Chapter 61-Game Descent: I Am the Sole Player
Chapter 61
A ring-shaped silver crown appeared in Bai Shan's hands, engraved with silver wings and longswords, hard and cold.
From an aesthetic standpoint, Bai Shan quite liked this minimalist yet striking crown, but pulling out a strange crown in the middle of a fight and slapping it on her head—wouldn't that look way too bizarre?
Bai Shan held the crown with both hands, hesitating as she placed it on her head.
The crown fit perfectly, sitting snugly in place. Bai Shan let go, and with a thought, the silver crown on her head suddenly vanished, replaced by a translucent silver shield that enveloped her.
The translucent silver shield shimmered with a light colder than moonlight, blanketing the rooftop. Bai Shan looked up and saw a health bar marked 1000 appear above.
Bai Shan swept her arm, and the silver shield suddenly expanded rapidly, stretching dozens of meters to cover the rooftop of the building across the street.
Maximum range: ten square kilometers—an impressive figure, enough to cover large-scale facilities like industrial parks or university towns.
The range could be freely adjusted, capable of shielding just herself or expanding as needed. As for how much force it could withstand, Bai Shan could only test that in actual combat later. An S-rank defensive item shouldn't disappoint her.
This [Lord's Crown] also had a formidable ability—players within the territory gained a 20% trust bonus toward you.
For someone like Bai Shan, who preferred to drift on the fringes of crowds, she would normally just shrug at how others viewed her. But unlike before, she now carried a special identity, and the 20% trust bonus might prove unexpectedly useful someday.
[Constant Moment] had already worn off, and the accumulated fatigue and exhaustion surged forward. Bai Shan could clearly feel the soreness in her muscles; her legs seemed to have lost all control, barely able to keep her standing.
She had killed hundreds of mutants in a short time, including a Level 50 leader. If the experience bar hadn't been capped, she should have gone from Level 89 to Level 90 by now.
[Inspection], [Tyrannical Command], [Admonition]—only the fourth skill of her talent [Tyrant's Grip] remained locked.
Bai Shan had always looked forward to the fourth skill, ever since she played Tomorrow's Dominator 1.0 on her computer. Especially the day she reached Level 89, she wished for an extra 24 hours in a day to grind the game. Unfortunately, the game descended into reality too quickly.
Still, what would the fourth skill actually be? Bai Shan had no clue and couldn't imagine it.
She was currently locked at Level 50. She would have to wait at least until the next game phase before she could possibly reach Level 90 and unlock the fourth skill.
Bai Shan crossed her arms overhead and lazily stretched. Today she had gained Cheng Yue's submission, Xu Hao's Replication Furnace, and an S-rank item to shore up her defensive weakness. Bai Shan was quite satisfied.
The silver shield suddenly shattered into silver light, and the cold crown returned to Bai Shan's hands.
She gripped it slightly, and the crown vanished, returning to her game inventory.
Bai Shan leaned against the rooftop railing and looked down. The corpses of mutant birds were piled in the clearing below the building—an exceptionally gruesome sight.
Later that night, after they left, ordinary creatures and mutants acting as decomposers would consume the brutal battlefield. The departed flocks were perhaps flying toward the new habitat indicated by the Lord Sea Eagle.
The Lord Sea Eagle possessed intelligence far beyond that of ordinary mutants, but Bai Shan wasn't sure it could comprehend the concept of "submission."
She had killed the Lord Sea Eagle, yet received no submission notification. There were two possibilities: either the Lord Sea Eagle hadn't reached the mental threshold required for submission, or death didn't necessarily make an opponent submit.
Bai Shan stopped looking at the mutant bird corpses below. She walked to the other side of the rooftop and stepped onto the railing.
Facing the night wind, her body tipped forward, soaring past thirty floors before landing lightly on the street beside the high-rise. A black RV was parked not far away.
Under the moonlight, Lin Huijun and Cheng Yue were waiting by the RV.
Bai Shan walked over. She noticed several claw marks on Lin Huijun's black windbreaker, one of which tore through the chest. Because the jacket was black, Bai Shan couldn't judge the amount of blood.
Noticing Bai Shan's gaze, Lin Huijun spread her arms to show her condition and said, "I'm fine! I've already treated it with healing mineral water."
"Cheng Yue told me you have tradeable healing items, so I didn't hold back. Don't worry."
Hearing this, Bai Shan's expression relaxed. She glanced sideways at Lin Huijun. "What level did you reach?"
"Level 16 now."
Lin Huijun replied, her tone lifting slightly.
"Not bad." Bai Shan tilted her chin up slightly and responded.
Earlier, while Bai Shan fought the lead bird above, the subordinate mutant birds had counterattacked ferociously. If Bai Shan hadn't dealt with the lead bird quickly, the enemy's kamikaze-style sea-of-birds tactics could have worn them down. She had been forced to use her abilities constantly, and before long her limbs had gone numb.
Even now, her feet on the ground felt unsteady, and when she raised her arms, even her fingertips trembled.
It seemed only she felt overwhelmed. Both Cheng Yue and Bai Shan could handle the birds with ease.
Cheng Yue was now ranked 42nd on the leaderboard and had unlocked her second skill. Her powerful and composed performance was hardly surprising.
Lin Huijun was equally unsurprised by the astonishing strength Bai Shan had displayed.
A few minutes ago, when the global broadcast sounded again, her first thought was that Bai Shan had triggered it.
They had been acting together since the first day the game descended. No matter what challenge they faced, Bai Shan always solved it effortlessly with her seemingly bottomless strength.
Having grown accustomed to Bai Shan's mystery and power, Lin Huijun no longer felt the urge to dig deeper. Bai Shan was simply like that—it was only natural.
Tonight, witnessing Cheng Yue's strength up close had given her a point of comparison, and Lin Huijun could no longer ignore that nagging sense of incongruity. Bai Shan was clearly a step above the 42nd-ranked player on the top 100 leaderboard.
Yet Bai Shan's name was nowhere on the rankings.
A sudden weight pressed on her shoulder. Lin Huijun snapped back to reality, staring in surprise at Bai Shan leaning against her.
Bai Shan had drifted over from behind, her eyelids half-lowered, returning to that cold and listless look. Yet her upper body leaned against Lin Huijun without reservation, appearing out of nowhere like a ghost hovering behind someone.
"So tired."
Bai Shan voiced the deepest sentiment of the night. She lightly patted Lin Huijun on the back and said, "Let's go, I want to eat."
Lin Huijun froze for a moment, then let out a barely perceptible sigh, a smile of relief spreading across her face. She took Bai Shan's arm, and they walked forward together.
No matter who Bai Shan really was, Lin Huijun had known her before she became famous worldwide.
What could be more precious than Lin Huijun knowing the real Bai Shan?
Neither of them was willing to be changed by the game.
The night wind blew. After a few steps, Lin Huijun suddenly remembered something. She turned to look at Cheng Yue and said, "Cheng Yue, we're leaving now. Are you..."
"You go ahead. Nanzhou is a big city—don't worry about me having nowhere to go."
The young woman held her head high. She had shaved her head, revealing a bone structure so flawless it resembled a plastic mannequin's, yet unlike one, she had a pair of vivid eyes, brimming with emotion.
Although she hadn't slept for three days—from entering the Position Swap and encountering Camila, to killing Xu Hao, clashing with Bai Shan, and then fighting the mutant bird swarm—her spirit and stamina had reached their limit.
Cheng Yue had no intention of returning to the villa she used to live in. She didn't want to face the questioning from people who had once been close to her.
Tonight, she probably wouldn't get a hot meal. She would find an empty room to rest, and as for how to live going forward, she decided to figure it out starting tomorrow.
"Cheng Yue, you can go find Huang Yuci. She'd be happy to see you."
Bai Shan turned her head and said this, then seeing the surprise on Cheng Yue's face, raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you don't know her? Huang Yuci has been telling everyone she's close with you."
"Of course I know her. We had a bit of a... bad history."
Cheng Yue's expression clouded over, but she soon propped up a perfect smile again. "I'll consider your suggestion."
Lin Huijun beside them looked curiously at Cheng Yue, then at Bai Shan. Cheng Yue had actually used the formal "you" when speaking to Bai Shan.
"Goodbye—see you tomorrow!"
Cheng Yue waved and turned to get into the red convertible she had driven there.
On the other side, Bai Shan and Lin Huijun climbed into the RV.
Once inside, the two stared at each other, neither wanting to take the driver's seat.
After everything they'd been through today, both of them wanted to collapse into sleep immediately. If not for the hunger gnawing at them, they might have fallen asleep the moment they touched a seat.
Lin Huijun: "How about we don't go back to the villa tonight? The RV bed is a bit small, but it's convenient."
Bai Shan nodded rapidly like a bird pecking at seeds, silently agreeing to rest on the spot.
They made four cups of instant noodles, adding more sausages and jerky than usual, and opened some drinks. After eating and drinking their fill, they immediately washed up and collapsed into their respective beds.
Lin Huijun slept in the bunk above the cab; Bai Shan slept in the bed at the rear of the RV.
Once actually lying in bed, her entire body relaxed, Bai Shan found herself not quite as sleepy.
With the windows and doors sealed tight, a faint smell of blood still seemed to seep in through the cracks. Bai Shan had gradually grown accustomed to falling asleep amid the scent of blood.
All the lights in the RV were off. The curtains in the cabin hadn't been drawn, and moonlight filtered in, casting a hazy glow over the interior. It was so quiet she could hear only her own breathing.
Bai Shan rolled over in bed. She remembered there was still something important she had almost forgotten.
A pale blue game panel popped up, even more conspicuous in the dark surroundings. Bai Shan scanned it and immediately found the new player message board feature.
Tapping in, she discovered it was structured like a forum.
[Has anyone tried mutant salmon? I'm dying of cravings!]
[I'm losing it—my mutant Maltese's fur grows so fast, I spend all day just trimming it!]
[The mutant bird crisis in Nanzhou has been resolved!]
[This is a Huadu City trading post—anyone interested? Everyone can leave messages to exchange daily necessities]
[Jinshi City residents, beware of Qu Xiaoxiao! Kills and loots under the guise of trading!]
Just like channels, the message board also allowed geographic filtering, with options for world, country, and city ranges, selectable as needed.
Only four hundred million people left now... no, it had already dropped below four hundred million.
Bai Shan glanced at the real-time population displayed at the top of the game panel. She recalled that at the end of the first phase, there had been 450 million players.
The number now read 390,462,736.
Today was February 10th, the sixth day of the game's second phase, with roughly 390 million players remaining.
Among nearly four hundred million players, most were busy surviving, yet the world-wide message board was still bustling.
Pinned at the top was a post about the day's most prominent celebrity, Harper Brown.
[Is the fourth-ranked Ms. Harper Brown here? Nothing important—I'm just curious about your level]
Someone believed to be Harper Brown herself, in the midst of her wilderness survival, had personally replied to the post, sending its popularity soaring.
Right behind it was the world channel's perennial obsession—the mystery of the Tyrant's identity.
[Harper next door is already Level 45—what level do you think the first-ranked Tyrant is?]
Below that was yet another favorite topic of the world channel—which countries the top 100 players came from.
Bai Shan tapped in, and found that people were actually arguing red-faced over the Tyrant's nationality.
[What's there to argue about? Using Chinese characters obviously means they're Chinese]
[The second-ranked Lin Haiying is equally mysterious. The Tyrant might be an even higher-level special figure than Lin Haiying—China's secret weapon—which is why they're so secretive]
[More than one country uses Chinese characters, you know]
[Kids, don't rule out the possibility that the Tyrant is an immigrant]
Staring at the screen full of text, Bai Shan felt a bit dizzy from all the words. Her eyelids, assaulted by the barrage of text, began to droop. The pale blue panel still glowed before her eyes as Bai Shan drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
Tomorrow. She would sort through the overload of information tomorrow.
*
Author's Note:
Thank you all for your concern! Pangya is the chubby Shiba Inu in my profile picture, not a cat, haha.
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