Chapter 455: Whispers in the Metal City

Ding—entered the Otherworldly Ghost Battlefield Core.

A biting chill filled the air.

After cautiously making his way to the outskirts of the Metal City, Yenir instantly received a system notification.

There wasn’t much detail, but it made him realize that this was indeed the final stage.

“No dust…only metal fragments…”

Hidden in the shadow of a massive metal wall, Yenir thoughtfully ran his hand over its icy surface.

The wall, forged entirely from metal, looked unyieldingly strong. Up close, he could see countless pockmarks and gaps, many flecked with rust.

“Traces of cold weapons…”

“Did the Ghost Hunter and the Otherworldly Ghost clash here?”

At the far right, a colossal gap appeared as if it had cleaved the entire wall, leaving a massive chasm in the ground.

It looked like a great battle had once raged here.

“No bodies…”

“Even so close to the wall, not a single soul… not even a ghost.”

“Could this be a dead city?”

A glimmer flashed in his eyes.

Yenir looked up at a strangely designed installation on the wall, resembling a defensive weapon, and a peculiar light sparked in his gaze.

“This thing looks like a cannon. But… its muzzle faces inward?”

He stepped back and scanned his surroundings.

Moments later, his sense of unease deepened.

The massive wall was slightly tilted—not outward, but subtly inward.

Upon closer inspection, Yenir quickly arrived at a bizarre conclusion.

This wall… no, this fortress-like citadel was built not to repel external foes but to guard against threats from within. Or perhaps it’s a colossal prison!?

“So, was that massive gap breached from the inside? Did something escape from within?”

His brows furrowed slightly.

Even with his vivid imagination, Yenir found the idea utterly absurd.

After all, this was the Otherworldly Ghost Core—the place in this Replica World where, according to human lore, the Otherworldly Ghost was born.

Theoretically, one possibility came to mind.

Perhaps long ago, humans built an underground laboratory to imprison the Otherworldly Ghost for research, but unforeseen factors allowed it to escape, unleashing disaster.

In reality, this place was an underground prison.

However, according to the dungeon’s historical records, the underground world was established only after the Otherworldly Ghost outbreak, with the final layers bearing no human traces.

Meaning it could only have been built by the Otherworldly Ghost itself—a sort of stronghold inhabited solely by them.

“Unless history has been altered…or there’s another hidden truth.”

“Taking out those lurking Otherworldly Ghosts in advance isn’t smart…we’d lose vital information…”

Shaking his head, Yenir stared at the baffling city before him, utterly at a loss.

There was nothing he could do. Entering this dungeon had meant skipping all the storyline, and he’d eliminated the key NPCs who could provide information, leaving him in the dark.

“Forget it, I’ll just get in first.”

“Yinglong should be right behind us…”

With that thought, Yenir ceased overthinking. At his signal, he and Liang Lie slipped into the city like specters.

………………

“Yinglong! Once you grab that stone, you must not let it go! It’s the key to restraining the Otherworldly Ghost.”

“Once we’re inside and kill the Ghost Emperor, this disaster will be over!”

Flying low, Yinglong nodded subtly, his mind suddenly clear as he absorbed the warning from a Third-Stage NPC in the squad.

Yet, despite the claim that the stone could counter the mutated Otherworldly Ghosts, he was more concerned about that mysterious, somewhat sleazy NPC.

“Miss Blood Nightingale, has your mission info changed?”

“We’re about to enter the final level. Does the briefing mention when he’ll appear?”

She whispered to Blood Nightingale, while Yinglong grew noticeably tense.

Unlike previous missions, this time after leading the team into the final level, several additional NPC-driven events unfolded.

No one knew what awaited on the final floor, and with intel suggesting the enemy might be Fourth-Stage lower, his nervousness was well-founded.

Fortunately, a few NPCs would help share the load this time.

“He’ll appear during the battle!”

“The briefing doesn’t specify, but I suspect he might just teleport in as suddenly as if materializing before us.”

Trailing behind Yinglong, Blood Nightingale replied calmly.

Facing Yinglong’s meticulous nature, she dared not embellish the details.

Luckily, Yinglong had received his orders and wasn’t suspicious. He only needed a simple confirmation—and the terse ‘I’ll be there’ from Yenir made her let out a bitter laugh.

Stuck in a tough spot, she wondered what would happen in the final battle if Yenir hesitated.

That bastard better not double-cross her!

“Joining the fight mid-battle, huh…”

“Looks like we need to be extra cautious up ahead…”

Listening to Blood Nightingale’s reply, Yinglong furrowed his brows and nodded thoughtfully.

Trusting in the system’s setup, he assumed it was simply a test of their challenge.

Soon enough, after entering another passage, Yinglong led his team in a direct charge.

Within less than a minute, standing outside the cave entrance, Yinglong, like Yenir, stared in astonishment at the scene before him.

A colossal metal city loomed, set within a dim, underground space.

According to the objective, what he needed lay inside the city.

“Let’s move!”

At his command, the group cautiously advanced toward the city.

……………….

“Thud…”

“Thud…”

Dull footsteps echoed.

Lost in thought while standing before the grand underground gate, Yenir’s eyes shone with a strange intensity.

Before him stood a massive stone door embedded in the rock, reminiscent of a temple and soaring about twenty meters high, its perimeter adorned with intricate carvings.

He had already secured the altar stone and received a system prompt the moment he grabbed it.

“This place…it has an eerie vibe…”

He wasn’t hiding his presence nor masking his footsteps with mental powers.

The reason was simple: after acquiring the so-called restraining artifact, Yenir unexpectedly discovered that the final level’s battle was triggered automatically.

There were no Otherworldly Ghosts scattered throughout the city; only in this final palace did the Ghost Emperor slumber among his subordinates.

Once inside, pressing the stone would awaken the Ghost Emperor and his minions.

Until that moment, there had been no challenge.

“Too easy…if the first half of the final level is this light, the latter half must be outrageously difficult…”

“Damn it, once we’re in, we won’t be able to get out, will we?”

Staring at the gate ahead, Yenir’s eyes brimmed with caution.

Something about this place just didn’t add up.

Not only had the atmosphere changed drastically, but the entire scene looked nothing like a human-built prison.

If any scene in his memory seemed familiar, it was Hell’s Gate…

“You don’t mean I’ve been tricked, do you?”

“Does the Hell’s Gate Dungeon really have a connection with this dungeon? It shouldn’t…aren’t all doomsday dungeons independent?”

He muttered a few quiet thoughts to himself.

For some reason, ever since entering the Ghost Battlefield, Yenir couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was a coincidence.

Recalling the disaster in Far Frontier 27 years ago that Yinglong mentioned, he suspected a faint link between these events.

“One is the disaster in Far Frontier… the other is a dungeon within the North China Battle Zone…”

“They’re thousands of kilometers apart—there shouldn’t be any connection…”

“Sword God System… four special mutants… Ghost Battlefield… Hell’s Gate…”

“Why are all these things interconnected?”

Frowning deeply and unable to find an answer, Yenir eventually gave up on pondering.

There was just too little information—despite a growing sense of indescribable strangeness, he couldn’t discern what lay hidden beneath it all.

“Forget it, let’s get in first!”

“According to the system instructions, both stones must be pressed simultaneously to trigger the final boss.”

“Maybe I can press mine early? I’m just not sure if Yinglong will get suspicious.”

Noticing that the gate seemed peculiarly special and completely blocked his mental probes, Yenir decided to take it one step at a time. Judging by its construction, the interior space had to be vast.

Once inside, he’d hide until things calmed down.

If there was a chance to snag the Legendary Suit amidst the chaos, he’d take the gamble! Otherwise, he’d run. With a bit of luck, he might just have a fighting chance.

With that decision made, Yenir pushed the gate open with both hands.

“Boom—crack!”

In an instant, a terrifying aura of destructive force burst forth from within the gate.