Chapter 38-Game Descent: I Am the Sole Player
Chapter 38
Plum blossoms in full bloom reflected on the still surface of the lake. In the distance, low green hills rolled on and on beneath an overcast sky, like a pale watercolour painting of the Jiangnan countryside.
Shrill, agonised screams, however, left no room to appreciate the view.
The troop of monkeys, cornered at the lakeside before they could reach the water, suddenly found their bodies floating upward. Long, powerful simian arms clawed frantically at the air, trying to grab the fragile plum branches. An infant clinging to a larger monkey's back lost its grip and drifted helplessly away through the void.
Stripped of gravity, the monkeys — whose terrifying arm strength and astonishing agility were their greatest weapons — saw their combat effectiveness plummet. Before the well-prepared human players, they were lambs to the slaughter.
Baseball bats, long blades, and energy blasts rained down in waves. The young players, unaffected by the weightlessness, toyed with the monkeys with ease. The enhanced physical capabilities that came with levelling up made it effortless. The monkeys' piercing shrieks gradually faded, and before long, fell silent altogether.
Cheng Yue stood by a covered bridge nearby, watching her companions harvest the troop in silence. Without warning, a tiny infant monkey drifted into view right before her eyes.
A flicker passed through her calm, unruffled gaze. She extended a finger and gave the lightest touch. The baby monkey dropped to the ground, fixed her with its wide eyes for an instant, then scampered away behind her.
Every monkey still floating in the air had gone still. Cheng Yue released her ability. Corpses, severed limbs, and slick red-and-white tissue rained down onto the dried-out riverbank; some draped over the vivid plum branches.
The car had broken down, and there had been that troublesome encounter along the way — but the mission was completed in the end.
Cheng Yue knew that once she left, ordinary animals and mutated creatures would make quick work of the grisly scene. The next time she returned, the lakeside would be beautiful again — and if the plum blossoms had not yet fallen, even more so.
"I broke through to Level 14!"
"I'm still just short of 14. If only there'd been a few more monkeys."
"These monkeys were nothing like what those Level-5 noobs hyped them up to be. 'Smarter than humans,' they said — I don't see any difference from the ones at the zoo."
"Pretty sure this troop actually escaped from some zoo. Which real-estate development was it again...? Oh wow, Xu-jie — wasn't that your family's zoo? Hahaha!"
"So they were my family's monkeys! You all owe me a bow of gratitude — especially the one who just hit Level 14!"
The young people bantered and bickered as if on a casual outing.
By the covered bridge, Cheng Yue's brow was tightly furrowed. When the group approached, her chest rose and fell noticeably. She closed her eyes, opened them again, and the composed smile was back in place.
"We'd be nowhere without you carrying us, Cheng Yue!"
"Whenever you've got a mission, remember to bring us along. Today's was way too easy — didn't even get to show our real stuff."
They crowded around her, chattering away. Cheng Yue switched on her professional charm, and within a few words had the trust-fund kids' tails practically wagging in the air.
"With rising talents like you in Nanzhou City, the pressure on me has really... truly eased off —"
Cheng Yue abruptly swallowed the last syllable. The young people did not notice anything off, because another group was approaching from the opposite direction — and the young man in front had bandages wrapped around his face and a small monkey dangling from his hand.
"Has your nose been fixed? Can a game ability repair your implant?"
The young woman asked with open curiosity.
"...Xu Da, I'm already this miserable — can you cut me some slack? I was thinking of you guys, you know. We can have monkey brains together later."
The young man — Huo Yi — held up the infant monkey proudly.
Xu Da waved her hand in disgust. "Ugh, Huo Yi, if you want to get infested by mutated parasites, leave us out of it."
"I checked — it's just an ordinary monkey with no signs of mutation!" Huo Yi protested, clutching his nose.
Cheng Yue's expression was frozen on her face. She stared at the infant monkey in the young man's hand. The half-dead creature, dangling limply, caught sight of her and suddenly began to struggle.
"In fact, many mutated creatures now show no major external changes but can exhibit extraordinary abilities in certain areas — similar to humans."
"To be safe, don't casually treat wild animals as ingredients. Monkeys in particular carry many zoonotic viruses. Even high-level players should err on the side of caution."
A woman in a light tan trench coat stepped forward from behind Huo Yi, speaking softly to dissuade him.
Cheng Yue's gaze shifted to the woman. She recognised her — the success of this outing in tracking down the monkeys was largely thanks to this person.
Earlier, after leaving the stadium, Cheng Yue had waited ten minutes for the car to be repaired. But by the time she reached the reported location, the troop had already withdrawn and vanished without a trace.
It just so happened that this woman — Qin Zhen — and her team were doing another mission nearby. Qin Zhen had approached Cheng Yue on her own initiative, deployed her ability to send out a Silver Snake, tracked the monkey troop down, and even led her team to help drive the monkeys down the mountainside for the trust-fund kids.
"She's right. Huo Yi, if you actually eat monkey brains and get sick, you'll go down in history as the first Level 13 to die from monkey brains. Hahaha."
Xu Da mocked him without a shred of restraint, and Huo Yi's expression darkened further.
Damn it! He had to break out of Level 13 immediately — no, right now. Tomorrow he would challenge a higher-tier mission and make Xu Da and that clueless outsider look up at him!
Lost in his resentment, he let his grip slip. The monkey wriggled free and was gone in a blink. He stood rooted to the spot, dumbfounded.
His companions roared with even louder laughter. Cheng Yue turned her head aside, hiding the amusement in her eyes.
"All right, let's head back. It's just a baby monkey — not worth the fuss."
Cheng Yue spoke up, declaring the mission over.
Huo Yi was livid, but he knew that chasing a baby monkey in front of Nanzhou City's strongest player was beneath his dignity. He hung his head and slunk back to his companions.
One by one they boarded the car. Inside, they chatted and teased a certain someone noisily. But Xu Da lagged a step behind. Just before getting in, she suddenly called out to the woman who was about to leave.
"You're Qin Zhen, right?"
Being addressed by name so directly by the young woman, Qin Zhen showed not the slightest displeasure. She turned around and nodded.
"I'm putting together a permanent team. You're quite good."
With that, Xu Da flashed a brilliant smile, and without waiting for a reply, pulled the car door shut.
Cheng Yue was seated beside Xu Da. She glanced outside and could still make out a silhouette that stood out strikingly among the group of people.
Qin Zhen... wore a Gold Badge, had a commanding presence, a sharp mind. Someone like that should not have escaped her notice.
It seemed she was yet another out-of-towner who had recently arrived.
[Oh, by the way, Cheng Yue — I didn't want to ask openly out there.]
Xu Da typed on her phone's notes app and held it up for Cheng Yue to see.
[That person called Bai Shan — did she give you trouble?]
Cheng Yue turned and met Xu Da's wide, curious eyes. She felt a surge of pressure with no outlet.
[She is very strong.]
Cheng Yue chose her words carefully and typed her reply to Xu Da.
As for exactly how strong — that was something Xu Da's father should send people to investigate. Cheng Yue was already planning to take on another mission with a more distant destination, one that would keep her away for a day or two. Depending on the situation, she could drag it out even longer.
Xu Da read Cheng Yue's reply and fell into a thoughtful expression.
The vehicle started and headed back to the city.
A black RV drove brazenly down the road, roaring past. Pedestrians on both sides could not help but stare.
Huang Yuci sat inside the RV, clicking her tongue in amazement, her eyes darting repeatedly toward Bai Shan.
She had been outside the stadium watching the car for the two of them, and had completely missed the scene of Cheng Yue making her move. It was only after Bai Shan and Lin Huijun came out that a staff member filled her in on what had happened. Huang Yuci was still kicking herself for not being there to see it.
"You got a Diamond Badge and you can't even be bothered to wear it?" Huang Yuci could not help asking.
Level 16 and above qualified for the organisation's Diamond Badge. The thing had been valuable before; now it was worth even more. Out of Nanzhou City's million-plus players, fewer than twenty wore one.
Bai Shan looked exasperated. "It'll snag my clothes."
"And in broad daylight, the sun hits it and blinds everyone around me. Walking around like that just screams 'punch me.'"
Huang Yuci and Lin Huijun, at the wheel, wore even more complicated expressions. Huang Yuci, mindful of her position, kept her retort firmly bottled up.
"Well, guess I really do have an eye for talent. Whoever I guide turns out to be a big deal — one random stop and I land a Level-17 Diamond player."
"I was going to ask you two to team up with me... That's out of the question now. I'm only Level 7. So the fruit, canned food, and water you promised — you'd better hand those over."
Huang Yuci reminded them sternly.
Bai Shan's eyes shifted. "Didn't you say you only wanted the fruit?"
Huang Yuci was indignant. "Hey — you're Level 17! Can't you be a little more generous?"
"Fine, we'll give you the canned food and water," Bai Shan said, dropping the teasing tone. "As for teaming up — we don't need that. Even if you were Level 17, I wouldn't need it."
"But there are still ways to earn something from us. We just got here — we don't know the area, and we need you to show us to the housing the organisation assigned. The rules here are complicated, and we'd like to keep things simple. You can pick up tips from us along the way."
Huang Yuci decided to take the tips without a moment's hesitation.
Her ability was somewhat underwhelming. Since the game's descent she had relied entirely on her wits, cultivating connections and playing support roles, painstakingly grinding her way up to Level 7.
Even so, she did not consider herself inferior to players with powerful Talents. So what if her Talent was only C-tier? Charlie Anderson had died before her. Staying alive was the real victory.
"Then you've definitely come to the right person. Hehe — even before the game descended, I was famously well-connected. I ran several accounts with tens of thousands of followers..."
"Besides sorting people into tiers, what other rules does the organisation in Nanzhou City have?"
Bai Shan cut off Huang Yuci's self-promotion and asked bluntly.
Under Bai Shan's rather imposing gaze, Huang Yuci's expression turned serious. Her delivery was crisp and clear as she laid out the organisational structure of Nanzhou City.
The full name of the organisation currently governing Nanzhou City's players was the "Nanzhou Xu Group Mutual Aid Player Association," founded by the local Xu Group.
After the game's descent, various organisations had sprung up — including the local government — rallying people to support one another through the game. The Xu Group's association was one among many, and initially it held no particular advantage over the rest.
But on the fourth day of the game, Cheng Yue appeared.
As a celebrity, she already enjoyed enormous fame. After the game's descent she received an SS-tier Talent, saved countless lives, and her exploits spread like wildfire. The Xu Player Association riding on her coattails became famous too, attracting a host of powerful players.
At the same time, Cheng Yue killed a number of "troublesome" players in the name of maintaining order.
When the leaderboard appeared at the end of Phase One on the seventh day and Cheng Yue's name was prominently listed, the Xu Player Association's position became unshakeable overnight.
The tier-and-badge system had only been formally rolled out to all Nanzhou City residents in the past two days. Before that, only the Xu Player Association's own members had followed it — and now the entire city marched to the rules the Xu Group had set.
Players at Silver tier and above received fixed resources from the Player Association. But those below Silver — that is, anyone under Level 10 — had to exchange Contribution Points for survival supplies.
As for strong players, the Xu Group was extraordinarily welcoming, offering generous treatment regardless of whether they were locals or outsiders.
Case in point: the RV was now parked beneath a luxury hotel, and a uniformed valet was actually offering to park their car for them.
Lin Huijun, in the driver's seat, rolled the window down, then up, then down again — confirming that the valet and the opulent hotel were, in fact, not a hallucination.
"Are you Ms. Bai Shan?"
Lin Huijun shook her head.
The valet's smile cooled noticeably.
And with that, Lin Huijun finally got a real taste of how things worked here.
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