Virus King - Chapter 212

Chapter 212: Brother Long? A Prelude Before the Dungeon!

TL: YYang

The Red Star Psychiatric Hospital still stood as it always had.

However, something was slightly different this time. Around the hidden corners near the hospital, people were standing.

Yes, actual humans!

Not other creatures, nor zombies, but genuine evolvers!

The glowing radiance emanating from the swirling secret realm dungeon seemed to have drawn in a lot of attention.

Chen Bai glanced at the scene and quickly pieced things together.

With one month passing since the apocalypse, the strength of evolvers had grown significantly. Ordinary zombies were no longer much of a threat to high-level evolvers.

As a result, these evolvers had begun venturing out from their safe havens to explore the outside world.

To acquire powerful equipment, suitable skills, or even rare profession transfer scrolls, relying on killing regular zombies was clearly not enough.

Secret realm dungeons became the best destination for such ambitions. Over the past month, various strategy guides for dungeons in Magic City had been released, shared by those who dared to venture inside.

Among all the dungeons, the Red Star Psychiatric Hospital stood out as the most remarkable.

It was the only Nightmare-level dungeon officially recorded in Magic City.

The rewards from it—be it the level 2-8 equipment drops or the massive amounts of experience—were beyond imagination.

Naturally, this had drawn a crowd of evolvers from the surrounding areas, all eager to test their strength against the dungeon’s challenges.

The scene was somewhat reminiscent of an online game, with players gathering in front of a large dungeon: forming teams, selling supplies (though the latter wasn’t present yet), and preparing for the run.

But what about Chen Bai’s team of three—what kind of setup were they rocking?

– Han Xiao, clad in a full set of gear sourced from the Red Star Psychiatric Hospital, exuded an aura that was anything but mundane.

– Ding Ding, though unassuming in appearance, had three peculiar paper effigies following closely behind her. On her shoulders sat two miniature dolls, their eyes shifting eerily, giving off a sinister and chilling vibe.

Even Han Xiao didn’t dare interact with her too much.

– At the front stood Chen Bai, entirely encased in bizarre black-and-red spiked armor.

With such an outlandish appearance, he was anything but ordinary.

Compared to other evolvers in the area—dressed in plain clothing that didn’t even qualify as proper equipment—this trio’s arrival immediately captured everyone’s attention.

Such an extraordinary group naturally became the center of focus.

As soon as Chen Bai’s group approached, a few people quickly stepped forward to intercept them:

“Hold up, you three!”

This call stopped the trio in their tracks. They turned to look at the source of the voice.

“Something you need?”

The speaker was a young man in his twenties, bald-headed and emanating an imposing aura.

The bald youth glanced at the trio. The leader and the small girl beside him seemed ordinary enough, but the chubby guy peeking curiously into the hospital made him feel oddly familiar.

It was as if he had seen this person somewhere before but couldn’t quite place where.

“I’m A-Long. You’ve heard of me, haven’t you?”

Chen Bai blinked, confused, and glanced at Han Xiao. Han Xiao turned to him with an equally baffled expression.

A-Long? Who’s A-Long?

If this was before the apocalypse, maybe there was some famous A-Long in Hong Kong known globally…

But this name was as common as Zhang Wei; how was he supposed to know? He’d spent much of his time recently in the Abyss, completely out of touch with Blue Star’s happenings.

Only Ding Ding hesitated before leaning close to Chen Bai and whispering, “Recently, two normal-grade dungeons and one hard-grade secret realm in Magic City were cleared by this A-Long.”

Clearly, the bald youth overheard Ding Ding’s words and broke into a satisfied grin.

“Just call me Brother Long!”

Of course.

In the circle of evolvers within Magic City, his name should have been well-known!

In fact, if it weren’t for the difficulty of locating a few secret realm dungeons and the slower progression of his talent, A-Long firmly believed he would have been among the first to clear those secret realms. While he might not compare to the White Emperor, he certainly thought he should be globally recognized.

Finally understanding who this guy was, Chen Bai raised his eyebrows again: “Do you need something?”

A-Long smiled faintly: “The Red Star Psychiatric Hospital, you all should know about it. It’s the first Nightmare-level dungeon cleared by the legendary Group Chat No. 001 and the White Emperor. Even now, only a handful of people in Magic City can challenge and clear it. I’m already Level 9, with an A-Rank talent. Based on those strategy videos, I’d say my strength is at least passable.”

Though he spoke modestly, the pride on his face was impossible to hide.

“Originally, we were planning to challenge the Red Star Psychiatric Hospital, just like the legends from Group Chat No. 001. But a few of our teammates had last-minute emergencies and couldn’t make it! Now we’re short a few members. Judging by your gear, you all seem capable—how about joining us?

But let me be clear upfront: I’ll be the team leader, and I’ll decide on the loot distribution.”

Chen Bai was instantly speechless. He glanced at the guy, wondering where on earth this A-Long had come from and where his confidence came from to say such things.

“No need. The three of us are enough.”

Huh?!

A-Long gave the trio a strange look. Just the three of them? These three weren’t here to form a team like everyone else? They intended to clear the Red Star Psychiatric Hospital on their own?

“You’re joking, right? Even the legends of Group Chat No. 001, with the White Emperor leading, had four people for their clear…”

As he said this, one of A-Long’s underlings suddenly tugged at his sleeve:

“Boss, boss…”

Annoyed, A-Long turned to glare at his underling. Capable evolvers were hard to find! If he ever had the chance to build a settlement, such individuals could become his strongest allies. His underling’s timing couldn’t have been worse.

“What is it?!”

The underling quickly whispered beside him:

“Brother Long, that little chubby guy over there looks exactly like the one from the Red Star Psychiatric Hospital clear video—the one in Group Chat No. 001…”

A-Long froze, then turned to look at the well-geared, dagger-wielding chubby man.

His eyes widened.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the daggers weren’t simply being held. They were floating slightly in the air as the chubby man played with them.

Silence.

At that moment, A-Long turned back to the group’s leader, Chen Bai, and felt that the man’s eyes seemed increasingly familiar.

Beads of sweat began to form on A-Long’s forehead.

This little episode didn’t disrupt Chen Bai and his team’s original plan. Seeing the atmosphere become awkward, Chen Bai simply turned his attention back to the entrance of the Red Star Psychiatric Hospital.

Han Xiao, however, waved with a grin:

“Well, Brother Long, if there’s nothing else, we’ll be heading in!”

A-Long quickly snapped back to his senses and extended his hand in a welcoming gesture:

“Please, go ahead…”

Watching the trio’s figures disappear into the swirling vortex, A-Long finally let out a sigh of relief. He was immensely grateful that he hadn’t tried to intimidate or coerce those three deities. Otherwise, his so-called “Brother Long” might have met his end before his rise even began.

Noticing the strange looks from his underlings, A-Long waved his hand dismissively and coldly snorted:

“Did you see that? Even the legends of Group Chat No. 001 call me Brother Long. Stick with me, and I promise you, we’ll dominate this apocalypse and make our mark in the end times!”

“…”