**[Immortal Abode] (Male, Level 16 Archer):** "A special quest? Weakening the Boss's attributes? Is that even possible? Where did you get that quest? Can the brother who completed it share some info?"

**[Troublemaker] (Male, Level 16 Assassin):** "I think it's a quest that refreshes on a guard at the entrance of the Security Hall. I wanted to take it too, but it requires 500 reputation points to accept!"

**[Too Beautiful] (Male, Level 16 Mage):** "Amazing, my brother! Weakening nearly 10% of the attributes and invading the Safe Zone an hour early. Looks like the first Boss kill this time is definitely ours in Zone 886!"

**[Flowing Year] (Male, Level 17 Assassin):** "Don't get too excited. Since our zone has this special quest to speed up the Boss's progress, other zones probably do too. It's possible other zones have completed the quest faster and weakened the Boss even more!"

Watching the discussion in the regional channel, Zhang Yi wasn't worried at all. He was confident that Zone 886's Boss would be weakened the most and invade the earliest!

No one could farm the Skeletons in the Undead City faster than Zhang Yi! Even if others were in a team of five, Zhang Yi was almost soloing.

This time, Zhang Yi was determined to get the first Boss kill!

After finishing the quest, there was still time. The Boss's specific invasion time into the Safe Zone was 5:12, more than an hour away.

However, that was the time the Boss would set off from the Undead City to the Safe Zone. It would actually arrive around 5:30.

Before that, Zhang Yi planned to help Guan Hao and the others complete their quests in the Undead City.

After all, before entering the Undead City, Zhang Yi had them take on the Level 3 difficulty [Undead Requiem] quest. So far, he had only helped them with the Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Archers. The progress for the Undead Mage and Undead Slayer was zero. Without Zhang Yi, they wouldn't be able to handle these high-level undead, and failure would be their only outcome.

So, Zhang Yi led them to farm the undead, while also challenging himself to complete the first layer challenge of killing a thousand each of Skeleton Archers, Warriors, Undead Mages, and Slayers before moving to the second layer.

By 5 o'clock, Guan Hao and the others had completed their quests, and Zhang Yi was ready to call it a day, planning to disband the team and solo farm again.

Zhang Yi didn't plan to return to the Safe Zone immediately to wait for the Boss invasion because he knew this Boss battle would be a long one. He remembered that in the previous life, the first Safe Zone to take down the Boss took two to three hours.

The process wasn't important; Zhang Yi was aiming for the final blow. So he only needed to return when the Boss was about to die.

As for the [Hunt Skeletons] quest, it didn't matter when he turned it in, even if it was after the Boss died. The goal of weakening the Boss's attributes and prompting its early invasion of the Safe Zone had already been achieved.

Although the final Boss battle would calculate extra rewards based on the total damage contributed by players, the one who landed the final blow would receive the most generous reward, incomparable to any damage contribution.

In comparison, the rewards based on damage calculation were trivial. It was more worthwhile to spend that time farming the first layer challenge and hidden quests in the Undead City.

Additionally, Zhang Yi's experience bar was at 99%, and he was about to level up to 18, allowing him to equip the 3-star [Glowing Staff].

If it weren't for Guan Hao and the others taking 70% of Zhang Yi's experience, he would have been level 18 by now.

So, Zhang Yi disbanded the team.

Watching Zhang Yi leave without a word, heading deeper into the Undead City alone, Guan Hao felt a pang of sadness and said, "Zhang Yi, does it have to be this way?"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Zhang Yi paused, not turning back, and said, "You guys go turn in the quest and head back. Take care."

With that, Zhang Yi stepped into the midst of Skeletons and Undead, raising his staff and began farming alone.

Guan Hao, Liu Xing, and the others stood there like fools, watching Zhang Yi. Despite the heartache, they didn't dare to disturb him.

Guan Hao looked at Han Yaru, knowing her feelings for Zhang Yi. Even after three years, she hadn't forgotten him, rejecting countless excellent suitors, including Liu Xing...

Han Yaru's deep eyes were filled with disappointment.

Maybe it was time to let go...

Han Yaru lowered her head and softly said, "Let's go."

With that, Han Yaru turned and left. Guan Hao and the others hesitated between Zhang Yi and Han Yaru, but eventually followed Han Yaru with reluctance.

Boom!

A Fireball Spell killed an Undead Mage, and Zhang Yi seemed to hear the commotion behind him. He glanced back at Han Yaru and Guan Hao as they gradually left, his eyes flickering slightly.

So be it, strangers from now on, just like in the previous life when Zhang Yi never met them again and still lived well for eight years.

As Zhang Yi was distracted, he vaguely sensed a cold wind approaching. Turning around, he saw a Great Fireball flying towards him!

Startled, Zhang Yi instinctively raised his staff to block.

Boom!

The fireball struck the Flame Staff, and at that moment, Zhang Yi saw the Flame Staff in his hand lose its glow, turning into a rough stick.

At the same time, two combat notification sounds echoed in his ears—

"Ding~ You have been hit by an [Undead Mage]'s [Great Fireball Spell], losing 168 HP!"

"Ding~ Unfortunately, your weapon [Flame Staff] has been affected by the Undead Mage's [Corrosion] and is damaged. You can no longer use this weapon normally in its damaged state!"

"Damn!"

Hearing the system's prompt, Zhang Yi couldn't help but curse softly.

How could he be so unlucky? After farming for so long without any issues, he triggered [Corrosion] with the same probability as [Hellfire Dragon Flame] just as he was wrapping up! All this time, he hadn't triggered Hellfire Dragon Flame even once...

When you're down on your luck, even drinking water can get stuck in your teeth!

Looking at the now useless Flame Staff in his hand, Zhang Yi felt like crying because he didn't have a backup weapon in his inventory.

Meanwhile, the Level 20 Undead Mage that had just attacked Zhang Yi continued to wave its staff, attacking him.