While Morse was busy with his own affairs in the distance, the other team members in the copy were not having an easy time. The party successfully overcomes the decayed tree men and forest monsters, but they nearly die in the process. The reason is all because of Fred, who disrupted their status and imposed a weakening effect on the team members. Whoosh, whoosh “This is the last one.” With the final blow, the monster's head fell to the ground and the team was finally able to catch their breath. "Ha... you did a great job..." Captain Anya said in heavy breathing. Her clothes and armor were badly damaged, her body was covered with wounds, and some of her skin had even turned slightly black. "Captain, are you okay?" Harry approached her and looked at her with concern. Undoubtedly, the person who suffered the most damage in this battle was Anya. Even though her shield had been discarded, she still used her body as a shield. "I'm fine... don't worry." "Are you really okay?"
"Yeah. Thanks to Ethan, we were able to get out of this mess." "Yeah, I didn't expect him to be so strong. Sure enough, the Hartley family lives up to its reputation." The team was able to complete the raid quickly without casualties, thanks to Ethan in the team. Ethan was covered in blood, but that blood was not his, but from the monster he had just slaughtered. "Ethan, are you okay?" Emily said, standing next to him. "You need to rest. You are overtired." "Ha...we have to find him..." However, Ethan's eyes were not focused on her, but looked into the fog. As the team took a breath and tended to their wounds, the urgency of finding Morse weighed on their minds. They knew time was running out. Anya wiped the sweat from her forehead and scanned the surroundings. "Ethan, we will find him. But we need to regroup and make sure everyone can move on." Ethan nodded, albeit somewhat reluctantly. Although he was eager to find Morse, he understood the current situation. Even if they had cleared the copy, there was still a possibility that other monsters might be lurking in it, and most importantly, Fred might have done something along the way. He knew that impulse alone would not solve the problem. "I understand." Ethan nodded and took out his space items. He took out the advanced endurance potion and the healing potion and swallowed them immediately. As the team rested and tended to their wounds, Ethan was the first to recover. "I'm going to find him. We can't waste any more time." For him, time was running out and he didn't want to waste any more time. Ethan knew that he was not strong enough to fight against the monsters roaming around. And given Fred's behavior, the monsters may have started to riot, which would make it more difficult for Morse to resist. "Well... well... we are almost there." After saying this, Anya stood up. Because her strength and level were higher than others, and she was a tank profession, she had self-healing skills, and she could recover quickly. "Let's go, everyone..." She waved her hand, and the team members began to look for clues in the copy, trying to find Morse's location. They first searched the second stage, but did not find any clues about Morse. On the way, they killed many rampaging forest monsters, which was not a difficult task for them. Then they came to the first stage, where there was no fog, but the rain was still pouring down.
Since the scope of the first phase was slightly larger, they decided to search for clues separately. As Ethan walked towards the entrance, he suddenly smelled a smell. “Is this…the smell of blood?” He sensed something ominous. His intuition, of which he was so proud, told him that something was happening here. There was a rough, demonic smell in the air. "Demonic energy." He easily identified the source. The Hartleys were known for their force, but they were equally adept at destroying those who sold their souls. "Fred." The only person in this dungeon who could use demonic energy was the bastard he swore to kill. "Could it be that..." As he approached the scene, he saw blood all around. Ethan's ears pricked up, his brain raced, all possible scenarios played out before his eyes. He couldn't shake the fear in his heart. "Morse... no..." He whispered to himself, his words filled with sadness. He examined the scene carefully, fear gripping his heart as he found Morse's blood scattered on the ground. "No, this can't be," he thought to himself, his brain unable to accept the possibility. "Morse is talented, but he is not as strong as Fred. Did he die here?" In his mind, although Morse is a talented hunter, he is still weak at present. He has personally experienced Morse's strength and knows that Morse is not strong. "What's this?" When he walked a little further, he found a small piece of metal. "bullet?" It was a bullet from a gun. He was no expert on bullets, but there was some slight corrosion on the bullet, as if it had been affected by some kind of energy. He thought about it for a moment, but he couldn't understand where the bullet came from. 'It could be Fred's.' He assumed it was Fred's because he didn't think Morse had a gun. Guns with mana-enhanced bullets were expensive and difficult to make, and Ethan knew Morse wasn't rich. How could he, an orphan, afford such an expensive weapon? Just as he was about to continue walking, suddenly, he felt the walkie-talkie vibrating. "Um?" This is a simple device for communicating within the dungeon. Since the dungeon is a space of a different dimension, it is not possible to use a smartwatch or mobile phone to transmit signals. This walkie-talkie communicates via magic frequencies. "What's wrong?" Ethan asked. "Come to the dungeon entrance now." Anya's voice came from the other side, with a hint of urgency in her tone. "Why?"
"We need to talk." "What happened?" "You'll know when the time comes." Hearing this, even though he wanted to look around some more, Ethan knew that he had now found all the possible clues. There was no sign of a body, nothing but blood and some bullets. Finally, he put the bullets in his pocket and walked towards the entrance. ...... "Captain, what does this mean?" In front of the dungeon entrance, the five members of the team stood together and looked at each other. Anya pointed to the portal that would take them into the dungeon and began, "When we finish this dungeon, we should have been teleported out of the dungeon and the portal should have closed." This is a fact known to all hunters, and Anya is also very familiar with it. She ignored it at first because of the emergency, but after a while, she reacted and immediately gathered everyone. "And yet, none of that is happening now," Harry added, as she also looked at the replica portal. "That's right." Anya continued, "This is beyond the norm." As she spoke, her expression became more serious. "This means that either this copy will not be closed, or..." "Either something is preventing it from closing." Ethan took over her words, his eyes still fixed on the portal, "You mean someone tampered with the portal." "Yes." "That must be Fred." "Yes, it must be him. He might have escaped from the copy safely. This should have been his plan from the beginning." "I see." Ethan lowered his head and began to ponder. "Then, this also means that staying in the dungeon has become dangerous." "That's right. We can't predict what will happen in the copy now." "..." Just like Anya said, everything made sense. The concepts of portals and copies were still a mystery to mankind, so Ethan could understand her decision, but at the same time, he was unwilling to accept this fact. Because it meant leaving Morse behind, and he couldn't accept that decision. "I know you don't want to leave him here, but Ethan, you have to understand, we have looked everywhere and found nothing. Either he has left, or..." "Stop talking." Ethan didn't want to hear what Anya was about to say and looked up at the portal. "Okay..." Anya realized that Ethan refused to accept this fact, so she turned to the other team members. "I have contacted the association, and they will send a team to investigate this issue soon. The person in charge said that we need to stay here for a while to ensure that there is no possibility of the portal leaking." After saying this, everyone began to wait. Waiting for the arrival of the investigation team seemed like a long torture because they could not relax. For Emily and her guildmates, this quest is of vital importance, as the future of their guild is closely tied to it. But for Ethan, his main concern is Morse. Buzz!
The roar of vehicles in the distance broke the tense atmosphere in the air, and a team from the Hunter Association arrived at the scene. "The Azure Crown Guild?" "Yes. I'm Anya Guzman, and here are my IDs." After confirming the members' identities, they immediately got to work analyzing the portal and its surrounding area. Anya reported their raid, Morse's disappearance, and Fred's suspicion of involvement to the investigation team. The investigators carefully examined the dungeon entrance, carefully examining the portal and its mechanism, looking for signs of tampering. A few hours passed, and the investigators finished their inspection and sighed. "The door was deliberately tampered with. Someone wanted to keep it open." One of the investigators reported to Anya. Anya nodded, her expression serious. "Is there any way to fix it?" "No repair is needed. The magical seal used to keep the copy open will soon be exhausted and the copy will close on its own." Hearing this, Ethan approached the investigator. "What would happen if someone was still in there?" "If someone is still inside, it's hard to predict what will happen. They will either be forced to teleport out of the replica, or they will be trapped inside." "......" Ethan clenched his fists, anger and powerlessness surged in his heart. "Also, you are not allowed to enter the dungeon right now." "Why?" "This instance is currently under investigation and will be regulated in accordance with Article 9, Paragraph 3 of the Instance Law. Hunters other than those permitted by the Association are not allowed to enter this instance." "but......" "I'm sorry, but I can't allow you to re-enter the dungeon," the lead investigator reiterated, firmly. Ethan felt a wave of frustration and despair. "You don't understand, my friend is still in there, and we don't have much time. If we don't act quickly, we might lose him." "I understand how you feel, but entering a copy that has been tampered with is against regulations and laws. It is too dangerous, not only for you, but for everyone involved," the investigator explained, his tone firm. Anya stepped forward and tried to mediate. "Is there really nothing we can do? Isn't there an exception for this situation?" The investigator sighed, understanding the gravity of the situation. "I wish there were exceptions, but we can't make them in this case. We will seal the copy as soon as possible and begin a thorough search of the interior." Hearing these words, Ethan clenched his fists and stared at the door of the copy. In the end, Ethan had no choice but to accept reality. Hopefully the copy can force Morse out. Just like that, the team members were asked to leave the portal...