Chapter 252: New Players, Intrusion

Since the collision and fusion of the Crimson Earth and the real world, the world has undergone new changes. Veteran players returning to reality from the Crimson Earth, new players summoned by the Black Sphere in reality, and so-called Ability Users who emerged under the influence of the Fear Emperor’s heretical ideology have formed a new landscape.

As the Disciples of Suffering previously stated, they were the true first batch of players who entered the Crimson Earth over a decade ago. By leveraging the “player strength” that could be brought into the real world, they secretly took control of the world, becoming the true behind-the-scenes players.

Thus, unlike the clichéd dark apocalypse novels where the real world instantly descends into the lawless Age of Dharma Decline, under the control of these behind-the-scenes players, the real world remains in a state of semi-order.

Mephisto also mentioned that the Black Sphere was a machine created by a certain genius to screen and summon players. It has now summoned tens of millions of players under the command of the behind-the-scenes players to combat the monster waves from the Crimson Earth.

The locations of the Black Spheres under the control of the behind-the-scenes players have also been transformed into structures resembling adventurer guilds or mission halls.

It can be said that the world has entered a completely new era.

The Bopomo Kingdom where Kamiyu resides is merely a small nation within this world, with only a few hundred thousand players in total across the entire country.

Despite the large population base—Dragon Roar City alone has over ten million people—the number of individuals eligible for summoning by the Black Sphere is very limited. One of the conditions is proficiency in gaming, and the other is being a youth. Because they are quick-witted, adept at operating phones and computers, and receptive to new things, the Black Sphere does not waste time on lengthy explanations. Those unwilling to adapt will ultimately be left behind in this era of drastic change.

As days passed, these new players, under the “newbie guidance” of the Black Sphere, began learning how to adapt to the changes in the world’s new landscape.

Now, the Black Sphere controlled by the behind-the-scenes players has issued a national-level subjugation mission to the new players: conquer the Tree World Dungeon and eliminate the Dungeon Boss, the Fear Emperor.

Some players located relatively close to Dragon Roar City, upon receiving the Black Sphere’s instructions, rushed to Dragon Roar City without delay, preparing to tackle the Tree World Dungeon.

Additionally, Mephisto mentioned that the Black Sphere also serves as a substitute for the Heavenly Father Altar, functioning as the players’ own player altar. Whoever possesses a Black Sphere can establish their own school, founding their own organization.

Fortunately, Kamiyu took the initiative by ordering the seizure of the Black Sphere, placing it in an offline state and avoiding control by the behind-the-scenes players. She now possesses 11 Black Spheres, and with Xiao Zhong having cracked the Black Sphere’s technology, they are now utilized by Kamiyu, formally privatized. Thus, in theory, she can construct and control 11 main cities.

At the edge of Dragon Roar City’s boundary, a convoy of several hundred people was blocked by dense aerial roots.

They entered from the southwest of Dragon Roar City. If they could breach the wall of aerial roots of the Fear Emperor Tree and enter Dragon Roar City, they would be very close to Kamiyu’s Sanctuary.

“General Wu, our convoy can no longer advance. The road ahead is completely cut off by tree vines and roots. We can only proceed on foot.”

Wu Qi, Talent: Cannon King, Level 10. The title “General Wu” was, of course, self-proclaimed. He is a new player who emerged after the fusion of the two worlds, hailing from Wuwu County, adjacent to Dragon Roar City.

“Damn it, if the path is blocked, then figure out a way! The rewards for this Black Sphere mission are incredibly generous—a custom Dark Gold Weapon. With such an overpowered weapon, I can dominate the Bopomo Kingdom and become the strongest player in the country.” General Wu kicked the car door, startling the underling standing outside.

“General Wu, you need to make them hurry. What if someone else beats us to it? The neighboring Pingdu City is densely populated, with thousands of players. We even fought them over an Instance Dungeon before,” said a stunningly attractive female player beside him.

“Xiaomei is right. Hey, you lot, hurry up and use your Skills to blast through these roadblocks!” General Wu ordered.

“General Wu, please don’t do that. We’re already advancing in a single-file formation, and if we recklessly use our Skills now, we’ll attract Monsters to Attack us. Besides, the closer we get to Dragon Roar City, the stranger things become. The Tree Vines and Tree Roots seem alive, moving around and drawn to us, along with some unknown frenzied humans,” the underling nervously explained.

“That’s right, those frenzied humans are incredibly tough. They just won’t die, with extremely strong Recovery Power. We lost several brothers just to take down one,” another person chimed in.

The frenzied humans they mentioned were actually the Fear Emperor’s pawns—Ability Users. If they could be killed at just a few levels, they were likely only first-tier.

“What’s there to be afraid of? Why are you so timid? If you’re scared, step aside.” With a beautiful female player watching, General Wu couldn’t afford to show weakness. Leading by example, he Summoned a Mortar onto the pickup truck’s bed and fired a shot at the Aerial Roots wall ahead.

“General Wu, don’t—”

“Don’t what?” General Wu got out of the car, kicked his underling aside, and proudly admired his impressive feat in front of the female player.

With a “Boom!”, a small hole the size of a bowling ball was blasted into the Tree Roots ahead.

The female player covered her mouth.

Suddenly, silence fell—the situation had become awkward.

“Damn it! Everyone, attack together and blow open this Tree Wall. I’m getting through here today!” General Wu’s veins bulged on his neck, his face flushed with anger.

The sounds of various Skills being unleashed—”Bang, bang, boom, boom, ding, dong”—echoed for a solid ten to twenty minutes before a path was finally blasted open.

“Look, what’s that?” someone pointed at a massive, strange structure that had appeared several kilometers away.

Everyone looked over. An incredibly tall, curved earthen wall stood before them, its outer surface entwined with green Tree Vines. Overall, it looked like a reinforced cage.

This was the first Mine Dungeon Kamiyu had visited—the Stadium Mine Dungeon. After modifications by Dunzi and Ji Yue, it had become an excellent Mob Grinding cage.

Boldly driving closer to inspect, they discovered many huge craters along the road, with surrounding buildings flattened to the ground. This earthen wall stood abruptly on the land.

“Strange, the outside is surrounded by dense Tree Branches and Aerial Roots, but there’s nothing here. If it weren’t for this weird structure, I’d think this was the normal Dragon Roar City from before,” one person remarked.

“General Wu, perhaps we should retreat. These craters are as large as a bus—what kind of Aberrant Beast Demon could have caused such destruction?”

“Exactly, it’s terrifyingly quiet here. In movies, they always say the quieter it is, the more dangerous it becomes,” another person added.