Chapter 280: Chapter 280

The Abyss Restricted Zone...

For many Defenders players, this term was almost legendary, existing only in rumors.

After all, the Abyssal Depths were extremely suppressive to light-type creatures and highly favorable to dark-type creatures.

But for Defenders who were neither light nor dark, it was a neutral ground.

They wouldn’t be suppressed here, but compared to dark-type creatures, they held no advantage either.

Therefore, almost no Defenders players would voluntarily explore the Abyssal Depths.

Moreover, the special environment of the Abyssal Depths...

If not for this time, and the “Zhou Yuling” who provided the Owl’s Eyes and Blood Poison Corpse Water, they would have never reached here.

And now, finally, they had arrived...

Naturally, these Defenders players felt more excitement than fear.

One Defenders player immediately began analyzing:

“I heard that the terrifying light-type presence suspected in the Abyss Restricted Zone makes all dark-type creatures extremely fearful. To prevent the Abyssal Depths from going out of control, a group of dark-type big shots teamed up with Administrator 0000 to set up heavy restrictions around the Forbidden Zone...”

“And we just lost three teammates. It’s probably because those dark-type big shots’ restrictions have activated, right?”

Jiang Ye’s Zhang Minghan clone glanced at the guy who spoke.

He faintly sensed that this Defenders Alliance might be a bunch of appearance fanatics.

Almost all the Defenders players were handsome or pretty, with looks scoring above 80 points.

He wasn’t sure if they were naturally attractive or if they used some beauty-enhancing tools.

The guy who spoke was quite handsome, resembling a male celebrity.

The White-Robed Woman, perhaps also an appearance enthusiast, looked at that young man for a while before responding according to his words:

“Everyone, rest assured. When the dark-type big shots originally set these restrictions, they had many considerations.”

“To prevent dark-type players from mistakenly entering the Forbidden Zone during Abyssal Depths exploration, the restrictions set on the outermost perimeter of the Forbidden Zone are spatial displacement types.”

“That means when a player accidentally enters the perimeter of the Forbidden Zone, they will become disoriented like in a ghostly maze, unknowingly wandering back outside the Forbidden Zone.”

“So those three lost players should be safe, only having been lost in the maze and returned outside the Forbidden Zone.”

To avoid further player dispersal, she had everyone stop moving.

This explanation reassured the Defenders players even more.

The handsome young man who had spoken earlier raised his voice again toward the White-Robed Woman:

“Since the Left Alliance sent you to lead us in exploring the Forbidden Zone, I assume they must have prepared for all kinds of restrictions on the perimeter, right?”

The Left Alliance naturally had preparations.

So when they confirmed they reached the Forbidden Zone’s perimeter, the White-Robed Woman immediately contacted Lin Ling and sent her their coordinates.

However, Lin Ling was currently negotiating with Administrator 4444 about reviving the Jade Flask.

Her reply to the White-Robed Woman was just one sentence: [Follow the plan. I’m busy here, will arrive later.]

The White-Robed Woman was silently speechless.

After all, she was not the real Zhou Yuling and did not possess Zhou Yuling’s calm aura shaped by countless storms.

Being left alone to follow the plan, she wasn’t sure if she could keep the situation stable...

However, Lin Ling had prepared some talismans for her long ago.

If these Defenders players caused trouble, she believed she could still handle it with those powerful talismans.

Thinking this, the White-Robed Woman quickly steadied her mind and deliberately imitated Zhou Yuling’s domineering and forceful manner, saying to all the Defenders players present:

“Everyone, rest assured. I have already contacted the Left Alliance and sent her the coordinates.”

“The Left Alliance still has some matters at hand, but with her strength, she should arrive soon.”

She was about to continue, saying that while waiting for the Left Alliance, they could take some preliminary actions.

But Zhang Minghan, who had previously separated from the main group, interrupted again:

“So you mean we have to wait a while for the Left Alliance to arrive?”

“If so, can I step out again? I need to go to the Mask Master’s Shop. I’ve modified two masks and now it’s time to pick up the second one.”

Jiang Ye felt his request was reasonable.

He even added, “Just to pick up a mask, it shouldn’t take more than a few minutes.”

However, the White-Robed Woman seemed to glare at him with displeasure.

Then she didn’t reply directly but solemnly addressed all the Defenders players:

“While waiting for the Left Alliance, we need to prepare to break through the first layer of restrictions.”

“The first layer of restrictions in this Forbidden Zone is the Ghost Valley Soul Shepherd Formation set by the Apartment Boss, arranged by a formation master.”

“This formation has almost no theoretical ‘counter-formation method.’ The only solution is to violently shatter the hidden formation plate that sets the formation.”

“That hidden formation plate is concealed deep in the soil around the Forbidden Zone’s perimeter by the formation master, and the plate itself is specially designed to randomly move.”

“Furthermore, its moving speed is not slow; the more one tries to capture it, the faster it flees.”

Upon hearing this, the handsome young man furrowed his brows incredulously and said:

“The formation plate is hidden in the soil? How is that possible?”

“I heard that the soil in the Abyss Restricted Zone is filled with toxic miasma and radiation...”

“Even though the toxicity and radiation are weakest at the outermost perimeter, their power is still terrifying!”

“Not only do various items fail under strong radiation influence, but innate talents or Glyph Pattern Abilities also lose their original effects when exposed to that radiated soil!”

“I even heard of a despairing dark-type player who used Earth Escape Technique to infiltrate that radiated soil, and ended up mutated! Their physical body, innate talents, and glyph patterns all suffered various degrees of mutation! The player became zombie-like, with blood-red eyes, crazily biting comrades, and was eventually suppressed by the timely arrival of Administrator 0000...”

“I heard that player mutation incident was the direct trigger for the heavy restrictions laid by the dark-type big shots in the Abyss Restricted Zone.”

“And now you’re telling me—”

“That the hidden formation plate set by the formation master can ignore radiation effects, hide in the radiated soil, and even move?!”

“How is that possible!”

With the handsome young man’s voice full of doubt, the other Defenders players also felt a chill run down their spines.

Jiang Ye had learned about the horrors of the Abyss Restricted Zone from Zhang Minghan’s memories.

But he had never known about the player mutation incident caused by infiltrating the radiated soil.

Hearing this now, he instinctively looked down at the soil beneath his feet.

The entire Abyssal Depths was pitch black.

He wore the Owl’s Eyes, which allowed night vision to see the surroundings clearly.

Night vision was very different from normal sight.

His vision was a dim, glowing green.

The soil beneath his feet also glowed faintly.

But the soil’s true color should be pure black, possibly charred black.

He could smell the scent of burnt ashes from a large fire, faintly mixed with an oily smell similar to machine oil.

However, this charred soil didn’t feel stiff underfoot. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on NoveIＦire.net

Instead, it was moist and soft.

It was as if the soil had long been soaked in a special corpse oil.

Frankly, this environment gave Jiang Ye a very uncomfortable feeling.

He imagined other players felt the same.

Especially after hearing the handsome young man’s description, many players frowned.

Yuan Qiu and her elderly companion stood together, frowning and pinching their noses, seemingly unable to tolerate the burnt oily smell.

The White-Robed Woman was not surprised that some Defenders players knew about the radiated soil.

She was silent for a moment, then explained first:

“It is said that the hidden formation plate was made from special materials obtained by chance from the Forbidden Zone. Therefore, unlike ordinary items, it is not affected by radiation.”

“The formation master never expected a day would come when the formation would be broken...”

“And now, to break the Ghost Valley Soul Shepherd Formation, we must find the hidden formation plate buried in the radiated soil.”

At this point, Jiang Ye developed a bad premonition.

Obviously, other Defenders players shared the same uneasy feeling.

These high-looking players all furrowed their brows tightly.

The handsome young man bluntly said:

“Finding a moving formation plate hidden in radiated soil...”

“Big sister, you don’t mean we have to risk our lives and crawl into the radiated soil to find the plate, do you??”

The White-Robed Woman was not surprised by their reaction. She forced her aura and said sternly:

“There is no other way...”

“After all, all kinds of items become useless in the radiated soil.”

“So the only way is manual searching for the formation plate.”

Just as the Defenders players’ faces changed drastically and the situation threatened to spiral out of control, the White-Robed Woman rapidly raised her voice:

“Has anyone heard of the Chernobyl incident?”

“In that terrifying nuclear power plant explosion, various machines failed due to radiation. At that time, a group of workers stepped forward, enduring radiation to accomplish what machines could not!”

She spoke with deliberately stirring passion about heroes.

But the problem was, the people here were not fools.

Her words sounded highly ironic!

Did those nuclear accident workers really step forward voluntarily to face radiation?

Why didn’t any officials or leaders stand up?

Besides, the nuclear accident cleanup was about the survival environment of all humanity.

Those people sacrificed themselves heroically to protect the environment.

But they? They were exploring the Forbidden Zone purely for profit!

Now, without seeing any profit, they were being made to risk their lives exploring radiated soil??

How was this any different from being treated like fools?!

Suddenly, the gathered Defenders players began clamoring and arguing.

Most were voices of condemnation, but because of “Zhou Yuling’s” strength, the scolding was mixed and no one dared to be the loudest.

However, some sensed trouble and quietly shifted their feet.

At this moment, they were even willing to trigger the perimeter restrictions and be teleported out of the Forbidden Zone by the restriction’s effects!

Just as someone moved, the “Zhou Yuling” at the front suddenly surged with overwhelming aura!

Her hair stood upright, transforming into black snakes, fierce and terrifying!

With a sharp shout, she suppressed everyone: “Let’s see who dares to move!”

A black snake’s elongated poisonous tongue shot directly at the player who moved.

The poisonous tongue coiled around the player’s neck but did not kill.

The scene instantly fell silent. The White-Robed Woman shouted forcefully again:

“Everyone, think carefully—having come this far, do you still have a way back?”

She waved her hand, holding a vial of Blood Poison Corpse Water.

The players who had been injected with Blood Poison Corpse Water immediately changed expressions.

Clearly, they instantly understood something.

The usually proactive handsome young man’s face darkened as he loudly confronted the White-Robed Woman:

“With the strength of our Defenders Alliance, even if you want players to risk themselves in the radiated soil, there’s no need to choose Defenders players from our own faction, right?”

“Is this how the Defenders Alliance treats its members?”

“Don’t you feel ashamed backstabbing your own alliance members?!”

These words expressed the feelings of all the players present.

They followed along not just because they lacked strength or options.

More importantly, they believed in the Defenders Alliance!

They instinctively thought that even if the Defenders Alliance did something harmful, it should be aimed at outsiders, not its own Defenders!

Such a huge faction treating its own members ...

A faction without loyalty could never go far!

Jiang Ye, standing here as Zhang Minghan, also felt puzzled.

If it was simply about finding people to explore the radiated soil...

With Lin Ling’s strength, she could easily capture non-Defenders players alive, right?

Yet she deliberately gathered Defenders Alliance players.

Jiang Ye’s gaze swept over these Defenders players.

Zhang Minghan had only recently joined the Defenders Alliance and belonged to its outermost members.

He didn’t know many Defenders friends.

After analyzing the somewhat familiar faces,

He suddenly came to a conclusion.

He didn’t move his feet but suddenly addressed the handsome young man:

“Hey, I want to ask you—”

“Did you also undergo tattoo and bone washing and revert from a dark-type player back to a Defenders player?”

His words caused a huge stir among this group of Defenders players!

Before the handsome young man could answer, other Defenders responded immediately:

“What the hell?! What do you mean??”

“Could it be that all of us here are players who have reverted from dark-type to Defenders by artificial means??”

“And it seems all of us are outermost members of the alliance, right?”

“No, no! Look at her!”

Suddenly, someone pointed at Yuan Qiu.

“This young lady, she shouldn’t be an outermost member, right?!”