31: Chapter 31 Elite? We're going to take down the elite!

As the dizzying sensation of spatial distortion faded, a deafening roar of human voices instantly flooded their eardrums.

Before them lay a vast expanse of ruins, perpetually shrouded under purple-black thunderclouds.

The air was filled with a pungent smell of burning and an electrifying charge that made one's skin tingle.

Above, lightning resembling coiled dragons tore through the thick, dark clouds from time to time, striking fiercely among the broken walls and ruins, sending gravel and electric arcs flying into the sky.

As far as the eye could see across the ruins, dense crowds of Professionals were locked in battle with various monsters wreathed in lightning.

Dazzling magical effects, the roars of warriors, and the screeching of monsters intertwined, forming a vivid picture of a bustling leveling scene.

"Wow... there are so many people here!"

Li Murou widened her eyes, looking around with curiosity.

It was her first time entering this kind of multiplayer dungeon, and she found it incredibly novel.

"This is exactly how I imagined the world of Professionals to be, so lively!"

Chen Xi nodded, his gaze sweeping calmly across the surroundings as he explained:

"Multiplayer dungeons are like this. This type of dungeon is also known as a public leveling zone."

"The mechanics here are completely different from single-player dungeons. There is no fixed time limit for clearing it, and it doesn't restrict the number of teams entering. As long as you want, you can keep grinding monsters and leveling up here. When you're tired, you just find a safe zone to rest, and you can leave whenever you want."

"Of course, there's a downside, which is that this kind of dungeon cannot be cleared in the traditional sense, so it doesn't count toward your score."

Hearing Chen Xi's explanation, Li Murou asked curiously:

"Then what are we here for...?"

Chen Xi turned his head to look at the two women:

"This kind of super-large open map has complex terrain and countless variables. You not only have to face the threat of monsters but also constantly guard against interference from other competing teams."

"This is almost exactly the same as the competition mode for the Freshman Challenge Tournament in three days."

"Our goal this time is not just to grind for materials, but more importantly, to get used to the rhythm of this kind of multiplayer chaotic battle in advance. So we won't be completely clueless when we enter the arena."

Hearing this, Su Xiaoxiao nodded thoughtfully.

As the ace of the former Nightfall Team, she naturally understood the importance of environmental adaptability.

Although the previous Frost Dragons Lair had a high difficulty, it was a closed environment after all, requiring focus only on the monsters in front of them.

But here...

Human hearts might be even more terrifying than monsters.

"Then what are we going to do now?"

Su Xiaoxiao withdrew her gaze, rested her hand gently on her waist, and entered a state of combat readiness:

"Grind monsters to level up? I see that although there are many monsters here, most of them are already occupied by other teams."

Chen Xi chuckled and shook his head.

"These small monsters on the periphery offer little experience and have low drop rates."

Chen Xi's voice was calm, yet it carried an air of absolute dominance:

"I only have one goal—the BOSS of Thunder Ruins, Thunder Roar Berserk."

"BOSS?"

Li Murou and Su Xiaoxiao looked at each other, seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.

"Just us... three, can we beat it? This is a Nightmare-level multiplayer dungeon, that BOSS... must be the elite of the elite, right?"

Chen Xi gazed into the distance, the corners of his mouth curling up:

"Elite? We're here to beat the Elites!"

Looking at the hesitant Li Murou and Su Xiaoxiao, Chen Xi asked again:

"What, don't you believe in me?"

Li Murou jumped out:

"How is that possible! With you here, we can beat anything!"

Su Xiaoxiao also smiled gently:

"Mm, I have confidence too."

Looking at the two who supported him unconditionally, a warm current surged through Chen Xi's heart.

He hadn't explained the purpose of this dungeon run to the two women.

But faced with a decision that far exceeded their team's current strength on paper.

The two women had always stood behind him, following his commands all the way.

Thinking of those people from the Shenfeng Battle Team again.

Chen Xi lowered his head and smiled self-deprecatingly.

"What a diverse range of species!"

"What do you mean? Captain Chen?"

"Nothing."

Chen Xi shook his head, slowly raised his hand, and his slender fingers pointed firmly toward the northeast, to the depths where the thunderclouds were densest and the lightning most dazzling.

"That BOSS's spawn point is right there."

"Let's go."

Having said that, Chen Xi didn't hesitate at all and took the lead, striding toward that direction.

Li Murou and Su Xiaoxiao saw this and didn't ask any more questions, closely following their captain's footsteps, and the three figures soon disappeared into that violent thunder.

...

Meanwhile.

Jiangcheng Professional University, Royal Squad base room.

Zhou Tianren sat in an executive chair with a gloomy face, toying with a wine glass in his hand. The red wine inside sloshed violently with his trembling fingers, just like his extremely restless heart at this moment.

"Bang!"

The door to the base room was pushed open.

A student with dyed yellow hair ran in, panting, with a fawning smile on his face:

"Young Master Zhou! Young Master Zhou! Found it!"

Zhou Tianren raised his head abruptly, his eyes sinister and terrifying:

"Speak! Where exactly did that Nirvana Battle Team come from? And, where are they now?"

The yellow-haired lackey swallowed his saliva and hurriedly reported:

"Young Master Zhou, I just pulled some strings to check the records at the Administration Building. That Nirvana Battle Team... really only has three people!"

"The captain, Chen Xi, is a support-type Card Maker who was kicked out by the Shenfeng Battle Team before. The team member Li Murou is also a support who has been an intern at the Administration Building. Plus Su Xiaoxiao who just joined... with this bizarre configuration, only that lone seedling Su Xiaoxiao is worth looking at!"

"Heh..."

Hearing this news, Zhou Tianren let out a sneer full of disdain.

"I knew it."

"That silly woman Su Xiaoxiao, I don't know what kind of ecstasy soup that Chen Xi fed her, she actually gave up the excellent resources of my Royal Squad and insisted on going to that garbage dump to do charity!"

Thinking of the resolute look in Su Xiaoxiao's eyes downstairs at the dormitory, and Chen Xi's indifferent manner of not taking him seriously, Zhou Tianren felt his teeth itch with anger.

He slammed the wine glass in his hand to the ground, and the sound of shattering glass was particularly harsh in the quiet base room.

"Damn it! What exactly is better about that brat than me?! Money? Power? Strength? Is there anything I don't crush him in!?"

The yellow-haired guy shrank his neck in fear and hurriedly changed the subject:

"That... that, Young Master Zhou, there is one more piece of news."

"Speak!"

Zhou Tianren urged coldly.

The yellow-haired guy didn't dare to delay and poured out the information he had gathered:

"Just now, our informant saw at the trial grounds that Chen Xi and his team... seem to have entered the 【Thunder Ruins】 dungeon."

"Thunder Ruins?"

Zhou Tianren was slightly stunned, and then the mockery on his face grew stronger.

"Is that the Level 20 multiplayer dungeon?"

As Zhou Tianren said this, he leaned back in his chair and laughed out loud:

"Hahahaha! Laughing to death! I told you they were trash!"

"They don't go to so many single-player or five-player dungeons, but instead go to this kind of large multiplayer dungeon where people are mixed and eyes are everywhere. What does this mean?"

Zhou Tianren thought he saw through everything and analyzed with certainty:

"This means they are guilty! It means they know their bizarre lineup of two supports and one damage dealer can't beat a five-player dungeon of the same level! That's why they can only go to this kind of multiplayer dungeon to mix in!"

"In there, if they encounter monsters they can't beat, they can lure them to other teams, and they can also follow behind others to pick up scraps and leech experience. To put it bluntly, they are just going there to waste time!"

"They probably want to leech some more experience to level up before the Freshman Challenge Tournament starts."

Speaking of this, a gleam of light flashed in Zhou Tianren's eyes.

He slowly stood up, looking in the direction of the trial grounds in the distance, and a cruel arc hooked at the corner of his mouth.

"Multiplayer dungeon... good, chosen well."

"If they were at school, or in a single-player dungeon, it wouldn't be very convenient to mess with them. After all, the school has rules strictly prohibiting private fights."

"However..."

Zhou Tianren's voice lowered, revealing a chilling coldness:

"In a multiplayer dungeon with a complex environment... if some kind of accident happens, that would be perfectly normal."

Thinking of this, the jealousy and murderous intent in Zhou Tianren's eyes intertwined.

Since you, Chen Xi, dare to disrespect me in public and steal my woman.

Since you, Su Xiaoxiao, refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, preferring to follow a piece of trash rather than me.

Then don't blame me for being ruthless!

I will let you know what happens to those who offend me, Zhou Tianren, here at Jiang University!

Zhou Tianren turned around abruptly and shouted sternly at the yellow-haired lackey who was still in a daze:

"Go! Call Qi Huan, Li Shan, and Wang Yuan all over here for me!"

"Tell them, assemble immediately! Within 30 minutes, get everyone into the Thunder Ruins!"

"Today, I'm going to lead the team myself and go give that Captain Chen Xi... a good lesson!"

The yellow-haired guy was startled by Zhou Tianren's ferocious expression and nodded like a garlic-pounding chicken:

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll go call people right away! Going now!"

After speaking, he scrambled out of the base room.

In the large room, only Zhou Tianren remained.

He looked at the gloomy sky outside the window, as if he had already seen the scene of Chen Xi kneeling at his feet begging for mercy, and let out a chilling, eerie laugh.

"Nirvana? Heh..."

"Today, I will turn you into dead ashes!"