Chapter 29: Hell Mode Unleashed

There was still a novice-level treasure chest left to open. Proceed!

[Golden Gauntlets]
[Quality: Grade D, Superior Armor]
[Attributes: Bone Structure +10, Strength +10]
[Note: Collect all six pieces of the Golden Set for a special attribute bonus]

Delighted, Chen Mo added yet another piece to his golden ensemble. He could barely contain his laughter, already envisioning himself clad head to toe in shimmering gold.

He then opened the blue chest of normal difficulty.

Clang! A burst of blue light radiated from within.

[Vampire's Cloak]
[Quality: Grade C, Exceptional]
[Attributes: Agility +20]
[Special: Can transform into a black bat for 30 seconds, doubling speed in bat form. Cooldown: 10 minutes]

Holy moly! Holy moly! Holy moly!

Chen Mo couldn't help but exclaim three times in succession—this was surely the ultimate tool for both pursuit and escape.

Without hesitation, he draped the blood-red cloak across his shoulders. Swish! Swish! Swish! The cloak billowed without wind, its crimson fabric settling like a pool of blood, instantly transforming Chen Mo’s aura into something cold and defiant. He was thoroughly pleased with his new look—this suited his persona as the Great Demon King perfectly!

He continued, opening another blue chest of normal difficulty. This time, golden light erupted.

[Vampire's Claws]
[Quality: Grade C, Exceptional]
[Attributes: Strength +20]
[Special: Attacks inflict a bleeding effect, causing sustained heavy injuries to enemies]
[Note: Collect all four pieces of the Vampire Set for a special attribute bonus]

Impatient, Chen Mo equipped the Vampire's Claws immediately.

Once equipped, his hands appeared unchanged, but at a mere thought, they transformed into blood claws that could extend up to a meter—remarkably practical!

Chen Mo was absolutely enamored with these vampire items. He recalled someone selling the Vampire's Crown on the Evolution Forum; surely, it was another piece of the set. He resolved to obtain the entire collection, no matter what.

Now, two difficult-level completion chests remained. The ordinary chests had already yielded such powerful gear—what treasures might these difficult chests contain?

Rubbing his hands, Chen Mo felt parched and nervous.

Merciful Goddess, bless me! Chen Mo shouted, flinging open the red chest. Red light flooded out.

[Frost Eye]
[Quality: Grade B, Rare]
[Attributes: Magic +30]
[Special: Doubles the power of frost spells and their freezing duration]

Wait, this—this is mage equipment! And frost spells—his sister was an ice-type mage; this would be a perfect match for her abilities!

Chen Mo imagined gifting the item to his sister, picturing her joyful leaps. It was a happiness greater than clearing the dungeon himself.

Only one chest remained. Truth be told, Chen Mo no longer cared. He had cleared the instance and earned so many rewards; he was deeply satisfied.

Open! Chen Mo heartily opened the final chest!

Whoosh!

A streak of red light shot from the chest, astonishingly slicing through the sky like a scalpel.

Indeed, Chen Mo confirmed he wasn’t imagining things—the sky itself had been split open.

Suddenly, meteor showers and molten stones rained down from the gash in the heavens.

The temple collapsed; aerial pathways plummeted.

A bright, clear sky turned instantly into the apocalypse.

Chen Mo's body fell with the temple, crashing into the ground, plunging into an endless abyss.

Molten lava bubbled at his feet; the ground beneath was no longer a vine-covered stone path, but a road of bloody skeletons.

The five black gorillas had transformed into five blood gorillas, their bodies charred and ablaze!

This... this...

Chen Mo was utterly stunned. Hadn’t he completed the level? What was happening?

At that moment, every player worldwide who possessed a "Zhi Zi," whether inside or outside the Sphere of Evolution, heard a cold, electronic announcement.

[Novice Instance—Temple Escape Hell Difficulty has been unlocked by player "Great Demon King." All instance difficulties are increased. All players who have cleared the difficult level may now challenge Hell Difficulty. Those who clear Hell Difficulty will receive abundant rewards.]

Shock! Overwhelming shock!

Most players on Earth had not even cleared the novice difficulty, and this "Great Demon King" had already unlocked Hell Difficulty, causing all instances to become harder.

“Great Demon King! I’ll kill you! Ah!” Many players in the Sphere of Evolution, just about to clear their own instances, suddenly faced increased difficulty: bottomless pits grew from five meters to ten; fire walls soared from two meters to five; ground spikes stabbed not once, but three times in rapid succession!

Countless walkthroughs in the Evolution Forum instantly became obsolete.

The name "Great Demon King" became a nightmare for countless evolvers!

Especially Wang Si Cong, who had been lounging in a pool with two beautiful college girls, hands dancing across their skin. Upon hearing the news, he furiously shoved their heads underwater.

The girls struggled desperately.

If not for the timely intervention of the butler, the two young beauties might have drowned.

“Damn, damn! Ah! Why him—why!!” Wang Si Cong screamed in madness.

On the instance record leaderboard, Great Demon King’s 30,000 meters claimed the global top spot; the points leaderboard (total points earned, not current points) showed him ahead of second place, Sevis, by a staggering one million points, with 2,330,000.

It wasn’t just Wang Si Cong who lost his mind over the Great Demon King. Governments worldwide convened emergency meetings about this figure.

The leaderboard revealed the Great Demon King belonged to China, causing neighboring countries—Japan, Korea, the Philippines, India, and more—to tremble in fear. Such a terrifying figure next door was a thorn in their side, impossible to ignore!

China’s government was equally anxious. They scoured the registration records of hundreds of cities at the Evolution Center and found no one named Great Demon King. In other words, this person was neither an official nor registered!

If the Great Demon King belonged to the Zhi Zi Legion, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Chen Mo had no idea that, by unlocking Hell Difficulty, he had triggered such global panic.

He, too, was filled with dread. In Hell Difficulty, at any moment, he could fall into a rain of blood and fire; piranhas occasionally leapt out of the blood pools, baring their teeth; and the blood gorillas pursued from behind.

Though Chen Mo was a battle-hardened veteran, he barely survived a hundred meters. After narrowly dodging falling fire, a misstep allowed a piranha from the blood pool to snap him up, making him howl in pain.

[Challenge failed. Final result: Hell Difficulty, 75 meters. Points earned: 750]

Wait—Hell Difficulty awards ten points per meter? That’s extravagant! Then again, considering his own strength barely managed 75 meters, others would likely struggle to achieve even one.

On his second challenge, Chen Mo used the Vampire's Cloak special ability, turning into a basketball-sized blood bat with doubled speed—whoosh!

With hurricane speed, he soared at 60 meters per second!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The blood bat darted through the sea of fire and blood, effortlessly crossing hundred-meter pits.

Incredible! Absolutely incredible!

Chen Mo’s consciousness fused with the bat's, directing its rapid flight.

Click, click!

But joy was fleeting; before he could gloat, a piranha leapt from below and swallowed him whole.

[Challenge failed. Final result: 385 meters. Points earned: 3,850]

Hell Difficulty was not complicated—meteors and fire rained down constantly, death upon contact, nearly impossible to dodge. If by some miracle you survived, piranhas would leap out to devour you; hesitate, and the five blood gorillas would pounce.

Chen Mo eyed the bubbling blood pool, pondering whether he could dive in and swim underneath.

On his third attempt, he acted on impulse—hurricane dive!

Splash!

Blood blossomed in the pool. Chen Mo—dead!