Chapter 2: This Is the Genuine Version!

The sky, where hurricanes howled, tugged the red clouds into churning waves.

After a thunderclap, black lightning crawled across the firmament like a spiderweb, vanishing into nothingness seconds later.

On the earth, continuous volcanoes erupted violently; winding red fire snakes swallowed all life in their path. The air reeked of sulfur and scorched earth. Under the light of a dark-red waning moon, the ridge of the highest peak shimmered with blood-like radiance, resembling a blazing serrated sword cleaving toward the sky, as if to pierce that thick celestial curtain.

Countless terrifying monsters roamed between heaven and earth.

There were the Xiqi, with eighteen heads and heights rivaling mountains; frost beasts whose exhalations could freeze ten thousand li; and red-winged phoenixes whose wingspans could span ten thousand li. Besides these apex predators, countless other terrifying monsters existed—creatures that could swallow mountains and rivers with a single mouthful, or change the face of the earth with a stomp.

This was an ecosystem composed of countless terrifying creatures.

The view shifted to the earth, descending rapidly and zooming in until it locked onto a dilapidated village, before the scene was engulfed by darkness spreading from all sides.

When the darkness cleared, Seeing 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 newbie village of the Dark Lands the City of Darkness?"

He didn't ponder this question further, assuming the Moon Eclipse Clan had simply altered the game settings exposed years ago.

The aerial view just now, 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 paid 128,888 to obtain the game, he had acquired it with just one hour of downloading.

The benefits staff really are issuing benefits!

He no longer doubted the game's realism.

What scammer would spend a fortune producing 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 input field, he typed the five characters "Game Brick Movers" using the virtual keyboard. After pressing confirm, the massive grid-like crystal wall ahead rapidly zoomed in.

Most of the cells on the wall were empty; only the first three cells at the bottom starting position contained grotesque, hideous monsters.

The first cell held a humanoid stone statue with bat ears, squatting on a half-meter-high stone pedestal. Its body was intricately carved, a bloody faint glow emanating from its huge pupils, and rows of bone-white fangs protruded from its open mouth.

The second cell contained a creature with fiery red wings resembling an owl, its sharp claws incessantly gouging at the crystal wall of the containment cell, producing a grating sound.

The third cell held a large snake covered entirely in black scales, coiled within the containment cell, flicking its tongue in and out.

【Please select an initial state.】

Seeing Li Zheng's gaze turned to the first monster, and the creature's detailed information appeared.

【Gargoyle】:

Initial Level 1:

Initial Attributes:

Physical Constitution: 7 (determined by comprehensive physical values such as strength, stamina, durability, and explosiveness)

Mental Strength: 5 (affects mental recovery, casting speed, and spell intensity)

Elemental Resistance: 5 (affects the final judgment result of elemental damage)

Meng Yuan Chu Ability: Petrification (Active)

Ability Description: Upon using the ability, enter a petrified state where movement is impossible, significantly reducing damage from any form of attack. The specific effect is influenced by Physical Constitution.

His gaze shifted to the eagle-headed monster and the large snake beside the gargoyle.

【Eagle-Headed Demon】:

Initial Level 1:

Initial Attributes:

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

Meng Yuan Chu Ability: Lament of Resentment (Active)

Ability Description: Activate the perception perspective to warn of nearby dangers (killing intent, hostility, aura, fluctuations). Duration and warning range are affected by Mental Strength.

【Black-Armored Snake】:

Initial Level 1:

Initial Attributes:

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

Ability: Fierce Poison (Passive)

Ability Description: Any form of physical damage carries a poisoning effect, inflicting continuous damage on the target.

How to choose? Seeing Li Zheng fell into thought.

Among the three initial ability options, the abilities of the Gargoyle and the Eagle-Headed Demon required active activation, consuming mental energy continuously. In contrast, the Black-Armored Snake's ability could be triggered by any form of physical damage, obviously more suitable for a newbie.

With Ding De Xiang Fa taking shape in his mind, the figures of the monsters in cells one and two vanished, while the Black-Armored Snake in cell three 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 reared its head and lunged straight at him to bite.

Startled, Seeing Li Zheng instinctively raised both hands to block.

But no pain came. When he opened his eyes, he found the scene had changed, and he was now wearing a black cloth robe that came with the game.

Looking around, he saw the dilapidated village that had appeared at the end of the previous CG scene nearby.

Thick black fog enveloped the area outside the village, seemingly blocked by some mysterious power from seeping and spreading into the village, yet strange sounds could be clearly heard coming from within the fog.

The cries of night eagles, the crunching of bones, and hoarse whispers... various eerie sounds echoed over the village.

Turning his head, Seeing Li Zheng was instantly startled.

He discovered a translucent shadow of a black-armored snake, over a meter long, hovering behind him. When he took two steps to the right, the snake shadow moved parallel with him.

His gaze focused as a flood of information surged into his mind, followed by an internal view of his own body.

In the vision, he could clearly see his spine transform into a vein as brilliant as a galaxy of stars; at the very top of his spine was his image from the real world, and embedded in the first groove below it was a glowing black sphere containing the form of a black-armored snake.

【Challenger Name: Game Brick-Moving Party】:

Primary Form: Human

Body Tempering Level: 0 (Inheriting Painful Painful Minghun attributes: 0)

(Tip: For every 1 level increase in Body Tempering Level, you can perfectly inherit all attributes of one monster form while in human form.)

Star Vein Embedding (Level: 1):

Slot One, Black-Armored Snake Painful Painful Minghun Lv1 (Trait: Fierce Poison)

(Tip: You can freely switch between monster forms via the Star Vein function; in monster form, you gain a 100% attribute bonus. Increasing the Star Vein level increases the number of embedded monster Painful Painful Minghun.)

……

"Star Vein Switch?"

With a question in mind, Li Zheng used his consciousness to tap the first embedding slot of the Star Vein.

Immediately, an intense tingling sensation surged from his spine to his limbs and bones, and his body twisted and changed under the flow of this power.

His vision dropped rapidly.

Looking down, he was surprised to find he had actually transformed into the black-armored snake that had been hovering behind him just moments ago.

At the same time, he could clearly feel his physical attributes amplified, and even his vision became sharper.

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

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

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

Pinching his face, shaking his hands, pinching his arm... the feedback was indistinguishable from reality, leaving Li Zheng in awe.

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

"Holy crap, this game is awesome!"

A simple test revealed perfect, flawless realistic feedback.

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

Logically, with "Dark Lands" launching globally and the sales heat being so high, the beginner village should be full of players.

Could it be that different players are separated into different game channels? Is the one I'm in just 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 appeared.

Ripples spread across the surface of the water sphere, revealing a solemn expression that looked at him and said in a grave tone:

【Evil spirits run rampant, fear descends. The Monster World ruled by Beneath Di Zhao has been invaded by a terrifying Black Tide. You, who have received the power granted by Beneath Di Zhao, must shoulder the heavy responsibility of saving the world. Please immediately head to the Monster World to hunt down the Meng Yuan Chu power lost by Beneath Di Zhao and contribute to reshaping Beneath Di Zhao's true form.】

As it spoke, the pale blue water sphere manifested a right arm that reached out toward him:

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

Li Zheng, somewhat bewildered, reached out and shook hands with the palm manifested from the water sphere.

【From now on, we're brothers. Ask me anything you don't understand anytime.】

Hearing this, Li Zheng reached out, grabbed the Guide in his hand, and after a round of rubbing, kneading, and squeezing, he exclaimed:

"The texture is great!"

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

"A beginner guide can go on strike? Shouldn't it be an AI beast of burden at the player's beck and call?"

【Your whole family is an AI beast of burden! I'll go on strike if I'm not happy!】

Realizing that annoying the beginner guide would cause him to lose an important auxiliary tool during the Beginner Phase, Li Zheng immediately let go, letting the Guide water sphere fly to the side, then decisively backed down and apologized:

"Sorry, I was wrong."

【Kneel and apologize.】

Looking at the arrogant expression on the Guide water sphere, Li Zheng's expression was helpless:

"I don't understand why the Moon-Eclipse Clan designed such a human-like beginner guide."

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

He immediately looked at the Guide water sphere and asked:

"Guide, how do I log out of the game?"

【Very simple: call out "Function Panel" in your mind. It has a teleportation function that can help you return to the real world. This process requires a 30-second wait; you cannot take damage during this time, or the teleportation will be interrupted.】

"Understood!"

Following the Guide's instructions, the scene before him was gradually engulfed by darkness as the teleportation countdown ticked away.

Intense Weightlessness struck, and Li Zheng let out an excited shout in his heart:

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

(End of Chapter)