129: Chapter 129: The Second Hell-Level Difficulty - The Rising Star of the Tower City Professionals Association!

Li Zhihai's expression froze. He never expected Zhang Jian to agree so readily. He had no choice but to harden his heart and grit his teeth. "Open it for them one more time, use my authorization!"

The middle-aged man busily began operating the console. This type of special activation usually required advance application and multi-party approval. However, given Li Zhihai's position, he had one opportunity every month to activate it directly.

Usually, such an opportunity was extremely precious and was reserved for key individuals. Looking at Li Zhihai, he didn't seem to have a good relationship with these young people, yet he was wasting it just like that.

He let his thoughts run wild, but his face showed no signs of it. After a few clicks, he had Li Zhihai step forward for facial recognition and Mental Energy fluctuation monitoring and verification.

Watching Zhang Jian and the other three enter again, Li Zhihai's expression was gloomy, and the middle-aged man didn't dare to speak. A staff member who happened to pass by and wanted to greet them sensed the strange atmosphere and was scared into quietly taking a detour.

Li Zhihai cursed incessantly in his heart. "Rangers, put in some effort and kill them! Boss, summon more [Ghost Beasts] and make them suffer."

Countless fantastical scenes appeared in his mind. In an instant, he imagined all sorts of ways for Zhang Jian and his group to die. Just as his mental state was becoming nearly deranged,

Bang! Golden light rose once again. Fireworks exploded in clusters. The scene from before appeared again. Only this time, a few rainbows faintly appeared in the sky. The dazzling light shone on the Dungeon entrance, looking extremely beautiful.

The middle-aged man opened his mouth wide, his eyes filled with disbelief. "They broke the record again?" "How much time has even passed!"

Li Zhihai also stared blankly at the four people walking out again. He felt a sense of absurdity in his heart. "Was the time I spent thinking really that long?"

But this time, amidst the excitement on Zhang Jian and the others' faces, there was also a hint of solemnity. They just hurriedly nodded at the middle-aged man and left directly. They didn't even spare Li Zhihai a glance.

Just as he was feeling puzzled, a scream came from the middle-aged man. "Director, something big has happened!" "They didn't just break the record." "They… activated the Hell difficulty!"

His words were like a thunderbolt, freezing Li Zhihai in his tracks. Hell difficulty? What a niche term.

Wasn't this the terrifying difficulty that only those big shots who had undergone the Second Job Change or Third Job Change, the elite talents of major academies, or the peerless Prodigies of various Families dared to attempt in order to increase their faction's Dungeon heritage?

Could such a thing happen in a small place like the Ta City Professionals Association?

He walked forward woodenly. Under the middle-aged man's operation, he saw the changed status within the Dungeon. A sense of fear couldn't help but rise in his heart. Things seemed to be gradually spiraling out of control…

Just then, a gust of wind swept in. Li Zhihai's expression changed, and he was about to rebuke, but upon seeing the figure that descended from the sky in front of the Dungeon, he nodded respectfully instead. "President, why are you here?"

The usually amiable President Li Husheng of the Ta City Professionals Association was now looking anxious. "Where are the people who activated the Hell difficulty?"

The middle-aged man pointed in a direction. "They left in a hurry after clearing it." "Sigh!" "What are you all doing? How could you not properly keep such top-tier talents so I could have a chance to meet them?"

Li Zhihai felt a sense of foreboding, but still steeled himself to reply. "President, they're just a few students who got lucky; there's no need for you to go to such great lengths, right?"

"Got lucky?" Li Husheng narrowed his eyes, and his expression suddenly turned dangerous. "Li Zhihai, as a mid-level cadre of the Professionals Association, is this all the vision and awareness you have?"

Li Zhihai realized he had said the wrong thing, and sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. "President, it was a slip of the tongue." "I didn't expect them to have such results after only running the Dungeon twice; I spoke without thinking in my haste."

A flash of shock crossed Li Husheng's eyes. "Only ran it twice?" He turned to look at the light screen in front of the Dungeon, his eyes shining. "The first time was 37 minutes, and the second time it broke through to 29 minutes, activating the Hell difficulty." "Such a rate of progress is simply incredible."

"If we provide them with some resources to improve their strength, it's even possible for them to truly clear the Hell difficulty Dungeon in a short time!" His words left the group of mid-to-high-level Professionals Association members who had rushed over completely astonished.

"Clear the Hell difficulty?" "Let alone our Ta City, even in the entire Long Province, there aren't many cleared Hell difficulty Dungeons." "If they really have that kind of strength, our Ta City is going to become famous!" "More than just famous, I'm afraid we'll become renowned throughout all of China!"

Listening to everyone's exclamations, the panic in Li Zhihai's heart only intensified. Those two kids, just by getting into Galaxy Academy, were enough to make his respected older brother lose his composure, and even mobilizing his connections only won him a chance to apologize.

If these people were really as others said and could clear a Hell difficulty Dungeon, what kind of status and fame would they reach by then? Perhaps… he wouldn't even be qualified to apologize!

He couldn't help but mutter. "It's only an initial activation; to clear it, I'm afraid it will require a long time of exploration…"

Li Husheng nodded. "Hell difficulty is on another level entirely. Even if they are exceptionally talented, I'm afraid they will need to raise their strength by another one or two tiers to achieve it." "Conservatively speaking, they would need everyone to be level 25, have a full set of legendary rank equipment, and undergo a few more trial challenges before they have a chance."

Li Zhihai felt a sense of relief. If that's the case, he still had plenty of time to think of countermeasures? Taking advantage of everyone enthusiastically discussing the matter and no one paying attention to him, he quietly left the Dungeon area.

He was impatient to contact his older brother. "Brother, the opponent has become stronger again; it's all up to you!"

… Emerging from the Professionals Association, the group was still in high spirits. "I really didn't expect this time to be so smooth; we activated the Hell difficulty directly."

"That's because Brother Jian's skills are just too powerful; the clearing speed is ridiculously fast. Let alone other 10-person teams, even with more people, they wouldn't have this kind of efficiency."

"Brother Jian naturally deserves 99% of the credit, and the other 1% is thanks to me singing to maintain everyone's stamina."

"Bullshit! That 1% is clearly thanks to my Ice Crystal Fortress, which keeps the monsters from running around, so Brother Jian's skills can be released so smoothly."

As they discussed, they started arguing about who was the minor hero with the second-highest contribution. After bickering for a while, they all turned their expectant gazes toward Zhang Jian. "Brother Jian, be the judge; whose contribution is more significant?"

Zhang Jian smiled and shook his head, not joining in their idle chatter. In his heart, however, he was pondering a question. If he wanted to clear the Hell difficulty quickly and even obtain a good rating, what aspects did he actually need to focus on?