[Ding~ You used the SSS-rank magic scroll Absolute Kill: Eternal Damnation. Permanent enhancement obtained: Permanent Kill Penalty +1% (Current Stacks: 1/100)!]
As Lin Mo killed Director Zhang with a single arrow, under the effect of the SSS-rank magic scroll Absolute Kill: Eternal Damnation, Director Zhang's level instantly dropped from level 54 to level 0.
All of his equipment, potions, and resources were dropped.
Wearing nothing but a pair of underwear, Director Zhang turned into a beam of white light and disappeared.
Although the SSS-rank magic scroll Absolute Kill: Eternal Damnation, originally prepared to deal with the "Boss," was a bit wasted on Director Zhang, it solved Zhao Lingyun's biggest problem.
That made it worth it.
Once everything was over, Zhao Lingyun walked up to Lin Mo.
She thanked him sincerely, "Thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?", Lin Mo said, "This potential was already buried inside you. I only helped activate it."
Zhao Lingyun quietly looked at Lin Mo with her clear eyes.
Turning her back to everyone else, she softly asked Lin Mo, "You're the real Mo, aren't you?"
"That assassin Mo... he's the puppet you summoned, right?"
Lin Mo was slightly startled.
Since he had already met Zhao Lingyun using his main account, he had no intention of hiding it anymore.
He simply asked, "How did you figure it out?"
Zhao Lingyun said, "When I couldn't find a job before, I stayed home and worked as an online AI customer service agent."
"The difference between a real person and AI is actually pretty big."
"Many times when I talked to Mo, his replies were very mechanical. At those times, you were probably offline. After losing your control, the system should have switched to AI hosting."
"And even when you were controlling Mo yourself, I still had the feeling that I was talking to another person from a distance."
"That person... was you, right?"
"The one who sent me a message offline and told me to come to Inferno City was also you, wasn't it?"
Not even Lu Ye, Gao Han, or Ironblood Ruthless had noticed.
Yet this little girl Zhao Lingyun was clever enough to discover the secret of Lin Mo's clone.
Lin Mo had thought that after learning the truth, Zhao Lingyun would feel at least somewhat disappointed or angry because of his deception and concealment.
But unexpectedly, Zhao Lingyun felt not the slightest disappointment. Instead, she only felt endless gratitude toward Lin Mo.
"If it hadn't been for your words back then, 'Wait quietly for the flowers to bloom', I might never have made it to today."
"Maybe for the rest of my life, I would only have been an insignificant disabled person."
Zhao Lingyun pressed her lips together, as if making up her mind.
Looking at Lin Mo with determination, she said, "You gave me hope for life again. From now on, Zhao Lingyun belongs to you."
Lin Mo's face changed in shock.
'No! Miss! You can't say things like that.'
Lin Mo hurriedly pulled Ning Xi over beside him and explained to Zhao Lingyun, "I have a girlfriend! Look! Liuli is my girlfriend!"
"And that wasn't why I helped you in the first place..."
Seeing Lin Mo explaining so seriously, Zhao Lingyun burst into laughter, "Of course I know."
"You already told me that through Mo before. Did you forget?"
Zhao Lingyun smiled, "What I mean is, from now on, in the world of Divine Oracle, I'm willing to become your right-hand person."
"Whenever you need me, I'll do everything I can to help."
Only then did Lin Mo let out a sigh of relief, "That's good. Now I can relax."
Seeing this, Ning Xi covered her mouth and laughed.
Beside them, Qin Feng couldn't help laughing out loud.
"Brother Mo's survival instinct is pretty strong."
Lin Mo got straight to the point.
He said to Zhao Lingyun on the spot, "Perfect. I have a task right now that I need your help with."
Zhao Lingyun agreed without hesitation.
"Okay!"
Before leaving, Lin Mo walked over to Wang Junjie.
"From now on, unless it's necessary, stop throwing money into Divine Oracle. Save it instead."
As he spoke, Lin Mo opened his friends list and sent Wang Junjie several map coordinates.
"Also, go to these places I sent you and explore them carefully."
"Remember, explore them carefully."
After saying that, Lin Mo turned and left with Ning Xi, Zhao Lingyun, and the others.
Watching Lin Mo leave, the players from the Chaotic World Guild under Wang Junjie began whispering among themselves.
"Come on, Brother Jie risked his life to help Rulebound save someone, and we even lost dozens of brothers because of it! After everything's over, not even a thank you? Rulebound just walked away like that?"
"Yeah! Ever since Brother Jie came to this level-two main city, he's quietly done so much for Rulebound, but he's always getting the cold shoulder! Even a stone would warm up eventually. Isn't Rulebound a little too cold?"
Wang Junjie hadn't thought about any of that at all.
His mind was entirely on what Lin Mo had just said.
"What did Rulebound mean by telling me to save my money instead of spending it?"
"And these places he sent me...", Looking at the message in his chat with Lin Mo, Wang Junjie muttered, "Ghost Demon Capital, Cursed Academy, Death Valley... Could these places be hiding some kind of secret?"
At that moment, one of his subordinates said suspiciously, "Could Rulebound be trying to use us to dig coal for him again? Like last time at the Blood Mine. We spent so long mining Blood Crystals, and then one word from him and we handed them all over. He's treating us like free labor!"
"Cut the crap!", Wang Junjie smacked the complaining subordinate on the head.
"Why don't you mention that Rulebound gave me two Tier 5 purple-quality Hell Demon Rings afterward?"
"A hundred useless rocks are worth two Tier 5 purple pieces of equipment?"
"If anyone dares badmouth Brother Mo again, I'll beat him up!"
"Let's go! Split into three groups and check out these three places!"
"Yes, Brother Jie!"
———
Meanwhile...
Lin Mo and Ning Xi returned to the Black Wind Mountain Range.
This time, however, they had another helper, Zhao Ling'er.
At this moment, Zhao Lingyun noticed that the map before them was actually level 70.
Then she looked back at her own level, which was only level 55.
She couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
"Brother Mo, my level is too low. Can I really help you complete the quest here?"
Lin Mo looked at Zhao Lingyun and said, "This quest has to be done by you."
"Only you can help us."
Seeing that even Lin Mo, the number one player on the Heavenly Ranking and the great expert admired by the millions of players in Inferno City, was placing such high expectations on her, the feeling of being needed made Zhao Lingyun, who had been overlooked all her life, feel deeply satisfied and confident.
She nodded, "Okay, Brother Mo. Just tell me what I need to do later."
Lin Mo frowned slightly, "Just call me Lin Mo. Stop calling me Brother. It makes me sound like some old uncle."
Beside him, Ning Xi smiled, "My name is Ning Xi."
Zhao Lingyun smiled knowingly, "My name is Zhao Lingyun. Just call me Ling'er."
Since they hadn't been away from the Black Wind Mountain Range for very long.
The Black Demon Guards that Lin Mo had killed half an hour earlier with the SSS-rank magic scroll Fatal: Spatial Strangulation had not respawned yet.
The mountainside was still covered with the corpses of Black Demon Guards.
The three of them stepped over the corpses and climbed straight to the summit.
At this moment...
Whoosh!
A black wind swept through.
The level 70 Tier 5 Boss, Black Magician Elder, appeared outside Black Wind Stronghold once again.
"You again!"
"I let you escape just now, and you actually dared to come back to die!"
"Oh? This time you've even brought a pretty little beauty!"
The Black Magician Elder narrowed his eyes as he looked at the unfamiliar face among the three, Zhao Lingyun, and chuckled.
"Perfect. She'll be my stronghold lady!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the Black Magician Elder raised his staff and began casting.
The next moment...
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Countless fist-sized insects burst out from the corpses of the Black Demon Guards all around them.
Blood Worms!
Under the Black Magician Elder's command, the Blood Worms surged toward Lin Mo, Ning Xi, and Zhao Lingyun like a tide.