Chapter 341: The Truth

"A grave warning to all game players: after playing the game, your body might no longer be yours."

On the Xianxia World forum, a post had been up for less than half an hour when it rocketed to the top spot, burying all posts discussing Lin Bai beneath it.

"This may be the last time I post. I swear on my character that the following statement is absolutely true. Please read quickly; it concerns a major conspiracy by the Game Company and could be deleted at any time.

My name is Song Cheng, and my home address is ×× Street, ×× Residential Complex, ×× Building, San Shan City; my game ID is 【Three Vulgarities Demon King】. If I suffer an accident, or lose my memory for unknown reasons, or my temperament changes drastically, please have the state contact my family, apprehend me, and find a way to save me, because by then, it is highly likely that the person inside my body is no longer me.

I was in the second batch to enter the game. Because of Lin Bai, I coincidentally joined Tianmo Mountain, became a sect communicator, and received key cultivation from the sect.

Because I dislike being constrained, I did not accept the invitation from the consortium; I just wanted to play the game freely.

Under the cultivation of the various resources of Tianmo Mountain, I grinded for three months and barely reached the Void Refinement Realm.

But just yesterday, I encountered an NPC Soul Possession.

The moment I was subjected to the NPC Soul Possession, I was kicked out of the game and returned to the login interface.

At that time, I didn't think anything was abnormal, believing this was a normal operation after Soul Possession, and I even thought about re-entering the game to fight the NPC for control of my game body.

Entering the game from the login interface, the game character could be controlled normally, but surrounding my game character was a group of high-level members of Tianmo Mountain, asking me about the situation of the Soul Possession. Before I could answer, I was kicked out of the game again. This time, I didn't return to the main interface, but was sent directly back to the Game Capsule.

At that moment, I finally realized something was wrong. Unwilling to give up, I entered the game again, and then was quickly kicked out again...

After being disconnected frequently several times, I finally discovered a terrifying truth: after being subjected to Soul Possession, my body in the Real World was actually being controlled by the NPC from the game.

When I entered the game, the NPC's Soul occupied my body, walked out of the Game Capsule, and was moving around freely...

That's right.

The NPC Soul Possession enters my real-world body directly.

Of course, it is possible that my body in the real world naturally rejects foreign Souls; when my consciousness returned to my body, I easily regained control of it.

But I don't know if that NPC's Soul is still in my body. Now I don't dare to enter the game anymore, for fear that the NPC will control my body to do bad things!

My hands were trembling as I typed this text. I swear on my life that everything I said above is true. I hope every player who enters the game can see this post and be aware of NPC Soul Possession.

I speculate that either the Game Company wants to replace humans with Intelligent AI, or there is no game at all, and that side is simply a real world.

There is no such thing as a free lunch. I solemnly warn all players entering the game: for the sake of your own lives, please leave the game and the Game Capsule as soon as possible.

The 【Heaven-Startling Falcon】 of the Justice Alliance, who was subjected to Soul Possession by Lin Bai, may have already been occupied by Lin Bai, or perhaps Lin Bai has already learned the truth about the game. Please have the consortium prepare countermeasures in advance and do not be used or deceived by Lin Bai.

Perhaps one day, NPCs will invade our world on a large scale through Soul Possession. I hope everyone is prepared..."

If it were just such a post, it would likely be dismissed as attention-seeking and would not have caused such a sensation.

However, soon, more than a dozen follow-up posts described the same thing.

Some people even posted surveillance footage and used screenshots from the game for comparison...

A group of people swearing by their claims, providing examples and personal accounts, immediately caused a sensation on the forum.

The theory that the game side is a real world soon overshadowed the conspiracy theory about the Game Company. After all, if the Game Company really wanted Intelligent AI to perform Soul Possession, there would be no need to go through such great trouble and take such a long way around.

"Unbelievable, the game side is actually a real world."

"Parallel universes actually exist; it's too incredible."

"The Game Company is the most awesome; they are actually carrying out an invasion under the guise of a game. What kind of scientific technology is this?"

"Is it possible that behind the Game Company is the Justice Gate above the San Qian Shi Jie that Lin Bai mentioned?"

"I don't know why, but I actually quite like this method of invasion. Invading a real world by playing a game—no wonder they dared to say it's one hundred percent real, one hundred percent without a script. Everything is explained now; what a massive undertaking..."

"You've gone off-topic. The original poster's intention was to warn us to counter-invade, but you are all discussing the authenticity of the game. Aren't you worried at all?"

"What's there to worry about? If it were just a game, I wouldn't have much interest, but transmigrating to live in another world is exciting to think about, especially with the built-in Undying and Indestructible, fast-leveling golden finger. Isn't that much more interesting than being a wage slave for capitalists in this miserable reality? If I could, I would rather live there for a lifetime."

"To the one above, you'd just be working for a consortium over there too."

"No, once I'm there, with my golden finger, I'll start above the average person. As long as I don't provoke big shots like Lin Bai who stir up trouble, I'll be worry-free for a lifetime. It's definitely happier than living in the Real World, and maybe I could even have a harem of wives and concubines, and purchase a large amount of property..."

"But there's the risk of being subjected to Soul Possession!"

"NPC Soul Possession has standards too. If I just act like a salted fish over there, an NPC would have to be blind to choose me for Soul Possession."

"The person above makes so much sense!"

"People from our world have invaded another world through a game, and the Xianxia World can invade our world in return through Soul Possession. Don't you think there's a conspiracy in this? What is the purpose of the Game Company doing this? Don't you want to think about it? When two civilizations collide, there could very well be a World Destroyer catastrophe!"

"I don't want to think about it; I just want a chance to play the game."

"Playing a game might cost me my life, and there's a chance someone else could control my body. I wouldn't play this game even if you killed me."

"Plus one!"

"This game has seriously affected our lives. We must unite to boycott this game."

"Yes, let's go protest. We want the truth. We cannot be used blindly by the Game Company, being treated like knives..."

And so.

A group of people went to the forum in a grand, spectacular fashion to demand an explanation and the truth.

Most people wanted to know: what is the ultimate goal of the Game Company?

Regarding this, the Game Company did not provide any special explanation about the Soul Possession, but simply issued an announcement: "The Game Company plans to release 500,000 accounts. Registration starts today; it will close once the number is reached."

The Game Company adopted an "take it or leave it" attitude.

However, the voices protesting on the forum just a moment ago vanished instantly. Everyone was shouting "so fragrant" and rushing frantically to fill out their registration information.

Just as most people on the forum expected, the Real World is already miserable enough. With a chance for real transmigration, why not transmigrate over and experience it?

How exciting!

Besides, the probability of being subjected to Soul Possession or something is too low.

As for the end of the world, invasions, and such, the state is at the top handling it; it's not up to common folk like them to worry...

The impact caused by the Soul Possession incidents was actually greater than imagined.

The authorities soon gave a response.

However, they did not stop the public from logging into the game, but instead called upon those who possessed accounts to explore everything about the other world as much as possible and to do their best to develop their own forces there.

Once they discovered any aspects of the other world's civilization worth learning from, they were to contact the local authorities in time, and the authorities would provide generous rewards.

In cases of Soul Possession, contact the authorities immediately.

To maintain social stability, the authorities would take protective measures for those who had been subjected to Soul Possession...

The official announcement did not mention the game at all; it referred to that place as a strange world in every way and did not mention the word "invasion," but between the lines, it revealed a desire to plunder and guard against the civilization of that other world.

Involving a collision between two civilizations, it was impossible for the authorities not to be cautious.

Of course, they could not stop people from entering the game and heading to the other world just because of a fear of choking.

The Game Company was a mystery, and they could not stop it either.

Moreover, even if they stopped their own side from logging into the game, what about the Western "Shenmo Dalu"? Once they obtained more advanced resources from the other civilization, it would be a devastating blow to their own side.

This was a very large cake.

Even if it was dangerous, or even poisonous, the authorities of the Real World had to bite the bullet and eat it, extracting the greatest nourishment from it.

When it came to conquering the other world, everyone was a novice; no one had experience.

Furthermore, there was the Game Company, whose technology far exceeded that of the Real World, hanging over their heads like a Sword of Damocles; no one knew what its ultimate goal was.

The authorities were far more nervous about the Game Capsule issue than the public...

As for forming a national team?

As long as the authorities were willing, any outstanding person in the game could become part of the national team at any time...

For instance, right now.

On the day the news of Soul Possession was confirmed, the heads of the major financial groups received notification from above, summoning them to an emergency meeting.

Not every player was like Song Cheng, filled with a sense of crisis and national pride.

A player named Liu Dongming was full of curiosity and a desire to investigate this matter of Soul Possession.

Realizing that an NPC from the game world had transmigrated into his body, after he snatched back control, the first thing he showed was excitement. He spoke to the mirror, muttering to himself: "Hey! Daxuan Patriarch, are you still there? You were struggling so hard with me just now, you didn't die, did you? You're a Great Vehicle Realm patriarch after all, your Spirit Soul shouldn't be that fragile!"

The body remained completely motionless.

The difficulty of Soul Possession lay right here; Lin Bai had spent nearly all his time traveling day and night, rushing tens of thousands of miles from the Shengji Sect to the Blood Sect, which was roughly equivalent to an ordinary Tribulation Transcendence Realm expert.

Even then, he could not control Zheng Tong's body when Zheng Tong had autonomous consciousness; how could a mere Great Vehicle Realm Spirit Soul not be suppressed?

They were not capable of Being Read Mind; even if they could hear the players' words, they could not communicate with the players in reality...

"Did you really kick the bucket?" Liu Dongming muttered with a frown. After thinking for a moment, he lay back into the Game Capsule. "I'm going into the game first. If you're not dead yet, command my body to walk out of the Game Capsule in a while..."

When Liu Dongming entered the game and then exited.

Sure enough.

His body had left the Game Capsule and was sitting in front of the table.

When he returned to his own body, the Spirit Soul that had performed the possession was forced back by him. Liu Dongming let out a light sigh of relief and mocked, "Spirit Soul possession is indeed difficult. As long as my consciousness doesn't leave my body, you can never become the master of this body. I wonder what that guy was so afraid of?"

Sitting at the table and pondering for a moment, Liu Dongming pulled over a piece of paper and wrote on it: "Daxuan Patriarch, why don't we make a deal? You help me succeed in the game, and I'll help you understand how modern society works, how about that? You can see it too; without my assistance, you can't do anything. I'll enter the game shortly; you can write your reply on the paper..."

One kind of rice feeds a hundred kinds of people.

Just as there were those like Song Cheng who warned the world, there were those like Liu Dongming who acted as collaborators for the sake of profit.

But regardless.

The players' information was finally transmitted back to the game world.

All the natives were shocked by this news.

The Heavenly Descended were Undying and Indestructible. They had once imagined that the other side's world was full of powerful beings and that geniuses were as common as dogs, but they never expected such a result?

Those Undying and Indestructible Heavenly Descended were actually just ordinary people in their own world.

This was something they found hard to accept for a moment.

"... They actually treated our world as a playground?" the Holy Master said. "Too bullying."

"Holy Master, the world of the Heavenly Descended is not without its merits. That world has no Spirit Qi. Although they are fragile as individuals, they have taken a different path of technological civilization. The weapons they create are world-destroying, not much worse than a strike from a Great Vehicle Realm patriarch, and even ordinary people can operate them..." said the Great Vehicle Realm expert who had returned from Soul Possession and occupied a player's body. "If the two worlds go to war, we won't have much of an advantage. Moreover, we cannot use spells or divine abilities over there."

"Ordinary people come to our world, Undying and Indestructible, Baimaicutong, yet when we go to their world, we can't even use spells or divine abilities. This is too unfair to us," Qu Chaoan said angrily.

"Furthermore, Spirit Soul possession carries extremely high risks and huge losses for us, which we cannot afford," Ye Luo said. "Only those with no hope of advancement would be forced to choose Soul Possession. Among us here, who would be willing to abandon hundreds of years of cultivation to possess an ordinary person?"

"If we could kill the ordinary person's Spirit Soul, that would be one thing, but sharing a body with them—even if we return to our world, we could be squeezed out at any time. What use is such a possession to us?" The Demon Lord, having learned the truth, felt deeply frustrated. "In the end, we are nothing more than playthings prepared for others."

"Lin Bai possessed someone and went over, but he likely realized that divine abilities and laws could not be used on the other side, so he retreated back to our world, wanting to find a way to integrate the Heavenly Descended," Qu Chaoan said.

"The Game Company that treats us as playthings is the mastermind. After learning of our possession, that company sent another 500,000 Heavenly Descended to our world. If these people grow up, what awaits us is likely a World Destroyer catastrophe," the Holy Master sighed.

"If they can send 500,000, they can send another million. Even if we try our best to stop the Heavenly Descended from growing, that Game Company has also prepared some 'Shenmo Dalu' thing. When the Heavenly Descended from that side invade, how are we supposed to respond?" Qu Chaoan said, looking dejected and murmuring, "Lin Bai was right. A catastrophe—the Heavenly Descended are indeed an unavoidable catastrophe of this age, and with our strength, we are completely unable to cope..."

"Lin Bai has been integrating the Heavenly Descended; perhaps his approach is the best strategy to save the world," Ye Luo said with a look of regret. "We misunderstood him, and we even sent him into the lightning tribulation."

"It's one thing for Lin Bai to integrate the Heavenly Descended, but why does he repeatedly attack us?" the Demon Lord said irritably. "A mere greenhorn offends us, and we can't even fight back? Even taking a step back, couldn't he have explained the harm the Heavenly Descended would cause us?"

A brief silence.

Qu Chaoan's expression was somewhat complex: "Demon Lord, Lin Bai has been saying it all along, and he even gave the answer: only by cultivating the Heavenly Dao and mastering the ability to make one's words become law can we completely isolate the Heavenly Descended..."

(End of chapter)