Chapter 31-Game Descent: I Am the Sole Player
Chapter 31
The announcement of Charlie Anderson's failed Position Swap had barely faded from her ears when the sensation of weightlessness struck again. Bai Shan blinked, and she was back in the dim stairwell.
She steadied herself for a moment, then immediately dashed toward the lower floors — she needed to find a bathroom to hide in!
Most of the people in the Senior Activity Centre had already been eliminated by the game. Bai Shan did not encounter a single soul, and quickly found a washroom to duck into.
She looked at the dust-covered face in the mirror, hurriedly splashed water on it, dampened a towel to wipe her hair, took off her jacket and shook off the dust. After all that fussing, she finally looked somewhat normal.
The main reason Bai Shan did not want to expose her identity as [Tyrant] was not fear of death or retaliation — compared to those, she found petty hassles far more annoying. After all, the title of Number One Human Player was far too conspicuous. Countless factions had probably already dug up everything there was to know about the name "Tyrant."
Bai Shan faced the mirror and patted her expressionless face with cool water. She picked up the compound bow from the sink counter and was about to leave when something occurred to her. She pulled up her game panel.
Just as Bai Shan had been teleported back by the game, she had faintly heard a notification from [Admonition].
[Skill 3: Admonition All who bow before the Tyrant become subjects. The Tyrant may unconditionally access any subject's Talent. Available Talents: Supersonic Movement, Heat Imaging Sensing, Soil Lord, Rhythmic Frenzy, Bloodshed Resonance, Personal Domain]
Besides [Bloodshed Resonance], this battle had earned her one more Talent!
[Personal Domain (B) From Fatima, who has bowed before you. O divine one descended from the heavens, I offer you my deepest gratitude.]
Fatima — was that the hostage girl?
Bai Shan closed her eyes and tried activating the newly acquired Talent. A small white light appeared in the darkness of her consciousness, and the compound bow vanished from her hands.
She felt it carefully. The first skill of [Personal Domain] — [Storage Room] — provided roughly one cubic metre of space, equivalent to two or three large suitcases. Anything stored inside could be retrieved at will.
The ability's tier was mediocre, but for Bai Shan it was reasonably practical — especially since Zhong Xile had promised her firearms, and she had just obtained [Bloodshed Resonance] from her defeated opponent, which could manipulate thermal weapons.
Bai Shan could almost picture it: someday, some fool with no sense of self-preservation would provoke her, and behind her, dozens of guns and cannons would materialise out of thin air, all aimed at that cannon fodder — as if she had summoned an entire armoury. Just thinking about it was exciting!
Unfortunately, one cubic metre was a bit small. She wondered if there was room to grow later.
Fatima's [Personal Domain] was the first Talent Bai Shan had obtained through a non-physical form of "bowing." Her earlier guess had been correct — the definition of "bowing" was broad. Beyond death, there were other ways to make someone willingly bow before her.
The Talents she had previously acquired from creatures in Tomorrow's Dominator 1.0 and from Charlie Anderson were dead Talents — whatever power the owner had before death, she inherited as-is.
But Fatima was still alive.
Currently, Fatima's Talent [Personal Domain] had only unlocked Skill 1: [Storage Room]. If she could reach level 20 and unlock Skill 2, could Bai Shan also requisition her second skill?
Bai Shan thought the odds were high.
Though she could barely remember the girl's face — and suspected the girl probably had not gotten a good look at hers either. When Bai Shan had checked the mirror upon returning, she had startled herself; she looked like she had been living on a construction site.
Bai Shan very much hoped that her only living subject could survive a while longer. She wanted a bigger portable space, though that hope was rather slim — Phase Two of the game would likely be even more brutal.
Bai Shan examined [Bloodshed Resonance] more carefully.
Both being manipulation-type abilities, her [Tyrannical Command] had the advantage of versatility, but precisely controlling thermal weapons drained considerable mental energy, and its range was limited.
[Bloodshed Resonance] truly deserved its SS rating. If not for its owner being too reckless, Bai Shan would have loved to see what Skill 3 and Skill 4 would unlock. A pity there would be no chance to find out.
[Talent: Bloodshed Resonance (SS) Skill 1: Iron Blood Summon Can summon man-made thermal weapons within a 10,000-square-kilometre radius. Free to deploy at will. Skill 2: Heavy Artillery Fuse weapons onto the body. 10% critical hit chance for controlled weapons. User's own defence increased by 1000%. (Permanently destroyed, unable to use) Skill 3: Unlocks at Level 50 Skill 4: Unlocks at Level 90]
Skill 1's summoning range of ten thousand square kilometres was equivalent to a large city including its surrounding counties and county-level cities. This was the largest ability range Bai Shan had ever seen. Even Mayor Zhong Xile's A-tier Talent [Extraterrestrial] only covered a single township.
Skill 2's 10% critical hit rate and 1000% defence boost were also very useful, but Bai Shan suspected Anderson had never actually landed a critical hit. His death had a lot to do with terrible luck.
It was a bit of a shame that this skill had been destroyed by [Inextinguishable Sun Flame], but Bai Shan had her doubts — once weapons were fused onto the body, the user's appearance might become permanently fixed like Charlie Anderson's. Looking inhuman occasionally was cool, but maintaining that form all the time? Even sleeping on your stomach would be a hassle, right?
Thinking about it that way, she did not feel so bad after all.
The haul from this trip was satisfactory enough. As for the person Anderson had mentioned, if they truly posed a threat, the only thing Bai Shan could do was grow stronger — and cut down whoever stood in her way, be they gods or buddhas.
In Phase Two of the game, her experience was locked at level 50. The fastest way to increase her strength right now was to have more people bow before her.
But not just anyone could bow to her. Bai Shan would be selective about the Talents she wanted. Being too greedy could easily turn her into another Charlie Anderson.
As for how to make them bow — forcing submission through violence was the simplest method. As for the way Fatima had bowed, she would not actively pursue that. If it happened, she would treat it as a pleasant surprise.
At the current stage, mutated flora and fauna had not yet reached a level of sentience. Killing them could only yield items; getting even an A-tier item would be considered extraordinary luck.
For now, unlocking sufficiently significant achievements could yield extremely powerful items — like her Resurrection Ticket and Rule Pen, both rated "??". She guessed Anderson's Death God's Blessing and that Selam's blessing of all living creatures were also rated "??". Bai Shan liked to call them legendary-tier items.
Unlocking server-wide achievements for legendary items was equally a matter of chance, unless the game suddenly introduced an achievement compendium that let players see exactly which achievements existed and how to unlock them.
A thoughtful expression suddenly crossed Bai Shan's face. Could her [Rule Pen] make that happen?
Items like [Rule Pen] were maddening to hold onto. You always felt it could be useful, that a greater purpose awaited it down the line, and Bai Shan was no exception to this trap. She had no plans to use it in the short term.
Bai Shan turned the faucet on again, wanting to wash her face one more time. A few drops trickled out, and then nothing.
She paused. Well, it was already a miracle that water and electricity had lasted this long.
Another thing once taken for granted had vanished. The peaceful days of before grew ever more distant and blurred.
Bai Shan remembered that her backpack was still on the rooftop. She made her way back up through the stairwell and found Lin Huijun still standing there.
Seeing Lin Huijun's eyes fixed on a patch of empty space, Bai Shan knew she was looking at her game panel.
"Are you reading the world channel?"
Bai Shan's voice popped up out of nowhere. Lin Huijun jumped, then said in surprise: "Bai Shan, weren't you having a stomachache? How are you back so fast?"
...And here she had thought Lin Huijun might get suspicious. Turns out, resolving a bout of diarrhoea in ten minutes was already considered impressive!
"Because I finished." Bai Shan stated this useless fact with a straight face.
"Bai Shan, were you paying attention just now? Oh my god, it was incredible..."
Lin Huijun was bursting with jumbled thoughts, desperately wanting to dump them all on Bai Shan at once.
Bai Shan: "It would be quite difficult for me to focus on the toilet, wouldn't it? The game's announcements don't mute themselves just because I'm in the bathroom."
"Right! Tyrant killed Charlie Anderson! The world channel is going crazy over it. He's finally dead — this is the best news since the game began... Some of Anderson's fanboys even posted that they want to challenge Tyrant for revenge, and someone from the same IP area immediately jumped in wanting to fight them..."
"Is it really that dramatic?" Bai Shan raised one eyebrow doubtfully. "This has nothing to do with you... with us. Besides Tyrant, the biggest beneficiary is probably whoever gets bumped up onto the leaderboard. I wonder if the game will retroactively issue rewards."
"Speaking of that — everyone below Tyrant on the leaderboard was supposed to move up one spot, and a new 100th-place player should have appeared. But someone named Fatima rocketed straight to 92nd!"
Lin Huijun exclaimed in amazement, "The timing is too perfect. It hasn't even been an hour since the leaderboard was released, and already someone has fallen while someone else has skyrocketed. The competition is fierce."
Bai Shan, who had not had time to glance at the leaderboard even once, concealed her surprise. She had assumed the kill on Charlie Anderson was ultimately credited to her after hearing the announcement that Tyrant had killed him. She had not expected this. Could it be that the Position Swap rules declared she killed Anderson, but the game's levelling system operated on a "whoever deals the blow gets the reward" basis, granting Anderson's experience and items to Fatima?
Bai Shan opened her game panel and glanced at the name in 92nd place.
Based on the earlier glimpse of Bu Po Xin Xiang at 99th place, level 17, Fatima had likely been boosted to somewhere between level 17 and 19 by Anderson's experience.
In other words, Fatima was close to breaking through to level 20.
Bai Shan had not held any serious expectations for Fatima unlocking Skill 2. The girl looked too fragile, and her Talent lacked offensive power. If not Charlie, then some Tom would come along and treat her as an experience pack.
But now, things were uncertain.
The items Anderson had displayed were unremarkable to Bai Shan, but for Fatima they would be invaluable — as long as she was not the type to tremble and bare her neck at the mere sight of a monster.
Fatima had survived Phase One, so of course she was not that kind of person. Everyone who had made it this far had either killed multiple monsters or killed people.
That region had been ravaged by Anderson. The only threats to Fatima would be players ranked 92nd through 99th, but with Anderson's spectacular defeat as a cautionary tale, Bai Shan doubted anyone would act rashly.
Looked at this way, Bai Shan felt an upgraded, spacious domain was already waving hello to her!
The RV could not be stored in the game's spatial inventory, which was inconvenient. She hoped Fatima's Skill 2 would be large enough to hold the RV. That would make the journey ahead much easier.
"Bai Shan, don't laugh at me, okay — I want to push for the leaderboard too."
Lin Huijun suddenly spoke up.
"Hm?" Bai Shan snapped back to attention, shifting her gaze from the game panel to Lin Huijun's profile. "What's there to laugh about?"
"I'm afraid you'll think I'm dreaming. Just think — cracking the top 1,000 on the provincial exam would already be amazing, and now we're looking at the global top 100!"
"Oh, world top 100 is certainly impressive." Bai Shan agreed.
"If I had that kind of power, I wouldn't have to pin my hopes on someone else." Lin Huijun was genuinely happy that Tyrant had killed the anti-human maniac, but she also felt her own powerlessness — even though her mother was ranked second.
"My next goal is to get my name on that leaderboard. What about you, Bai Shan? I know it'll be incredibly hard, but I still want us to do it together. What do you think?"
Lin Huijun fixed Bai Shan with a fervent gaze. Bai Shan genuinely could not handle it. She looked away, turned her head, and raised an open palm toward Lin Huijun.
Lin Huijun's eyes shone even brighter. She thought Bai Shan was offering a high-five to seal their pact — that was how it always went in TV shows, movies, and anime. Excited, she raised her own hand and swung it forward —
Before it connected, Bai Shan suddenly flipped her hand, presenting the back of it instead.
"I'd say — easy as flipping a hand."
Bai Shan replied. Her sanpaku eyes, which usually appeared listless, blazed with bold, brilliant light in that moment.
Lin Huijun was deeply stunned. She knew Bai Shan had always been a bit arrogant, but today her understanding of arrogance had been redefined. And yet, in this moment, that arrogance was not the least bit off-putting — it was infectious, filling her with confidence too.
Her raised hand shifted from a high-five to a handshake, clasping Bai Shan's. Lin Huijun smiled. "All right then, I'll set my minor goal at 50th."
Bai Shan said nothing. In her view, Lin Huijun was still aiming too low.
The two of them returned from the rooftop to the Activity Centre's main hall. The elderly who had been watching movies, playing mahjong, and stretching just the day before had all vanished. Su Cuifang, wearing her red volunteer vest, pushed an empty wheelchair aside. Seeing the two young people appear together, for some reason, her eyes suddenly reddened.
"Here, returning this. It was very warm last night. Thank you."
Bai Shan took off the floral padded jacket and the red vest together and handed them to Su Cuifang.
No one knew how long the game would go on. Bai Shan recalled that in version 1.0, the game world eventually produced unpredictable weather. Even an ordinary garment held real value in an apocalypse. But Bai Shan was not short on clothing.
"It's just... everyone disappeared all at once, and I've got nothing left to do. My heart feels restless instead. Guess I'm just born to keep busy."
Su Cuifang took the clothes and sighed to the youngsters.
Bai Shan said: "No need to rush. Once the game announces the new rules tomorrow at noon, you'll have plenty to do again."
"What she means is you should rest well today. The people of Qianxi Town will need capable elders like you in the days ahead!" Lin Huijun quickly added.
"Don't worry about me, I can see things clearly. You two should go find a room and get some rest too... or are you leaving now?"
Bai Shan and Lin Huijun exchanged a look. Both shook their heads. Bai Shan said: "We'll wait until the game announces the new rules tomorrow before we go."
Who knew what tricks the game would pull in Phase Two. If there were any special requirements, they could still ask the mayor for help.
While Bai Shan was speculating about what tomorrow's rules might look like, the world channel was still flooding with posts about the ten-minute Position Swap battle.
[Is the game's level cap really 20? Killing someone of the same level in under ten minutes?]
[Tyrant's ability has to be at least SS-tier. Or does the game have an SSS-tier Talent?]
[The very first Position Swap challenge ended in failure. Any brave souls dare to launch another one?]
[I think Charlie Anderson lost because of the information gap. He was too high-profile — his abilities were fully exposed. By comparison, Tyrant's mystique is a huge advantage in a 1v1.]
[Anderson was the only person in the world who saw Tyrant's true face. Why didn't he post Tyrant's information on the world channel while they were fighting?]
[Looks like all you leaderboard players had better guard your information closely.]
[The commotion from Tyrant and Anderson's fight must have been massive. Was there really not a single bystander?]
[Forget it. If I were a bystander, I would never leak Tyrant's information. Who would want to provoke someone that powerful?]
[Tyrant is not just strong — do you still not understand what this Position Swap battle means? Tyrant dealt a crushing blow to every inhuman maniac out there, letting them know — look, the game's arrival does not give you free rein to do whatever you want!]
[But who can guarantee Tyrant won't become the next Anderson? Those with power and authority being corrupted by power and authority — hasn't that tragedy played out enough times?]
[Don't you dare trash-talk our perfect-score Tyrant!]
[Tyrant was already number one, and now they've absorbed number two's power... My god, can anyone challenge Tyrant anymore?]
[Don't forget, this world doesn't only have human players. I've already heard about several places where super-monsters have formed. The number of humans they've killed may not be fewer than Charlie Anderson's tally.]
The world channel buzzed endlessly. Tyrant's fame had even overshadowed the game itself.
But the heated discussion was not confined to the game channel. The Position Swap battle had stirred even greater waves in reality — ripples spreading outward, layer upon layer, affecting countless people and events.
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