The Guide

"GM Key..."

As I gazed at the golden orb in the Initiator's palm, my thoughts began to race.

"Ding Han..."

The Initiator gave a wry smile, "Don't even think about it. GM Key and Player Key can't coexist... You players who were sucked into the Star Abyss using CD keys were bound to Player Key the moment you entered. Those who already possess Player Key can't possibly possess GM Key. Even if I gave you the key, you couldn't pick it up..."

"Yeah?"

I raised the Power Sword with both hands, as if to cleave the Initiator in two.

He cried again, his whole body trembling. "I'm telling the truth. If I could trade, I'd rather be a player. At least I could learn skills and improve myself with equipment..."

"So..."

I asked again, "Is there any way to return to reality?"

"I really don't know..."

The Initiator let out a wail. "If you really don't believe me, you might as well just kill me!"

"Whoosh!"

Before he could finish speaking, a whooshing sound came from behind him!

I instinctively activated the Step Slash to move aside, and with a "whoosh," a section of blood-red bone spear pierced through the spot where I had just been standing, directly penetrating the Initiator's body and pinning him to the wall behind him.

"Puff..."

The Initiator coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes filled with despair.

"Ding Han, save me... save me..."

"Feel sorry."

My gaze remained indifferent. There was truly no way to save him. The Spirit Slayer had already stormed in, its body enveloped in mist. It instantly surged more than ten meters forward, opened its blood-red maw, and with a "crunch," bit and swallowed the Initiator's head!

Immediately afterwards, the Spirit Slayer's gaze fell on the golden sphere of light in the Initiator's palm, and his eyes were filled with greed. He stuck out his tongue and licked it, easily swallowing the GM Key!

"Gulp~~~"

The next second, the Spirit Slayer emitted light, and its body tissues rapidly hardened, as if it had entered an evolutionary process!

'Holy crap, no way...'

I held the Phase Teleportation Core in my hand, watching the unbelievable scene unfold before me.

In just a few seconds, the Spirit Slayer's size increased by at least 30%, and the name above its head slowly changed from orange to cyan... It actually evolved and upgraded?!

A sudden ding-dong sound shattered my hopes of a solo kill.

[Attention! The Spirit Slayer has absorbed and fused with a large amount of energy, successfully evolving into: An Immortal-grade BOSS!]

'Depend on...'

I frowned. In the BOSS ranking system of <Star Abyss>, purple is Epic, orange is Legendary, and the next level, cyan, is Immortal!

This Spirit Slayer not only evolved into Cyan BOSS, but also gained an additional evolved form, making it impossible to fight!

Furthermore, the opponent's rank was so high that I couldn't even see the attributes of Spirit Slayer; all I could see was a string of "???". This was a friendly reminder from the system: since it was just a string of question marks, there was no need to challenge it, lest I humiliate myself!

"Roar~~~"

The successfully evolved Spirit Slayer turned to look at me, a sinister smile on its lips. Suddenly, its body sank, and it flew over at an unimaginable speed, several sharp claws aimed straight at my hand, as if to cut off my hand first to prevent me from using the Phase Teleportation Core!

Good heavens, after evolving, even their intelligence has increased to such a terrifying level!

"Boom!"

With a burst of energy, I used an Explosive Charge to teleport 40 yards, then raised my hand and threw a Dragon Binding Rope at the opponent. Without further hesitation, I decisively crushed the Phase Teleportation Core in my hand!

"Whoosh!"

His body was enveloped by a powerful force field, followed by a particle teleportation effect. In the blink of an eye, he left Dawn Fortress. When he opened his eyes again, he was already somewhere in the Frigid Tundra. A cold wind was blowing, and in the distance, a snow antelope was rooting through the snow to eat the grass underneath.

Just then, the bell rang again.

[It is with great regret that, after a fierce battle, despite everyone's best efforts, the "The Initiator" was killed, resulting in the failure of the "Dawn Fortress" (S-class Main Quest)! Please do not be sad, all players, our journey continues. Although the "The Initiator" is gone, hope remains!]

"Damn, what's going on?"

Within the star map, a player's voice echoed, "How could the Initiator die? He wasn't... he wasn't a GM, wasn't he the Administrator? How could he die?"

"I don't know..."

Someone quickly responded, "Is it possible that the Initiator' isn't actually a GM, but just an NPC guiding players? In some games we've played before, NPCs aren't invincible; they can be killed by enemy units. I guess that's how the Initiator' died."

"Indeed, the Initiator this should have been so strong that he shouldn't have died so easily."

"Holy crap, the Initiator is dead! Where are the players in Huaining City going to get quests now?"

"Who knows? Let's just take it one step at a time. If there are no administrators, we'll all really become wilderness players."

"Boss?"

At that moment, Cai Cai's voice came through the Team Channel: "Do you know the specifics of the Initiator's death?"

"I know a little."

I frowned. "Killed by a fourth-tier demon spirit. Damn, luckily I activated a Phase Teleportation Core beforehand, otherwise I probably would have died at the hands of a fourth-tier demon spirit too."

"Damn, that's dangerous..."

The fat man asked, "Ding Han, where are you now?"

"The random teleportation has been completed. We'll return to the Teleportation Array now. Don't think too much about it; turn back immediately. This mission is over. As I was leaving, I saw that the fourth-tier demon spirit has advanced to the fifth tier. It's now Cyan BOSS, capable of instantly killing current players. Area 16 is no longer safe. You guys need to leave quickly."

"Good!"

A few hours later, after traversing mountains and valleys, we returned to the Teleportation Array that led to Huaining City. Stepping into the Teleportation Array, we arrived at the Player Black Market and finally felt a little at ease.

"Ding Han!"

Ahead, he immediately spotted Gun Like a Dragon, Xu Tian, and a group of the Crimson Firmament Alliance members. Xu Tian stepped forward and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

"Fine."

I frowned and greeted Ruolin, Cai Cai, and the others.

"Shall we chat later?" Gun Like a Dragon said.

"OK!"

So, I sent Cai Cai, Fatty, and the others away first, and then I went into a Tea Room in the black market with Gun Like a Dragon and Xu Tian.

"Ding Han..."

"Before the base was destroyed, I saw you and the Initiator fall into the underground fissure of the base. What happened after that? The Initiator was so strong, how did he die?" Gun Like a Dragon.

"Yes..."

Xu Tian asked, "In the past, when dealing with alien species, insect swarms, and Dark Tide, the Initiator was like God Descended to earth, as if there was nothing he couldn't handle. What happened this time? How did he die?"

"That's a long story."

I pondered for a moment and said, "After falling to the ground, the Metal Devourer's water-cooling system was shattered, proving my conjecture was correct. Later, the furnace on the Metal Devourer's chest overloaded and exploded, but the Bio-energy from the explosion actually attracted an orange-tier fourth-order demon spirit named Spirit Slayer."

"Spirit Slayer..."

Gun Like a Dragon, his brow furrowed. "And then... and then what?"

"The Spirit Slayer devoured the essence of the Metal Devourer and brought many minions with him. The situation was extremely dangerous. I did my best to cover the Initiator. I fought against more than a dozen demon spirits by myself, but I couldn't protect him. Later, we rushed into the isolation room of the underground base together, but the Spirit Slayer still broke in, killed the Initiator with a bone spear, and devoured the Initiator's GM Key."

"What?!"

Gun Like a Dragon was shocked. "You... you've seen the GM Key too?"

"Um."

I nodded. "You've seen it before too?"

"That's right."

"One day, I drank too much with the Initiator Gun Like a Dragon. He said he always considered me one of his own. Probably to win people over, he showed me what the GM Key looked like. I never expected... that something like the GM Key would be swallowed by a demon spirit."

"Yes..."

I took a deep breath and said, "It's possible that the GM Key is an energy entity capable of combining with biological genes, and in <Star Abyss>, the demon spirits are designed to devour all Bio-energy. The GM Key, like the furnace material of the Metal Devourer, is also Bio-energy, so it was devoured."

"And then what?"

Xu Tian asked, "How did you escape?"

"After consuming the GM Key, the Spirit Slayer evolved into a Cyan BOSS. Knowing I was no match for it, I simply used a Phase Teleportation Core to escape."

I looked at the two of them and said, "The Initiator is dead. Hasn't that immediately disrupted the Crimson Firmament Alliance's plans?"

"Really."

Xu Tian said, "Before, we were all focused on the Initiator. He would issue quests, we would collect rewards, and we would continuously improve the guild's strength. Now that the Initiator is dead, all the players in Huaining City seem to have suddenly become leaderless."

"Luckily, I don't rely on the Initiator to distribute daily tasks."

I felt a slight sense of relief.

Gun Like a Dragon, and Xu Tian smiled faintly, each lost in thought, each with their own thoughts.

"Knock knock~~~"

Just then, someone knocked on the door.

"Who?"

"Worldly Uncontested"

Come in.

The next moment, Worldly Uncontested strode in, spotted me immediately, and greeted me warmly with a smile, "Ding Han, you're here too..."

"Hmm, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Just now, after hearing the news of the Initiator's death, a new administrator emerged from the Teleportation Array, saying he was going to take over the player organization in Huaining City. His name is the Guide, and I just found out that he was the one who summoned me."

"What?"

The Gun Like a Dragon, and Xu Tian and his companion stood up in shock.

Let's go.

"Let's go take a look together, Ding Han, do you want to come?" said the Worldly Uncontested.

"Okay, I'll go take a look too."

In the Player Black Market basement, a large group of players had already gathered in front of the huge Teleportation Array.

A middle-aged man in a cloak stood tall, a faint smile playing on his lips, and said, "The death of the Initiator is indeed regrettable, so my superiors sent me to Huaining City. All players currently without a login can come here to collect a CD key. After re-entering it, you can join our family!"

Many players' eyes lit up.

I frowned, turned around, and left the underground teleportation point.