166. Finding Captain
The twentieth floor was indeed crowded, with most players concentrated here.
This was also a place many planned to garrison for an extended period.
Perhaps those hiding along the way, seeing how easily Yun Ling and Susannah could handle the level's monsters, didn't dare rush in to ambush them.
In just fifteen minutes, with Susannah's attack buff, Yun Ling killed the boss, then let Susannah loot the corpse.
Sure enough, it was another pile of gold and purple equipment.
Fortunately, Yun Ling, used to this, was somewhat numb about it and continued pushing forward with Susannah.
The higher they went, the fewer people there were. By the twenty-fifth level and beyond, those who had reached this point were mostly elite troops.
According to Susannah, only 10,000 copies of the game were available, and when she entered, the death toll had already exceeded 2,000...
However, she also mentioned that they were already researching how to prevent player deaths, but she didn't know the progress.
She only had one chance to send a message outward, and it was a one-way communication.
She couldn't receive information from the outside world.
The two continued to accelerate their progress, although the difficulty gradually increased, Yun Ling and Susannah's equipment was basically top-tier.
When fighting bosses, Yun Ling could use some gold weapons, although they were disposable for him, so he mostly preferred the beginner longsword.
He was just keeping it anyway; no one could afford to buy it at the auction house.
When the two reached the thirtieth floor, Yun Ling's 'Taixu Sword Qi' successfully advanced to the 'Minor Success' stage.
And the proficiency requirement for this stage increased directly to 100,000...
After advancing to 'Minor Success,' he could use 'Taixu Sword Qi' with any weapon, and even use it bare-handed.
This stage corresponds to the 'Soul Essence' within Taixu Sword Qi.
He had mastered the 'Sword Form,' requiring no external support; even a plucked leaf or a flying flower used as a weapon could cause injury.
His damage output had increased significantly, meaning he shouldn't be too worried before reaching the fiftieth floor.
Susannah often remarked to Yun Ling, "That guy's a pro! He can even kill a boss with a beginner's longsword."
The number of people on the thirtieth floor had dwindled, with only a handful of small teams visible.
Indeed, everyone in this world lives in fear. Even among humans facing similar predicaments, it was difficult to unite.
But Bronya was still not there, so Yun Ling and Susannah had no choice but to continue climbing.
Aside from eating and sleeping, the two spent most of their time pushing through the tower.
Finally, several days later, on the 45th floor of the tower, Yunling and Susannah found that figure.
She was alone in the weapon shop, repairing her weapon.
"Bronya!" Susannah shouted towards Bronya, tears welling in her eyes. She had finally found Bronya.
Bronya looked towards them, puzzled. It was Susannah, but beside her...
Bronya's eyes widened instinctively. The blurry figure in her memory gradually overlapped with him, and her hand holding the hammer trembled slightly.
The two walked towards Bronya. Susannah, perhaps more excited, rushed over and hugged Bronya.
But Bronya's gaze remained fixed on Yun Ling.
"Phew...Captain, long time no see." Yun Ling greeted Bronya.
"...Where did you go?" Bronya asked.
"I don't know. I woke up already in this game world," Yun Ling explained.
"What..." Bronya was clearly skeptical of this explanation. Yun Ling had been missing for ten whole years, without a trace, disappearing right under Bronya's nose.
Now, he'd appeared in the game she herself had created?
"That's just how it is. I don't know what happened to my body either," Yun Ling said, scratching his head.
"...Call this number after everything's over, and I'll come pick you up." Bronya sent Yun Ling a string of numbers.
"Okay." Yun Ling silently memorized the numbers.
"And you, Susannah, what are you doing here?" Bronya looked at Susannah, who was hugging her.
"Oh, right, Bronya, is there any way to end this game? I can transmit a message to the outside world once. If there's a way, we might be able to succeed with inside help!"
Susannah looked at Bronya expectantly.
Meeting her gaze, Bronya shook her head slightly.
Susannah's expression instantly turned utterly dejected.
"However, I might know exactly how the mastermind killed the people outside, and I have some countermeasures. I wonder if they'll be useful," Bronya offered a solution from another angle.
"Yes, yes!" Susannah nodded immediately.
"Have Bishop Theresa find the Herrscher of Sentience and Mei. The mastermind probably caused brain death by sensing brainwaves and using electricity."
"When a game character dies, their brainwaves experience a huge upheaval, triggering the current in the helmet."
"Simply cutting off the power won't work; it will also trigger the helmet's protection mechanism, killing the player."
Bronya told Susannah everything she knew.
Susannah quickly memorized it and then transmitted this crucial information to the outside world.
"Those outside are working hard, and those inside need to work hard too," Yun Ling reminded her.
"Yes, we can't just rely on those outside; we also need to find a way to clear this game." Bronya agreed with Yun Ling's idea.
"Perfect timing. The forty-fifth floor is a mechanic-based level, requiring at least three players to clear. When I designed this level, I intended to limit the pace of the top players to prevent a large gap between them and those entering later. But I didn't expect..."
Bronya shook her head slightly. She'd been stuck on this floor for two days, but none of her teammates below her had even reached the forty-fifth floor. With such low-quality players, it was practically suicide on the forty-fifth floor.
So she simply decided to level up here and put some cheap, high-quality equipment on the auction house to raise the overall player level.
However, it clearly didn't work. Most items were snapped up instantly, and some people were probably camping the auction house to resell them at higher prices.
"Hehe, we're here now, aren't we? Maybe this is fate! Let's do our best together!" Susannah extended her hand, looking at the two of them.
"Good luck." Yun Ling placed his hand on Susannah's.
"Okay." Bronya placed her hand on Yun Ling's.
The three decided to rest on the 45th floor for the time being.
That night, Susannah suddenly remembered that Yun Ling had also come to see Bronya, but he didn't seem to have asked anything.
"Yun Ling, didn't you also have something you wanted to ask Bronya?"
Bronya looked up at Yun Ling.
"It's nothing now... I was wondering if Captain Bronya might have made me into a player-like character as a small memento." Yun Ling scratched his face somewhat embarrassedly.
Was he being a little too presumptuous?
However, the moment Bronya showed a surprised expression, Yun Ling already knew the answer to his question.
"Ahem, I did have that idea at first, wanting to make you a very powerful NPC, after all, you have a share in this game." Bronya didn't hide anything and stated her thoughts.
"Then why didn't you?" Susannah asked.
"...I'm a little tired, let's get some rest." Bronya remained silent for a long while, still not answering the question.
The reason was simple: she didn't believe Yun Ling was dead.
But saying it so directly might cause misunderstandings, so it was better to remain silent.
...