Zheng Zhe’s behavior was directly exposed by that woman. Everyone saw his somewhat strange and eerie actions.
However, Zheng Zhe had no intention of explaining himself to them in the slightest. He merely cast a somewhat lifeless gaze, framed by dark circles, at the woman, then slowly withdrew his gaze and stood up.
The woman felt extremely uncomfortable under his scrutiny and couldn’t help but take a few steps back. Zheng Zhe found a corner that maintained a distance from everyone, sat down, and observed as his life points returned to eight and his strength, speed, and agility each slightly recovered, leaving him somewhat satisfied.
A month ago, he was coerced by his own father into entering the dream world. He spent a month learning about the game rules in the dream world. Soon, he realized that his father was simply a foolish weakling. The dream world was undoubtedly malicious; its ultimate goal seemed to be consumption and possession. Yet, their means involved providing powerful props, and trapping people in this world. The deeper one got addicted, the harder it became to leave and easier to control.
Zheng Zhe suspected that Zheng Zhiqiang had almost certainly signed a mental contract with the guide or even a more advanced contract. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so obedient at that time, insisting on taking him and his mother into the dream world. So, he probably wouldn’t need to act personally. Perhaps, after the dream world gathered enough power it required, his father, lacking courage and resilience to win in the game, seeking pleasure, would perish as soon as the dream world bared its fangs.
He had to accumulate enough strength to survive during this time. Though he voluntarily entered the dream world, he didn’t intend to become cannon fodder. At the very least, he would strive to survive to the end with all his might. He still worried about his mother, who loved him, waiting for him outside.
Perhaps due to his aspirations in studying medicine, Zheng Zhe had been interested in books related to medicine since childhood. He even followed tutorials to learn some basic anatomy, bandaging, and pharmaceutical skills. His talent was remarkable; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been admitted to the best medical university in the country. With this slight advantage, he triggered a skill in the last battle royale game—he could absorb the residual life and strength of someone dying or just deceased.
This skill allowed him to survive the last battle royale and rise to level two. In this collective game, he planned to rely on this skill to last these ten days, but unfortunately, someone directly exposed him.
However, what did it matter if someone found out? Others didn’t have his abilities, so there was no reason for mindless hostility or harm.
While Zheng Zhe disregarded it, he suddenly felt a chilling gaze, making his hair stand on end. Frowning, he looked up and met eyes with Wan Mei.
Instantly, Zheng Zhe’s hair stood on end.
Wan Mei smiled.
Zheng Zhe quickly lowered his head, his face slightly pale. He felt that just now, the man in the white coat seemed to have seen through all his thoughts. Moreover, he had witnessed that man committing murder before; he had “floated” behind those players like an inconspicuous ghost, swiftly ending a life with a precise, surgical-like method.
Zheng Zhe was determined to stay far away from that terrifying man.
At this moment, a minor dispute erupted within the shelter.
The provisions that the imposing man’s side had already claimed for themselves were taken back by Xis and their group. This greatly displeased the players on the side of the imposing man, who had hoped to stay in this shelter until the wildfire weakened, then go out to find the ‘Fruits of the Tree People.’ But if these provisions and water were used and taken away by Xis and their group, even if they stayed here, they wouldn’t be able to sustain their life points.
Unfortunately, they were simply no match for the group led by Xis.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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This made Yu Weixing very unhappy. Not only was his leadership threatened, but he even keenly felt that if he couldn’t get along with Xis and their group, he might not survive until they reached that green screen.
Finally, Yu Weixing fixed his gaze on Jin Quan Zhang and Mo Yang. These two were crucial.
At this moment, everyone cherished the two fruits they were allocated, eating them bit by bit. The temperature in the underground shelter was much lower than outside, finally not as scorching, making breathing difficult. The sweet fruit relieved much of their restlessness. Most people finished one fruit and securely stored the remaining one in the safest pocket to eat later. Then, they closed their eyes to rest. By now, everyone had realized that as long as they remained motionless, they could slowly restore their health points, strength, speed, and agility.
Xis and a golden-haired girl in their team exchanged a few words. The girl wore a determined expression but soon started murmuring some words. It seemed she wanted to do something, as a faint golden light appeared around her with her incantation. However, soon after, the girl stiffened, and the golden light around her dispersed. She appeared even paler.
“…It’s not working. Captain Xis, I can’t foresee anymore.”
The golden-haired girl’s expression turned bleak. “Because of the wildfire, the plant’s energy seems to have dissipated suddenly. Almost everything between heaven and earth is filled with scorching, irritable chaotic energy. I can’t connect to the earth’s power anymore.”
Xis pursed his lips, but he still patted the golden-haired girl’s shoulder. “Rena, you’ve done your best. It’s okay; as long as we work together, we’ll definitely be able to return to the Forest of the Tree People.”
Rena nodded. Xis beckoned to Rena, sitting beside Mo Yang. “Rena, come sit here and rest! I feel that being close to Brother Quan when resting seems to help recover strength faster, and the air here is better! Come over here quickly!”
Rena doted on Xis, although she didn’t want too much contact with outsiders. However, Mo Yang had previously helped the person almost collapsing while holding Xis, who was Rena, so Rena didn’t have any animosity or concerns and sat down.
After sitting down, she felt the air here seemed indeed a bit better. Her heart moved, as if guided by someone, and she repeated her previous actions. Surprisingly, this time, the halo around her became brighter, but it didn’t disperse from the middle! When Rena uttered the last word, those golden lights gathered together and rushed into Rena’s mind!
“Ah!”
Rena exclaimed.
Everyone in the cave looked over.
At first, Rena looked uncertainly at Mo Yang several times, then quickly stood up. “Quick! We must leave this place quickly! I foresaw the next wave of wildfires will directly destroy this place! We have to take the swamp route to safely reach the Forest of the Tree People!!”
As Rena finished speaking, the NPCs on Xis’s side all stood up together. None of them doubted Rena’s words; they all saw Rena’s successful foresight just now.
Mo Yang’s group of three and Jin Quan Zhang’s dozen or so people also stood up quickly. As long as they weren’t foolish, they knew that following the indigenous people in this new world was the hope for survival. In this way, only Yu Weixing’s group of over twenty players remained. The players looked skeptical.
Xis spoke up, “Since this place is about to be destroyed, everyone can take the food they can carry from here. But everything here must be destroyed. I’ll give you two fruit-eating times to collect items. Once time’s up, we leave directly!”
Everyone started to act.
However, at this point, the stark differences between players and NPCs became apparent.
The NPCs swiftly and orderly grabbed the best portable food and fruits, then queued up.
The players, on the other hand, wanted to stuff all the good things into their backpacks and pockets. They frantically searched in the shelter, and one player found what seemed to be an expensive golden dagger adorned with gemstones. Before he could express his delight, another towering player nearby snatched the dagger. The smaller player glared angrily, but the one who took the item sneered, brandishing his fist, ‘I’m Level 3 now! Strength 28! Do you really want to fight me?’
The smaller player could only step back in frustration, but it seemed like the towering player had specifically targeted him. Whatever the smaller player searched for, the towering player would inspect it first and then allow the smaller player to take it. The remaining players grew darker in their expressions, witnessing this scene, but no one said anything.
Forget it being just a game. Even if it weren’t a game, most people entering the dream world were hardly kind-hearted. Nobody would go out of their way for others.
The two eating times quickly arrived. Xis didn’t pause and led his people to leave, and Jin Quan Zhang’s dozen players quickly followed suit. Most of the other players hesitated briefly but mostly followed suit, including Zheng Zhe and Yu Weixing. Also, the smaller and towering players.
Mo Yang’s trio was in the queue, but Mo Yang felt something was off. He was initially behind Xis’s group, but now, he found himself awkwardly situated in the middle of Xis’s group. The NPCs unintentionally surrounded him. Were they monitoring him?
Mo Yang glanced at Xis, then dismissed the idea.
Instead of monitoring, it seemed more like ‘protection.’
Protection? Mo Yang glanced at Rena, who looked the most tense, as if he understood something. Perhaps he could use this to enter the Forest of the Tree People and meet the Tree Queen.
While Mo Yang pondered this, a sudden roar of anger echoed from behind.
Everyone instinctively turned around, witnessing the towering man gripping the neck of the smaller man angrily. The smaller man’s face turned red, almost purple, seemingly on the brink of being choked to death. Yet, he was smiling. In stark contrast, the towering man, who appeared to have the upper hand, grew increasingly terrified.
Just as everyone thought the smaller man would be choked to death, he suddenly thrust his leg hard against the towering man’s body. Surprisingly, the mountainous man was easily kicked away. The female player closest to him looked at the terror on the towering man’s face and couldn’t help but scream.
“Ah ah ah ah ah!! He’s dead!!”
Mo Yang’s heart skipped a beat. He stopped to go look at the deceased towering man, but at some point, Wan Mei had already arrived beside the man and… resumed dissecting.
Even though the earth was trembling and occasional meteorites fell, he continued dissecting.
His actions created an almost vacuum-like zone around him, except for the smaller player who somehow killed the towering player, and Zheng Zhe, who gritted his teeth, step by step, approached the deceased towering man, stooping to touch his forehead.
Wan Mei looked at Zheng Zhe.
“Haha, hahaha, hahahaha!!”
The smaller man lying on the ground suddenly burst into laughter. “Damn, thought I was easy to bully, huh!! Can you still bully me now?! You are dead! You have been devoured by me!!”
The smaller man’s last words startled all the players.
They looked at the small male player in disbelief, recalling what their guides had told them: “Players can devour each other. The first stage of devouring requires ‘mutual consent.’ However, in the second stage, you only need strong and intense thoughts of devouring. However, the ultimate winner depends on whose mental strength is stronger.”
Clearly, although the towering male player had much higher health points and basic abilities than the smaller player, he was weaker in the mental confrontation. The price of weakness was—death.
Zheng Zhe frowned suddenly. He had only absorbed a fraction of life force from the towering male player! It seemed like most of the energy from the “devoured” player had been depleted in advance… He instantly looked at the smaller player, who swiftly stood up, looking remarkably well. Almost as if…
“Hehehe, I’ve reached Level 3.”
The smaller player chuckled, his eyes carrying an inexplicable gleam as he looked at all the players around him.
Author’s Note –
Small Player: Hahaha, I’m going to be awesome now!! Mental devouring!!!
Mo Yang: Heh.
Wan Mei: Hehe~
hehe
…
Hehe
Hehe