Destruction and Protection

The confrontation between the village chief and Balu left the surrounding players dumbfounded.

What was going on?

NPCs in this game could interact with each other? That was way too intelligent.

As expected of a groundbreaking virtual reality online game. It really was incredible.

One quick-witted player had a sudden realization and said, "I get it. Night Roaming God must have discovered the village chief's betrayal, which is why he came back to confront him face-to-face."

The crowd suddenly understood and exclaimed in realization.

Some players even praised him. "I knew Night Roaming God wouldn't fight a battle he wasn't sure of winning."

Someone beside him mercilessly exposed him. "When the guards moved in just now, you were the fastest one to retreat."

Other players were thinking a step further.

It was obvious that they had entered a storyline. What were they supposed to do?

One player gripped his short blade, pondering what pose he should use to slash the village chief to death later.

On the other side, facing Balu's questioning, the village chief knew he could no longer clear himself of suspicion. He simply gave up pretending, covered his forehead, and burst into laughter. "I never imagined that my painstaking plan of ten years would be ruined by an outsider!"

After saying that, he lovingly kissed the Baron's Heart in his hand, his face filled with obsession. "Master, I will avenge you now!"

Ugh~

All the players shuddered.

One hot-tempered player charged forward and cursed, "I'll beat you to death, you old freak!"

Qin Chuan quietly took two steps back.

These people clearly had no idea how formidable the village chief was.

The thought had barely surfaced when the village chief's expression turned vicious. His body began to swell, stretching his clothes taut as he sneered at the charging players. "If you want to die so badly, I'll grant your wish!"

"Blood Arrow!"

Splat.

A crimson arrow shot from the village chief's palm and easily pierced the player's head.

Thud.

The player fell to the ground and turned into white light, heading for the Respawn Point.

With fanaticism on his face, the village chief laughed wildly. "With such powerful strength, what can you possibly use to resist me?"

Whoosh.

A figure charged forward.

It was Captain Balu of the guard squad.

The next second, Balu spat out blood and was sent flying back.

By then, the village chief had already torn away his human Camouflage and revealed his mutated true form.

His skin had turned purplish-black, with bulging veins crisscrossing his body.

Not only that, the village chief had undergone a second growth spurt, transforming from a short old man under five foot seven into a giant nearly ten feet tall.

This was the power the village chief had gained by pledging himself to the Blood Clan.

Captain Balu lay on the ground, unable to rise, grief in his eyes.

How could they possibly resist such a powerful monster?

Was the village going to be destroyed today?

No!

Captain Balu forced himself to stand and looked at the players, his tone pleading. "Adventurers, please help our village!"

The village chief was unwilling to be outdone. In a bewitching tone, he said, "Otherworlders, do you wish to possess this kind of power?"

At the same time, every player present received a game notification.

"Ding, you have triggered the special quest—Destruction and Protection. Please make your choice carefully."

"Choice One: Assist the village chief in destroying the village. Reward: Basic Vampire Factor (initially gain Blood Clan abilities and increase attributes). Please note: Do not let others discover your Blood Clan identity."

"Choice Two: Assist Captain Balu in eliminating the village chief and protecting the village. Reward: Fame Points x10."

Judging from the quest rewards alone, the second option was far inferior to the first.

Fame Points sounded useful, but players had yet to discover their true purpose at this stage. It was better to choose the more practical attribute boost.

In fact, in Qin Chuan's previous life, some players had thought the same way and made that choice.

But Qin Chuan knew that once they chose to join the Blood Clan, they would never be able to escape.

The reason he had brought so many players along to do this quest so publicly was to keep as many people as possible from falling into that trap.

As he pondered, the surrounding players had already started discussing it.

"Holy shit, there really is a hidden quest! Night Roaming God didn't lie to us."

"I've always said Night Roaming God is my idol. Do you believe me now?"

"So what's the difference between these two options?"

"Yeah, the second choice seems kind of useless, but choosing the first doesn't seem to fit mainstream values."

"Why are we wasting time thinking about it? Ask Great God Night Roaming God."

"You know what? You're right. That makes perfect sense."

The players reached a consensus and all turned inquisitive gazes toward Qin Chuan.

Qin Chuan did not hide anything and said bluntly, "Although the choice is yours, I still recommend the second option. As far as I know, Fame Points will be more useful after leaving the Newbie Village. Otherwise, why would the game specifically set up a separate ranking for it?"

After thinking it over, everyone felt that made sense.

So far, Apocalypse had only opened two rankings.

The Level Rankings and the Fame Rankings.

That was enough to show the importance of Fame Points.

However, some players raised objections. "Great God Night Roaming God, even if Fame Points are useful, ten points probably won't have much effect, right? The first option at least increases attributes."

Some players chimed in agreement.

Qin Chuan did not explain. Instead, he said domineeringly, "Depending on your choice, this quest will divide players into different factions. There will be on-site PvP. I'll choose the second option. Think it over yourselves."

Qin Chuan's meaning was obvious.

Whoever dared choose the first option would be making an enemy of him. As long as he was here, they could forget about destroying the village and completing the quest.

The name Night Roaming God still carried considerable intimidation.

Quite a few players indignantly declared that they would definitely help Captain Balu kill that traitorous village chief!

They hated traitors more than anything.

But a few players thought the village chief looked so imposing and powerful that he might have some hidden method to kill Night Roaming God.

Truth was in the hands of the few!

With that in mind, they quietly chose the first option and prepared to hide among the crowd until they found an opportunity to act.

To their utter surprise, the moment they made their choice, crimson specks of light flew from the village chief and accurately entered their bodies.

The surrounding players took one look.

Well, well, so you bastards wanted to cause trouble.

Brothers, give them a warm welcome!

Qin Chuan naturally took the lead, raising his hand and instantly killing a player who had joined the Blood Clan with a flying knife.

Then Poison Blood Plague erupted, taking even more Blood Clan players with it.

In the Newbie Village, skills normally had no damage distinction.

Only under special circumstances like this would there be a distinction between friend and foe.

Qin Chuan did not need to worry about Poison Blood Plague harming innocent players.

Even without the Sniper God bonus, Qin Chuan's attributes allowed Poison Blood Plague to deal 1,180 damage. That was no small amount.

At this stage, players generally only had two to three hundred health. They could not withstand it at all.

In an instant, poisonous blood flowed everywhere, leaving the Blood Clan players wailing in misery and regretting their decision.

This crappy game was way too underhanded. How could it mark their choice so obviously?

Did they not have even the slightest right to privacy?

And this had actually been part of Qin Chuan's plan.

Choice One had specifically warned them not to let others discover their Blood Clan identity.

If players had turned in the quest by themselves, outsiders naturally would not know whether they had joined the Blood Clan.

But Qin Chuan had struck at the root of the problem, laying everything out in the open.

That way, players who joined the Blood Clan had nowhere to hide.

Although this was still the game's early stage, instantly killing them would not have much impact.

But their identities had already been exposed. When they teamed up with other players later, those players would receive a notification.

[Please note: A Blood Clan infiltrator has joined the party]

With that, what normal player would still be willing to play with them? It could effectively suppress Blood Clan players.

Qin Chuan did not expect to completely eliminate the Blood Clan's infiltration, but reducing some of the future danger was something he could easily do.