Chapter 1 The Beginning

Li Ang strode down from the stands, drawing curious glances from people along the way.

"Is that him?"

"It's actually him?"

"What are you talking about? Is this guy famous?"

Whispers rippled through the surrounding seats.

Although the store Wan Jia Xiong Meng wasn't exactly world-renowned, it had a certain reputation. Consequently, Li Ang, the shopkeeper known for his lab coat and dragon head, was a recognizable figure to many players.

Furthermore, Li Ang's appearance in the Sky Arena, where he staged a "live advertisement" with the unlucky [Blackstone Razor], had made him somewhat famous—though not for the best reasons.

He walked straight down to the arena and, following the system prompt, arrived at Ring 45, where the match had already concluded.

The cracks and damage on the arena floor were rapidly healing, visible to the naked eye. Lingering bloodstains vanished without a trace.

"Brother Li?"

Xing Hechou, in the six o'clock direction from the stands, noticed the figure in the dragon-headed white coat, but wasn't very surprised.

With Li Ang's strength, participation in the Door of Truth Contention was a certainty. He just hadn't expected him to appear so early.

"That person..."

Luyu, positioned at nine o'clock, narrowed his eyes. The Witch had mentioned in the chat group about the [High-Dimensional Intrusion] script task, referring to the owner of the Wan Jia Xiong Meng store in the plaza as possessing divinity.

That day, Luyu had specifically searched through all the documents and data he had written, unearthing his "Modern Idol Faith Deification Guide, Revised Edition."

In modern society, despite the large population, entertainment options were incredibly diverse.

Movies, television, games, music, novels... all forms of entertainment were vying for ordinary people's fragmented time and energy, making human consciousness complex and chaotic, unlike the simplicity of ancient times.

The average amount of faith power provided per person had plummeted drastically in quantity and was far inferior in quality compared to the past.

This was another important reason, besides the dormant phase of the Killing Game, for the decline and death of many primitive totem gods and even some old gods.

According to the Witch's description, Li Risheng, this divine being, possessed divine attributes including flesh, plants, and swamps, with a considerable total amount of divine power.

Luyu was curious about the source of his faith power, believing that Li Risheng's true identity in the real world was either a warlord who controlled territory in Africa or South America, using drugs and propaganda to brainwash subordinates and gain faith power;

Or an employee of a giant multinational corporation (such as Prometheus Labs), extracting high-purity faith power in a laboratory environment through advanced technology;

Or a globally or regionally popular idol, video blogger, or key opinion leader (KOL)...

Of course, the most likely scenario was that Li Risheng secretly kept a group of loyal followers in a hidden location, extracting a large amount of faith power without being monitored.

"What's wrong? Why the serious face?"

Xuehai·Anboli strolled over, noticing Luyu's expression and asking with a smile.

Ordinary spectators sitting near Luyu and the others quickly got up and moved to a further seat to avoid attracting her attention.

Luyu also quickly stood up, took out alcohol spray and unopened high-end wet wipes, and thoroughly cleaned the seat next to Wang Hu, before inviting the boss to sit down. He then returned to his seat, saying somewhat nervously, "It's nothing, I'm just a little concerned about that person in the dragon-headed white coat."

"Oh?"

Anboli leaned back in her chair casually. She thought for a moment, then said, "His name is... Li Risheng, right?"

"Yes."

Luyu nodded. "Currently, there aren't too many or too few divine beings in the entire Killing Game.

Depending on their geographical location, social status, and personal power in the real world, the total amount of faith power they possess and the speed at which they recover faith power also vary.

If Li Risheng is as powerful as the Witch says..."

"Oh?"

Anboli grinned with interest. Among all of her disciples, Luyu's depth and breadth of vision, as well as his attainments in the mystic arts, were among the best.

If even he thought that the dragon-headed white coat was strong, there might be another competitor.

"That..."

The Stonemason, sitting at the very end, took a breath, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Senior Brother, Senior Sister, I think I know the origin of his divinity..."

Luyu asked in surprise, "You know?"

"Yes."

The Stonemason nodded. "I met him in a script task called [Clockwork Mansion] before, and we worked together to solve a local primitive totem demigod. Afterward, according to the organization's regulations, I recorded the task briefing in detail and uploaded it to the database."

"Ah..."

Luyu opened his mouth, subconsciously glancing at Anboli and Wang Hu beside him. Anboli was whistling, while Wang Hu maintained his posture with his arms crossed in front of him, but his head seemed to have turned slightly.

The professor stipulated that members of the Syndicate organization, after completing a task, should record the task briefing and upload it to the shared database for others to consult and share experiences.

He had also specifically told his disciples not to only immerse themselves in the cultivation of personal strength, but also to read other people's task briefings in their spare time.

Even those tasks with lower levels could provide new solutions.

But it seemed that all the disciples, including Luyu, hadn't read the briefings very much...

"Ahem, is that so?"

Luyu pretended that nothing had happened and nodded normally. "That's okay then.

Tell us in detail about the process of that script task."

At this time, Li Ang did not know that when he stepped into the arena, he had been noticed by countless medium and large organizations, and of course, he might not care.

He received the contract from the Watcher Society staff, signed it, and agreed to allow the Watcher Society to film the video of this arena match, and divide the profits from the sale of the videotape proportionally.

At this time, the names of a new round of contestants also appeared above the arena where the match had ended.

[Clock Tower—Eric] versus [Other Shore—Hypochondriac Delusion]

[Templar Knight—Heisenberg] versus [Monster Alliance—Beatdown]

[Dirge] versus [Sun Island Abnormal Affairs Investigation Bureau Ninth Division—Reverberation]

[Gen-Sys Biotech Company—Hundred-Faced Demon Throat] versus [GRU Parapsychology Department—God of the North Wind]

...

With the previous round of arena matches as a demonstration, the quality of the second round of contestants was also very high.

Mule had a serious expression and softly introduced the background of these contestants to Laura. "Eric is from the Clock Tower and comes from a long-standing family of mages.

The Big Ben anomaly in London the month before last was resolved by him and his team.

He was also awarded a Medal of Honor by the Queen for this."

"His opponent, Hypochondriac Delusion, is a high-level member of the Other Shore, specializing in resolving some of the defectors and revengers for the Other Shore, and sometimes responsible for assassination and torture."

She is a notorious thug in the peninsula area."

In the last script mission, Mule, who cooperated with other teammates to kill Hei Shengzi, the young master of the Other Shore organization, had a calm voice without any abnormality. Even Laura did not hear any abnormality.

She just blinked and asked curiously: "Is that the Other Shore organization that recently died their young master and is offering rewards and seeking revenge all over the world?"

"Yes."

Mule nodded calmly and said to her sister: "Hei Shengzi, as the young master of a medium-sized organization, has countless life-saving skills, but unfortunately he still fell in the script task and died unclearly, not even knowing who the murderer was.

This teaches us that no matter how strong we are, we must be humble and cautious and take any abnormal event seriously.

We should also be kind to others and make good connections on weekdays, and don't lose support because we have done too many bad things and caused a bad reputation."

"Yes, yes."

Laura nodded obediently and seriously studied survival experience.

Mule turned her head and looked back at the stage. "That Hypochondriac Delusion's original name is Park Youying. According to rumors, she is Hei Shengzi's half-sister.

When she was a child, she had mental problems and had been locked in the basement of Hei Shengzi's mother's house.

After Hei Shengzi's mother developed, Park Youying was also released and admitted to a regular hospital for treatment of mental illness - during the hospitalization, several medical accidents were caused, causing the death and injury of several medical staff.

These things happened before the Other Shore organization developed, and the relevant information is not difficult to find.

When the Killing Game officially opened, Park Youying became a player and gave herself this name that belongs to the academic term of mental illness.

Although she was hated and hostile by Hei Shengzi's mother because of her illegitimate daughter status, and was feared by the Other Shore due to her unstable mental state,

But her own strength is very, very strong, and she is regarded as a walking war-level weapon.

Her position on the personal combat power list is unknown, but it must not be lower than forty-fifth place."

"Eh?"

Laura was stunned when she heard this, and asked: "Why is it so precise..."

"Because the player who was ranked forty-fifth last time has been killed by her."

Mule said indifferently: "After hearing the news of Hei Shengzi's death, Hypochondriac Delusion went berserk on the spot, killed more than a dozen guards who were protecting and imprisoning her, rushed to Seoul, and met Hei Shengzi's mother, wanting to know from the latter who killed Hei Shengzi.

The blood feud curse set by the Other Shore organization for Hei Shengzi was successfully triggered, but was covered up by a higher mystery power.

Hypochondriac Delusion fell into madness and rage, and in one day, killed nearly a hundred high-level players in the peninsula area and extracted their memories.

The Other Shore organization's competitors,

The official abnormal event control bureau in South Korea,

Large multinational corporations, such as the Seoul branch of Prometheus Labs,

Even the American military camp stationed in the peninsula,

She killed them all over the place, causing a stir."

Speaking of this, Mule paused, looked at the calm girl in a white dress who looked gentle and elegant walking towards the arena, and slowly said: "In order to avoid triggering a war, the Other Shore organization hurriedly announced that it had severed its relationship with Hypochondriac Delusion, but this did not have any effect.

Hypochondriac Delusion's crazy behavior completely broke the local unspoken rules, and it is estimated that it will not be long before the Other Shore will be divided and dismantled by other forces, and all behaviors will be settled.

But now, she is still living well without the protection of the Other Shore organization..."

As an information peddler whose primary principle is self-preservation, Mule would not sell the "truth" of Hei Shengzi's death to the Other Shore organization at a high price as intelligence.

She herself was also a participant and involved in the action of killing Hei Shengzi, and it was difficult to get away.

And [Hypochondriac Delusion]'s mental state is extremely unstable, even if Mule wants to distort the intelligence and shift the responsibility for killing Hei Shengzi to Mule's enemy in the real world, she cannot guarantee that the situation will develop as she expects.

Mule's heart was calm, and she continued to explain the players on the stage to Laura, "The Templar Knight Heisenberg is a priest from Germany in the real world, and his personal combat power ranks eighty-fourth.

The Monster Alliance's Beatdown should not be his opponent.

Dirge is one of the vice presidents of the Evil Scientist Alliance, and his personal combat power ranking position, but he must be stronger than his opponent Reverberation.

As for the two on Ring 4...

I have never heard of the name Hundred-Faced Demon Throat, but the God of the North Wind is quite well-known. He has climbed to the fiftieth floor of the Sky Arena before, and won very easily."

Just as Mule was recounting the contestant information to Laura as if she knew everything about them, the arena names of the contestants also appeared above the forty-fifth ring.

[Special Affairs Administration—Eligible]

Another member of the Special Affairs Administration?

The audience in the stands whispered to each other. When the Sky Arena had just opened, many good fighters had participated, and more or less their information had been recorded.

But this Eligible has never been heard of.

I wonder if it is a secret weapon of the Special Affairs Administration, or a touchstone to continue observing the cards of other contestants?

Judging from the defeat of Long Xiangbaobian before, the former possibility should be greater...

"Hmm?"

In the nine o'clock direction in the audience, Xun Zi'an, sitting in the Special Affairs Administration area, frowned slightly and looked at Xing Hechou sitting next to him, "Lao Xing, isn't this Eligible that little colleague from the equipment department of our Yin City stronghold..."

"Yes."

Xing Hechou nodded, "It's him."

"Hey, hey, hey"

Chu Yin patted the armrest of the seat and asked curiously: "Who are you talking about? How come I don't know."

"See for yourself."

Xing Hechou raised his chin towards the arena below. Chu Yin looked in the direction of Xing Hechou's gaze and saw a slightly young-looking youth standing next to the forty-fifth ring, wearing a blue and white tight-fitting combat suit.

He was being assisted by colleagues from the equipment department of the Special Affairs Administration to adjust the combat suit on his body.

Chu Yin rolled her eyes and searched for memories in her mind, and soon found that face.

Ding Zhensi, from Yin City, male, twenty years old, is an excellent graduate of Qilu Lanxiang Technical School, where he learned "Excavator Technology".

He was once noticed by the Special Affairs Administration when exploring the underground pit on Qianhua Road in Yin City because of his excellent driving skills.

After passing the test, he was absorbed into the equipment technology department of the Special Affairs Administration to assist researchers in testing early mecha-type weapons.

Unexpectedly, he actually obtained player qualifications and participated in this Door of Truth Contention...

Chu Yin smacked her lips, and there was no imbalance in her heart that the other party was upgrading faster than her.

And this Ding Zhensi's opponent is...

[Authentic Good Supermarket, Authentic Good Clinic, Wan Jia Xiong Meng, a new store opened in the southeast corner of the square, business scope includes magic potion sales, equipment forging, medical surgery, and enhancement and transformation. Advanced technology, fair prices, no deception for the young or old. New customers can also enjoy a 10% discount, what are you waiting for? Come and spend money now~]