Chapter 3: Newbie Difficulty?

Chapter 3: Newbie Difficulty?

Liver Emperor Players' Chatroom (Online: 10)

Family Shared Godfather: Where’s Father? Did he get stuck in the Huluwa Rescues Grandpa plot again?

Starving to Eat Soil (Admin): Maybe he’s busy reporting to the police about the 20 yuan stolen from his bank account. The live stream payment settles the day after tomorrow—it’s literally the food budget for Brother Li’s tomorrow. (facepalm.jpg)

Fun Without Pay: Father’s already fallen. Let’s summon the next godfather.

Murderous Intent Stirred: Someone kick the Welfare Officer out first. Which admin added him? Apologize with a red envelope!

As the group exploded into discussion over the absent Game Grindstone Player, the man himself returned.

Game Grindstone Player: Brothers, download the game quick! The Welfare Officer’s actually giving real rewards! The link he shared had a cracked version of Darklands! The modeling is 100% realistic. Haven’t tried the story yet, but the immersion? Legit—no hype.

Starving to Eat Soil replied: You’re aiming to make victims +1?

Family Shared Godfather replied: Brother Li, how could you?! I trusted you like family, but now you’re trying to scam us with Huluwa?! (sobbing.jpg)

Fun Without Pay replied: Brother Li, you’ve always been such a caring big brother! How could you fall for Eat Soil’s bad influence and start scamming your sweet groupmates? I’ll never watch Huluwa!

Frowning at the accusations, Li Zheng furiously typed:

Game Grindstone Player: We’ve played together for years—don’t you know my character by now? I swear on my reputation: no scams. Download and see! The link gives legit Darklands! Again—no fraud.

Starving to Eat Soil (Admin): I smell a rat. This isn’t Brother Li—it’s the Welfare Officer phishing through the link. Let’s test the password: What do you do if the game crashes?

Game Grindstone Player: No crashes. Just features.

Starving to Eat Soil (Admin): Verified. It’s really Brother Li! I’m diving in—even if I’m scammed, I’ll take the L.

Murderous Intent Stirred: Unreal, but the password checks out. I believe you, Brother Li. I’m in too.

Family Shared Godfather: Father, I shall follow your footsteps forever!

Game Grindstone Player: Chill, let’s discuss class choices first. Build a balanced team for the early game.

---

[Challenger "Ye Liuyun" enters the game. Creating initial monster body consumes 1000 Sacrificial Power. Remaining Sacrificial Power: 139,278.]

[Challenger "Wang Xuan" enters the game. Creating initial monster body consumes 1000 Sacrificial Power. Remaining Sacrificial Power: 138,278...]

The system alerts echoed in Qi Sheng’s mind. Watching the now-silent chatroom interface, he clicked "Exit Group." A prompt popped up:

[User: Welfare Officer, confirm exit from Liver Emperor Players' Chatroom?]

He tapped "Confirm", and the group interface vanished from his screen.

First wave recruitment complete.

To lure them here, he’d crafted a fake link. Players thought they’d downloaded cracked Darklands. In reality, the link activated a spatial transmutation array. It would extract their consciousness and teleport them to the Monster World, where they’d receive perfectly adapted monster bodies.

They’d never notice the trick. Not until they thanked him profusely in the chat, even hailing him as a new godfather.

But Qi Sheng’s goal was achieved. He closed the chat, ignoring the inevitable groveling. Players’ gratitude mattered less than their output.

Dizhong Village still suffered under the Terror Black Tide’s energy assault. Maintaining its defense barrier drained massive Sacrificial Power daily. If players couldn’t generate more energy, his reserves would deplete soon.

Suddenly, a pale blue water orb materialized beside him.

[Guide]: Chief, did you recruit folks from your old hometown this time?

Qi Sheng nodded. “Before reaching the Monster World, I was one of them. But after I left, this world changed. New races emerged.”

The hovering orb—Guide—specialized in scanning and digitizing data. Its clones served as newbie guides for players.

During Qi Sheng’s centuries in the Monster World, he inherited the Divine Origin Power of Dizhao. Once a follower of the now-vanished Dizhao Emperor, Guide had become one of his Four Loyal Servants.

The Challenger System (player recruitment system) relied entirely on Guide for data processing.

[They’ve entered the Monster World. Want to check them out?]

Qi Sheng nodded. With a wave, a holographic screen appeared, showing the freshly arrived players.

---

“This game feels so real—even the gravel texture is perfect!”

“After watching Huluwa all these years, finally playing the real deal! The Welfare Officer’s my new godfather now!”

“Insane immersion! This Darklands must’ve taken the Moon Eclipse Clan ten years to make. Flawless!”

White light flashed. Ten figures appeared at Dizhong Village’s central plaza.

Of the ten players: two had Hawk-Headed Demon auras, two bore Gargoyle shadows, and six chose Black-Scaled Serpent forms.

“Brothers, let’s leave the starter village. We gotta grind levels fast—this game’s our ticket to wealth. With so many paying players around, we can’t waste early development time,” said Li Zheng.

“Brother Li, why are we alone here? Where’s everyone else? They said a million copies sold in ten minutes—shouldn’t the server be packed?”

The speaker was young, his game name Starving to Eat Soil glowing above his head, his aura a Hawk-Headed Demon.

Before Li Zheng could answer, the calm voice of Murderous Intent Stirred cut in: “Obviously, we’re in a separate channel. Otherwise, millions of players would’ve collapsed this village instantly.”

“Makes sense. Let’s go. Early levels matter most.”

“Follow Brother Li—gaming’s his specialty.”

The ten of them marched along a cobblestone road, passing through the energy barrier into the Obsidian Mists.

Suddenly, an indescribable dread gripped them. Distant crunching bones, anguished screams, and vertigo-inducing noises filled their minds.

As Li Zheng’s consciousness nearly shattered, the mists parted. The golden text [Dizhong Mountain Range] flickered and vanished.

Before them stretched a crimson-hued world. Under an endless crimson sky, a dark red crescent moon tilted at the horizon. Clouds glowed with ember-like hues, crackling with internal lightning. At the horizon, volcanoes erupted, spewing sulfurous heat waves.

The apocalyptic sight stunned the group.

“Whoa… A volcano could swallow us alive any second,” gasped Starving to Eat Soil.

“Stay calm,” Li Zheng reasoned. “Monster World probably eases us in. This area’s just scenery—shouldn’t have real threats yet.”

His words hung in the air as a thunderbolt split the sky. Black fissures spread across the heavens.

A Crimson Colossus pierced the clouds, its colossal form a living flame. Crimson scales armored its massive body, each radiating power. Its gem-like eyes burned like rubies. A deafening roar shook the air.

Golden runes edged its massive wings. With each flap, hurricanes toppled trees, raising dust storms. Even from afar, the group staggered under the wind pressure.

The beast accelerated downward like a scarlet lightning bolt, death incarnate.

Time froze. The world stilled—except that crimson titan.

As it struck the ground, a tidal wave of heat and sound erupted.

Boom!

The earth quaked violently. A mushroom cloud bloomed on the horizon.

Silence. The group stood paralyzed, minds reeling.

Finally, Starving to Eat Soil turned to Li Zheng, eyes blank.

“This is your ‘no real threats yet’ scenario?”

Li Zheng swallowed, still analyzing: “Could be a cinematic intro—like a CG cutscene. No real danger. They’re easing us in gradually.”

Before he finished, another beast roar hit, shaking their eardrums.

“Don’t panic! Just environmental effects! The real low-difficulty tutorial starts after this!” He wiped blood from his nose, clinging to his theory.

[Love this guy’s vibe. Master of self-delusion.]

The water orb beside Li Zheng gave a thumbs-up.

Li Zheng: ……

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end