A Man's Knees Are Precious as Gold, It's Time to Cash In!

"A cluster of small 【Twisted Resentful Spirits】 at nine o'clock, three hundred meters out. Team One, go wipe them out."

"Scout Team Two is too far ahead. Tell them to pull back."

"Team Four, give Team Seven an A1 high-flash. It's too dark in their sector."

The commands rang out one after another.

A massive team of several dozen players swept through the 【Aiguyi Ruins】. Every one of them wielded at least two 【Relics】. Those who started with nothing had received suitable equipment from the nun and Mary, who were frighteningly efficient at collecting loot.

As for combat coordination, there was little need for concern. The agents from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau had all undergone systematic training in cooperative tactics.

Even the rich brat who had talked back to Wu Wang, the one who couldn't stand Xiezhi, had been drilled in standard cooperation. No matter how much he seethed with resentment, he wouldn't dare act out at a time like this.

Still, he gritted his teeth as he watched the slender figure at the very front of the formation, casually conversing with 【Duke】.

He had never suffered such humiliation in his entire life.

I'll endure it for now...

I'll deal with him after we get out.

"Buddy, don't just stand there watching. Say something! Are you going to let me do all the work?" Wu Wang complained to Duke, who walked beside him.

He had been constantly coordinating the various squads through his earpiece, but Duke seemed to be just watching the show from the side. The man wore a strange expression but gave no instructions.

As a team leader, he was setting a new standard for slacking off.

"You want me to say something? You have to give me a chance to speak!" Duke retorted with a helpless shrug.

He had watched as Wu Wang consistently issued commands a split second before he could. On many occasions, the man orchestrated maneuvers Duke hadn't even considered.

Take Team Seven, for instance, who were clearing out a nest of 【Twisted Resentful Spirits】. The enemy was hidden in a pitch-black corner, and the team members hadn't even had time to report the situation.

Before they could, Wu Wang had already ordered a nearby squad, one with 【Relics】 that produced flashbang-like illumination, to provide support.

To call that level of awareness "meticulous observation" was an understatement. It was more like he could predict the future.

How on earth did he do it?

Duke could never have guessed the truth. Wu Wang was simply reading the thoughts floating above each player's head.

When you could see a thought bubble that read, 【It's too dark here, I can't find the Resentful Spirit】, even a fool would know to call for a flashbang. It was like having the answer key to a test.

This efficiency had a secondary effect. A 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】's base instinct was to devour the flesh-and-blood shells of players. In their eyes, this large gathering was less a combat team and more a walking buffet.

The scent of so many living beings drew in spirits from all over the ruins.

But even the large 【Twisted Resentful Spirits】, creatures that would have once required a three-man Bureau squad to risk life and limb against, now seemed like complete jokes. In the face of absolute numerical superiority, they were nothing.

Just half a minute ago, a large, boar-like 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 had made a ferocious charge toward the players. The moment it appeared, it was bombarded by dozens of relic attacks, instantly blasting it into mincemeat.

How was a monster supposed to fight back when it was obliterated the second it spawned?

More and more 【Twisted Resentful Spirits】 were drawn to the team, and the players' clearing speed only grew faster and more efficient. The group was busy from day to night, then through the second day and into the third.

Players on the island didn't need to eat, another one of the realm's peculiar rules. Living beings felt no hunger, and their stamina would slowly recover over time.

By now, Wu Wang could clearly feel the frequency of spirit attacks decreasing. Even the drop rate of 【Relics】 was getting lower and lower.

An involuntary smile touched his lips. The situation he had been waiting for was about to arrive.

Finally, on the afternoon of the fourth day, the team wandered through the town for two full hours without spotting a single 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】.

Their morale was noticeably low. No spirits meant no new 【Relics】.

Duke took advantage of the break, sitting beside Wu Wang.

"The Abnormal Affairs Bureau has never had so many players enter a ruin at once. This is our first attempt at a complete sweep. What's your plan? Pack up and leave?"

"After a targeted sweep, it's time to cast a wide net," Wu Wang said, shaking his head. "Trying to trick me into leaving so you guys can stay behind and look for the 【Mysterious Power】? In your dreams."

He saw right through Duke's intentions. Before Duke could offer a rebuttal, Wu Wang stood up and shouted to the crowd.

"Alright, everyone pair up! Keep your earpieces on and spread out through the town. The first team to find a 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 gets their debt to My Lord canceled! Remember, the goal is to find it, not eliminate it!"

As soon as he finished, the Rogue Players and members of the Tower of Order erupted with excitement.

When they signed those contracts, the items they had put up as collateral were incredibly valuable. Though they were high-level players with deep inventories, everyone only had a few truly powerful items. Losing even one would sting for a long, long time.

Now, they had a chance to clear their debts. Naturally, they were all eager to participate.

To the bewilderment of the Abnormal Affairs Bureau agents, the other players broke away from the main group and began fanning out across the town.

It was only then that Duke understood. He quickly stood up and issued the same order to his own team. He finally realized what Wu Wang was trying to do.

"I have to say, you young people have sharp minds," Duke remarked with a sigh, watching Wu Wang stretch on the ground. "Luring the snake from its hole, then following the trail right to its nest. A great idea."

"My photo album is full," Wu Wang said vaguely.

Duke paused, not understanding the sudden nonsense.

"What do you mean?"

Wu Wang just smiled.

"I don't deal in pictures."

His plan was actually quite simple. With all the roaming spirits cleared out, any new spirit that appeared had to be a fresh spawn. The location where it was found would therefore be close to its birthplace.

They would eliminate it, wait for the next one to appear, and use its position to further triangulate the location. Bit by bit, they would zero in on the true source.

Reality unfolded just as Wu Wang had predicted. Before long, good news arrived.

A new 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 had appeared.

It was located in a part of town closer to the sea. Following the plan, the group eliminated five new spirits, and with each one, they locked down the birthplace with greater precision.

They finally arrived at a spot almost outside the town's boundaries.

It was a sheer cliff face. A fall from here would send you plunging straight into the churning sea below.

Every so often, a new 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】 would materialize out of thin air in this exact spot and attack them.

But that was the problem. The spirits appeared from nothing. Even watching one spawn with their own eyes offered no clues about the source.

This left Duke completely baffled. He had the same theory as Wu Wang, that the place where 【Hope】 had hidden the townsfolk's bodies might be related to the 【Mysterious Power】. But this cliff face didn't look like it could hide anything at all. It was a vast, empty rock wall, with nothing as far as the eye could see.

Thump.

Suddenly, Wu Wang dropped to his knees, facing the sea. He prostrated himself, his hands patting the ground as if searching for something.

A moment later, a mysterious expression spread across his lips. He smiled at Duke.

"They say a man's knees are as precious as gold. Well, it's time to cash in."

Turning his head, he shouted to the others.

"Brothers! This patch of ground right here! Start digging!"

Without a single complaint, the other players activated their 【Relics】 and got to work. They weren't fools. Following this guy was a guarantee they'd strike it rich. By a rough estimate, each person was due at least five high-quality 【Relics】 from Wu Wang after leaving the instance.

Anytime a junkier 【Relic】 dropped, Wu Wang would distribute it on the spot. Whether this method was more efficient than searching alone didn't matter. Without Wu Wang, they couldn't have even entered this place to begin with.

When their leader was taking them straight to the treasure, who would have any complaints?

"Holy shit! I dug something up!" a shocked voice suddenly yelled out.

Everyone crowded around to see what had been unearthed.

It was a severed thigh, still covered in blood and flesh.

This was the first time anyone had discovered a real, physical corpse in the ruins, not a monster like a 【Twisted Resentful Spirit】. Even if it was only a part of a body, it was definitive proof.

Was there really something buried inside the cliff?