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 Gu Zhan turned to flee, which only made the director of the psychiatric hospital even angrier.

He patted the enormous creature beneath him and shouted in fury, "Chase!"

The monster started moving toward Gu Zhan’s direction.

Even though the monster wasn’t fast, its massive size allowed it to cover a large distance with every step, and its movements caused the ground to tremble.

Gu Zhan and Qin Yue, however, only had two legs, making their escape clumsy and frantic.

The distance between them and the monster was closing, and every time Qin Yue ran, he was jolted into the air by the heavy footsteps of the creature, like a scene from Tom and Jerry.

Unable to hold back, he asked, "Boss, what kind of grudge do you have with him? Can't we just talk this out?"

Gu Zhan glanced back quickly. The director, still seated on the giant creature’s shoulder, wore a face full of rage.

Gu Zhan thought to himself, Talking is not an option.

But running like this wasn’t a solution either.

The director clearly wasn’t going to let them off easily. After thinking for a moment, Gu Zhan said, "We need to find a way to get him off that monster’s back."

The director, having left his dungeon, should no longer have any special abilities.

The real threat came from the giant monster.

Qin Yue also glanced back and said, "We can't even reach him! It'd be great if we had something to stand on to reach higher."

Gu Zhan couldn’t help but admire Qin Yue's creativity. The monster was easily three stories tall, and Qin Yue was thinking about standing on something...

But standing on something...

Gu Zhan had an idea. He grabbed Qin Yue and turned, leading him down a narrow alley.

It seemed the director’s vision wasn’t great. Since Gu Zhan and Qin Yue weren’t running loudly, the director lost track of their direction.

The giant monster stopped and looked around, confused.

Suddenly, noise came from an old building nearby, which, due to its height, seemed like a small model next to the monster.

The director patted the monster’s shoulder and instructed it to turn toward the building.

As they neared, a figure jumped down from the adjacent structure, landing directly on the monster’s shoulder!

The director panicked and hurriedly ordered the monster to retreat.

However, there were still many buildings that hadn't been destroyed yet, and though they were fragile in front of the monster, they still impeded its movement.

The director couldn’t move fast enough, and Qin Yue successfully landed on the monster’s shoulder. He grinned fiercely at the director, "Got you!"

Just as Gu Zhan had expected, the director had no abilities after leaving his dungeon.

The director was immediately tackled by Qin Yue, who grabbed him by the back of his collar and began dragging him toward the edge.

The director finally began to panic, begging, "What do you want from me? Why can't you just leave me alone?!"

Gu Zhan stood on top of a nearby building, watching the scene with a raised eyebrow.

Well, looks like the monster was feeling wronged now.

Ten minutes later, the director was on the ground, standing obediently in front of Gu Zhan.

Gu Zhan folded his arms and leaned against the wall, watching the director. "Why are you chasing me?"

The director looked at him with a grievance. "You took over my home, and you're not even going to let me chase you for a bit?"

"Your home?" Gu Zhan was utterly confused. "When did that happen?"

Seeing that Gu Zhan didn't remember, the director's anger flared. "It was when you first came into the dungeon! I just ate some nasty emotions from the last dungeon, had a bit of a stomachache, and wanted to get someone to fill in for me."

"But that number two... just barged in without permission! I didn't give him access, but he forced his way in, wrecked my dungeon, and when I came back from my stomach issues, I couldn’t even get back in! That’s MY dungeon, MY home! Without my office, where was I supposed to sleep at night...?"

As he spoke, the director became more agitated and squatted down, clutching his head and sobbing.

The massive monster beside him, infected by the sadness, also began wiping tears.

Gu Zhan: "..."

How is this my fault? This sounds like something Mu Tuo did!

Trying to reason with him, Gu Zhan asked, "Isn't it that number two who ruined your dungeon? What does this have to do with me?"

The director, looking even more wronged, raised his head. "That's what I thought at first! I even went to him, asking him to return my dungeon! But he beat me up!"

"Then I went to the system, asking for help, trying to get him to return my dungeon. But the system told me that I couldn’t get back into my dungeon because someone else had stolen it! It had nothing to do with number two!"

As he finished, the director glared at Gu Zhan with accusation in his eyes.

It took a moment for Gu Zhan to realize what the director was implying.

That someone who stole the dungeon... could it be me?

"..."

Just then, Qin Yue spoke up quietly, "Boss, our space's psychiatric hospital... wasn't it you who took it?"

Gu Zhan went silent.

This was a tough one to explain.

The director, still on the ground, looked up at Gu Zhan, accusingly. "It was you! You stole my dungeon! You made me homeless and the other monsters laughed at me! Do you know what I’ve been through these past days...?"

Seeing the director begin to turn into a long-winded sob story, Gu Zhan interrupted him.

"Look, it's like this. It's unrealistic to give you back your psychiatric hospital. Why don't you think of another solution?"

Qin Yue's eyes widened in shock, and after a moment, he gave Gu Zhan a thumbs up.

Impressive, he thought. This was the first time he had seen someone so shamelessly take someone else's things.

Gu Zhan wasn’t as calm as he appeared on the surface either.

But, honestly, there wasn’t much he could do.

Mu Tuo’s statue was still in the psychiatric hospital, and Gu Zhan clearly wasn’t going to give it back. He hadn’t even mentioned the possibility of returning it to the director.

Gu Zhan didn’t think he could persuade the director to let go of the psychiatric hospital. But looking at the poor creature, he couldn’t help but feel a little sympathy.

They’d be working together from now on.

After a moment of thought, Gu Zhan suggested, "How about you come to my space?"

"What?" The director was stunned.

Gu Zhan explained, "Your psychiatric hospital has become part of my dungeon. You can’t get it back, so why not come to mine? You can live just like before."

The director, looking furious, replied, "What, so I’ll become your underling? How is that like before?"

His dungeon had once been quite popular! The system used to send new players in, and he relished scaring the hell out of them. It meant he could eat well and do whatever he wanted.

But going into Gu Zhan's dungeon? Doesn’t that mean everything would be under Gu Zhan's control? Wouldn't he be starving just because Gu Zhan's dungeon wasn’t open?

"I’m not going! Give me back my psychiatric hospital! It’s mine!"

The director collapsed to the ground, crying and throwing a tantrum. Gu Zhan simply stood there, watching.

After a while, the director suddenly noticed that Gu Zhan and Qin Yue had stopped talking.

He looked up to find both of them looking at him with sympathy.

Gu Zhan said, "If you keep refusing, I’ll have to send number two over to... talk to you."

At the mention of Mu Tuo, the director’s face turned pale. "You’re... you’re threatening me."

Gu Zhan shrugged. "His statue is still in your psychiatric hospital. Until he takes it back, it’ll be hard for me to return it to you. If you want your psychiatric hospital back, you’ll have to go see him."

The director: "..."

Mu Tuo really was a troublemaker.

The moment Mu Tuo was mentioned, the director stopped crying and sulking. Instead, he sat down, deep in thought, considering the possibility of joining Gu Zhan’s space.

After a long pause, Gu Zhan asked, "So, what do you think?"

The director: "..."

Seeing that the director was truly contemplating the idea, Gu Zhan kept quiet.

Eventually, the director sighed heavily. "Fine... I’ll do it your way."

Gu Zhan smiled slightly. "Great, I’ll take you there."

Gu Zhan called out to Xiao Xiu and explained the situation, asking her to take the director with her.

Xiao Xiu, clearly much stronger than the director, appeared. The moment she showed up, the director instantly became much more docile, huddling into a small ball like a quail.

Xiao Xiu, happy with the arrangement, said, "Perfect. The church is too big, and we could use someone to clean."

The director suddenly realized that agreeing to Gu Zhan might not have been such a wise decision after all.

But now, it was too late to back out.

As the director followed Xiao Xiu away, Gu Zhan hesitated for a moment before asking the massive creature that had been the director’s mount, "Do you have a dungeon?"

The creature, not very intelligent, stared blankly at Gu Zhan.

Gu Zhan said, "Take us to the red cloud base, and then I’ll let you go find the director."

The creature blinked for a moment, then slowly nodded.

Still lost in thought over what had just happened, Qin Yue couldn’t help but ask, "What will your dungeon be like now?"

It was utter chaos now, with a mix of all kinds of styles!

Gu Zhan didn't mind it at all. In fact, he wasn't even sure if he needed to open his dungeon after the system reset.

Mu Tuo's dungeon wasn't open either. He still lived freely, even making up his own dungeon settings as he pleased.

"Let's go. We should check on Yu Yezhou and the others."

The monster lowered its hand, and Gu Zhan climbed onto it.

---

Perhaps it was because the director of the psychiatric hospital had given them some kind of blessing, but as they continued on their path, Gu Zhan repeatedly encountered monsters he had met in previous dungeons. All of them looked at him with resentful eyes.

Fortunately, none of them acted as wildly as the psychiatric hospital director had. Instead, they followed him from a distance, looking more like they were trailing behind him rather than actively pursuing him.

As more and more monsters gathered, forming a massive group, Gu Zhan and Qin Yue, riding the creatures at the front, gained significant speed. The large monster group also pushed some players aside.

As the group approached the Red Faction’s base, Yu Yezhou, who was stationed there, started to sense something.

He took his team to the base entrance and noticed the monster army coming straight for them. He furrowed his brow. "What do these monsters want? Are they also coming for the base?"

The situation was already dire enough. If monsters joined in, the human faction's situation would worsen.

---

"They’re going to wreck our base if they charge in like this!" Yang Lin, standing behind Yu Yezhou, was extremely anxious. She even muttered, "Why are these monsters choosing our base? Out of all the bases, why ours?"

This base had originally been the one they occupied. After their guild's territory was destroyed, it became their last stronghold. If it fell, the entire faction was doomed.

Furrowing her brow, Yang Lin said after a pause, "No, we have to stop them. Where are our people…?"

She was about to find people to fight the monsters, but Yu Yezhou pressed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don’t rush."

"How can I not rush?" Yang Lin nearly exploded. "I’m about to lose my mind! How can I not be in a hurry in this situation?"

Yu Yezhou gave her a helpless smile and pointed to a spot in the monster group. "Do you see that person? Doesn’t he look familiar?"

Yang Lin looked up, and all she saw were strange, monstrous figures. Where was the person… wait, there was someone!

The person was standing on top of a gigantic monster, about three stories high. It was too far to make out clearly, but she could see two figures—one was sitting while the other stood, waving furiously in their direction.

That naïve, foolish look seemed like someone they knew.

Yang Lin couldn’t believe her eyes. "Is that… Qin Yue?"

At that moment, Yu Yezhou's system pinged. It was a message from Gu Zhan.

"We’ve arrived."

Yu Yezhou finally let out a sigh of relief. It was him! But this spectacle… it was a bit too much.

He gave a wry smile. "Gu Zhan really knows how to surprise us."

Yang Lin, still in disbelief, kept glancing back and forth between Yu Yezhou and the monster group.

Soon enough, the monsters reached the entrance of the base, and the massive creature at the front halted. The rest followed suit.

The creature bent down, placing its arm on the ground, and Gu Zhan and Qin Yue slid down from its shoulder to the ground.

They approached Yu Yezhou and Yang Lin.

"Are you okay?" Gu Zhan asked.

Yu Yezhou replied, "We’re fine. What about you?"

Gu Zhan shook his head. "We’re fine."

Qin Yue, on the other hand, seemed thrilled. "Surprised? I’m here to help!"

Yang Lin, exasperated, said, "I’d rather you didn’t make things worse."

"Hey, watch your tone!" Qin Yue raised an eyebrow. "I’m way more capable now. You’ve got to trust me, Yang Jie!"

Every time Yang Lin looked at Qin Yue, it was like looking at a younger generation, and it only made her feel older by comparison.

"Are you going to let us in?" Qin Yue asked.

Yang Lin hesitated, looking at the giant monsters behind them. How could they possibly get inside with those things?!

She misunderstood.

Gu Zhan explained, "These aren’t our people."

"Not yours?" Yang Lin and Yu Yezhou tensed up again. If these weren’t Gu Zhan's monsters, then who were they?

Gu Zhan reassured them, "But don’t worry... Um, I’ll take care of it."

He turned back to the monsters and began collecting them into his Star Plate space.

When such a massive creature vanished into the space, both Yu Yezhou and Yang Lin couldn’t help but stare, their eyes widening in surprise.

Although they weren't his monsters, Qin Yue puffed up with pride. "See how awesome my boss is?"

Yu Yezhou could only manage a bitter smile.

The gap between them and Gu Zhan seemed to be widening more and more.

Once he had dealt with the creatures, Gu Zhan instructed the remaining monsters to go off and do their own thing, not crowding by the door anymore.

The monsters listened, quickly scattering in different directions.

Finally, Gu Zhan turned back to Yu Yezhou and said, "You can go in now."

Yu Yezhou sighed in amazement.

The base, originally used by the system to store supplies, had rows of small buildings and cold storage. After they had been there for a few days, they cleared out a couple of buildings and converted them into living and office spaces.

Gu Zhan sat down and immediately asked about the whereabouts of the others.

Yu Yezhou said, "Some people have been coming from the guild, while some others... we've lost contact with them."

Gu Zhan didn’t speak for a moment.

Yu Yezhou continued, "They should not have encountered any danger. They probably just don’t want to come."

At this point, the crossroads of fate had appeared, and everyone had their own plans.

Yu Yezhou couldn’t guarantee that everyone in the guild was focused on fighting for the base. Those who had taken the opportunity to leave had just left, and there was nothing more to be done.

"How are Yang Lin and the others?" Gu Zhan asked.

Yu Yezhou nodded. "Aside from the people who left the guild, everything else seems fine."

"We still have too few bases..." Yu Yezhou began, but before he could finish, Yang Lin rushed in.

She seemed like she had just returned, looking a bit tired. When she saw Gu Zhan, she managed a faint smile. "You’re here."

She then turned to Yu Yezhou. "A few people came to our guild, wanting to team up. They have a base."

Yu Yezhou was really busy and couldn’t afford to stop. He turned to Gu Zhan. "Wait a bit, I’ll have Sang Yue show you where to stay. I need to leave now."

Gu Zhan understood the urgency and replied, "No need. You all go ahead. I’ll just wander around."

Yu Yezhou didn’t say more and quickly left with Yang Lin.

Instead of staying at the base, Gu Zhan went outside to find the group of monsters wandering around. He found a less conspicuous spot for them so they wouldn’t be blocking the entrance and looking too frightening.

---

By evening, Yu Yezhou finally finished his work.

The group sat down together for a meal. During the dinner, everyone couldn’t help but reflect on how much had changed.

Yu Yezhou poured out some of the base’s cherished liquor. "When we first formed the guild, it was just the few of us, and now, it’s still just a handful. This might be our last chance to complete our wishes and leave here, so everyone, let’s keep pushing forward!"

Sang Yue, sitting across from him, laughed. "Don’t worry, at least I’ll make sure you get a departure ticket."

Yu Yezhou held his glass, thinking of his fate in the real world, and gave a bitter smile.

"It’s not that I have to get that departure ticket. The opportunity is fair to everyone..."

Yang Lin interrupted, "What are you talking about? Without a departure ticket, we can’t complete our wishes. If that happens to you…" She trailed off, unable to continue. After all, they were comrades who had fought together, and it was hard to bring up such things.

Yu Yezhou replied, "For us to even make it here means everyone’s wishes are strong. How could I let my situation stand in the way of others?"

"Alright, alright," Sang Yue interrupted before Yu Yezhou could continue. "You’re making it sound like only one of us can leave. Can’t we all work hard together and leave?"

The mood, which had been growing somber, lightened as everyone laughed.

They raised their glasses and drank, knowing that they might never meet again after they part ways.

That night, everyone drank quite a bit, and after the gathering, people were sprawled around, lying drunk—except for Gu Zhan, who was the only one still standing.

Gu Zhan moved between the inebriated bodies, helping some get up and failing to get others to rise.

Eventually, he stopped

"Let them sleep here. Sometimes, even the monsters like to sleep outside the space."

The voice behind him was Mo Tuo’s.

Gu Zhan turned to glance at him, displeased by his remark.

"Sleep?" Gu Zhan thought. "Monsters and humans are not the same!"

But then, his gaze landed on Yu Yezhou, who was lying on the steps. Yu Yezhou didn’t seem completely drunk—he was staring at the fake sky with a faint, bitter smile on his lips.

At that moment, Gu Zhan suddenly felt that maybe, just maybe, Yu Yezhou didn’t want anyone to disturb him.

After a brief pause, Gu Zhan decided to heed Mo Tuo’s suggestion and left the others to sleep where they were.

Gu Zhan walked out of the base, and Mo Tuo followed, catching up silently.

"Not resting? Where are you going?" Mo Tuo asked.

Gu Zhan replied, "I’ll find a quiet spot."

While everyone had been drinking, Yu Yezhou hadn’t arranged a place for Gu Zhan to stay. Gu Zhan didn’t want to disturb them over something like that, so he chose to find a quiet corner and retreat to his space.

As the days passed, Gu Zhan noticed that he was increasingly detached from the identity of a player.

Meanwhile, the Red Cloud and opposing factions were locked in fierce battles.

The opposing faction wasn’t interested in other bases and kept launching sneak attacks on Red’s bases.

After the last assault on the Guild's headquarters, Hai Chao had refrained from directly confronting them. Both factions tacitly centered their focus on their own bases, fighting for neutral bases instead. Tensions between the two major factions hadn’t fully erupted yet.

As soon as the that enemy faction began their raids, Yu Yezhou knew that their conflict was about to start in earnest.

Yu Yezhou, overwhelmed with work, sent Gu Zhan to the second base to oversee it.

Before he left, Yu Yezhou helplessly told Gu Zhan, "When you leave, you should take your monster friends with you."

Gu Zhan wanted to explain that those weren’t his friends, but over the past few days, the monsters had been active near the base, causing plenty of misunderstandings. Gu Zhan could only nod.

As soon as he left the base, the monsters immediately gathered around.

Gu Zhan summoned a giant monster from his Plate space, climbed onto its shoulder, and ordered it to head toward the second base.

Soon after, Mo Tuo appeared silently behind him, sitting alongside him on the giant’s shoulder.

Unable to resist, Gu Zhan asked, "These monsters follow me around. Whatever I tell them to do, they do. Could they help the Red faction seize a base?"

"No," Mo Tuo smiled, his eyes gleaming with a subtle expression. "Monsters and humans aren’t in the same faction. Why would they help humans?"

"But..." Gu Zhan wanted to say that the monsters were simply following his instructions. They had been waiting by the base and had also helped with many small tasks.

However, he suddenly noticed the subtle expression on Mo Tuo’s face. Gu Zhan paused, and then realized that these monsters were helping him because he was their "kind." It would be impossible to ask them to help humans.

A thought suddenly came to Gu Zhan.

He sent a message to Yu Yezhou and then turned off the system.

The journey was silent, and soon they arrived at the base.

---

The process of transferring the base was simple. All one had to do was go to the central crystal ball and press their hand on it. The name and faction of the owner would then appear on the surface.

The procedure was simple, and the competition for the base would presumably be simple as well. When factions clashed in the guild, the name on the guild crystal would change erratically.

Hard to defend, easy to attack.

---

Gu Zhan looked at the crystal, which turned red due to his affiliation with the Red faction, and asked, "Will the names of those without a faction appear on it as well?"

Mo Tuo answered, "Yes, but if they don't join a faction, they won’t receive reward points during the settlement."

---

A thought gradually formed in Gu Zhan's mind. He opened the system and saw that the message he had sent to Yu Yezhou had been replied to.

Yu Yezhou said that he could give it a try and that they trusted him.

Gu Zhan faintly smiled and clicked to leave the guild.

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