Bai Xiu looked at everyone’s gloomy faces and pushed up his glasses with a smile.

"Don’t worry. Even the strongest defense system has vulnerabilities. This observatory base primarily relies on solar accumulators distributed throughout the mountain range. Many of these have been damaged from years of disrepair, so their energy storage is limited. This means that once night falls, the base won’t have enough stored power, and a large number of its weapons and systems will be paralyzed. Therefore, the best time to head up is around 1 AM. Going up at night has other benefits, too—the effectiveness of the base’s various unmaintained surveillance devices will be greatly diminished."

"So you’re saying our biggest enemies are still the other players?"

Guardian Chapter asked with a brilliant smile.

"That’s right. The hardest part has never been the dungeon, but our own kind! But don’t worry. To ensure we clear the observatory base this time, I spent 500,000 in cash to buy intel on how to clear it from a player who’s already done it!"

Bai Xiu said with great confidence.

"What intel?"

Long Ming and the others all turned to look at Bai Xiu.

"First, we don’t need to rush to be the first ones into the central control room. The first person in isn’t guaranteed to complete the mission, because completing it requires activating the radio telescope. That operation consumes a massive amount of energy, so it can only be done during the day. It also depends on the weather. Dawn is at 6 AM here. If the weather’s good, we can activate it early. If it’s overcast, we might have to wait until noon to do it!"

"I see."

"On top of that, I also got the optimal route to clear the observatory. Most of the observatory’s defensive weapons along this route are either damaged or out of ammo, so it’s very safe. I’ll share it with you now."

Bai Xiu raised his wristband and tapped it a few times, then shared the route information with Long Ming and the others.

"Bai Xiu, can I ask you a question?"

Qin Ying asked, a little puzzled.

"Of course."

"It seems like equipment and ammo don’t respawn here. If the defensive weapons run out of ammo, does that mean people can just go up whenever they want?"

"That’s right."

"Wouldn’t that lower the difficulty then?"

"No, because only a maximum of five people can complete this dungeon at a time. Everyone who comes in will still have to fight for those spots."

Bai Xiu explained to Qin Ying.

Just then, Xu Lie asked curiously.

"What if someone destroys the central control room? Does that mean no one else can do the mission?"

"Theoretically, yes. Unless you know how to repair the console. But that thing is so complicated, who the hell knows how to fix it!"

"So you’re saying if someone destroys the console, they can block everyone else’s progress? No one would be able to do the safe mission?"

"No, this observatory base dungeon is just one of the ways to advance the safe mission. It’s possible other dungeons will be released later as alternatives. But who the hell knows what those new dungeons will be like? They might be even harder!"

"I see!"

"Also, I’m warning all of you: no one is to destroy the central control console!"

"Why?"

Xu Lie asked curiously.

"Don’t any of you read the forums? The three major guilds posted a warning. No one—not even their own guild members—is allowed to destroy the observatory’s central control console. If anyone does, the guilds will find them in real life. At that point, it won’t be a game anymore—it’ll be a matter of how tough you are."

Bai Xiu said to Xu Lie and the others.

"All that for a game? Still, forget it. I’m not interested in getting hunted down by those guys."

Xu Lie and his group might be arrogant, but that didn’t mean they were stupid.

They knew at least a little about the backgrounds of the three major guilds.

Hearing this, Long Ming’s brow furrowed slightly. He didn’t know why, but something felt off.

’This is supposed to be just a game, but everything feels so real.’

’The deeper he explores, the harder it is to tell what’s real and what’s not.’

BANG BANG~

Just then, the sound of a firefight echoed from a distance.

Hearing it, Zhao Chen quickly said to Qin Ye and the others.

"Young Masters, we should get going. It sounds like a lot of players have already entered the base city."

"Alright. Let’s head near the center of the base city first, find a place to hide, and wait for the right moment."

Bai Ye nodded in agreement.

"Move out!"

Qin Ye gave a casual wave to Long Ming and the others.

Long Ming and the other escorts immediately spread out. Some took point to scout ahead, while others secured the rear.

They provided complete protection for the five of them, including Qin Ye, as they advanced toward the center of the base city.

「Half an hour later.」

The narrow streets were clogged with murky sewage, with rotten bones floating on the surface.

The derelict residential buildings on both sides were pockmarked with bullet holes and scorch marks from explosions.

Some structures were nearly half-destroyed, the entire buildings looking as if they could collapse at any moment.

Long Ming observed the dilapidated buildings as he walked, pondering silently.

’When I searched the forums for information on the Watcher Observatory, I didn’t find much on the dungeon’s backstory, but I did manage to gather some important intel.’

’This dungeon isn’t actually devoid of monsters. A mutated virus is ravaging this world. After being infected, a person’s body mutates, turning them into a powerful, fleshy monster. These mutants are incredibly strong, even resistant to conventional weapons.’

’But these monsters only occupy important and special areas, like the base city’s Defense Bureau, the observatory’s power room, the secret archives, and so on.’

’So, as long as you don’t go poking around those places, you’re unlikely to run into them.’

’Of course, the areas they occupy are bound to have good loot.’

’However, pretty much every player who’s run the Watcher Observatory dungeon advises against provoking them.’

’You have to remember, this is a 10,000-person dungeon.’

’Normally, the 10,000 players entering this dungeon should be working together to hunt down these monsters.’

’That’s the only way to have even a sliver of a chance at winning.’

’But right now, the dungeon isn’t even full, and all the players are just killing each other.’

’So provoking those monsters is basically no different from feeding kills.’

Just then, a black gun barrel silently emerged from a window, taking aim at Qin Ye and his approaching group.

Inside the window, a player’s face lit up with excitement. But just as he was about to pull the trigger, a mocking voice came from behind him.

"What are you so happy about?"

The player shuddered and whipped around.

Guardian Chapter was standing right behind him.

Before he could even fire, Guardian Chapter pinned the gun with one hand while plunging a tactical knife into the man’s chest with the other.

"H-How is this possible?"

The player collapsed, his face a mask of disbelief. ’My teammate was guarding the stairs,’ he thought. ’How did this guy sneak up behind me without a sound?’