Chapter 75: Reunion of Old Friends (Seventh Update)

Chapter 75: Reunion of Old Friends (Seventh Update)

The next day, Qi Sheng received a consciousness link from Hyperdimension, informing him that the decomposition function had been completed. After testing the feature, he immediately initiated a new update.

Minutes later, a Challenger Prompt echoed in all players’ minds, while the Forum simultaneously published details of the update.

Challenger Prompt (Global Channel): Game Version 1.4 Update Notice

Update Content 1: Life Soul Decomposition

Description: A new Life Soul Decomposition function has been added to the Function Panel. Players may now crush detached Life Souls to reclaim 95% of their Evolution Points.

Note: This function only works on detached Life Souls, not those embedded in equipment. Redeemed Evolution Points can be freely allocated to other Life Souls.

Example: Decomposing a level 10 Black-Scaled Serpent Life Soul returns 3,000 Evolution Points, which could rapidly upgrade a level 1 Hawk-Headed Demon Life Soul to level 9.25.

Update Content 2: Evolution Point Allocation

Description: A secondary panel Evolution Point Allocation has been added to the Stellar Vein Reinforcement Panel. Players may now adjust the percentage of Evolution Points earned from hunting, prioritizing specific Life Souls for faster growth.

Update Content 3: Auction House

Description: A new Auction House function has been added to the Function Panel. Players may list gathered resources, crafted items, and other goods for sale. Prices are set freely, with a 5% Sacrificial Power fee deducted from the seller’s earnings per transaction.

Note: Items purchased via the Auction House may be teleported to the buyer using the Guide function, with an additional 1% fee for cross-region deliveries.

(This is a live update—no logout required.)

……

Comment Section:

Nightfallapproach: Never saw this coming! Yesterday, I was just discussing on the Forum how the Stellar Vein system lacked flexibility for prioritizing specific Life Souls. Today, they roll out Evolution Point Allocation. Is Lunar Eclipse Clan secretly spying on us, or just a coincidence? Probably the latter. Everyone knows their reputation—they’ve always acted untouchable, ignoring player feedback.

Roaring Hurricane: I’m spitting blood! I just swapped my Gargoyle Life Soul for a Hawk-Headed Demon yesterday, and today they add decomposition. What do I do with my losses? No compensation from the dog-faced devs? I’m so mad I could punch a Lunar Eclipse Clan employee!

Beaverbeats: Loving the new Evolution Point Allocation and Life Soul Decomposition! No more sunk costs when changing playstyles. Full marks for listening to players.

Weapon Master: Auction House is great! No more Dms for custom weapons—just search and buy directly. The 5% fee is worth the efficiency boost.

Big Weapon: Leveling Life Souls too slow? Hunting Malevolent Spirits too tough? Check the Auction House for Second-Generation Improved Spirit Energy Firearms or Second-Generation Psi-Blast Charges. Strong output even at low levels—users swear by ’em!

Lunar Eclipse Clan’s Official Shill: Perfect timing! I was just thinking of swapping my Black-Scaled Serpent Life Soul. Melee’s been weak this patch—switching to a Bonefire+Hawk-Headed Demon+Qi Devourer Stellar Vein combo for ranged dominance. Ranged is the meta now!

……

Player feedback overwhelmingly praised the update. The only complaints came from those who’d recently replaced Life Soul builds—those detached Life Souls had been converted into Sacrificial Power Reservoirs without compensation. Qi Sheng quickly resolved this, issuing 95% Evolution Point refunds via email. The Forum’s cries of anguish vanished overnight, replaced by gratitude.

The update meant players could now experiment freely with Stellar Vein builds, losing only 5% of initial investments when switching. Entirely new combinations were now on the table.

After finalizing the update, Qi Sheng turned to recruitment. The Black Tide’s devastation had emptied the Gloomspire Caverns, pushing even low-level newcomers to leave Dizhong Village and hunt Malevolent Spirits to level up. Qi Sheng saw this as prime training ground for fresh players—and had his target group in mind.

……

Iron Wall City.

Night fell, neon lights flickering to life. In a quiet corner stood the Veterans’ Tavern, its sign a massive black shield etched with the words “Old Soldiers.” Pushing open the door, one stepped into a world of mellow jazz, a stark contrast to the modern bustle outside.

Inside, antique decor reigned. Faded photos of mechanized war zones hung under tarnished brass chandeliers, casting warm, golden hues. The bar counter, polished dark wood, reflected rows of whiskey bottles and gleaming cocktail tools. A bartender in a white shirt and bowtie shook a martini with practiced ease, the air thick with cigar smoke, whiskey, and faint floral notes.

At a central round table, a white-haired man with a centipede-shaped scar on his face crushed his cigar into an ashtray. “That old dog—how late’s he gonna be?”

“He’s on his way,” rumbled another veteran from the shadows, rising to reveal half-mechanical features. He raised his glass in salute.

The tavern door swung open, a bell jingling. All heads turned as a two-meter figure stepped in, boots thudding on wooden floorboards. Shedding his rain-soaked coat, he revealed a broad, muscular frame. Looking around, he grinned: “Late as always.”

The room erupted.

“Captain, guess one leg’s slower than two!” laughed an armless vet.

“Li Tie, you dodging your granddaughter again? Want me to fix her up with my grandson?”

“Get over here and drink, buddy! We’ve missed ya!”

……

Seated at the table, Li Tie’s gaze swept the room. “Where’re Bomber and Hornet?”

The laughter died. Faces fell.

“They didn’t make it through this year,” said the veteran beside him. “You were still in mental rehab, unstable. We didn’t want to shock you—kept you from the funeral.”

Li Tie’s eyes dimmed, but he masked it with a smirk. Raising his glass, he declared: “We’ve already cheated death once. Every day’s a bonus. To the old soldiers. To old friends.”

The veterans echoed him, glasses clinking.

As nostalgic tunes played in the background, Li Tie drifted into memories: thunderous artillery, endless waves of mechanized armies stretching beyond the horizon. Of the 46 who’d returned from that hell, only these grizzled faces remained.

Only 27 remained today.

This painful memory wasn’t just his personal nightmare—it was a wound that never healed for his old comrades gathered here.

Every time he recalled the past, countless youthful figures would flash through his mind, only to be torn apart by the chaos of war. When he reached out to save them, all he grasped was the emptiness of mirages.

This trauma was also one of the main reasons his mental state deteriorated.

These unerasable memories replayed endlessly, each time deepening the suffocating despair until reality and recollection blurred into an explosive collapse.

He took a slow drag from his cigar, exhaling thick smoke. White tendrils curled upward from his fingers, veiling his slightly unfocused eyes.

"Chief, tell us how you’ve been this year. Did our granddaughter finally get married?"

"Obviously not! Would I not invite you all for a drink if she did?" Li Tie blew away the swirling haze in front of him, hooked an arm around the old man beside him, and grinned, "You trying to set up your grandson with my granddaughter again?"

"The kid doesn’t have that luck. He’s obsessed with this Darklands game lately. My son says he stays up all night fighting for access—ruined his life."

Li Tie’s eyes flickered. "Darklands?"

"That’s the one. Rumor says it’s ultra-realistic, way beyond the virtual games we played back in our day."

His friend’s words sparked an idea.

These veterans all shared his post-war trauma. Why not bring them into Darklands? Let them fight once more in this virtual battlefield.

Channeling their emotions through the game could ease their symptoms, avoiding the destruction their real-world outbursts caused.

Suddenly standing, Li Tie slapped his hands together.

The sharp clap silenced the noisy bar. All the old soldiers turned toward him.

"Gather ‘round. Need to talk about something."

The veterans stood and surrounded him, puzzled.

The scar-faced leader spoke first. "Chief, let me guess—you’re dragging us into another VR game? Count me out. It’s childish."

The words froze Li Tie mid-breath.

He had tried inviting them before. Only he stuck with VR games while the others returned to reality after brief attempts.

He continued only to stay close to his granddaughter Li Siyu. Without her, he’d have quit too.

"This time’s different", he said firmly. "After Siyu recommended it, I found a VR game so real it’s indistinguishable from life. I want you all to join me. And yes—this game restores our missing limbs. We’ll have whole bodies again inside."

His gaze swept across their faces. "No jokes this time. This isn’t like the VR games I showed you before. Try it and you’ll understand."

They exchanged glances. The scarred man spoke again.

"Chief, if you say it’s that good, we’ll give it a shot. Just send the purchase link later."

Li Tie shook his head. "No buying. You’d be dead before you got official access. These slots are scarce as gold dust."

"Captain, what do you mean?"

Li Tie smirked. "I’ve got a cracked version. You’ll get instant access through my link—but keep it secret. If they find out, we’ll all get banned."

Pulling out his phone, he shared the Darklands download link in their group chat.

By midnight, their annual reunion ended. Drunk and exhausted, the old soldiers collapsed in the bar, snoring until dawn.

...

The next afternoon, Li Tie returned home to find his friends had already grabbed the game keys. All were downloading.

He didn’t question it.

Having never used such a limited-access link before, he didn’t realize its scarcity. Unbeknownst to him, Starnet’s system—monitored by Guide—had flagged his group’s activity. Qi Sheng, recognizing their potential, authorized special access for these veterans.

To Qi Sheng, these battle-hardened men were ideal recruits—superior mental resilience, tactical instincts honed by war.

...

An hour later, Li Tie led his old comrades into the game. They spawned at Dishong Village’s Respawn Point.

Unlike ordinary players, their first reaction wasn’t awe at the graphics—but shock at their healed bodies.

"My hand... it’s back", one veteran whispered, raising his arm. Tears welled as he flexed fingers that had been missing for decades.

The emotional weight was overwhelming. The strength they’d lost, the pride they’d buried—reborn in this digital world.

"Haha! Looks like I’ll spend my old age here. Feels better than I ever dreamed!" Another laughed, spinning like a child.

Li Tie grinned beside them. "Come on. Let’s show you the battlefield."

Leading them toward the village exit, he explained the game’s mechanics while they gawked at the hyper-realistic environment.

Though he’d joined his granddaughter’s guild, Banquet Drunk Squad, he never fit their social vibe. Here with his brothers-in-arms, he felt more alive than ever.

The village mist thinned as they stepped outside.

Then the horizon erupted.

A black tide of Obsidian Mists surged forward like crashing waves, spawning grotesque monsters forged from pure dark energy.

Instantly, the veterans dropped into combat stances.

"Black Tide Malevolent Spirits", Li Tie explained. "Kill them to earn Evolution Points—boosts for strength, speed, stamina. Basically... giving us back our youth."

Golden light ignited in his eyes. Five Spiritforged Weapons circled him before merging into a blazing golden waraxe. Power surged through his body, golden runes blazing across his skin like a warrior reborn.

"Captain, you look like a freaking god!"

"Teach me that! How do I get one?"

...

Their cheers fed Li Tie’s ego. He leapt twenty feet, axe blazing like a meteor. He crashed into the enemy horde, obliterating spirits in a craterous explosion that absorbed their energy into his body.

"DO IT Again!"

"This Game’S Awesome! How do we jump that high?"

"Remember when you led charges against the mechanical armies? Just Like That!"

Their voices roared in voice chat, inflating Li Tie’s ego to the stratosphere. One by one, they transformed into monster forms as taught, charging with primal cries.

Ten minutes later:

Breakwall Veterans Groupchat

Old Dog: Pissed! Only killed two before dying. Why’s the death cooldown one hour?

Big Steel: What? We just get one hour? Just getting warmed up! How do I skip the cooldown? Can I watch ads?

Ashes: This game’s therapy. Charging with the Captain again—it’s like being young warriors again. My head feels clearer. Turns out stress relief works.

Machete: Damn IT! Who added this stupid respawn cooldown?! Delete this feature! I’m logging in Right Now—I Want More Kills!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end