After spending an entire evening in the bustling district of Capital, Jeremy finally decided to return to his residence in the poorer area just before dawn.
Bonnie, of course, wouldn't be staying with him. Her place was actually the White Family's villa in the prosperous district.
Jeremy slept for about four hours at his residence. Around noon, a loud knocking on the door abruptly woke him up.
"Who's knocking? I don't need room service! Don't disturb me unless it's important!" Jeremy said, slightly irritated. He hadn't managed to rest properly.
However, his words didn't seem to have any effect on the person outside the door.
The knocking continued with even more force.
Angrily, Jeremy got out of bed and hurried to the door, yanking it open with a scowl on his face.
To his surprise, the figure of the Colonel, who had escorted him and Bonnie to Capital, appeared before him.
Without a word, the Colonel handed him a folder.
"This is an urgent mission from military headquarters! You need to review the contents. The mission starts tonight," the Colonel said coldly, his tone devoid of warmth.
It was clear he harbored some faint animosity towards Jeremy.
Jeremy took the folder, still fuming with frustration.
"I understand! But next time, give me a heads-up before you show up at my doorstep like this. It's a bit much for me to handle."
Jeremy had come to Capital for the purpose of missions, so receiving an urgent task didn't seem all that strange. What bothered him was how the Apocalypse Game players were notified to take on missions in such a rudimentary way here.
Back in Moonlight City, Jeremy and his companions communicated easily through their phones.
The Colonel's expression remained unchanged as he said flatly, "You can check your phone. I've called you at least ten times!"
Jeremy picked up his phone and saw that he had missed 15 calls.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, he realized his mistake. However, the Colonel had no intention of mocking him.
"Since you've already grasped the general idea of the urgent mission, you should start preparing immediately! The military headquarters expects you to execute this task flawlessly!"
With that, the Colonel turned sharply on his heels and walked away without so much as a backward glance. He clearly had no intention of engaging Jeremy in any further conversation.
Once the Colonel was gone, Jeremy slammed the door shut with a loud thud.
"What kind of urgent mission could they possibly want me to undertake? Did the defense forces in Capital suddenly stumble upon an exceptionally challenging instance on the outskirts of the city?"
Jeremy muttered to himself, his curiosity piqued as he opened the folder.
As he read through the entire document, the reason for assigning him this particular urgent mission became crystal clear.
The mission he was tasked with was directly tied to an instance with a difficulty level of 70. Although the mission was technically just a reconnaissance operation, the fact remained that Jeremy himself had only recently reached level 60.
"It seems the difficulty of the 'Abyss' instance is even greater than I anticipated! If someone came here to scout the instance without the 'King of Time and Space' ability, they wouldn't even notice the anomalies. They'd most likely choose to board one of those broken boats straight away!"
On the surface, boarding the dilapidated boats appeared to be a way to avoid the most dangerous areas. This seemingly safer route might trick Apocalypse Game players into thinking they could start exploring the instance without immediately encountering danger.
But in reality, it was a cunningly designed trap.
If anyone were to board those old boats before officially entering the "Abyss" instance, they would be swiftly killed by the instance's overwhelming power.
Jeremy's expression darkened as he contemplated this revelation. It was clear that this mission wasn't just about reconnaissance—it was a battle against the unseen dangers lurking in every shadow.
After observing the area around the instance for a while, Jeremy finally discovered a safe method to enter the instance.
On the dock's wooden bridge, he created a unique space—a dimensional construct that allowed him to directly access the entrance to the Abyss instance.
The moment this unique space was completed, the entrance to the Abyss instance revealed itself.
At first glance, the entrance seemed to be located at the end of the dock's bridge. However, in reality, the true entrance was beneath the dock, hidden underwater.
To safely enter the Abyss instance, Jeremy realized he would have to dive into the river.
But he didn't rush into the water immediately.
Jeremy had a lingering feeling that the river surrounding the instance was not as tranquil as it appeared. He suspected there might be creatures lurking within its depths, and he was certain the river had some connection to the Abyss itself.
It wouldn't be surprising if stepping into the river triggered some force that would drag him directly into the Abyss.
Jeremy meticulously examined his surroundings one more time. After ensuring there were no visible monsters or immediate threats, he tightened his grip on Mortal Combat, his trusted weapon, and cautiously stepped into the river.
The moment his body entered the water, he felt an intense cold seep into his bones. His body heat was being drained at an alarming rate.
Jeremy quickly realized he had no time to waste. He needed to find the entrance to the Abyss instance as fast as possible. If he lingered in the icy river too long, he would likely freeze to death before even reaching the entrance.
After searching underwater for what felt like an eternity, Jeremy finally located the entrance. It was concealed in an unremarkable and easily overlooked spot.
If it weren't for Jeremy's extraordinary spatial awareness, finding this hidden entrance would have been nearly impossible.
Reaching out, Jeremy pressed his hand against the entrance.
In that instant, an overwhelming force pulled him into the Abyss instance.
As Jeremy disappeared from the river, a shadowy figure emerged at the spot where he had just been.
This shadow bore an uncanny resemblance to Jeremy, mirroring his appearance perfectly.
But the shadow lingered for only a brief moment before vanishing entirely.
Jeremy, meanwhile, found himself traversing an extraordinarily cold and utterly dark region.
Even with his King of Time and Space ability, he was unable to construct a portal in this pitch-black void.
His only option was to endure the numbing cold and oppressive darkness, pressing forward as quickly as possible.