The King of Black Fog

After fifteen more checkpoints, you have to look far out to see players in the bubbles.

"Cough! Cough!"

Blood seeped from Li Changzhou's mouth, floating in the bubble like a satin strip.

His face was deathly pale, his once smooth and handsome face was covered with dense bumps filled with white pus.

The last checkpoint was a world of illness. He had [Divine Body], all sorts of strength were there, tools could be used at will, yet even so, he nearly died from illness.

Both legs were broken too, a fatal fracture from illness, [Divine Body] couldn't restore them.

There were remnants of other players' strength on him too; hundreds of players, still with energy after being sick, launched attacks together, bombarding him with all kinds of strength.

Thinking of that scene, Li Changzhou couldn't help but narrow his eyes again.

The bubble's strength circulated, washing away the virus residues like dirt, his severed limbs began to regenerate, 'Ability' filled instantly.

Li Changzhou summoned the King Cobra.

This summoned beast, which could intake and neutralize poison, was all ulcerated. If not for sharing Li Changzhou's body constitution, a single mouthful of the poison would be sufficient to kill it.

In the world, there shouldn't be true poison, substances that are poison to most creatures could very well be the "oxygen" for another form of life.

But the poisons of the illness world killed everything.

No matter which world the players came from, no matter their constitution, strength system, all were poisoned.

Watching the King Cobra recover in the power of the bubble, Li Changzhou took out "Rooted", the whole tree was sickly, with only one fruit, colorful and radiating a divine halo, looking full of vitality.

This is the illness fruit.

Its appearance is completely opposite to its dreadful virus nature.

Li Changzhou didn't know if consuming this illness fruit would poison him more deeply or detoxify him, but just moments ago, if he hadn't cleared the checkpoint, he would consume this fruit for a final gamble.

He sighed, feeling mentally exhausted.

Clearing seventeen checkpoints in a row, even for him, left him too tired to move.

Unlike other players, he still had to face challenges repeatedly, six out of the seventeen times nearly reaching a dire situation.

I wonder about Qian Xia and the others...

Immediately drove away this thought.

The possibility of losing Li Qianxia, Yang Qinglan, or even Turquoise Pool, losing any of them was like a deep abyss, it was unbearable to even think about, lacking the courage to glimpse even once.

Taking a deep breath, Li Changzhou put away the King Cobra and Divine Tree, curled his body, and used "Primordial Fetal Absorption".

Only this kind of Daoist magic, sacrificing everything to grasp the last spark of life, could rapidly recover his spirit and stop his wild thoughts.

His body and 'Ability' were in peak condition, so it took only two hours for Li Changzhou to open his eyes again.

Divine brilliance erupted from his eyes, like two blue Suns, his spirit reigniting.

He no longer felt fear.

Yang Qinglan, on her first mission, could make a firm decision. In every task, she had her own opinions, not a vase needing protection.

Turquoise Pool, even more so, coming from a noble family, yet not joining the Special Warfare Bureau, she rallied a group on her own; be it willpower or means, she was no ordinary person.

Li Qianxia, although dependent on him, this very dependence made her stronger in solo actions.

What he needed to do was not to worry about them but to live at any cost!

[Please wait for the end of the seventeenth stage]

[00:00:09]

[00:00:08]

[00:00:07]

Watching the countdown draw to a close, Li Changzhou smiled: "Bring it on."

Fight if we must, see if the Value Game kills him, or if he swims against the stream, gaining more powerful ability and rights!

But when the countdown ended, the mission didn't immediately start.

[Player count: ten billion]

[Players, except for "King of Black Fog" and "Master", upon leaving the event, can obtain the "Second Instinct"]

To get the reward, you must exit. To Li Changzhou, this was good news, as players wouldn't awaken the 'Second Instinct' mid-way, nor could they enhance skills using Game Coin.

[Selection countdown]

[00:02:59]

[00:02:58]

Li Changzhou watched as time ticked away, and when it all turned to "0", darkness surrounded him.

◇

At the crossroads, the crowd was dense.

Red light, vehicles coming and going, Li Changzhou looked up, just in time to see two buses pass by, and as the large buses disappeared, they revealed a big billboard across the road.

The billboard was a promotion for a new album by a boy band, written in Japanese.

Even though it was a physical ad, the text next to the album flashed like code data, but once it cleared up, it formed new fonts.

[Location: Low Level Civilization City, Shibuya Crossing]

[Time: Three days before the Value Game starts]

[Pass requirement: Fight using system-assigned anime characters; upon failure, 'anime characters' turn 'plunderable'. Top one thousand players to collect three extra 'anime characters' will pass]

[Tip: Players cannot leave Tokyo]

[Tip: A maximum of five players per team is allowed]

The fonts flashed, reverting to the album release date details.

Li Changzhou's eyes dropped, watching two black taxis drive by, the red light turned green, and three girls rushed out from the crowd, hurrying to take photos in the middle of the crosswalk.

The crowd began to move.

The mission had begun.

Li Changzhou turned and walked away immediately.

"Don't run!"

"King of Black Fog!"

A player pushed through the crowd, and behind him flames roared, as a western dragon with orange skin appeared, walking on two legs through the fire.

Its long, thick tail burning with flames, the massive wings flapped, stirring strong winds.

"Charizard!"

"Is it a holographic projection?!"

"A promotion for 'Pokemon Go', maybe? But what kind of technology is this?"