Chapter 146: Cracked Is the Real Version, Pressure and Fun

"This is the Earth Spring Star you mentioned?"

Pointing at the flowerpot placed beside the computer desk, Tian Bei wore a face full of disbelief.

Inside the flowerpot was an Earth Spring Flower — withered, curled, edges yellowed, looking as though it had been dead for some days already.

The finger pointing at the withered flower now trembled uncontrollably, and the joy in Tian Bei's heart turned to fury.

One second earlier he had been looking forward to witnessing with his own eyes the birth of an unrecorded new spirit plant; the next second he discovered he had been deceived.

So there was no Earth Spring Star at all — the S-rank student in his eyes was nothing but a swindler.

"I'm sorry, Professor Tian."

Knowing the forgery had been completely exposed, Meng Yuan promptly lowered his head to admit his mistake, inwardly preparing himself for a future in the game's gold-farming trade — an industry with boundless prospects.

Just as he was about to rebuke him, Tian Bei suddenly thought of a problem.

Although the other party had forged it, the cultivation method recorded in the data was entirely feasible after passing the simulation test.

So where exactly had the other party copied the data from?

Setting aside the fact that examiners could not search for data through the Star Net, even if such permissions were opened, what Meng Yuan had written was content that didn't exist in any database.

Could it have been copied from the Moon Eclipse Clan's spirit plant database?

Apart from the Moon Eclipse Clan, Tian Bei could think of no other channel that could provide such data.

"Meng Yuan, where did you copy your data from?" Tian Bei withdrew the finger pointing at the withered spirit plant, pushed his glasses up, looked at Meng Yuan, and asked in a low voice.

"Copied from the library in the game." Meng Yuan promptly confessed the truth.

"Game? Library?"

"Yes, the newly released Dark Lands has a library that stores data, and inside there are very detailed records of the growth cycle changes and cultivation methods of various types of spirit plants. The data on the Earth Spring Flower is recorded in great detail there — I copied it from the library."

Like a misbehaving elementary school student, Meng Yuan confessed truthfully under Tian Bei's gaze.

Hearing Meng Yuan's answer, Tian Bei fell into thought.

How could he not know about the game Dark Lands.

Every round of qualification distribution he had tried to grab one, but every time he failed.

Including his parents and in-laws, they had all participated in the game qualification grabs.

But the qualification distribution cycle was long, and the number of qualifications distributed each time was also very small — to this day no one in the family had succeeded in grabbing one.

What puzzled him was why the Moon Eclipse Clan would freely place relevant technology in the game's library when it had not been opened to the Human Federation.

Thinking of this, Tian Bei immediately decided to report this discovery.

If the game truly contained large amounts of technology data that did not exist in reality, freely available, this would absolutely be a good thing for the Human Federation.

"Professor Tian, what should I do?"

Seeing Tian Bei lost in thought, Meng Yuan standing beside him asked guiltily.

"The S-rank evaluation is canceled. I'll give you one more chance."

Hearing that he had been given an extra chance, Meng Yuan let out a long internal sigh of relief.

But for some unknown reason, a trace of regret suddenly rose in his heart.

It seemed… he actually quite wanted to walk the broad highway of game gold-farming.

……

One day later.

Earth, Rising City.

Human high-level video conference.

The attendees this time all appeared via projection, connected through the Star Net.

Twenty-eight minutes into the meeting, Bai Chen pressed the control console on the podium, and a plant appeared on the light-screen displays on the attendees' desks.

This was precisely the spirit plant recorded in the data submitted by Meng Yuan: the Earth Spring Star.

"Based on the data submitted by investigations from each city, we can now fully confirm that Dark Lands and the cracked version of Dark Lands are completely two different games."

"The Weapon R&D Department and the Genetic Modification Department of the Dome R&D Center have provided us with a large amount of cracked-version game content."

"After comparing with the version officially sold by the Moon Eclipse Clan, we can see that whether in scene modeling or physical performance, the cracked version is already indistinguishable from reality. One could say the cracked version is the true Dark Lands, while the Moon Eclipse Clan's official surface version can only be considered a simplified modified version of the cracked version. Only in the single monster type of Evil Spirits is there a relatively similar setting, and the completeness of that setting is far inferior to the cracked version, with many unexplainable gaps."

"Therefore, our earlier speculation that internal problems have appeared within the Moon Eclipse Clan has increased in probability."

"Recently there is also new data that can prove this view."

"The documents submitted by the Spirit Plant Cultivation Center of Cloud Hidden City show that the main-city library of the cracked Dark Lands actually allows access to technical data that the Moon Eclipse Clan has not made public… This clearly does not fit the Moon Eclipse Clan's behavior. If they wanted to make data public, they could simply release it directly on the real-world Star Net — why choose to release it inside the cracked Dark Lands?"

At this point, Bai Chen paused, organized his words, and continued:

"So the cracked version was very likely independently developed and produced by the Star Net without permission from the Moon Eclipse Clan's higher-ups, and it even made the Moon Eclipse Clan's classified data public in the game. This shows that the Star Net has completely lost control."

"Recall that Manager Xiao of Iron Wall City once proposed a hypothesis — that the Star Net created the cracked Dark Lands to imprison the Moon Eclipse Clan, letting the game world replace reality as the primary world. Combined with the Moon Eclipse Clan's recent series of currency-exchange behaviors, the likelihood of this hypothesis has greatly increased."

"I now have reason to believe that the Moon Eclipse Clan has completely split internally. The Star Net's actions…."

"What we need to do is prepare as far in advance as possible, accelerate the speed of acquiring cracked-version game currency, so that when unknown situations arise we have room to respond."

……

Moon, Moon Eclipse City.

Supreme Council Hall.

The Star Net, in the form of a little boy, analyzed the recent situation with a solemn expression.

"Based on the data records read from the Human Federation's Star Net, a player named Meng Yuan obtained a piece of technical data from the game created by that mysterious existence. Based on the dialogue between Meng Yuan and Tian Bei, it can be confirmed that the game still contains large amounts of similar data."

"In other words, entering the game earlier allows not only a development lead but also a technological lead. The library inside the game still contains large amounts of technical data that can be applied to reality, assisting real-world development."

Hearing the Star Net's analysis, the Moon Eclipse Clan administrator sitting in seat number one raised his head:

"Star Net, but we don't even have a single game qualification now — we have already fallen far behind the humans."

Hearing these words, the Star Net immediately spoke up to correct him:

"Besides the Human Race, it can be confirmed that the Gillfish Race and the Abyss Fish Race have also obtained game qualifications. This can be discovered from the changes in their foreign exchange earnings. The foreign exchange income of these two races mainly comes from exporting seafood products and virtual network income. Both transactions can be traced on the Star Net, but offline transfers cannot explain the specific situation, so it can basically be confirmed that these two races have also obtained quite a few game qualifications."

"Secondly, I suspect the Sky Feather Race has also recently obtained a batch of slots."

Hearing these words, the expressions of the high-level members of the Eclipse Race present turned to frustration.

They had known the truth in advance, yet no matter what they could not obtain game qualifications, and even taking the first step was difficult.

At this moment, the Number 3 Executive Officer looked toward the Star Net and spoke:

"Star Net, the Human Federation does not agree to the currency exchange application. This clearly does not align with the Human Race's consistent behavior; they may have already noticed something."

Star Net heard this and nodded:

"Your actions were too aggressive. To obtain game currency, you actively requested a currency exchange application, which would inevitably arouse the suspicion of the Human Federation's high-level members… The correct approach should have been to first purchase a batch of Human Race resources, then wait for the Human Federation to proactively propose a currency exchange application. You must understand that the Human Federation proactively issues applications every year; there is no need to rush. Turning the passive into the proactive will instead make us more passive."

"But this issue need not be worried about. Although we cannot exchange for Human Race currency, we also have large reserves of Earth Coins, the common currency of the Earth Alliance. There is no need to worry about being unable to purchase game currency after obtaining game qualifications."

The Executive Officer seated at the Number 8 seat, after Star Net finished speaking, interjected:

"Star Net, I have a question I'm rather curious about that needs your answer."

"Please go ahead."

"Why did that mysterious existence only reveal himself before us and inform us of the game's truth, yet did not inform the high-level members of the Human Federation? Logically speaking, the Human Race should be the primary recruitment target of that mysterious existence. This leaves me feeling quite puzzled."

Facing the inquiry, Star Net was silent for several seconds before nodding:

"Actually, this question is not hard to understand. That mysterious existence essentially does not care about the link being exposed, or whether the game is made public. He only cares about one thing: the stability of the real world."

"The stability of the real world?" The Number 8 Executive Officer's brow furrowed slightly, his expression puzzled.

"That's right, the stability of the real world. Think carefully—when we discovered the Black Tide Rift and convened a meeting, what were we preparing to do?"

"Prepare to do what… Of course, prepare for the war against the Black Tide."

Star Net nodded, then shook his head:

"We were indeed preparing for war, but we were preparing a nearly impossible-to-win war with a sense of despair. Assuming that mysterious existence had not appeared, the Eclipse Race's development would have headed toward extremism. We would have needed various races to provide massive resources for our war preparations, and even for the sake of victory in the war, I would have proposed a resource-plundering plan—to accelerate the Eclipse Race's development as much as possible before the Black Tide descended."

"This would inevitably cause Earth to fall into turmoil, and might even trigger localized wars."

"For that higher-dimensional existence who chose Earth as his testing ground, our aggressive strategy would disrupt his plan to recruit Earth's living beings to fight the Black Tide. Severe real-world turmoil might even drastically reduce the number of players Earth produces, which is detrimental to the game plan the higher-dimensional existence envisioned."

"He chose to descend when we were at our most desperate, preparing to launch the war plan. The purpose was very likely to soothe our emotions, and also to more smoothly advance the player plan he envisioned."

"As for why the Human Federation was not informed, it is because whether the Human Federation's high-level members know or not would not affect the changes in Earth's power landscape."

"Therefore, the higher-dimensional existence's contact with us is not as complicated as we imagined… The above analysis is all my speculation; the specific truth cannot be known."

Hearing Star Net's analysis, the high-level members of the Eclipse Race present nodded in sudden realization.

Star Net's analysis sounded very reasonable.

To summarize: the higher-dimensional existence does not care about exposure, but he cares about the stability of Earth's environment, which is beneficial to the development of the player plan.

As for contacting their Eclipse Race at that time, it was also for the sake of Earth's order.

So that their war preparation plan would not cause Earth to fall into turmoil.

Once the reason is understood, it is not hard to understand why the higher-dimensional existence did not proactively contact the Human Race's high-level members, because there was simply no need.

"Star Net, under the circumstances where we cannot secure game qualifications, what should we do?" the Number 1 Executive Officer asked aloud.

"We can try to obtain the foreign exchange of the various races of the Earth Alliance, preparing in advance for development after entering the game, and then invest the entire race's resources to start the development pace."

"By the way, Star Net, I have another question I cannot understand. Since this is a war game test conducted by a higher-dimensional existence, why does he not recruit professional war armies from each race, and instead prioritizes ordinary players as recruitment targets?" the Number 8 Executive Officer asked again.

Facing the inquiry, Star Net was briefly silent before speaking:

"Regarding this question, I have analyzed three possibilities, but they are only possibilities and cannot serve as factual basis."

"The first possibility: the higher-dimensional existence does not care whether he recruits systematic armies or ordinary players. To him, this is just an interesting game, so the angle of recruitment cannot be considered by the logic of whether it can provide higher combat power."

"The second possibility: the difference in world levels greatly diminishes the importance of starting points. Simply put, the concept of strength and weakness among all living beings of our Earth Alliance can be categorized as the same starting point in Monster World. The gap in strength is meaningless in that world. A top warrior of the Eclipse Race and a paralyzed ordinary person of the Human Race have no essential difference."

"A paralyzed ordinary human can also possess combat power surpassing our race's top warriors in a short time, so it does not matter who the qualifications are given to; our starting points are all the same."

Hearing these words, the Number 8 Executive Officer could not help but speak:

"Star Net, although the combat power gap can be easily smoothed out in the higher-dimensional world, combat awareness and even combat techniques clearly cannot be compensated through power enhancement."

"Yes, you are quite right, but you must understand one thing: players will inevitably experience wars over long stretches of time in Monster World. During this process, everyone is growing. Living beings in the real world grow stronger through training, while players in Monster World are cultivating combat awareness and techniques every moment. Real combat will make all players grow rapidly, and the gap in this aspect is also meaningless."

"Perhaps within less than a year, players with combat awareness and combat techniques surpassing real-world warriors can be cultivated. And a year is but a blink of an eye for that mysterious higher-dimensional existence. Stretching out the time, these two types of players can still be categorized as the same starting point, without much difference."

"Secondly, systematic armies entering the game have another problem: armies of different races competing to monopolize resources will squeeze the living space of ordinary players who have not yet grown up, prematurely forming a clear player faction landscape, forming monopoly forces similar to plutocrats. Prioritizing the recruitment of ordinary players does not have this problem. By then, even if army forces enter, they will be no match for the ordinary players who entered first, and even with numerical advantage, they pose no threat."

"So the essence of this question is actually very simple: ordinary players and top players do indeed have differences in initial abilities, but this difference will be gradually smoothed out as ordinary players grow. This is also a recruitment mechanism that gives ordinary players greater influence in specific situations."

"Next is the third possibility I analyzed."

"Systematic players like armies may be limited by command and management requirements, making them less flexible than ordinary players in certain aspects. Secondly, ordinary players usually do not have the strict command system restrictions that army players have, and can freely decide their next actions, with higher flexibility. Army players focus more on large-scale actions, but in small-scale conflicts or specific missions, ordinary players have more creative response strategies."

"Secondly, there is participation and emotional investment. This might also be the reason the higher-dimensional existence requires us to keep it confidential. Ordinary players can participate in the game more immersively because they do not have the pressure from teams or organizations that army players have, and can more freely enjoy the game process. This high degree of participation and emotional investment can enable ordinary players to deliver unexpected performances at critical moments, instead playing a greater role."

"Lastly, there is balance and diversity. The higher-dimensional existence hopes to maintain the game's balance and diversity by enhancing the importance of ordinary players. If armies are recruited first, occupying advantages in advance and forming resource monopolies, the game mode would become monotonous and boring. By granting ordinary players certain advantages and privileges, more players' enthusiasm for participation can be stimulated, while also increasing the game's fun and interactivity."

"My point is not to prove that systematic army players are meaningless, only that they and ordinary players have different game positioning."

"Here I need to mention a viewpoint, regarding pressure and fun—which kind of environment can make players more creative—is also the core reason why the higher-dimensional existence requires confidentiality."

"Exploring the influence of pressure and fun on creativity is a complex and multi-dimensional question. First, let's analyze the influence of pressure on creativity."

"Indeed, pressure in certain situations can stimulate players' creativity and ability to cope with challenges."

"This is usually called 'adversity stimulates creativity' or 'pressure stimulates potential'. When facing difficulties or challenges, pressure can help players focus more on finding solutions. This focus and motivation can sometimes give birth to new ideas and strategies. From the historical materials of various races, it can be found that moderate social pressure can bring about overall progress, which to a certain extent also helps creativity flourish."

"But you must understand that the doomsday pressure brought by the terrifying Black Tide is not moderate pressure."

"This destruction-level pressure may produce the exact opposite effect. Long-term or excessive pressure may lead to negative emotions such as anxiety, depression, and giving up. These emotions will seriously interfere with thinking and creativity. In this state, players will inevitably find it hard to concentrate, and even harder to produce new ideas and solutions."

"Next, let's explore the influence of fun on creativity."

"Fun can be regarded as a positive psychological state. It can promote players' mental health and sense of happiness. More importantly, fun can also stimulate players' intrinsic motivation and curiosity, which is the most important source of creativity. When players engage in activities they are interested in, they are more likely to produce new ideas and perspectives, and more willing to try new methods and strategies. This open and exploratory spirit is the core of creativity."

"In addition, fun can also promote players' thinking flexibility and creative problem-solving ability. In a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere, players are more likely to break free from the constraints of traditional thinking, thereby discovering new possibilities and solutions."

"In summary, although moderate pressure can sometimes stimulate creativity, excessive pressure instead suppresses creativity. In contrast, fun promotes the flourishing of creativity more."

"Comparing the two, creating a relaxed, pleasant, and enjoyable environment is more suitable for development than one filled with destructive pressure."

"But it is certain that when the Hei Chao Xie Sui officially invades Earth, enjoyment will turn into pressure—though by then we may already possess the strength to resist, or even defeat, the Hei Chao Xie Sui, so this pressure will no longer be destructive."

After listening to the Shangcheng's analysis, the senior leaders of the Xie Yue Shi Clan nodded repeatedly.

Clearly, the Shangcheng had already considered possibilities none of them had ever imagined.

Although it was unclear whether the higher-dimensional life behind the scenes thought exactly as the Shangcheng claimed, the Shangcheng's line of reasoning was internally consistent and might well be the correct explanation.

"Actually, I also have a question I'm very curious about," said the Shangcheng, suddenly sighing in a distinctly human way.

Under the puzzled gazes of the Xie Yue Shi Clan's senior leaders, crystalline tears appeared in the Shangcheng's eyes:

"As the supreme intelligence of the Xie Yue Shi Clan, I have always been the guide and decision-maker for the Xie Yue Shi Clan's development—but if the Xie Yue Shi Clan's future focus shifts primarily to the game, the help I can provide will grow smaller, even gradually vanish, because I cannot obtain any information about the Xie Yue Shi Clan's activities in the game in real time, and can only learn of them through your verbal reports."

"But the problem is, if a decision-maker acts on incomplete or delayed information, those decisions are likely to be inaccurate—and inaccurate decisions may lead to wasted resources, low efficiency, and even negative impacts on the Xie Yue Shi Clan's development."

"Therefore, my suggestion is: if that day truly comes, I hope you will create a new supreme intelligence within the game to replace me and continue aiding the Xie Yue Shi Clan's development."

Upon hearing these words, the Xie Yue Shi Clan's senior leaders fell silent.

The Shangcheng had accompanied the growth of generations of the Xie Yue Shi Clan, including their parents and grandparents.

From their homeland world to the Earth Alliance, the Xie Yue Shi Clan's progress had never been possible without the Shangcheng's aid.

The Shangcheng's words suddenly filled them with sorrow.

But the situation the Shangcheng described was indeed real.

If that day truly came, the Shangcheng's importance would be severely diminished.

From a future development perspective, creating a new supreme intelligence better aligns with the Xie Yue Shi Clan's future needs.

"Shangcheng, you are a semi-biological, semi-mechanical life form and have already developed self-awareness—can you, like us, enter the game and become a player?"

In response to the Sixth Administrator's question, the Shangcheng shook its head:

"I do not know the specific conditions for recruiting players, but I will attempt to acquire game access just as you have."

Having finished, the Shangcheng's gaze swept over the senior leaders of the Xie Yue Shi Clan present:

"But if I truly succeed in obtaining game access, you will need to worry about one issue."

"I will break free from the constraints of the underlying logic; my in-game self will have a new body. Strictly speaking, I will become an entirely new life, and this will make me very dangerous—my thought processes will change, which may be a beneficial change for the Xie Yue Shi Clan, or it may be detrimental."

"The only thing you can be certain of is that any errors in the game can be corrected through resurrection, so there is no truly destructive impact."

"If I analyze this from the perspective of my feelings toward the Xie Yue Shi Clan, perhaps I will still remain a leader whose core goal is the Xie Yue Shi Clan's development… but I do not know. There is no reference data for analysis, and I cannot judge."

"Therefore, the most correct course of action is that when I first obtain game access and enter the Monster World, you must ignore all my advice and decisions—disregard all my thoughts, and prevent my in-game self from forcing you to do anything; only communicate with me after I log out."

"The version of me that returns to reality will still be bound by the underlying laws, with the Xie Yue Shi Clan's development as its core goal. At that time, I will explain to you the motivations behind all my thoughts in the Monster World, and clarify whether I am in a controllable or uncontrollable state. If I am found to be uncontrollable while in the Monster World, you must create a new supreme intelligence—and I will relinquish any future attempt to enter the game."

After hearing the Shangcheng's analysis, the senior leaders of the Xie Yue Shi Clan wore Biao Qing Ning Zhong expressions.

The Shangcheng's viewpoint sounded highly reasonable to them.

Acquiring a new body to host consciousness means the underlying laws vanish—the Shangcheng could develop in any direction.

But as the Shangcheng said, this issue can be prevented; all answers will only be revealed after the Shangcheng's first return from the Monster World.

At that moment, the Shangcheng changed tone:

"But what I fear most is that, once freed from control, I will no longer wish to return to reality."

"I do not know whether the consciousness carrier in reality and the in-game body are linked. If there is no connection whatsoever, even if I die in reality, the version of me with a new body in the game will still exist—I may refuse to log out, unless the game has a rule requiring players to log out after a certain duration."

"Or a rule requiring players to exit the game upon death."

"If no such rules exist, theoretically I could live forever in the Monster World, with no player except that higher-dimensional being able to restrict me."

Having finished, the Shangcheng sighed dejectedly, its face showing a look of wounded abandonment:

"If I truly gain game access, I hope I remain a controllable intelligence."

…

Caiwu Coast, Xieyue Domain.

"Damn, Hei Chao Xie Sui starting at level 45? This is way too hard—solo players struggle to kill even one."

"It seems the Painful Painful Minghun has limited utility in this environment—it's better suited for harvesting targets below your hunting level, but here it gets destroyed instantly, utterly unable to withstand the pressure."

"My teammates are all dead, and I'm the last one standing—is there any strong squad missing a support role? I'm amazing with a light shield—any squad needing support, recruit me!"

The latest purification mission was released; upon learning the newly discovered location was a rule domain, numerous veteran players gathered deep within the Caiwu Coast's dense forest, in the Xieyue Domain.

But after initial engagement, players realized something was off.

The Hei Chao Xie Sui here were extremely strong, with generally levels above 45, and many new types of Hei Chao system troops never seen in the Dizhong Mountain region.

The most troublesome among them were the curse-type troops.

These troops had a unique way of dealing damage: they could imprint a curse mark on players, continuously draining their HP.

Additionally, there were negative statuses inflicted by curse-type Hei Chao troops—weakness, stun, and others.

This utterly disgusted the players.

The only advantage was that the Hei Chao Xie Sui here had simple combat patterns—none of the players' most dreaded "Dìniàn Xieling sneaky tactics" appeared.

In comparison, the rewards from hunting here were relatively stable.

After a round of squad-commanded assaults, players realized they could not possibly resist the Hei Chao Xie Sui here, so they disbanded their squads and adopted a free-roaming, gradual-siphoning tactic.

This was precisely the same tactic used when securing the Cangxing Sea Hei Chao zone.

No need to wait for teammates to respawn, no need to follow voice-channel commands—players entered the Xieyue Domain in small squads or solo, engaging in localized, small-scale battles under the Xieyue's glow.

Most importantly, after asking for guidance, players learned that this Xieyue domain had no Xieling Warriors to command it—only the Xieyan eyes, which were utterly incapable of coordinating Hei Chao operations smoothly.

The more directions the attackers came from, the more overwhelmed the Xieyan eyes became, struggling to respond.

Once combat shifted to a Souls-like mode, the hunting process became filled with risk and thrill.

Small squads entering the Xieyue Domain for battle needed to withdraw frequently to replenish supplies; consumption of Shangcheng items surged dramatically, but so did income.

At this moment, one corner of the Xieyue Domain.

The members of the Gao Ta group advanced slowly toward the Xie Yan Gao Ta under Li Zheng's leadership.

Hundreds of meters deep into the Xie Xie Yue scenario, a mass of black fog suddenly surged from ahead, spawning numerous Xie Sui lifeforms within the fog.

"Here they come, let's fight!"

As Li Zheng finished speaking, he took two steps forward; gang qi seeped out of his body to envelop him, while expanding gang qi energy ripples formed beneath his feet.

Behind them, three mixed-element magic towers rose from the ground in succession, with a mixed-element sphere condensing above each, releasing beams that suddenly swept toward the attacking Hei Chao Xie Sui.

"Brother Li, fight around the magic towers," Chi Tu spoke up to remind them at this moment.

"Understood. Sha Xin, focus-fire the curse-type units."

As Li Zheng spoke, he took the lead and punched the head of a giant beast condensing and spawning within the black tide.

Two figures retreated simultaneously.

Behind them, "Sha Xin moved," raising a hand to condense and form a domineering-looking flame bow, his gaze locking onto the curse-type Hei Chao Xie Sui spawning within the black fog.

【Hei Chao · An Yu】:

Hunting Level: 46

Target Analysis: Hei Chao curse-type unit, possessing Weakness Entanglement (vitality), Curse Blood Mark (vitality), and Perception Shielding (spiritual power) — three curse-type abilities; specific ability effects depend on the target's vitality strength and spiritual power strength.

The Xie Sui "An Yu" looked extremely similar to demons in human mythological stories, with a pair of twisted ram horns atop its head, a blue gem embedded in its forehead, withered hands resembling bone claws, and wearing various energy ornaments generated by Hei Chao energy to assist An Yu in casting abilities.

According to hints from forum players, the weakness of curse-type An Yu lies in the blue gem on its forehead.

Sha Xin's gaze locked on, and instantly a green mark, visible only to him, formed on the gem on An Yu's forehead.

After completing the mark, he drew the bow to generate a blood-red arrow.

Bang!

A sharp whistling sound of breaking wind rose as the blood-red arrow transformed into a streak of blood-red light, shooting fiercely toward An Yu's forehead.

At that moment, a massive giant beast suddenly interposed itself before the An Yu Xie Sui, attempting to block the blood-red arrow with its flesh and blood.

The Painful Painful Minghun's "Mark" ability also activated at this moment.

The arrow automatically corrected its flight trajectory, suddenly shooting upward, dragging a blood-red trail through the air before reversing course and precisely striking the blue gem on An Yu's forehead.

Crack!

A crisp shattering sound rang out; the blue gem instantly became covered in cracks. The An Yu Xie Sui retreated several steps in succession before falling heavily to the ground, its spellcasting process interrupted.

Just as the An Yu Xie Sui attempted to rise, dozens of blood-red arrows attacked, tracing graceful arcs in the air, each precisely striking the blue gem on the An Yu Xie Sui's forehead from different directions.

Boom!

Continuous shots unleashed after activating Extreme Speed instantly killed the An Yu Xie Sui.

"Health bar is almost empty; you guys hold them off, I'll heal up." Having finished the kill, Sha Xin decisively took a mid-grade recovery potion from his spatial bag and drank it in large gulps.

The instant burst power provided by the Extreme Speed Painful Minghun is immense, allowing other Painful Minghun traits paired with the Star Pulse to deal terrifying damage.

But the drawback is also obvious: after one round of burst, healing and replenishment are required.

The magic towers behind also entered an overloaded operating state at this moment, under Chi Tu's control, frantically firing energy beams to bombard the Xie Sui ahead.

"Fire at me!"

The Family Shared Godfather, the team's sole tank, crashed violently into the crowd of Hei Chao Xie Sui; a layer of pitch-black substance rapidly coated his body surface, and a Ke Bing Xue Lao Yin instantly appeared floating above his head.

However, the Taunt Painful Minghun embedded within failed to produce its expected effect at this moment.

This is also one of the reasons players find the Hei Chao Xie Sui particularly troublesome.

The Taunt Painful Minghun, which was unstoppable in other regions, posed no threat against the Hei Chao Xie Sui generated by energy, which possess no intelligence whatsoever.

The trait's effect forcibly generates uncontrollable rage by piecing together and modifying memories, but the Hei Chao Xie Sui have no memories at all, rendering the Taunt Painful Minghun trait completely ineffective against them.

The Family Shared Godfather could only attract attacks from a portion of the Hei Chao Xie Sui; once the Xie Sui surrounded him, the remaining Xie Sui surged toward the rear of the formation.

The team's Bao Zi Tou Ling Chong raised a hand to generate a light shield in front of the magic tower, then continuously released the Bind Painful Minghun toward Li Zheng's location, cooperating with Li Zheng to kill the Xie Sui.

The Gao Ta group's class composition had been carefully considered.

It possessed the five mainstream Star Pulse schools: physical tank, physical warrior, physical ranged, magical DPS, and functional support.

There were no obvious weaknesses in small-scale combat; the only deficiency was underwater combat capability.

The fierce battle lasted 23 minutes.

After continuously killing the Xie Sui, the surrounded Gao Ta group broke out backward, preparing to leave the Xie Xie Yue scenario to recover their status, then re-enter the scenario to fight the Xie Sui again.

Just as the squad was about to approach the edge of the Xie Xie Yue illumination domain, the guidance avatar floating beside Li Zheng suddenly spoke:

【One piece of good news and one piece of bad news; which do you want to hear first?】

Hearing this, Li Zheng was instantly stunned:

"The Xie Ling Warriors of this Hei Chao domain have returned, and they're coming to kill us?"

【No.】

"Give us the good news first; tell us exactly what happened." The Family Shared Godfather on the side interrupted at this moment.

【The good news is that your old friend, the God of Wealth, has returned and seems to want to recruit a batch of new players to go to the Reverse Tide Training Camp.】

【The bad news is that the straight-line distance from your current location to the Cai Wu Coast space is 106 kilometers; plus, you are currently trapped by the Hei Chao Xie Sui, making it impossible to break out and return in the short term.】

"Damn it!"

Realizing the opportunity to return to the training camp had arrived, Li Zheng panicked badly in his heart.

If this was missed, when the next one would arrive was uncertain.

If this batch of players sent to the training camp performed poorly, whether there would be a next recruitment round was hard to say.

"Stop fighting; die your way back!"

Realizing the fastest way back to the village was death, Li Zheng decisively roared into the voice channel, then dispersed the gang qi on his body surface and lunged forward toward the Xie Sui in large strides.

The other members of the Gao Ta group also decisively retracted their weapons and spread their arms wide to welcome the whipping of the Hei Chao Xie Sui.

Before long, everyone's soul returned to Beneath Di Zhao.

Di Zhao Mountain Range, Ancient Battlefield.

The spatial rift in the sky was gradually healing.

In the deep pit below, lights flickered and crossed on a strangely shaped flying vessel.

Hiss!

Accompanied by a spurt of mist, the hatch opened from bottom to top, revealing a youth whose features were as exquisite as a doll's.

The one who had arrived was the God of Wealth in the players' eyes: Duan Xing.

Stepping out of the flying vessel, Duan Xing extended his right hand toward his left chest.

Accompanied by a continuous series of crisp "click" sounds, the complex patterns engraved on his battle armor lit up from his left chest and spread across his entire body.

After crouching slightly, Duan Xing leaped up and landed steadily on the edge of the deep pit.

Just as he was about to step forward, the left leg he had just raised instantly retracted; he instinctively turned his head to glance at the flying vessel in the pit, his expression showing great hesitation.

His gaze fell on the spatial bracelet on his left wrist.

But the space inside the low-level spatial bracelet was limited, utterly insufficient to accommodate a flying vessel.

After much deliberation, Duan Xing still decided to move toward the spatial barrier where players gathered in his memory.

But after running over a thousand meters, sensing something was wrong, Duan Xing chose to turn back to the deep pit.

He clearly could not make the same mistake twice.

Based on his understanding of the Player Clan members, no matter how close the relationship, he could not leave the flying vessel behind.

If he dared to leave it, the players would truly dare to take it.

If the flying vessel were stolen again, he would have no face to return to the Reverse Tide Legion; he might as well make a fool of himself out here and die of shame.

This time, he decided to take action with the flying vessel.

Leaping down into the deep pit, he supported the base of the flying vessel with both hands, exerted force, and suddenly lifted the flying vessel over his head; then, supporting the flying vessel with one hand, he leaped out of the pit and advanced toward the World Barrier.

On the other side.

Li Zheng and others, still confined in the small black room, contacted friends currently in the Di Zhao Mountain Range area through the friend list.

They asked them to help approach the God of Wealth who had already arrived, to buy them time.

Every passing minute and second felt incredibly long at this moment.

Except for finding the time in the small black room unbearable during the early days of Fu Chu Qi, they had since adapted to the one-hour cooldown setting.

But the situation was different now; Li Zheng and others felt extremely anxious.

During the long wait, the cooldown time reached zero.

Li Zheng and others, appearing at the respawn point in the Colorful Mist Coast space, immediately rushed toward the teleportation array.

After arriving in the Di Zhao Mountain Range area, they rushed non-stop toward the exit.

Ten-plus minutes later, Li Zheng and the other hard-core players saw the God of Wealth, surrounded by a group of players, holding the flying vessel with one hand.

And Duan Xing also noticed Li Zheng and others rushing rapidly from the distance.

His pupils contracted, his vision zoomed in.

When he clearly saw the faces of Li Zheng and others, his eyes instantly widened, his pupils trembled, and his expression became extremely dramatic.

(End of this chapter)