Chapter 201

It was 6:17 PM.

As dusk approached, the sky remained as bright as dawn, bathed in a hazy white glow.

Strangely, not a single cloud could be seen, nor could the sun be seen at all, yet the heat of the sunlight seemed to be felt.

Players have long since given up on using the weather to determine their latitude and longitude.

Their initial goal was to find a way to reach the Black Tower.

Even without explicit written instructions, it's hard to dismiss such a massive tower as merely a decoration.

Based on past experience, key clues for passing the game are usually hidden within.

However, no matter how long they walked briskly towards the Black Tower, they could not shorten the distance between themselves and the Black Tower.

The tower still stands tall and imposing in the clouds, appearing majestic and dangerous, silently watching over everyone.

Fortunately, they split into several groups. One group of players returned empty-handed, while the other group successfully found the train station.

The train station is located at the entrance and exit of the amusement park, and it's the only place with tracks that players remember.

Forgive them for not remembering for a moment.

Although there is a track here, it is only about a hundred meters long. As for the parts in front, they may have been dismantled long ago, leaving deep or shallow imprints on the weathered gray sand.

On one side of the track is an untended open space overgrown with weeds, and on the other side is a bare hillside with only a few clumps of shrubs.

At the suspected starting point of the train, there stands a rusty sign with a red frame, white background, and black lettering. The paint has almost completely peeled off, and the outer glass is covered with black and yellow stains. A few ordinary precautions can be vaguely seen.

This place has been abandoned for at least five or six years.

When the players first found this place, it was a desolate, godforsaken place. They searched it several times afterward, but nothing had changed.

When they qualified for the competition and searched for them again, everything suddenly changed.

The sign was brand new, with the words "Queue for train and ticket inspection" written in the center. Next to it was an image of a tall, thin ghost figure elegantly removing his hat in greeting, but his mouth full of white shark teeth was creepy.

The route map below deserves special attention.

However, there are only two stations with clearly marked names: 【Amusement Park → Game Kingdom】. There are many small red dots in the middle of the track that look like stations, but I don't know what they are for.

As more and more players arrived, the rust on the rails disappeared, leaving them shiny and new.

The players followed the instructions and lined up on the platform. Once everyone was in line...

In an instant, the sky above the train station suddenly darkened, and then a thick darkness enveloped everyone like a curtain.

There was no light in sight, only the whistling wind rushing past, like a massive boulder pressing down, heavily striking everyone's hearts.

In the darkness, the players felt a strong sense of being stared at, and the cold wind that swept through them immediately raised goosebumps.

As if by accident, my entire body was being scrutinized with intense curiosity by some unknown being.

They held their breath, not daring to make a move.

Perhaps it was boring to remain motionless like this, because the gaze quickly withdrew, finding it rather uninteresting.

Immediately following.

Bang!

They heard such a loud noise.

It sounded as if something heavy had crashed to the ground, making an unbearable creaking sound.

The oppressive feeling caused by that gaze receded along with the darkness like a receding tide, and the sun shone brightly overhead, restoring a clear and open view.

Before the players could even catch their breath, the next second, they saw a brand new track appear next to the original one, and their hearts skipped a beat.

They didn't know what having an extra track meant, but the fact that two additional sightseeing trains had appeared on the existing two tracks made them feel very uneasy.

In particular, neither of these two small trains was intact; either parts of the carriages were crushed and deformed, or they looked like they had been smashed to pieces, with the carriages and locomotives broken into sections.

As if deliberately designed to annoy players, the system notification sounded with ill intent.

[Ding! To enhance the fun of the rides, increase player engagement, and let everyone experience the thrill of competition, the "Sightseeing Train" ride will randomly merge players from multiple instances for a timed competition!]

The first team to successfully reach the game kingdom will receive generous points rewards and attribute boosts for all players, with a chance to obtain rare S-rank items!

Conversely, teams that fail to make it into the top three will be disqualified from the competition and will receive extremely harsh penalties!

All the judges unanimously agreed that a team that couldn't even place in such a low-level competition had no right to participate in the Black King's game.

Of course, we do not forbid players from using more aggressive methods to achieve victory, after all, the game kingdom advocates freedom and does not adhere to any rules.

Only those who stand to the end deserve the crown of victory. Sprint with all your might! The honor belongs to those who fight for the Black King!

The crowd began to stir.

In the past, there was competition in dungeons, but it was always subtle. This is the first time it has been so openly displayed.

The various traps and monsters in the dungeons are already difficult to deal with, and now they want to switch from PvE (player versus player) to PvPvE (player versus player plus player)? Isn't this just making things worse?

The captain calmly analyzed the situation, saying, "Everyone, don't panic!"

"Based on the elimination rate of the first two S-level dungeons, there are probably fewer than forty people who can survive the first two hours of a dungeon."

Moreover, only players who qualify for the competition can ride the train, which will greatly reduce the number of participants.

In terms of team strength, we have a total of 27 players, which is definitely more than the average number of participants! We might not be without a fighting chance against other teams!

Upon hearing this, the others looked back at the large, bustling crowd and realized that it made sense, which put them at ease.

A system notification sounded.

The instance number you are in is: 7721

[First opponent matched at the initial site: Dungeon #333]

[Loading basic information about the enemy team]

Number of players remaining in instance #555: 118

Of those who qualified for the competition: 118

The number of people currently waiting for their train at the train station: 103

The notification sound spread like waves, washing over the disheveled Team 7721.

Then everything exploded.

"103 people?!"

"Are they cheating? Isn't it supposed to be that Slender Man takes away 60 people at the start of the game? How did they survive?"

The captain's face went blank, and when he heard the system notification, it clearly carried a subtle mockery!

He forced himself to calm down and loudly reassured everyone: "This shows there's something wrong with their team! Our fortune teller calculated that 60 people must die at the start for Slender Man to activate the ride! They clearly exploited a loophole, it doesn't represent their true strength!"

The players tried to boost morale, which was on the verge of collapse: "So what if there are more of us? One A-rank player can easily take on 10 B-rank players. With absolute power, even a large number of players are just easy prey! We have a full four A-rank players, so have some confidence, everyone!"

The system kept sending prompts.

[Calculating the enemy team's player contribution and overall combat strength]

[We have marked the top five most threatening opponents for you. We recommend that you treat them with caution.]

[The following is basic information about the opponent]

[First Place]

Name: Yan Chuyi

Level: ? ? ?

Title: ? ? ?

Affiliation: ? ? ?

Region: Zhongzhou District

Threat level: Five stars

Comment: He once tormented a project boss to the point of insanity and then brutally murdered him. He is the most hated human being in the kingdom, without exception, and an extremely dangerous antisocial figure!

This person has been added to the game kingdom's bounty list. If you take him down, you will gain a huge amount of goodwill from most of the citizens and a large bounty!

"Wait a minute, what do you mean?"

The players stared at the information bar in disbelief, their scalps tingling: "He not only killed the mini-boss and attracted the aggro of all the monsters in the current dungeon, but he also survived unscathed?!"

[Second Place]

Name: Brian Odinson

Rank: S (Advanced to God-level player)

Title: Thor

Region: Americas

...

[Third Place]

Name: Xu Ji

Grade: S

Affiliation: Peak (Third in the global guild power ranking)

Region: Zhongzhou District

...

The players of team number 7721 were all speechless: "..."

When the shock reaches a certain point, even their eyes become empty, and their minds are filled with only a few pale questions.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to do?

Who's going to take on an S-rank? Me?

Speechless.

Just wait to die.

The notification sounded: "[Instance merge complete, the two sides will meet soon.]"

The scene before my eyes became blurry and chaotic, like multiple phantoms overlapping each other. When it stabilized again, a large group of people appeared in the open space.

A menacing, blond mercenary with a buzz cut and a stern, refined-looking man with glasses—the S-class aura emanating from the two completely shattered their hopes.

All the players in team 7721 numbly closed their eyes.

Even the captain, who had been persevering, gave up. When he noticed the two men who were not to be trifled with looking over, he immediately raised his head, and sorrowful tears slowly seeped from the corners of his eyes as he awaited his death.

The system clearly declared that they were competitors, a fight to the death, and Captain 7721 was certain that this powerful team would not let them go.

As a result, we waited and waited.

A full hour passed, and even as monsters started spawning at the train station, Team 333 showed no sign of coming to wipe them out.

Instead, they set up tents on the spot and started a fire. What does that mean?

After clearing out the monsters, the team member suddenly ran over excitedly and reported, "Captain, look! These monsters drop parts for repairing trains!"

The captain looked down and saw that what the team member was holding in his sticky hands was nothing but a metal part!

He asked with surprise, "Are you sure this part drops from monsters? What's the drop rate?"

"Confirmed! We just killed more than ten monsters and got a whole bagful of drops! The drop rate is at least 90%!"

Very good!

The captain was overjoyed.

Both sightseeing trains were damaged and unable to start, inevitably raising suspicions that the system was deliberately creating this predicament to provoke the two teams into competing for parts and repairing the trains.

Right now, you can get parts by defeating monsters, which would avoid such conflicts, wouldn't it?

The captain hurriedly looked at team number 333.

The other side seemed to have noticed this as well, as one player was reporting the parts to two S-rank players.

The atmosphere in the group wasn't very enthusiastic; it seemed a bit cold.

He could only sigh in admiration, "As expected of a team led by a god-level player, they remain calm and composed even in the face of adversity."

Another half hour passed before the system notification sounded.

The sightseeing train will depart no later than 10 PM. An announcement has been made to the 15 players currently wandering outside. Players who fail to arrive at the train station by the deadline will be disqualified from the competition.

It was at this moment that the team leader of team number 7721 suddenly became agitated, and several people in team number 333, who had been calm and composed, rushed up to the middle-aged man with glasses and started arguing anxiously.

Immediately afterwards, the blond S-class couldn't hold back any longer. He stood up abruptly, looking aggressive, as if he was going to find someone.

The bespectacled man quickly stopped him, his face bearing the same heavy worry.

Although no conflict broke out, the clash between the two S-class auras was still terrifying.

Captain 7721 watched with bated breath, then belatedly remembered something.

—Looking at it from any angle, there are only two S-level individuals. Where did Yan Chuyi, who has a threat level of five stars, go?

This question was answered twenty minutes later.

When a dozen or so figures appeared at the end of the road, shouting loudly for their companions, they startled both groups.

Captain 7721 suddenly saw it.

Whether it was the seemingly calm bespectacled man, the unruly blond mercenary, or the hundreds of players behind them, they all stood up instantly, abandoning their initial composure, and excitedly rushed forward!