Fantasy Game: Infinite City

Chapter 702, Floor 94 (4)

"Action!" Lu Chen shouted, his figure flashing as he instantly rushed into the alley, running towards the abandoned warehouse at the very end. Zhao Feng and Li Ran immediately emerged from their hiding place, pretending to be passing players, and deliberately bumped into the two staff members at the alley entrance.

"What are you doing?" one of the staff members asked coldly, his brows furrowed. His eyes were filled with vigilance, and his energy fluctuations instantly intensified, clearly indicating that he suspected Zhao Feng and Li Ran.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, we didn't mean to," Zhao Feng said, feigning apology. At the same time, he secretly released a faint aura of killing intent to restrain the staff member. "We were just passing by and accidentally bumped into you. We're really sorry."

Another staff member, his eyes scanning Zhao Feng and Li Ran warily, said in an icy tone, "Who are you? What are you doing here? This is not a place for you. Leave immediately!"

"We are players, currently on a quest in this instance. We were just passing by and wanted to find a place to rest," Li Ran said, feigning innocence. At the same time, he secretly cast a weak control spell, binding the staff member's legs and preventing him from moving easily. "Since this isn't a place for us, we'll leave immediately, leave immediately."

Although the two staff members were suspicious of Zhao Feng and Li Ran, they hadn't discovered their true intentions. Moreover, their main task was to search Lin Ye, and they didn't want to waste too much time here. So, they said in an icy tone, "Leave now and don't linger here any longer, or you'll face the consequences!"

"Okay, okay, we'll leave right away." Zhao Feng and Li Ran pretended to apologize while slowly backing away, deliberately stalling for time and keeping the two staff members from entering the alley.

Inside the alley, Lu Chen had already rushed to the door of the abandoned warehouse. He gently pushed open the door and saw Lin Ye hiding in a corner, clutching a detection device tightly in his hand, his eyes warily fixed on the warehouse entrance. Seeing Lu Chen enter, Lin Ye immediately breathed a sigh of relief and quickly walked over.

"Captain, you've finally arrived!" Lin Ye's tone carried a hint of relief. "Those staff will be searching here soon, let's get out of here quickly!"

"Okay, let's go!" Lu Chen nodded, grabbed Lin Ye, and turned to run out of the warehouse. "Did you find any other clues in the central area of ​​the city-state? What exactly are those Infinite City staff guarding, or what missions are they carrying out?"

“I’ve found some clues,” Lin Ye said quickly as he ran alongside Lu Chen. “Near the city hall in the central area of ​​the city-state, I sensed a very strong energy fluctuation. That energy fluctuation is much stronger than the energy fluctuations of the staff we found before, and it’s very special, like some kind of sealing energy. I suspect that the staff of the Infinite City are probably guarding that seal, or using it to conduct some kind of experiment. In addition, I also found that there are many high-level staff members inside the city hall. They are very powerful, and they keep talking about topics like ‘the 94th floor,’ ‘experimental subjects,’ and ‘the seal loosening.’ I can’t understand what they are saying, but I’m sure that ‘the 94th floor’ is definitely a key place, and it’s very likely related to the core secret of this instance.”

“The 94th floor?” Lu Chen frowned. “That name sounds familiar. Right, when the dungeon opened, I saw a hidden questline called ‘The 94th Floor.’ But the conditions for unlocking that questline were very strict, and the quest description was vague, only saying ‘Go to the 94th floor and explore the hidden secrets,’ without any other information, so I didn’t pay attention to it at the time. Now it seems that the ‘94th Floor’ questline is very likely the key to unlocking the anomaly of this dungeon and the purpose of those Infinite City staff.”

“That’s right!” Lin Ye nodded. “Those staff members kept talking about ‘Floor 94,’ and their tone was tense and solemn, as if there was something very dangerous or a very important secret inside ‘Floor 94.’ I suspect that the ‘Floor 94’ questline was probably set up by the Infinite City, and they disguised themselves as NPCs and infiltrated this instance to protect the secret inside ‘Floor 94’ from us players.”

The two quickly ran out of the abandoned warehouse and headed towards the alley's exit. At this moment, Zhao Feng and Li Ran were still holding off the two staff members at the alley's entrance, while Su Wan secretly provided support to ensure their safety. Seeing Lu Chen and Lin Ye run out, Zhao Feng immediately gave them a wink, then, together with Li Ran, pretended to accidentally bump into the two staff members again. Taking advantage of their distraction, they quickly ran out of the alley.

"Stop! Who are you people?" The two staff members finally realized something was wrong. Their expressions changed, and they immediately chased after Zhao Feng and Li Ran. The energy fluctuations on their bodies instantly increased to the extreme, clearly indicating that they intended to attack Zhao Feng and Li Ran.

"Run!" Lu Chen shouted, leading the group to run towards the main street outside the alley, quickly escaping this dangerous place. They knew that if the staff caught up with them, they would be in a passive position and might even expose their identities, so they dared not stop for a moment and ran with all their might.

The staff behind them were relentlessly pursuing them, and more and more staff disguised as NPCs, hearing the commotion, surrounded them from all directions, attempting to encircle them. Lu Chen and the others ran and fought back simultaneously. Zhao Feng and Li Ran were responsible for blocking the pursuers behind them, Lin Ye was responsible for scouting the route ahead, Su Wan was responsible for treating everyone's injuries, and Lu Chen was responsible for leading the team to find an escape route.

The battle was about to break out. Although Lu Chen and his group were very strong, there were too many staff members disguised as NPCs, and they were not weak either. In addition, they dared not reveal their identities and dared not kill. Therefore, they gradually fell into a passive position and all suffered injuries of varying degrees.

"Captain, this can't go on. We can't shake them off at all. If this continues, we'll be surrounded sooner or later!" Li Ran said anxiously while blocking the pursuers behind him. His injuries were getting worse and his breathing was becoming rapid.

Lu Chen's expression was also grim. He knew Li Ran was right; if things continued like this, they would eventually be surrounded by the staff, and then they would be doomed. Just then, Lin Ye's voice came through the communicator, his tone filled with surprise: "Captain, there's a hidden alley ahead. Inside the alley is a dungeon teleportation point. Although I don't know where it will take us, I'm certain that through this teleportation point, we should be able to shake off those staff members!"

"Great!" A glimmer of hope appeared on Lu Chen's face. "Everyone, follow me! Run towards the alley ahead and use the teleportation point to escape from here!"

Following Lu Chen's instructions, everyone ran with all their might towards the alley ahead. The pursuers behind them continued their relentless pursuit, closing in and intensifying their attacks. To cover the others, Zhao Feng deliberately slowed his pace, shielding himself from the pursuers. This caused his injuries to worsen instantly, his armor stained crimson with blood.

"Zhao Feng!" Su Wan's expression changed upon seeing Zhao Feng's injuries. She immediately released a powerful healing spell, which landed on Zhao Feng and repaired his wounds. "Hold on, we'll be at the teleportation point soon!"

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Zhao Feng grinned and said firmly, brandishing his longsword once more to block the pursuers behind him. "You guys hurry up and leave, don't worry about me, I'll be right behind you!"

"No, we can't leave you behind!" Lu Chen stopped and turned to Zhao Feng, saying, "We're a team. We'll go together, we'll die together!"

"Captain, stop talking nonsense!" Zhao Feng said anxiously while fighting. "If this continues, none of us will be able to leave! You guys hurry up and escape through the teleportation point. I'll hold them off, and after you leave, I'll figure out a way to escape!"

Just then, Lin Ye pointed to the alley ahead and shouted, "Captain, the teleportation point is just ahead! We're almost there! I'll hold off those pursuers for a bit. You guys quickly take Zhao Feng and escape through the teleportation point!" With that, Lin Ye flashed around, turned around, and rushed towards the pursuers behind him, continuously firing short arrows at them to slow their advance.

Lu Chen knew this wasn't the time to be sentimental. He gritted his teeth, nodded, helped Zhao Feng up, and shouted to Su Wan and Li Ran, "Let's go!" After saying that, he led everyone and quickly rushed into the alley ahead, heading towards the teleportation point inside.

The alley was dark and damp, filled with a pungent musty smell. At the very end of the alley was a teleportation point that flickered with a faint blue light. A faint energy fluctuation emanated from the area around the teleportation point, clearly indicating it was a temporary teleportation point within a dungeon. Lu Chen and the others quickly ran to the teleportation point. Su Wan cast another healing spell on Zhao Feng, repairing his injuries.

"Captain, Lin Ye..." Li Ran looked at the commotion outside the alley, his tone filled with worry. Lin Ye was alone, holding off so many pursuers, and his situation was extremely dangerous.

"Don't worry, Lin Ye is very good at stealth, he'll be fine." Lu Chen's tone was firm, but there was also a hint of worry in his eyes. "He will definitely find a way to escape from here. Let's use the teleportation point to escape first, and then wait for him to join us on the other side of the teleportation point."

Just then, Lin Ye's voice came through the communicator, his tone urgent: "Captain, hurry up and get through the teleportation point. I've held them back, I'm coming right away! Remember, whether I get there or not, don't wait for me. Get out of here immediately and explore the secret of the '94th floor,' which may be the key to solving all the mysteries!"

"Lin Ye, hang in there, we're waiting for you!" Lu Chen shouted into the communicator.

"Stop talking nonsense and get going!" Lin Ye's voice was hoarse, clearly indicating that he was injured. "If we don't leave now, none of us will be able to leave! I will catch up with you, believe me!"

Lu Chen gritted his teeth, knowing Lin Ye was right. Without further hesitation, he shouted to Su Wan, Zhao Feng, and Li Ran, "Let's go!" He then stepped into the teleportation point first. Su Wan, Zhao Feng, and Li Ran immediately followed Lu Chen into the teleportation point.

With a flash of blue light, Lu Chen and the others vanished from the teleportation point. Outside the alley, Lin Ye continued his tenacious fight. He was covered in wounds, his stealth suit stained with blood, but he didn't give up. He continued to hold off the pursuers, buying more time for Lu Chen and the others to escape.

Just then, Lin Ye suddenly discovered a terrifying fact: the staff of the Infinite City behind him (those disguised as NPCs), although they seemed to be closing in, were actually maintaining a certain distance. They seemed to be deliberately letting others go. When Lin Ye realized something was wrong and prepared to use his skills to escape, one of the staff members disguised as a knight, whom he had just suppressed, suddenly disappeared from his sight. Immediately afterward, Lin Ye felt something touch him, instantly lost consciousness, and collapsed to the ground.

"Send him out first, modify his cognition, change the pre-set memories, and then send him back."

"clear."

"It's a good opportunity to test the miniaturized cognitive modification diffusion device. If everything goes well, that's fine. If not, we'll take all these people out, modify their cognition, and then send them back."

"clear."

Lin Ye's team guessed some things, but not all. These so-called Infinite City staff disguised as NPCs were actually one of the elite teams Sebastian had sent into this instance to maintain 'order'. They had long noticed the team's keen observation and were deliberately creating opportunities for someone to be alone. Their purpose was threefold: First, they needed 'volunteers' to test the newly modified micro-cognitive alteration devices. Under Sebastian's orders, they would use these devices as further insurance. Second, the '94th Floor' instance was a previously incomplete questline chosen by the Ferdinand family's technicians. They were modifying its content to make it a complete questline, and they planned to find a 'volunteer' team to help them test it. They didn't care which team or who the players were; whoever was closest would be chosen. Furthermore, with the necessary permissions, the technicians could coordinate with the people in the instance to revive at any time and modify players' cognition.

The third point is rather unique. The '94th Floor' questline has several sections where communication is disrupted, but the specific reason for this disruption is difficult to ascertain from the outside, suggesting it involves some supernatural methods of the Infinite Corporation. Therefore, they need 'volunteers' to conduct on-site investigations and testing. However, as family members, they wouldn't be dispatched to such unknown and dangerous missions. After all, those currently sent into the instance are all highly skilled elite family members. For the Sebastian and Ferdinand families, these individuals are far more important than the players. Therefore, Sebastian wouldn't allow his elites to conduct face-to-face reconnaissance in unknown situations. Thus, this unfortunate player team naturally becomes the best choice.