Online Game: My 10,000x Intelligence Buff Awakens

When Ethan heard Emma, his eyes lit up. He hadn't expected her to still have a backup plan.

But thinking about it, as the founder of Veritas Snow Group, Emma wouldn't be foolish.

Ethan quickly said: "Are you sure that device still works now?"

Emma hesitated a little, then nodded and said:

"It should still work. As long as the device isn't damaged, I can trigger it with my wristband."

Ethan urged her: "Then what are we waiting for? Use it, quick!"

After all that had happened, Ethan had a guess in his heart: the Safe Zone 9527 in Dawnfall Online might be Dolren City in the future.

If he was right, then Jake, whom he had just killed in the game, probably wouldn't die here today.

Right now his intel was limited, so he couldn't analyze much that was useful.

All he could do now was try to lower the risk as much as possible.

After all, Ethan wasn't strong enough yet. If Dolren City really became Safe Zone 9527 from Dawnfall Online, he wouldn't be able to escape either.

Emma took a deep breath and started tapping her wristband.

Soon she said to Ethan: "Okay! Wait ten seconds and the device will boot up."

Ten seconds wasn't long. As he and Emma and the others moved back, Ethan counted in his head.

When he reached ten, his eyes widened and he looked at Jake.

Sure enough, Jake reacted. His brow creased, and he reached out and thrust his hand straight into his abdomen!

"Thud!"

He pulled out a device like a frisbee with his bare hand and tossed it to the floor like trash.

Emma fell silent when she saw that. She didn't know what to say.

She had thought that even when facing people with supernatural powers, she still had some ways to keep things safe.

But now it seemed she had underestimated their power.

She needed a different approach—some way to get tools that could counter these powers.

With that thought, Emma glanced, without thinking, at the long blade in Ethan's hand.

The moment Ethan saw Jake pull out Emma's device, he didn't hesitate. He moved quickly toward the way out.

Only a fool would stay here any longer.

Just as Ethan ran outside the factory, before he could catch his breath, he saw the abandoned plant start to shake.

A dozen seconds later, a deafening explosion roared under his feet, and the abandoned factory collapsed.

Black dust mixed with the falling snow, like the end of the world.

Ethan held out his hand and caught a snowflake stained with dust.

Normally, body heat would melt a tiny snowflake like that right away.

But even after waiting a long time, the snowflake in his hand stayed the same.

Only when a gust of wind blew and carried the dusty flake away did Ethan slowly let out a breath.

Still shaken, Lucas asked: "Bro—no, Ethan, do you think it's over?"

After he said it, he paused, a bit surprised by how natural it felt to call him "Ethan."

Ethan shook his head at Lucas's question.

This wasn't going to end so quickly.

All he could do now was wait.

Leaving his fate in someone else's hands felt as sickening as swallowing a fly.

Besides getting some real rest, he needed to figure this out as soon as possible.

Why was the boss in Dawnfall Online exactly the same as the real-world test subject Jake?

What's the link between Dolren City and Safe Zone 9527?

What's hidden on the upper floors of Frostspire Tower, and why can't players go in?

And if, like those kidnappers said, [Calamity] has already come to the real world…

Then what's the deal with the [Ice Calamity] in Dawnfall Online?

...

Ethan had too many questions, and his thoughts were a mess.

Losing control of things like this made him uneasy.

He didn't like being dragged into a whirlpool passively.

If he knew more info—Intel—he could have used what happened today to get more out of it.

Sadly, his talent [Ten-Thousandfold Intelligence Reward] hadn't awakened. If it had, he could gather all kinds of Intel in the real world too, level up fast, and get everything he wanted.

At that thought, Ethan's eyes lit up. Dawnfall Online had to be linked to the real world.

That would mean some Intel from the game connects to reality.

Like that Orange-quality [Ice Calamity Intel]?

He took a deep breath and held back the urge to log into Dawnfall Online right now and use the [Ice Calamity] Intel.

He saw a short-haired woman in a black suit walking toward him with Leo.

Lila, the deputy captain of the Special Operations Team, looked at Ethan with a strange glint in her eyes, like a hunter locking onto prey.

Leo followed behind her and winked at Ethan.

Lila didn't notice and said:

"Mr. Ethan, last time we met I forgot to introduce myself."

"I'm Lila. I didn't expect we'd run into each other here a second time."

Ethan looked at Lila with a puzzled expression. His eyes lifted a little, as if he was thinking.

After a moment, he put on a look of sudden realization and said:

"I remember now. You were the stranger who showed up in my hospital room, right?"

Lila frowned slightly, unhappy with his reaction.

She had watched Ethan fight. Even though she hadn't seen any clear superhuman ability, she was sure he wasn't an ordinary patient.

The woman tied to test subject Jake lived in the ward above Ethan.

Dr. Axel, who studied the Ice Virus, also happened to be Ethan's attending doctor.

And just now, Lila noticed that Emma's brother, Lucas, seemed very close to Ethan.

None of this felt like a coincidence. Ethan was definitely not a normal guy.

Just as Lila was about to ask more, the ground started shaking again.

This time it was stronger, like the whole earth was about to cave in.

Ethan didn't hesitate. He turned and ran hard into the distance.

Emma, Lucas, and the others followed him on instinct.

In one minute, Ethan had already run 600 meters. The others were left far behind.

Soon, a large area around the abandoned factory began to sink fast.

Several streaks of light shot out from the rubble and appeared before them.

[Plague Ghost] Jade had returned to a human look, holding a black umbrella that now looked much smaller.

[Grinning Ghost] and [Head-Cutter] stood behind Jade, each dragging someone—Jake and the man in black who could turn into a red-furred ape.

As for [Space Wolf] and [Iron Controller], they didn't show up. Maybe they were dead, or maybe they escaped.

Opposite [Plague Ghost] Jade, a mirror-masked figure spoke, unwilling to give in:

"Jade! We pushed back the [Calamity] together. The loot should be split fairly!"

"Forget the other stuff, but this [Calamity Aura] is tied to gold-grade gear. You can't keep it all for yourself!"

[Plague Ghost] Jade lifted his black umbrella slightly and said calmly:

"Keep it all? Didn't you grab most of the [Calamity Aura] in the chaos?"

"Even if you hadn't brought it up, I was going to come collect from you."

The two sides faced off.

In the end, the mirror-masked group backed down and left in anger.

Jade frowned a little. He really hadn't gotten that much [Calamity Aura].

[Calamity Aura] is a material formed after the [Calamity Source] is destroyed. It can be used to forge gold-grade weapons and armor, and it can even help normal people awaken their talents fast and raise their quality.

But the second use takes a lot of [Calamity Aura].

As the strongest fighter there, Jade had purposely not stopped the [Calamity] from taking shape through Jake.

He wanted to collect [Calamity Aura], save it, and use it later to boost that person's talent when he found them.

The amount of [Calamity Aura] isn't fixed. It usually scales with how dangerous the [Calamity] is.

This [Ice Calamity] wasn't very dangerous, so the small amount he gathered made sense.

Thinking this, Jade waved his hand and said: "Alright, we should go. Hand them over to them."

[Head-Cutter] and [Grinning Ghost] moved at once.

They each grabbed the unconscious Jake and Lion and quickly walked over to Ethan, Lila, and the others.

[Head-Cutter] and [Grinning Ghost] both locked their eyes on Ethan.

They didn't care about Lila at all, even though she was the deputy captain.

Just then, Lila took a deep breath, stepped forward, and called out to [Plague Ghost] Jade:

"Wait, Mr. Jade. Your actions have caused a lot of trouble for Dolren City... As for the [Calamity Aura], our Faceless Department needs one wisp!"