Super Righteous Player-Chapter 1266 - 296: Deadly Romance

The truth was now painfully clear.

The Corrupted One hadn’t simply poisoned the building.

Instead, they had unleashed their "special fragrance" across the entire city.

Here was the good news: the Corrupted One did not know their teleportation arrival point. This implied that the Corrupted One’s research was far from exhaustive... In conflicts of this scale, lack of intelligence could be a fatal disadvantage from the outset.

But the bad news was that, in their effort to fight Annan, the Corrupted One had abandoned all scruples.

This scale of poisoning was merely a preemptive strike, aimed at entrapping Annan and the players arriving via teleportation—even without them knowing if this method would prove effective!

Even players at the Gold rank weren’t spared from the effects of the poison.

Then, how could the ordinary residents of this city possibly escape unscathed?

"Boss," Si Anke was the first to approach Annan, speaking with a solemn tone, "I think I’ve figured out what this poison is for.

"I tried something earlier... We’re unable to teleport out of here now. And on top of that, we can’t access the forum here." fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm

"...Is that so."

Annan’s heart stirred briefly.

He attempted to open the forum, but sure enough, failed. It was identical to being trapped in a nightmare.

Next, Annan tried to transform into light.

However, the moment his body began to gleam and turned as transparent as glass—before completing the full transformation—Annan felt a sudden and inexplicable sense of crisis. Instinctively, he reverted back.

"It seems it’s not just teleportation that’s prohibited."

Annan sighed. "Even elemental transformations have been sealed."

"In that case," Longjing Tea interjected, "it’s safe to assume that our Apostle transformations and the teleportation abilities inherent in that form might also be sealed."

The feline-shaped Defu added, speaking in a human voice to console, "The Corrupted One already knows we have the ability to teleport. Preparations of this scale are within expectations."

"I was just thinking..."

Lin Yiyi spoke up suddenly. "Since our teleportation and forum access have been sealed... does that mean we won’t be able to resurrect if we die here?"

At this comment, a brief silence fell over the group.

"It’s not a huge problem. Even if you momentarily lose the ability to resurrect, I still have the backups of your souls stored within my body... As long as I remain alive, your ’accounts’ won’t be deleted."

Annan finally spoke, breaking the silence.

Shi Sanxiang chimed in, "In other words, we might experience ’restricted resurrection.’ We need to prepare for the possibility of not being able to revive endlessly while we’re here."

Husky quipped sarcastically, "And right after that, we’ll probably hear something like, ’Your light has faded,’ won’t we..."

"That’d only be normal."

Xitan Pulan nodded, analyzing seriously. "The Corrupted One knows we can teleport at will and resurrect infinitely—indeed, infinite resurrection itself is part of the Corrupted One’s divine authority. Limiting it is only logical.

"I remember that before, Nis the Second designed something similar, a ’Hermes Dust’ capable of temporarily banning us from activity. Considering the Corrupted One’s status as a god, it’s not unreasonable for them to create an even more advanced version."

Longjing Tea added, "I even suspect that we might not be able to log out soon... or if we log out, we might be unable to log back in. Just to be safe, it’d be better not to try."

Jiu’er looked toward the city center. "If nothing unexpected happened, they’ve likely used the city’s central ’new wind system’ to blow this toxic mist throughout the city. It’s comparable to adding essential oils into a humidifier to diffuse fragrance with water vapor."

"This doesn’t seem like a gas designed for extreme lethality but rather one that seals away our abilities. So, it’s most likely comparable to ’Hermes Dust.’ It could be something along the lines of ’The Corrupted One’s Toxic Mist,’ or ’The Corrupted One’s Aromatic Essence.’"

The players had already obtained related information from the Sporogenesis Mill.

The Underground City’s initial design was like a tiered cake, a double-layered structure serving as a base of operations.

Due to the city’s initially low population, the available air supply was considered sufficient. Annan recalled how, in the "Gemini" nightmare, he had traversed to the Coal Ash Wastelands of a decade ago.

Back then, the Coal Ash Wastelands were devoid of even wind, shrouded in dim and oppressive light.

This was because the ceremonial "new wind system" hadn’t yet been constructed, and the Light Ant layer wasn’t thick enough at the time. To officially establish a city, the first step was to install a device at its heart that could cycle fresh air within a defined perimeter.

Only after that could the area qualify as a "city."

Of course, for cities above ground, the "new wind system" drew air from the outside to purify it. But underground, the conditions prevented that.

Even if plants could generate oxygen, the quantity produced was insufficient for such a large population. They couldn’t merely settle for simple gaseous exchange.

The barrier between above and below ground blocked more than the Mist; it also obstructed airflow. Moreover, the people of this era hadn’t yet identified the components of air or invented devices capable of easily supplying oxygen for an entire city.

This was a technological artifact personally invented by the Lady of Mysteries: a complex ceremonial device capable of "continuously producing breathable, temperature-appropriate gas and distributing it across nearby spaces."

Though its mechanism remained a mystery, scholars had at least learned how to reproduce it.

But this device had one flaw.

It couldn’t purify air, only generate new, usable gases.

This was the source of the "strange odor" that surface dwellers often noticed upon descending into the Underground City.

It was like entering a sealed factory. Despite air conditioners and full-operating ventilation systems, a peculiar, persistent scent always lingered in the air. Furthermore, the exact smell varied subtly between different factory types.

Similarly, the Underground City carried its own unique, overpowering aroma.

If toxic mist or the Mist itself filled an Underground City, this device alone couldn’t make the air clean and pure again because it lacked the ability to cycle out old gases.

Additionally, the system could be misused—

In the past, a follower of the Black Widow once poisoned a city’s new wind system. Toxic gas spread across the entire settlement, killing not only its inhabitants but also the poisoner themselves.

Since then, safeguards were placed to seal the system’s inputs.

Ordinary individuals couldn’t operate it, nor could they poison the system even by dismantling it.

"What Jiu’er described is entirely possible."

Annan agreed.

For Annan remembered... the Corrupted One had once been a brilliant alchemist.

They were even qualified to wear the "Supreme Crown." At one point, they had been the world’s preeminent alchemist.

Although the Underground City’s scholars were incapable of dismantling the ceremonial device, it was entirely plausible that the Corrupted One could have warped its function instead.

The technical safeguards implemented by scholars were unlikely to thwart the Corrupted One.

Soon, some players flew toward the city center to investigate.

They discovered the "giant air purifier," resembling a towering lamppost, now exhaling a pink wind.

Their guess was almost certainly correct.

However, one especially reckless player, known as "The Wandering Child," dared to fly closer for a direct sniff.

Fortunately, this impulsive decision proved insightful.

They immediately discovered an unexpected contradiction—

The child’s body suddenly froze.

They shouted, "Stay back!

"This scent isn’t the same!"

Even though they had already ascended to the Gold rank, The Wandering Child’s body abruptly withered, blooming with pale white roses tinged with faint pink edges.

As the pink-and-white roses spread over their body, they stiffened and began to turn to wood.

—Yet they didn’t die.

Instead, they twisted in place, transforming into a "rose bush." Because the roots didn’t connect to the ground, they quickly shriveled and dried...

Soon after, the petals scattered like living entities.

Even in this state, the child did not truly perish; they persisted in an unending state of "undeath."

Their life had been "fragmented" into countless pieces.

Every rose petal was a part of them.

—At this realization, Annan’s mind jolted.

Now he understood what had changed in this city...

Or rather, because the Corrupted One was adept at crafting botanical oils, Annan had reflexively overlooked this possibility—

Throughout the city, scattered in every corner, lay rose petals, some fresh and others wilted.

Some were deep red, others white, some purple, some blue, and others yellow...

It was as if a romantic rain of roses had fallen, covering the entire city in petals.

"This is your creation... ’botanical essence,’ isn’t it?"

"Indeed it is."

The Corrupted One’s gentle voice came from nearby, "What a pity. If you had personally inspected the ceremonial device... this would all be over by now."

Their figure emerged from around a corner, draped in a fragrant aura.

The Corrupted One still wore their pure white silk robe and the ivory crown with five pointed horns atop their head.

From this crown, long streamers of white gauze cascaded like wings, draping down past their ears and flowing behind them. A silver mask obscured the upper half of their face, while the lower half remained frozen in a mysterious smile.

From a distance, the Corrupted One opened their arms wide, as though ready to embrace Annan.

The Corrupted One walked barefoot over the ground—and with each step they took, flowers of various colors blossomed beneath their feet.

All around them, petals spiraled in a lively dance, animating the air. As they appeared, a rain of petals descended from above, filling the atmosphere with complex and intoxicating scents.

Gracefully, they extended their right hand, catching a single pink petal on their pale, delicate fingertip.

In the next moment, the petal transformed into a pink butterfly, its wings fluttering as it took flight. As it struggled to soar, it disintegrated into bright pink motes, leaving behind a radiant, glittering trail.

It was breathtakingly beautiful, a scene straight out of a dream.

—If only Annan didn’t know the true essence of those petals.