Campus Riot, Heaven and Earth Society

Xie Antong nodded. After all, if she wanted others to trust her, she had come to Lu Ce precisely to find someone trustworthy in the early stages of the game. She saw no need to hide anything in a matter like this.

"The proportions of the four game difficulties... that's hard to say. I can't give you exact figures."

"But it's obvious that the higher the difficulty, the smaller the proportion. Most games are still Normal and Hard."

"Even Normal isn't easy. Once you reach Hard, casualties start becoming common."

"And Nightmare and Hell... they really mean exactly what they say!"

"At that point, it's no longer a game—or rather, it's no longer about clearing stages. It's about finding a way to stay alive!"

By then, Xie Antong's voice had dwindled to a whisper, and her face had gone pale.

After all, she was only a senior high school girl. She had lived a sheltered life and had never faced life and death head-on.

"Oh, right, there are also the types of games."

"At the same difficulty level, there are all sorts of games—many different kinds."

"But some games do repeat. Every game probably has many identical instances, with different players taking part in them."

"Like the video I showed you earlier. I saw another group of ten players encounter the exact same game."

"The game footage... I didn't keep watching..."

"In that instance, there was no top-tier player like the Masked Man. Everyone was relatively ordinary."

"I'm afraid... none of them survived!"

Xie Antong swallowed. Just thinking about that scene made her shudder.

"So Chosen Paradise is, to a large extent, a game of luck."

"If you get assigned a Hell instance, it really is a dead end. The people who entered the same instance as the Masked Man basically got a second chance at life."

"But such a cruel and realistic game will inevitably produce a group of top-tier experts capable of changing the world."

Lu Ce listened and nodded lightly. He did not care much about the danger. In his view, the higher the difficulty, the greater the rewards!

The opportunities in the game were equal. For top players, being assigned high-difficulty instances was actually a good thing.

At the very least, he hoped every game would be a Hell-level game. That would benefit him in more ways than one.

"Can you choose the difficulty of a game instance?" Lu Ce asked.

"How could that be possible?" Xie Antong shook her head with a wry smile. "At least for now, it's absolutely impossible to choose. Judging from the match footage and the players' reactions, they had no idea what they were about to face."

"If they could choose, who would pick a Hell-difficulty game right from the start?"

Lu Ce:?

That's right, yours truly!

He really wanted to choose Hell-level difficulty. If he had to classify it, his initial game had probably been Hell-level as well.

Suddenly, Xie Antong changed the subject and looked at Lu Ce.

"I'm guessing you've already participated in a game."

"You came out after clearing it completely unscathed, and your mental state hasn't changed either. That proves you're no ordinary person."

"But search your conscience. If you were assigned to a Hell-difficulty game instance, and you had to saw off a leg with a rusty saw, could you endure it?"

Lu Ce:...

"So before entering a game, you must make thorough preparations and be mentally prepared."

"It'd be best if you could exchange for an Exit Coin in advance. You might lose everything, but at least you'd keep your life."

Seeing that Lu Ce still did not answer, Xie Antong did not intend to wait for one. She simply finished giving her advice.

The beginning of the game was very important. She herself also needed to start finding a way to participate in games.

"Why did you come to tell me all this?" Lu Ce suddenly frowned and sighed. "What do you want from me?"

If she knew he was ranked first, it would be perfectly normal for her to try to recruit him. But apparently, she did not know.

This young miss was giving him all this information for free just because she had been curious about him when they had spent time together before?

Xie Antong blinked a few times. A trace of embarrassed annoyance flashed through her eyes. She lowered her head to hide the faint blush on her face, looking somewhat helpless.

This guy...

Did men really exist in this world who, when a girl took the initiative to show goodwill, immediately thought about an exchange of benefits?

"Because... because with Chosen Paradise, the world is about to undergo drastic changes. All kinds of official and civilian organizations will soon emerge, and even small groups formed by individuals will appear rapidly."

"Once order collapses, suspicion, conflict, and the social phenomenon of people preying on one another will inevitably emerge."

"In that situation, the earlier you find allies, the better. Before the situation becomes completely uncontrollable, the allies you find are more likely to trust one another."

"Me?" A question mark immediately appeared over Lu Ce's head. "You're looking for an ally, and you picked me—a student? Isn't that too childish?"

"Your family background should be pretty extraordinary, right? Can't you find a way to get in touch with experts or contact some influential forces?"

"Two high school students sitting here talking about an alliance and all that feels a little too naive."

But Xie Antong shook her head and said seriously:

"In a format like this, depending on the circumstances of each game, special forces soldiers won't necessarily perform better than street punks. Especially in the early stages, when people still don't understand anything, it's relatively fair."

"Besides, my intuition tells me you're not bad."

"Zhu Yuanzhang started out as a beggar and still became emperor. I don't think our conversation is childish or unrealistic."

"What, do those people who pride themselves on being rational and wise already know about Chosen Paradise's arrival? Do they know how to deal with it?"

"I wanted to find you. If possible, I hope we can work well together in the future."

As she spoke, Xie Antong tentatively extended her hand toward Lu Ce.

Lu Ce stared at the hand she had offered for a handshake and froze for a moment.

He felt that she was indeed telling the truth—but not the whole truth.

Suddenly, at that moment, a voice came over the school loudspeakers:

"Students in the east wing of the teaching building, please evacuate quickly and orderly. Avoid gathering in crowds. Do not remain in the classrooms!"

Lu Ce and Xie Antong exchanged a glance, both of their hearts skipping a beat.

The east wing of the teaching building? Wasn't that right here?

Forgetting all about the handshake, Lu Ce vaulted onto the windowsill to see what was happening outside.

The classroom had been in total chaos before. With all the noise, he hadn't noticed any commotion outside.

Then a massive explosion erupted from outside the classroom, drowning out all other noise. It sounded like someone was blasting through a load-bearing wall.

A booming roar, utterly inhuman, rang through the entire teaching area.

"The world belongs to the Heaven and Earth Society!"