Chapter 290 White Smoke

The battle ended soon after.

The ghosts that came from the Golden Formation Center were mostly weaklings, merely numerous in quantity. After a tug-of-war and a significant reduction in their numbers, these ghosts no longer posed a threat to them.

However, the few Red-Clothed Fierce Ghosts attracted by the fat guy were a bit troublesome, but nothing too big. Once the white-dressed girl took care of Yan Qiu, the remaining three sisters quickly joined the fray, and it seemed they were quite skilled at dealing with ghosts—those Red-Clothed Fierce Ghosts were mostly handled by them.

…Though calling it solving might not be entirely accurate; at least from Ling Mo and the others’ perspective, those Red-Clothed Fierce Ghosts ended up wailing as they fled into the dark narrow alley and disappeared, so “driven back” would be more appropriate.

As the chaotic scene finally stabilized a bit, the atmosphere among the group began to grow strangely awkward.

Tiger Ba Tian and Chicken Head were both injured, and this chaotic fight only added more wounds to them, so after the battle, they sat to the side to pop some medicine.

The fat guy was also hurt, but not as badly as they were—he was just quite exhausted and collapsed on the ground gasping for breath. Murong Yue wanted to slack off, but the overwhelming number of ghosts left her no chance, so she did exert a bit of effort and was now recovering.

Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan were in a better condition, but they weren’t experts at dealing with such situations; they had also been made a bit helpless when facing the Red-Clothed Ghost.

The only ones who seemed to be in good shape were those four girls, who emerged from several intense battles without a speck of dirt on their clothes.

Thus, the atmosphere between both sides felt strange—given how decisively that girl had dispatched Yan Qiu, there was some tension about whether they would end up fighting again.

Until finally, it seemed the girl who had dealt with Yan Qiu noticed Ling Mo and the others’ wariness and spoke up, “Don’t worry, as long as you bear no ill will, we won’t make any moves against you.”

The fat guy immediately laughed, “That’s great! We are all about peace here—how about we form an alliance?”

“No need for an alliance.” The girl shook her head, glanced at them, and said, “Yan Qiu’s team has been wiped out, and all the remaining teams in this dungeon are here. Since you all have formed an alliance, can we agree that we will proceed with a peaceful passage from here on out?”

Ling Mo glanced over at Xia Xinyan and nodded, “Probably.”

“Great, then we’ll go by our own strengths from now on.” Saying that, the girl took her team and left the place.

It was only after their figures disappeared that Tiger Ba Tian let out a sigh of relief.

Noticing this, Xia Xinyan could not help but ask, “Do you know them?”

“Yeah,” Tiger Ba Tian nodded, “They’re with White Smoke… their signature outfit is this set of white clothes. Recently, in our area, they’ve made quite a name for themselves; several shady forces messed with them and ended up disappearing the next day—don’t underestimate these girls; when they fight, they’re much fiercer than us.”

“Got that.” Ling Mo recalled how that girl had dealt with Yan Qiu just now.

Xia Xinyan furrowed her brow slightly, showing some concern.

Speaking of which… she had indeed heard the name White Smoke in her previous life.

Some said White Smoke was an organization, while others claimed it was a person’s name, but the common point was that they were a very strong presence. Once someone got targeted by them, even if they didn’t die, they’d have to suffer some skin peeling. Even those big forces didn’t dare to mess with them, and many had suffered at the hands of White Smoke.

However, Xia Xinyan had not come into contact with White Smoke in her previous life because they were too mysterious; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been baffled by the rumors surrounding them.

But now it seemed, was White Smoke an organization?

“Is White Smoke a specific person’s name? Or what?” she casually asked.

Tiger Ba Tian shook his head, “I don’t know, but it’s probably a person’s name. Who knows, maybe the girl who was talking is called White Smoke? They all dress the same and cover their faces, so who can tell who is who?”

“Wow, they’re quite fierce then,” the fat guy rubbed his chin, “Daring to go up against the Eternal Life Palace… or is it just some personal grudge against that Yan dog?”

“That Yan Qiu was acting weird before.” Xia Xinyan interjected, “His mental fluctuations were chaotic, and his actions were a bit irrational… Those several White Smoke people said it was they who wiped out Yan Qiu’s team?”

She remembered that when they arrived at the Golden Formation Center, those two teams were fighting each other.

“Must be,” Chicken Head chimed in, “I heard White Smoke has the ability to manipulate people’s minds; that guy’s irrational behavior might have been their doing—but that has nothing to do with us. Since we’re not fighting anymore, let’s hurry and complete the task. I’m worried if the ghosts come at us a few more times, we might really be done for.”

Ling Mo nodded in agreement, “Yeah, let’s finish the task first. By the way, where are An Xiao and the others?”

“Not sure, got scattered by the ghosts.” The fat guy shrugged, “But those few should be fine with Monica by their side, right?”

He didn’t know how strong Monica was, but from the way Ling Mo and Xia Xinyan had been treating her lately, she should be quite powerful.

At least stronger than them.

But he also didn’t see her name on the leaderboard, which was quite strange.

However, he didn’t plan to ask; after all, everyone has their little secrets, and as the saying goes, the more you know, the faster you die. He was well aware of the cost of being overly curious.

Then, as soon as he finished speaking, Xia Xinyan and Ling Mo’s team received a system notification—Seal Progress +1.

Since all three members of their team were here, the only one still capable of completing the task was Bai Yu.

“Looks like they’re also making moves,” Xia Xinyan surveyed the others, “Let’s go too, finish the task as soon as possible.”

The others had no objections.

After all, the only one lagging behind in this dungeon was An Dongxing, but with Tiger Ba Tian and Chicken Head’s condition, it was impossible for them to leave the team to find him; they might end up bringing the two down with him. Having the others search for him wouldn’t be practical either; as they said, completing the task quickly and leaving the dungeon was the most important thing—who knows, they might wrap up just in time to complete the task before An Dongxing dies, which would at least mean he passed.

Moreover, searching for someone in this dungeon was utterly impractical with all communication devices dysfunctional—it was like finding a needle in a haystack; it was better to just seek out opportunities, if they find him, that’s a win, if not, no loss.

Just like Ling Mo and the others didn’t plan to look for Monica and the others either.

And until now, this round of wandering pretty much allowed them to figure out the location of the formation center, and they had also gathered a considerable number of fragments. Plus, since the PVP dungeon had united all players while eliminating the factor of internal strife, completing the main quest had become much simpler.

Overall, while the process was a bit baffling, this dungeon run had been relatively smooth.