Chapter 2: New Century (Epilogue)
The King of Winter (Xi Wei) felt refreshed after teasing the Little Maid.
He turned and headed towards the barracks in the castle’s Backyard. Many Players were still awake, bidding farewell to (Player Name) (M) with reluctant affection. Xi Wei happened to run into them. However, Xi Wei didn’t approach (Player Name) (M). At this moment, (Player Name) was feeling emotional. There were limits to teasing people; one shouldn’t go too far.
He wondered how Yan and Azure- were doing. By this time, they should be preparing for egg-laying . . .
Speak of the devil.
The System notification chimed in at that very moment:
[Ding! Detected that your subordinate Player “Yan” is violating the System’s privacy regulations. Do you want to intercept this behavior?]
As expected of the omnipotent Players, they could do whatever they pleased in the game, couldn’t they? Xi Wei was dumbfounded. Humans cannot, at least they should not . . . He had merely guessed, and it had actually become a reality.
It seemed he was the only one who could save Yan. After all, if Yan could not rise to the occasion, the Azure- wouldn’t force the issue, would they?
“System, I have a question. Was Yan willing, or was it forced?” This question was very serious. It would determine Xi Wei’s final judgment.
The System was silent for a moment before replying:
[Forced.]
“Alright, then there’s no need to stop it.” Xi Wei shook his head in disappointment.
The world is changing, and people’s hearts are not what they used to be! Yan, facing the Azure- under duress, was able to muster full strength. Was this the destruction of human nature? Or the collapse of morality!? All this simply proved that Yan himself was not right. At least, normal humans would absolutely not act like this when facing the Azure-. Except for Indians. Therefore, Yan ≈ Indian.
Since this was the case, Xi Wei chose to fulfill their love.
“Enjoy this night. We set off for battle tomorrow. I hope that when we return next time, Winter Fort will have many winged Azure-s . . .” Xi Wei sighed, his azure eyes filled with blessings and emotion. As a King, what he looked forward to most was a prosperous and peaceful nation, wasn’t it? Every new life was an affirmation of him! Truly, he was too great.
As Xi Wei pondered, he strode to the entrance of the Star Mage Tower. This time, he planned to use all his Villain Points, except for a necessary reserve, to exchange for Star Magus.
“Your Majesty! I am here!” The bald blacksmith Enzo had been waiting nearby for a long time. As soon as he saw Xi Wei, he walked over with his standard service smile. He smiled at the Players like this every day. He smiled as he handed over the dregs of failed equipment crafting to the Players, and he smiled as he gave them equipment from a hundred consecutive draws that were all Normal or Fine Grade. Now, smiling had become his habit, even turning into a Player meme – “Enzo’s Smile (JPG)”. A picture of Enzo’s smiling face was photoshopped onto a pile of shattered equipment. Whenever a Player was about to ask Enzo for equipment draws, their friends would always send them this meme. In short, System NPCs always prioritized service.
“The materials you require are ready.” Xi Wei followed the sound. In the open space near the Star Mage Tower, Fine Grade staffs had been piled up like small hills. Actually, summoning a Star Magus wasn’t expensive. It only cost 5,000 Villain Points. The main expense was the materials. Although many of the materials were prepared by Xi Wei himself, the average cost per Star Magus had reached 8,000 Villain Points. Exchanging all the Villain Points he had accumulated now would yield at most fifty-odd Star Magus. Together with the previously recruited Star Magus, they could form a proper hundred-man Mage Regiment. This force was already considered elite on the North Continent battlefield. They could collectively channel larger amounts of magic essence, thereby unleashing terrifying forbidden spells. They were a Sword of Damocles that the enemy had to eliminate first.
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Meanwhile, on the first layer of the Abyss plane.
“Charge! Take down this Horned Demon tribe, and I promise you will be as strong as these Horned Demons tomorrow!” Qi Wub roared hoarsely, brandishing his sanguine longsword high. Behind him, Abyss Players clad in demon armor, wielding various weapons, charged forward one after another. It was as if the tribe before them was not a dangerous Horned Demon tribe, but a village of widows waiting to be ravaged by a “Cao Cao”.
The flow of time in the Abyss was faster than in the main material plane. Compared to a while ago, Qi Wub and the Players had undergone many changes. First were the Demon Wings. Using the cells of Flom combined with the blood of other demons, they had fully activated demon wings for their subordinate Players. These wings were very different from Flom’s, looking somewhat similar to Angel wings, but they were gray in color.
Next was the armor. Qi Wub did not use the abilities granted by the Blue Star Will to directly enhance his strength. He took a different approach, embarking on his own path of Bio-modification. Before, it was just minor tweaks. After receiving the tacit approval of the Blue Star Will, everything became simpler. He used a small amount of energy and materials from demons to strengthen certain parts of his body, the price he paid being extreme pain during the modification. Now, all the Abyss Players had completely changed. Although their appearance was still ugly and ferocious, their towering stature, developed muscles, and sharp horns curving on both sides of their heads exuded the majestic bearing of high-ranking demons.
Demon modification must involve pain; the pain receptors had to be fully opened. This was naturally unacceptable to the Players. To ensure that every Abyss Player was willing to accept such modifications, Qi Wub requested the Blue Star Will to strip the Players’ wills at the start of the modification, inject his will, bear the pain of the modification himself, and fully activate the modified bodies. After the modification was complete, their wills would be reinjected. This way, Players didn’t have to experience the pain, and only needed to gather enough materials and pay some of their Experience Points to complete a “Class Change”. Their current profession was called [Purifier].
Purifying the Abyss was the first step. Purifying the main material plane would be the second step.
“Blood!”
“Slaughter!”
The Abyss Players roared with bloodshot eyes. Their levels had generally reached level forty. The harsh environment of the Abyss allowed them to level up rapidly; every day was spent either killing monsters or on the way to kill monsters.
“Unbearable.” CN Bai Zhu discarded the Horned Demon’s head he had torn off, spitting disdainfully. Half a month ago, he would have had to skirt around these Horned Demons. Now, he was their father!
[Combat has ended. Detected a creature approaching outside the game pod. Log out of the game?]
A System prompt appeared in CN Bai Zhu’s sanguine vision. He frowned. Looking at the messy, bloody battlefield around him, he had killed enough anyway, and there was nothing left to kill, so he chose to log out.
“Xiao Luo, it’s time to eat. Mom made your favorite sweet and sour pork ribs today.” His mother’s gentle voice reached his ears, but CN Bai Zhu felt a wave of irritation in his heart.
“I told you! Don’t bother me when I’m playing games! I’m busy. Isn’t the money I earn from games enough for this family?!”
“Why are you bothering me?! Are you sick?!”
His mother, startled by her son’s ferocious gaze, stammered and her eyes instantly welled up with tears.
“You… Xiao Luo, how can you talk to Mom like this… You weren’t like this before…”
Wiping away her tears, his mother wondered when her son had become like this. He didn’t eat or drink, surviving solely on the game nutrient pod. He barely left his room for a month. It was true that he earned a lot of money for the family. But she still wished for her son to return to his old self. It was all because of this game.
Her mother’s heart hardened, and she was about to pull the plug on the nutrient pod. However, this action completely enraged CN Bai Zhu. He let out a low growl, a red light flashed in his eyes, and he raised a hand, slapping his own mother hard.
