Chapter 494: Zero Reset

The Tremor Task has arrived; on the computer screens in the 3D warehouse, forum posts refresh like a waterfall.

"Steel blades turn to lightning, wrath surges to the heavens."

"I am uneasy."

"Front-page ad, players! Want to tackle high-difficulty tasks? Want to risk little and gain everything in one stroke? Then visit Du Xiao Man, Weilidai, Huabei, JD JinTiao. We guarantee fast approval and low flexible interest rates. (Final interpretation rights belong to the organizer.)"

The Tremor Task occurs on average twice a year, located within the Killing Grounds; its difficulty scales with player strength, offering not only extremely rich rewards but also a chance to discover intact areas, rooms, or items within the Killing Grounds.

For example, a one-time-use acid pool capable of dissolving carbon-based life into primordial cellular soup, from which a new, faster, stronger, smarter perfect lifeform regenerates, inheriting memories and player traits.

Some on the forum have long suspected that the leader of the Laughing Troupe, "The Laughing God," once fell into such an acid pool—otherwise, how could a mere folklorist suddenly transform into a high-intelligence antisocial madman?

Another example: a universal automated repair workshop capable of fixing anything from tricycles and mechanical watches to aircraft carriers and Gundam mechs—half a hidden zone.

The guild Blood Lion Roar belongs to, "Mech War Lei Ting," uses this repair station as its headquarters.

In summary, the rewards of the Tremor Task are so immense that every guild and individual rushes toward it.

Whenever this happens, the forum's network trolls go into overdrive.

Posting ads for small loans, smearing commercial rivals, pretending to be newbie guides that are actually Zhihu Yanxuan content locked behind paid unlocks.

"Network environment governance remains a long and arduous task."

Li Cheng watched the dense sea of forum posts, shook his head, and promptly picked up his keyboard to start posting.

The Tremor Task is a unique carnival shopping festival for the extraordinary; countless players, chasing the dream of sudden wealth, overspend by purchasing or renting equipment, gear, and skill scrolls.

As the manager of Zhu Xing Zhen Tai—no, the owner—when else would I push sales if not now?

【Weirdness Descends, Order Collapses! Watching the black cloud and blood moon waving tentacles outside my window, I picked up a knife to turn it on myself—then remembered today is Crazy Thursday! Zhu Xing Zhen Tai: spend 300, get 30 off instantly; PULS members receive massive subsidies.】

【The Tremor Task is too dangerous—why not buy your family early protection? Zhu Xing Zhen Tai's organ transplant service is heavily discounted: Dad's gout? Swap his legs for ostrich limbs and walk like the wind. Mom's dry eyes? Swap them for a Three-Tomoe Sharingan and unleash Amaterasu anytime without needing a gas stove. Kids' grades poor? Implant a supercomputer chip and skip straight into Zhongke Academy's junior class.】

【Aaaahhhhh! Who understands the redemption I felt when I saw Zhu Xing Zhen Tai's promotion—my power system puzzle was missing the final piece! Any fellow players want to group-buy and hit the discount threshold? I'm waiting!】

Li Cheng wielded every sales tactic effortlessly, typed like lightning, and precisely gauged the forum AI's tolerance for troll posts—posting without deletion.

After over half an hour of forum frenzy, GOC's official account, in coordination with major guilds, finally posted a pinned announcement.

It was the usual drivel: human civilization is one whole, suspend disputes during Killing Grounds Tremor, develop together, don't turn on each other.

As before, GOC would hold a press conference in Louis Street—but Li Cheng was no longer a newbie, so he didn't attend; instead, he seized the chance to hoard coins and spend them to strengthen his combat power.

He himself had no immediate needs, so he primarily bought one item for Hui Yu.

【Item Name: Move Tutor · Destruction Beam】

【Type: consumable】

【Quality: Fine】

【Effect: Teaches a skill. After use, a pet permanently learns the Destruction Beam skill—can channel energy to fire a high-energy beam at a target, then become immobilized for a short time.】

【Cost: None】

【Cooldown: None】

【Requirement: Intelligence attribute ≥ 3】

【Note: Love is a light, so beautiful.】

Yes, this disc-shaped 【Move Tutor】 was identical to the Hidden Strike Tutor gifted earlier by the Crimson Racer—it was a flagship product sold by the "Thousand Throats Beast" guild.

Judging solely from the original Pokémon anime and games, Destruction Beam has a base power of 150—higher than Thunderbolt's 90 and Flamethrower's 110.

Moreover, the learning threshold for Destruction Beam is extremely low; nearly all Pokémon, from Magikarp to legendary beasts, can learn it.

Yet it remains unpopular due to its drawback: the Pokémon becomes immobilized in the next turn, making it lethally risky in player battles.

But this posed no problem for Hui Yu—she was the strongest tank in existence, capable of withstanding hydraulic presses, crushing crushers, and direct hits from tank main cannons, rising unharmed with only a slightly dusty hem.

After completing all preparations, Li Cheng returned to his usual calm, quietly awaiting the Killing Grounds notification.

Six hours later, the system announcement arrived as scheduled.

【Task Type: Regular Task (Team Cooperation)】

【Task Name: Zero Reset】

【Task Objective: Teleport to the Killing Grounds, carry the Annihilation Device to the designated location, and install it.】【Task Time Limit: 72 hours】

【Reward 1: 4000 XP】

【Reward 2: 5000 Game Coins】

【Reward 3: 1 Random Item, Quality Based on Completion Rating】

【Reward 4: 1 Random Skill Scroll, Quality Based on Completion Rating】

【Reward 5: 1 Shangcheng VIP Experience Card】

【Reward 6: 5 Free Attribute Points】

【Failure Penalty: None】

【Accept?】

Damn.

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow; the Shangcheng VIP Card, like Emergency Escape Cards and Life Potions, was a direct product of the Killing Grounds system.

After use, the VIP Card refreshes the personal Shangcheng with 15 items guaranteed to be useful, discounted between 30% and 50%.

The Skull Crusher Hui Yu currently uses, and the Hollowed Elf Knight Armor 【Esoloren's Sigh】 listed for sale and later bought by Gouchen, were both refreshed using a VIP Card.

With Li Cheng's current strength, the VIP Card could only refresh items of Perfect quality or higher—buying meant profit.

As for the final reward—the five free attribute points—it was exceptionally generous; an extraordinary's attributes and physiological functions do not scale linearly but exponentially.

The later the stage, the harder attributes become to obtain—and the greater their incremental benefit.

Li Cheng clicked confirm without hesitation; when he opened his eyes again, he stood on a desolate wasteland, flanked by three figures.

One was a short-haired Latin American youth, dressed in a crisp suit, handsome, his hands and forearms covered in tattoos.

The second was a petite little girl, clad in a gothic black dress, carrying a massive scythe, with several bats circling around her.

As for the third, it was the familiar Tombstone Sis, Bai Ma Mu Bei.

"All high-level players, huh."

The Latin youth raised an eyebrow and spoke first: "Allow me to introduce myself, everyone? I'm Lei Yesi, CFO of Jalisco Corporation from Mexico."

His player info floated above his head: 【King's Adjutant · Lei Yesi】 【Lv28】

The so-called Jalisco Corporation is actually just a sanitized name for a real-world Mexican criminal organization—the Jalisco New Generation Group, CJNG. Long before the Killing Grounds descended, this group had already risen brazenly, being the first to elevate organized crime to the level of a warlord regime, complete with intelligence networks and armored rapid-response units, its individual equipment more lavish than that of the Mexican military.

After the Killing Grounds descended, the Jalisco Group swiftly embraced supernatural power, competing commercially with other Mexican criminal groups while continuing to erode the Mexican government's authority.

Because they are too far from heaven and too close to America, the feeble governments of the South American nations are utterly powerless to stop criminal organizations wielding supernatural power from expanding.

To this day, these criminal groups have become the uncrowned kings of South America, and for some reason, they have a tradition of taking names from anime, animation, and other works of fiction.

The title before Lei Yesi's ID—King's Adjutant—is no exaggeration; he really is one of Mexico's Four Kings, a subordinate of Blackbeard.

"Since you've put it that way—"

The gothic loli pouted and also revealed her ID,

【Reclusive Bloodkin · Claudia】 【Lv28】

This Claudia was clearly a member of the Monutong Alliance guild, her power system related to vampires.

"My turn?" Tombstone Sis scratched her head,

【Flawless Death · Bai Ma Mu Bei】 【Lv30】

Meeting again, she had already leveled up once, reaching Lv30, so she could no longer be called the strongest below Lv30—a bit of a pity,

An average Lv29 Tremor quest—the difficulty was imaginable. The three exchanged glances and turned their gazes in unison to the last person, Li Cheng.

Li Cheng smiled confidently, and glowing text lit up above his head.

【Holy Flood · Michael】 【Lv40】

Wow, so it's the Killing Grounds' No. 1, the legendary Lord Michael—this run's a free carry. My ass!

Claudia's eyelid twitched violently, while Bai Ma Mu Bei stepped forward, stretched out a finger, and curiously poked the top of Li Cheng's head, knocking the light board bearing "Michael" askew.