Chapter 161, 142857: Escape Room.
The player's progress is also fast.
Upon entering the second layer of the world, a terrifying alchemical tide sweeps through the city. After discovering the artificial beings, the players realize that the theme of the dungeon is related to alchemy.
With stars shining brightly, they also went to the science museum to see what the stargazing activity was all about.
Although it is a science and technology museum, in addition to science and technology-related experiential facilities, there are also many ancient artifacts with a strong sense of history.
Looking up in the lobby on the first floor, the circular dome is made of a semi-transparent, unfamiliar material, like some kind of crystal-clear gemstone. You can vaguely see the stars in the sky, revealing a simple star map. A circle of Latin cryptic text is engraved around the edge of the dome.
The player picks up the "translator" item and points to a few sentences:
The lower is like the upper, and the upper is like the lower, thus accomplishing the miracles of the One.
The sun is the father, the moon is the mother; they are conceived by the wind and nurtured by the earth.
In this way, one can obtain the glory of the world and stay away from darkness and ignorance.
This is the content of the Emerald Tablet! The Emerald Tablet is the earliest known historical document on alchemy, originating in Egypt. The Triune Hermes condensed the secrets of alchemy into 13 sentences on a gemstone tablet.
One team of players disguised themselves as museum staff and lured away university professors and students, while another group of players quickly sealed off the rooftop and began their investigation.
In dungeons without opposing factions, they quickly established basic rapport and began to cooperate.
But nothing seems particularly special. One player said dejectedly, "Did we go the wrong way? Let's just stay on the screen and wait for the next level to jump. The biggest significance of this level is just to remind us of the three themes of the dungeon."
"The stars, since this is a stargazing activity, the stars are the most important thing, right?" The player, disguised as a female college student, put one eye behind a telescope, but apart from the beautiful and vast starry sky, there seemed to be no clues.
She said sheepishly, "Let's wait for the astrologer to come back; I can't see anything there."
The telescope moved in her hand, its view falling on the overly quiet city. The large screen switched to the agriculture channel, showing an introduction to a farmer's orchard in the countryside.
Her eyes shifted from behind the mirror to the screen.
"This small orchard is extraordinary! Did you know that it can grow ordinary apples into the king of fruits? Let me reveal the secrets of this orchard to you!"
The reporter followed the farmer on the way to the orchard, chatting with him about the king of fruits with its miraculous effects, as well as some agriculture-related issues.
This scene is strange. They should be walking on a dirt road or a narrow passageway between houses in the countryside. Because it is evening, it is dark all around, and only the two people within the range of the camera's light are illuminated.
Why choose to conduct the interview at night? And why ask questions on the road? Wouldn't it have been better to ask directly in the orchard?
Sure enough, the orchard was built strangely, with impenetrable walls, completely enclosed, more like a military fortress.
The orchard owner took out a bunch of keys, unlocked three locks, and slowly pushed open the heavy door. He still maintained the simple and warm smile unique to farmers, and said, "Be careful, it's not easy to walk here!"
The pale branches pushed upwards, enveloping the sky like a nest; the fleshy red leaves were plump and sticky, bouncing; golden apples hung from the branches, reflecting the light from the camera lens.
Tracing the origin of the branches downwards, they emerge from the backs of numerous withered, aged corpses, at the location of their hearts.
"How is it? Isn't it good-looking?" the farmer smiled proudly.
The reporter swallowed hard, his greedy gaze fixed on the golden apple: "How beautiful! This must be the legendary golden apple. Could you tell me what its effects are?"
"Of course, it's a person's lifelong pursuit." The farmer, in the prime of his life, raised his hand, brushed past the withered corpse, picked a golden apple, and took a hearty bite, just like biting into an ordinary crisp apple. "Don't let my appearance fool you, I'm actually 120 years old!"
The news shifted back to the studio from the interview, and the players came to their senses—a new key disc had appeared, they had reached the third level, and the golden apple was the panacea for immortality!
The players were having a heated discussion. One player, who had finally managed to get together with a pro player, noticed that Zhuo Yi was still staring intently at the screen, his fox-like eyes narrowing with a wary glint.
Did the expert discover any other clues? He looked at the screen again, but he couldn't see anything.
"Speaking of which... why haven't we heard from that expert yet?"
Who are you talking about?
"Our legendary host, he's not saying anything in the group chat, and he's not replying to private messages either. Before this ad, we should have caught up with him, right? Could he be in danger?"
The player shuddered, recalling the rumors about Xue Chao on the forums: "The threat posed by a top player is beyond our control. Maybe he has his own plans. Why are we making wild guesses?"
Zhuo Yi suddenly spoke up, suppressing his frivolous smile: "Xue Chao... you should just pretend he's missing for now."
"Why?" More players looked at the big screen again because of Zhuo Yi. The fake female college student exclaimed in surprise, "Wow, this host is so... Can people be this beautiful? Nuwa's graduation project, how come I didn't notice him just now... Wait, was that him just now?"
As soon as she finished speaking, on the large electronic screen, the androgynous, long-haired beauty glanced sideways, looking across the screen at the rooftop of the science museum, where the players were.
He smiled, a smile so beautiful it was dizzying, as if he had heard their questions.
"I'll cover for you for now, senior, you're going to rest. The host sounds interesting, let's get along well from now on... my players."
He's talking to them!
The words struck like a thunderbolt, sending chills down the players' spines more than if they had seen the Golden Apple Orchard. Several players aimed their weapons and items at the big screen, while others pulled up their player panels, revealing that the room's basic information had changed!
The host's name has changed from "Xue Chao" to "Jiang Ming".
Someone inexplicably appeared and replaced their host. Where did Xue Chao go? Is he resting... or is he dead?
Players skilled at reading people noticed Zhuo Yi's solemn expression. This person was definitely not simple. Jiang Ming... that pronunciation sounds ominous!
That legendary supreme evil god... did he have a grudge against God Xue?
You wouldn't take your anger out on them, would you? No way! The wronged should have their grievances addressed, but if you kill the creditor, you can't kill them!
The audience is also actively discussing it.
"Holy crap, the host is out of contact! He's completely disappeared!"
"Don't make a fuss. From the players' perspective, it's always been like this. The only one who can unilaterally monitor and obtain information between the host and the players is the host."
"+1, the host is the best at dodging, and that's me, he's probably holding back a big move."
"But before the Golden Apple ad played, the room's popularity had already reached 60 points, and everyone turned off camera sharing. This must have been intentional on that part, right? Cutting off the connection between Brother and the players."
"Don't forget, there are players with chronic illnesses here."
Upon realizing something was wrong, the player with the chronic illness immediately activated camera sharing, intending to alert Xue Chao. However, a chilling aura silently enveloped him, silencing his tongue. The cold of the snow-capped mountains, along with the burning smell of wedding candles, created the atmosphere.
"You guys still haven't realized it? The host is no longer Xue Chao. For both us viewers and players, he's essentially disappeared from the game."
"After several dungeons of entanglement, is that one finally going to unleash a powerful attack and deliver the final blow?"
"Am I the only one who thinks they've always been gay...?"
Just as players and viewers were speculating about the danger and tragedy Xue Chao was facing, the newly appointed host unlocked the room tag.
The valuable tag used to attract a specific target audience is "Jiang Chao".
The honest player was confused. What did this mean?
The audience, who had been guessing that the two were locked in a life-or-death struggle, fell into an eerie silence.
Dude, is this right?
Lord Evil God, are you sure you're not secretly promoting something? You even came up with a couple name for it!
The system notification sounded, instantly drawing everyone's attention back. The final mission was unlocked, and there was no time to pay attention to the host anymore.
The large screen showed a studio. Jiang Ming spun his chair and slid back a short distance, revealing a wall of surveillance cameras behind him. He was in a place that resembled a central control room.
The surveillance system has 18 rows, each containing important locations in the city, such as buildings, restaurants facing the large screen, squares, audio-visual stores, residential areas where people have died, science and technology museums, etc., thus repeating 18 rows.
This is the strange thing: even though each column is at the same location and from the same angle, the content of the surveillance footage is different.
In the row of surveillance cameras locked on the rooftop of the science museum, each camera is focused on one player.
Zhuo Yi observed the layout of the surveillance camera several times, then suddenly opened his eyes wide, took a few steps back, and looked warily at the players around him.
The other players were startled and completely bewildered.
"What's wrong, expert? Don't scare us!"
"He just realized what was happening," Jiang Ming said with a smile on the screen. "Try sending a message in your group."
Players who followed the instructions were surprised to find that, even though they were in the same world and right next to each other, they could not see each other's information.
The kind-hearted evil god explained, "Do you think that after watching so many DVDs and watching so much television, you only successfully entered deeper worlds twice? That's completely wrong. It was only in the 'Gold Extraction' and 'Artificial Humans' worlds that your paths of exploration into deeper worlds briefly intersected, and you were both in the same world."
The point has been made clear. Every time they flip through a disc or watch an important television program, they enter a deeper world.
So, after watching the Golden Apple advertisement together in the artificial world, the players, who had a brief reunion, once again ventured into eighteen completely different disc worlds.
The people around them aren't real players at all!
The extra players disappeared as if there were frame drops, and in the row of surveillance cameras on the roof of the science museum, only one player remained on each camera.
"So, the ultimate main quest is..." Jiang Ming's wicked smile faded, he paused for a moment, and said in a soft, almost sighing tone, "to try to return to the original world."
Main Quest 1 has been updated.
[Main Quest 1-4 (Final Quest) "142857": The number 142857, discovered inside the pyramid, is a mysterious revolving number! Multiplying it by any number from 1 to 6 still produces a permutation or combination of those 6 numbers, like a cursed cycle.]
[Mission Details: Return to the original world.]
The dungeon type has also been unlocked, which is "Escape Room".
What's wrong with me?!
As players age, a branch of their consciousness sprouts from behind their heart. When it grows to the top of their head, it bears a golden apple. Only by eating the golden apple can the player survive.
As people age, the bones become imbued with the phantom of the soul, destroying them not only spiritually but also physically.
The electronic screen was occupied by a temporary alarm, and the upper left corner of the screen showed the mutated News Channel 8, which was turned upside down into ∞, and the "News" channel became the "Witch" channel.
Beneath the bloody exclamation mark was only a countdown, indicating that they had very little time left—just one night.
They had to recall the order in which they had watched all the DVDs and watched the eerie television images, and then go back to the world at the beginning.
Is this really enough time?
The NPCs in this layer of the world, like them, grow illusory branches from their backs. The competition in the alchemical tide is even more intense. They kill each other, dig out each other's hearts, and swallow them. The other's soul tree then becomes nutrients, slowing down their own aging and ripening the golden apples that have not yet grown.
They can steal each other's lives to sustain themselves and prolong their own! Perhaps they can even achieve immortality before the dungeon ends without healing potions!
Jiang Ming sat listlessly in front of the monitor, the players' distorted faces reflected in his reddened black pupils, as if they were trapped in the apocalypse.
He was used to such scenes and found it hard to muster any interest.
Those who were in the way have all found something to do. The executive chair, like a swivel teacup, floated to the French windows, while the huge advertisement for imported liquor remained on the large screen.
Unlike the world players inhabit, this is the 19th world, completely isolated from the main storyline of the dungeon, hidden outside the 18 worlds—a world without golden apples.
Here, the panacea is called "Dionysus's Wine".
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