The Cheaters We've Met Over the Years

[Regional channel]

While the echoes of the system announcement had yet to fade, the sudden changes to the regional level and kill rankings were like a ladle of cold water thrown into a pot of boiling oil, setting the channel off in an instant.

[Kill rankings]

[top 3—Su Luo]

[Level rankings]

[top 4—Su Luo: level 3 (35%)]

The name seemed to have a magic of its own, leaving almost every survivor watching the rankings briefly stunned at the same moment.

[?]

[??]

[???]

[...You turned on cheats?]

[Su Luo? You...]

[Come on, man. We usually just say that, but you actually did it?]

Question marks flooded the channel for a full half minute before giving way to exclamations of astonishment.

Ye Xu refreshed the rankings out of habit, wanting to see how much he had narrowed the gap with Song Shige, when he suddenly saw how Su Luo's level had shot up.

Ye Xu's eyelids twitched uncontrollably, and an indescribable irritation and suspicion surged through him:

"He didn't have any resources. How did he do it?"

"Could it be..." A thought that deeply unsettled him surfaced. "Fuck... Could this guy be a cheater too?! And he's hidden it even better than I have?!"

About thirty minutes later, an analysis post with an exceptionally eye-catching title was pushed to the forum's front page. The poster was clearly an expert at gathering information and reasoning.

[[In-depth analysis] The cheaters we've met over the years (an incomplete list)]

The post wasted no words at the start, immediately proving in detail that Su Luo had not previously been on the rankings. Before Su Luo's name appeared, the thousandth-ranked person on the level rankings had been level 2 (3%).

Just moments ago, Su Luo had suddenly appeared on the rankings, leaping straight to level 3 (35%). That meant Su Luo had gained an enormous amount of experience in an extremely short time, enough to jump several levels.

Working backward from the experience rewards for killing monsters of different levels and the experience penalty mechanism, the most reasonable explanation was that he had killed a level 4 monster on his own or instantly killed a group of level 3 monsters!

Rather than believing he had instantly killed a group of monsters, the poster was more inclined to think Su Luo had somehow killed a level 4 monster.

[As shown above, a low-level fighter taking down a higher-level opponent. If that isn't cheating, what is?]

[The levels in our Survival System are more rigidly ranked than the hierarchy over by the Ganges... You should know that even a small advantage in attributes lets you thrash your opponent. Every level a monster gains gives it at least two more total attribute points, and then there are skills...]

[My prosthetic eye can see it clearly. Verdict: cheats!]

[The second cheater: Ye Xu. This guy is practically playing with his cards on the table. Based on the types, quantities, and listing times of the items he's put on the trading house, it's basically confirmed that his talent effect is: every day, it randomly multiplies the quantity of one item he already owns by a thousand. A classic resource cheat: simple, brutal, and impossible to counter.]

[The third cheater: Song Shige. Former military, the Mutual Aid Association's ace fighter, and a model held up by the authorities. According to reliable sources, his three initial attributes were all close to 7, making him the pinnacle of modern humanity.]

[His talent is called [Demon-Seeking]. Its exact effects are unknown, but an analysis of the Mutual Aid Association's promotional video shows: first, it can significantly boost basic attributes, with a temporary strength increase estimated at +2 at minimum; second, it has an utterly ridiculous damage-reduction mechanism]

[The fourth: Jing Yunxin. She's rather unusual, a rare top-tier support. Her talent is related to healing... It's said her skill effects might involve resurrection!]

[...]

The lengthy post listed seven "cheaters" in all, each backed by solid evidence or under strong suspicion. Apart from Jing Yunxin, every one of them ranked in the top ten on either the kill or level rankings. The poster also admitted that there were surely more people with exceptionally powerful talents who kept a low profile or hid themselves extremely well and had yet to be discovered.

Replies to the post quickly multiplied.

[What about me? Where's my cheat? System, get out here! Did you forget to give me mine?!]

[Didn't that voice say "relatively fair" at the beginning? Why do they get cheats...]

[What kind of cheat does Su Luo have, anyway? Analyze that for us, OP! He even lost his Sanctuary. Surely it can't be a "get stronger by losing your Sanctuary" cheat, right?]

[Maybe he found one a long time ago...]

[Coach! I want to learn this!]

[By the way, does anyone have Boss Su Luo's contact information? Urgent, urgent, urgent! I'll pay!]

[Heh, nothing but a bunch of clowns. So what if they're strong early on? The one who laughs last is the winner!]

The survivor who posted that last comment had the ID [Gao Fu].

After posting it, Gao Fu rolled over contentedly on his incomparably luxurious level 3 bed, which was covered in soft animal hides, and settled into a more comfortable position.

Someone replied to him immediately.

[You're so damn salty.]

[Hello, what's your rank? How come I haven't seen you on the rankings?]

[A loser who's never even made the rankings has the nerve to talk about other people?]

[Sour grapes.]

Gao Fu looked at the replies and snorted disdainfully, the sound echoing through his empty, rudimentary Sanctuary:

"These clowns really treat the rankings like their own fathers. Does being on the rankings make you that strong?"

Even so, Gao Fu was still a little annoyed. He rolled out of the luxurious bed.

[Ding! You have finished sleeping. Sleep duration: 13 hours, 11 minutes]

[Calculating...]

[You have received: [Meditation] experience points ×3,900, [Basic Swordsmanship] experience points ×3,900, [Body-Strengthening Art] experience points ×3,900]

Looking at the experience piled up on the panel, Gao Fu smiled, took out some food, and ate while upgrading his skills.

"Hmph, once I've mastered my divine arts, maxed out all my skills, and pushed my attributes to the limit, I'll go out and shut these clowns up!"

He patted the luxurious bed beneath him that brought him unlimited power, then looked at his personal panel, which could be called "luxurious." For a moment, he felt a powerful urge to rush straight out of the shelter, slaughter everything in his path, and prove himself.

"No, no! Calm down! Gao Fu, you need to calm down!" He took a deep breath and warned himself, "Keep a low profile! I have to keep a low profile! I can get stronger safely just by lying down, so why would I be stupid enough to go out and risk my life fighting? What a huge loss that would be!"

His gaze returned to the source of his ability to live out his days in safety, there in his talent slot:

[Talent: Dream Master:

Effect 1: You can summon an upgradable special bed that belongs solely to you.

Effect 2: When you fall asleep lying on the special bed, you can gain skill experience points, etc... Current special bed level: 3. Effect: Can accommodate three skills, each gaining 300 experience points per hour...

Level 4 special bed requires 1,000 cumulative hours of sleep. Current progress: 115/1,000 hours]

Gao Fu continued eating. To quickly level up his skills and increase his attributes, he had already prioritized maxing out a skill that accelerated digestion.

"Three hours is enough for me to use up the experience I just earned and add the attribute points," Gao Fu calculated. "Then I'll sleep straight through until the Monster Tide starts! Perfect!"

Though he was certain that, once he made a move, reaching the top ranks would be as easy as reaching into his pocket, he had no intention whatsoever of acting on it.

Wouldn't going out to grind monsters be a waste of his talent?

Meanwhile, on the boundless darkness, Song Shige had just smashed a level 4 monster to pieces with a single Explosive Flame. Feeling his experience bar jump by another large chunk, he put away his burning horse-slaying saber with satisfaction.

"Huh? Consultant Su made the rankings too?" Song Shige suddenly spotted the familiar name on the rankings.

"So Consultant Su is that strong too!"

"But it's all thanks to Consultant Su's extra help. Otherwise, I wouldn't have mastered it so quickly. If we get to meet, I have to thank him properly in person!"