost Shadow Step], the tactical flexibility of their Shadowless Hall would be elevated to a whole new level.

"Rest up and recover your status," Lin Mo said, glancing at the water curtain gate. "The challenges ahead will likely be even tougher."

Everyone nodded in unison, their hearts filled with anticipation and fighting spirit.

The mysterious veil of the Soul-Guiding Lighthouse was being peeled back, layer by layer.