Chapter 40-Game Descent: I Am the Sole Player
Chapter 40
[Soil Lord
From a certain Great Sovereign-level mole who has bowed to me — I don't care about the surface world, I'm the one who rules underground!]
The Tyrant's [Admonition], a skill stored in [Tomorrow's Dominator] version 1.0, treated the scenic lakeside hotel to a minor earthquake.
The sprawling hotel had been built to high safety standards. A few seconds of tremor caused no serious structural damage — just the crystal chandelier in the lobby crashing down, the aquarium shattering and spilling dead fish and reeking water across the floor, a blazing wok in the kitchen clanging to the ground... The hotel's finer details were instantly reduced to shambles — fit only to be admired from a distance.
Bai Shan used this as grounds to demand a change of accommodation — and insisted on picking the new place themselves.
Upon learning that only this hotel had experienced tremors, the other high-level guests lost all sense of security too. They confronted the staff about the cause of the earthquake, and when no clear answer was forthcoming, everyone arrived at the reasonable conclusion that some terrifying creature must have surfaced underground.
Every guest placed in this hotel was a high-level player. None of them feared Mutated Creatures — some were even itching to fight.
Yet when the hotel's residents pooled their abilities and still could not detect any trace of a monster, the minor earthquake took on a far more unsettling significance. There might be a powerful creature lurking beneath the hotel, and no one could find it. Even the most confident high-level player was not willing to bet their life on that possibility.
When Qin Zhen returned to the hotel she was staying at, her first thought was that it had been robbed or that one of the guests had attracted enemies who had come knocking.
"Ms. Qin, we're working hard to determine the cause of the earthquake. It may have been a large subterranean Mutated Creature passing through. If you have any concerns, we can arrange alternative accommodation for you."
Faced with the apologetic expression of the staff, Qin Zhen did not take them up on the offer. Instead, a spark of interest flickered in her eyes.
"No need. I'm a Nanzhou City local. Given what's happened, I won't add to your workload."
Qin Zhen smiled graciously. The attendant could not find a better excuse to press the matter, and from the moment of that little earthquake, things had begun slipping beyond their control.
"By the way, I'm curious — why did you assume the earthquake was caused by a Mutated Creature rather than a person?"
Qin Zhen asked, looking puzzled.
The attendant faltered. "A... person? If it were a person, there'd be no reason to do something like that... Besides, Nanzhou City doesn't seem to have a player with that kind of ability."
Qin Zhen gave an absent-minded tap of her knuckle on the counter, producing a faint sound. It was a small, subconscious gesture that focused attention — and carried an implicit air of authority.
"I heard a new player arrived today — drove into the city in an RV, very conspicuously. Did she leave as well?"
"Ye—" The attendant got one syllable out before catching herself, and clamped her mouth shut.
"If you have further questions, you're welcome to visit the nearest organisation outpost. We're merely hotel staff — there's only so much we can help with."
Qin Zhen did not push any further. She went upstairs, packed her things, and drove away.
She was indeed from Nanzhou City — but not from the urban centre. In a metropolis this vast, she had no home here.
Still, anywhere was better than that hotel. The organisation running Nanzhou City really did take people for fools. One night's stay had been enough to expose how amateurish those attendants were — amateur both as hotel staff and as the organisation's eyes and ears.
"...Bai Shan, I really must thank you."
Qin Zhen rested her hand on the steering wheel, a faint smile playing at the corner of her lips. The two of them were quite fated, it seemed.
Meanwhile, Bai Shan had turned down the staff's suggestions and driven around on her own. Nanzhou City was enormous. Just before dark, they finally found an elegant garden villa.
They had gotten the tip by asking a random helpful auntie on the street. The villa's former owner had been a well-known local powerhouse who had died two days ago on a mission, devoured by a Mutated Creature. The property sat near a large lake with a thriving ecosystem, and Mutated Creatures appeared frequently in the area. Ordinary people would never dare move in.
When Bai Shan heard this, she thought — wasn't this villa just waiting for an extraordinary person like her?
After moving in, Bai Shan gave the garden villa a thorough inspection — upstairs, downstairs, inside and out — marvelling at how the wealthy really knew how to live, while checking for anything unusual.
The villa had two above-ground floors and one basement level, plus a modest classical-style courtyard in the back with potted landscapes. The whole building nestled among trees at the edge of the great lake. The neighbouring houses were well-spaced, affording ample privacy. The two found nothing out of the ordinary.
Bai Shan liked this kind of secluded space. If she had to open the door every morning to a beaming attendant, that would make her truly uncomfortable.
The one drawback: so much empty space was vulnerable to ambushes. As the auntie had said, it was not suitable for ordinary people. But Bai Shan — setting aside her Level 50 strength entirely — wore a [Breathing Bracer] on her right hand. The richer and more natural the surrounding ecosystem, the stronger the bracer's perception and control over the area. Anyone who dared show up uninvited might as well be delivering takeaway.
After a gruelling day, the two cooked noodles in the villa, and drowsiness soon set in. They each picked a bedroom and turned in.
Day ten of the game's descent. Perhaps because she was sleeping in an unfamiliar environment, Bai Shan woke at six in the morning. She sat upright in bed, gazing at the floor-to-ceiling window that faced the boundless lake.
Dawn scattered its rosy light across the water. A red Koi leapt unexpectedly from the shimmering surface. In the distance, mountains and clouds blurred together in a haze. The moment Bai Shan opened her eyes, the view flooded in without obstruction.
She sat hugging the duvet in a daze for a while, then belatedly realised that — given the distance and the rules of perspective — the Koi she had just seen breaching the surface must have been at least as large as a dolphin...
Bai Shan let out a quiet laugh. What was there to be surprised about? The world had changed its face, but every living thing still followed its own way of life.
She flopped back onto the bed. Her mind was fully awake with no desire to go back to sleep, so she opened her game panel.
Without phones or satellite networks, the game channel served many of the functions the old internet once had. When bored, you could scroll through it — a quick way to keep up with local happenings or learn about events thousands of miles away.
[Who was it that drove the black RV into the city yesterday? I heard she got a Diamond Badge on the spot.]
[Some girl named Bai-something. Young. But more than the Diamond Badge, isn't ( ) the really shocking part?]
[If you're talking about that incident, I was there. It's fake — Cheng Yue wasn't even trying!]
[Cheng Yue isn't the type to go all-out in public. Even if the other person provoked her, Cheng Yue just gave her a gentle lesson.]
[The version I heard is pretty different. Wasn't it that the outsider completely ignored Cheng Yue's ability, and Cheng Yue couldn't do a thing about her?]
[LOL, if she's really that amazing, how come there's no one surnamed Bai on the leaderboard?]
[It's the apocalypse and people are still pulling fandom tactics...]
[Everyone, watch what you say.]
[That girl drove straight up to the organisation's HQ and provoked Cheng Yue. Her arrogance is actually kind of scary.]
[Exactly. Things were just starting to settle down. Nanzhou City shouldn't be taking in dangerous outsiders like that!]
Bai Shan discovered the entire Nanzhou City channel was buzzing about her. Apparently life in the apocalypse was still dull enough for a stunt like hers to become hot gossip.
The name "Tyrant" was invoked constantly around the world, and Bai Shan was long accustomed to that. But this was the first time she had seen her real name appear on the game channel, and it gave her a small, novel thrill.
She pieced together her new local reputation — the arrogant outsider! It had a certain ring to it. She did not mind.
Bai Shan switched to the world channel.
On the world channel, "Tyrant" remained a perpetually trending topic. The other names on the Top 100 leaderboard were likewise under constant scrutiny.
[Hey! Are the Top 100 all cowards? Three days have passed and nobody dares to launch a second Position Swap Battle!]
[They're all that strong already — why would they risk their lives? I wouldn't either.]
[Locusts, nothing but locusts! They've eaten all the food! How do we wipe them out?]
[Three days in, and besides the Tyrant, very few on the leaderboard are still keeping their identities hidden.]
[As someone who obsessively refreshes the world channel — everyone on that leaderboard is that kind of person. Feels like humanity is doomed lol.]
[There are strong AND kind people on the leaderboard too. Hani Garcia is famous where she's from — she's practically a superhero!]
[She'd better watch out. Garcia killed some of Miles's Bad Boys brothers. Miles has already sworn she'll pay.]
[Garcia should be grateful Miles ranks higher than her, otherwise he'd have launched a Position Swap Battle to get revenge by now. If I were Garcia, I'd be too scared to level up haha.]
[Everyone from rank 100 to rank 2 combined can't match the Tyrant. As long as They exist, humanity won't perish.]
[Has the Tyrant actually done anything remarkable? All the experience and items went to the Tyrant — isn't that enough? And we're supposed to be grateful?]
[LOL, if you're so unhappy, go challenge the Tyrant to a Position Swap Battle. Wait, don't tell me you don't even qualify?]
[Does anyone know about rank 100, Chen Xinyi? The rumours about her are all really bizarre.]
[Chen Xinyi is the secular name of our Holy Child. You should speak of her with more respect!]
[Daily praise-the-Tyrant check-in.]
...
Bai Shan had grown familiar with quite a few names on the leaderboard by now. Most were high-profile figures in their respective regions, their every move liable to be relayed on the world channel and debated endlessly.
Over the past three days, some ranks had shifted. For instance, Fatima — the only living "subject" — had climbed from 92nd to 89th. Beyond that, the world channel made no mention of her exploits. A low-key player.
Lin Huijun's mother, Lin Haiying, held the number-two spot, but the classified nature of her profession meant nothing had been dug up — her Talent, her exact location, all unknown.
Third-ranked Fahad Sultan was the heir to an oil kingdom. His approach was similar to Cheng Yue's: he had no qualms about exposing information, flamboyantly using himself as a banner of strength to rally a new power base.
The difference was that Fahad Sultan had genuine royal succession. As for how much say Cheng Yue truly had within her organisation, Bai Shan could not be sure.
Then there was another name that caught her attention: Chen Xinyi.
Though Bai Shan was reluctant to believe it, fragments about the 100th-ranked Chen Xinyi's identity had been circulating on the world channel all along.
Verifying her suspicion might be simple.
All she had to do was set the channel's scope to Rong City.
[Tomorrow at 3 PM, the Cult Leader will bring the Holy Child to the Riverside for a blessing ceremony! Free grain — just join the Church to receive yours!]
[Tomorrow at 3 PM, the Cult Leader will bring the Holy Child to the Riverside for a blessing ceremony! Free grain — just join the Church to receive yours!]
[Tomorrow at 3 PM, the Cult Leader will bring the Holy Child to the Riverside for a blessing ceremony! Free grain — just join the Church to receive yours!]
...
The Rong City channel was being flooded by living, breathing people posting identical slogans in lockstep — radiating an inhuman eeriness.
Bai Shan blinked hard. She almost suspected her game panel had been infected by a virus.
[I'm begging you people, wake up! Even if she's ranked 100th, she's still a human infant — not some divine child or holy child! You all know perfectly well how she got to rank 100!]
[Is this username Cousin Xu? Where are you? Your mum and dad have already been approved by the Church. They miss you so much!]
[Tomorrow at 3 PM, the Cult Leader will bring the Holy Child to the Riverside for a blessing ceremony! Free grain — just join the Church to receive yours!]
[You're insane — all of you are insane!]
[Tomorrow at 3 PM, the Cult Leader will bring the Holy Child to the Riverside for a blessing ceremony! Free grain — just join the Church to receive yours!]
Bai Shan had left after killing the Strangler Banyan and had not gone out of her way to check on Rong City since.
She had assumed Rong City's greatest threat was the sprawling network of mutated banyan trees, followed perhaps by sea creatures. No one could have predicted that a cult would expand so aggressively in Rong City.
Bai Shan did not believe there could be a second baby named Chen Xinyi in the world capable of climbing to rank 100.
The Chen Xinyi on the leaderboard was the very same Chen Xinyi she knew!
First thing in the morning, Bai Shan's mind was already racing at full speed.
"Great Compassionate Sacred Love... Omniscient God?"
Bai Shan recalled the ridiculous title that Liu Chaoyun had been muttering constantly.
She wanted to learn more, but the Rong City channel was swamped sheet after sheet with the same announcement.
Unfortunately, the channel had been polluted by the cultists. Beyond a visceral sense of how fanatical they were, there was little useful information to be gleaned.
Although Bai Shan had not spotted Liu Chaoyun's name in the Rong City channel, her gut told her the cult's rapid growth was deeply tied to that grandmother-grandchild pair.
Bai Shan did not know Liu Chaoyun's ability. A rare pang of regret stirred in her. Back then she had been so close — if she had just reached out and grabbed the woman's wrist, shoulder, any body part at all, she would have learned Liu Chaoyun's Talent.
Chen Xinyi's Talent, [Baby's Full Belly], was powerful, but constrained by her age of barely one year. She could not possibly wield it to a degree worthy of 100th place among all humanity.
Unless her grandmother Liu Chaoyun had obtained a Talent that synergised with hers, and the two had stumbled upon some specific opportunity...
The reason rank 100 had not received a Position Swap Order might not be because of the number 100 itself, but because the 100th-ranked Chen Xinyi was an infant fundamentally incapable of using a Position Swap Order. For her, it was a completely useless item.
Rong City was only a province away. But no matter how curious Bai Shan was, she could not turn back now to see what that grandmother and granddaughter were up to.
Once she set out, she did not look back.
Bai Shan closed the game panel, let her mind drift empty for a while, then got out of bed and freshened up briskly. She opened her bedroom door in high spirits.
The moment it opened, she found Lin Huijun emerging from the room next door at the exact same time.
Lin Huijun looked somewhat haggard. Bai Shan asked with concern: "Couldn't sleep last night? Not used to a new bed?"
"I figured if both of us slept deeply and soundly, that would actually be kind of dangerous."
Lin Huijun said hollowly, faint dark circles under her eyes.
She had lain in bed replaying the string of events from the day before. The more she thought about it, the more she sensed undercurrents swirling beneath Nanzhou City's surface. Being in a strange room only amplified the unsettling scenarios her imagination conjured.
Bai Shan teased: "In your current state, going out on a mission would be the actually dangerous thing."
They had already arranged to meet Huang Yuci today to learn more about Nanzhou City. Bai Shan was keenly interested in the local mission system. Yesterday's promised local speciality dishes had never arrived, but the local speciality Mutated Creatures were not to be missed.
And then there were those Contribution Points that could be exchanged for resources. She wondered whether the Xu Group's organisation stocked any heavy weapons. Bai Shan felt that having only six guns in her personal domain was a tad meagre.
This world was changing fast.
She held the number-one spot, but defending it might not be easy. After all, even in the most overlooked corners, things beyond her imagination were evolving at breakneck speed.
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