The Abyssal Garden: No Room for the Idle

"Fine, the condiment fee is 30 Spirit Coins, and the soup base costs 280."

"????"

He took back his earlier words!

This guy is just here to cause trouble!

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Beneath the Sky Dome on the ancient road, two other individuals stood outside a pavilion; they belonged to a rival team. Their eyes were coldly fixed on a small sanctuary in front of them that housed a memorial tablet.

"This is their starting Sanctuary…"

One of them lowered his gaze to the ground, stretching out a hand to activate his ability, and squinted slightly, "There are three people."

"The three of them moved quickly, choosing to leave this place immediately, but they also became entangled with something strange. It's unknown whether they have managed to shake it off."

Both teams had similar encounters at the beginning: waking up in a shelter-building, finding danger both in front and behind them, and then choosing whether to move on or stay put.

"Among these three people, there's a smart one. They chose to take the initiative to strike and look for opportunities. Interesting."

"The other two should gather with them soon."

"What should we do?"

One person's expression was calm, and his body subtly exuded a powerful aura, "No rush, let's wait for Old Mo."

"He's helping us lure away the strangeness. With his ability, he should almost be free from it by now."

As expected.

About three minutes later, a figure with a tight build appeared, clutching the corpse of a Fierce Beast in his hand, his presence somewhat terrifying.

"I'm back."

If Su Qi were here, he could recognize at a glance that this man was the first one they had encountered earlier, Old Mo, who had shared a lot of information with them.

"Did you make any discoveries?"

The two did not mince words as they looked at him.

"I saw traces of battle along the way, the corpses of Fierce Beasts…" Old Mo dropped the corpse on the ground: "Silver Hand, take a look."

The man beside him had a full beard, with long hair draped over his shoulders, and his right arm was a massive silver hand.

His eyes moved slightly, glowing red.

"Among these three, one has impressive strength; his blade work is clean and decisive, and his burst of Spiritual Energy is just right. The other two are a bit weaker but also full of Experience, leaving barely any trace."

"These three are definitely dueling ground veterans."

All three were veterans of Paradise, having entered the dueling ground many times, capable of assessing the situation from the start and quickly formulating strategies.

"We also have two companions who have yet to join us," Old Mo paused.

"According to the dueling ground's matching system, they should be new players from Paradise."

The system will balance the strength of the teams as much as possible.

Their three members are very strong, so the remaining two must necessarily be rookies.

Similarly.

The other side is also likely in the same situation.

At this moment.

A slight sound of footsteps came from outside the pavilion:

"New recruits? We don't think so."

Old Mo and his two companions looked outside in surprise, where a corpulent man with an unidentified object on his shoulder stood beside a genteel, glasses-wearing man with a sinister smile on his face.

"Hello, fellows, good afternoon."

Old Mo and his two companions' expressions tightened slightly, instantly realizing that these two were not new players, but the chill emanating from them made even their own teammates uncomfortable.

"You... didn't expect to arrive so quickly," Silver Hand paused before continuing.

"But it's no big issue; we can move together."

The glasses-wearing man chuckled lightly, "Move together?"

"No."

He pushed his glasses up, his eyes shining with a sagacious light, "I will be leading you."

The Bald man beside Silver Hand's expression darkened, ready to speak.

But Old Mo stopped him, "We are a team; the position of command can be discussed."

The corpulent man calmly threw the object from his shoulder onto the ground with a loud thud!

"Is this convincing enough?"

The glasses-wearing man lightly kicked it, unraveling the cloth sack to reveal the body inside.

The three men's pupils dilated instantly!

"This is... the strangeness!"

The peculiar entity they all needed to evade—these two had actually managed to kill it!

Such entities are powerful and dangerous. Normally, if one was playing it safe, they'd choose not to fight it. The three, if they went all out, could perhaps succeed in killing it!

But not so easily!

Moreover, the three of them also noticed the consumption of Spiritual Energy and were reluctant to waste it on such matters.

Old Mo observed the two newcomers with barely concealed concern.

They... actually did it, and they're not even slightly injured or drained!

Their strength is extremely strong!

Silver Hand took a deep breath, "I understand. From now on, I'll follow your lead, but there are some decisions that we still need to discuss."

The bespectacled man smiled calmly, "Of course."

"After all, we are a team."

"And there's more..."

With a flick of his sleeves, the bespectacled man shot out something that struck the air above the pavilion like bullets.

Then it was swept up towards him.

Caught in the man's hand.

The trio's expressions changed in shock, "What is this...."

In the bespectacled man's hand was an eye, still emitting a screeching alarm.

Old Mo's expression darkened slightly, "It's a surveillance device left by the opposing team, damn... we didn't notice it."

The bespectacled man looked at the eye with a playful expression, his fingers kneading it.

"It seems the other side also has strong ones."

"They... are quite cunning."

In the next moment,

The bespectacled man clenched his palm, and the entire eye violently exploded.

He chuckled softly, "This duel... is going to be fun."

At the same time,

Somewhere else in the Ancient Martial Land!

Three figures were still sprinting, when one of them suddenly grunted, covering her eye.

The white-haired person calmly asked, "Have we been spotted?"

The woman covering her eye replied gravely, "They have indeed reached the pavilion we were at before, and they've found what I left behind."

"What did you see?"

The big man with a Giant Axe on his shoulder paused before speaking.

"The other three have very strong abilities, and there are two particularly dangerous individuals."

"And boss... those two dangerous ones, you might know them," the woman looked towards the white-haired person, "They are from Free City's... Demon Kill Team."

The white-haired person, although young, had pronounced worry lines, a few wrinkles on his face, and dark circles under his eyes.

He whispered, "...I understand."

Big man with the Giant Axe frowned hard, "The Demon Kill Team, huh..."

"The opposing team's overall strength seems a bit too strong."

"And on our side..."

He looked at the map, teeth clenched.

"Those two still haven't moved! They must be newbies from Paradise, right!"

This kind of team PvP that includes world exploration is not only a battle of strength but also a battle of information.

Staying put is the height of folly.

Even a quick look around before retreating would be fine, but these two haven't budged at all!

Dammit!

Are you still sleeping in the Sanctuary!

"Boss, what should we do?" the woman looked backward at the strange sight—a monk covered in maggots, which they couldn't shake off, but had been dragging along to create misleading tracks.

The white-haired person was pondering and then softly said, "Since they won't come to us, let's go to them."

He pointed a finger gently.

Whoosh!

Three Petal Darts flew out at high speed!

The strange being seemed to sense the danger and attempted to dodge.

But the three Petal Darts in midair, as if having calculated it perfectly, intersected right when they were about to be evaded, striking the strange creature with a baffling and unreactable speed, burying three inches deep into its body!

The creature let out a shrill scream!

But the Petal Darts were affixed with explosive charms, which detonated with a thunderous blast!

In the next moment,

The strange monk's body exploded into pieces, twitching helplessly on the ground.

"Boss... your calculations are incredible," said the big man with the Giant Axe, somewhat moved, "Using the least amount of strength to kill a powerful enemy."

The woman looked at the map, "I just hope these two aren't here to drag us down."

After all, the enemies this time were strong, and the dueling ground was extremely important to them—it was their only chance to truly come in contact with what lay behind Paradise.

"Don't underestimate any player," the white-haired person gently said,

"Taking the initiative has its advantages, but staying in one place can also be a strategy."

"Perhaps these two have other... plans and preparations."