Chapter 171

The announcement of the next trial instance's opening was broadcast server-wide three days ago, informing all players in different languages.

The instance "Game House" has been generated and will be available for trial in three days.

In an instant, whether in China, the US, Europe, or other continents, all players who heard the system announcement immediately stopped what they were doing, opened the instance information panel as quickly as possible, held their breath, and listened and watched with full concentration.

The emotionless, mechanical voice continued to ring out.

[A record of consecutive first clears has been detected among the players: 9]

[Geographical protection has been lifted]

This trial will remove the regional background restrictions, allowing all players to have a unique experience and feel the different cultures and customs of various countries!

Inside a private apartment in the dungeon's living area, a blond young man was lounging lazily on the sofa, his obsidian playing card earrings gleaming under the incandescent light.

This young man was the magician.

Upon hearing the system notification, he couldn't help but lift his eyelids slightly, then casually tossed the fifth-order Rubik's Cube onto the table with a thud: "Those top-tier people were right after all."

A burly middle-aged man sitting next to him responded, "I heard that among the early founders of the Pinnacle Guild was a god-level player codenamed 'The Prophet,' who could see future events. The lifting of territorial protection was probably information that Pinnacle obtained through the Prophet a long time ago."

Since players' memories have undergone several major cleansings during the constant rebirth process, this kind of information and gossip, which can be described as ancient, has become particularly rare and precious.

Everyone else pricked up their ears, signaling the middle-aged man to say more.

The middle-aged man glanced at the absent-minded young magician and said, "I don't know much either. I only know that the prophet was a woman. Before entering the game, she was a world-renowned PhD in astronomy and the chief researcher at the Institute of Stellar Observation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her personal information and family relationships were once classified as top secret."

"Furthermore, this prophet made a crucial prediction when the game reached its climax. That prediction concerned the life and death of all mankind, and she, who saw the future, paid a terrible price for it."

"It was also because of this prophecy that the entire Peak team disappeared during their most glorious period. Some people say they saw them in seclusion in the Trial Pool."

Interrupted the initial trial and went into seclusion for cultivation?

The other companions couldn't help but look at the magician. Wasn't Peak's series of actions exactly the same as the little magician's first clear of the dungeon during the two-phase hiatus?

Does he know something?

"Don't look at me. The peak didn't even invite me to the meeting." The magician casually laughed it off. "I'm not participating in the first trial because I'm giving the opportunity to more promising newcomers. Otherwise, with me here, they wouldn't even have a chance to play."

"As for those guys at the peak, they're too rigid and serious, like my old man who's prematurely menopausal. I can't get along with them, let alone have any contact with them."

"I still don't quite understand," someone else asked, puzzled. "What exactly does 'removing geographical restrictions' mean?"

"Is the system going to teleport us to the other side of the ocean to fight vampires? Is it too late for me to buy garlic, holy water, and a cross?"

"You can rest assured about that."

Under everyone's expectant gaze, the magician raised an eyebrow and slowly revealed a wicked smile: "Given the system's track record, the actual situation will only be worse than you imagine."

"...Heh." The corners of everyone's mouths twitched wildly, and they let out a cold laugh.

“But you can rest assured.” The magician smiled with relief, as if he had just thought of something. “A certain cunning and soft-hearted fellow will definitely not ignore this.”

.

Regardless of the upheavals that swept through the player community over those three days, or the turbulent undercurrents that various factions clashed behind the scenes.

Three days later, all the covert conflicts and probing attacks ceased.

The challengers waited with solemnity and seriousness for the system to send them to the next level.

Players who weren't forced to participate in the game flocked to the live stream area, followed the leaderboard, clicked into the live stream room, and began to wait intently.

It is clearly visible that the popularity of major live streamers is skyrocketing.

Viewers stared intently at the live stream screen, some not daring to even breathe.

As countless people in the player space have been arguing about for the past three days, a player in the Americas region has already achieved a record [9].

With just one step left, all the players will be able to end the game, redeem Earth, and reunite with their loved ones.

The three-year time limit given by the system is almost up, and we have undoubtedly reached a critical moment of survival, a moment that everyone is watching closely.

As a melodious and resonant chime emanated from the clock tower of the auditorium next to the Parliament building, a sense of tension spread through people's hearts like ripples.

A cold, eerie system announcement rang out, seemingly originating from beyond the void, reverberating into the ears of every player.

[Loading the "Game House" instance.]

A bright red countdown panel appeared, the second hand ticking away, and players could almost hear their own heartbeats pounding under the invisible tapping.

The system announcements continued.

To encourage players to actively complete the trials, the All-Out Battle mode remains open.

The system will randomly select half of the unregistered players to directly enter the first trial of "Game House".

Towards the end, the volume suddenly rose, filled with jubilant and excited emotions.

Like a monster finally getting the chance to eat, it tears off its years of disguise, revealing its sinister and sinister side, and letting out a chilling shriek.

Let's break free from laziness and embrace a bright tomorrow! [Smile]

To make up for the lack of enjoyment experienced by all previous challengers, the format of this trial has been changed. The system wishes all challengers a pleasant gaming experience!

Upon hearing this sudden announcement, viewers who remained in the live stream erupted in angry outbursts.

"Fuck your system! Explain clearly what you mean by 'the trial format has changed'? You only bring up something this important right before the trial starts?!"

The next second, the countdown reached zero.

The bright red characters flowed slowly from the end, like tears of blood streaming down a person's face, and darkness engulfed the challengers with their various expressions like a tidal wave.

[The trial begins!]

As the challengers' consciousness sank, a heart-pounding sense of weightlessness followed, and the cold wind stung their cheeks, like suddenly plummeting from a height of 100,000 meters and then coming to a stop at a certain point.

After a dizzying tremor, they slowly opened their eyes.

A blinding white halo enveloped my vision, which gradually faded after a few seconds, revealing many blurry shadows.

Before they could even see what was in front of them clearly, a melodious tune began to play. The tune was cheerful and light, with a great sense of rhythm, like the background music that would be used in an amusement park.

However, when the person singing this song was a little girl with a ghostly tone, and her voice was slurred and halting like a wind-up puppet about to lose its power, the atmosphere instantly became terrifying.

The little girl's distorted, rough voice, like someone sawing wood, echoed all around.

"...the whole world is like a giant playground."

“…The whole world is like a huge playground.”

"The winner takes all."

"The winner is the king."

"But those who fail always have a way out."

"But those who fail always have a way out."

"Because your family will accept everything about you."

"Because your family will ive you for everything."

The eerie singing gradually faded away. The new player, who thought he was safe for the time being, blinked nervously. His vision cleared up from blurry, and he was suddenly startled by a little girl who had suddenly approached him.

A girl in a white swan dress tiptoed up to him, gave the bewildered player a sweet smile, and stretched out her arms as if to hug him: "Sir, are you tired? If you are, come home. There will be no more strife, no more death, only your loving family waiting for you."

“I…” The player was caught off guard and met her gaze.

Her sparkling blue eyes were purer than sapphire, and her delicate, innocent face was spotless. Under the bright sunlight, she was as beautiful as an angel from a fairy tale.

—What a wonderful girl, such a pure and lovely guiding angel.

All the fear and trepidation about the trial transformed into a deep longing for home at this moment.

The player vaguely felt a peaceful and serene radiance emanating from the girl, shining upon him, and a warm current of comfort spread from his skin to his very bones.

He involuntarily bent down, waiting for the angel's embrace, murmuring longingly in his heart.

—Will she take me home? No, she…isn't she my family?

Just then, a strong force came from the side, and someone grabbed him hard, shouting angrily, "Wake up! What are you all doing? Are you blinded by ghosts?"

The player felt a sharp pain as his arm was gripped, and he jolted awake, blinking involuntarily.

The next second, his eyes suddenly widened.

The girl still looked at him with a smile, her appearance as pure and flawless as an angel.

However, her skin was melting.

Like a melted candle, the sticky, wet flesh and blood vessels fell off in a cascade. Two jewel-like eyeballs fell to the ground with a thud, rolled in a circle of blood and mud, and soon revealed the stark white bones and twisted organs.

The corner of her torn lips had only a piece of scarlet, rotting skin clinging to it. From this angle, you could even clearly see the girl's slightly throbbing vocal cords.

"Sir, why don't you want to go home?"

Thump.

The player's legs went weak, and he collapsed backward to the ground, his face as pale as paper, trembling like a sieve.

He blinked rapidly in fright, and the scene before him suddenly changed.

No longer were there girls with peeling skin standing in front of him. What he could see was a huge amusement park, but its exact size was impossible to measure with the naked eye. Standing at the crossroads, he could not see the end of it.

Everywhere you look, you see staff wearing animal skin costumes, but those costumes actually have white fat and bloody bits of meat on them, looking as real as if they were freshly butchered.

Various unconventional amusement facilities stretch across the view, connecting together to form a dark and chilling steel cage.

The most eye-catching feature is a black tower that appears to be standing in the center of the amusement park in the distance.

The tower is exceptionally tall and majestic, its circular pillars piercing the clouds, seemingly endless. It's as if one could follow this path to heaven and reach the vast and ethereal universe.

The tower gave players a very eerie feeling; even standing here, at a considerable distance, one could feel an overwhelming sense of oppression.

"Wait, stop! Where are you going? Wake up! It's all an illusion!"

Panic-stricken shouts came from not far away.

There were more than twenty players standing in the open space of the square. Judging from the scale of the previous trial, this number was not considered dense.

However, if you add the other thirty-odd players ahead, with their empty eyes, swaying like puppets as they walk towards the intersection, it becomes somewhat terrifying.

The one who shouted was a girl. She was desperately grabbing her companion's arm. Seeing that she was about to be dragged away by her unconscious companion, she kicked and slapped her in an attempt to wake her up.

It was at this moment that a huge, thin shadow descended from above and enveloped her.

The girl froze abruptly, slowly and fearfully looking up at the sky, only to meet a pair of bright, smiling eyes.

A tall, thin figure in a suit and top hat appeared at the intersection, pulling a pink and white, fairytale-like handcart with one hand. He had a small mustache and looked like a British gentleman.

It looked as tall as a two-story building, and when it spoke, its thin, bony waist bent at almost a 150-degree angle, its smiling face close to the girl's constricted pupils.

"Beautiful and lovely lady, would you like to come with us?"