Late at night, in Dragon City, inside a secret meeting room.
A middle-aged man in a suit, slightly overweight with a beer belly, stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, holding a phone in his hand.
On the other end of the call came a voice speaking Mandarin that didn't sound very fluent: "Boss Xu, how is the progress?"
The man in the suit gazed out of the window and replied with a slightly troubled tone, "To be honest, Mr. Amano, it's not going very smoothly."
"This time, we encountered a particularly troublesome opponent. Everyone I sent out was counter-killed by him."
The other side was silent for a moment before saying, "Then this person must be eliminated. Otherwise, if we encounter your Dragon Nation in the competition, this person will undoubtedly pose a significant threat to our Eastern Nation!"
The man in the suit, referred to as "Boss Xu," said, "I know, but Mr. Amano, this time, my losses on this end might be a bit substantial..."
Mr. Amano replied in his not-so-fluent Dragon Nation language,"The money has already been sent to you; please check."
"Additionally, I hope you can resolve this person as soon as possible."
Boss Xu immediately checked the payment information. After confirming that one of his encrypted accounts had received a 10-billion-alliance coins foreign transfer, he beamed with joy: "Alright, no problem, Mr. Amano. Leave this matter to me!"
As soon as the call ended, his secretary entered the room.
"Boss, the dark forces we stationed in Beihai had a riot today. The cause was that they followed our directive to assassinate three contestants from the prestigious Beihai family guild, Dragon Soar, but failed and were instead counter-killed by Dragon Soar's people."
"Dragon Soar Guild has already started investigating the matter. They've begun a province-wide, tight search for the mastermind. The pressure is too great, so they want to withdraw from the organization."
Boss Xu dismissed it with indifference: "Pressure? It's just that they think the payment isn't enough. Their little tricks are something I can easily control."
"No one would say no to money," Boss Xu said. "Send three million to all our dark force members and tell them that once this operation is over, each of them will receive another five million as a reward."
"If there are still those who insist on withdrawing from the organization," Boss Xu shot a sharp look at the secretary, "you know what to do, right?"
The secretary nodded, "Understood."
After a pause, the secretary continued, "However, the newly advanced professional, Zero, in Tianjing, is indeed a bit challenging to deal with."
"The strength of the dark forces alone isn't enough to handle someone like him. What's more critical is that we can't openly use the Empire Guild's power against him. Otherwise, with the Empire Guild's strength, it would be as simple as crushing an ant."
Boss Xu revealed a deeply calculating smile: "Rules are dead, but people are alive."
"We just need to be a bit flexible. Killing someone isn't that difficult."
"Don't worry, I have a way to deal with him!"
A trace of killing intent flickered in Boss Xu's eyes: "Zero, since Mr. Amano wants you dead, don't blame me."
After dinner, Zhang Yue logged into the game.
He activated the World Boss Challenge for the Eighth World.
[Ding~ Welcome to the Eighth World · Ghost Domain Boss Challenge. Please slay the World Boss]
As the system prompt ended—
A white light descended, and Zhang Yue appeared in a graveyard.
Ahead, in his line of sight, a monster clad in a red magic robe, holding a scythe, and resembling the Grim Reaper, was slowly walking toward Zhang Yue.
[Ghost God · Lido] (Lv55 Magic-Type · 8-Star Boss)
It was on the same power level as Ghost King Monde from the Night of the Underworld Wedding dungeon.
Back in the dungeon, Zhang Yue couldn't handle Ghost King Monde because it had a debuff skill that doubled its effect in the dungeon, significantly weakening Zhang Yue.
But now, in this World Boss domain without any debuff effects, with Zhang Yue's current strength, dealing with an 8-star Boss was no problem.
Ghost God Lido saw Zhang Yue standing alone and didn't take him seriously.
"A mere human dares to challenge the majesty of this god?"
"This god will show you the MEANING OF DEATH!"
With that, Ghost God Lido raised his Death Scythe and began channeling the power of death.
Zhang Yue, aiming for a quick resolution, summoned the Hell Skeleton King, the Shadow Predator, and the Extinction Black Dragon.
The Hell Skeleton King, wielding the 8-star Sky Void · Ghost God Blade, charged toward Ghost God Lido.
While Ghost God Lido was still casting, the Hell Skeleton King executed a left slash and a right slash, striking Ghost God Lido twice.
The Skeleton King was entirely built as a tank, not for damage.
However, with the Ghost God Blade equipped, its damage output significantly improved.
The Ghost God Blade's skill, Ghost God's Eye, allowed the wielder's attacks to deal additional damage equal to 10% of their maximum HP.
With the Hell Skeleton King's HP exceeding 100,000, each strike dealt over 30,000 damage.
Ghost God Lido finished channeling and drove the Death Scythe through the Hell Skeleton King's body.
The damage was considerable, but to the Skeleton King, it was negligible.
At the same time, the same damage appeared above Ghost God Lido's head.
This triggered the Tactical Counter effect of the Hell Skeleton King's 8-star [King's · Ghost Domain Armor], which reflected 100% of the damage received back to the attacker.
While the Boss's aggro was focused on the Hell Skeleton King—
Zhang Yue, the Shadow Predator, and the Extinction Black Dragon launched a ferocious assault on the Boss.
A barrage of S-rank skills landed on Ghost God Lido, exploding into a series of high-damage numbers above its head—
-77,852 Critical Hit (Shadow Predator)
-51,235 (Extinction Black Dragon)
The Hell Skeleton King initially felt proud.
But upon seeing the damage dealt by his second and eldest brothers, as well as his master, which far exceeded his own, he resigned himself to being a meat shield and tanked the damage dutifully.
The Extinction Black Dragon, using the effects of its 7-star Demon Set, summoned a Level 55 Demon.
Ghost God Lido was beaten into retreat. With 2.5 million HP, it couldn't withstand Zhang Yue's relentless bombardment.
In no time, it was slain.
[Ding~ Congratulations on slaying the World Boss Ghost God Lido and clearing the Eighth World · Ghost Domain]
The gateway to the Ninth World opened before Zhang Yue.
After collecting the loot dropped by the Boss, Zhang Yue stepped into the teleportation portal to the Ninth World.
White light flashed, and Zhang Yue found himself inside a grand mechanical fortress.
[Ding~ Welcome to the Ninth World · Beast Kingdom. The World Mission has been released]
There were still six days left until the World Finals for new advanced professionals.
Collecting an Eternal Set from the Ninth World within six days shouldn't be a problem for Zhang Yue.
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