Chapter 23: Main Account, Alt Account, Switching Freely!

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【Blood-Stained Forbidden Zone】 (Novice Area, Level 8-10 Dungeon)
【Background: An ancient city that was razed by vampires. Of the hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, not one was spared. That night, rivers of blood flowed, turning the city of happiness into a living hell. It was not until the human Archmage Wula sacrificed his life to cast a forbidden seal over the city, trapping all the vampires within this forbidden zone, that the slaughter ended. Recently, however, the seal has begun to weaken, and the vampires are stirring once again...】
【Current Difficulty: Normal】
【Current Clearance Condition: Players must find one forbidden artifact left behind by the Archmage Wula within the Blood-Stained Forbidden Zone within 60 minutes. You may choose to use the artifact to reinforce the seal on the old city and clear the dungeon, or consume it to unlock the next difficulty level.】
【Current Difficulty Completion Reward: ?】

Closing the dungeon introduction panel, Ye Chen swept his cold gaze over Lu Ming and Qing Yan.
"A combat-useless piece of trash with garbage gear and poor aptitude, and a third-rate mage who might have slightly better talent but is destined to achieve nothing in those plain white-tier items."
"Killing you two is as easy as crushing ants!"
"I'll let you live for now. I'll kill you both right before we clear the dungeon!"
Ye Chen believed he had everything under control. He had no idea that from the very moment he stepped into the dungeon, he had already become Lu Ming’s prey.
Although he could kill Ye Chen right now, Lu Ming knew it was not the time.
"According to the activation requirements for each difficulty in the Blood-Stained Forbidden Zone, transitioning from Normal to Elite requires one forbidden artifact, Elite to Epic requires two, and Epic to Legendary requires three. To activate the highest tier—the Purgatory difficulty—one must possess five artifacts."
"Since a single player can only carry one artifact at a time, it means the entire team of five must survive to have a chance at activating the highest difficulty!"
With this in mind, Lu Ming suppressed his killing intent. It would not be too late to kill them after they used their lives to help him unlock the Purgatory difficulty!

As the countdown began, *swish!*
The level 10 Knight, [Sunset], raised his spear, glanced back at Lu Ming, and said with disdain, "Kid, watch yourself. Don't hold us back!"
Beside him, the female Priest, [Fall], also looked at Lu Ming with contempt. "I don't know why we brought such a loser into the team. Any other class would at least be useful!"
"A Formation Master? Hmph, I heard their formation range is small, and one formation lasts 15 seconds with a 50-second cooldown! That means for forty out of sixty minutes in this dungeon, you'll be doing nothing. What good is that?"
Ye Chen didn't bother saving face either. "He's just here to leech off us, ignore him."
"This run depends entirely on you two seniors!"
Qing Yan crossed her arms, glared at them, and muttered, "I'd like to see just how good you really are!"

At that moment, ahead of them, the blood on the ground began to rapidly converge toward a single point.
*Splatter!*
In an instant, it coalesced into a snarling, green-faced vampire!
Level 10 Vampire.
115 Attack, 52 Armor, 45 Magic Resistance, 40 Speed, 740 HP. Unique Skill: Blood Drain.
Suddenly, the Knight Sunset began to tremble.
The next moment, *clatter!*

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A blood-red protective shield manifested around him!
Seeing this, Qing Yan was slightly shocked. "That is... the 3-star talent 'Blood Demon Shield'! It sacrifices 10% of max HP to convert into a shield equal to 50% of max HP, with only a 10-second cooldown!"
Without a word, Sunset charged toward the vampire with his shield raised and spear in hand.
Shield Bash!
Flame Thrust!
*Bang!* *Swish!*
Two opening skills knocked the vampire heavily backward.
-197!
-214!
Watching the damage output from behind, Qing Yan was shocked again. As a tank-class Knight, he was capable of dealing such high damage!
"It seems this guy in the full set of level 8 black-iron 'Moon Demon' gear is actually quite capable!"
Meanwhile, Ye Chen, the Assassin, gripped his black-iron Moon Demon Blade and moved like the wind, darting toward the vampire.
Shadow Assault!
Multi-Stab!
-172!
-88! -176 (Critical Hit)!
Ye Chen’s damage was slightly lower, as he was only a level 8 first-transition player. However, compared to ordinary players of the same level who usually only hit for 50 or 60, Ye Chen’s strength was outstanding.
Satisfied with his damage, Ye Chen smirked. "This 2-star talent 'Berserk' (increasing critical rate by 20%) is a perfect match for my Assassin class!"
With a combined output of over 800, the two easily finished off the vampire.
Picking up the 2 copper coins dropped by the corpse, Sunset said in a deep voice, "Forbidden artifacts might exist within the dungeon map through monster drops, hidden locations, or by triggering special conditions. We need to speed up."
As he spoke, Sunset slammed his shield into the ground.
*Clatter!*
A silver-gray ring of light erupted from his feet and spread outward.
Taunt!
Five or six nearby vampires were affected by the skill and swarmed toward Sunset.
*Roar!*
Facing the onslaught, damage numbers of only 40-50 popped up over Sunset’s head. His defense was clearly formidable.
At the same time, the Priest, Fall, waved her staff. A single healing spell restored 393 HP, effortlessly negating the damage Sunset had taken!

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The 3-star talent [Healing Enhancement] (increasing healing effects by 50%) made Fall’s healing capabilities terrifying!
With his solid tankiness and Fall’s powerful healing, Sunset faced almost no threat in the middle of the monster pack.
He looked at Lu Ming and Qing Yan, who remained motionless in the back, and couldn't help but roar, "You two, be useful for once!"
Qing Yan said, "Oh." She raised her staff and said, "Don't blink, watch my performance!"
As soon as she said this, Ye Chen, Fall, and Sunset couldn't help but look at her. She moved with grace, and her posture was full of intensity.
Ye Chen couldn't help but think: *Could she actually be a hidden expert?*
The moment she finished casting:
*Boom! Boom!*
Fireball!
Ice Spike!
-95!
-92!
The two damage numbers made the trio’s jaws drop.
Fall looked at Qing Yan in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? You’re a level 10 second-transition Mage and this is your damage?"
Qing Yan didn't take any nonsense, snapping back, "If I were strong, would I pay people to carry me? Use your brain!"
Ye Chen shook his head. "What a pair of losers! If I weren't hoping to try for the Nightmare difficulty and needing you two to fill the slots, I'd slaughter you right now!"
Saying this, Ye Chen grabbed his dagger and went back to fighting.
Lu Ming could tell at a glance that Qing Yan had intentionally swapped into garbage white-tier gear before entering the dungeon to hide her true strength. If she appeared too strong, it would inevitably arouse Ye Chen’s suspicion.
Although he didn't know why she had followed them into the dungeon, as long as she didn't expose him to Ye Chen, she was no threat to him. If her presence interfered with his revenge, he would kill her without hesitation!
Thus, Ye Chen, Fall, Sunset, and Qing Yan all fought with everything they had.
Lu Ming just slouched in the back, doing nothing, looking exactly like a leech.
But in reality, what Ye Chen and the others didn't know was this: the entire Blood-Stained Forbidden Zone was about to become Lu Ming’s personal playground!
Lu Ming calmly opened his account panel and tapped the switch button next to his profile.
The next second:
【Ding~ Respected 10-star aptitude player, Youming, welcome back to the Heaven Abyss World!】