The Adventurers popped open sodas again to celebrate their victory.
Nancilia couldn't help exclaiming, "Today's efficiency is unbelievable!"
Not only had the Adventurers defeated the two major powerhouses of the Ashina arc — Lady Butterfly and General Gyoubu — they had also discovered two hidden super-threats: Headless and the White Serpent God!
Every one of these was a major achievement.
She was no longer the Nancilia who had just arrived in Miracle City.
After witnessing the city's rapid development firsthand, she no longer worried that the Adventurers' progress would outpace expectations.
After all, the Adventurer population was enormous.
Powerhouses like Bihua and Three Bamboo were exceptional, but over ninety-five percent of Miracle City's Adventurers were still ordinary players. Even with guides and shared experience, defeating Lady Butterfly and overcoming the Oni Division Commander was far from easy.
Without ten days, half a month, or even longer, most Adventurers wouldn't be able to clear the current content.
Given the quality and popularity of Miracle City's Secret Realms, fresh blood would never dry up. Nancilia believed that even if Lord Qi stopped updating for a year or two, Miracle City would still maintain extremely high activity.
And all of this came without tricks or gimmicks.
By focusing on crafting excellent Secret Realms, Qi Ji allowed Adventurers to feel his sincerity. He never built them to harvest players, but rather with the mindset of polishing a masterpiece. That was exactly why he earned their heartfelt trust and loyalty.
The Adventurers of Miracle City were extraordinarily devoted. They willingly exchanged most of their essence — even rare materials — for contribution points. The scheming and backstabbing common in other Underground Cities simply didn't exist here.
The faster top players progressed, the faster the entire territory developed.
Nancilia felt genuinely happy for them.
The story and lore of Ashina were becoming more captivating by the day.
Why did Headless exist?
What era did it come from — and how was it formed?
Why was there a monster like the White Serpent God that defied all common sense?
Were there others like Headless, or beings approaching divinity like the White Serpent God?
As for characters, growing evidence suggested that Ashina Lord Renjiro — once universally despised — was far more complex than anyone had imagined.
Both Lady Butterfly and the Oni Division Commander had been loyal to him.
If Renjiro were truly a man without virtue, how could two rare masters give everything, even their lives, to support him?
Ashina's hidden stories and secrets were far deeper than anyone had expected.
I really want to see what happens next.
Nancilia had planned to find her friends to discuss the plot and characters, but another Adventure unfolding in the Secret Realm Lobby suddenly drew her attention.
This run came from the Hammer Pig Chicken Dog Squad!
Black Stone Hammer King and his teammates, like most Adventurers, were still grinding the Raging Tide Secret Realm. Compared to the Ashina storyline, this one had lower difficulty and faster rewards, making it the most popular choice in Miracle City.
Their squad had already attempted it four times.
This was their final run.
Originally, it was nothing special.
What drew attention was that, during this attempt, they had somehow activated and controlled three T103 Tyrants at once.
It was no longer a secret that Tyrants in the third stage of Raging Tide could be controlled and used.
Now, every squad tried to find a controller as early as possible — activating even one Tyrant drastically reduced difficulty and saved ammunition.
The problem was that there were only four Tyrants total.
Although their spawn locations were fixed, their controllers appeared randomly. Getting even one Tyrant required luck.
Two Tyrants was already exceptional.
Three?
Unprecedented.
The Hammer Pig Chicken Dog Squad wasn't the strongest team, but their luck had exploded. They found three controllers in record time and activated all three Tyrants before anyone else.
Naturally, Adventurers gathered around to watch.
This run had already lasted over an hour. Black Stone Hammer King, Pig King, Lone Wolf, and Violent Little Chicken were all still alive, accompanied by three towering Tyrants radiating a sense of security.
"Am I seeing this right?!"
"They actually recruited three Tyrant bros at once — nobody's ever done that!"
"How can they lose now? Hammer Bro, hurry up — whether we clear today depends on you!"
"..."
Even one Tyrant was already an enormous advantage.
Three made them unstoppable.
The Tyrants drew aggro in front, while the four hid behind and calmly aimed for headshots, advancing effortlessly.
Nancilia had spent the entire day watching Ashina combat — tense, precise, and exhausting. Seeing Adventurers mow down zombies like wheat was incredibly refreshing. The two Secret Realm styles were perfect complements for adjusting one's mindset.
"The evacuation zone is ahead!"
"According to the veterans—"
"There'll be a truck we can start there."
"We need to drive it out of the base and reach the evacuation point. That's the most intense and dangerous part of the entire stage."
"We have to go all out!"
"Let's clear it in one shot!"
"..."
Just as they were about to reach their destination, a strange howl echoed from behind. The spectators outside immediately sent warnings.
"Careful — G3 is coming! That thing never lets anyone go. You can't evacuate unless you blow it up!"
Violent Little Chicken pulled back his bolt and sneered. "Finally? It showed up late this time — perfect chance to settle old scores!"
Pig King laughed. "That's right. Kill it!"
"With three Tyrant bros backing us up—"
"We can talk big now!"
At that moment, a fully evolved G3 burst from the corridor. Behind it followed two G2s, five or six G1s, and dozens of ordinary zombies.
"That's a lot… this might get messy!"
"Don't panic. Stay steady and we can take it!"
They had plenty of ammunition and three Tyrants in top condition — no reason to fear.
The Tyrants attacked first.
Two pinned down G3 while the third restrained a G2.
"Clear the G1s and normal zombies first, then the G2s, and finish with G3!"
Black Stone Hammer King shouted orders. After hundreds of attempts, Adventurers were intimately familiar with the G-creature's mechanics.
Its strongest trait was regeneration.
The more it evolved, the faster it healed.
G3's regeneration was terrifying — impossible to kill quickly. So it was better to wipe out the small fry first, let the Tyrants wear it down, then finish it in one concentrated burst.
Act immediately!
Two grenades flew.
Then gunfire poured through the narrow corridor.
Within moments, all the ordinary zombies and G1s were wiped out. They didn't even get a chance to join the fight. Only the two G2s and G3 remained, locked in brutal combat with the Tyrants. The Tyrants' restraints snapped, triggering their second forms.
In their second forms, Tyrants gained massive claws —
Powerful enough to tear into G-creature flesh and inflict real damage.
Although they were still outmatched against G3, two-on-one was enough to stall and weaken it.
"Keep firing!"
Black Stone Hammer King reloaded.
He emptied an entire M16 magazine into one G2, just enough to bring it down.
The others followed with SMGs and shotguns, quickly eliminating the second G2.
Now—
Only G3 remained.
It was being beaten senseless by three Tyrants.
"Hahaha!"
"So, G3, you finally get a taste of this too?"
Black Stone Hammer King, Violent Little Chicken, and the others were ecstatic. They'd died to this thing countless times before. Today, they finally had their revenge. They reloaded and unleashed everything they had.
Under the combined barrage—
G3 was reduced to a pile of rotten flesh.
It couldn't evolve anymore.
It was dead.
During the process, one Tyrant fell.
But—
"It's done!"
"Our revenge is complete!"
"This feels amazing!"
"Don't celebrate yet — no time! Move, now!"
The four Adventurers, along with the remaining two Tyrants, rushed into the evacuation zone. They boarded an M923 military truck parked nearby, specially prepared for escape.
Black Stone Hammer King jumped into the driver's seat.
The moment his hands touched the wheel, streams of driving knowledge flooded his mind.
This truck had outstanding performance.
It weighed nearly twenty tons, had a top speed of eighty to ninety kilometers per hour, and was incredibly durable — capable of ramming through obstacles without slowing down.
The other three and the two Tyrants climbed into the cargo bay.
The gate began to open.
At the same time—
[Warning!]
[All personnel have evacuated.]
[This base will self-destruct in 10 seconds.]
[Ten… nine… eight…]
This was the third-stage mechanic of Raging Tide. Once the evacuation gate opened, no matter how much time remained, the base would self-destruct in ten seconds.
The crisis wasn't over —
It was just beginning.
As the gate lifted, Adventurers who'd never seen this stage gasped.
The base was already destroyed. The alarms and explosions had drawn every zombie within several kilometers. Now they were packed together like a mountain of corpses — tens of thousands at least.
Insane.
Even more terrifying than the second-stage easter egg.
Among the horde were special zombies — Hunters, Tanks, and more.
Even with a twenty-ton armored truck, breaking through this sea of bodies would be incredibly difficult.
However—
It wasn't hopeless.
Several teams had reached this point before and provided critical intel.
There were five gas depots around the base. Once the underground facility initiated self-destruct, the gas inside them would detonate in sequence. The explosions and firestorms would temporarily clear paths through the horde — especially driving off powerful special zombies like Tanks and Witches.
Based on hard-earned experience, Adventurers needed to pass through the five depots in order, riding the explosions and shockwaves to punch through the swarm.
The timing and driving had to be perfect.
One mistake meant flipping the truck.
And flipping meant instant death.
"Hold tight!"
"I'm flooring it!"
"Let's crush these damn zombies!"
Black Stone Hammer King roared in excitement and slammed the accelerator to the floor.
The truck bellowed like a beast and charged headfirst into the zombie flood.
Instantly—
Flesh exploded.
Bones cracked.
Dozens — hundreds — of zombies were sent flying. The twenty-ton vehicle crushed everything beneath it, turning the road into a river of blood and pulp. In moments, the truck was drenched red, carving a path of carnage that was horrifying to behold.
The other three Adventurers weren't idle.
They shot down zombies climbing onto the truck and suppressed dangerous special units in the horde.
Boom!
The first gas depot detonated.
A massive orange-red fireball surged into the sky like a mushroom cloud in the night. Hundreds of zombies were engulfed by the shockwave and flames, instantly becoming burning figures stumbling through hell.
Heavy trucks.
Blood.
Firestorms.
Explosions.
Pure violent aesthetics.
Pure apocalypse.
"Holy crap — this is insane. It's blinding my eyes! This is explosion art, the romance of real men!"
"This is way too hype!"
"Hammer Bro, don't slow down — stopping means death!"
"Charge! Charge! Charge!"
The spectators in the Secret Realm Lobby were completely fired up, cheering wildly for the Hammer Pig Chicken Dog Squad.
Black Stone Hammer King knew how dangerous this was, so he kept the accelerator pinned, plowing forward along the trail of explosions and smashing through everything in his path.
The sea of corpses surged endlessly.
The heavy truck roared.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The second, third, fourth, and fifth gas depots exploded in sequence.
Each blast produced towering fireballs and scorching shockwaves, igniting hundreds — thousands — of zombies each time, driving the atmosphere higher and higher.
The truck surged at full speed.
Straight through the inferno.
Black Stone Hammer King lost count of how many bodies he crushed. The six massive tires were coated in gore, and the windshield cracked and shattered under repeated impacts.
Exhilarating.
A race between life and death.
High-octane madness from start to finish.
It looked spectacular —
But it was deadly.
One collision. One misstep. One rollover.
And all four Adventurers would die instantly.
Yet luck was on their side.
They burst through the encirclement.
Behind them, the base had become a sea of flames. Thousands of zombies writhed in the fire, screaming like demons in purgatory. The scene was apocalyptic beyond description.
"We made it!"
"We broke through!"
"We're out!"
The Hammer Pig Chicken Dog Squad erupted in joy.
Although several teams had reached the evacuation phase before, this was the first time anyone had actually broken through the zombie sea and escaped.
This was the highest progress achieved so far.
Clearing the stage finally felt possible.
"Hammer Bro, Little Chicken — keep going!"
"Victory's right ahead!"
"The whole city's counting on you!"
"You're our only hope!"
"..."
Ten minutes later, they reached the evacuation point marked on the mission map.
It looked like a small airport, surrounded by barbed wire, sandbags, and defensive structures. At the center was a helipad, flashing a bright signal beacon.
[Helicopter arriving in three minutes!]
The four jumped out of their gore-soaked truck and immediately opened fire on nearby zombies. Roars echoed from every direction — this area had clearly been overrun as well.
"Damn it!"
"We still have to hold out for three minutes!"
"But we're almost out of ammo!"
"No problem — we still have two Tyrant bros. We can hold. We've come too far to fail now!"
They immediately took positions behind the defenses, forming a perimeter around the helipad while using their remaining ammunition to fend off the surging zombies.
However—
The numbers were overwhelming.
Ammo ran dry fast.
Just as despair began to set in—
The roar of rotor blades thundered overhead.
A Black Hawk helicopter descended. The cabin door slid open, and a rope ladder dropped down.
This was the final extraction point.
Climb aboard —
And it would all be over.
"Go, now!"
Black Stone Hammer King and Lone Wolf still had some ammo left, while Pig King and Violent Little Chicken were completely dry. The former two covered them as they climbed the ladder into the cabin.
More zombies flooded in.
A Witch sprinted toward them.
Pig King fired desperately, but she was too fast — in the blink of an eye, she was right in front of him. At the critical moment, a Tyrant charged in and blocked the attack.
"That was close! Thank God Tyrant Bro saved us — otherwise all our effort would've been wasted!"
"Hurry up and get in!"
At the final moment—
The two remaining Tyrants stepped forward.
Blocking the last wave of attacks and buying time for evacuation.
Black Stone Hammer King and Pig King climbed the ladder successfully. Before they were fully inside, the Black Hawk rose to a safe altitude beyond the Tank zombie's throwing range.
A system prompt rang out.
[You have cleared Stage Three of Doomsday Frenzy!]
Black Stone Hammer King hung from the rope and looked down.
The small airport below had vanished beneath a sea of zombies, while the base in the distance burned like a raging inferno.
This run had been insane.
Explosions everywhere.
Massive set pieces.
Driving a truck straight through a sea of corpses.
The adrenaline and visuals far surpassed Stage Two.
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