Global Game: AFK In The Zombie Apocalypse Game Novel - Chapter 2551
Chapter 2551 The Test
Meanwhile, at the entrance of Empress Persephone’s mausoleum, the necromancy instructors observed a deep black shadow gradually enveloping the sky above the mausoleum. Concern flickered in their eyes.
Teacher Gu Luo wore a solemn expression as he said, “This seems abnormal.”
“Yes,” another instructor replied.
They could visibly see a silent dark force slowly condensing in the distance, creeping toward the area surrounding Empress Persephone’s mausoleum.
This dark force felt different from the usual death realm storms; it was shrouded in an aura that instilled a profound sense of unease.
…
“President,”
As the high-ranking members of the undead council focused on Fang Heng and his group’s movements, an assistant quietly leaned in to Georgi and warned, “President, the storm outside the mausoleum is condensing much faster than we anticipated.”
Georgi turned his gaze to the mirrored projection of Teacher Gu Luo and his group, furrowing his brow.
“This death realm storm seems a bit unusual.”
“The death realm storms are always difficult to predict…”
Georgi raised his hand to interrupt the assistant, nodding as he said, “After we finish the exploration of the lower entrance, we’ll immediately recall Fang Heng and the others.”
“Understood!”
Georgi nodded and shifted his gaze back to the projection mirror showing Fang Heng and his companions.
In the first basement of Empress Persephone’s mausoleum, the passage was intricate and winding. Even with the guidance of the map, it took Fang Heng and his companions nearly an hour to find the entrance to the lower area.
The entrance to the second basement was a massive stone wall.
The three gathered in front of the stone wall to observe.
The wall was adorned with decorative inscriptions and murals. Among them, a mural depicted a woman standing before a throne, gazing down at the world as if she were a ruler overlooking her subjects.
The ruler of the death realm?
Empress Persephone?
Upon closer inspection, Fang Heng noticed a special groove in the figure’s right hand, which perfectly matched the scepter of the Empress’s guard he had just found in the mausoleum.
It seemed he was on the right track.
Fang Heng stepped up to the wall, carefully observing, and then placed the scepter into the groove.
The moment the scepter was fully inserted, he felt a familiar sensation wash over him.
A faint stream of mental strength flowed through his consciousness, connecting with the ice crystal imprint of Empress Persephone, and entered the scepter.
Crack!
With a soft click, the scepter seemed to validate its place, and the stone wall began to emit a series of grinding sounds, slowly shifting before the three.
“Ka… ka, ka… ka…”
The walls on either side moved apart, revealing a passage opening ahead. The Empress’s scepter remained suspended in the air, controlled by a special force.
Fang Heng stepped forward, reaching out to grasp the scepter.
Once he did, a game hint reappeared.
[Player’s current mission-The Brave Explorer of the Mausoleum completed, triggering follow-up mission-The Empress’s Trial.]
Mission name: The Empress’s Trial.
Mission difficulty: SSS.
Mission requirements: Empress Persephone has left special trials within her mausoleum. Please attempt to pass the Empress’s trials to enter the deepest part of the mausoleum.
Mission time limit: 11 hours and 04 minutes.
Fang Heng’s heart raced.
Trial? A test left by Empress Persephone for her subordinates?
Choosing to place it in such an eerie mausoleum only made it feel more unsettling.
The more Fang Heng thought about it, the more he felt something was off.
Tan Shuo, noticing the game hint, frowned deeply, “Mr. Fang, this mission definitely has some issues.”
Li Shaoqiang, however, dismissed it with a scoff, “We’re already here; no need to overthink it. Let’s just go in and see what happens. After all, we have the entire undead faction as backup. What’s there to fear?”
Just then, the stone slab in Tan Shuo’s hand began to warm.
Information from the undead faction flowed through the slab once more.
Li Shaoqiang leaned over to ask, “What does it say?”
“This isn’t good. There’s a rare death realm storm forming outside the mausoleum,” Tan Shuo said, reading the text on the stone slab with a furrowed brow. “The storm is gathering much faster than the undead council anticipated. They estimate it will form within a day, and once it does, it could last for days, months, or even years.”
“Seriously? Are we that unlucky?” Li Shaoqiang ran his fingers through his hair. “Didn’t they say this was a rare safe period when we first arrived?”
“I’m not sure. The undead council didn’t provide any specific reasons,” Tan Shuo replied.
Just then, Fang Heng’s stone slab began to heat up in his hands. He opened the information on it and looked up. “The undead council advises us to immediately evacuate with all the loot we’ve found.”
Tan Shuo and Li Shaoqiang fell silent, exchanging glances with Fang Heng.
“Mr. Fang, we have a time limit on this mission. If we want to complete it, there’s no way we can go back and forth to the council in time,” Tan Shuo pointed out.
“That’s true.”
Fang Heng mused, weighing their options.
Fang Heng looked at the high-level members of the undead council through the mirror, determination etched on his face. The mission in the mausoleum was clearly a high-level one, and he couldn’t bring himself to give up so easily. What if there were exceptional rewards waiting for them? He didn’t want to regret missing out later.
With that thought, Fang Heng raised the scepter high in his hand, signaling his refusal to withdraw.
The members of the undead council observed his gestures, whispering among themselves.
“What does Fang Heng want to convey?”
“Is he trying to tell us he discovered something about the scepter?”
“Or does he want to continue exploring with the scepter?”
“It seems like he intends to proceed to the next level,”
While they were discussing, everyone saw Fang Heng take a few steps into the opening of the lower passage.
Georgi leaned over to an assistant and quietly said, “Try asking them in writing if they’re interested in exploring the third layer of the mausoleum.”
Fang Heng and the other two saw the words on the stone slab clearly again and immediately made a gesture to confirm.
At that moment, the undead council finally understood that Fang Heng and his companions wanted to explore the lower layers.
Why was he suddenly so radical?
What was the reason?
Could it be that these three people had suddenly discovered something?
Georgi reiterated the risks to Fang Heng and the others, but they still signaled their confirmation to proceed with the exploration.
Taking hasty action posed too great a risk.
Moreover, with the mausoleum’s periphery shrouded in the storm, any delays could lead to trouble if the storm suddenly descended.
“President,” Instructor Dickey interjected, sensing the moment. “Fang Heng is my student, and I know him fairly well. I believe he wouldn’t make such a judgment without reason. I think he has a compelling reason to explore the underground area right now.”
Georgi thought for a moment and nodded, “Alright, inform Fang Heng that the undead storm is gathering rapidly and changes could occur at any moment. They need to be extremely careful.”
“Understood.”
