As streaks of white light descended upon the outpost teleportation point in the empty, frigid town, the entire outpost square instantly became packed with people.
"Just what kind of place is this? I feel like my whole body is constantly being corroded by some foreign energy!"
"It's not just the foreign corrosion — my five senses seem to have weakened considerably, and I'm also hit with this gnawing hunger. Didn't they say they were bringing us to some sacred training ground for leveling up? What the hell is going on?"
"A friend of mine was actually jealous that I got selected for this guild special training, but I'm starting to think staying back in Stone Forest City would've been better."
As Zero Wing's potential newcomers and potential core members arrived in Lost Town one after another, they all chattered among themselves, buzzing with confusion and curiosity.
The potential newcomers who had only recently joined Zero Wing knew nothing about Lost Town to begin with, and with these brutal environmental conditions, let alone training and improving, just surviving in Lost Town for an extended period was already a serious problem.
At that moment, not just Shi Feng and Zero Wing's potential members — even Water Rose, who had come along with them, wore a look of deep concern.
Because this was nothing like what she had imagined.
Forget about them, as Tier 3 Class holders, leading the guild's potential members through rapid leveling — even for them, simply surviving here as Tier 3 professionals was already difficult enough, let alone training, improving, or fending off beast tides.
Because under such harsh conditions, let alone improving their level — simply preventing it from dropping would already be a good enough outcome.
Back when they had been in the outer regions of the Demon Wolf Mountain Range, they hadn't felt it as much, but this sudden, severe dulling of the five senses, the heavy sluggishness of the body, and the hunger that constantly gnawed at the brain — it was truly an awful sensation.
Most critically, the ambient mana here was nothing short of a genuine frozen hell. Rampant ice elements saturated everything in sight, while every other element was pitifully scarce. One could practically say that attempting to harness the ambient mana here was an outright impossibility.
And without the ability to harness mana, how could one even talk about improving?
"Guild Leader, you're not seriously planning to have these Tier 2 members stay here permanently to train and level up, are you?" Qing Shuang surveyed the surrounding environment with visible worry as he looked toward Shi Feng.
He knew this was the inner region of the Demon Wolf Mountain Range, where the lowest-level monsters around them were all Level 120 or above. For someone of their own level and tier, this would be an excellent grinding spot. But for the newcomers and Tier 2 members who had just joined Zero Wing, it would be nothing more than a waste of time.
After all, these people were Zero Wing's future. Pouring vast amounts of time into a place like this would be nothing but a loss for the guild.
"Stay here permanently to train?" Shi Feng shook his head. "Something that good is obviously impossible."
"???" Qing Shuang looked utterly bewildered.
He couldn't for the life of him understand what could possibly be "good" about this place.
Shi Feng didn't bother explaining. He simply completed the handover with the NPCs overseeing the relocation of Lost Town. Once the process was finished, the NPCs stationed there vanished one by one, leaving the already desolate town even more empty and hollow.
Immediately after, a system notification chimed in everyone's ears.
[System Announcement — Lost Town Region]: The region in which this town is located is afflicted by a mysterious curse. Endless vengeful spirits will absorb the ambient magic power of players to form monsters. Players are advised to exercise caution against monster attacks.
Before anyone had a moment to process the announcement, before the Zero Wing members present could even react, semi-transparent humanoid ghosts suddenly materialized around some of the Zero Wing members. These humanoid ghosts looked exactly like the players themselves — even their levels were identical — and they lunged straight at their respective targets.
The scene left everyone stunned, completely unable to comprehend what was happening.
However, everyone present was an elite of the Zero Wing guild. Even though their levels hadn't caught up yet, their combat ability was absolutely guaranteed — at minimum, every last one of them possessed the skill of the fifth floor of the Trial Tower. When the humanoid ghosts launched their sudden assault, each person immediately moved to defend, and even the Zero Wing members standing nearby joined in attacking these ghosts.
But what followed left everyone dumbfounded.
Because these humanoid ghosts fought exactly like the original players — their combat skill was a perfect mirror — and when facing attacks from other players, they were completely unaffected, as if they didn't even exist.
"Alright, our formal training can now begin! Everyone, be careful of the monsters that appear. Aside from the players who've been copied, no one else can fight them. If you're taken out by these monsters, not only will you lose a level, but you won't be able to log back in for an entire day. Stay vigilant." Shi Feng watched the Zero Wing members battling the ghost monsters and spoke in a calm, measured tone.
The entire Demon Wolf Mountain Range was no ordinary place, because the inner regions of the range belonged to a forbidden zone of life — a place where no living creature could survive.