Chapter 60: the Slaughterhouse

When the convoy moved out from Smith’s villa, it traveled for nearly three hours outside Everest City before reaching its destination.

​When Smith looked outside the car window, he saw that this was not a simple, temporary camp like before. It was a massive, fortified infrastructure built with concrete walls. Mounted along the tops of the walls were heavy machine guns and automated point-defense turrets. As they approached the perimeter, Smith could even sense the presence of Players guarding the outer defenses. He knew they were Players because he saw men paired alongside women wearing armor and wielding cold weapons—a unmistakable sign that those women were Queens.

​From his position, Smith estimated that there were roughly three Players patrolling the outer perimeter. When the convoy reached the main gate, the guards halted them to verify everyone’s identities. Even though the guards knew an important guest had arrived—given the massive scale of the escort convoy—protocol was still protocol. After Smith and his group verified their identities, they were allowed inside.

​Once inside, Smith realized just how serious this location was. There were no temporary tents like the previous camp; instead, the area was dominated by sturdy, permanent concrete structures. Judging by the layout, this facility had not been built overnight—it was designed for long-term stay

​Just like at the first camp, the convoy eventually reached a wide open central opening. The armed personnel dismounted from the infantry fighting vehicles to secure the area. Right after, Smith’s personal bodyguards stepped out from their vehicles and formed an inner defensive circle around his car. One of the guards stepped forward and respectfully opened the door for Smith.

​Seeing this grand spectacle, Smith shook his head inwardly. The display of security was almost overwhelmingly grand, but there was little he could do about it.

​As he stepped out of the car, he was immediately flanked by his Queens. Although they were not fully armored or holding their weapons yet, their presence was unmistakable. Outside of his Queens stood the ring of his personal bodyguards, forming a multi-layered defense.

​Once the formation was established, Jacob himself walked over to greet them. The guards parted, creating a path for Jacob to pass through.

​"Hello, Mr. Smith," Jacob said, approaching with a smile. "I hope you are doing well."

​Smith returned the smile. "Thank you, Mr. Jacob. I am doing very well."

​After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Jacob personally escorted Smith to a heavily fortified building. The structure looked like a concrete cage; it had no visible windows and was fully reinforced with thick concrete and heavy metal plating.

​They passed through a heavy, fortified door and entered a spacious chamber. At the very center of the room stood a massive black portal. It was several times larger than any portal Smith had seen before. Unlike previous portals that had no visible effect on their surroundings, this one emitted a heavy, oppressive aura that weighed down on the area.

​Jacob turned to Smith and introduced. "Yesterday, we mentioned that we need to speed up your training so you can reach the Intermediate rank as soon as possible and implement the second stage of our plan. However, before you can advance to the Intermediate rank, you need to max out your current rank and help all your Queens reach the peak of the Novice rank. That is why I brought you here—to this dungeon."

​Jacob pointed toward the black portal. "This type of dungeon is called a Slaughterhouse. It occurs during a dungeon outbreak after the initial wave of creatures has already poured out into the real world. When that happens, the dungeon portal transforms from white to black."

​He continued, explaining the mechanics: "A Slaughterhouse retains the same rank as the original dungeon it formed from. If it was an ordinary Novice-rank dungeon, the Slaughterhouse remains Novice-rank. If it was a mutated dungeon, it becomes a mutated Slaughterhouse."

​"The key difference between a normal dungeon and a Slaughterhouse comes down to their nature," Jacob explained. "A normal dungeon is like a sealed bottle of water given directly to a consumer. You simply drink until it’s empty, discard the bottle, and the dungeon is cleared. But a Slaughterhouse is like a bottle connected directly to an endless supply pipe from a factory. To clear it, you can’t just drink the water—you have to drink faster than the factory can replenish it. Only when you create a temporary gap can you cut the pipe and sever the connection."

​"In practical terms," Jacob clarified, "to clear a Slaughterhouse, you must destroy the Dungeon Cores located at the portal entrances on both sides. Once both cores are destroyed, the Slaughterhouse is permanently closed."

​Jacob paused before adding a warning. "That is our goal as humans. But for the monsters on the other side, their goal is to upgrade the Slaughterhouse. If they manage to capture both Dungeon Cores and merge them, the Slaughterhouse will be promoted to a higher rank and generate a new set of cores. If they keep collecting and merging them, they can upgrade the dungeon repeatedly. Furthermore, entries into a Slaughterhouse are completely unlimited for both sides."

​Looking at the dark portal, Jacob revealed their current standing: "As of right now, we control one Dungeon Core, and the enemy holds the other. Both sides are locked in a stalemate. You might wonder why we don’t just destroy our core right now, but a single Dungeon Core is completely indestructible on its own. Only when you bring both cores then they can be destroyed"

​Smith nodded slowly, his lingering doubts finally resolved.

​Jacob sighed, his expression turning solemn. "As you can see, this place is a massive drain on our resources. We currently have some Novice-rank Players stationed inside this Slaughterhouse just to prevent our Dungeon Core from falling into enemy hands. To make matters worse, this Slaughterhouse originated from a mutated dungeon that broke out before we could clear it."

​"Because of that, Players inside are at a severe disadvantage," Jacob explained. "The enemy side fields a large number of Intermediate-rank creatures, forcing our team into a defensive struggle rather than a head-on fight. We’ve already suffered unnecessary casualties."

​Smith remained silent as he digested the information. He understood how dire the situation was for ordinary Players. While hunting Intermediate-rank creatures seemed straightforward to Smith, that was only because his Queens possessed overwhelming combat power and could easily control the battlefield. For standard Players, fighting higher-ranked monsters in an unstable environment was a nightmare.

​"Don’t worry," Smith said calmly, looking at Jacob. "I will do my best to clear this Slaughterhouse."

​Hearing Smith’s confidence, Jacob felt a surge of relief. If Smith successfully cleared the dungeon, it would free up a massive amount of power. The Players currently inside were only the bare minimum required to prevent a sudden wipeout from an enemy ambush. Because of the constant danger, they had to rotate teams regularly so the frontline Players could rest. This rotation wasted immense manpower—capable Players who could have been promoted and deployed to other areas are here just guarding a core. They hadn’t cleared it themselves because the expected casualty rate was simply too high to risk.

​Jacob nodded appreciatively. "Alright, I’ll leave the rest to you. As a Grand Elder, you have full authority to handle this operation as you see fit."

​Smith turned to his personal guards and armed personnel, dismissing them. He then turned to Diana. "I’m heading into the Slaughterhouse now. I’m not sure how long it will take, so please inform my aunt that I might be a bit late."

​Diana nodded sharply in understanding.

​With his instructions set, Smith turned back to his Queens: Velvet, Brenda, Magenta, Astra, Vesper, Valeria, and Fiona. They stepped forward, lining up behind his wheelchair.

​"Alright, girls," Smith said with a smirk. "Let’s prepare for some action."

​On cue, all seven Queens equipped their distinct sets of combat armor and manifested their specialized weapons. The spectacle was breathtaking. Even Jacob, standing nearby, nodded in quiet awe. The sheer presence of seven Legendary-titled Queens lined up together was blindingly impressive.

​Seeing that everyone was ready, Smith let out a light laugh. "Now, girls... let’s go cause some chaos."

​That was the signal. One by one, the Queens charged forward, diving headfirst into the swirling black portal of the Slaughterhouse.

​Finally, Magenta stepped up behind Smith, took hold of his wheelchair, and pushed him directly into the black portal.