Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
Chapter 830: Purifiers Mobilized
The Cain Abyss gradually disintegrated behind them, dissolving into the chaotic void and disappearing.
A brief moment of dizziness washed over Qi Wub. He found himself back at the main base for Abyss Players.
After the Cain Continent went into open beta, thanks to his meticulous efforts in recruiting, coupled with some players’ interest in becoming demons, a considerable number of players directly joined the demon faction.
For centralized management, he had established branch bases for Abyss Players across various locations in the world. Now, many cities had a significant presence of Abyss Players, with some bases housing thousands and others around eighty to a hundred.
Due to this centralized management, these players had inadvertently evaded Cthulhu’s top-down infiltration strategy, and almost no Demon Players were contaminated by the Old Ones.
“World synchronization…” Qi Wub frowned, gazing out at the ravaged world. He pondered these four words carefully and soon understood Cain’s intentions. With many players now contaminated, Cain intended to empower the uncontaminated veteran players with the strength of Cain, enabling them to confront the Old Ones on the Blue Star main battlefield.
However, Cain’s synchronization with the Blue Star world was not as swift as with the Abyss. After all, by the time synchronization began, Blue Star was already largely merged with the Abyss. This meant that within the next 24 hours, Blue Star’s caliber would gradually align with Cain’s, and the strength of Winter City players would steadily increase, reaching its peak after 24 hours.
But before those 24 hours were up, they would undoubtedly be relatively weak.
Qi Wub turned around, looking at the Abyss Players gradually awakening from their gaming pods in the laboratory. With the Abyss’s collapse, they were naturally forced to exit the game. As the Abyss’s power diffused, a complete Demonization from head to toe was about to begin!
The first Abyss Player to awaken – ID: CN Bai Zhu – was already beginning to sprout fine black scales. His appearance underwent a dramatic transformation, rapidly shifting towards his in-game avatar.
At this moment, Qi Wub suddenly understood what he needed to do. In the game, Abyss Players and Winter City Players were adversaries. But on Blue Star, their sole enemy was the Old Ones. Therefore, they had to unite. Even with a sense of reluctance, Qi Wub had to admit that the veteran Winter City Players had a higher ceiling than Abyss Players. Most importantly, the power of the Winter City Players could be reversed, but the Abyss Players could not. Having fallen into the Abyss, they had no way back. Whether to resist the Old Ones or preserve a spark of life, they had to help the Winter City Players at this juncture.
The Blue Star Will had vanished, and a new will was still in gestation. No one was there to guide him on what to do; everything was his decision. However, Qi Wub believed that both the Blue Star Will and his sister would approve of his actions.
With a quick surge of steps, he reached the monitoring console and powered up the computer. In less than half a minute, he exported the list of all veteran Winter City Players and, through the Demon King’s will, transmitted this list into the minds of all corrupted players across the world. The system was gone; he was now the core system!
Gazing at the fully demonized Abyss corrupted players, who had maintained basic rationality, Qi Wub issued his first and final mission:
“All Purifiers, heed my command!”
“Yes—”!
Qi Wub nodded solemnly. His phantom image, in the form of a Demon King, appeared in the minds of all Abyss Players, carrying absolute authority.
“I don’t need to elaborate on why you have awoken at this time or why you have separated from the Cain Abyss. You have already understood the relevant memories and situations. Now, immediately proceed to the addresses on the list, combining them with the locations of your respective Abyss branch bases, and commence rescue operations! Do not let the veteran Winter City Players be contaminated by the Old Ones. This is a matter of utmost urgency!”
Half a minute later, the gates of all Abyss Player bases swung open. A group of corrupted humans surged out like fierce tigers released from a cage.
Due to Blue Star’s lack of Cain World’s high-dimensional rules, the combat effectiveness of the Old Ones’ Retainers on Blue Star was greatly suppressed. However, the Abyss Players, under the influence of Abyss energy, were not weakened in the slightest. Wherever they went, the Old Ones’ Retainers were no match for them, collapsing with a single blow.
At this moment, all the dissatisfaction and grievances they had endured since joining the Cain Abyss were unleashed. However, time was of the essence. They knew that as the world synchronized, the combat power of the Old Ones’ Retainers would also increase, and it would not be as easy then. Thus, while eliminating Old Ones’ Retainers along the way, they also swiftly moved towards the living areas of Winter City Players, as per Qi Wub’s instructions.
All Winter City Players affected by the world synchronization power would emit an aura that was incongruous with the Blue Star world—a sense of discord that violated rules. It could be felt from a great distance, making it impossible to fail in finding them.
…
Meanwhile, CN Bai Zhu had received his mission list. An address and a familiar name appeared in his mind.
[Nobody Does Human Things]
“It’s this guy?” CN Bai Zhu’s lips twitched, and a memory surfaced. A ruined city. Roaring demon legions. In a corner amidst the crumbling ruins. Nobody Does Human Things leaned against a wall, his gaze deep. Sensing someone’s arrival, his cold eyes flickered upwards, and he said faintly, “You’re here?” When he was still naive, he thought Nobody Does Human Things was going to duel him. The knife in his hand was already itching for a fight, only for this scoundrel to pull out a flintlock pistol and perform an American draw! To be honest, he hadn’t encountered many players as cheap as him afterward.
“Boom!”
While lost in remembrance, the adjacent wall suddenly collapsed, and two cold spiders, the size of minivans, burst forth from the ruined wall. The leading cold spider held a half-eaten thigh wearing jeans in its mouth. Its sharp, slender forelimbs were already hooked around a girl who was continuously crying out for help. The limb had pierced through her chest, and with the spider’s rough movements, blood continuously seeped out, staining the girl’s white nightgown crimson.
CN Bai Zhu’s eyes narrowed. He drew the spinal sword from his back in a reverse motion and flashed to the cold spider’s front in a few steps. In the battles of the Abyss, he had learned countless combat techniques. Every swing of the sword was for survival, every forward movement was to kill the enemy, without any superfluous flourish. Previously, his physical condition had been insufficient to fully utilize his skills, but now, with this formidable demon body, he was invincible!
“Die for me!”
*Swish—*
A ghastly red sword light pierced through the two cold spiders diagonally, its momentum unabated. It even left deep sword marks on a building several dozen meters away. CN Bai Zhu leaped into the air, severing the limb that held the girl. He then turned, embraced the girl, and passed by the cold spiders. Behind him—the two cold spiders twitched slightly. Their bodies split in two amidst trembling and shaking.
