F-class thief? Sorry, I can steal anything.

Chapter 196 Departure!

"Leave? Fanzi, what's wrong?"

Wang Fugui was filled with questions.

Having barely crawled out of that hellish place alive, with the exit right in front of him, why was Chen Yifan even more nervous than before?

Chen Yifan did not explain.

His gaze swept quickly across the entire platform, searching for any clues that might confirm his terrifying suspicion.

open.

Dead silence.

Apart from their heavy breathing, there was no other sound from any living creature.

The enormous vortex entrance leading to the outside world was now rotating quietly and slowly, like the pupil of a silent behemoth.

Not a single person entered.

Not a single person left.

The entire instance seemed to have been paused by the world.

And they are the only characters still active in this frozen space-time.

"Something's not right, something's really not right."

Chen Yifan's voice was extremely low, carrying a chilling aura.

"Fatty, do you remember how many people were here when we came in?"

"How many people?" Wang Fugui scratched his head, recalling, "A huge crowd, at least seventy or eighty thousand, right? The scene was like a rush to be the first to offer incense during Chinese New Year."

"Yes, seventy or eighty thousand people." Chen Yifan's eyes were as cold as ice.

"But now, there's not a single person here."

Where did they go?

"Maybe... they've all gone deep into the mining area?" Wang Fugui said uncertainly. "This instance is like a bottomless pit; even if you throw people in, it's not enough to fill a tooth gap."

"impossible."

Chen Yifan's denial was resolute.

"With over a hundred thousand people, some will inevitably stay at the entrance to wait for others, trade, or temporarily form teams. More importantly..."

He paused, then pointed to the silent altars above him, which were as dense as locusts.

"As long as someone dies in the mine, there should be a constant flash of white light here."

"How long have we been standing here?"

"Have you seen even one person come back to life?"

Wang Fugui's face turned pale instantly.

He is not a fool.

Chen Yifan's words were enough to enlighten him.

Yes.

What about people?

What about those who died in the mines?

Why wasn't he resurrected here?

A fear even more chilling than facing that black heart directly gripped his heart like an invisible hand.

It was a fear of the entire world's rules being shaken and collapsing.

"I...I understand..."

Lin Xiaoyu's voice trembled uncontrollably.

She gazed at the silent "tombstones" overhead and whispered:

"The place we just escaped from... there's a respawn point there."

A word to awaken the dreamer.

Wang Fugui trembled violently and cried out in a hoarse voice:

"You mean...all of these have failed?! They've been resurrected somewhere else?"

"No, there should still be energy."

Chen Yifan used the stealth detection, then slowly shook his head and uttered a sentence that made both of their blood almost freeze.

"I suspect it... is a decoy."

He expressed his terrifying conjecture in the most concise and coldest language.

"It made everyone believe in the existence of resurrection."

"And this instance is divided into countless independent areas, like separate slaughterhouses."

"In every 'slaughterhouse,' there is a 'heart' like the one we encountered."

"Those hearts, with songs and illusions, lure professionals in, then establish an independent, small-scale cycle of resurrection. Death, resurrection, then being devoured... over and over again."

"In that case, this place is useless."

Wang Fugui was dumbfounded, his fat face twitching nervously.

Slaughterhouse?

It's useless now?

Looking at this magnificent platform now, he feels as if he is standing in the loading lane of a giant slaughterhouse.

And they, along with the hundreds of thousands of missing professionals, were like batches of animals sent onto conveyor belts, waiting to be sorted...

"Those...those people..." Lin Xiaoyu's lips were completely bloodless.

"I'm afraid they've all already entered their respective 'slaughterhouses.'" Chen Yifan's tone was cold, revealing only the realization of the truth.

This is an unprecedentedly massive trap, using "infinite resurrection" and "divine artifacts" as bait.

The three of them were able to escape only because they accidentally stumbled upon the truth.

"Go, get out of here immediately."

Chen Yifan no longer had any intention of staying.

Staying in this place for even a second longer made him feel a nausea that came from the depths of his soul.

The three of them rushed toward the entrance to the huge vortex.

Just before he was about to step inside, Chen Yifan suddenly stopped.

His gaze was drawn to an inconspicuous metal object on the ground at the edge of the platform.

A badge.

It is made of red copper and engraved with a ferocious giant axe that is still dripping blood.

The edges of the badge bear traces of being melted by high temperatures.

Chen Yifan's pupils suddenly contracted.

He recognized the badge.

"Blood Axe Mercenary Group".

The legendary boss who single-handedly deterred tens of thousands of people at the entrance, the team of "Blood Slaughter" Zhou Mu.

Chen Yifan stepped forward and used the tip of his dagger to lift the badge.

Get it still warm.

The bloodstains on it even seemed to be still alive.

This means that its owner had just died here not long ago.

A real, irreversible death.

He put the badge into his backpack.

The water behind this instance is unfathomably deep.

"Walk."

Without further thought, Chen Yifan led the two of them resolutely into that deep vortex.

……

The world spun around.

When the solid ground beneath my feet returned, a warm breath, carrying the fragrance of grass and earth, filled my nostrils.

The glaring sunlight caused all three of them to squint.

Out.

They made it out alive.

Looking at the dim sun overhead and the distant, rolling green hills, Wang Fugui suddenly felt as if he were in another world.

He suddenly spread his arms wide, and with all his might, let out a deafening roar.

"ah--!"

The voice contained fear, repression, and anger, but even more so, it contained the ecstatic joy of being reborn.

Chen Yifan and Lin Xiaoyu couldn't help but smile as they watched him shout and jump around like a madman.

It's nice to be alive.

However, at that moment...

A frivolous whistle rang out from behind several large rocks not far away.

"Hey, look! There are three little fish crawling out of there."

"Tsk tsk, look at that disheveled state, he must have been terrified inside, right?"

"Being able to get out alive means you're lucky. Who knows... maybe you found something good on one of the dead bodies?"

Seven or eight figures emerged from behind the boulder.

They wore uniform tan leather armor with vulture emblems tattooed on their chests, and each of them wore an excited smile.

The leader was a bald, burly man with a scar on his face.

He carried a giant battle axe and used the back of the axe blade to slap his shoulder repeatedly, making muffled "bang" sounds.

His gaze swept over the three of them, finally settling on Chen Yifan.

"Kid, judging by your level, around level 20?"

Scarface grinned, revealing a set of yellowed teeth, his smile radiating condescending superiority.

"Meeting is fate. Hand over everything you've found in the dungeon."

"Then kneel down and tell your brother the story inside."

"Well told, brother, I might consider... breaking only one of your legs."