Chapter 84-Game Descent: I Am the Sole Player
Chapter 84
Wu Xinyou waved vigorously to the enthusiastic applause, clearly wanting to say more. Her companion, apparently mortified, hurriedly pulled her down. Wu Xinyou let out a string of "hey, hey" protests as she was dragged off.
The portly town chief saw the stage empty, losing its focal point. His expression tensed again, and he cast a pleading look at a person standing in the opposite corner.
Langsa Meiduo was quietly keeping to herself in the corner.
Her features were striking — thick, dark eyebrows, wheat-colored cheeks tinged with the flush of high altitude. A coarse braid hung over the front of her robe. She looked young, yet possessed a serenity beyond her years, separated from the noisy crowd around her by an invisible barrier.
Langsa Meiduo gazed back placidly, her eyes calm and fathomless as a highland lake. The woman beside her — similarly dressed in traditional attire but more mature in appearance — shook her head at the town chief, her expression stern.
The Wanxia Town chief wiped his chilling forehead. Everything had happened so suddenly. The Capital's team had reportedly just departed, yet in a single afternoon, enthusiastic people from surrounding areas had all rushed over — far more than he'd anticipated. He had no idea how to handle them.
This swarming crowd was no ordinary group. Anyone with the courage and ability to arrive this quickly probably had a higher level than his — much higher.
If any one of them caused trouble, the consequences would be severe. Let alone the two Leaderboard-ranked players present — if those two clashed, he had absolutely no ability or means to intervene. Thankfully, both seemed a bit eccentric but not the troublemaking type.
The portly chief was steeling himself to take the stage again when suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder. The crushing weight made his knees tremble and buckle involuntarily.
He nearly screamed. The person behind him withdrew the hand and stepped up onto the red stage in a single stride.
On either side of the stage — Wu Xinyou chattering with teammates, Langsa Meiduo listening to her companion — both stopped simultaneously and looked toward the center.
A young blond, blue-eyed man took the stage.
The hall, which had been fairly relaxed, went instantly silent. The vast majority stared blankly at this suddenly-appearing unfamiliar face, instinctively sensing some kind of suppression. No one spoke — including the man on stage.
"Why's there a foreigner? Since when did this go international?"
Wu Xinyou pointed at the man on stage, her brash voice completely unguarded, breaking the silence.
She was annoyed. She'd been the most special person here — whether it was her green hair or her strength, she stood out. Now someone with equally distinctive hair had shown up!
"My friend." To her surprise, the foreigner turned and spoke in fluent Chinese. "I've heard much about you. A pleasure to meet you. I'm Theodore Worthington, from Ameriga."
With that, he swept a smiling gaze across the crowd below and continued: "My uncle learned of Hai City's crisis. At such a special time, he believes humanity should unite against threats. I wholeheartedly agree, so I came here on my own initiative, hoping to contribute what little I can to Hai City."
"My Chinese is at a beginner level. If any cultural differences cause offense, I apologize in advance."
Below the stage, the town chief rubbed his shoulder, looking up at the courteous foreign man. A remnant of fear lingered in his eyes. This man was a powerful player — he'd probably just misjudged his own strength. That had to be it...
Best if that was the case. Otherwise, things would get very troublesome. Cold sweat had already dripped down his forehead.
Discovering that this foreigner could not only understand Chinese but deliver an eloquent speech in it, Wu Xinyou lowered her voice to what she considered a very covert volume and whispered to her companion:
"How funny — who wants to know what his uncle — most likely some old white guy — is thinking?"
Her companion, made to look plain next to Wu Xinyou's green hair and studded jacket, was considerably shorter. Black glasses frames dominated the upper half of her face. She replied evenly: "Ameriga's president's surname is Worthington."
Then the bespectacled young woman opened the game channel, switched between several locations, and finally confirmed: "His uncle is the current president."
Wu Xinyou's jaw dropped. Her gaze ping-ponged between her companion and the foreigner on stage.
The game had only descended less than a month ago. A major nation's president still carried considerable weight — especially Worthington, an exceptionally active president. The type who posted over a dozen messages a day. If a day passed without one, people worldwide would suspect something had happened to him. He was quite famous in China too.
This former world celebrity maintained his active style even after the game's arrival, frequently dropping into the World Channel to share his insights. Unfortunately, in the game era, only one name qualified as a true global phenomenon.
Opening the game channel — no matter which region you switched to — discussion focused on only two things:
Tyrant's newly unlocked achievement, and whether Tyrant would appear at the Southwest Hydropower Station.
[Tyrant is definitely super competitive. Harper Brown took the title of first to kill a Level-50, and Tyrant immediately killed 5 Level-50s to vent. Terrifying — a true Tyrant!]
[Only you people would make a big deal of it. Tyrant couldn't care less about that kind of empty glory — just did it in passing.]
[I bet — staking all my items — Tyrant is definitely past Level 50!]
[I bet Tyrant is Level 60.]
[I bet Tyrant is Level 70.]
[Stop betting on things that don't exist. Tyrant stans are blowing it way out of proportion — why not just claim Level 90!]
[The forums already discussed this. Each game phase has a level cap — Phase 1 was 20, Phase 2 should be 50. Be rational. Tyrant can't possibly exceed 50. Don't set expectations too high.]
[True, Tyrant is human too. Don't deify then destroy.]
[By "destroy" do you mean issuing a Position Swap Order for a thrilling one-minute swap challenge?]
[That's a deification challenge!]
[That's a try-not-to-laugh challenge!]
[Why, even in the apocalypse, do I have to listen to people arguing over someone they don't even know?]
[Tyrant is humanity's number one — no arguments accepted.]
[A kind person would never name themselves Tyrant. The broadcast said they killed 5 Level-50 players — who knows how many lives they've taken in secret. What if some were innocent humans?]
[People who speculate about Tyrant definitely don't have blood on their own hands, right?]
[Top 5 on the Leaderboard hasn't changed. The Level-50 players Tyrant killed must all be mutated animals/plants. Whatever the motive, killing a Level-50 mutant is equivalent to saving thousands or tens of thousands of lives. Tyrant's contribution to human players is also number one!]
[Let them do whatever they want. Same old line — if you're unhappy, challenge them to a Position Swap duel!]
[Making it into the human top 100 is just a ticket to meet Tyrant. Not everyone is as lucky as Shen Yuanzhi.]
[Is Tyrant good or bad?]
[Hypothetically, if Tyrant really is a benevolent, justice-loving person, they definitely wouldn't stand by while Hai City suffers, right? Even other countries are sending support.]
[Is it really support though?]
[Ugh, the blond old white guy came to our Capital channel and rambled on. Our spokesperson has already politely declined.]
[Report! The blond old white guy's nephew has airdropped into our area!]
[??? He's here to provoke, right?]
[Oh! Could it be Theodore Worthington? He's ranked 31st! The 5th-highest player in all of the Northern Continent!]
[So there are now three Leaderboard players gathered at the Southwest Hydropower Station? Think they'll fight?]
[Will Tyrant show up? A super-class mutant should be pretty tempting for strong players, right?]
[Saving Hai City sounds boring and meaningless. But if I could meet Tyrant, I'd be interested in going too. Shame I'm too far away — anyone willing to provide me a long-range movement item?]
[Provide how? You want people to wash their necks clean for you to chop?]
[Look carefully — that poster is Miles. Be careful not to get on his radar!]
[I'm far away so I can talk shit. You're already on the Leaderboard — quit posturing. Go use a Position Swap Order and present yourself to Tyrant!]
Wu Xinyou closed her Game Panel. She stared at the man on stage — this guy was actually ranked 31st!
Only six Chinese names ranked above Theodore Worthington. Second-ranked Lin Haiying was confirmed unavailable. Numbers 11 and 19 were in Caiyun Province, where mutants were extremely vicious — rumored to be no better off than Hai City. Numbers 25 and 28 were in China's far west and far north respectively — getting to the southwest was more trouble than going abroad.
The former 28th-ranked Tang Long had been nearby, but was killed three days ago by the mutant occupying Wanxia Gorge.
Oh right, there was also Tyrant. But Wu Xinyou had no real sense of Tyrant's existence. It was like hearing about a figure from legend. She even somewhat believed the "official game account" theory — that the Tyrant account was primarily used to motivate human players and wasn't a real person.
After all, if she were humanity's number one, how could she possibly resist staying silent on the game channel? How could she resist showing off? Not a single trace? That simply defied human nature!
Wu Xinyou didn't really believe in Tyrant's existence, let alone whether Tyrant would come here to help.
She wasn't worried about some president's nephew either. Rank 31 wasn't some insurmountable mountain in her eyes. Fighting above your level was the essence of the game — killing him might just catapult her up!
"Don't do anything reckless. Careful not to cause a diplomatic incident."
Her bespectacled teammate, well aware of Wu Xinyou's impulsive personality, slapped her on the back with a low warning.
Despite this guy spouting nonsense about coming "in a personal capacity," the whole world knew his identity and the forces behind him. Add in his formidable strength, and from every angle, he wasn't someone unaffiliated individuals like them should provoke.
Her teammate sighed. She removed her black-framed glasses and pulled out a lens cloth to wipe them. She hadn't agreed with Wu Xinyou's hot-blooded hydropower station trip in the first place. Now things were more complicated than expected.
After cleaning the lenses and putting the glasses back on, her vision sharpened. She noticed that across the way, there seemed to be one more person than before — dressed in black, head lowered.
Everyone was watching the man giving his speech on stage. She alone was staring in a direction no one else cared about.
"Well, I know it's impossible for everyone to trust me one hundred percent. After all, my uncle is quite an unlikeable figure. I've been to Hai City before — it's a beautiful city. Humanity absolutely cannot lose this oriental pearl... Besides this official reason, I also have a small personal wish. Actually, I'm a huge fan of Tyrant..."
"If I could see Tyrant with my own eyes, what a thrill that would be—"
"Watch out!"
A sudden, jarring shout from below. The crowd tensed and turned. Theodore immediately stopped talking, his expression going cold in an instant.
Wu Xinyou was suddenly shoved hard to the side by her teammate. Before she could register what happened, combat instinct kicked in. She swung a fist sideways — but the fist appeared in mid-air at the spot where she'd just been standing, swatting away the incoming bomb. The bomb rocketed toward the hall's high ceiling!
Theodore immediately looked up. He raised a hand toward the air and drew a circle. The instant the bomb struck the cold stone ceiling and detonated, a black hole materialized from nothing — like an abyss opening its maw to swallow the explosion's flames.
Above everyone's heads, there was only time for a single thunderous boom. A terrifying wave of heat flickered past — just long enough to ignite fear and steal breath — before vanishing entirely into the black hole.
Having consumed the bomb, the horrifying black hole vanished with it. The empty ceiling returned to calm.
From the shout of "Watch out!" to resolution — less than three seconds. The crisis was over.
Many people hadn't even registered what had happened.
Barely a moment of calm passed before an aged voice suddenly rang out. Everyone's nerves jolted, expressions tightening as genuine chaos began to stir.
"Everyone spread out! There are ten attackers — avoid anyone in black!"
Langsa Meiduo produced a voice utterly mismatched with her appearance — aged and resonant as a deep bell echoing through the hall.
An attack? How could there be an attack!
Everyone present was a Talent-wielding player. Many had already instinctively activated their abilities. Seeing the situation about to spiral further out of control, Wu Xinyou leaped onto the stage, shoved Theodore aside, and punched forward — her fist materializing in mid-air to blast a nearby black-clad figure away.
She didn't bother checking whether that person was actually an attacker. She roared: "Nobody move! Anyone who acts up gets punched!"
Right behind her, a black-clad figure appeared silently, radiating immense hatred. The long tubular weapon in their hand spewed blue flames, charging ferociously at Wu Xinyou.
"Die! You vermin who'd drag all of humanity down with you! The game won't let you get away with this!"
Wu Xinyou sensed the threat from behind. She merely scoffed — finally understanding what kind of idiots these were. Game cultists!
These people worshipped the game as God, believing that the mission to save Hai City violated the rules of the game's second phase. They occasionally spoke up on the channels — she hadn't expected them to have already developed an organized presence offline.
Black armor rapidly covered Wu Xinyou's back. Plates of armor moved like black exoskeletal segments, flexing nimbly.
Just as the blue flames reached the black armor — suddenly, they went out.
Wu Xinyou froze. Not because of the extinguished attack behind her — it was the bone-piercing chill that had swept over her scalp an instant ago. Even through her armor, it seeped into her marrow like some kind of curse.
She sensed something. She looked down and swung her own fist.
Then, disbelieving, she swung at something in the distance. She found that everyone around her wore the same stunned, frozen expression — standing in place, staring at one another.
"...Where's my ability?!"
Wu Xinyou shouted.
Author's Note:
Returning to the glory of 10 PM updates!
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