Chapter 209 – The Collapse of Hegemony (Part 2)
by Salted FishAs the Imperial Sorcerer collapsed, the fireballs instantly vanished—whether they were already on the ground, smashing into teammates, or just descending from the sky without a chance to see the world. Along with the fireballs, all the skill effects on the screen disappeared—whether they were the sorcerer’s summons, the ferocity of the fireballs, or the players’ DPS.
One moment, it was the apocalypse; the next, peace and tranquility. The rapid shifts between ecstasy and despair left the Dutch Ghosts caught in the midst of it all unable to react in time.
“So… we’re done?” Thousand Mountains had been chanting Crimson Lotus Holy Fire in the final moments before peace descended—specifically, the [World-Ending Invincible Supreme Crimson Lotus Holy Fire], boosted by a cash shop item for extra damage. But just as he was about to finish casting, the skill was forcibly interrupted, and the world settled into harmony. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy about the boss being defeated, but not being able to finish his attack left him feeling unfulfilled. “Demon Refiner, come here. Let me PK you.”
438 hid in a corner, pretending the world was too noisy to hear anything.
“Don’t push your luck,” Mad Lad couldn’t stand it and stepped in to protect his little brother. “Come, 438, let me see what other treasures you’ve got in your pockets, hahaha…”
438 hid in a corner, pretending the world was still too noisy to hear anything.
As Thousand Mountains and Mad Lad spoke up, the rest of the team gradually snapped back to reality—
Dutch Souvenir: “715, what the hell did you use? Was it an item or a skill?”
Mocha: “Must be an item. This doesn’t look like a skill—it’s clearly an item name.”
Scholar Lu: “Purple-Gold Red Gourd… why does that sound so familiar?”
Rain Ceases: “Dare you answer if I call your name1Purple-Gold Red Gourd is a magical treasure from the novel “Journey to the West.” This gourd would suck in and dissolve anyone who dared to answer when their name was called by its owner. The line “Dare you answer if I call your name?” is the challenge used before activating its power.? Pilgrim Sun!2Refers to Sun Wukong (the Monkey King). In the story, he is challenged by the Purple-Gold Red Gourd and outwits the demons who possess it.! Pilgrim Sun! Pilgrim Sun!!”
War of the Gods: “Enough! Don’t bully Silver Horn King3A villain in Journey to the West.! I always felt bad for him when I was a kid. Sun Wukong was way too sneaky!”
Little Willow: “Your moral compass was already off back then…”
Ever since the seal was broken, their team had completely discarded the first six words of the Legion’s motto—”Unity, Friendship, Seriousness, Liveliness”—treating them like snacks. Don’t Stop the Meds had tried to correct them but found it hopeless, so he’d given up entirely. In contrast, the reaction from the other Legion was downright strange: “Ghost Server, why aren’t you saying anything?”
At Boss Yao’s reminder, the Dutch Chamber of Commerce team realized that, indeed, aside from Mad Lad’s initial gloating, the rest of the Ghost Server members had remained eerily silent. It was understandable for the three outsiders to stay quiet, but for their own teammates—especially someone like Milk is Mom, who never missed a chance to show off—to stay silent was highly suspicious =_=
“Ghost Server?” When there was no response, Don’t Stop the Meds called out again.
After what felt like an eternity, the Ghost Server Legion Leader finally spoke weakly, “Uh… the boss can be looted now…”
Don’t Stop the Meds frowned. “Why do you sound so unsure all of a sudden?” The lack of his usual playful tone was unsettling =_=
The Ghost Server Leader didn’t explain, only urging, “Just loot it first. Hurry.”
Of course, the mascot should be the one to loot the boss.
“Rain Through the Woods.”
“OK.”
The Dutch Chamber’s Keychain took three steps in two and walked over to the still-corpse of the Imperial Sorcerer. He reached out to loot but didn’t immediately pick up the drops, instead posting the list in the party chat for everyone to see first—
[Party] Rain Through the Woods: [Sapphire Summoning Bell] [Sapphire Earrings] [Lv. 70 Supreme Refining Stone x20] [Huaxia Coins x480]
For such a difficult boss, these drops weren’t particularly impressive. Refining stones and Huaxia Coins were standard drops from regular mobs. Though Supreme Refining Stones were rare, they could still be bought on the market. So whether this boss was worth the effort depended entirely on the first two items—a weapon and an accessory.
The weapon, judging by its name, was clearly for Demon Refiners, so no one else would fight over it. The earrings, however, could be worn by anyone—their usefulness depended on their stats. Naturally, everyone immediately clicked to check the details of these two items.
Then, YY exploded—
“Boss Yao!”
“Boss Yao!”
“BOSS YAO!!!”
“I heard you. I’m not deaf.”
“A purple-tier summoning bell!”
“A purple-tier summoning bell!”
“The purple summoning bell you’ve always wanted!!!”
“I have a mouse. I can see for myself.”
“Keychain, you’re absolutely invincible!”
“He who holds Keychain conquers the world, hahaha!!!!”
Don’t Stop the Meds was calmer than his teammates. To be precise, compared to them, he was terrifyingly calm. Not because he knew there was another Demon Refiner in the party who could compete with him in the roll-off—so the fate of the purple weapon was still undecided—nor because the earrings that followed were just ordinary orange-tier items, dampening the excitement. His calmness stemmed from… the fact that some people seemed even calmer =_=
“Ghost Server, why are you silent again?” It wasn’t that Don’t Stop the Meds cared about his teammates—it was just that their sudden silence was too abnormal, making him uneasy. Very uneasy.
Again, it was the Ghost Server Leader, still sounding unsure: “That’s great. Rain Through the Woods has amazing luck, hah. Let’s just pick up the loot quickly…”
Don’t Stop the Meds frowned, but now wasn’t the time for investigations. He directly ordered Rain Through the Woods, “Loot.”
Rain Through the Woods immediately selected “Loot All.”
The Dutch Chamber teammates fell silent, waiting for the roll window to pop up. They all focused intently, ready to pass on the purple summoning bell to avoid accidentally rolling for it.
But one second passed, two seconds, five seconds…
The roll window never appeared.
Of course, something did happen—for example, the system chat was constantly spammed with messages—
[System] Purple-Gold Red Gourd has obtained Sapphire Summoning Bell. The Sapphire Summoning Bell has turned into pus.
[System] Purple-Gold Red Gourd has obtained Sapphire Earrings. The Sapphire Earrings have turned into pus.
[System] Purple-Gold Red Gourd has obtained Lv. 70 Supreme Refining Stone. The Lv. 70 Supreme Refining Stone has turned into pus.
[System] Purple-Gold Red Gourd has obtained 480 Huaxia Coins. The 480 Huaxia Coins have turned into pus.
…
The beast was hard to kill—grief. The boss died suddenly—joy. Looting revealed purple-tier drops—ecstasy. The prizes turned into pus—despair. The swings between joy and sorrow came as fast as a tornado, leaving the Dutch Chamber teammates trapped in the storm, unable to escape. All they wanted now was some peace and quiet.
Meanwhile, the Ghost Server members—plus the three outsiders—finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Don’t Stop the Meds punched his own chest a few times to stop his heart from spasming, forcing his voice to remain cool and composed. “Ghost Server, care to explain now?”
“Uh, heh, where to start~~~”
Don’t Stop the Meds narrowed his eyes. Good, the playful tone was back.
“Start with the boss’s sudden death.”
“Ahem,” the Ghost Server Leader cleared his throat and began Approaching Science. “Honestly, I didn’t expect 438—er, Refined Into a Demon 715—to have such a trump card. The situation was desperate, and he kept asking if the boss would drop anything. In the heat of the moment, I said we’d even pay it to die faster if needed. Then, the boss just… died. But after accomplishing such a feat, 438 didn’t say a word. He’s not the type to brag, but not even a hint of happiness was strange. Plus, the name of the item he used—Purple-Gold Red Gourd. Who am I? A max-level expert on Journey to the West…”
“Skip the irrelevant embellishments.”
“Okay >_<. Theoretically, the game shouldn't have an item so overpowered it can instantly kill a boss. Combined with his repeated cautious questioning before using it, his silence afterward, and that cursed name, our whole team felt… uh… something was off…"
Don’t Stop the Meds: “Whole team? If I recall correctly, your Assassin seemed pretty happy when the boss fell.”
Milk Mom: “He’s slow on the uptake.”
Mad Lad: “But I figured it out later!”
His heart started spasming again. Don’t Stop the Meds punched himself even harder this time. He’d committed to this act, and he’d see it through, even if it killed him. “So what exactly is this Purple-Gold Red Gourd? Would 715—no, 438—be so kind as to show us?”
[Party] Refined Into a Demon 715: [Purple-Gold Red Gourd]
Quick to act, even if reluctant to speak. Don’t Stop the Meds smirked coldly and clicked to check the item details—
[Purple-Gold Red Gourd]
Effect: 100% capture success rate, no target restrictions. The captured target and all its dropped items enter the gourd and turn into pus within three hours.
Additional Notes: Breaks after 3 uses.
His heart stopped spasming. It stopped hurting altogether. Don’t Stop the Meds wondered if he might already be dead—because how else could he be seeing something like this? What the hell kind of item was this?! An item?!?!?!
As Boss Yao mentally flipped the table, the Dutch Chamber teammates finally understood what had just happened to them. But according to the Ghost Server Leader, even his own team hadn’t known about this item beforehand—so why were they so calm now? No, it wasn’t just calmness. They even seemed… relieved, like a weight had been lifted. The ordinary mortals of the Dutch Chamber couldn’t comprehend it!
Polly: “At least it’s just the loot being taken. There’s no quest regression, halved points, or other additional penalties.”
Additional penalties?! Why do you have such strong trauma?! What the hell has your team been through?! No, wait—why can you even hear our internal screaming?!?!
Polly: “There’s a lot of you. It’s loud.”
Boss Yao, we don’t want to play with them anymore. We want to go home TAT
“To summarize: First, your team had this cursed thing. Then, your teammate repeatedly asked if he could use this cursed thing. You, in a moment of recklessness, agreed to use this cursed thing. As a result, all our loot turned into a puddle of pus.”
“Yao Yao, do you regret teaming up with us now…”
“…”
“Don’t stay silent, it’s heartbreaking~~”
“Where did it come from?”
“What do you mean?”
“The item.”
“Oh, the gourd? Well, it’s… oh right! 438, where’d you get something so overpowered?!”
“…”
He didn’t want to talk to this person anymore. He wanted to go home with his teammates.
The named Demon Refiner, filled with guilt, whispered, “It was cultivated from one of those two Mysterious Pouches we got from the endgame dungeon… I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have used it so carelessly…”
“You held back from using it against that open-world boss yesterday even after two hours of failed captures—and you call that careless? Repeatedly confirming whether the boss would drop anything, whether it was a critical moment—and you call that careless? 438, you absolute sweetheart!!! TAT” The deeply moved Ghost Server Leader mentally patted his Demon Refiner’s head. “No moping allowed! Sure, the loot’s gone, but think of it this way—if not for your gourd, we might’ve wiped. So those items were never ours to begin with. The boss is dead, the quest progress is updated, and most importantly—Iceborn and Silence are still struggling over there. We’ve got all the conditions in place to slap them across the face with our victory, hahaha~~~~~~~”
The Ghost Server Leader’s infectious energy didn’t just comfort his own team—it also slightly soothed their allies.
The Dutch Chamber teammates collectively felt the frustration in their chests ease just a little ~\(^o^)/~
[Local] No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: Everyone, sorry, but we’ll be taking our leave first.
[Local] X: Keep at it. This boss isn’t easy to take down.
[Local] Little Willow: But we got it in one go. Sigh, can’t help it—our luck is just too good.
[Local] Iceborn: Impressive.
[Local] Don’t Stop the Meds: You flatter us.
[Local] Iceborn: What did it drop?
Why did he have to respond?!
…
[IceS Temporary YY]
Trick or Die: “I thought they’d mock us mercilessly. Why’d they leave after just a few words?”
Grave Sweeping Scroll: “They left in a hurry too. Suspicious.”
Festive Lantern: “Quest progress doesn’t lie. They really did clear it.”
Liaodong Iron Cavalry: “They might be annoying, but objectively speaking, they’re strong.”
Left Eye Sees Ghosts: “The Dutch Chamber’s strength is undeniable, but Ghost Server isn’t top-tier, right? Their leader just likes to show off and is louder than most.”
ice Iceborn: “Don’t forget they took down an NPC before.”
Jigsaw: “That Zombie Deputy is legit, and Demon King said their Demon Refiner tamed a purple-tier pet in Vanilla Forest. But the others…”
Alps: “Their Assassin drew the Goddess of Fortune Set.”
Blue Skeleton: “Just luck. Has nothing to do with skill.”
Ice on Fire: “Maybe they have some hidden skills. Otherwise, Don’t Stop the Meds wouldn’t have teamed up with them over his own second squad. Either way, let’s focus on ourselves and not worry about others.”
…
[Dutch Ghosts YY]
X: “Using a troll teammate to troll your own teammates must be your hidden skill. And what’s this? One Mysterious Pouch cultivated into a Purple-Gold Red Gourd—what did the other one turn into? A White Jade Vase?”
Drink Your Sister: “Alright, the leader already apologized. We know you’re strong—you definitely could’ve cleared it without the gourd. But 438 was just trying to help by speeding things up.”
X: “…You’re too despicable, sending a girl to argue with me!”
Milk Mom: “Your leader sent a chatterbox to torment us too~~~~ Anyway, for the next quest, our whole team will give 200% effort to make you proud of having us as allies—”
“Quiet!” Don’t Stop the Meds finally spoke up.
Everyone focused and realized that while they’d been talking, they’d arrived outside the dungeon. The door had a lock, but it had already been opened and was hanging loosely. Don’t Stop the Meds double-clicked the lock, and the little Demon Refiner on-screen reached out to remove it, then pushed the door open.
The screen suddenly darkened, then slowly brightened again.
But the world in front of them wasn’t clear—instead, it was a blur of colors smeared together, out of focus, creating large and small halos of light as if they were in a dream. Everyone moved forward slowly, turning if they got stuck, continuing if the path was clear—unable to tell where walls or paths were, relying entirely on instinct. After walking like this for a few minutes, a blurry outline appeared on-screen. At first, they thought it was the Mermaid Princess, but when they got closer, they saw it was a harp, standing quietly like a shy maiden with her head bowed.
[System] Welcome to the Harp Illusion.
[System] Quest updated: “Decipher the Harp Illusion”!
Looking around, the only notable object was the suspicious harp. Since the quest was to decipher the illusion, it made sense to start with it.
With everyone’s agreement, Rain Through the Woods double-clicked the harp.
There were no traps, monsters, or bosses—instead, a giant harp appeared on each player’s screen, with strings of varying lengths arranged from left to right. The top-right corner of the screen showed a small window where a beautiful girl plucked the harp’s strings. Though the image was tiny, each string was clearly visible. As her fingers moved, ethereal and elegant notes flowed out…
Dutch Souvenir: “Don’t tell me we have to play along…”
Rain Ceases: “Looks like it.”
War of the Gods: “How are we supposed to play this? It’s so dense it’s dizzying.”
No Birds Over a Thousand Mountains: “Look closely. Each string is marked with one of the 26 English letters, numbers 1–0, and F1–F11. So each string corresponds to a keyboard key. We need to play exactly what the girl is playing.”
Little Willow: “Seriously? Not a single note wrong?”
X: “Great. 47 keys in total. Can someone just shoot me with an AK-47?”
Don’t Stop the Meds: “Finished?”
Dutch Chamber, collectively: “…”
Don’t Stop the Meds: “If you’re done, then pay attention to which strings she plucks, write them down, and copy her. How hard is that?”
The Dutch Chamber teammates fell silent.
It wasn’t actually difficult—just a mini-game. But it was tedious. According to the progress bar in the small window, the girl’s song was over three minutes long. Three minutes might not seem like much, but for playing, it was a stream of notes. Worse, they had to watch which strings she plucked, jot them down, then quickly look up to catch the next note—but the girl wouldn’t wait for them. By the time they recorded one note, she might’ve already played several more, forcing them to listen to the same three minutes over and over—maybe even exponentially—just to transcribe the entire song. And that was only half the battle. They’d still have to play those notes on their own harps, finding each key one by one—enough to drive anyone insane…
[System] Quest “Decipher the Harp Illusion” completed!
[System] Welcome to the Chaotic Illusion.
[System] Quest updated: “Decipher the Chaotic Illusion”!
As the quest updated, the scenery changed. The dreamlike space slowly came into focus, no longer hazy but revealing everything clearly.
Yet the Dutch Ghosts’ souls were still stuck in the Harp Illusion…
Mocha: “Why do I feel like I have no idea what’s happening tonight? =_=”
Little Willow: “You’re not alone.”
Don’t Stop the Meds: “Ghost Server!”
Milk Mom: “We didn’t do anything!”
Drink Your Sister: “I just tried it casually…”
Milk Mom: “Okay, forget I said anything.”
Don’t Stop the Meds: “…”
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