Chapter 2: This Is the Genuine Version!

In the sky, a hurricane howled, churning the red cloud layer into a frenzy.

After a clap of thunder, black lightning spread across the firmament like a spiderweb, vanishing into nothingness seconds later.

On the earth, a continuous range of volcanoes erupted violently; crimson fire snakes wound their way down, devouring all life in their path. The air was thick with the scent of sulfur and scorched earth. Under the glow of the dark red waning moon, the ridge of the highest peak shimmered with bloody light, resembling a blazing serrated sword cleaving toward the sky, as if intending to pierce that heavy celestial curtain.

Countless terrifying monsters roamed between heaven and earth.

There was the Xie Qi with eighteen heads, towering as high as mountains; the Frost Behemoth whose breath could freeze ten thousand miles; the Crimson-Winged Ming whose wingspan could leap ten thousand miles... Beyond these apex predators of the food chain, countless other terrifying beasts existed that could swallow mountains and rivers with a single mouthful or alter the Iron Face of the earth with a stomp.

This was an ecological chain composed of countless terrifying creatures.

The view shifted toward the earth, rapidly descending and zooming in, finally fixing on a dilapidated village, before the scene was engulfed by darkness spreading from all sides.

When the darkness receded, Li Zheng found himself hovering before a towering blue crystal wall, and a prompt echoed in his mind:

【Welcome, Challenger, to the Monster World. Please begin creating your initial character.】

"Monster World? Isn't the novice village for the Dark Lands supposed to be Dark City?"

Without dwelling on the question, he assumed the Moon Eclipse Clan had simply altered the game settings revealed several years ago.

The overhead view from moments ago, combined with the current character creation environment, made him realize he had truly downloaded a cracked version of "Dark Lands."

The excitement in his heart was beyond words; while others had to spend 128, 88 to obtain the game, he had secured it with just one hour of downloading.

The Welfare Officer really distributes welfare!

He no longer doubted the game's realism.

What scammer would expend a fortune to create a game with such a high degree of simulation?

If the preceding CG experience was meant to be more deceptive, the cost of this prank was far too high.

In the name creation input field, he typed the five characters "Game Brick Mover" using the virtual keyboard, and after pressing confirm, the massive grid-like crystal wall ahead rapidly zoomed closer.

Most of the cells on the wall were empty; only cells numbered 1 through 3 at the starting position on the lowest level contained monsters of ugly and ferocious appearance.

Contained within Cell 1 was a humanoid stone statue with bat-like ears, squatting on a stone pedestal half a meter high. Its body was intricately carved, its huge pupils revealing a faint bloody glow, and its open mouth exposed rows of white, sharp teeth.

The monster confined in Cell 2 was a creature resembling an owl with fiery red wings; its sharp talons were constantly hammering against the crystal wall of its containment cell, grinding out ear-piercing sounds.

Confined within Cell 3 was a large snake covered entirely in black scales, coiled inside its containment cell, flicking its forked tongue.

【Please select your initial state.】

Li Zheng's gaze fell upon the first monster, and detailed information about the creature materialized.

【Gargoyle】:

Initial Level: 1

Initial Attributes:

Physical Quality: 7 (Determined by comprehensive physical values including Strength, Stamina, Durability, and Explosive Power)

Mental Strength: 5 (Affects mental recovery rate, spell casting speed, and spell potency)

Elemental Resistance: 5 (Affects the final calculation results of elemental-type damage)

Primordial Ability: Petrification (Active)

Ability Description: Upon activation, enters an immobile petrified state, significantly reducing damage from any form of attack; specific effects are influenced by Physical Quality.

His vision shifted to the owl-headed monster and the large snake beside the Gargoyle.

【Owl-Headed Demon】:

Initial Level: 1

Initial Attributes:

Physical Quality: 3, Mental Strength: 8, Elemental Resistance: 4

Primordial Ability: Resentful Chant (Active)

Ability Description: Activates Perception View to warn of nearby dangers (killing intent, hostility, aura, fluctuations); duration and warning range are influenced by Mental Strength.

【Black-Armored Snake】:

Initial Level: 1

Initial Attributes:

Physical Quality: 12, Mental Strength: 1, Elemental Resistance: 2

Ability: Deadly Venom (Passive)

Ability Description: Any form of physical damage inflicted carries a poisoning effect, dealing continuous damage to the target.

How to choose? Li Zheng fell into contemplation.

Among the three initial ability options, the Gargoyle and the Owl-Headed Demon required active triggering and sustained mental energy consumption. In contrast, the Black-Armored Snake's ability could be triggered by any form of physical damage, making it clearly more suitable for a novice.

With a decision formed in his mind, the figures of the monsters in Cells 1 and 2 dissipated, while the Black-Armored Snake in Cell 3 rapidly enlarged before his eyes.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound of his heart beating violently grew increasingly clear in his ears.

Just then, the Black-Armored Snake in the scene suddenly raised its head and lunged directly at him to bite.

Li Zheng was startled into a shiver, instinctively raising his hands to block.

But no pain arrived. When he opened his eyes, he discovered the scene had changed, and he was now wearing a default black cloth robe provided by the game.

Looking around, he found himself in the dilapidated village that had appeared at the end of the earlier CG sequence.

Outside the village, a thick black mist loomed, seemingly blocked by some mysterious force from permeating inward, yet strange sounds could be clearly heard emanating from within the mist.

The screech of night hawks, the crunching of bones being chewed, hoarse whispers... various eerie sounds echoed above the village.

Turning his head, Li Zheng was immediately startled.

He discovered a phantom image of a Black-Armored Snake, over a meter long, hovering behind him; when he took two steps to the right, the snake phantom shifted in unison.

Focusing his gaze, a flood of information surged into his mind, accompanied by an internal view of his own body.

In this view, he could clearly see his spine transformed into a meridian system as brilliant as the Milky Way. At the very top of the spine was his image from the real world, and in the first groove below it was embedded a glowing black sphere containing the form of the Black-Armored Snake.

【Challenger Name: Game Brick Mover】:

Main Form: Human

Body Tempering Level: 0 (Inherited Fate Soul Attributes: 0)

(Hint: For every 1 level increase in Body Tempering Level, one can perfectly inherit all attributes of a monster form while in Human Form)

Star Vein Embedding (Level: 1):

Slot One: Black-Armored Snake Fate Soul Lv1 (Trait: Deadly Venom)

(Hint: Monster forms can be freely switched via the Star Vein function; in monster form, a 100% attribute bonus is granted. Increasing the Star Vein level allows for embedding a greater number of monster Fate Souls)

"Star Vein Switching?"

Filled with doubt, Li Zheng used his consciousness to tap the first embedding slot of the Star Vein.

Instantly, a strong tingling sensation surged from his spine to his limbs and bones, and his body twisted and transformed under the surge of this power.

His line of sight rapidly descended.

Looking down, he was surprised to find he had transformed into the Black-Armored Snake that had been hovering behind him earlier.

At the same time, he could clearly feel his Physical Quality had been amplified, and even his vision had become sharper.

This game... is a bit perverted, but I like it!

Switching back to human form, Li Zheng, now understanding the game's preliminary settings, looked around.

Driven by curiosity, he began testing the game's realism.

Pinching his Iron Face, shaking his hand, pinching his arm... the feedback felt no different from reality, leaving Li Zheng in awe.

Then he squatted down, picked up a small stone from the ground, and slowly crushed it with his fingers, feeling the powder slip through his fingertips.

"Holy crap, this game is incredibly awesome!"

A simple test yielded perfect realistic feedback with no flaws to be found.

However, what puzzled Li Zheng was why there were no other players in the game; the entire village seemed to contain only him.

Logically, since "Dark Lands" was released globally, judging by its sales frenzy, the novice village should be teeming with players.

Could it be that different players are separated into different game channels? Is the one I'm in merely a newly opened channel?

Just as Li Zheng was pondering how to explore the game, the space beside him distorted, and a pale blue water sphere materialized.

Ripples spread across the surface of the water sphere, revealing a serious expression, and it looked at him, speaking with a grave tone:

【Evil spirits run rampant, fear descends. The Monster World under the rule of Di Zhao has been invaded by a terrifying Black Black Tide. Having received power bestowed by Di Zhao, you must shoulder the heavy responsibility of saving the world. Please immediately proceed to the Monster World to hunt for the Primordial Power lost by Di Zhao, contributing your strength to reshaping Di Zhao's true form.】

As it spoke, the pale blue water sphere morphed a right arm and extended it toward him:

【I am your novice guide in the Monster World; you may call me Guide.】

Somewhat bewildered, Li Zheng reached out and shook the hand manifested by the water sphere.

【We're bros from now on; if you don't understand anything, feel free to ask me anytime.】

Hearing this, Li Zheng grabbed the Guide in his hand, rubbed, kneaded, and pinched it for a moment, then exclaimed:

"The texture feels great!"

【Great your grandfather! Do that again and I'll go on strike!】

"A novice guide can go on strike? Shouldn't you be an AI workhorse at the player's beck and call?"

【Your whole family are AI workhorses! I'll strike if I'm unhappy!】

Realizing that angering the novice guide would cause him to lose an important auxiliary tool during the novice stage, Li Zheng immediately let go, allowing the guide water sphere to float aside, and then decisively admitted defeat and apologized:

"Sorry, I was wrong."

【"Kneel and admit your mistake."】

Gazing at the arrogant Guiding Water Orb, Li Zheng wore an expression of helplessness:

"I don't understand why the Eclipse Clan would design a novice guide so humanized."

While complaining, he suddenly thought of his suffering brothers still waiting outside for his feedback.

He immediately turned to the Guiding Water Orb and asked:

"Guide, how do I exit the game?"

【"It's very simple. Summon the 'Function Panel' in your mind; it contains a teleportation function that can return you to the real world. This process requires a 30-second wait, during which you must not take damage, or the teleportation will be interrupted."】

"Understood!"

Following the guide's instructions, the scene before his eyes was gradually engulfed by darkness as the teleportation countdown ticked down.

A severe sense of weightlessness struck, and Li Zheng shouted excitedly in his heart:

"Good brothers, this time we're finally getting real meat!"

(End of Chapter)