Chapter 456: The Situation Turns Chaotic
Chapter 456: The Situation Turns Chaotic
Exactly one hour after the competition began, various factions started clashing head-on. Combat erupted continuously across the city.
At this moment, a new catastrophe struck the center of the Lost City...
This area had once been a wide plaza paved with gravel. Now, it had become the most polluted zone in the entire city.
The air reeked of pungent sulfur. Obsidian shards covered the ground like dust, and miniature hills of skeletal remains were scattered everywhere...
In the plaza's center stood a colossal gate. Over ten meters tall and four meters wide, one side of the gate was shrouded in thick, eerie black mist, while the other remained tightly sealed.
On the upper portion of the gate frame, five differently colored magic arrays were arranged in a pentagram's directional pattern. Each array contained incomprehensible divine runes. But now, all five sigils had dimmed and gone dark...
Suddenly, a sharp cracking sound echoed.
The last traces of light vanished from the magic sigils, shattering them completely...
The gate... swung open...
Beyond the Hellgate lay a horrifying wasteland of scorched earth.
If the city's side resembled a hellish purgatory, the landscape beyond the gate was the very heart of the inferno.
A vague black shadow slowly approached this portal connecting two realms.
In the city, every monster spawned from evil forces, every time lord's official, every Juror of the Tribunal of Truth, and even every derivative being—all simultaneously sensed the approach of a powerful presence.
Even merely "approaching" was enough to make lower-tier monsters tremble in terror. Across the city, agonized wails and frenzied roars erupted from countless creatures, all voicing the same despair.
The monarch symbolizing Apocalyptic destruction had finally arrived on this land...
...
Meanwhile, in the real world.
Somewhere within Shidaostudio.
"What do you mean you're only reporting this now, an hour after the deadline?!" shouted the head of their game department, glaring at a staff member.
"What's going on?" Just then, the manager on night duty passed through the corridor, holding a coffee from the vending machine.
The department head sighed, raising a paper form. "This came in two minutes ago—the monitoring data from Shidao Wei Wang's session."
The manager snatched the paper, sipping his coffee as he glanced at it. He almost spat out his drink. "What the hell happened? Did he forget to take his meds?"
The staff member looked indignant. "He said he took them!"
"He 'said' he did?" the department head snapped sarcastically.
"Well, what more do you want?" the staff member shot back, eyes blazing. "Should we follow him into the break room to watch him swallow the pills? Force-feed him?"
"You..." The department head was speechless. Deep down, he knew this wasn't anyone else's fault. Skipping medication before entering the pod was clearly Shidao Wei Wang's own mistake.
"Enough", the manager interrupted. "If the King tossed his pills aside and lied about it, there's nothing we could do. We couldn't detect anomalies during his Login space calibration. The discrepancy only showed up after he entered the scenario." He turned to the staff member. "You caught this quickly. Return to your post."
The staff member left, receiving a venomous glare from the department head as he passed.
The manager said to the department head, "This could be serious. I'll need to call the Boss for instructions. You go back to work."
"Fine", the department head mumbled, retreating.
The manager watched him leave with a disdainful snort. "Waste. You're outta here tomorrow." His gaze returned to the form, thinking for several seconds. "Kid... did you get some wild idea about fighting 'fair and square' in the finals? Think you're some kind of 'expert'? Please. If you were really a star player, would you even be stuck here at our Shidaostudio?"
...
Back in the game world, in the northern district.
"Found you again", Fei Chai Shu said, cigarette dangling from his lips, hands in his pockets, facing Shidao Wei Wang. "You ran off quick last time."
"This time, I'm not running", Shidao Wei Wang replied, already summoning his halberd. "Let's settle this!"
"Oh?" Fei Chai Shu raised his hand, sliding his sunglasses down slightly to lock eyes. "Hmm... different eyes this time. Not the same person as before." He adjusted his sunglasses. "Bet you're high on whatever 'new drug' you took, huh?"
"Believe what you want", Shidao Wei Wang shrugged. "I won't bother explaining."
"Fine. Let's dance", Fei Chai Shu said, pulling both hands from his pockets. "Whether regular contestant or seeded player—same difference to me."
...
Elsewhere, in the eastern district.
This area held a "Blood Lake" spanning roughly three hectares. The lake's waters had boiled for years, making the temperatures here exceptionally high.
The lake's viscous blood and countless unknown liquids had fused into a grotesque cocktail. No one knew how it formed, and no one cared...
Thanks to the lake's presence, visibility in this area was excellent. Anyone with D-level reconnaissance proficiency could easily spot the opposite shore.
Which led to this scene—an astonishing twelve players faced each other across the lake.
These twelve weren't arranged in a circle but grouped together in clusters of three.
East side: Zui Wo Chang Ran, Sheng Yupian, and Wu Si Can Xuan.
West side: Vishnu, Brahma, and Yama.
South side: Wu Dao Ke, Kuangzong Jianying, and Xiao Wen Cang Tian.
North side: Name Zhen Nan Qu, namereallyhardtodecide, and reallyhardtoname.
This was an extraordinary sight—experts from four major guilds: "Drunken Life and Death", "The Gods' Four Heavenly Kings", "Swords and Laughter", and "Name Difficulty" combinations. For once, all had converged here. Even without Meng Jing Chan and Shiva's attendance, this lineup was dazzling.
But special mention deserved to Name Difficulty's trio...
Some might scoff at placing these three sharp-tongued host club members alongside the previous combinations as somehow lowering the overall quality. They'd be wrong.
Let's examine their gaming journey:
First, these three belonged to a tiny, fledgling studio. Terrifying Paradise was their first game as class players. Yet within just two months, they became famous names in the gaming community.
Their fame didn't stem from solo dueling skills, but from their formidable 3v3 team capabilities (during the Cangling Debate of Swords, Ji Bu had grumbled about them ditching him to queue for kill game modes).
Third, despite the Peak Conquest Tournament testing individual prowess, they had stormed into the Top 10's final five.
If these three reasons weren't proof enough of their strength, consider their ridiculous nicknames. Honestly, I can't tell them apart—so I distinguish by hairstyles and nicknames: Name Zhen Nan Qu (Xiao Ming, Baldy); namereallyhardtodecide (Lao Qu, Afro); and reallyhardtoname (Zhen Ge, Mohawk).
The fact that Ids this intentionally forgettable became popular in the game itself was further evidence of their formidable strength...
"The situation's complicated", Xiao Ming muttered, staring across the lake.
"Looks like many contestants prioritized finding guild allies first for this final", Zhen Ge added.
"Of course", Lao Qu shrugged. "We're smart, but others aren't fools. With a points system, finding trustworthy allies to rack up kills together first makes sense. Settle internal conflicts after eliminating others."
"Mm..." Xiao Ming nodded. "The problem is—we're already in enemy sight. Three different groups. What now? Attack?"
"Don't be stupid", Lao Qu snapped. "Starting a fight here is suicide. Example: If A attacks B while C and D watch, whoever wins, C/D can swoop in and profit."
"Unless C/D fight each other before A/B finish", Zhen Ge countered. "If either C/D takes down their rival before A/B's done, they could turn around and ambush both."
"Or the A/B winner could strike back at C/D mid-fight", Xiao Ming added.
"Or maybe A and B negotiate an alliance to take down C first..." Lao Qu suggested.
Zhen Ge nodded. "But trust between A and B is shaky. Who knows what could happen mid-combat?"
"Hmm..." All three frowned in unison, scratching their heads in thought.
Across the lake, the crew-cut youth (Sheng Yupian) grumbled to his companions, "The Gods and jianghu are strategizing, but hiei studio's side... I can't understand."
Wu Si Can Xuan asked, "What? Are they speaking foreign?"
"Yup... talking in Abcds..." Sheng Yupian replied. "Feels like they're stuck in some pointless, infinite loop of overthinking."
(End of Chapter)
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