Chapter 50: First-Tier Abyss, the Tomb Dungeon

[You have entered the Tier 1 Abyss Bone-Buried Dungeon [Nightmare Difficulty]. Please ensure your safety and proceed with caution.]

Accompanied by a slight sensation of weightlessness, Gu Chen and the others materialized inside a damp, dim cavern. A fermented, acidic, and foul odor permeated the air, lingering stubbornly in their nasal passages.

"Damn it, what a smell! This is suffocatingly vile!" Lin Yuan cursed loudly, hurriedly covering his nose and mouth as his stomach churned violently.

Gu Chen frowned slightly. Lin Qingqing and Su Ran were already retching, the two young women immediately covering their faces with expressions of unbearable disgust.

While this pungent odor was not lethal in itself, it would undoubtedly impair their combat capabilities.

Among the group, only Xu Xia showed no signs of discomfort, as a metal mask had somehow appeared on his face.

Noticing the others' reactions, Xu Xia promptly retrieved four identical masks from his spatial ring.

"Here, put these on. This is the N99 respiratory mask I designed. It can purify the air in the dungeon, and features communication, night vision, and automatic target acquisition functions."

"A respiratory mask? N99 model?"

Lin Yuan quickly grabbed one and strapped it to his face. The foul, acidic stench in his nose was rapidly filtered out, replaced by a refreshing and invigorating breeze.

In an instant, the entire world became wonderful again.

Gu Chen, Lin Qingqing, and Su Ran quickly put on their masks as well, letting out a collective sigh of relief.

"I remember the latest model on the market is the N98 produced by the Eternal Corporation. What’s the background of this N99 of yours?" Lin Qingqing asked.

"The N99 is an upgraded version of the N98, scheduled for pre-sale at the Eternal Corporation's new product launch in three months," Xu Xia's voice echoed from behind his mask.

"What? This is the latest model of a respiratory mask? It hasn't even been released to the public yet? How did you get your hands on it?"

The Eternal Corporation was the nation's most cutting-edge technology conglomerate. Relying on advanced weapons developed within the company, it held massive procurement orders from the Abyss Suppression Army, even overshadowing several military-industrial conglomerates.

The Xu family was the actual power behind the Eternal Corporation.

Rumors said that a core figure within the Xu family possessed exceptional research and development capabilities that brought immense technological advantages and commercial value to the Eternal Corporation, making it the designated cooperative enterprise of the Abyss Suppression Army.

"Wait, your surname is Xu?" Lin Qingqing's tone was filled with astonishment. "Could you be that genius from the Xu family? The one who developed transcendent weapons capable of slaughtering abyss alien races, helping the Eternal Corporation successfully secure the massive Abyss Suppression Army contract?"

"I wouldn't dare call myself a genius, but the Abyss Suppression Army is indeed quite satisfied with my designs," Xu Xia said with a smile.

At this, the others' gazes toward Xu Xia quietly shifted.

It turned out to be him!

Word had it that the security level provided to him by the Xu family was on par with that of the head of the household. Why would such a core figure follow Gu Chen into the abyss?

To gather materials?

What kind of materials could be so precious?

Were they important enough to require a core figure of the Xu family to come in person?

Curious as he was, Gu Chen didn't dwell on it too much. Everyone had their own secrets; they were merely teaming up to clear an abyss run together.

Having eliminated the unbearable acidic stench, he promptly summoned the Vampire Monarch.

From their trek across the wilderness all the way to the Bone-Buried Dungeon, the Vampire Monarch had also reaped a rich harvest. It emitted a gloomy, low roar, and dense, blood-colored figures instantly appeared throughout the dungeon.

A full fifty vampire descendants—this was the current upper limit of conversion.

The Vampire Monarch had reached Level 11, and the converted vampire descendants could not exceed its own level by more than 10. Among these vampire descendants, the highest level was Level 21, and the lowest was Level 15.

Seeing the sudden appearance of a horde of vampire descendants, Lin Yuan and the others were genuinely startled, nearly mistaking them for an alien ambush.

"Don't be afraid, these are my skills." Gu Chen called back the four who were preparing to retreat.

"What?" Xu Xia wore a look of utter disbelief. "How can a Summoner have so many summoned beasts?"

"There is only one summoned beast; the rest are summoned units of that summoned beast."

Gu Chen offered a brief explanation before ordering the vampire descendants to lead the way.

Soon, a low hiss echoed from the darkness, and a humanoid creature resembling a lizard emerged from the shadows.

Its battered and ugly skull was stained with gore, its pair of crimson eyes flashing with brutality. Its limbs were thick and short with severely disproportionate proportions, and rotting flesh covered its body, exposing gleaming white bone splinters in places.

Was this an orc?

They had never seen such a short and ugly orc!

Before Gu Chen even needed to give the order, the Vampire Monarch had already activated its skill. Bullets illuminated the pitch-black dungeon like lightning, striking the orc with a crackling barrage.

Orcs excelled in strength and physique, moving with agility, but the Vampire Monarch's skill was as fast as lightning, leaving the creature no chance to evade.

In an instant, the orc's health bar was completely depleted, and it crashed to the ground amidst a wail.

[Killed Orc Corpse Chimera LV.13, EXP +1560]

A Level 13 alien was taken out in a single skill by the Vampire Monarch.

This scene shocked Xu Xia profoundly.

Inside a nightmare-grade abyss, alien races were enhanced and could not be compared to ordinary aliens in the wilderness.

Though only Level 13, it had been killed instantly by a single summoned beast skill—this was simply unbelievable.

After all, the Level 13 Orc Corpse Chimera possessed nearly 40,000 health points!

A single skill completely wiped out nearly 40,000 health points?

Simply absurd!

At that moment, Xu Xia suddenly realized that with Gu Chen's strength, he might actually be able to clear a nightmare-grade dungeon.

Following the death of the Orc Corpse Chimera, six death tentacles formed from black mist materialized beside the corpse.

This was a supplementary skill of the Fallen Orb. Every time a skill hit a target, a death tentacle would appear.

[Deadly Shot] could fire six bullets imbued with skill effects, which was why six death tentacles had appeared.

However, the duration of the death tentacles was only two seconds—a mere breath—before they dissolved into black mist and dissipated.

"Orc Corpse Chimera? What a tongue-twister of a name," Lin Yuan muttered, looking at the ugly alien corpse on the ground.

"Actually, it's just a failed experimental subject."

Xu Xia spoke up: "The Bone-Buried Dungeon was once a execution site where the dwarves carried out brutal punishments, and countless dwarves died here. Later, a voodoo shaman came here and fused the corpses of the dwarves with orcs, creating this half-corpse, half-beast chimera."

As he spoke, Xu Xia distributed four antidote potions to the group.

"The attacks of the Orc Corpse Chimera carry corrosive poison damage. If anyone is unfortunately hit, they must use an antidote potion immediately, otherwise they will enter a poisoned state and continuously bleed health."

Gu Chen accepted a vial of healing potion, its green liquid shimmering like jade.

[Antidote Potion: Quickly dispels the poisoned state on the user upon consumption.]

On the trading platform, an antidote potion cost three thousand credits per vial, which was not cheap.

"Thanks."

Gu Chen stored the antidote potion in his spatial inventory, commanded the vampires to continue leading the way, and spoke as they walked:

"I bought some strategy guides at the Abyss Suppression Army outpost. The final boss of a nightmare-grade abyss has an indeterminate location, is extremely secretive, and is very difficult to find."

"However, one guide mentioned that to trigger the final boss, all alien creatures on all three levels must be completely wiped out, leaving none alive."

"If even a single alien remains unkilled, the condition for the final boss to appear cannot be triggered."

"Therefore, if we want to secure record-breaking rewards after clearing the dungeon, we can only rely on maximizing our monster-clearing speed."