Chapter Forty-Two: Harder Than Imagined

With a single palm strike, Ye Yu sent a surge of force crashing into the Ancient Armored Crocodile, blasting the creature backward with terrifying momentum. The beast’s massive body trembled as purplish light coiled around it, arcs of violet lightning binding the crocodile in place and paralyzing its every movement. Under this relentless onslaught, the Ancient Armored Crocodile’s health instantly dropped by twenty percent, and, with the team’s follow-up barrage, its health plummeted to thirty-two percent.

At this critical moment, Huang Hong, spear in hand, charged directly toward the immobilized monster. Though his pace seemed unhurried, as he closed within three meters, an overwhelming aura exploded from his spear. His figure became a streak of light, flashing past the crocodile in the blink of an eye. The beast, still paralyzed by Ye Yu’s thunderous energy, struggled forward with torturous slowness—slower even than a turtle. Suddenly, deep, bloody gashes appeared on its hide, and its health plunged from thirty-two percent to a mere twelve.

The Ancient Armored Crocodile released a thunderous, earth-shaking roar, a sound so deafening it seemed to split the air. But its resistance was futile. Without further suspense, its health sharply declined, finally dropping to zero in an instant.

A faint smile curled at the corner of Ye Yu’s lips. “The meat of this Ancient Armored Crocodile will fetch a good price, and since it’s a new addition, the data hasn’t been released yet. If we clear this area smoothly, we’ll be able to take these spoils with us once the server updates. Its scales can be forged into a full Ancient Armored Crocodile set. That’s no small gain for us.”

As he spoke, a list of loot appeared before Ye Yu. Each material and item was distributed fairly among the team, satisfaction evident on every face.

“You really are impressive, Third.”

“Yeah, how did you pull that off? I never thought you’d choose such a useless skill.”

“Just luck, nothing more,” Ye Yu replied with a mild smile. The purple lightning technique he’d used earlier, “Peaceful Joys on the Swing,” was widely considered a lackluster skill due to its abysmal hit rate. Players had to seize the perfect moment to use it, but when it landed, it could turn the tide of battle in an instant.

…

Within the GameTech Intelligence Department, a heavy silence filled the room. Even Guo Yuan, usually unflappable, wore an expression of shock, while President Feng, standing behind him, eyed the gentle smile on the screen with grave intensity.

“What on earth just happened? How could ‘Peaceful Joys on the Swing’ hit the Ancient Armored Crocodile? Is its accuracy really that high?” Guo Yuan’s voice was unsteady with excitement.

“Director Guo, after reviewing the data, we can confirm that the player used ‘Peaceful Joys on the Swing’ for the first time and achieved a one hundred percent hit rate—not by luck, but by perfectly calculating the conditions under which the skill would succeed.”

“Continue,” President Feng said, his lips curving in intrigue.

“We ran dozens of AI simulations, recreating the previous situation with all six team members. Under those exact circumstances, ‘Peaceful Joys on the Swing’ would always hit. There was no chance of failure—the player had deduced that, in that environment, he could use the skill with absolute certainty.”

Guo Yuan fell silent at this explanation, his eyes flickering coldly as he stared at the screen.

Was it luck? Or true skill?

Guo Yuan had already pulled up the basic information on the ID “Cool Night.” This player had defied fate in previous dungeons, his luck seemingly unearthly, but his analytical and calculation abilities were equally astonishing. He could exploit even the briefest enemy lapse with surgical precision.

“Can we see where this player is logging in from?” President Feng’s question took everyone by surprise.

“Yes. The source is Qingcheng University. President Feng, are you interested in him?” Guo Yuan raised an eyebrow. In his eyes, President Feng was a formidable figure—a pillar of the company, and the mastermind behind the hidden map dungeon.

“I believe this player is well-suited for a professional career,” President Feng replied, his eyes flashing with confidence.

For a moment, both Guo Yuan and Secretary Ying behind him were taken aback, a hint of shock coloring their faces. It seemed as if what had just happened might trigger a seismic shift within the world of “Divine Calamity.”

“Make arrangements. I want all process information from GameTech Intelligence for the past six months—detailed and complete. From now on, I will make all final decisions. Guo Yuan, you’ll remain in charge of coordination; your authority won’t change, but I will have the final say.”

President Feng didn’t wait for a reply—he turned and walked out, the faintest trace of a challenging smile on his lips. No one noticed the subtle curve at the corner of this domineering CEO’s mouth.

…

After defeating the Ancient Armored Crocodile, Ye Yu and his five companions pressed onward.

“Will this dungeon be open to the public after we clear it?”

“Yes,” Ye Yu replied with a nod. Yet as he considered their situation, he wondered: were they truly in a dungeon, or had they stumbled into a yet-unknown map?

The marshlands posed countless obstacles, but with Ye Yu leading the way, the group crossed with surprising ease, encountering no further monsters as they delved deeper into the swamp.

“There haven’t been any monsters for a while. What’s going on?” The landscape gradually cleared and their vision widened, but no matter how hard they looked, not a single creature stirred.

Luo Feng frowned. “Third, with such a vast area empty of monsters, I think—”

Ye Yu understood and nodded. “This should be the final boss’s domain. If we clear it, we might trigger a server update to add this dungeon to the Xuantian servers.”

At that moment, Luo Wei scanned the surroundings, then pointed to a distant spot. “Look over there!”

The others followed his gesture and saw bones floating atop the swamp—remnants of a life-and-death battle. Even the bones bore clear fractures, testament to the ferocity of the fight.

“These must be boss-level monsters,” Luo Feng observed grimly. “But could this dungeon really have so few bosses?”

“Not necessarily. There could be hidden or rare bosses. If we find one, the loot would be even better. The real question is whether we can trigger their appearance,” Ye Yu replied, glancing at the bones before turning away. “And since this dungeon is called ‘Ancient World,’ I doubt it’s just a standard hidden dungeon. It might unlock a new map or dungeon—and I think the former is more likely.”

Just then, the six of them received a background story update. According to the lore, they’d reached the ruins of a special ancient land—an island, in fact.

“This backstory is odd. Clearly, this is a large, unknown map-type dungeon. If we clear it, a major new update might hit our server,” Ye Yu mused. After a moment’s thought, he added, “With ‘Divine Calamity’s’ new era, the mechanics and difficulty are bound to be tougher.”

“If that’s the case, what sort of boss will we face next?” Huang Hong asked.

Ye Yu shrugged. “At this point, our only option is to take things one step at a time. The Ancient Armored Crocodile was shocking enough. Who knows what’s coming next?”

From what he’d seen so far, the monster AI in this place was far more advanced than before. Ye Yu realized the creatures’ intelligence exceeded anything he’d faced, operating on an entirely different level.

“Our next boss may be even more agile, with defenses on par with the crocodile’s, and its weaknesses more carefully hidden. We’re definitely beyond the beginner stage now.”

Ye Yu narrowed his eyes, his expression grave. He hadn’t expected to encounter such a challenge so early—to be thrust beyond the realm of novice dungeons.

This challenge, its difficulty, was truly beyond imagination.

…