[Ding~ Please confirm whether to carry out the Elite-level Hidden Dungeon · Shadow Holy Hall simulation challenge (the simulation time limit for this dungeon is three minutes. Each Heart of Shadow may be used for at most one simulation. No dungeon rewards can be obtained during the simulation, and there is no penalty for death).]
Dragon Soul Aoshi trembled slightly.
He had not expected it, "This dungeon can actually be simulated!"
Amid his shock, Dragon Soul Aoshi immediately chose to simulate it.
Whoosh!
As soon as the Heart of Shadow flickered with a burst of blood-red light, Dragon Soul Aoshi's body was sucked into the flowing vortex within the stone gate.
Su Muqiu, Dragon Soul Whisper, and the rest of the Dragon Soul Guild players all stood guard outside the Shadow Gate, waiting anxiously.
"Rulebound said that the boss wouldn't survive more than one minute in the dungeon. Do you think that's possible?"
"Rulebound's motive is way too obvious. He must have said that on purpose to make the boss back off, so he'd hand over the Heart of Shadow to him, and then privately take over the hidden dungeon."
"I bet he doesn't even dare to challenge this dungeon himself. More likely he'd sell it to Wang Junjie at a high price and make a fortune."
"The boss's strength is unquestionable. Third strongest on Blazing Fire City's Heavenly Rankings. And all his gear is at least tier-two purple. No matter how hard the hidden dungeon is, there's no way the boss couldn't even last one minute."
"Besides, this is just a simulation. Once we probe the dungeon's details and make more targeted preparations before the real challenge, the boss will definitely clear it."
Just as the Dragon Soul members were discussing heatedly.
Boom!
Suddenly, accompanied by a loud explosion.
A vortex bloomed on the stone gate, and a figure seemed to be blasted by some tremendous force, "flying" out of the vortex and crashing heavily onto the ground dozens of meters away.
And that person was none other than Dragon Soul Aoshi.
Seeing this, the Dragon Soul players were all shocked.
"Boss!"
"Are you okay?"
Dragon Soul Aoshi staggered as he climbed up from the ground.
His breathing was rapid, as if he had encountered something extremely terrifying.
When he looked at the Shadow Gate again, endless fear radiated from his eyes.
Meanwhile, all the Dragon Soul players present wore expressions of disbelief.
"This… the boss was only in there for ten seconds! And he got wiped out?"
"Was it because he wasn't prepared enough and couldn't respond to some sudden dungeon situation in time?"
"Luckily this was just a simulation. When the boss goes in for real next time, he should be able to clear it!"
Just as the Dragon Soul players were still holding onto trust and hope in Dragon Soul Aoshi.
Dragon Soul Aoshi suddenly said to Su Muqiu, "Contact Rulebound. Tell him that I'm willing to hand over this Heart of Shadow I have to him."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.
"Boss! You're really going to give up the only chance to enter this hidden dungeon to Rulebound?"
"This was just one simulation. Failing without preparation is normal. With more preparation, boss, you'll definitely make it next time."
Just as the Dragon Soul players tried to persuade Dragon Soul Aoshi not to miss such a great opportunity.
Only Dragon Soul Whisper did not join in.
Instead, with the attitude of someone who understood Dragon Soul Aoshi extremely well, he spoke, "If the boss can say something like this, it means the difficulty of this dungeon has already reached a level where no matter what kind of preparation he makes, he won't be able to clear it."
"Do as the boss says."
Su Muqiu nodded and immediately conveyed Dragon Soul Aoshi's intentions to Lin Mo.
———
At the same time, on the tenth floor of the Insect Nest Underground Palace.
Lin Mo was still farming poison insects and collecting venom bottles.
At this moment, when he saw Su Muqiu's message, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a smile.
Sure enough, this result had already been within his expectations.
The Dragon Soul players' guesses were not wrong.
Lin Mo's goal was indeed to make Dragon Soul Aoshi back off in the face of difficulty, and voluntarily hand over the Heart of Shadow.
But even if they all knew it, no matter how obvious Lin Mo's purpose was, so what?
"One dungeon simulation is enough to let Dragon Soul Aoshi know that even with ten times his current strength, he still couldn't shake the Shadow Holy Hall at all."
"Not to mention that the Shadow Holy Hall's dungeon requirement states that players entering cannot exceed level 30. For Dragon Soul Aoshi, there's basically no room for further improvement."
Lin Mo had already anticipated all of this.
After all, in his previous life, even Wang Junjie, after reaching level 30, completing his second class advancement, and wearing a full set of level 30, tier-two, red-quality top-tier gear, ultimately only managed to survive ten minutes inside the Shadow Holy Hall.
Compared to Wang Junjie, Dragon Soul Aoshi's hardware was far inferior.
It went without saying that he wouldn't last long at all.
That was why Lin Mo had already gathered a full set of tier-two warrior Venom equipment on his body, deliberately not giving it to Dragon Soul Aoshi, precisely to prevent him from wearing the Venom Set for the Shadow Holy Hall dungeon simulation.
In his previous life, Wang Junjie failed precisely because he lacked poison immunity. He forcibly tanked the continuous percentage-based HP erosion from the Shadow Breath, the toxic aura inside the Shadow Holy Hall, and that was why he stopped at the ten-minute mark.
If his equipment quality had remained the same but been replaced with a full set of red-quality Venom gear, he might actually have cleared it.
So in this life, Lin Mo was fully confident.
Once he obtained a full set of gold-quality, tier-two Venom equipment, he would definitely be able to solo the Shadow Holy Hall.
Dragon Soul Aoshi, being a businessman, naturally would not allow himself to take a loss.
Everything he did had to be profitable.
Lin Mo understood this point clearly.
So Lin Mo said to Su Muqiu, "Name your conditions."
Sure enough.
Not long after, Su Muqiu conveyed Dragon Soul Aoshi's demands to Lin Mo, [I want fifty percent of the dungeon profits.]
[You only provided one Heart of Shadow, and you don't need to contribute any effort. Proportionally speaking, I can give you at most thirty percent of the profits.]
First, Lin Mo deliberately set his stance high, then smoothly backed down, [However, if you can help me with one more thing, I'll give you another half percent, making it thirty-five percent.]
[Help me collect venom bottles. Before entering the dungeon, I need to assemble a full Venom Set.]
After this dungeon simulation, Dragon Soul Aoshi finally understood that Lin Mo's purpose in collecting the Venom Set was precisely to prepare for tackling the Shadow Holy Hall.
But even though Dragon Soul Aoshi understood that the Venom Set's set skill [Immunity to All Poisons] could be used to resist the Shadow Breath inside the Shadow Holy Hall.
Even if he were given a full Venom Set, he still had no confidence at all in clearing the dungeon.
So Dragon Soul Aoshi agreed, ["Fine, then I want forty percent of the profits."]
As the saying goes, no merchant is without guile.
Lin Mo had long expected Dragon Soul Aoshi to bargain, so he went with the flow and threw out his next requirement, [Alright, then you have to agree to one more condition.]
[While I'm raiding the dungeon, I need your people to help me guard the area.]
Precisely because of its extremely high value, the difficulty of this hidden dungeon was far from simple.
From watching Wang Junjie's dungeon livestream in his previous life, Lin Mo knew that once a player entered the Shadow Holy Hall, the Shadow Legion in Shadow City that had already been wiped out would revive once more.
And the Shadow Legion's strength would reach its peak: level 30.
And they would gain undying bodies.
At that time, all Shadow Guards would gather and march toward the Shadow Gate.
Once the Shadow Legion infiltrated the Shadow Holy Hall dungeon, it would pose a huge threat to Lin Mo.
Therefore, it was absolutely necessary for someone to stand guard outside the Shadow Gate and prevent the Shadow Legion from stepping into it.
With just a few brief exchanges, Dragon Soul Aoshi already understood that ever since Lin Mo arrived at the level-three main city, he had been preparing for the Shadow Holy Hall dungeon this whole time.
In other words, this dungeon, which on the surface looked like prey being contested between Dragon Soul and Chaotic World, the two major guilds.
In reality, it had long since been something Lin Mo was determined to obtain.
"Rulebound, it seems you're the one who's an even more cunning hunter than us."
Though he said that, Dragon Soul Aoshi's eyes clearly showed admiration toward Lin Mo.
[Alright, deal.]
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