He Wuning and Yi Luo returned to the Zone A safe zone. As usual, Xue Xun was waiting for them downstairs in the service hall. “How was it? Did you find the administrator candidate?” he asked.
He Wuning shook his head. “Not a definite one, but we found quite a few people who fit the description.”
Xue Xun couldn’t help looking a little disappointed. “Ah… so we still don’t know who it is.”
“You think it’d be that easy?” Yi Luo stuck his head out the window and snorted. “Even if they are administrator candidates, they might not know it themselves. We asked whether they had ever seen an item labeled ‘Administrator,’ and most of them told us they couldn’t read.”
“Besides,” he shrugged, “don’t forget how many people have already died in Zone C. In the worst-case scenario, the Zone C administrator candidate might already be dead. We don’t even know whether this game assigns one candidate per district, or whether they get replaced if they die.”
Xue Xun paused. “Ah… that’s true. Zone C is a special case. What you said makes sense.”
“As long as there are plenty of possible candidates, that’s good enough,” He Wuning said, looking unconcerned. “As long as there’s hope.”
“By the way, we also solved a case in Zone C. Some players there were making deals with believers—tricking ordinary players out of the safe zone and feeding them to monsters in exchange for food.”
He pointed to the back of the carriage. A middle-aged man was tied up tightly while Q-chan was delivering a righteous lecture. “We brought back the guy who made the deal with the believers. You can interrogate him.”
Xue Xun stared blankly. “Interrogate him about what?”
“Which believer he made the deal with.” He Wuning looked at him strangely. “Aren’t you and the Princess supposed to be good at that?”
“But it’s not good for us to meddle in other people’s affairs! They didn’t ask for help!” Xue Xun grabbed his hair in frustration. “Why did you bring back something this troublesome?!”
Yi Luo said righteously, “We ran into him on the way. He was about to feed a kid to a monster. We couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.”
He Wuning paused for a moment. “We also ran into J’s secretary. He doesn’t seem to be on the same side as J, but the whole Zone C clearly thinks J isn’t a good person. They say he only cares about profit, not principles.”
“If this believer is one of J’s men, then if we hand him back to Zone C to deal with…”
“If the other party is a noble funding J, or one of his capable subordinates,” Yi Luo finished the sentence for him, looking at Xue Xun, “then it’s very likely nothing will be done.”
Under the gaze of both of them, Xue Xun took a deep breath. “Fine! We’ll handle it, okay?! I’ll go back and write a report!”
“Stop looking at me like I’m heartless! I have a strong sense of justice too! I just don’t want our Zone A getting dragged into trouble. You two fearless lunatics have no idea how much people like me have to think about!”
Xue Xun rubbed his head painfully. “Maybe it’d be better if the Princess handles it…”
He sighed and grew serious. “Oh right, the Zone B level-20 dungeon strategy is almost finished—”
Before he could finish, a familiar mechanical voice suddenly rang out across the sky. “Congratulations to Blue Star players for completing the level-20 dungeon strategy. Collection tasks will soon open. Players may begin preparations in advance. After completing the collection tasks, a Blue Star exclusive event will be unlocked. Version 3.2 will update tonight at 20:00. Players, please look forward to it.”
Xue Xun froze for a moment, then smiled bitterly. “Looks like the mobile dungeon doesn’t count toward the progress dungeons. After all, you can only fight it once, so that’s reasonable. Since the progress mission is done, there should be an update at eight tonight. Want to wait for it together in the tech department?”
The two exchanged a glance and nodded at the same time.
……aaaa
At exactly eight o’clock, the emotionless mechanical voice echoed through the sky once again.
But this time, every player knew it was the trumpet call for humanity’s counterattack. Players scattered outside the safe zones gathering supplies all perked up their ears, planning to listen carefully to the update details.
In the tech department laboratory, Zuo Qianming spread out paper and a pen, intending to write down the update contents and dungeon details for discussion.
The World Voice began announcing: “Congratulations to Blue Star players for completing the strategy mission and clearing all level-20 dungeons. The third seamless update is complete. Version 3.2 is now officially online.”
“First, player rewards will be distributed. All player base stats are increased by 10%. Safe-zone defense devices are now purchasable. The system shop has been upgraded again. Items and attributes sold in the shop have been comprehensively enhanced. Players are welcome to come purchase—equip yourself with gear worthy of a top player!”
Yi Luo looked speechless. “Long time no see. His advertising skills seem to have improved.”
“Shh!” Xue Xun glared at him. “You can complain later during the discussion. Don’t talk now or we’ll miss something important.”
Yi Luo wanted to point out that he’d only said one sentence while Director Xue had said much more, but he held back.
“After Blue Star players complete the collection task, the limited-time event—Monster Challenge Arena—will begin. The event will officially start tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Please check your personal communication device for details.”
“Additionally, player-side game information will not be disclosed to ***-side players. However, the possibility that the opposing side may obtain information through other means cannot be ruled out. Players should maintain information security.”
Everyone waited for a moment to confirm there was nothing more. Only then did Xue Xun sigh. “If that’s the case… then to the monster side, our information is practically transparent.”
He glanced at He Wuning and Yi Luo. “I asked the Princess to question that middle-aged man you brought back. We got some new information. He said the believer who contacted him specifically requested people close to sixteen years old. Other ages were acceptable, but if the person was almost sixteen, he could exchange them for two extra loaves of bread.”
Xue Xun’s expression darkened. “A human life is worth two loaves of bread.”
“And also—Zone C’s administrator candidate is sixteen years old. That was the bargaining chip Padra used last time to trade with you. Only a few people in Zone A know this, and Zone B is probably hiding that information carefully too.”
He Wuning frowned, understanding immediately. “But the believers in Zone C know.”
“No one knows whether the monsters somehow got the information from us… or whether there are believers among us.”
Zuo Qianming sucked in a sharp breath. “Don’t say such terrifying things! So many stories collapse because of mutual suspicion!”
Yi Luo laughed. “If someone’s a believer, isn’t that easy to check? We can all go to the bathhouse later. Ah—but my room has its own shower. He and I will just wash there.”
He hooked an arm around He Wuning, who stiffened for a moment.
Zuo Qianming narrowed his eyes. “Something’s suspicious about you two.”
Yi Luo flashed a smile. Zuo Qianming sneered. “You two must be in it together. You believers!”
He Anan laughed. “If they were believers, then I’d just admit defeat.”
Yi Luo sighed. “Xiao Zuo, with your sensitivity to the aura of romance, I’m afraid you’ll be single your whole life.”
Zuo Qianming fell silent for a moment before raising his head resolutely. “I have already decided to devote myself to science!”
Li Liangzi slowly raised her head. “I have some bad news.”
“Look at the new event details.”
She lightly patted Zuo Qianming. “Stop arguing. Read this first.”
Everyone lowered their gaze to the communication devices in their hands.
Monster Challenge Arena: Dear players, do you remember the thrilling moments of challenging bosses? Now it’s the other way around! It’s time for those monsters to experience the hardship of challenging a boss! With extremely high attack power and unreasonable HP bars, crush those little monsters beneath your hands!
The event consists of two stages: Assembly and Defense. A total of 105 players of various levels will be randomly selected to guard five level-20 dungeons. Each dungeon will assign:
1 Boss role, 3 Elite monster roles, 17 Minion roles. During battle, players receive death-immunity protection. Death during the event returns you to the respawn point with no penalties.
Completing collection tasks during the Assembly stage grants dungeon-wide buffs, but buffs are not shared across dungeons.
……
The monster side will challenge the dungeon for 24 hours. After 24 hours, results will be settled. Any dungeon that successfully defends will be permanently closed in the game. All equipment and item drops from those dungeons will be added to the system shop database, and additional monster species will become purchasable in the Monster Ranch.
Additionally, perfect completion will grant even more luxurious rewards. Players are encouraged to prepare actively. We wish you a pleasant gaming experience.
After a brief silence, Xue Xun sighed first.
Yi Luo leaned back in his chair and chuckled. “Looks like Zone B’s plan failed. There’s no ‘commander-in-chief’ this time. The players are randomly selected, and even the roles are random.”
“And maybe to punish Ji Ou, there aren’t any special effects you can draw this time,” Li Liangzi said, glancing at the task list. “The buffs you get from completing tasks are fixed.”
Xue Xun looked worried. “But they didn’t say how many enemies will come. Isn’t that dangerous?”
“It’s fine! Death is disabled in the event!” Q-chan comforted him kindly, patting his head.
“Mm.” He Wuning frowned. “But what if one dungeon fails…”
“Will there still be another chance to conquer it later?”
No one knew the answer. He Wuning sighed. “When I play games, if I don’t get a perfect rating, I don’t consider it cleared.”
Zuo Qianming stroked his chin. “Theoretically speaking, that level of perfectionism is a mental illness.”
Yi Luo smiled and stepped on his foot under the table. “Anyway, what I’m worried about is—what if someone who’s terrible at fighting gets selected?”
“After all, among the millions of people in the game’s fallen zones, most people don’t even know how to fight monsters.”
He Wuning closed his eyes briefly. “I wonder if we’ll get picked.”
He An’an glanced at Qi Hong. The quiet, taciturn prophet was concentrating on chewing a biscuit. He hesitated before asking softly, “Qi Hong… did you just shake your head?”
Qi Hong paused, then answered quietly. “Mm.”
He An’an softened his voice. “Why? Were you listening to everyone?”
Qi Hong cautiously glanced at He Wuning. “Because… he won’t be there tomorrow.”
Xue Xun clapped his hands. “That makes sense! You’re strong, and since you can’t die in the event you’d go all out. If they had the choice, they probably wouldn’t put you in this kind of dungeon.”
He Wuning: “……”
Zuo Qianming leaned over curiously. “Then what about me?”
Yi Luo pushed his head aside. “Ask me first. What about me?”
Qi Hong stared at them blankly, then suddenly shrank behind He Anan in fear. “I—I don’t know… I didn’t see that much…”
Zuo Qianming pointed at Yi Luo. “See? You scared him.”
Yi Luo pointed back. “It was clearly you!”
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The author has something to say:
He Wuning: Nobody go. It’ll be embarrassing.
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