Chapter 496: The Importance of Choice (4/10, Autumn Subscription)

Everything was so casual—enemies of the same level were cut down as if it were a joke.

Xiantian!

Ye Ge was definitely lying to me just now—he's definitely a Xiantian Realm martial artist!

When did players become this strong?

Qingchen, who basically never checks the forum, was genuinely shocked.

The speed of this combat power increase is way too fast.

The game's only been live a little over a month, and someone has already reached the Xiantian Realm?

"Ye Ge, any leveling secrets? Teach me. I know I'm focused on research, but if there's a shortcut to boost my strength, I wouldn't mind taking it."

Fang Yue glanced at him.

"Do you have an innate ability?"

"I have 【Speed Reading】!"

"……What thing?"

"It's when reading books and text, I can finish them several times faster."

"……Anything else?"

"That's it."

"Then there's no shortcut. Just train honestly."

Raising his hand in a single slash to cut down the charging jailer, Fang Yue surveyed his surroundings.

In cell after cell, lined up one after another, sat a group of people in tattered clothes, sallow and emaciated.

Every cell held a batch of people in similar condition. They seemed to have been locked up for a very long time—all of them exceptionally haggard, shivering.

"Ye Ge, you mean if I had another innate ability, I'd have a chance to overtake everyone?"

"Mm, I have a friend whose innate ability is gaining stats from eating. If she'd just eat more and put in the effort every day, surpassing me might be out of reach, but keeping pace with me wouldn't be a problem. Too bad…"

"That's perfect then, introduce her to me. I'll research how to strip an innate ability out of a vagrant… occupational hazard, occupational hazard, don't look at me like that, Ye Ge…"

"Hmph!"

Fang Yue gave a cold snort, raised his hand, and sliced through the iron lock on the iron cell before him.

Clang.

The iron lock shattered at the sound.

"You're free. If you want to live, figure out how to escape on your own."

Leaving behind those words, Fang Yue didn't bother with their reactions and went to open the other locks.

After all the others' locks were opened, Fang Yue noticed not a single prisoner dared to come out of their cell.

Slightly shaking his head, Fang Yue said to Qingchen, "Take me to the next cell."

"Y-yes…"

The innate ability question Qingchen raised did remind Fang Yue of something.

Namely, that the Game Watches worn by all players are actually built on 【Ghost Threads】, serving as a bridge connecting the two.

Then… what's the deal with the Lucky Gift Pack?

Is it a gift left behind by the 【Cheaters】' Tengli Group within the Game Watch? An improvement? Or… is the Lucky Gift Pack in the game actually an innate ability of one's own?

No… it shouldn't be that simple.

Fang Yue recalled that when he bought the Lucky Gift Pack, the parchment specifically told him to buy a Game Watch with a specific serial number—only by standing in a specific spot in the queue could he receive that Game Watch, and only then… could the Lucky Gift Pack be activated!

Looking at it this way, innate abilities are a function of the Game Watch.

But thinking more carefully, it could also be a collision and fusion between the different individual 【Ghost Threads】 inside different Game Watches and different individual humans.

After all, every 【Ghost Thread】 is unique, and every human body is unique—what effect ultimately emerges is anyone's guess.

No, Tengli Group must know something, otherwise they wouldn't have used the Lucky Gift Pack as a selling point.

It seems that to know the truth, he'd have to find someone from Tengli Group to ask, and that place is 【Cheaters】' territory. Under normal circumstances, members of the 【Alliance】 are supposed to avoid suspicion and minimize contact with the 【Cheaters】 organization.

Just as Fang Yue was thinking this, another batch of guards charged into Prison Cell No. 1.

"Wait here."

Leaving Qingchen where he was, Fang Yue charged in alone.

This time, the guards all seemed to be using ice- and water-type Martial Techniques, apparently thinking this would let them hold their own against Fang Yue for a bit.

The result was that amid the wide, sweeping swings of his two-meter-long Fire Blade, a mist of water vapor rose into the air.

When the water vapor cleared, the ground was already littered with corpses.

"A-amazing!"

"Young master… young master, please save us, please save us!"

Seeing Fang Yue so valiant, and watching him cut down the guards without leaving a single one alive right before their eyes, the prisoners who had been cowering in their cells and refusing to come out finally spoke up.

But Fang Yue had no time to bother with them.

He was in a rush to find Lord Han and Lin Ling.

God knew when he'd run into the Ox-Mask Man and the Horse-Mask Man—those two powerhouses whose strength was unfathomable. Fang Yue would avoid them if at all possible.

So the immediate priority was to find them, rescue them, and then run immediately.

Ignoring the prisoners' pleas for help, Fang Yue told Qingchen to follow and headed toward Cell No. 2.

The prisoners left behind in the cells, seeing Fang Yue's reaction, immediately panicked.

Gritting their teeth, quite a few people simply rushed out of their cells and followed behind Fang Yue.

Seeing someone take the lead, others found courage from who knows where and followed one after another.

Only a scant few remained, bodies trembling, watching the departing group with venomous eyes as if cursing them.

"Run! Run! It's not the first time someone's run! You all know perfectly well what happens to those who run! No one can escape! No one can escape!!"

This batch of people seemed to have been tormented into Stockholm Syndrome — they themselves lacked the courage to flee, and worse, they couldn't bear to see others do well, venomously cursing those who tried to run with ill fate. Yet the tears sliding from the corners of their eyes, and the way they crouched on the ground with arms wrapped around themselves, trembling, seemed to silently tell that they actually wanted to muster the courage, just like everyone else, to escape this endless hell.

However, everyone has their own choices; once a choice is made, one must bear the consequences.

About an hour later, the ground suddenly trembled violently.

Amid their puzzled expressions, the clatter of footsteps came from outside the cell.

The prisoners huddled inside the cell, not daring to come out, looked up toward the doorway — and at once their pupils contracted in unison.

They saw a dog-like monstrosity, fangs bared from its mouth, a small blood-red stone glinting on its forehead, a big head on a small body, standing quietly at the doorway, sweeping its gaze over the crowd.

"A m-monstrosity?!"

"A blood-grade monstrosity?!"

"How could it be?!"

"H-help! Help!!"

Amid the prisoners' shrieks, the blood-grade monstrosity Xiao Xuedou swept through all of Prison Cell No. 1 like a blood-colored gale.

When it emerged from the cell again, it just so happened to swallow in one gulp the half-mangled corpse dangling from its mouth, sniffed the air, quickly locked onto a direction, and dashed off ahead.

And behind the blood-grade monstrosity Xiao Xuedou…

A monstrosity with a giant pot-mouth was locking a screaming human inside its giant pot, emitting the whirring sound of water coming to a boil.

A massive black ball, like a charging meat-egg, rolled along, crushing every guard that blocked its path, leaving a trail of flattened corpses on the ground.

More monstrosities crawled out scrambling from around the corner — some crawling on the floor, some on the walls, some on the ceiling — like zombies bursting from a cage, every monstrosity madly attacking every living human in sight.

The entire stronghold plunged into utter chaos.

……

(End of chapter)