Chapter 14: Ruthless Player

Half an hour later.

【Fanzui Gang Chat Group (Online: 21 people)】:

Wosini Die: @Everyone,!!! Urgent announcement of major news, this link can download the genuine version of "Dark Lands," we no longer need to fight for purchase qualifications!!!

Zhe Heli Ma: Uh... Big Sister, what's wrong with you? Starting to talk nonsense.

Xiaren Zhuxin: I was about to sleep, but you startled me awake. Has Big Sister gone mad because she couldn't grab a qualification?

Wosini Die: @Everyone, saying it again, this link can download the cracked version of "Dark Lands." Hurry up and download it to enter the game together. I'll go notify Grandpa first and have him download the game too.

Word Maya: Looks like it's real; she's even notifying Iron Grandpa. The group's strongest War God is finally coming out of retirement. I'm going to download it right now.

Seeing the group leader mention notifying "Iron Grandpa," the group members immediately realized this was no joke.

Iron Grandpa's game name was "Da Tie," his real name Li Tie, and he was the biological grandfather of the group leader, Li Siyu.

He had once been a Genetic Warrior in the Human Federation's Judgment Army, and in his youth, he had repeatedly gone to suppress alien factions that had fled to Earth and caused chaos.

After retiring due to disability, Li Tie developed severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder; memories of battle often surged into his mind, making him unable to distinguish reality from the battlefield, turning him into an unstable time bomb ready to explode at any moment.

Under the guidance of a psychologist, Li Tie chose to enter virtual games, continuing to be a warrior within them.

He was the Fanzui Gang's number one enforcer, fighting alongside them across multiple games, and in every single one, he was a renowned top-tier player.

Unlike ordinary players who played for fun, Li Tie played purely to vent the brutality in his heart.

Therefore, the players in the group realized this was no joke and one after another clicked the link to download the game.

Foglight City, Post-War Sanatorium.

Gymnasium.

Huff~ huff~ huff~

Rapid breathing sounds rang out one after another; a white-haired man with a burly figure was performing bench press training, the weights on both sides of the barbell adding up to an astonishing 800 kilograms, already surpassing the limit any ordinary person could bear.

Click!

The iron rod locked into the bench press rack; Li Tie slowly sat up, reached out, and attached his prosthetic limb to his amputated left leg.

Standing up, his height reached two meters; he wore a tight training vest, and his muscle lines were highlighted by sweat, every muscle like a carefully sculpted work of art, harboring terrifying power.

Just then, Li Tie's body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Scenes of the battlefield floated up in his mind.

Clad in black battle armor, with an endless mechanical army stretching to the horizon in the distance, accompanied by the roar of energy cannons behind him, he led his comrades in a charge against the alien mechanical forces.

"Kill!"

In this moment, Li Tie once again could not distinguish reality from illusion.

By the time he calmed down, the training room was a mess, and his fists were stained with blood.

Sitting dejectedly on the ground, he gasped for air, his chest heaving violently with each breath.

Just then, the projector embedded in the ceiling activated, weaving light rays that condensed before him into the figure of a youthful and beautiful woman:

Seeing the scene inside the training room, the woman in the projection wore an expression of worry:

"Grandpa, your condition has worsened again."

"I'm fine." Upon seeing it was his own granddaughter, a rare smile appeared on Li Tie's Iron Face, and he continued:

"Siyu, what do you need from Grandpa?"

"I found a new game that is very suitable for you; the download link is in the group chat. Grandpa, hurry up and download it."

"Alright, I'll go download it right now." Li Tie nodded immediately.

Ending the video call, he turned and entered the partitioned bathroom, washed, changed into a fresh set of clothes, returned to his bedroom, and downloaded the file according to his granddaughter's instructions.

As for virtual reality games, Li Tie did not hold high expectations.

The virtual reality games played in recent years differed greatly from reality and offered extremely poor immersion.

In his eyes, stress relief via the virtual environment was secondary; more importantly, he wanted to accompany his granddaughter as they conquered all directions within the game.

One hour later.

Appearing at the respawn point of Dizhongcun, Li Tie's mindset underwent a transformation.

Reaching out to feel the touch of a breeze brushing past his fingertips, a trace of surprise appeared in his indifferent eyes.

What shocked him even more was that his lost left leg received realistic feedback within the game.

Walking two laps around the central square of Dizhongcun, the realism of his left leg made him marvel, and it also made him realize that this game was completely different from the virtual games he had experienced before.

Just then, a game notification sounded in his mind:

【Player "Wosini Die" has added you as a friend. Accept?】

After choosing to accept, a video call request popped up in the upper right corner; Li Tie clicked confirm again, and instantly a semi-transparent light screen appeared before him, upon which a small chick with fire-red wings excitedly said to him:

"Grandpa, we've already left the village and are heading toward the Blood Plain direction. Do you plan to explore alone or act together with us?"

"I'll explore alone."

"Okay, I'll call you when there's an event."

"Go for it, Iron Grandpa; carry us when the time comes."

"Iron Grandpa, long time no see...!"

Besides his granddaughter, voices of other Fanzui Gang members greeting him also came through the video.

Regarding Li Tie's decision to act alone, the members of the Fanzui Gang were not surprised.

In their eyes, Iron Grandpa was always a lone wolf type of player, only appearing during player-versus-player events like guild wars or faction wars, leading the team to charge into battle with his powerful personal strength.

Leaving Dizhongcun along the bluestone road, Li Tie headed east alone, communicating with the guide accompanying him about the game's content along the way.

Five minutes later.

Li Tie encountered the first monster since entering the game.

A Cursed Soldier reeking of foul odor slowly rose from the ground and raised a rusty broken sword in his hand toward him.

At this moment, Li Tie also switched to his Gargoyle form.

Unlike other monster forms, the Gargoyle form was the monster form closest to the human form; it was precisely because of this form that Li Tie had chosen the Gargoyle.

Facing the broken sword chopping down at him from the front, Li Tie actively stepped forward, raising his hand to lock the Cursed Soldier's elbow joint so the weapon could not strike, then stepped forward with his right leg between the Cursed Soldier's legs, hooked outward, causing the Cursed Soldier to immediately lose balance and crash heavily to the ground.

Subsequently, Li Tie's heavy fists fell like a storm of wind and rain, smashing straight toward the Cursed Soldier's head.

Before long, the Cursed Soldier's skull was dismantled by the heavy blows, and the flame inside its head extinguished.

At this moment, a wisp of black energy emerged from the dead Cursed Soldier, gathered briefly in the air, then flew toward Li Tie and seeped into his body.

Instantly, a sensation of comfort never before experienced burst forth from within, as if drinking a cold beverage on a scorching summer day; his dormant body was thoroughly activated by the scouring of this energy, and the pores all over his body opened wide.

The wonderful feeling passed in an instant.

The first battle ended, yet Li Tie could not help but frown; he had discovered a problem.

The tactile sensation, smell, hearing, and all other feedback in this game were identical to reality, except for the pain feedback, which had serious issues.

When his fist struck the Cursed Soldier's bones, there was feedback of force, but the pain feedback was drastically reduced.

This made Li Tie feel extremely frustrated; he always felt something was lacking during combat.

He immediately asked the novice guide accompanying him if there was a solution.

Upon learning that pain feedback could be adjusted, Li Tie decisively summoned the function panel, selected system settings, and dragged the pain feedback progress bar from the initial 10% all the way to the end.

After doing all this, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth:

"Now this is interesting."

【Ruthless enough!】

The novice guide beside him also raised a thumb at this moment, expressing respect for Li Tie's actions.

(End of Chapter)