May 28th, 6 a.m.
Mo Yang sat on the bed, looking at the necklace pendant Wan Mei handed him. It looked like a bright green apple from the outside. He seemed puzzled, saying, “Does it have to look like this? It feels a bit feminine.”
Wan Mei, on the other hand, wore a gold-colored metal leaf similar in style to the one he sent to other players. “Whether it’s feminine or not doesn’t matter, as long as it works. Put it on. The future of humanity and Earth relies on you.”
Mo Yang smirked, “I don’t think I alone can save the world. And the Dream World will surely take corresponding actions. Including 006, 009… and 001 and Emperor Qin. I wonder what will happen next.”
“Let’s go, have the final breakfast. It should be quite sumptuous, right?”
At exactly 8 o’clock in the morning, the world that had been incredibly chaotic for the past month suddenly became quiet. Those ruthless individuals who had reached the peak of trying to consume other players and those forced to resist, disrupting the vitality of the Earth, all found a place they deemed quiet and safe. As the second hand pointed to 12, everyone closed their eyes, and upon opening them, they found themselves in the familiar Dream World.
No.
Opening their eyes didn’t reveal the familiar Dream World.
The moment Mo Yang opened his eyes, he noticed the difference. The surroundings seemed like his Dream World house. The vegetable garden in front of the house and the pond behind it hadn’t changed, but everything else made him uneasy.
He turned directly to where Wan Mei was. His relief was evident as he saw Wan Mei, also scrutinizing their surroundings with a furrowed brow.
“Strange, this place feels dangerous to me.”
Mo Yang ran towards Wan Mei, who looked up at him and reached out as if to nod, “You’re right, we better leave here quickly, okay?”
Mo Yang froze in his tracks. His expression turned cold.
“Who are you?” He said this while grabbing the maxim hanging on his neck and in an instant, it turned into a blank. Then Mo Yang himself was stunned. The maxim’s ability could only be used in the game world, yet they hadn’t entered the game world. Why…
“What world is this?! The Dream World or the Game World?!” Mo Yang sharply asked, pointing at Wan Mei on the other side. Then he saw Wan Mei across from him smile, a sly and triumphant smile that Wan Mei would never show.
[Hehehe, truly worthy of being my host~ You’ve caught on so quickly. Why ask what world this is? From start to finish, aren’t you always in the Dream World?]
Wan Mei laughed, and his appearance changed. His black hair started to curl slightly, his features subtly adjusted, and then Mo Yang saw 006, with a flawless human appearance, bowing in a manner Mo Yang had never seen before. When he lifted his head, those black eyes seemed abyssal, and even the smile appeared like a captivating demon.
[My dear host, welcome to the ultimate Dream World.]
[And congratulations on passing the first test. Although I was sure you’d recognize me and not be easily fooled by illusions. But just in case you weren’t prepared? I’d have scored a huge advantage.]
006 walked to Mo Yang’s side, surprisingly taller than Mo Yang by a bit. He looked down at Mo Yang.
[Now, you can start waiting for the game rules that the mother star will announce.]
Mo Yang was shaken. He blurted out a question, “Did you close the game world? Or… merge it?”
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.
006 smirked, [I just said, didn’t I? From start to finish, you’ve always been in the Dream World. The game world was just a mental illusion we simulated to make it easier for you to accept and stir ambition. Oh, but those residual consciousnesses you’re concerned about—they’re real. They’re hiding in the cracks of the void, but now, they might have nowhere to hide.]
Zb Tjcu abbx j vffq ygfjat jcv gfwjlcfv rlifca. Lf vlvc’a vjgf ab mbcafwqijaf tbk atf Kgff Ufbqif Heffc jcv atf mbcrmlbercfrrfr ogbw rbwf qijcfar kfgf ojglcu, ktfatfg atf wbatfg rajg tjv vfafmafv atfw jcv ragemx atfw vbkc. Lf ofia atfs tjv ecvfgfralwjafv atf fzlrafcmf bo atf Ggfjw Qbgiv. Gfrqlaf jii atflg qgfqjgjalbcr, klatlc atlr wfcaji kbgiv yfibculcu ab atf Ggfjw Qbgiv jcv lar uelvfr, tewjclas kjr ja j vlrjvnjcajuf.
At that moment, Wan Mei’s door opened, and Mo Yang saw him and another blond, blue-eyed man walking out—one was definitely 009, possessing the perfect human appearance just like 006.
“Hey there. So, you didn’t manage a surprise attack, huh?” 006 greeted 009. 009 looked at him with an incredulous expression. “Are you daft? None of the top hundred-ranked hosts would be misled by the ‘initial illusion.’ But there should be quite a few successes.”
Almost as soon as 009 finished speaking, an immensely colossal, golden sun appeared in the Dream World’s sky.
Mo Yang gazed at the “sun” for a moment and already felt a momentary daze in his mind.
Wan Mei covered his eyes. “That should be the mother star’s entity. Don’t look. Its power right now, like its size and radiance, exceeds ours by far.”
Mo Yang clenched his teeth.
If that gigantic golden sun hanging in the sky was the ultimate enemy they had to vanquish, Mo Yang felt he might be undertaking an impossible task.
Then, he heard a voice emanating from the golden sun.
[Welcome to the Dream World. Below are the clearance rules for this ultimate game.]
[This game has no rules.]
[Survive to clear.]
[Known deaths, swallowed hosts: 17.98 million.]
As players broke free from the false scenes masquerading as their relatives and friends, they heard the rules announced by the golden sun above.
Everyone’s expressions were grim. They had just entered the game, yet over ten million people had died?! Why had the Dream World suddenly turned into this? Weren’t they still not in the game world? But the game seemed to have already begun.
Some players instinctively attempted to summon their guides for answers, yet to their dismay, the guides collectively fell silent. They ceased answering any questions, and before the players could persist, numerous grotesque and never-before-seen monsters suddenly emerged around them. In that instant, countless players felt a looming terror.
“9945! Can you hear me? Where are you? Hurry, come and save me! I’m being chased by demons!!” A beautiful female player ran like a headless fly, at least five or six enormous and horrifying monsters in pursuit. Her heart raced, her mind pushed to its limits. “9945! I made a pact with you! You said you’d help me after our contract! What’s happening—!”
Finally unable to run any longer, she was bitten on the thigh by one of the monsters chasing her. She showed extreme pain and fear, lying on the ground, staring at these terrifying creatures, feeling like she was about to collapse any second.
Then, she finally saw her guide.
The female player hadn’t yet revealed a surprised expression when the small red-glowing sphere rushed straight toward her forehead. Subsequently, her body seemed to undergo some intense internal struggle, trembling violently. After a few seconds, as she looked at the monsters biting at her, the fear completely vanished from her face. She unexpectedly reached out and grabbed one of the monsters, then opened her mouth, fiercely biting down on its neck.
The monster emitted a sharp, piercing howl, then gradually became illusionary and eventually disappeared.
9945 stood up, glancing at her own body, and assessing her energy. Finally, she lightly spoke two words.
“Trash.”
Then, she devoutly glanced at the gigantic golden sun floating in the Dream World, her face filled with fervor.
“Mother star, I’ll go absorb more energy for you.”
As she said this, her body also became illusory and ultimately vanished. With her disappearance, another player was silently added to the count of those devoured under the colossal and radiant sun.
Similar scenes played out in different corners of the Dream World, now transformed into a playground for monsters.
Some players, chased by various creatures and disasters, quickly succumbed, either dying or getting consumed.
Others gritted their teeth, enduring the turmoil.
Zheng Zhe and Zhou Luoluo, back to back, were covered in blood, breathing heavily.
The two of them were now surrounded by five giants ten times their size.
Just as they broke free from the initial illusion, giants wielding enormous axes charged at them. Zhou Luoluo gritted her teeth and used her psychic flame to burn two giants, while Zheng Zhe used mental absorption to consume two others.
Although his psychic power increased after absorption, the sensation of his brain nearing explosion signaled it was his limit. They had no capacity to continue using psychic abilities and could only flee in desperation. However, in their escape, they encountered…
Seeing a companion might be a good thing, but having a companion equally exhausted wasn’t.
Finally, Zheng Zhe gritted his teeth and stood in front of Zhou Luoluo. “I can rest for a bit and then use mental absorption again. Just hold on for a while!”
Zhou Luoluo glanced at him and nodded. “I can use the lighter again after resting for a bit. But what’s mental absorption? Can we devour these monsters? When I used my psychic flame to burn those giants, it felt like something flowed into my mind. Is that a form of absorption?”
Zheng Zhe nodded. “It’s not easy to explain. You need to condense your psychic power into a weapon to attack them and then control this psychic weapon to absorb their power. The key is to have an unwavering determination to consume and eliminate them. Also, remember, this is just a mental world. All the monsters before us are false; they’re all energy forms that can be dissolved by certain powers. As long as our minds are strong enough, as the guides initially told us, we can be invincible.”
Zhou Luoluo seemed particularly averse to the last sentence. She sneered without saying anything more. At that moment, the five towering giants had already surrounded them. Zheng Zhe and Zhou Luoluo managed to evade several attacks from the giants as they found a narrow alleyway where the giants couldn’t enter, barely managing to hold on. Zhou Luoluo even attempted to use her psychic power to attack the giants, but the effect wasn’t very noticeable.
At this moment, both Zheng Zhe and Zhou Luoluo simultaneously saw their respective guides emitting a red glow around them.
Zheng Zhe’s heart skipped a beat; he had never seen a guide emit a red light before. Even when the guide was extremely excited before, it was always a gray glow. But a red glow didn’t bode well. He quickly recalled the information Wan Mei had given him about absorption—it hypothesized that once certain conditions were met, the guide would inevitably completely devour the host’s mind, becoming a new life form in its entirety.
He roared instantly, “The guides are attacking us!! No matter what, you must hold on! Absolutely don’t let them devour your spirit and thoughts!!”
After Zheng Zhe’s roar, the two red guiding spheres rushed straight toward their foreheads. It was impossible for them to evade the attacks from the giants and the guides. Zhou Luoluo first stiffened, sitting directly on the ground. Later, Zheng Zhe leaned against the wall, both of their bodies shaking violently.
At this moment, one of the five giants, wielding a huge axe, was about to strike Zheng Zhe. Suddenly, behind them appeared a figure much smaller than the giants but somewhat robust for an ordinary person. He held a massive wolf’s tooth club and fiercely struck the giant!
The club was like a toy to the giant, but surprisingly, when it hit the giant, the giant was sent flying with just one strike!
Subsequently, the other giants were all devoured by the three individuals who appeared successively.
“Yes, devoured, not defeated.”
“Hey! Fatty! If this scene were in reality, it would be amazing!”
Zhou Api swung the wolf’s tooth club proudly and patted his chest. “Of course, I’m always amazing. So, what do we do with these two youngsters? Wait?”
Qi Hong held a curved blade and glanced at 003, who followed behind him like an elf. After a moment, he said, “Wait. Let’s see if they get devoured or do the devouring in the end. If they successfully devour the guides, we’ll take them with us to find Brother Bai and Brother Hei. For now, the more people we have, the safer.”
The other three nodded. 003 played with three balls—013, 100, and 666—in his hands, smiling without saying anything. Occasionally, a hint of red light flashed in his eyes.
Meanwhile, Mo Yang and Wan Mei, following the guidance of the Treeheart, were moving in a certain direction.
Compared to other players struggling to escape, these two almost effortlessly absorbed or eliminated various creatures and beings blocking their path, resembling two formidable reapers.
006 and 009 followed behind them, their faces slightly green.
“Ah, every time we reach this point, I feel like I’ve gone blind. Found such a ferocious host.”
009 nodded in agreement but then shook his head with an expressionless gaze. “But he’s still not the match for the Mother Star. Not even for 001.”
006 smirked. “No rush. The game has just begun. We have plenty of time to await the outcome.”
Author’s Note –
Expanding perspective:
The game world is part of the Dream World, utilizing previous planetary templates for better playability and novelty for players. However, it’s not independent of the Dream World. The residual consciousness of the planets can only clandestinely exist and intervene, not alter.
The final world, the Mother Star, cancels the game world for better control over the situation and energy absorption.
Upon entering the Dream World, individuals face immediate illusory attacks. Those who don’t react immediately are directly devoured.
Here, “devouring” means replacement.
🫠
i these scenarios, I also kind of want to open the dear author’s brain and look inside🙂❤️