Chapter 30: Waiting for you? A complete waste of time!

Beyond the border lies the domain where monsters dwell.

Mobile phone signals cannot reach this far. Only the communication receivers set up by the StarNet Exchange can pick up a signal. This is why Li Yao never had to worry about being woken up by unwanted calls; no one would spend a fortune to dial the landline in an exchange room for trivial matters.

"What is it? Take your time," Li Yao said calmly.

However, Qin Yue on the other end could not slow down at all.

"A dungeon! It’s a Primal Dungeon!"

"Just half an hour ago, someone discovered a Primal Dungeon on the border of South City!"

At these words, Li Yao’s eyes narrowed.

A Primal Dungeon, as the name suggests, is a dungeon that has never been cleared. These dungeons are extremely dangerous. Escape scrolls are useless; once you enter, there is no turning back, and the only option is to clear the dungeon. Moreover, the difficulty is completely randomized, and no one can predict what might happen inside.

What causes the greatest headache for high-level officials across all nations is that once a Primal Dungeon is triggered and cannot be suppressed in a short time, the dungeon vortex will shatter. The monsters inside will be enhanced countless times and burst through the seal in unfathomable numbers. Most human towns that have fallen were destroyed because of failed Primal Dungeon raids.

Consequently, once a Primal Dungeon is discovered, local officials immediately contact the Federation to summon top-tier experts who meet the dungeon's level requirements to carry out a raid.

Li Yao paused for a moment before asking, "What level is the dungeon?"

"Level 20. The entry requirement is level 10 to 25."

"There are so many people here now, but nobody has gone in yet. Young Master Li, are you coming?"

"Of course."

Li Yao could not refuse. Risk equals reward—this holds true everywhere on Blue Star.

"Haha, I knew it!"

"Then hurry downstairs. As soon as I heard the news, I told Uncle Wu to go pick you up at the StarNet station."

Qin Yue’s voice was filled with excitement, but Li Yao felt a need to offer a reminder.

"Qin Yue, a Primal Dungeon is different from a Goblin Nest. The difficulty is unpredictable. I can't take you with..."

"Oh, please!" Qin Yue interrupted him impatiently before he could finish. "I have enough self-awareness, okay? Just get downstairs. Uncle Wu is already there, and I’m waiting for you here."

"Fine."

Li Yao hung up and hurried downstairs.

Soon, he saw Uncle Wu and climbed into the car, heading toward South City.

"Young Master Li, these items are from Madam Li for you."

Madam Li, Guo Ning, is a level 59, A-rank support-class professional—a Cantor. She is Li Yao’s biological mother.

"She and Chairman Li are not in Jiangzhou, so they asked me to pass these on to you."

In the car, Li Yao took what was handed to him. They were the same as what Uncle Wu had given him when he took Qin Yue into the dungeon: several bottles of percentage-based restoration potions.

"Thank you."

In his memory, his parents had always taken a hands-off approach to his upbringing. When he made decisions, they rarely tried to dissuade him. Of course, this attitude did not mean they didn't care about their son; otherwise, they wouldn't have poured all the resources they had spent half a lifetime acquiring into him. Giving these potions to Li Yao was simply a way to let him make his own choices.

As for whether Li Yao was qualified to participate in a Primal Dungeon raid, no one—not Qin Yue, Uncle Wu, Li Yang, Guo Ning, or even Li Yao himself—would question it. The current Li Yao was no longer the scorned summoner of the past. Someone who could solo a nightmare-level dungeon was an incredibly rare existence, even across the entire Dragon Nation.

Half an hour later, Li Yao and Uncle Wu passed through the South City border checkpoint and arrived at the entrance of the Primal Dungeon. Just as Qin Yue had said, it was already swarming with people. There were even several Federation military units stationed there, and many familiar, high-profile figures were present.

"Hello! Hello!"

"Young Master Li, over here!"

One could tell who it was just by the voice. Li Yao walked toward her. This unmasked shout made everyone else aware of Li Yao’s arrival, and whispers immediately broke out.

"Holy crap! Li Yao is here too?"

"Who is Li Yao?"

"Are you from out of town? You don't know Li Yao? He’s the summoner who soloed a nightmare-level dungeon yesterday!"

"Soloed a nightmare-level? And he's a summoner? Do you want me to believe that or that I'm Qin Shi Huang?"

"You idiot! Go check the StarNet forums yourself!"

For a moment, everyone was exclaiming in shock. Even those who didn't know Li Yao were being filled in by professionals from Jiangzhou. A sense of pride began to well up among the Jiangzhou professionals. Furthermore, if a Primal Dungeon raid failed, the surrounding cities would be the first to suffer. If countless monsters broke through the seals, it would take time for Federation reinforcements to arrive.

At that point, South City would surely become a living hell. Li Yao’s appearance acted like a shot of adrenaline, significantly reducing their fear of the Primal Dungeon.

Li Yao walked over to Qin Yue. Standing beside her were two middle-aged men. Li Yao only recognized one: the Mayor of Jiangzhou, Xue Renyi.

Seeing Li Yao, Xue Renyi placed a hand on his shoulder with practiced familiarity. "You finally made it. Your name has been ringing in my ears so much these past few days that I’ve developed callouses."

"Senior," Li Yao nodded in acknowledgement.

"Come, let me introduce you. This is the Mayor of South City, Luo Yu. You can just call him Senior Luo."

"Mayor Xue, since he’s here, let’s get to the point," Luo Yu said with a stern expression, looking Li Yao up and down several times. "Li Yao, is it? Mayor Xue thinks highly of you, and I believe you have some skill if you cleared a nightmare-level dungeon."

"But a Primal Dungeon is a matter of great importance. Whether you can join the first raid team isn't up to me, and it isn't up to Mayor Xue, either."

"You are only level 17. By rights, you don't meet the Federation's regulations for Primal Dungeon raids..."

Li Yao didn't want to listen to the man’s nonsense and cut him off. "Then who does decide?"

As the Mayor of South City, it was understandable that he had to be concerned for the city's safety and might look down on his level, but Li Yao wouldn't let him brush him off with made-up regulations. While in the car, Li Yao had looked up the history of Federation Primal Dungeon raids. Because time was of the essence, these raids were generally split into two phases. The first phase involved quickly gathering local top-tier professionals or those who met the level requirements and were at least A-rank, all on a volunteer basis. It was only if the first phase failed that rigid regulations would come into play.

In most cases, the Federation organized the raid. Under normal circumstances, his feat of soloing a nightmare-level dungeon would qualify him for any raid team. Even for the second phase, Li Yao had absolute confidence that he could join!

If the man was this hesitant and even willing to bluff, there could only be one explanation: there was someone present who was stronger than him.

Before Luo Yu could answer, a flippant voice drifted over from a distance.

"I can decide."

A group of five people walked slowly toward Li Yao.

"I was wondering how much talent someone who opens a purgatory-level dungeon could have. Who would have thought it was just an A-rank class?"

"They told me to wait for you, but it looks like a complete waste of time!"