Chapter 113: A Journey Until Death

Colored Mist Coast, Cang Star Sea Region.

Shuijingdian Node.

The great battle lasting four days continues.

The Shadow Scale Shrimp Guards, which grow by absorbing node energy, launch a counterattack against the player offensive.

Swarms of Shadow Scale Shrimp Guards, clad in hard scales, excel in group combat; utilizing their numerical superiority and ability to move quickly underwater, they form barriers difficult to penetrate, their sharp claws severing player bodies with every strike, instantly returning them to Di Zhao Village.

Logically, the player legion should easily defeat the Shadow Scale Shrimp Guards, whose average level is around 25.

After all, the Shadow Scale Shrimp Guards lack the terrifying talent of the Insect Tide and Black Tide to continuously spawn troops.

However, without Painful Painful Minghun proficient in water skills to provide assistance, human players are completely unable to adapt to the rhythm of underwater combat, and several waves of joint offensives were easily crushed by the Shadow Scale Shrimp Guards.

On the side of the alien players, the Gilled Fish Clan and Abyss Fish Clan, though proficient in water skills.

Their average Painful Painful Minghun level is low, and they lack sufficient Body Tempering levels to inherit Painful Painful Minghun attributes, so their strength is completely crushed by the Shadow Scale Shrimp Guards.

The great battle proceeds entirely by "grinding HP"; for every Shadow Scale Shrimp Guard killed, the enemy's strength weakens by a fraction.

But in the short term, this domain node clearly cannot be taken.

At this moment, Qi Sheng, situated behind the scenes, roughly understood the rule characteristic effects of this domain node through the Guide's analysis.

When he first saw the analysis introduction of "Gathering Crowds," the effect he imagined was that the more players gathered, the stronger the released ability effect would be.

Like a formation, where each player could serve as an energy node within the formation, connecting to each other to generate additional attribute bonuses.

But the Guide shook its head, indicating that was not the case.

He was familiar with this domain node's rule characteristic and had once witnessed a Dominator-level life form pardoned by Beneath Di Zhao use it.

The so-called "Gathering Crowds" is not the gathering of lives.

It is the gathering of abilities.

In the Guide's conjecture, this characteristic can bring ability characteristic stacking effects to the player legion.

Assuming there are 100 players using the Black Armor Snake Painful Painful Minghun, once the "Gathering Crowds Rule" is embedded into Di Zhao Village, all players using the Black Armor Snake Painful Painful Minghun can obtain an additional Black Armor Snake attribute boost of +1%.

The more players using the Black Armor Snake Painful Painful Minghun, the stronger the boost effect, bringing about the "Gathering Crowds" effect on characteristics.

This calculation, besides quantity, perhaps also involves calculations regarding Painful Painful Minghun strength.

After listening to the Guide's explanation, Qi Sheng could already foresee the players' performance after containing the "Gathering Crowds" rule node.

The forum will inevitably have a large number of players shouting for others to leave so they can pursue their preferred playstyle.

The "Gathering Crowds" rule characteristic will grant higher additional bonuses to the Painful Painful Minghun used by more players.

The more niche the Painful Painful Minghun, the lower the bonus effect.

But the specific bonus amount, before containing the rule node, the Guide cannot give a detailed explanation.

But this rule characteristic sparked strong interest in Qi Sheng.

As player numbers continue to climb in the future, the "Gathering Crowds" rule characteristic bonus effect will also continuously improve.

It is simply a late-game god-tier skill.

The priority order for containing this domain node increased significantly in Qi Sheng's eyes.

As for when containment can be completed, it is merely a matter of time; he only needs to wait patiently.

Not continuing to focus on the doomed war of attrition, Qi Sheng's consciousness began switching at high frequency between the forum and the players.

Just as the main player force was grinding the Shuijingdian domain node.

Cang Star Sea Region.

Morning light first breaks the dawn, the horizon turns orange-red, and the sea surface is shrouded in a layer of light mist.

Gu Chen sat on the edge of a self-made wooden raft, holding a fishing rod in one hand, his feet splashing the cool seawater, drifting along with the waves, his expression extremely content.

Looking up at the golden wheel rising on the horizon, he squinted his eyes, unable to help but praise the beauty of the scenery.

For nearly a month, he had fought alongside his guild's friends and family in the Di Zhao Mountain Range against the Black Tide and Insect Tide, during which he also participated in the Sky Fire Campaign, finally raising his Body Tempering to level 2.

Today, he prepared to give himself a holiday.

To go on a fishing trip that lasts until death.

For this, he had chopped down trees near the coast half a day in advance, bound them into a raft with vines, and crafted a simple wooden raft five meters long and three meters wide.

For this trip, he did not intend to return alive.

Opening the map reveals he is already very far from the coast.

At this distance, swimming back would be less convenient than dying to return.

Humming a little tune, browsing the forum, the feeling of fishing alone on the vast sea made Gu Chen feel extremely content.

Just then, the fishing rod in his hand suddenly sank heavily.

Realizing a fish was on the hook, the arm holding the rod suddenly exerted force, and a light golden and light blue intertwined glow appeared on Gu Chen's body.

This was precisely the manifestation under the buffs of Body Inheritance Force Axe and Shattered Blade.

His heartbeat accelerated accordingly.

He could feel that the fish beneath the water possessed immense strength, almost dragging him into the sea.

Gu Chen decisively stood up, quickly adjusted his posture, gripped the fishing rod tightly with both hands, and engaged in a battle of strength with this unknown marine creature.

The wooden raft rose and fell amidst the waves, gliding through the breaking waves following the swimming trajectory of the big fish.

Gu Chen did not rush to exert force, planning to wait until the big fish was exhausted before pulling it up, though his mind had already begun to imagine what kind of underwater creature this was.

This is precisely the charm of fishing in the game.

Unlike known fish species in reality, the ecosystem of the Monster World is extremely complex.

The types of underwater life in the ocean are numerous; one never knows what type of marine life will be caught.

If luck is good and a low-level Meng Yuan Chu monster is caught, this trip will be incredibly profitable.

Although the probability is small, it is not impossible.

Secondly, besides Meng Yuan Chu monsters, many precious fish can be sold for high prices at the Trading Hall.

It can be said that every fishing trip is a lucky draw.

Good luck can bring immense wealth.

"Ooh!"

The speed of the raft cutting through the waves grew faster and faster, even beginning to skip across the sea surface; Gu Chen let out an excited cheer, his arm muscles tensed, with no intention of letting go whatsoever.

In his eyes, playing games meant letting loose.

To be timid even when fishing is simply not manly.

Twenty minutes later, the raft moving at high speed was being dragged like a kite; every time it hit the water, it flew more than ten meters forward.

The big fish still had abundant energy, but there was already a trend of slowing down; it did not continue to accelerate.

Gu Chen finally began to reel in, turning the homemade simple reel, shortening the fishing line bit by bit.

The battle of strength officially began; after Gu Chen's arm muscles exerted force and coalesced into blocks, the power of the Forceful Axe Painful Painful Minghun and the Shattered Blade Painful Painful Minghun erupted within his body.

"Get up!"

The brute force trait was released, and strength suddenly increased.

Every time the rod was lifted upward, Gu Chen would quickly turn the reel.

Now, he only worried about two problems.

How long could the already bent homemade fishing rod last, and would the fishing line made from Iron Shell Beetle silk be snapped?

But having entered the stage of strength battle, Gu Chen could not worry about those things anymore; he planned to drag the fish onto the raft in one go.

Another fifteen minutes passed.

Under the high-intensity battle of strength, Gu Chen was panting from exhaustion; sweat on his body sparkled under the sunlight, and the hands gripping the rod trembled along with it.

"Here it comes!"

Accompanied by a violent shout, a water bulge rose on the sea surface; a huge fish head broke through the water and flew into the air, black scales sparkling under the golden wheel; the massive body thrashed its tail continuously in the air, crystal water droplets splashing everywhere; Gu Chen instinctively squinted.

But reacting quickly, he decisively switched the rod to his left hand, summoned a golden Forceful Axe with his right hand, and dove forward to chop at the black big fish still in the air.

This strike was powerful and heavy; combined with the trait enhancement of the Shattered Blade, it broke the fish head in one blow and embedded itself in the flesh.

But what surprised Gu Chen was that this big black fish did not bleed; its mouth, full of sharp teeth, opened and it struggled fiercely.

He and the big fish fell into the water simultaneously; his legs kicked hard against the big black fish's head, using the leverage to pull out the Forceful Axe, followed by another chop smashing down at the big black fish's head.

Gu Chen knew clearly that he had no advantage fighting underwater; after falling in, he must end the fight quickly.

After several consecutive axe strikes, the already weak big black fish completely lost all movement and turned into a cloud of black mist that swept toward him.

"Hey, where is the fish meat?"

Discovering that after the big black fish died there was no decomposition prompt and no fish meat dropped, Gu Chen was instantly stunned, and an unbelievable thought floated up in his heart.

He suddenly looked up; the Guide beside him opened its mouth and absorbed the black mist.

Subsequently, a Challenger Prompt rang out in his mind and within the Regional Voice Channel:

【Challenger Prompt (All Channels): Congratulations to player "Battle Unceasing" for killing the second-generation Meng Yuan Chu monster "Swift", obtaining a Shou Shou Jili reward of 20,000 points, and Star Pulse Slot Level +1.】

【Swift (Second-Generation Meng Yuan Chu)】:

Meng Yuan Chu Trait: Accelerates all action efficiency by burning blood qi; the specific acceleration effect is influenced by Painful Painful Minghun level, and the duration is influenced by one's own blood qi strength.

Purchase Cost: 3,000 Shou Shou Jili.

"Oh my god!"

The prompt in his mind blew Gu Chen's mind.

Fishing was merely a leisure hobby for him, not like the Fishing Party players who fished day and night.

Yet he never expected that the "Catch a Meng Yuan Chu" achievement, which even Fishing Party players had not achieved, was completed by him, a casual passerby.

It was like a group of professional lottery players buying tickets every day but never winning.

He just happened to buy a ticket while passing a lottery shop, yet struck the jackpot.

This surprise came too suddenly; Gu Chen was completely unprepared mentally.

At this moment, the guild chat channel where Gu Chen was located also exploded:

"Dog War, you really deserve to die! I was just saying earlier that you went on vacation to the Colorful Mist Coast today while we were struggling in the Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range, and you were gradually widening the combat power gap between us and you. So what are you doing? I ask you, what are you doing... Ahhh, it's more painful than killing me."

"Waaah, hurry up and send a red envelope! Receiving this unlucky prompt so early in the morning... Seeing other players get Meng Yuan Chu rewards makes me sad too, but cursing a few times gets it over with since we don't know them. But you getting the reward is different; I won't be able to sleep for at least three days, it's really painful."

"Everyone was doing fine being poor; why did you have to get rich first? Your getting rich breaks the balance between us. Wasn't the past days of us all struggling together happily? Why are you the only one getting rich? I suggest donating all this money. If you don't donate, I'll have angina. Choose between your good brothers and Shou Shou Jili; you can only choose one."

Glancing at the wailing of his friends and family in the voice channel, Gu Chen laughed heartily.

Although it was a small guild, all the members were his old friends of over five years; they had held offline gatherings many times, and when several veteran players got married, he had even served as a groomsman.

Compared to the benefits, he cared more about the friendship of his friends and family group.

Amidst the joy, he sent a 3,000-point Shou Shou Jili luck red envelope to the guild group chat channel; instantly, the wailing in the guild chat channel turned into congratulations and blessings.

He summoned the Regional Voice Channel; just as he had expected, the screen was full of friendly greetings.

"Awesome!"

The sudden windfall made Gu Chen feel happy; he then turned his head to look at the raft, preparing to continue the happy fishing until death.

But he was shocked to discover the raft was drifting away with the waves.

Realizing the situation was dire, he decisively swam hard toward the drifting raft, trying to close the distance.

But without any Painful Painful Minghun enhancement for swimming speed, under the dual push of sea breeze and waves, the raft moved further and further away from him, shrinking continuously in his line of sight until it completely disappeared at the end of his vision.

At this moment, the smile on Gu Chen's face vanished.

"Damn, how am I supposed to get back?"

As he spoke, Gu Chen, floating on the water's surface, instinctively looked at the guiding water sphere hovering beside him.

Their gazes met; the guiding avatar, looking utterly bored, magically manifested two arms and shrugged, saying:

【Why are you looking at me? Do you want me to carry you back? Of course, swim back, or just hold your breath and drown yourself. Once dead, you'll be back. Don't ask me such Bai Chi questions next time.】

Gu Chen:...

Glancing around, he could no longer see any trace of land; Gu Chen knew he was in deep trouble.

He summoned the map function and discovered his current location was 27 kilometers in a straight line from the Colorful Mist Coast; swimming back against the wind would take at least half a day, perhaps even longer.

As for suffocating himself, he felt that was actually not easy to achieve.

The only somewhat reliable way to die would be for a ferocious marine lifeform to pass by and send his soul back to Di Zha Village.

But the problem was, where could he find a ferocious big fish?

"Forget it, let's try first."

Saying this, Gu Chen took a deep breath and dove underwater.

The guiding avatar hovering beside him followed suit, entering the Underwater World at that moment.

One hour later, the Player Forum.

【Version T0 Painful Painful Minghun +1: Preliminary review and demonstration of the Swift Painful Painful Minghun, plus suggestions for Painful Painful Minghun combinations】:

Poster: Night Is Coming

Content: Finally, a new Meng Yuan Chu has been contained. Seeing the notification, I immediately headed to the Test Tower for combination testing.

Judging by the name of the Meng Yuan Chu's trait, it seems to be a trait that improves movement efficiency, but that is not the case.

After activating the Swift trait, besides instantly increasing movement speed, combining it with other Painful Painful Minghun can produce effects beyond imagination.

Here, I'll first post the first test video, combined with: Bone Fire (Ink Flame) Painful Painful Minghun + Swift Painful Painful Minghun.

(Attachment: Recorded video)

As you can see, originally condensing a fireball required several seconds of energy charging, but with the Swift Painful Painful Minghun combination, the charging time is instantly shortened to 1.5 seconds. This is not the limit; by choosing to accelerate blood combustion, I can instantly empty my health bar and mana bar, resulting in the super-high burst performance of continuous fireball spells seen in the video.

The strength of this Painful Painful Minghun is T0 tier in the current version's burst meta, even better than the effect of the Flowing Shadow Clone.

Next, I'll provide a few combination ideas.

First combination: Bone Fire, Flowing Shadow Clone, Swift, Breath of Air.

This setup can empty the mana bar and health bar within 10 seconds, instantly causing terrifying damage effects, but the drawback is also very obvious: the consumption is too fierce. Even Breath of Air struggles to fill the deficit in blood and spiritual power. It belongs to the Star Pulse combination that becomes listless immediately after unleashing its burst.

Second combination: Gargoyle, Soul-Departing Spear, Black-Plated Snake (Deadly Poison), Swift.

This is the most perfect combination setup in my eyes.

The characteristic of Swift is that it consumes blood to release, a restriction that dictates that melee styles with thick blood are the best match for the Swift Painful Painful Minghun.

I named this combination "High-Speed Special Effect Flow."

It focuses on dealing damage by triggering special effects. A level 1 Painful Painful Minghun can activate 1.5 times movement speed and attack speed, possessing both tankiness and damage output, with very high comprehensive strength.

Third combination: Twilight Shadow, Strength-Heavy Axe, Shattered Blade, Swift.

Also a melee combination, this Star Pulse combination belongs to the Assassin Burst Flow.

After closing in, activate Swift to unleash super-high damage output in a short time, but it is only recommended for skill-based players; ordinary players find it very difficult to maneuver within a crowd of monsters.

The above are the Star Pulse combination ideas provided in this review. If anyone has better Hao De Xiang Fa, please post them in the comments section.

Comments section:

Frenzied Little Chicken: So does this mean the Assassin Flow is rising again?

Is This Beaver: Actually, the Assassin Flow's performance is still quite strong. During the Sky Fire Campaign, many assassins went to the Black Tide and Insect Tide areas to steal finishing blows, truly making a fortune. The only drawback is the extremely high technical requirement; an Assassin Flow player who knows how to play and one who doesn't are completely two different styles. But as for the strongest assassin currently, it has to be the veteran members of our guild led by Tie Ye: Ash.

Sea Walker: There are many people here, so I'll ask: Is there any human brother willing to Shou Shou Jili? Offering 25 points of Shou Shou Jili.

Dark Land Is So Fun: The demonstration video of the first Star Pulse combination made me laugh to death. Emptying the health bar and mana bar in 10 seconds, then immediately becoming listless. This style is way too impractical. It's only suitable for some powerful teams to include one, pulling it out to deal burst damage at critical moments. For solo players and solo squads, forget it; choosing this is equivalent to carrying a dead weight.

Shadow Follows:

This is much more usable than the previous Assassin Flow. The previous one focused on triggering special effects, requiring stacking poison and stacking Zhou Yin. This one focuses on burst damage output, but Brother Night didn't consider one problem: assassins going deep behind enemy lines are not suitable for using the weapon forms of Shattered Blade and Strength-Heavy Axe. A dagger-type weapon like Forbidden Blade, which can strike quickly in confined spaces, is the most suitable option.

So your Painful Painful Minghun setup needs to add another Zhou Yin Painful Painful Minghun. However, inheriting all five Painful Painful Minghun requires a Body Tempering level that is truly too far away. I'll strive to get it done within the next two months. Recently, my strength has improved, killing efficiency has increased, and rewards have surged; I feel my growth speed has accelerated quite a bit.

The debut of the Swift Painful Painful Minghun sparked heated discussion on the forum.

After the review ended, many strategy-focused players ranked this Painful Painful Minghun at the version T0 position.

After activating the special effect ability, players are like they have turned on a speed hack.

Any action can be accelerated, including movement, spellcasting, physical attack frequency, and so on, which also includes underwater movement efficiency.

This allows for more powerful combinations in Star Pulse setups.

Subsequently, players even developed a functional style, combining Restraint, Light Shield, Swift, and Breath of Air, focusing on instant crowd control and instant shielding. Functionality was greatly improved, and many players who mainly play the functional style, after reading the strategy content, decisively switched to new Star Pulse combination setups.

Subsequent actual combat performance in the Di Zha Mountain Range against the Insect Tide and Black Tide proved that the suggestions made by strategy-focused players were all feasible.

It brought a significant combat power boost to both individuals and teams.

This is precisely the charm of this game's setting in the eyes of many players.

Every time a Painful Painful Minghun is contained, all players benefit.

And the addition of a high-intensity Painful Painful Minghun can also bring a significant boost to the comprehensive strength of the player faction.

(End of Chapter)