“A new instance dungeon?”

Zhou Huai raised his eyebrows.

Lu Zhiyi nodded vigorously.

“Yes, an instance dungeon you’re sure to love.”

“It’s also a simulated city defense type.”

“However, the story in this instance dungeon actually happened in reality.”

At this point, the excitement on Lu Zhiyi’s face quickly faded, replaced by a deep sadness.

Her gaze dropped to the ground.

“That was the destruction of Simon City ten years ago.”

Simon City?

Zhou Huai lowered his head, lost in thought.

Soon, from the vague fragmented memories of the original owner, he quickly found reports about that disaster.

It was a scene he had seen on TV news.

Overwhelming numbers of Strange Beast, like a black tide, engulfed that distant border town.

Simon City, on the southwestern border of Great Xia Country.

It had suffered a super-large beast tide, a once-in-a-century event.

The sky was torn, and the earth wailed.

Support troops from other provinces and cities were blocked by the endless Strange Beast, unable to approach at all.

At that time, the only two SS-Class Pillars of the Nation in Great Xia Country, Marshal Zhao Qingcang and Principal Lin Zhu, were deeply mired in a national war with Sakura Country and were unable to Clone themselves.

That isolated city became an island forgotten by the world.

The Old City Lord of Simon City, Chen Guanyi.

A white-haired old man, leading the city’s only three thousand City Guard, and all self-organized guild members, defended the city walls to the death.

They held out for three days and three nights.

The magic cannons on the city walls fired until their barrels glowed red, the Professional’s mana was completely drained, and the Warrior’s swords were blunted.

Eventually, the city fell.

Old City Lord Chen Guanyi, atop the city tower, burned his last life, perishing with a Hell-level BOSS.

That day, the soaring flames dyed the entire sky of Simon red.

Of the hundreds of thousands of civilians in the city, fewer than five thousand ultimately survived.

Lu Zhiyi looked up, her eyes a little red.

“This instance dungeon is called 【First Sunlight on Simon】.”

“Its designer is one of the children who survived Simon City back then.”

“He can never forget the last words Old City Lord Chen Guanyi said to them, the children, before the city fell.”

“‘Children, run, run towards the rising sun, don’t look back.’”

“So, he designed this instance dungeon, to commemorate that great City Lord, and also to warn future generations.”

She paused, a bitter smile appearing on her face.

“Of course, the difficulty of this instance dungeon is completely incomparable to the real disaster.”

“The designer said he reduced the difficulty by at least ten times.”

“But even so, we still can’t defend Simon City.”

Lu Zhiyi looked at Zhou Huai again, with a hint of earnest expectation in her eyes.

“How about it? Student Gandalf, do you want to try it with us?”

Zhou Huai fell silent.

He remembered the Donghai City beast tide he had personally experienced not long ago.

The scene at that time was already tragic enough.

Countless Professionals fought bravely on the city walls, heroically sacrificing themselves.

He couldn't imagine what a desperate human Hell Simon City must have been ten years ago.

He slowly nodded.

“I’ll participate.”

“That’s great!”

Lu Zhiyi’s face instantly bloomed with a joyful smile, as if dispelling the previous gloom.

“Wait for me here! I’ll go tell our captain this good news right away!”

She ran off like a cheerful little deer.

Not long after, Lu Zhiyi led a tall, burly man over.

The man had dark skin, rugged features, bright, piercing eyes, and exuded a steady Qi like a mountain.

He scrutinized Gandalf, a hint of curiosity flashing in his eyes.

Then, he grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and his hearty laughter echoed through the exchange hall.

“Haha! Excellent! Student Gandalf, with your addition, our chances of success in this instance dungeon challenge will increase by a few more points!”

He extended his large, fan-like hand.

“Let me introduce myself, my name is Wang Xicheng, an S-Class Profession Titan Hero.”

“Welcome to the team!”

Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, also extended his hand and shook the other’s hand firmly.

“Gandalf, Forbidden Spell Mage.”

After all this, Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, followed Lu Zhiyi and Wang Xicheng towards the eleventh floor of the building.

At this moment, the eleventh floor was bustling with noise and excitement.

Looking around, there were densely packed crowds of people.

Nearly five hundred students had gathered.

They were in groups of three or five, clearly divided, evidently belonging to different hundred-person teams.

As soon as Wang Xicheng’s team appeared, a Yin and Yang voice rang out not far away.

“Oh, Wang Xicheng, you’re quite early.”

Zhou Huai looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a young man with dyed yellow hair from another team, arms crossed, looking at them with a mocking expression.

“But, a makeshift, ragtag team like yours is useless, even if you come.”

“Let me guess, how many minutes can you hold out this time? Thirty minutes? Or forty minutes?” 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The several people behind the yellow-haired man immediately burst into laughter.

Wang Xicheng’s expression remained unchanged; instead, he smiled and retorted.

“Who do I see, if not Young Master Liu.”

“What? I wonder who it was yesterday who got kicked out of the instance dungeon six times in a row.”

“Every time he failed, he cried and wailed on the forum, saying the instance dungeon designer was inhumane for setting the difficulty too high.”

The yellow-haired man’s face stiffened for a moment, then he snorted dismissively, his chin held high.

“This time it’s different!”

He pointed a finger, proudly gesturing to the people behind him.

“See? Today, I spent a lot of money to invite five S-Class seniors to help out!”

“Including me, our team has a total of six S-Class powerhouses!”

“I refuse to believe we still can’t clear it!”

Wang Xicheng clicked his tongue twice upon hearing this:

“Rich second-generation indeed, just burning money like crazy.”

What about six S-Class? We have three on our side.

Moreover...

Wang Xicheng’s gaze subtly flicked to Gandalf, who was wearing the star moon magic robe, beside him.

Moreover, we also have a great Devil King here.

The yellow-haired man ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) snorted coldly.

“I am just burning money like crazy, bite me if you’re not convinced?”

Just then, the broadcast System on the entire eleventh floor sounded a mechanical prompt.

The instance dungeon ‘First Sunlight on Simon’ is about to open. All teams, please prepare.

Teleportation countdown, ten, nine, eight...

As the countdown ended, dozens of huge teleportation gates on the eleventh floor lit up simultaneously.

Wang Xicheng’s team, along with several other teams, was swallowed by a soft white light.

After a brief dizziness.

Zhou Huai opened his eyes again.

The deafening sound of battle instantly filled his ears.

He found himself standing on a towering city wall.

Below the city wall was a black ocean.

A dense army of Strange Beast, like an endless tide, furiously crashed against the giant golden Formation barrier outside the city.

Each impact made the entire city wall tremble.

Ripples constantly appeared on the barrier, and its light flickered, as if it could break at any moment.

On the city wall, countless huge magic cannons roared, their muzzles spewing destructive light and flames, blasting large swaths of Strange Beast into charcoal.

Countless Professionals stood behind the battlements, their faces resolute.

Fireballs, ice cones, wind blades, arrows...

Skills of various elements intertwined into a dazzling rain of death, pouring down furiously onto the city below.

The entire scene was more than ten times grander than the Donghai City beast tide he had experienced before.

Even Zhou Huai felt a shock to his soul looking at the epic war-like scene before him.

Just then, a soft small hand tugged at his sleeve.

“Student Gandalf! Don’t just stand there!”

Lu Zhiyi’s anxious voice rang in his ear.

“Quick! Follow us!”

Zhou Huai came back to his senses and subconsciously asked.

“Go where?”

“The South Gate!”

There was a hint of urgency in Lu Zhiyi’s voice.

“That’s the weakest point of defense on the entire city wall, and also where the Strange Beast’s offensive is strongest.”

“Our mission is to defend that place!”

“If the South Gate falls, then our instance dungeon challenge will be declared a failure!”

Zhou Huai understood.

He nodded, said no more, and followed Wang Xicheng’s main force, quickly moving across the wide city wall.