Chapter 102: The Nest of Chaos (Happy May Day!)

The rumbling of the collapsing cavern echoed in his ears. Su Cheng stepped into thin air, plunging into what felt like the abyss's gaping maw, falling endlessly downward.

"This is bad. A fall from this height—I’ll be lucky to end up crippled, let alone alive." Su Cheng had been in freefall for over ten seconds, yet the ground remained unseen. To make matters worse, there wasn't a single handhold in sight.

In a flash of inspiration, he conceived a way to escape safely.

He stepped against the empty air, and a powerful burst of airflow erupted from beneath his feet, propelling his body horizontally through the void.

"Still not enough."

With a flick of his gaze, Su Cheng stepped repeatedly, as if walking on air, drifting further in the desired direction.

Just then, he saw something that looked like a writhing, bloody intestine.

What made it truly hair-raising was that this massive, bloody tube was over ten meters in diameter. Through its translucent, crimson membrane, one could clearly see it was packed with human corpses. Countless bodies were soaked in blood-red solution, most already dissolved into raw nutrient slurry.

The horrific sight made Su Cheng’s scalp tingle. What troubled him most was the origin of these hundreds of thousands of bodies. Where did they all come from?

With no time to dwell on it, Su Cheng pulled out his blade, "Shadow of the Gale," as he continued his descent, driving it deep into the writhing mass. The outer membrane was incredibly tough; the blade only sank in halfway, failing to even pierce through. However, his goal wasn't to puncture the giant intestine, but to slow his fall for a safe landing.

Sliding along the slick, fleshy surface for thirty seconds, he finally touched down.

Once on the ground, Su Cheng noticed the base of this fleshy tube connected to a gargantuan, blood-red tumor. Countless ducts branched out from the tumor, each leading to a "Chaos Egg."

"Is this an incubation chamber for Chaos Eggs?"

At a glance, the number of eggs was staggering. If the monsters inside were to hatch, no mere "Rat-Extermination Squad" could hold them back; the entire human world would face a cataclysmic blow. Fortunately, the eggs seemed to be in a dormant state, with no signs of waking. Had they been active, Su Cheng, having trespassed into this "Nest of Chaos," would have had no hope of escape.

Oddly, according to the dungeon's lore, the human world and the underground Ratman world had long been isolated. Where were these corpses—the nutrients for the eggs—coming from?

A thought suddenly flashed through Su Cheng's mind.

"The dungeon introduction mentioned that the plague is spreading on a massive scale, killing countless people daily. Disposing of so many bodies shouldn't be easy. It seems someone has been secretly transporting these corpses to the underground world to serve as fuel for the Nest of Chaos."

In other words, there was a traitor among the humans—one with enough status in the government to move bodies without raising suspicion.

"Chaos Nest discovered! Side quest triggered!"

Su Cheng’s expression shifted. He hadn't expected his blunder to trigger a side quest.

Quest: Destroy the Nest of Chaos
Reward: 5,000 game points, random D-rank specialized skill experience card.
Failure Penalty: None.

Su Cheng frowned. The reward was generous, but the difficulty was immense. He knew this wouldn't be easy.

As if to confirm his fears, a sound like a cracking eggshell echoed in his ears. Not far away, a Chaos Egg shattered, and a hideous head crawled out. The skull was conical, its skin a sickly, withered gray like rotting tree bark, and its face was a mass of wrinkles, resembling a mummy clawing its way out of a grave. Then, its bloated, grotesque body heaved itself out of the egg and into Su Cheng’s view.

[Rot-Blood Wizard]

Monster Type: Elite
Faction: Chaos
Danger Level: High

No sooner had the Rot-Blood Wizard emerged than Su Cheng moved with the speed of a striking falcon. The next moment, a sharp, thunderous slash descended toward the monster's head.

The killing intent surged; the black blade tore through the wizard's bark-like skin, biting deep into its flesh. A spray of putrid, pus-filled blood erupted. The Rot-Blood Wizard let out a beastly, agonizing howl, and its massive frame dissolved into a bloody shadow, vanishing from sight.

"Did that kill it?"

Su Cheng was taken aback. Even if the wizard was weak, it was still an Elite-tier creature; it shouldn't have been that simple.

Just as he sensed something was wrong, the blood-red figure coalesced behind him. The wizard raised an arm, its palm—caked in viscous, congealed blood—looming over him.

"Teleportation!"

Su Cheng’s heart skipped a beat. As he tried to pull away, he felt a terrifying suction force pulling from the wizard's palm. His body suddenly felt as heavy as lead, making escape impossible.

"Damn it, it's draining my life energy!" Su Cheng’s head grew dizzy as he felt his vitality being siphoned away. Had he not been a professional player with greater resilience than an ordinary human, he would have been withered into a husk in seconds.

The situation was dire. He had to break the hold.

He decisively activated "Ghost-God Mode." A spectral, underworld shade projected onto him, and waves of ghastly aura surged forth. His eyes turned dark and hollow, like a reaper from the netherworld, exuding a pure, unadulterated intent to kill.

Sensing the necrotic energy radiating from Su Cheng, a flicker of terror crossed the Rot-Blood Wizard’s eyes. It tried to retract its hand, but it was too late.

The wizard's palm, infected by the death aura, shriveled and withered instantly as the corruption spread through its body. Breaking free, Su Cheng whirled around, a black crescent of blade-light tearing through the air and severing the wizard's arm. He followed up with a brutal kick to the monster's greasy belly.

The Rot-Blood Wizard was sent flying like a punctured ball, sliding six or seven meters before crashing to the ground.

A demonic whisper emanated from the wizard's throat. Su Cheng’s expression darkened as he watched pink, fleshy buds sprout from the wizard's shoulder, rapidly regenerating the severed limb.

"So that's it. It uses absorbed life energy to recover from damage? What a troublesome ability." Su Cheng spoke dismissively, though his expression remained sharp.

The Rot-Blood Wizard was a tank-mage hybrid. There were only two ways to kill it: wear it down by constant attrition until its energy was exhausted, or destroy its body entirely in one overwhelming strike, leaving it no chance to regenerate.

Su Cheng rubbed his aching wrist, then suddenly lunged forward, moving like a shooting star. In his Ghost-God state, his speed was akin to teleportation; one moment he was in place, the next he was a hundred meters away.

The soft, mosquito-like whispering began again, and the wizard vanished once more.

Su Cheng had anticipated this. A cold smirk played on his lips as he suddenly spun and slashed at the empty air behind him. At that exact moment, the Rot-Blood Wizard flickered into existence, eyes wide with lingering terror.

Su Cheng had already deduced the monster's attack pattern. Its teleportation had severe limitations: it could only blink to the enemy's side and could not be used frequently. Once that was known, the ability was easily countered.

"Demonic Light Wave Slash!"

With the activation of the skill, a shocking wave of killing intent erupted. A massive, black sword-beam, like the scythe of death, struck the Rot-Blood Wizard across the waist.

The terrifying energy sliced the wizard in two without resistance. Its massive body fell apart, the wound so clean that the internal organs, bone marrow, and viscera were plainly visible.

One hit, one kill!

Yet, the black blade-light did not vanish after bisecting the wizard; it tore straight into the giant, heart-like tumor.

Blood sprayed everywhere as the strike carved a gaping wound into the tumor, from which endless crimson liquid spilled—a truly terrifying sight. Even Su Cheng was slightly surprised by the sheer destructive power of the move.

However, the maneuver required a massive amount of spiritual energy; that single strike had consumed nearly eighty percent of his reserves. If he had missed, he would have been unable to use any spiritual arts for a long time.

Suddenly, the ducts connecting the tumor to the Chaos Eggs ruptured, and a chorus of horrific roars erupted throughout the nest.

The dormant eggs began to awaken. Steel-like black tentacles lashed out from within, whipping toward Su Cheng.

"They're waking up!"

Su Cheng pulled out his 98K sniper rifle, blew apart a Chaos Egg that lunged at him, and charged toward the giant tumor with his blade drawn. To destroy the nest, he had to finish off that tumor; otherwise, killing the individual eggs would be futile.

The tentacle monsters seemed to sense his intent. Dozens of them roared and lunged at him.

***

Meanwhile, in a cavern northwest of the Nest of Chaos, Thor sat slumped on the ground, pale-faced. He pulled an energy drink from his inventory and chugged it down. Catching his breath, his complexion finally improved.

"Looks like a dead end. Surely that Ratman isn't following me this fast?" Thor’s luck had been atrocious. Shortly after escaping the cave, he had been hunted by a Spine-Breaker. He had managed to trap the creature and break free, but having no tracking equipment, he was hopelessly lost in the maze-like tunnels and separated from his team.

Just as he relaxed, intending to rest, an ethereal, haunting melody drifted toward him.

At the sound of the song, Thor stiffened. Fear, like wild weeds, grew rampant in his heart. Fear was an innate human emotion; even a professional player who had survived over ten horror dungeons couldn't be entirely immune, and Thor was no exception.

Yet, somehow, he found himself drawn to the eerie song. With a strange, blank expression, he walked toward the source, as if guided by an invisible hand.

After walking several dozen meters into the darkness, he found an old, dry well. The haunting melody was coming from within.

The terror in Thor’s eyes deepened, but behind him, an unseen ghost seemed to be pushing him toward the well.

When he reached the edge and leaned his bald head over to see what lay inside, a pale, formalin-soaked arm shot out from the depths and grabbed him.

In a flash, Thor was dragged into the well.

The song faded, and silence returned to the grave.