Alone and Infinite

"laugh----"

Jack collapsed to the ground, desperately clutching the wound in his throat with both hands. He convulsed twice and slowly lost consciousness.

[You have defeated Apostle No. 337623. Due to being in the counterattack privilege phase, you will randomly draw one piece of equipment from Apostle No. 337623.]

[You have already received a Tac-50!]

Li Xia's gaze swept over the Claymore mines and two daggers beside Jack's corpse.

He flicked his wrist, shaking off the blood droplets from the gun blade.

Why are you pretending to be weak when you're so weak? Why are you trying to feign weakness to deceive your enemies?

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Chapter 30 The Dark Forest

This apostle was unexpectedly weak—no, it can't be called weak.

Li Xia began to review his first battle with the Apostles.

It should be said that I improved too quickly. Even though the Hall of Transcendence has declined, the help it gave me was still astonishing.

For example, the maximum stay time for a newly promoted contractor is only seven days in the real world.

I can't exploit a bug like I did, so instead of improving myself, I just train like crazy in real life and gain free attribute points.

This alone puts him at least 5 attribute points ahead of the other apostles.

In addition, with the LV5 level of Sun Breathing mastery, this is definitely far beyond the level of other Apostles.

However, this should not make us lose our vigilance. The palace is such a magical place, and Li Xia does not think that he is the only one who has had a miraculous encounter.

What if someone manages to clear the trial at S rank or higher? The reward chest alone would be an absolutely magnificent one. And what if they get a lucky streak and learn an advanced skill during the trial?

Li Xia's expression turned serious; the heroes of the world must not be underestimated!

After storing the spear in his spatial storage, Li Xia squatted down to examine the corpse, unsure if he could touch it.

He first picked up the dagger on the ground, and just as he was about to examine it, the dagger in his hand quickly turned into specks of light and disappeared.

Was it taken back by the Hall of Light?

Li Xia remembered that the Transcendence Hall had mentioned that the weapons rewarded to the Apostles were mostly from recycling, which accumulated into a huge equipment inventory over time.

Unfortunately, all of these equipment stockpiles were looted in that battle.

However, the Transcendent Hall still has a very small amount of equipment in stock. These are equipment that were originally listed on the auction house but have not yet been traded. Because the consignor died, the equipment that was consigned for auction was locked.

Soon, apart from the sniper rifle on the ground, the corpse's other equipment gradually turned into light particles and disappeared. Li Xia then went forward and explored the corpse again.

Surprisingly, a pack of cigarettes, a Dupont lighter, some chocolates, and compressed biscuits were found in his shirt pocket, and an emergency kit was even hanging on his waist.

But these things are mine now, so I'll put them away carefully.

Li Xia found a comfortable spot to sit down and began to examine his haul amidst the rising smoke.

【Tac-50】

Grade: Green

【Origin: Delta Force, McMillan Plant, USA】

Magazine capacity: 5 rounds

Damage Intensity: 5 (Tier 1)

Attack: 20-25

Void Magazine: You can spend points to refill your magazine; the price increases with each refill.

[Review: A highly powerful and accurate sniper rifle]

[Recycling Price: 800 points]

Hey, Li Xia's eyes lit up. Pretty good sniper rifle. High damage intensity and high damage output. As for the special effect Void Magazine, when you have enough bullets, even a dog won't look at it.

But if you run out of bullets, that's a miracle!

After putting away the sniper rifle, Li Xia stood up and surveyed his position.

The surrounding area is filled with endless mountains and forests, where the trees are quite tall and straight.

It looks similar to the spruce forest I once visited, with towering trees spaced far apart, and fallen trees perched on top of other trees become a breeding ground for even more plants.

Thick vines, dark green moss, and mushrooms of various colors.

There are few traces of animals here; apart from the thick layer of fallen leaves, only some shrubs are still stubbornly alive on the ground.

There was a thin layer of mist all around, but when Li Xia looked closely, the mist mysteriously disappeared.

Before long, a faint mist quietly returned to my eyes, like a thin layer of gauze obscuring my vision.

It was only at this moment that Li Xia opened the task panel:

[Current Mission: Reach Long Lake Town within 48 hours by traversing the Dark Forest]

[Task Reward: Attribute Point *1, Total Points 1000]

[Failure Penalty: Random attribute points reduced by 1, total points 1000]

Changhu Town? A dark, dense forest?

Li Xia immediately recalled the vast forests and distant mountains and lakes he had seen when he landed.

While it may seem like no information was given, the fact that the Temple of Light chose this method to descend was actually a hint.

I looked up at the sky, which was obscured by the branches and leaves. If I couldn't tell which way to go, I could climb to the top of a tree and look out at the distant mountains.

However, Li Xia glanced at the upper right corner of his field of vision, where there was a small map that looked exactly like the game interface. With a thought, the map unfolded and appeared in front of him.

According to the map, I am currently on the outermost edge of the Dark Forest. The best way to quickly cross the Dark Forest is undoubtedly to take the Old Forest Path.

Li Xia's eyes were filled with contemplation, because he had entered the country illegally and had not been notified ten minutes in advance like the other contractors.

Therefore, he could only rely on his memory to recall everything about the Battle of the Five Armies.

The Misty Forest is dangerous. Not only are tree spirits living there, but also many monsters due to the darkness surrounding it.

The best way to get through smoothly is to take the Elf Path, which is the old forest path shown on the map.

Li Xia thought for a while, checked the direction using the mini-map, and then turned and walked into the woods.

Taking a long detour from the outside to the starting point of the old forest road is not impossible, but it will waste at least several hours.

If he followed the hypotenuse of a triangle, his speed would undoubtedly be much faster; he still remembered the hint that the Hall of Transcendence had given him.

Gaining the attention of the Temple of Light with all one's might is the final step in the disguise.

Therefore, he wanted to reach Changhu Town as soon as possible. If he wasn't mistaken, the earlier he arrived, the greater his advantage would be in the next stage!

The further you go in, the more pronounced the fog becomes in the dark forest. The sunlight that was still faintly visible on the outskirts has been reduced to dim shadows.

Tall trees like spruce were gradually replaced by oddly shaped trees that grew crookedly into bizarre forms, resembling menacing tree monsters with bared teeth and claws.

The ground was covered with brownish-red fallen leaves that smelled slightly rotten, and stepping on them gave you a strange feeling of sinking in.

White spiderwebs, clinging to fallen leaves and insects, entangled in the gaps between the trees, giving the forest a deathly feel.

Li Xia took a deep breath. The air was filled with an indescribable, faint stench that made him choke. He immediately followed the breathing technique and reduced the frequency of his breathing.

Moreover, after he continued walking for a while, a notification for the Hall of Light suddenly popped up in his vision.

[You have been corrupted by the power of shadow. Your spirit is 8 points, and you will be subject to hallucinations from time to time.]

[The Ultimate Skill: Endless Regeneration has been triggered; calculating related resistances]

You will occasionally fall into a daze.

Just then, a notification popped up that was completely different from the font used in the Hall of Light.

That was a hint to transcend the halls of power.

High-value items have been detected and are highlighted on the minimap.

Li Xia immediately opened the mini-map and saw a small treasure chest marker flashing continuously less than 300 meters from his location.

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

I woke up this morning with a sore throat, and slept for several hours in the afternoon. I started writing after I woke up.

Please read it!

Chapter 31 Destroying the Giant Spider

To go or not to go?

Without much hesitation, Li Xia changed direction and headed towards the location marked on the minimap.

It has a map, specific location, and directions; it's almost perfect. If you don't even dare to take the risk, then there's no need to stay in the hall.

Li Xia suddenly remembered something and took out a compass from her emergency kit.

Logically, a compass should point south using the Earth's magnetic field, but since Middle-earth is not Earth, it shouldn't be usable.

But this compass isn't equipment, yet it can still be brought into the world. Who knows if the products from the Temple of Light contain any black technology or black magic?

Under Li Xia's gaze, the pointer wobbled up and down, sometimes turning into an electric fan as if it were powered on, but it was clearly unusable.

Great, now we have another advantage.

Unless you're actually deep inside, it's hard to believe that such a vast, dense forest isn't flat, but rather has uneven elevations and bottomless ravines.

Sometimes you even need to climb up the branches to get to the broken soil layer, and more often you have to be very careful of the occasional 'crack'.

This place was once a flat highland, but it sank under Morgoth's curse.

The once lush and vibrant 'Great Green Forest' has been transformed into a strange, dense forest filled with shadowy power and inhabited by monsters.

Carefully parting a drooping vine, a clod of earth slid and rolled down into a bottomless crack at my feet.

Li Xia slowly exhaled, but did not immediately inhale. Instead, she carefully watched the path beside her feet.

A burning pain shot through my lungs, but after getting used to breathing air, this pain from oxygen deprivation became commonplace.

Based on previous experience with the 'Shadow Power' attack, the dazed state usually occurs when you take a breath.

After crossing the dangerous ravine and reaching a more spacious area, he used breathing techniques to take a deep breath.

The putrid air rushed into Li Xia's abdomen, and he felt a buzzing in his head. The scene in front of him flickered rapidly like a faulty slideshow before the strange sensation gradually subsided.

However, this was the last dangerous part of the journey. With a slightly excited heart, Li Xia climbed over the strangely growing, collapsed branches that lay between two trees.

He felt like he had discovered a hidden treasure while playing a game; no, the feeling was even stronger and more direct at that moment.

Without even looking, Li Xia spotted the round cocoon hanging from the branch in front of him, wrapped in spider webs.

However, this place seemed to be an invisible dividing line, and the entire dark forest seemed to turn white, with dark gray spider webs covering almost everything in sight.

Countless cocoons were suspended, like the fruits of this strange forest.

The bright cocoons were right next to those 'fruits'.

After thinking for a moment, Li Xia picked up a rotten branch from the ground and threw it forcefully toward the cocoon, which was more than ten meters away.

The white spider web rippled gently like ocean waves, and soon, accompanied by a rustling sound, a spider, about half the size of a person, swiftly swung its claws and crawled along the web.

It searched suspiciously at the center of the vibrating spiderweb, its disgusting four-lobed mouth opening and making a 'click-click' sound.

The relevant data was immediately displayed in Li Xia's monocle.

[Giant Spider's Combat Strength: 3]

An adult's combat power is only around 2, so this spider, which is half the height of a person, has such a high combat power rating, which is probably related to its venom.

After watching the spider come up empty-handed, Li Xia slowly left. A few minutes later, he picked up the stone on the ground again, but this time he used much more force than before.

The white spiderweb trembled. There were five or six spiders this time, circling the stone they had thrown, clicking their mouths in confusion.

Finally, the spiders seemed to get angry, and one of them nudged the stone, throwing it off its web.