When everyone subtly turned around, what they saw was Mo Yang enveloped in a green light, consisting of three different shades of green but all vibrant and intense.
For a moment, everyone’s expressions held a subtle nuance. Though the green light was mesmerizing, it held a significance for men different from other colors.
Mo Yang smirked slightly, clearing his throat to refocus everyone’s thoughts. He pointed directly at the faltering life barrier in the sky and spoke, “We’re about five hours away from midnight, the end of the tenth day. But as you all witnessed, the life barrier’s power is faltering and it’s impossible to sustain this level of protection for much longer.”
“The Tree Queen is in the temple, burning her life force in shifts with the guardians and priests to extend the duration of the life barrier. However, even with these efforts, the Queen and her allies won’t hold for long. Throughout these ten days, she has silently sacrificed her life to uphold the life barrier.”
“So, everyone, it’s time for us to contribute. The Queen just told me that if we touch the life barrier with our hands, channeling our strength with utmost sincerity or the strongest survival instincts, we can infuse our power into the barrier. This way, it can recover from its crumbling state and gradually restore itself.”
At this point, Mo Yang raised his left hand abruptly, his voice becoming more impassioned. Accompanied by the increasingly resounding background music, he shouted, “We’ve survived till now because we’re the best among all players! How can we rely on others for our survival?! We have only five hours left until success. Can’t we endure even these five hours?! Are we, tens of thousands, weaker than the power of the Tree Queen alone?!”
“Impossible!”
“We are the strongest here!”
“So, everyone, join me in rolling up your sleeves and let’s give it our all!”
With these words, Mo Yang transformed his talisman back into a pendant, flung it around his neck, and rolled up his sleeves, reaching out to infuse his spiritual strength into the nearest life barrier.
Inspired by his actions, many impulsive players who felt they couldn’t fall behind followed suit, placing their hands on the life barrier. Despite everything else, the person with the microphone was right about one thing—those who had survived till now weren’t foolish. With five hours remaining, they refused to pin their hopes of survival and progress on others. This passive feeling was something these individuals absolutely did not want. Instead of relying on the Tree Queen to hold out, they believed in their own strength.
Soon, almost all players were diligently channeling their power into the barrier. This unexpected action surprised the tree people. However, when they saw Vice Captain Xis of the Guard Unit run to Mo Yang’s side and start contributing his strength, these tree individuals exchanged glances and nodded, joining the players.
Consequently, the fragile inner wall of the life barrier became covered with variously colored and shaped palms, a rare sight where players and NPCs in the dream world’s gaming realm were so close. At this moment, hardly any player thought of those around them as mere data. They felt the resolute beliefs and strengths emanating from these individuals, sensing their warmth and the touch of their hair. For a moment, they believed these were their companions, facing this challenge together.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed in surprise, “I feel like my power went into the barrier! I lost 20 points of health and 1 point of spiritual energy.”
Immediately, another player nearby scoffed, “Hey, losing 20 points? That’s nothing! I’ve contributed 50 points just from my health! Besides, I naturally have immense strength and a thicker health bar! I can contribute at least seven more times!”
The reactions of the players made the middle-aged man who spoke feel proud. Suddenly, he felt that sometimes, displaying his strength wasn’t a bad thing. Moreover, there was a tree-person girl standing next to him, attractive in figure and appearance, looking at him with gratitude and admiration! This made the man wish he could just channel all his strength into the life barrier.
However, as he reveled in his pride, a somewhat sly voice cut through, “Heh, you think being a meat shield is impressive? Fool, in this gaming world, the most crucial value isn’t health but spiritual energy!”
“Before this game, you might not have felt it, but when the game began devouring spirits, you noticed the difference, right?”
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.
The big man’s face darkened.
The owner of the sly voice chuckled and started boasting, “So far, I’ve contributed 15 points of spiritual energy, which translates to at least 150 in health points. And my total spiritual energy? Heh, it’s probably four or five times yours.”
The nosy and eavesdropping players were left gaping, some discreetly checking their own health and spiritual energy values. To their dismay, not only were their crucial spiritual energy values hovering around 20 or less, but even their health points, which could potentially prolong their survival, were barely reaching 200 or close to 300. Comparisons truly breed resentment!
For the next period, it seemed to become a time exclusively for high-level players to flaunt their achievements. Since fighting was off-limits, it became a battle of equipment and statistics to pass the time.
Over the next three hours or so, many low-key high-level players showcased their prowess, disregarding borders between domestic and international realms when it came to flaunting their achievements. Later on, players even started discussing hidden items in the game world, strategies for better progression, and ways to enhance various statistics. The tense atmosphere suddenly transformed into a subtly harmonious one.
Then, suddenly, a voice asked, “Um, I really want to know the data of the big shots. I don’t expect them to disclose all their data, but I’m really curious about the limits they’ve reached that I haven’t. Can someone share?”
The crowd fell silent. The tree individuals also showed interest. While they didn’t understand much else, they could at least grasp the concept of “big shots’ data”—inquiring about the most powerful beings’ strength, spiritual energy, and health among their kind. Just like how among the tree people, Xis’ arrow embodied the strongest manifestation of wood’s power!
That question seemed to flip a switch. Both the tree people and the players eagerly anticipated the response.
Some players even called out the names of the top hundred leaders from the ranking list they memorized. When one player recited the rankings, the others looked at him with immense admiration.
“Bro, we’ve been companions for seven days, and I didn’t know you had such an excellent memory! You’ve left me in the dust!”
The player who recited the rankings, resembling a high schooler, chuckled bashfully. “It’s nothing, really. I just like memorizing dictionaries and legal clauses in my free time. I’m particularly interested in organized rankings; it’s a bit of a talent of mine.”
The player who called him “bro” and looked about eighteen or nineteen years old twitched his lips, rolling his eyes and turning away.
Damn! Accidentally teamed up with a nerd. How will he, the school’s bully who vowed not to hang out with nerds, explain this to his buddies after this gaming session?
The dictionary-loving player, puzzled, asked, “Why did you suddenly turn away? Is your neck uncomfortable?”
The bully replied, “Heh, no. I just suddenly didn’t feel like talking.”
This was just a minor incident, but after the nerd recited the rankings, other players began calling out names of players they admired and knew from the rankings, asking them to showcase their achievements.
Maybe because the atmosphere was so inviting, but after a few players called out the same name, someone actually spoke up.
“Well, my health points are a little over 500 now, ranking around seventy-something. Not worth mentioning. I’m really curious about the top fifty on the list. Are there health points reaching 1000?”
“Uh, there might not be many with health points at 1000. I think the top fifty rankings mostly focus on spiritual energy. My health points are only 400, but I’m at forty-nine.”
“Hey, what about your spiritual energy? Is it over 40?”
“Not quite, I’m almost there. I feel like after completing this game, I should be close enough.”
As soon as these two big shots emerged, the other players were left wide-eyed. While they could afford to think about having health points of over 500 with some effort, reaching almost 40 in spiritual energy! That left those stuck at a stagnant 20 feeling utterly inadequate. And these were just the top fifty big shots. What about those in the top twenty or even the top ten or five? How terrifying could their spiritual energy or health points be?
Realizing this, those who previously felt quite accomplished for enduring in the game until now found themselves lacking.
While they were discussing this, unaware, the life barrier above their heads was gradually healing. Even within the temple, the Tree Queen sensed an energy different from her community. Despite the mixed and somewhat peculiar nature of these energies, they were indeed supporting the life barrier against the meteor-like rocks raining down.
Finally having time to gaze outside the temple, the Tree Queen’s face, incomparably beautiful, suddenly lit up with an unprecedented, incredibly moving smile.
The shocked captain of the Queen’s guard witnessed this smile, and when the Queen turned to him, she softly said, “Lan, only now can I truly be certain that we won’t be trapped here forever. Hope does exist, and nothing is impossible to change. Even if in the future, we dissipate into the purest energy within this land called Earth, I would prefer my soul and body to rest on this vast earth rather than relive this endless nightmare.”
Lan looked at the Queen. After a long while, he bowed, even his usually icy demeanor and gaze seemed to soften slightly. “Your Majesty, we will pursue you to the end.”
Outside the temple, Xiya, having contributed all her available strength, sat on the ground. She lifted her beautiful face, looking at the life barrier. Her clear voice cut through the scattered murmurs of the people. With a surprised, childish tone, she exclaimed, “Look! The life barrier has returned to its beautiful green color again!”
The players and the tree people subconsciously looked up, wearing almost identical smiles on their faces.
“Hahaha! We’re really amazing! With this color, it should hold up for a few more hours, right? What time is it? When does it end?!”
“It’s eleven! Haha! Only one hour left! We can definitely hold on! I suddenly feel incredibly awesome!”
“Strength in numbers, eh? I didn’t even notice time passing so fast. Can we rest now? My health and spiritual energy are almost zero!”
As the players relaxed, they laughed and talked. Eventually, they sat down against the faint light barrier. Even though outside the barrier, thick black smoke obscured their view, and meteorites of varying sizes struck the barrier increasingly, at least those within the barrier had the determination to get through this final moment of disaster!
However, as they relaxed, some players started to look worried, including the middle-aged man who had initially started boasting. He looked at the players beside him, barely considered companions, and said, “Even if I manage to survive, what’s the point? I haven’t obtained a Tree Person’s Fruit these days, so I still won’t pass the level. Suddenly, I feel so foolish, huh?!”
Before the middle-aged man could finish, a pair of exceptionally fair and beautiful hands appeared in front of him. On those palms rested a bright green, incredibly refreshing-looking fruit. The man, looking dumbfounded, turned to the attractive tree woman beside him. At that moment, her beautiful green eyes twinkled with a smile as she said, “Do you need a Tree Person’s Fruit? This one isn’t quite ripe yet. Do you want it?”
The strong man was dumbfounded as he looked at the fruit. Suddenly, he covered his chest, feeling almost forty years old and experiencing the sensation of love at first sight!
Then, as if it were a beautiful beginning, many Tree People began asking the players around them if anyone needed a Tree Person’s Fruit. The second condition that had troubled many players for days was unexpectedly fulfilled so easily.
The players looked at the various ripe or unripe fruits in their hands, feeling oddly silent.
And when the mechanical system voice announced that almost all of them had cleared the level, the players didn’t feel as ecstatic as expected.
Because those who had just condensed the Tree Person’s Fruit with their last bits of strength, those tree people who had fought alongside them till the end, were cheering.
“Look! The celestial fire has stopped! We’ve finally survived this disaster! We can rebuild our home!”
“You’re all doing great! Do you want to stay and rebuild our home together?”
Then, upon hearing the invitation from the beautiful Tree Person, the middle-aged man burst into tears, deeply saddened.
Mo Yang looked at the silent, emotionally complex crowd. He silently took out the pendant, speaking the final words.
“I want to tell you all something. All the game worlds within the Dream World were once real.”
“They were once inhabited by beautiful beings with flesh, blood, and emotions.”
“The land beneath our feet is just an unfortunate planet that was successfully invaded by the Dream World.”
Suddenly, in the sky where the celestial fire had stopped falling, a huge flaming meteor appeared out of nowhere and slammed fiercely into the spot where Mo Yang stood.
Tens of thousands of players watched in shock.
Author’s note –
Well, these people might be potential allies.
Also, let’s give a candle to the middle-aged man who fell in love and then had his heart broken. Maybe in the next life, there’ll be another interstellar romance.
I hope they all will work together to defeat dream world. It was both heart warming and heartbreaking
Still loving the group efforts o((>ω< ))o and Mo Yang really can’t catch a break (a whole meteor, really author?)
imagine if all those who tell a secret gets targeted by a meteor…