Not far away, thick smoke and dazzling flames billowed beneath the ruins, while in front of him, a waning moon slowly rose from Yan Wei’s palm.
Now, only one of the five fragments was missing. The four fragments pieced together formed a clear shape of the Moon Wheel—a crescent moon missing a corner, softly glowing with a pure white light, exuding an aura that was completely at odds with the evil and malice found in the dungeon.
It hovered above Yan Wei’s palm, yet he showed no concern that something unexpected might snatch it away.
When the four fragments were combined, the Moon Wheel had already been bound to his information panel.
Legendary Item, once bound, could not be used by anyone else unless the owner died, the information was formatted, or it was actively unbound. Even if it were casually tossed aside, others would have no way to use it.
Yan Wei glanced at the Moon Wheel, then his eyes shifted slightly, and he raised his eyelids to look at Wu Hua and the others in front of him.
Even with the flames behind him casting a glow, Wu Hua’s expression was grim. He had even forgotten about the disappearance of Severed Space and the spreading fire, fixating instead on the incomplete Moon Wheel hovering above Yan Wei’s palm, incredulously exclaiming, “…You’ve already obtained the Legendary Item from this dungeon!??”
The sensation of a Legendary Item was vastly different from that of an ordinary Item. Wu Hua had entered with the mission of finding a Legendary Item, so he quickly connected the dots.
As soon as he finished speaking, the other two players from Broken Scythe also understood, and the expressions of all three turned quite grim.
In a dungeon where they hadn’t even reached the higher levels, a Legendary Item provided an overwhelming boost to a player’s strength.
Yan Wei lifted his chin slightly, blinking. The nearly complete Moon Wheel brought him a very comfortable feeling, and he instinctively smiled silently.
In just a moment, Wu Hua grasped the situation. He exchanged glances with the other two Broken Scythe players, then turned to leave.
Beside Yan Wei, Yan Mingguang radiated a faint killing intent. He seemed completely unconcerned about what Yan Wei held, frowning as he took a step forward. The Long Whip in his hand twitched, ready to strike. On the other side, Yu Feizhou also drew out the dagger he used alongside the blue orb.
Yan Wei held back Yan Mingguang and Yu Feizhou while calling out to Wu Hua and the others, “Don’t rush off; you set the fire, at least put it out before you leave.”
Wu Hua and the others didn’t even look back.
In that instant, the waning moon in Yan Wei’s hand seemed to shine even brighter.
He raised his eyes, gazing at the small grove where the fire had already begun to spread, and said, “Let them run.” Then, he lifted his palm, deftly grasping the Moon Wheel, and closed his eyes again, focusing all his sensory abilities on Perception.
Yan Mingguang glanced at Yan Wei, then at the Legendary Item held in Yan Wei’s hand, his gaze lingering on the Moon Wheel for a rare moment. He silently stepped back, and at that moment when Yan Wei couldn’t see him, his eyes held a familiar glimmer that had been absent for a long time.
Only Yu Feizhou looked quite puzzled: “Weren’t you going to let them put out the fire? Why are you letting them run? If they run, we’ll be the ones putting out the fire, right? But I don’t mind; you guys are moving too fast, with no accumulation. I can exchange all my Items and invitation letters to put out the fire—”
Yu Feizhou’s calm voice suddenly halted.
Just as Yan Wei grasped the Moon Wheel, its glow had begun to fade, but at that moment, the bright light surged with a wave strong enough to distort space!
In the next instant, the surrounding air began to tremble, as if some invisible force was colliding.
Yan Wei opened his eyes.
The power emanating from the Moon Wheel extended outward, encircling a range around the fire, trapping Wu Hua and the others who hadn’t yet escaped the flames inside.
Wu Hua, who was running in one direction, hadn’t even reacted when he was suddenly blocked by an invisible barrier ahead, causing him to fall to the ground due to inertia.
—This was the function of the Moon Wheel that Yan Wei had just discovered.
The biggest difference between a Legendary Item and other Items lay in the fact that their functions were not specific or restrictive. Rather than saying a Legendary Item had a certain function, it was more accurate to say it had attributes. How these attributes could be utilized and how powerful they could become depended entirely on the growth potential of the owner.
The attribute of the Moon Wheel was fusion and division.
Just moments ago, Yan Wei was able to cover the entire small grove with his Perception thanks to the Moon Wheel, which helped his Perception merge with this space, thus expanding his perception range.
“I used the division attribute of the Moon Wheel to split this small grove into a burning area and a non-burning area. My current physical data is quite limited, so I can’t achieve the level of Severed Space, but I can separate the heavens and earth within a small range.”
Yu Feizhou exclaimed, “So it’s like you created an invisible wall that enclosed the burning area of the small grove?”
“Exactly.”
Thus, although there was nothing in front of Wu Hua, he found it impossible to move forward—because Yan Wei had temporarily divided the space in front of and behind Wu Hua into two separate areas. Naturally, Wu Hua, whose strength was insufficient to contend with a Legendary Item, could not break through this invisible wall.
The surrounding air continued to ripple.
Yan Wei said, “Now the Moon Wheel has divided the burning area from the non-burning area. Broken Scythe is in the fire, and we’re outside watching—now the positions have switched; let’s go talk to them.”
As he finished speaking and was about to step forward, the world suddenly went dark for a moment.
He stumbled a step, and when he regained his senses, he found Yan Mingguang had already placed a hand on his shoulder, supporting him as they walked toward where Wu Hua and the others were.
Yan Wei’s face was pale, cold sweat beading on his forehead, breathing quite rapidly.
After all, the Moon Wheel was a Legendary Item meant for high-level players. Yan Wei’s highest level was currently the nineteenth level of this Dynamic Instance, and this act of separation had drained all his energy.
“Where’s Yu Feizhou?”
“The fluctuations were too intense, creating a Retrospective Illusion that usually appears at night. Yu Feizhou was close by.”
“Given how calm you are, you must have sensed that the Retrospective Illusion isn’t a big deal, right?”
“With Yu Feizhou’s strength, it’s just a matter of time before he comes out.”
Yan Wei felt relieved.
In just a few moments, Yan Mingguang had already helped Yan Wei reach Wu Hua and the others.
Yan Wei first glanced at the man’s expression—calm and indifferent, just like before, showing no signs of any unusual emotion. This person seemed completely unfazed by the function of the Moon Wheel; while Yu Feizhou had looked surprised and amazed during the separation of space, Yan Mingguang appeared as if he had seen it all before.
He quietly took note of this but didn’t point it out.
Right now, it was more important to exit the dungeon.
Yan Wei turned his gaze to Wu Hua.
At this moment, Wu Hua was separated from them by a barrier that divided the space. He looked grimly at Yan Wei, with the flames drawing ever closer behind him.
But they couldn’t escape this space enclosed by Yan Wei using the Moon Wheel; the flames would only draw nearer.
“Why aren’t you speaking?” Yan Wei, still in a state of exhaustion, leaned his entire weight against Yan Mingguang and said, “Weren’t you quite confident when you were talking to us earlier? Sorry, but now the positions have switched, and it’s my turn to give you a choice.”
He chuckled lightly, “Wu Hua, either you let the fire you set continue to burn—after all, you’re trapped in this space and can’t get out. When the fire completely engulfs your area, you’ll eventually be burned alive—this wouldn’t count as my killing you, since the fire was set by you.”
He paused, savoring Wu Hua’s mixed expression before continuing, “Or, you can find a way to put out this fire. The exchange shop has plenty of Items that counter fire, right? You can use your points to exchange for them; it shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Regardless of how you choose, I win either way, and you lose; the only difference is how badly you lose.”
After finishing, Yan Wei leaned against Yan Mingguang for support, resting. At that moment, he looked quite weak, his already delicate features taking on a layer of frail white, which only accentuated the clarity of his amber-like eyes.
He looked nothing like someone who would say such words.
Yet, that statement was delivered with a rational and cruel tone, without affecting his approachable demeanor. Under the dim light mixed with thick black smoke, Yan Wei still appeared to be the cleanest one.
Like someone holding moonlight amidst a sea of blood.
Wu Hua stared at Yan Wei, his eyes nearly bulging with rage.
Another player from Broken Scythe attempted to strike the barrier, but ordinary Items could never break through the work of a Legendary Item. Not only did he fail, but he was also rebounded by the barrier, nearly falling into the fire.
The other one panicked, “Wu Hua, what do we do?”
Wu Hua clenched his fists, gritting his teeth, “Do we have any choices left?”
“That Legendary Item…”
Wu Hua snapped, “At this point, it’s a miracle if you can save your life!”
He had thought Broken Scythe was guaranteed to win, that Yan Wei was just a lone wolf player without any trump cards, and he had a foolproof plan to win the race mode. But unexpectedly, this fire had led him to entrap himself, and now he had to clean up this mess to survive.
Wu Hua was ruthless and decisive, making the decision to eliminate Yan Wei and the others with determination, and now he was equally decisive in choosing to give up.
He understood the situation well; losing was losing.
Wu Hua cursed under his breath, saying, “…From now on, if I see that Yan ancestor, I’ll take a detour!”
Yan Wei raised an eyebrow, offering him an innocent smile.
Then, Yan Mingguang found a tree stump, clearing a clean spot for Yan Wei to sit and rest.
Meanwhile, Wu Hua and the others had no other path to take, forced to use all their points, Items, and invitation letters to exchange for many fire-resistant Items, holding their breath to deal with the fire.
By four or five in the afternoon, Yan Wei slowly recovered from his earlier exhaustion, while Wu Hua and the others finally extinguished the flames.
The once lush small grove was now charred black, the surrounding temperature still scorching the air, with black smoke lingering within.
The three members of Broken Scythe were utterly exhausted, lying on the ground, gasping for breath. They had entered the dungeon without gaining anything, delivering a piece of a Legendary Item to Yan Wei, and had wasted all their accumulation, leaving not even an ordinary Item.
Unfortunately, Yan Wei felt no sympathy for their plight. He personally walked up and knocked each of them unconscious, then, along with Yan Mingguang, dragged them back to the dormitory building.
As soon as Yan Wei dragged them upstairs, he remembered how these people had made him rest for quite a while earlier, and with a grudge, he tossed them into the public restroom stalls—face down.
As he casually tossed them one by one, finally throwing Wu Hua into a stinky toilet stall, Yan Wei caught a glimpse of Yan Mingguang seemingly smiling.
“Cold ice block, what are you laughing at?”
He was blunt: “Childish.”
“……” Yan Wei pouted, “In a life-and-death dungeon, I’m already being merciful by throwing them in a secluded place. Is it wrong to take a little revenge?”
“Not at all.”
Yan Wei: “……”
Arguing with Yan Mingguang was predictably devoid of any sense of accomplishment.
“Let them be; these three clowns are of no concern. Whether they can survive until they get out is up to luck. It’s getting dark… He Luo’s antagonistic relationship with us is beyond doubt, and Lin Zhen has nearly pulled all players to our side. He Luo won’t just sit back and watch us resolve this step by step. Whether we can break the deadlock tonight is equivalent to whether we can survive.” Yan Wei closed the door of the stall where Wu Hua was, turned around, and patted Yan Mingguang’s arm, “Let’s go; Yu Feizhou’s intercom isn’t connecting; he should still be in the Retrospective Illusion. Zhou Tian and Gao Ming have come out of the archives, and Lin Zhen has also completed the paperwork; let’s gather first.”
“Zhou Tian, can you hear me?” Yan Wei connected to the intercom, “Good, take all the documents you found directly to the small grove; we’ll meet in front of the small grove.”
He switched the intercom channel to the one Lin Zhen had sent to every player who had joined their side.
“Everyone, see you at the small grove.”
Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang walked down the dormitory building one after the other.
As they stepped out of the dormitory building’s main door, Yan Wei slowly raised his head, his light tea-colored eyes reflecting the dimly lit sky.
“It’s getting dark.”
He said.
