39: The rules of the shady world, the desolate land.

Seeing that the leader was an old man, Boqi frowned slightly.

This old man was old enough to be his father; he wouldn't be here to extort a pension, would he?

Upon seeing the other five people, he dispelled his doubts and smiled.

"Hello, I'm Boqi, the mayor of Mont Town. Thank you for coming."

After speaking, Boqi even bowed to them as a sign of respect.

Chen Beixuan and the others looked at the mayor, who had small eyes and a long, drooping mustache, with strange expressions.

Especially that black middle-parted hair, it was as if the words 'traitor' were written on his face!

Lu Ziming covered his mouth and leaned into Chen Beixuan's ear, whispering.

"He wouldn't be the final BOSS, would he...?"

Chen Beixuan turned his head and glanced at him, saying grumpily, "First! Don't judge a book by its cover!"

"Second!...This kid doesn't look like a good person!"

Lu Ziming narrowed his eyes, a row of black lines appearing on his forehead.

"Then he's still a bad person, isn't he...?"

"Stop dawdling, go quickly and accept the quest," Chen Beixuan glared.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll listen to you, Grandpa Chen."

Lu Ziming's expression returned to normal, and he stepped forward, speaking.

"Mayor, hello. We are here for the Black Curtain matter. Do you still need manpower here?"

"Yes! Very much so!"

Boqi answered without hesitation, but then seemed to hesitate, wanting to speak but holding back.

Finally, stroking his mustache, he said, "Do you all understand the dangers within this Black Curtain? It's no exaggeration to say it's a place of certain death. Do you really want to go?"

Boqi ultimately couldn't resist the condemnation of his conscience and kindly offered a reminder.

Chen Beixuan and the others were all players, naturally unafraid of death.

Lu Ziming smiled and said, "We've all looked into it. You just need to tell us what to do and what to pay attention to."

"This...sigh, alright."

Seeing that they were determined to go, Boqi simply stopped trying to persuade them.

"There's very little information about the Black Curtain world. We only know two things."

"First, all light-based abilities within the Black Curtain world are ineffective, including healing, potions, and recovery abilities."

"Second, the dark aura inside will corrupt your power. The longer you stay, the deeper the corruption."

"My people will take you to the edge of the Black Curtain. I wish you good luck."

[Ding! Boqi has issued you an A-rank quest [Black Curtain Investigation]. Do you accept?]

Lu Ziming didn't accept immediately but turned to look at Chen Beixuan.

Chen Beixuan called them together and stated his guess.

"The first point is that healing and recovery are ineffective, and the second is a continuous reduction in attributes. Not only do we need high damage, but we also can't make any mistakes."

"I think the fewer people, the better. It's best if it's just Lu Ziming and me. That would be the most stable."

The others nodded upon hearing this.

Grandpa Chen's strength was obvious to all; they would only be a hindrance if they went.

At this moment, Super Dad suddenly spoke.

"I want to go too. Although I'm a Healer, because of my talent, I might be useful."

As he spoke, he even showed his talent to Chen Beixuan.

"Yin-Yang Reversal, no wonder he could reach second place as a Healer..."

Chen Beixuan was slightly surprised; it was an S-rank talent.

Damage skills converting to healing might exploit a loophole in the rules.

"Alright, the three of us will go together."

After making the decision, the other three decisively withdrew from the team.

Lu Ziming had no objections to this; with Grandpa Chen around, he felt quite secure.

After accepting the quest, the three followed the mayor's subordinate to the edge of the Black Curtain.

Only when they truly arrived before the Black Curtain could they experience that shocking feeling.

The massive Black Curtain stretched straight up to the sky, with no discernible edges.

Although described as black, it had a hint of transparency.

They could even vaguely see the town and pedestrians on the other side.

The mayor's subordinate was a Middle-aged Man.

At this moment, seeing their expressions, he smiled and reminded them.

"Don't be fooled. What you see and what's inside the Black Curtain are two completely different things."

"I can only take you this far. Just walk directly into the Black Curtain. I wish you good luck."

After speaking, he bowed to the three and slowly turned to leave.

As he left, he couldn't help but shake his head regretfully.

"Sigh...I'll have to prepare three more gravestones..."

It wasn't until the man had walked far away that Chen Beixuan and the other two came back to their senses.

"Is it really that mystical...?"

Lu Ziming muttered to himself, feeling a bit uneasy.

"Mystical or not, you'll know once you go in. Let's go!"

Chen Beixuan chuckled and stepped into the Black Curtain.

The remaining two exchanged glances and hurriedly followed...

......

[Ding! You have entered a new map [Desolate Land]!]

Composing themselves, the three began to survey their surroundings.

Cracked, dry yellow earth, dead tree trunks, rotting animal skeletons, and dense fog.

Although it was outside, it was eerily windless, and the surroundings were chillingly quiet.

The fog was very thick, with visibility only about 5 meters, making it easy to get lost.

The Black Curtain behind them was already gone; clearly, there was no way to exit.

"Oh my, this is too terrifying. Why did the game make it so realistic...?"

Lu Ziming's face turned pale, and he unconsciously leaned closer to Grandpa Chen.

Super Dad also had a solemn expression, gripping his staff a little tighter.

Chen Beixuan, however, was a bit better, having gone through the Fengshi Village dungeon.

He already had his own method for dealing with a terrifying atmosphere.

"The Motherland makes me strong!"

After silently repeating it a few times, he immediately felt much better.

His gaze narrowed, he tapped his staff on the ground, and chanted softly.

"Protective Flame!"

Whoosh--

Flames and a magic circle appeared simultaneously, protecting the three of them.

"Stay inside the magic circle. Don't fall behind."

After saying that, he walked forward.

When unable to discern directions, one could only choose one direction and keep moving forward.

Lu Ziming followed closely.

He even carefully pinched Chen Beixuan's clothes with his fingers, afraid of falling behind.

Super Dad, meanwhile, walked while curiously observing the blue magic circle.

When he saw his dual resistances on his character panel surge by nearly 500 points, he was once again shocked.

At the same time, he felt incredibly wise for his decision to join the Defy the Heavens Guild.

As the saying goes, choice is greater than effort.

As long as he could keep up with Uncle Chen, even if he didn't completely soar, just a little bit would make him well-fed and content.

He would definitely not starve!

Don't tell him that the second-ranked person should have integrity.

It was precisely because he was ranked second that he knew just how strong the first-ranked Uncle Chen was.

He had no regrets about his choice!

[Ding! You have been corrupted by dark power. Physical and magical attack power decreases by 1% per minute. Current: 1 stack!]

The three simultaneously received the prompt and unconsciously quickened their pace.

When the corruption stacks reached 10, they finally encountered monsters.

As a chilling wind blew past, a string of -0 suddenly appeared above Lu Ziming's head.

He instinctively turned to check, only to meet eyes with a blue skull phantom!

"Ah!!!!"

Lu Ziming's face turned ashen with fright, and he leaped up with a whoosh, clinging to Chen Beixuan, trembling.

"Grandpa Chen, save me!"

Chen Beixuan's face instantly darkened.

"How can I save you when you're clinging to me? Besides, he can't even break your defense, what are you afraid of?!"

"You're a big man, yet such a coward. Get down from me right now!"

Scolded by Chen Beixuan, Lu Ziming didn't retort.

He carefully opened his eyes and looked back.

He saw the skull phantom repeatedly bumping into Super Dad, but it couldn't cause any damage, making the scene somewhat comical.

Lu Ziming felt a bit awkward and silently got down from Chen Beixuan.

Perhaps feeling a loss of face, he then bravely spoke threateningly.

"You...you actually dared to scare me! Watch me hack you to death!"

As he spoke, he swung his iron sword!