Chapter 1 The Beginning

Hu——

The air suddenly stirred, and a figure flashed out of the void. As soon as he landed, he warily scanned his surroundings.

This was an exceptionally bustling and lively modern city district.

Flat, wide roads, towering, densely packed skyscrapers, countless dazzling neon light advertisements, throngs of pedestrians, and a constant stream of traffic – the atmosphere of commerce and prosperity permeated almost every corner.

This was Times Square in Manhattan, New York, known as "The Crossroads of the World."

The figure that had suddenly appeared was a white man with black hair, around thirty years old, wearing a sharp suit and trousers, with a white shirt underneath.

His appearance was rugged and handsome, with a high, straight nose, thin, knife-cut lips, and slightly melancholic, deep green eyes, like a male model pulled from the cover of a fashion magazine or a runway show.

Of course, he wasn't a celebrity, but rather Aim, an agent of the Special Accidents Department of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

In the real world, his name was Jacob Griffin. Born into a family of New York bankers, he received an excellent education from a young age, studied psychology at an Ivy League school, and was later recruited into the FBI's criminal investigation department, joining the elite hostage rescue team as a negotiation expert.

It could be said that Aim was an unquestionable elite even before the Killing Game arrived.

And after the Killing Game started, he became a player at the first opportunity.

Relying on his past experience as an FBI agent, he successfully survived the highly deadly novice period and advanced smoothly all the way.

Before the Doorway Scramble, he ranked twenty-ninth on the global combat power list, second only to David within the FBI.

Although Aim didn't have good luck in the Doorway Scramble, running into a demon general from the Demon Sunflower World not long after the start and exiting early, failing to win more doorways for the FBI,

This didn't affect his personal strength. He was still one of the players at the top of the Earth's food chain...

Bang!

Aim suddenly clenched his fist, making the sound of air being compressed, his expression extremely solemn and deep.

The mechanical, indifferent voice of the Sky Arena still echoed in his ears.

Single Deathmatch,

Contestant: Zhengzong Hao Supermarket Zhengzong Hao Clinic...

Aim, of course, knew who that was. Li Risheng, a former outstanding student of Yin City Experimental High School, owner of the Immaculate Furnace shop in the Game Plaza, slayer of demon generals, the hidden mastermind behind the Doorway Scramble, the Titan demigod who almost single-handedly destroyed half of Yin City, a Calamity-level existence recognized by all guilds and organizations...

Before the Doorway Scramble, all organizations and guilds regarded Li Risheng as a player specializing in script mission strategies, possessing several logistical strengths.

Although his personal strength was good, it was far from enough to be in the first tier.

However, it later proved that they were all wrong.

Through various behind-the-scenes schemes, Li Risheng won one of the highest-level rewards in the Doorway Scramble, and his true strength, which surfaced, also stunned everyone.

All of Li Risheng's information flashed through Aim's mind.

The Special Accidents Department of the Federal Bureau of Investigation had its own channels. The information included not only detailed battle reports and analyses of the past Yin City battle, but also Li Risheng's performance in the Corpse King's aberration after the Yin City battle,

And even the most recent record of Li Risheng in that deep-sea behemoth script world.

Almost impossible to defeat.

A clear and accurate answer emerged from Aim's heart.

The higher a player is in the Killing Game, the more self-aware they are.

Li Risheng in his demigod Titan state was simply too strong. That was city-destroying destructive power, not to mention he also had the ability to teleport instantly over long distances, as well as mental powers with an unusually complete function and energy level that was definitely not weak...

Aim's mind continued to work, and the flow of time around him seemed to slow down a lot.

Each player needed to complete ten matches in the rematch of the Siming Battle, and whether or not they advanced to the finals would be determined based on their performance in the ten matches.

Today was the second match. In theory, Aim, who ranked twenty-ninth on the combat power list before the Doorway Scramble, had a very high probability of qualifying.

Even if he surrendered now, he could still raise his score in the next eight matches – the FBI had no ties with Li Risheng, and the other party would never happily compete with him, stopping at the point of contact, playing any scoring tricks.

Surrendering now was a better option – anyway, there was no sign of Li Risheng around for the time being.

Just as Aim's brain was racing, hesitating whether to surrender directly and withdraw from the competition to reduce losses,

The mechanical voice of the Sky Arena that continued to sound made his eyes suddenly shine.

[Currently, Single Deathmatch Limited Condition Mode]

[Limited Condition Mode refers to the Sky Arena issuing mission requirements to both players. The mission requirements received by both players are different. The first to complete, or the one with a higher completion rate than their opponent within the specified time, will be considered the winner.]

Limited Deathmatch!

Aim's spirits lifted. This meant there was still room for maneuver.

As a high-level member of the Special Accidents Department, he had seen a large number of Killing Game mission cases.

Among them, Limited Deathmatch was a relatively special type.

In addition to directly winning by killing their opponent, both players could also compare the progress of their special missions to find an alternative path to victory.

For example, both sides could compare their cooking skills to see who could make the more delicious food;

Both sides could wander around a haunted abandoned hospital to see who could stay in the haunted hospital longer without running away early;

Or, most classically, one side could defend a stronghold and protect hostages,

While the other side would try to hijack or kill the hostages by any means possible.

Limited Deathmatch not only provided a new way to win, but also increased the survival rate of individually weaker players when facing powerful transcendents.

Especially those with special talents, such as outstanding wisdom, or those specializing in logistics or charm, often hoped that they would receive a Limited Deathmatch mission, which would be more conducive to them using their strengths.

Aim calmed down and temporarily put aside the idea of surrendering and withdrawing from the competition.

"Things may still turn around..."

Aim thought silently, but the next moment, he was shocked.

[Mission Briefing: Your opponent's mission objective is "Kill as many planetary residents as possible." Your objective is "Protect as many planetary residents as possible." If more than 500 million planetary residents die due to the activities of both parties within 18 hours, you will fail.]

[Your opponent will be teleported into the current world in 3 hours. You can make arrangements during this period.]

[Good luck.]

"Hiss——"

The handsome Aim gasped in a way that was unbecoming of him.

Was the Killing Game crazy?!

To use the "billion" level of planetary residents as mission conditions?

Or was he the one who was crazy?!

A thousand thoughts ran through Aim's mind. The next moment, the professional qualities of a high-level player forced him to calm down.

Calm down, think.

Aim pursed his lips. No, the mission conditions proposed by the Killing Game were not completely unreasonable.

Limited Deathmatches often occurred between two players with a large difference in individual strength, and he and that Li Risheng fit the situation perfectly.

And the three hours of preparation and arrangement time was also relatively reasonable.

It was just this mission objective...

Aim suddenly frowned tightly. At this time, the divine sense he had sent out also received a response.

Something was wrong here.

He looked around. This was the famous Times Square in New York, also a place Aim frequented before becoming a player.

The world's most eye-catching Nasdaq Exchange advertising screen, the Broadway center of the American opera house... everything was as usual, only the pedestrians seemed so strange.

In the surrounding crowd, whether it was handsome men and beautiful women in bright clothes, artists in strange costumes, or ragged homeless people,

Their eyes were all bright red, and their foreheads were generally high and lacked hair.

At the same time, their movements also seemed a little unnatural, not like normal life, but like... playing a role.

Aim immediately made a decision. He stretched out his hand,

A group of pedestrians about to cross the road immediately walked over, while the surrounding crowd turned a blind eye to this strange phenomenon under the influence of extraordinary power.

Aim looked at the group of pedestrians standing in front of him, frowning, raised his palm, pressed it on the forehead of one of them, and silently released the advanced detection skill called [Information Extraction].

This skill was a special inheritance of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It could not only scan the physical condition of ordinary people, but also read their memories, and even information about events that had occurred around them.

For example, releasing this skill on an American restaurant chef would give him information such as what dishes he had recently made, which guests he liked or disliked, his personal views on the restaurant owner, his concerns about the American election, and his perception of how American society operated.

[Information Extraction] could help FBI agents obtain enough world background information in script missions as soon as possible, and the modern world was no exception.

"..."

Aim silently moved his palm away and continued to extend it to the second person in the crowd, followed by the third and fourth.

Soon, he obtained all the information he wanted.

At this moment, the intelligent creatures living on this planet were not humans.

They were a special species called Brain-Eating Worms.

40 years ago in this world, a group of American expedition teams conducting scientific research in Siberia dug up a mammoth carcass that had been frozen for millions of years in the ice plains and brought it back to American University.

During this process, the box containing the frozen mammoth carcass malfunctioned. As the carcass warmed up, it also awakened the ancient parasites hidden in the remains.

This species, called Brain-Eating Worms, was a multicellular organism, far smaller than fleas and lice, and could be transmitted through contact. When they came into contact with the human body, they would silently enter the human brain through organs such as the mouth, nose, and ears.

They would then reproduce, hollow out, and even replace the human brain.

Heaven knows how the ancient Brain-Eating Worms did these things, but what was known was that there was no difference in the appearance of the parasitized humans, and their daily behavior was normal.

Moreover, the reproduction and spread speed of the ancient Brain-Eating Worms was also far beyond imagination.

Handshakes, hugs, drinking water, sneezing droplets, blood transfusions, birds, rats...

All contact methods could be used as a platform for the spread of ancient Brain-Eating Worms.

Even more terrifying was that the ancient Brain-Eating Worms seemed to have some kind of collective intelligence.

They knew of the existence of modern medicine and would selectively parasitize medical personnel and even medical students with medical knowledge in an area first, then the staff of the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, then politicians and bureaucrats, and then ordinary people...

The ancient Brain-Eating Worms silently spread and disseminated in the dark.

During this process, some ordinary people who vaguely noticed abnormalities, such as reporters or bureaucrats, would be discovered by the ubiquitous Brain-Eating Worm parasites and either eliminated or assimilated.

Soon, the ancient Brain-Eating Worms spread all over the world, assimilating and eroding the vast majority of the population.

The remaining few people finally reacted and tried to take up arms to resist.

However, it was too late. The Brain-Eating Worms, which had completely controlled the social order, easily suppressed the rebellion of pure humans and completely wiped out the pure humans who were born.

To this day, only the Brain-Eating Worm race remained on Earth.

Their eyes were blood red, they gradually looked more like worms, and they even transformed human reproduction methods, becoming oviparous, able to hatch eggs, with hundreds or thousands of offspring in one litter.

They called themselves "New Worm People," enjoying all the conveniences of human civilization and continuing to climb on the basis of human technology, developing their own science.

According to the speculation of some New Worm People experts and scholars, the Brain-Eating Worm race was likely from outer space - an unknown alien civilization that made the gene seeds of their race into cannonballs, stuffed them into rockets, and launched them to millions of planets.

When they encountered intelligent civilizations, these gene seeds would hatch and parasitize the intelligent civilization to strengthen the Worm People race in the galaxy.

Just like that movie called *Alien*.

Aim finished reading these materials with a depressed mood. In his heart, there was a small amount of grief - grief for the pure humans of this world being completely replaced by the New Worm People,

But more of it was worry.

The New Worm People were no longer humans in any way. They were just parasites that gnawed at human civilization and enjoyed the conveniences of human civilization.

This also meant a worse situation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation had set up an entire database for Li Risheng. In the estimate of the database think tank, he had very obvious moral deviations.

He would protect the weak and would not despise ordinary people because he had extraordinary powers, treating ordinary people as unimportant dust.

He would even respect the mortals of those script worlds in some script missions - this behavior could be considered moral even in the entire Killing Game player camp.

But on the other hand, he sneered at certain morals in the world, showing obvious disdain.

Cynical, contemptuous of authority, arrogant,

This psychological pattern would rapidly decline and become bottomless when faced with evil in his eyes. Seemingly humorous, but in fact cold and indifferent.

In some cases, Li Risheng was cruel and ruthless.

Aim silently retracted his hand from the New Worm People's forehead. He looked around at the familiar New York City scenery, glanced at the clock on the huge advertising screen, and took a deep breath.

Countdown to Li Risheng's arrival: two hours and fifty minutes.

This time, the world was really going to end.