Chapter 135
The announcement on the world channel fermented in a very short time and quickly received the widest response among the player community.
This wasn't just a simple call to form a team to take on a boss; it was a historic mission, a heavy responsibility that all players shouldered. Their hidden humanity was awakened, and even the lowest-level, weakest players abandoned their shabby existence and instead advanced towards the publicly announced coordinates, no matter what means were needed.
Smaller alliances joined the larger alliances in their respective servers, and then formed the server-wide Justice League. This process was intensive and in full swing. They firmly believed that good would prevail over evil, and that justice would prevail. They also understood the importance of swift resolution. The "tumor" must be removed before it could fully develop.
Facing the players' grand gathering in the central Pacific Ocean, Paradise Island also made a corresponding strategy, which was to recall its henchmen distributed around the world in advance.
Since the coordinates of Paradise Island are fixed and cannot be moved, once the encirclement is formed, the encirclement will shrink smaller and smaller until it is completely closed.
The greatest team battle was about to begin, and Guo Pei was ready to fight, feeling that his abundant physical energy needed to be released.
Yes, God will not let down those who work hard. His refuge ship was finally upgraded to level four. During this month of hard training, he successfully raised the killing line of [Execution] to 3%. He is now terrifyingly strong!
Looking up at the distant sea, at the crowds of players from all regions, Guo Pei's heart surged. He thought, if the real world had background music, it would be playing "Soviet March" on a loop right now. It's the most electrifying melody on the planet.
His middle school personality kicked in, and he couldn't help but yell to himself, "You bastard Liu He, you've already met your end!"
After receiving the announcement from player Cx330 on the world channel, the players in Zone 3, led by Hailou, collectively set out, heading straight for the coordinates of Paradise Island, thousands of miles away. They'd dedicated themselves to this, training arduously, and experiencing life and death in the illusion, all in anticipation of this moment.
He Zhaonian stumbled upon a fact: the nickname of the player broadcasting on the world channel was "Cx330," the same name as the player who had remained silent in their alliance, Hailou. This was odd; he had no recollection of when this person had joined Hailou, and his chat history was nowhere to be found. But that wasn't important; this battle was paramount.
As the encirclement closed in, players from all over the world were forced into contact. Although they came from different nationalities, skin colors, and cultural backgrounds, spoke different languages, and had varying levels of gaming proficiency and combat prowess, they were all incredibly friendly and welcoming, communicating and learning from each other, because they were about to face a common enemy.
Within three days of Paradise Island's coordinates being revealed, over three thousand players and tens of thousands of combat-capable characters gathered in the surrounding waters. While most players were underdeveloped in individual combat, their numbers were overwhelming, and players displayed tacit coordination, ranging from ranged marksmen to mages with unstoppable skills. Support players not only healed but also unleashed buffs that increased attack power and agility, as well as inflicted debuffs on opponents.
The coordinate dust of Paradise was surrounded by a large group of players in the center. Players were lurking in the sky and on the seabed. Paradise Island had nowhere to hide.
However, on the third day after the coordinate dust was blocked, the small world of Paradise Island arrogantly opened to all players.
A beautiful tropical island appeared before everyone's eyes, with tall coconut trees, a gravel beach, and parasols on the beach.
A large number of Level 4 and Level 5 refuge ships were moored along the island's coast, totaling approximately 300. This number of refuge ships roughly indicated the total number of players loyal to Paradise Island, approximately 200. Of course, there was another significant combat force that could not be ignored: the soul-deprived death warriors, numbering approximately 2,000. These soldiers were selected from the armies of various countries, each possessing the highest physical fitness and combat skills. They were also heavily upgraded, equipped with weapons and skills, and resolutely carried out the players' orders, unwaveringly following their orders until their death.
The players of Paradise Island suddenly appeared, gathering in an open area on the south side of the island, facing the gazes of countless players and characters from all directions outside Paradise Island. Further out, the tool soldiers with empty eyes stood solemnly, holding their firearms.
In the open space, the chessboard was still placed at the front, and two young men were playing against each other, concentrating on the game.
Next to the wicker chess basket, a porcelain cup emits wisps of smoke.
Tao Sai, mingling among the players, looked around. She recognized one of them; she had seen this face through the projection before: Liu He. The other was probably Li Xian'an, the so-called second-in-command of Paradise Island.
Even with Paradise Island's arrogance, the surrounding players didn't dare act rashly until they had a clear understanding of the situation. These guys were incredibly cunning, having suffered enough losses to gain experience.
Liu He made his move calmly, resting his head on his hands while he thought, his fingers gently tapping his face. This seemingly ordinary action exuded a powerful aura, and the thousands of players outside Paradise Island held their breath, staring at each other in surprise.
At this moment, it seemed that nothing one did was appropriate, and no one dared to be the first to take action, because this might very well lead to a quick death.
They seemed to be controlled by Liu He's calmness, and the only thing they could do was wait for the end of this game.
There are also more rational players among them. They choose to observe Liu He and the other players behind him, identify each other's identities, and share information with others to help unfamiliar players understand what skills these henchmen have. In this way, after the two sides go to war, they can suffer less losses and make targeted responses.
About an hour later, the game ended and the two players began to haggle over the number of pieces.
After confirming that his points were greater than his opponent's by a large margin, Li Xian'an's eyes were extremely excited, "Old Liu, you are really a wimp."
Liu He snorted coldly and said, "I'll just let you do it. This is called temperature control. You know nothing about chicken feathers."
He then reached out and disrupted the chessboard, causing the black and white pieces to fall to the ground.
Having lost the game, Liu He was in a gloomy mood. He raised his head nonchalantly and glanced around the island. This was the first time he had looked beyond Paradise Island.
"Is everyone here?" Liu He asked.
The sound he made was not loud, but everyone one or two kilometers away could hear his pronunciation just right.
This sound, neither light nor heavy, struck the soul directly and spread out in the form of waves, causing everyone to gasp.
Tang Yingxue couldn't help but shudder as she saw the man's facial expression clearly through the high-powered sniper scope. "He's so scary."
"Is this guy trying to play some empty city trick?" Guo Pei muttered, putting down the telescope.
At this moment, a commotion erupted among the players representing justice, and everyone looked in the direction of the sound. They saw a massive spatial vortex appear on the sea surface, and a massive level 6 refuge ship emerged from the wormhole, its hull pushing out huge waves to either side, with an imposing presence.
The side of this giant refugee ship is printed with "Odin", which is the Chinese transliteration of Odin, the father of gods in Norse mythology.
After the "Odin", the wormhole vortex did not disappear. Level 5 refuge ships such as the "Loki" and the "Boreas" sailed out one after another. In a very short time, large ships from the fifth area covered the entire south side of the island.
"Odin" is like a mountain. It doesn't need to do anything. Just standing there is enough to give people peace of mind.
At this moment, the players whose determination had wavered because of Liu He's arrogance were given a shot of adrenaline. There was a cheer among the players, and they glared at Liu He and Paradise Island with a common hatred.
On the foredeck of the Odin, a middle-aged man in a suit and vest, with a white beard, slowly walked towards the bow. It was easy for everyone to guess that this player, this age, could only be Shay Simon, the creator of the globally popular game "Infiltration," and the initiator of this ultimate showdown.
"Uncle, you are so old, and you are still playing games." Liu He said mockingly.
The confrontation between Simon and Liu He had countless players excited, but Tao Sai's focus wasn't on that. She tried to find Feng among the players on Paradise Island. She and Feng were likely the only players who remembered each other. After the parallel universes merged, their memories would intersect, and Liu He would also have forgotten Feng. This meant she was likely safe, able to lie low and wait for her opportunity, just like her. But she couldn't find Feng among the crowd.
Simon walked to the front of the deck. He suddenly ripped open his vest, took it off, ripped off his bow tie, and rolled up his shirt cuffs. He raised his arm and shouted passionately to the players in all directions:
"Kids, it's time to fight the ultimate boss! The ultimate battle has arrived! Don't be stingy with your bullets and energy, use them all on these beasts, for justice! Victory is at hand!" As he shouted, veins bulged on his neck and forehead.
One call and a hundred responses, the crowd was excited.
In a short while, the long-range attack players found their attack positions, the assisting players released their buff skills, the mage players equipped with a large number of combat skills poured recovery potions into their mouths in advance, and the melee players in the front row jumped directly onto the beach of Paradise Island and charged towards the open space in the villa area.
Although the fifth zone has stronger combat power than other zones, it does not treat other players as cannon fodder, but fights side by side and fights together.
Simon, the leader of District Five, leaped to his feet, flew across the beach, and charged directly at Liu He. He was swathed in an unknown energy, and the energy disturbances in the surrounding space caused all the players on Paradise Island, including Li Xian, to tense up and quickly adjust to combat stances to prepare for the attack.
Liu He remained calm as usual. He stood up slowly, looked directly at Shay Simon, and grinned. "Are you so anxious? Then I'll give you something exciting."
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
At the same time, a unified subtitle popped up in front of all players.
【Season 3 has begun.】
Immediately following this line of subtitles is a page of text, which provides annotations and explanations of the content of the new season.
[Season 3 is a Battle Royale mode, and all players are eligible to participate.]
[Battle Royale Rules: In each stage of the game, players must kill another player. Each stage lasts 10 minutes. Players who kill less than 1 player in each stage will be eliminated.]
[This season has no time limit and no division limit. The only surviving player in the game will receive the ultimate reward.]
After reading the rules of the new season, all the players, without exception, stopped what they were doing, staring in amazement, unable to believe what they saw.
Including Shay Simon, their hearts seemed to be hit by something, their bodies stiffened and their eyes dull.
In the Battle Royale rules, players kill each other, and only one player can survive. The one who survives to the end is called "Chicken Dinner".
"Have you played PUBG? Have you played Game for Peace? Have you played Knives Out?" Liu He asked with a smile in his eyes while squinting his eyes.
"You all understand the rules of the shrinking circle, right? Ours is a little different. Let me see how you self-proclaimed righteous players will attack your companions."
After saying that, Liu He sat down and relaxed on the soft chair. He took a sip of tea and prepared to enjoy this wonderful show.
After reading the rules, Li Xianan rubbed his hands excitedly and turned around to say, "Lao Liu, this is exciting. What's your idea? You really know how to make up the rules of the game! Ah, then we have to kill a few players quickly, otherwise the circle will shrink on us."
"You don't need to." Liu He said.
The next moment, an extremely hot temperature surrounded the surrounding area. Li Xian stared at Liu He in horror. He tried his best to make a sound and tried to escape, but there was a thousand-pound weight under his feet, which directly sucked him to the ground.
The moment his body touched the ground, he was vaporized by the extremely high temperature of 100,000 degrees.
Also vaporized at the same time were the other two hundred players behind Liu He. Their resistance was lower than Li Xian'an's, and they disappeared forever before they even had time to feel the pain.
Around Liu He, more than two hundred wisps of thin green smoke rose into the air and then disappeared into thin air, as if they had never existed.
On the translucent light screen in front of his retina, his nickname "God's Hand" ranked first in the [S3 Season] list, and the number of kills was shown as 209.
This scene happened in just a few seconds. The players who witnessed the whole process didn't even know what had just happened, but the danger signal was overwhelming, and they subconsciously retreated.
They felt the thermal radiation caused by the extremely high temperature, although the thermal radiation had been weakened by 99.99% over this distance.
In the crowd, a player shouted, "It's his S-rank magical skill, [Define Pattern]!"
This player can read the name and effect of the skill through the effect of the skill cast by the opponent.
"[Defined laws] can modify physical quantities within a small range. He just instantly raised the temperature within a radius of fifty meters to 100,000 degrees Celsius and increased the Earth's gravity to one million Newtons!"
The extremely high temperature will vaporize people, and the super gravity will make it impossible for people to escape.
The players realized belatedly what had just happened. The well-dressed man lying in the soft chair killed all the players loyal to Paradise Island in an instant without blinking!
For the Justice Camp, this was much easier. After all, Liu He was the only one left on Paradise Island. It was impossible for him to hide anyone else. Even Li Xian'an, the second-in-command of Paradise Island, had been killed.
But this doesn't mean it's any easier to destroy Paradise. Liu He possesses near-invincible S-rank skills, capable of modifying physical quantities including, but not limited to, atmospheric pressure, air density, temperature, wind, gravity, and tidal forces. Only those physically capable of withstanding these physical forces can approach him. Otherwise, once you enter the realm where physical quantities can be modified, you'll only suffer the fate of those players on Paradise Island: vaporized in a fraction of a second by ultra-high temperatures, a painful death. This is because the brain can't transmit pain fast enough to keep up with the rate of vaporization.
The melee players couldn't help but gasp and quickly retreated to the outskirts of the island, still feeling terrified. They were extremely grateful that they had charged slowly and hadn't reached the range of the magical skill [Define Law].
Melee wasn't an option, but ranged attacks were still an option. Marksmen players, finding good positions in all directions, spared no effort, frantically unleashing their skills and weapons towards Liu He's position. Light shone brightly, thunder roared, and these energy weapons were enough to dig the area dozens of meters deep.
However, when flying skills, bullets, cannonballs, and other objects leap into the range of the [Definition Law], they are vaporized, blocked, and rebounded, rendering all long-range attacks ineffective within the range. Liu He didn't even blink.
He also modified the physical constant of that space, namely the mass, and made the air density in that space reach the level of a neutron star.
Neutron stars are the densest objects in the universe except for black holes. They are the product of the final stage of stellar evolution. In the dimension where humans live, it is impossible to cause any damage to neutron stars.
By easily modifying the physical constants, he created an indestructible invisible fortress for himself. This is Liu He's confidence.
What's even more despairing is that he has already made more than 200 kills. If the [S3 Season] rules are established and cannot be modified, he will be able to safely survive the 209 stages of this cruel battle royale game.
Liu He foresaw the players of Paradise Island gathered around him, and then killed them instantly without any hesitation.
What does this mean? Does it mean he already knew about the new season's content and was prepared before the [Season 3] update? Is he involved in the game? Or is this terrifying demon the creator of the game?
A small countdown window is jumping in the upper right corner of each player's vision. This window is pinned to the top and has been there since the start of the season. It cannot be closed or shrunk.
[7:52 left until the next stage].
If the season rules are in effect, then after the countdown reaches zero, players who have killed less than one person will be eliminated by the system.
"Eliminated" is a word that's too light. Both Season 1 and Season 2 saw players eliminated, silently and forever ceasing their postings on the world channel. No one knows the exact outcome: whether they were stripped of their player status or simply erased by the system. However, all signs point to erasure, as both "eliminated" and "killed" players vanish from memory forever. This is the strongest evidence of system-erasure data.
There is an invisible stopwatch hovering over every player's heart, ticking away, time passing by second by second, getting closer and closer to zero.
As the countdown drew near, the players gathered on the outskirts of the island fell into doubt and panic, and chaos erupted. In their panic, everyone turned their attention to their core leader, Shay Simon.
Simon was hovering in the air above the beach at this time. He frowned and stared at Liu He who was diagonally below him, thinking about how to deal with the situation, but it was obvious that this was quite tricky.
There was a commotion among the players, fear was written on everyone's face, everyone was in danger and trembling.
"Everyone, hold your ground! Don't hurt your own people!"
"It's not the last moment yet. There must be a way."
"Does elimination really mean death? Are we overthinking it?"
"I think so too. This is a fucking death game, damn it!"
"What are you doing! I saw you accumulating energy!"
"No, no, no, stop it!"
"All of Paradise Island's lackeys are dead, leaving only Liu He, who is unreachable. Are we going to attack our companions?"
"No! I would rather die than hurt my teammates."
"Liu He changed the game. He's waiting to see us kill each other."
"You bastard Liu He, you deserve to go to the eighteenth level of hell!"
【48 left to the next stage】
Tao Sai paid attention to the countdown T in the upper right corner. With each passing second, the clock hands seemed to hit her heart, but her heart beat much faster than the clock.
As Season 3 was about to begin, Tao Sai anticipated Liu He's drastic changes, but he had seriously underestimated his awful nature. He allowed players to unite and lay siege to Paradise Island. This was all within his calculations. Once the players gathered, the new season began.
Tao Sai clenched her fists, gnashed her teeth, and was engulfed in the flames of hatred. If eyes were knives, then Liu He, lying in a soft chair in the central open space of the villa area, would have been tortured to death.
The countdown has reached the last ten seconds.
10.
9.
8.
In an instant, a huge noise erupted from the crowd, followed by continuous noises around.
At this last moment, the pressure of being eliminated was like a mountain, and one player finally couldn't resist, aimed his gun at his companion, and pulled the trigger. This then set off a series of chain reactions, and driven by the herd mentality, more and more players took action.
4.
3.
2.
Shay Simon closed his eyes weakly and waved his hand, killing a player dozens of meters away from him instantly.
In the [S3 Season] leaderboard, Shay Simon's nickname "Odin" appeared, and the number of kills was shown as 1.
At the last moment, Tao Sai and the player next to her looked at each other and understood each other's intentions. But she was faster, and the electric ball in her palm hit the target's head at the speed of light.
"I'm sorry." Tao Sai clenched his hands and trembled.
Subtitles popped up in front of my eyes.
【You killed the player [Marcel Lee]. 】
Her nickname, "Cx330," also made it onto the season leaderboard at the last minute.
The next moment, countless players around the island let out miserable screams. Their bodies were surrounded by spots of light, and then within a few seconds, they dissipated into spots of light and completely disappeared from this space.
The evidence is irrefutable, the so-called "elimination" means being erased by the system.
In the first shrinking circle, as many as two-thirds of the players did not attack their companions until the last moment of their lives, but this also led to the elimination of more than 2,000 players.
Liu He, sitting in the soft chair, clapped his hands with satisfaction. It was obvious that this show was very much to his liking.
Immediately afterwards, the countdown in the upper right corner of the field of view was refreshed.
[9:59 left until the next stage]
Within these ten minutes, you still need to kill at least one player to avoid the system's shrinking circle rules.
The players who survived the previous stage looked at each other in fear, their eyes speaking no words. Their hands were stained with the blood of their companions, and they were no longer clean, and they had lost trust in each other. No player could escape the system's punishment. Even their backbone, Shay Simon, had survived the first stage by killing other players.
All players are faced with the decision of what to do next. This is a survival dead end with no reference answers and no companions to refer to.
The answer is getting closer and closer to the option that no one wants to face the most.
[5:17 left until the next stage]
An unprecedented melee erupted. This time, thanks to advance preparation, the players engaged in the melee with all their might, and the outcome wasn't decided quickly.
Tao Sai called Simon in his heart.
Soon, a slightly hoarse voice came from the other party, "Kid, we are all game data. All data can be restored as long as you can talk to the game maker."
"Isn't Liu He the game maker?"
"He's not," Simon said confidently. "He might have been chosen by the game makers to be the spokesperson for the game world. Kill him, and you'll be able to talk to the game makers."
"I've been dealing with games all my life. This is my lifelong passion. Gamers are like my children. This is something I can only leave to you."
“I see,” Tao Sai replied.
Looking up, Tao Sai looked at the chaotic small battlefields around the island and made the most difficult decision of his life.
She was determined to talk to the game maker and ask him to restore the data that should not have been deleted.
In the game of Chicken Dinner, there can only be one winner per round, and the season progress cannot be stopped. Only by having more kills than the opponent can you avoid being eliminated by the system. The system has the highest priority, and if you can't get close to Liu He, then use the rules of the game to kill him indirectly.
Tao Sai soared into the air with the help of her "gravity slingshot," her eyes bloodshot, her limbs numb, and her movements smooth and precise. She was fast enough to make the victims feel no pain, which was the best she could do.
[Left to next stage: 31]
Shay Simon's eyes were determined, as he was only half a minute away from being eliminated by the system.
He roared, and a layer of high-energy particles wrapped around his body. He walked towards Liu He resolutely and stepped into the range of the S-level magical skill [Define Law].
His entire body was ablaze, but due to his high resistance, he wasn't instantly vaporized. He stepped forward, his flesh and blood gradually burning to charcoal, leaving only bones. He walked in front of Liu He and punched him in the face, the force of the punch nearly fracturing Liu He's jaw.
Shay Simon was completely vaporized.
Liu He set his jaw, cursing profusely. But he was satisfied. Old Simon, the only man who had posed a slight threat to him, was dead. After all, only S-level skills could threaten him. But even S-level skills varied. Even if Simon had three, he could only deliver a punch to his face.
He happily accepted the three magical skills [Collapse][Small World][High Energy Particles]. Two of them were not included yet, which was great.
The second stage of [S3 Season] has also ended. At the same time, on the battlefield where there is no winner, players who have killed less than 2 people are once again annihilated into fragments of light by the system.
Liu He turned his gaze back toward the outside of Paradise Island and suddenly spotted a figure swiftly moving between the battlefields. Her attacks were brutal and swift, as she struck down players one after another.
This completely disrupted Liu He's rhythm. He thought that the process of shrinking the circle would be very slow, and the players would continue to kill each other and slowly meet the requirements of shrinking the circle. But no matter how they killed each other, they would never catch up with his data of 209, because the number of players was constantly decreasing. The first time the circle was shrunk, the number of players dropped sharply by two-thirds.
Unless Shay Simon, who had summoned the players, made a dramatic move against them, with his strength, he could easily kill them instantly. But this old man still had some conscience, killing only one player before rushing to him to die.
These self-proclaimed righteous players must have a strong conscience. They will be torn between these two, feeling sad when seeing their companions die and feeling guilty when they kill them. This is the most interesting part of this drama.
However, to his surprise, this woman had absolutely no conscience. She killed one player after another without hesitation, rushing to the next battlefield. Her killing was even more disgusting than his. At least he killed them instantly, so he didn't see the painful struggles of these players who had worked so hard for him in the past. If he could see, he would definitely feel pity and heartache.
Liu He found her on the player rankings of [Season 3], nicknamed Cx330. As soon as the season entered the third stage, she rushed to the second place on the list with 199 kills, which was quite close to his data.
Liu He's heart tightened and he stood up from the soft chair. It was the first time in his life that he felt such an emotion.
Liu He peered at her face from a distance, trying to identify it. He couldn't help but wonder, who was she? He had no impression of her at all. None of the intelligence he had gathered showed this person; it was a completely unfamiliar face. This wasn't part of his plan, so he focused more on Simon, the only person who posed a threat to him.
As he hesitated, several players attempted to surround and eliminate the demon. [Collapse] instantly erupted, and these players painlessly collapsed into a singularity of zero volume. Her kill count reached 208.
Season 3 is about to enter its fourth stage, which means that except for the vicinity of Paradise Island, all players who choose to hide in the world will be eliminated, unless they can find and kill other players in an empty area within half an hour. This is obviously unrealistic.
Tao Sai and Liu He's gazes simultaneously fell on the last few players scattered around the island and the two small battlefields. They ran in two directions, rolling the dice of fate.
The next second, the third stage ended and the fourth stage of the season entered the countdown.
On the player leaderboard, "Cx330" moved up one spot, replacing "God's Hand." After these top two, the other players' nicknames were grayed out. They were the only two players left standing. While there were still over two hundred stages and two thousand hours before the "poison circle" truly closed in on them, this was already the final round.
The way to win, besides outliving the opponent, is to kill them instantly. Liu He lunged at Tao Sai, but a miniature space tunnel suddenly appeared. Tao Sai stared at him with a sharp gaze. She fell backward into the twisting vortex, teleporting to the maximum distance of the A+ level [Space Warp], a thousand kilometers away. The vortex then closed.
Afterwards, she warped again, and she could warp countless times. Without any mark left on her, Liu He could no longer track her down.
In a one-on-one duel, Tao Sai had no confidence of victory. The level of training and skill of both opponents was obvious, so it was a cat-and-mouse game. But the cat had lost its sense of smell, and the mouse had escaped into the maze of burrows, and the balance of victory and defeat had tilted.
All she had to do now was stall for time. After two thousand minutes, when the circle would shrink after two hundred stages, Liu He, whose kill count was less than hers, would be eliminated by the system. Elimination by the system was the highest priority. No matter how powerful he was, even if he possessed all ten S-rank skills, he couldn't escape the underlying logic of this system.
Tao Sai hid in the most secret place in the world, waiting for time to pass.
In the fifth and sixth stages, time passed extremely slowly. Objectively, it was only passing in hours, minutes and seconds, but in Tao Sai's subjective feeling, she was a piece of amber, as if she had gone through a long geological era.
It wasn't until the 212th stage that she finally sensed a disturbance. She had been trying to detect nearby disturbances, which served as her early warning system, allowing her to teleport a thousand kilometers away before the fog spread.
She heard a sound, perhaps a characteristic of some skill, broadcast throughout the entire game.
"Congratulations, you win. There are only five minutes left until the next stage. I have something to tell you. Even the dying man's words are good. You might as well listen. I don't know who you are, but let me tell you a story."
Every cell in Tao Sai's body remained silent.
"Have you ever worked? In the workplace."
Tao Sai frowned slightly while enduring it, which brought back many bad memories for her, so when the end of the world came, the first thing she did was to resign resolutely.
"The story I'm about to tell you happened in the workplace. In a company where work is intense every day, there's a young employee. He's an excellent employee, friendly to his colleagues, attentive to his superiors, and completes every work assignment with flying colors. He's been recognized by his boss, given promotions and raises, and his career is booming. But one day, he noticed an ant nest in the pot of green ivy on his desk. He was drawn to these creatures and began to explore this miniature world. Perhaps my example isn't entirely accurate, but the general idea is this: if you don't understand, try your best to do so."
"Then one day, he discovered that the lifespans of these tiny ants were limited. This was an objective law, and every pot of green radish would experience this same pattern. He was kind and compassionate to the world. He couldn't bear to see this small world destroyed before his eyes, so he typed a program on his computer. This was his job. He was a programmer, and he was adept at typing complex program code. This was his only way to influence this small world. You could think of this as the programmer endowing this small world with digital life, thereby prolonging its existence."
"The programmer was satisfied with what he had done for his little world, and then he went home."
After the programmers leave work, the bitter and resentful janitor comes to their workstation to sweep up the trash and sort through the office files. The janitor is overwhelmed by the daily labor, toiling away for a living yet still unable to fill his stomach. He resents those who earn exorbitant salaries for simply using their brains. While cleaning, he's most disgusted by the messy desks and papers, the scattered paper on the floor, and the idiots who leave their computers on after get off work—how much electricity is wasted! Then, he spots the programmer's glowing computer, and he's filled with malice, determined to vent his anger on the program running on it. He hates the programmer because he has more pity for the world than for a poor creature like him.
"'Since you want to save the world, I will destroy your world,' the cleaner said to himself secretly. But he couldn't use a computer skillfully, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to do anything but be a cleaner."
"You've probably guessed it by now. This is our game world. The cleaner couldn't shut down the running program, so he tried to enable damage permissions and modify the data. He patched the game program one after another, killing players to steal resources, adjusting the multipliers for skills. He could only make the rules, but couldn't directly influence the world, so he worked hard to destroy the game. He then discovered an interesting fact: once the game character died, he could extract the player's data, which he could copy to a USB drive and sell for a high price. He was very excited because this would greatly reduce the stress of his life."
"So, I suggested a Battle Royale-style season to the cleaner, and he excitedly agreed. He knew that if he could sell all the player data, he could completely get rid of his job as a cleaner, which he hated so much, and live a wealthy life. After all, copying players one by one would take a long time, and the programmers would have to go to work the next day. He couldn't resist such an inducement."
"After I die, you'll face the janitor. He and the programmer both inhabit another dimension, another life form, an existence beyond our comprehension. The janitor controls the game. He's omniscient and almighty, like a 'god.' He sees everything, possesses infinite algorithms, and controls every blade of grass and tree in the game world. In terms of power, he's a god, but in terms of intelligence, he's a very clueless janitor."
After Liu He said the last sentence, a line of highlighted subtitles appeared on Tao Sai's retina.
【Outrageous! 】
Tao Sai guessed that this was a message from the game operator on each player's panel, and he was targeting Liu He.
"I discovered a long time ago that when a player is erased by the system, a strange disturbance will occur near the point where their body disappeared. When multiple players die simultaneously in the same area, the disturbance will be even more intense. During my conversation with the cleaner, I realized that it was the USB drive he had inserted into the programmer's computer that was transmitting data. The USB drive is the only channel connecting these two dimensions. The more data transmitted at once, the stronger and more lasting the channel of connection becomes. And so, I found God."
The highlighted subtitles appeared again.
If you think this is the passage, why don't you move forward, coward?
"It's either you or me. Since it's you, then just do it."
"Go and kill the gods."
[This is ridiculous. You are just a simple line of code, code for the virtual world. Do things in the virtual world have any impact on reality?]
"Don't bark when you lose at chess."
"Do you think you're playing chess with me? A tiny human being dares to play chess with God? Are you worthy enough to sit across from me at the chess table? You're just a chess piece in my hand. You'll be wherever I want you to be!"
"The USB port is the road to the Kingdom of God."
In the 214th stage, Liu He gave a final wry smile before being erased by the system, "Go play chess with God, Tao Sai."
Tao Sai was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had completely forgotten about himself, and he actually blurted out.
【Good luck, eat chicken tonight! 】
A system subtitle popped up in front of Tao Sai, saying that [Season 3] was over and she became the only winner and the only player in the game.
A microscopic spatial vortex opened, and she leaped into it, warping to a distance of a thousand kilometers. She then continued to warp, heading towards Paradise Island.
But highlighted subtitles kept flashing before my eyes.
[Don't try to go against God. I know every cell and every atomic distribution in your body. I can see your thoughts and all the movements of your thoughts at the quantum level.]
Tao Sai stepped onto the beach of Paradise Island, which was the place where most players died. The passage that Liu He mentioned was naturally here.
Glancing around, her [Energy Perception] radiated outward, revealing a void. Void wasn't darkness; it lacked light, reflecting nothing, making it invisible to the naked eye. This void was the exit to the game world. She walked towards it with determination.
I can give you a chance. God is merciful and willing to give His children opportunities.
【Become a child of God, and God will smooth out all the wrinkles in your heart. 】
"I refuse. No one can drive me."
God can give you everything you want. God is generous and is willing to create a Garden of Eden just for you, where all your desires will be fulfilled.
Tao Sai kept walking.
The price of rejecting God is fatal. Are you ready to bear this price?
【One step further and you would have offended God.】
[Outrageous! You will never be forgiven!]
[I am the maker of all rules. I am independent of the rules. If I want you to die, you die. If I want you to live, you live.]
She approached the passage.
At this moment, a familiar figure suddenly stood in front of Tao Sai. It was Shay Simon. His body was intact and recovered as before.
Simon hated Tao Sai and activated his S-level skills.
High-energy particles burst out and instantly engulfed Tao Sai's body. Under the impact of the high-speed moving particles, her body was instantly shattered and she was burned into a skeleton.
She stood up in the posture of a skeleton, without a face, unable to make any expression, and with sunken eyeballs.
She couldn't make any sound, but her consciousness could be captured by "God".
"Since you are a god, why don't you just kill me? Wouldn't that be easier?"
【God is merciful and willing to give his children a chance.】
Tao Sai tried to make a sneering expression, but she no longer had facial nerves or the flesh that drove them.
She passed through Simon, who once again dissipated into fragments of light, and she reached out and finally touched the nothingness.
Enlarged, bolded, and highlighted subtitles flashed in my vision.
Stop!
How dare you covet the Kingdom of God? Who gave you the guts?
【Outrageous! 】
【Stupid! 】
[You don't know your own strength! An ant trying to shake a tree! A mantis trying to stop a chariot! A mayfly trying to cross the sea!]
[The brightness of a firefly dares to compete with the bright moon! ]
[Kneel down! ! ! ! !]
【God commands you to kneel down! 】
Tao Sai ignored it all and focused only on the task at hand.
Her upper arms and forearms exerted force at the same time, sending her whole body into nothingness. She let out a final cry from her throat: "Get down on your knees!"
In the void is a higher-dimensional space, and the feeling of being in the void space cannot be described in words.
Tao Sai guessed that she might have lost consciousness. She was floating, much like the weightlessness in zero gravity. Subjectively, she felt that she was floating for a very long time, but she was able to control her body, so she opened her eyes.
She found herself in a dark, damp cave, sealed off by walls. She looked around and finally spotted a shivering worm in a corner. The worm seemed frightened of her, curling its body backwards. She raised her foot and crushed it flat.
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