Chapter 88: Death Echo Valley

Kamiyu wandered around with the map in hand. “Huh, this doesn’t seem right. There’s supposed to be a big rock landmark nearby.”

“Something’s off. I followed the route exactly,” Kamiyu muttered, growing nervous. Could Li Changde have tricked her?

“You’re holding the map upside down,” Jack remarked after a quick glance.

“?” Kamiyu widened her eyes and noticed the directional arrows marking north, south, east, and west in the bottom right corner of the map.

How embarrassing—she’d been holding the map upside down all along?

Since this was an AR holographic map tool, the information wasn’t printed on the map itself. Instead, by looking at the markers on the map, the details would display directly in the user’s “eyes.”

That’s why Kamiyu hadn’t noticed she was holding it wrong.

One look at Kamiyu’s expression told Jack she couldn’t read this kind of complex, military-grade field map.

Indeed, as a professional FPS Player, Kamiyu wasn’t great with maps like this, but she excelled at reading simplified or structural Mini-maps.

“Give me the map. I’ll take a look. Where do you need to go?” Jack reached out for it.

Kamiyu pursed her lips and gently tossed the map to Jack, turning her head away as she said, “To the Valley of the Deathly Echo. This Instance Dungeon has the most Magic Crystal Ore, and I need those materials.”

Jack nodded, quickly locating the coordinates on the map. Before long, the two arrived at the entrance to the valley.

Jack truly lived up to his reputation as a professional Mercenary—his map-reading Skill was maxed out. From now on, they could rely on him for navigating routes while hunting wild Monsters.

The Valley of the Deathly Echo was a gorge flanked by steep cliffs on both sides. Inside, thick fog blanketed the area, while the entrance was littered with piles of white bones—clearly not a place to be taken lightly.

Both Jack and Kamiyu could hear terrifying sounds emanating from within the valley: Monsters snarling and howling, people struggling and screaming, all mingled with the cacophony of slaughter and torment.

Though the sounds came from deep within the valley, they were eerily clear, as if a bloody Battlefield lay just beyond.

“Is this how the Valley of the Deathly Echo got its name?” Kamiyu gulped.

She wasn’t afraid of facing guns head-on, but she dreaded strange, disgusting, unknown Monsters suddenly lunging at her. In the past, she’d hated playing horror-themed shooting games the most—those weren’t real FPS Games at all, just pure torture designed to torment Players.

Seeing the little one beside him trembling like a newborn fawn, Jack stepped in front of her. Speaking softly to avoid startling her, he said, “My Thorns Reflection is always active. Just stay within five meters of me.”

Though Kamiyu hated to admit she was scared, her body’s instincts wouldn’t let her dare to stray from Jack’s side.

Her feelings were conflicted—part of her wanted to, part of her didn’t. After a brief internal struggle, she finally relented, deceiving herself with the thought, “Fine. You train soldiers for a thousand days to use them in one moment. I spent a fortune equipping him with all this top-tier gear. It’s time for him to repay me.”

She hadn’t actually trained Jack, nor had she spent a fortune—his equipment was crafted from leftover materials. But even with just scraps, the gear she made for him was far superior to what others had.

Jack read the information about the Valley of the Deathly Echo from the map: “Valley of the Deathly Echo Dungeon, Hard difficulty. The Dungeon Boss is a level 20 Chimera.”

“I’m only level 5, and I remember you’re only level 10. Can we really take this on?”

Kamiyu said, “What’s there to fear? Even without using skills, with just your equipment, trash mobs below level 22 can’t bite through it. You can withstand three lethal ultimate skills from a level 20 dungeon boss.

Besides, don’t you have a whole set of defense skills?”

“I was talking about you. I’d dare to go in even without wearing anything, but you’re only level 10. Can you handle it?” Jack was actually worried about Kamiyu, not himself.

“Don’t underestimate me. Stop talking nonsense, let’s go in quickly.” Kamiyu said loudly. She misunderstood Jack’s words, interpreting his concern as doubt.

“Alright then, don’t stray more than five meters away from me.” Jack said solemnly.

Kamiyu took out the melee shotgun Demon-Repelling Holy Flame, preparing for close combat. In this terrifying atmosphere, she didn’t dare to play the camper with a sniper rifle alone. When playing horror games, it’s best to stick together, not wander around aimlessly, and not get separated.

Anyone who has watched horror movies knows that being alone means certain death.

Jack unsheathed the Dragon Slayer Blade, Kamiyu loaded the Demon-Repelling Holy Flame, and the two made their combat preparations before stepping into the Valley of the Deathly Echo.

As they entered the valley filled with thick fog, the miscellaneous noises they had just heard vanished in an instant. Inside the valley, apart from the sound of their own footsteps, no external sounds could be heard.

It was so quiet that even their breathing was clearly audible.

This, of course, did not bring them a sense of security. Instead, it made Kamiyu feel even more eerie.

“According to the movies and shows I’ve seen before, the quieter an environment is, the more dangerous it tends to be.” Kamiyu nervously told herself.

She gripped her gun tightly, with the safety always off, ready to fire at any moment.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure moved within the thick fog, and Kamiyu keenly captured it.

The taunt skill was successfully activated, drawing all aggro onto Jack. The swarm of four-winged bats turned and surged toward him.

“Damn, this density is terrifying—it’s like being engulfed in a pitch-black tornado,” Kamiyu exclaimed, quickly backstepping to the maximum range of five meters.

“But this is a good opportunity. Running an instance dungeon requires a tank with a taunt skill—that’s how you farm efficiently,” she remarked, reloading her bullets and unleashing a rapid barrage, even pulling out her sniper rifle for a volley of shots.