This Was a Mad War
After glancing at the messages constantly appearing on the World Channel, Su Luo gave a brief summary.
Everyone is transported to different places, has different tasks, and faces different scenarios, but they are generally suited to themselves. The [Great Beings ] behind them may be different, and there may be many [Great Beings ], but they are not qualified to know.
"Logically, I should also encounter Survivors from other worlds. Where are they? Other worlds within [Ten Thousand Worlds]? Or other islands?"
"This is completely different from the previous 'selection-trial-competition' model of the Survival System. The Survival System is more like a cold observer and enforcer of the elimination mechanism... [The Great Being] is really just pulling Survivors in to do the work. Is this stealing the Survival System's resources...?"
With a thought, Su Luo felt a low hum emanate from the silver-white Laboratory beneath her, and the outer shield shimmered with a faint light as it began to steadily sail towards the nearest star-studded island that emitted a stable blue-white glow.
On the distant islands, terrifying auras lingered, and strange starlight flowed across the heavens and earth.
An endless sea of stars, a magnificent and unknown world, is about to unfold.
Two days have passed since the major update of the game [Ten Thousand Worlds], and the entire human society of the Yuncang Star System is under complete and utter pressure.
In space, the fleet and unmanned wingmen belonging to the alliance, like a torrent of metal cascading down, forcibly occupied the airspace above every major city and strategic port, imposing military control.
Street clashes, terrorist attacks targeting infrastructure, regional open rebellions... the veneer of civilization is easily torn away, revealing the restless instincts beneath.
A large orbital space station lost control during a frenzied attack by an extremist group. Trailing a long fiery tail, it crashed down on the continent below like a child urinating from a rooftop, stirring up a cloud of dust that blotted out the sky.
In deep space, some motherships silently started their engines, sent out unintelligible identification signals to the fleet's blockade line, and then headed without looking back into the deeper darkness beyond the star system.
Due to media reports and the release of documents that were initially censored but were later discovered to simply have their backgrounds blacked out: the truth behind World Progress and version updates, the strangeness of [Ten Thousand Worlds], and the non-existence of servers...
Information and speculation that were originally impossible to spread were now flying everywhere, and the various behemoths of the Yuncang Union seemed to tacitly approve of the dissemination of this information.
First is [World Progress], an Attribute that silently increases on the panel of every [Ten Thousand Worlds] player, but no one knows what it means.
However, after the version update, its percentage increased directly from over 17% to 25%, which is directly related to the version update. Furthermore, the operator of [Ten Thousand Worlds] has never appeared, and the strange reaction from the world's higher-ups...
And then there's the unreasonable level of realism and zero latency of [Ten Thousand Worlds].
From planets on the edge of galaxies to planets near Fixed Stars, even light takes more than two hours to travel. How can the game [Ten Thousand Worlds] have zero latency?
Furthermore, the computer technology of the Yuncang Civilization is extremely advanced. All the well-known large server companies are located near Yuncang Star, making a massive energy supply essential.
So, where is the server for [Ten Thousand Worlds], which boasts the most advanced technology, the strongest realism, and the best servers...?
However, all this chaos, panic, and betrayal had no direct connection to Nanmen Shi anymore.
The physical body has been loaded onto a dedicated high-speed transport ship and is heading towards the Fixed Star of the Yuncang Star System — Yuncang Star.
Yes, the Yuncang Civilization was not named after the planet that nurtured them, but after Fixed Star.
Civilizations need a point of reference to define themselves. For example, before Su Luo Crossing, she called herself a human from Little Broken Ball, but after another thousand years of development, she called herself a human from the Sun System.
Nanmen Shi struggled to remove the training equipment from his hands, then looked down and asked a question to the man beside him who was constantly sending text messages.
"Um... Captain, after today, are we going to conquer the world?"
The captain he referred to exuded a menacing aura and had a cold, stern face, but that wasn't the reason why Nanmen Shi dared not look up at him.
Moreover, the person before him was a pillar of his nation, a top player in the game "Ten Thousand Worlds"Legendary "Sea God rank and reached level 93. He was a figure of great honor and had created countless Ten Thousand Worlds in the Legendary.
It is said that its fist can shatter mountains, its speed can surpass the Lock-On of conventional weapons, and its individual strength is enough to pierce through the formation of a small fleet head-on.
The power system in "Ten Thousand Worlds" is complex. From Lv.1 to Lv.80, the power paths of each system are very different, and the names of the ranks are bizarre and varied.
However, once they cross the threshold of Lv.80, they all enter the "Legendary" realm. Even in the vast world of "Ten Thousand Worlds", a person of this rank is a figure who can occupy a place and whose name can be spread far and wide.
As for whether there are even more ethereal levels beyond "Legendary," that is not a realm that Nanmen Shi is qualified to explore at present.
But it's still not a big deal; in reality, everyone's fate is as fragile as a single bullet.
However, Nanmen Shi was told two days ago that "Ten Thousand Worlds" is not a game, and its rules and power are rapidly merging with reality. When the boundaries completely disappear, everything that the 'players' have will become everything that is reality.
There's no need to believe it; Nanmen Shi's only value lies in his powerful Talent. All he needs to do is follow orders.
This is what the man in front of him said to him personally.
After the update of "Ten Thousand Worlds", the mandatory opening of "Yuncang World" to all players is First Ring of this massive plan that spares no expense - from billions of users, it is a brutal but efficient way to select those with special Talents, like panning for gold in the sand, just to increase the chances of winning.
All preparations had been made before the upheaval began. Nanmen Shi only needed to make his contribution in this war to become a great hero.
"What kind of war is this...?" Nanmen Shi asked another question hesitantly.
The man shifted his gaze from the floating light screen in front of him, and for the first time, looked directly at Nanmen Shi with eyes that seemed to hold the weight of countless battles. His gaze was as heavy as a mountain, making Nanmen Shi almost unable to breathe.
"This is a war against aggression," he stated calmly, presenting an official narrative, "We were forced to take up arms to defend our homeland."
"This is also a just war."
"But ultimately, it's a mad war. It's gambling the Fate of an entire civilization on the margins of the virtual and real worlds, on a group of 'players'... There's nothing more insane than this."
Unexpectedly, the captain said a lot.
"Without further ado, the expedition is starting ahead of schedule. Let's get to training."
Nanmen Shi nodded silently, glanced longingly at the prosperous and beautiful [Yuncang World], and accepted the world invitation from [Yuncang 21st Expeditionary Army (Private Domain)].
[Entering world node: Yuncang 21st Expeditionary Army (Private Domain)... Consciousness loading...]
The familiar sense of detachment washed over me, heavier than ever before, as if I were not just switching game servers, but crossing some kind of irreversible boundary.