The Players' Disappearance

"Have you all bought ' Keosius's Secret Treasure '?"

The Steamed Bun looked eagerly at everyone, as if it wanted to find fellow Africans who shared the same plight.

He used all the money from selling the dragon scales to gamble on treasure chests, opening seven in total, but ended up with nothing but a certain adventurer's underwear.

The Born Battle Maniac chuckled, stroking his bald head. "I was pretty lucky; I got a pretty useful green item."

Xia Ye Qiuyu smiled radiantly, "I got the Fireball Staff, but only once!"

Steamed Bun was on the verge of tears. "Why is Lucky Emperor —am I the only one with terrible luck?"

But Singo shook his head.

The Steamed Bun was immediately thrilled and beamed with joy.

Thinking he had found a fellow African brother in the same boat, he eagerly asked, "Haha, you've gotten dark too, haven't you?"

However, Singleo dismissively said, "I didn't buy it at all."

"Just watch the show. Isn't this kind of event purely a way for the official team to Leeks? They probably want to control the Gold Coin held by Internal Beta to prevent a huge gap after the official launch."

"No way, is there really a fool who would put their savings into this? Do they really think they're so lucky? With such low expectations, I might as well just buy it directly."

Upon hearing this outburst, the smile on Steamed Bun's face froze instantly.

He patted his chest, trying to console himself, "It's alright, I'm not the worst off. There are others who get a bunch of junk in twenty pulls."

"Charlotte, my good brother..."

He wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes and smiled with relief.

Charlotte lay on the ground in the distance, as if she had turned into a black and white photograph. The members of the [Magic Coin] guild surrounded her, pouring all sorts of magical potions on her, such as "Mental Potion" and "Berserk Potion," hoping that their beloved guild leader could cheer up and recover from her tragic fate.

Charlotte's reputation for "Twenty Consecutive White Lights" has spread, becoming a hot topic on forums and a source of comfort for countless unlucky players.

Together with the Flying Witch, another member of their guild, their feat of "Single Draw Double Gold Egg" is known as the "Black and White Duo" or the "European and African Heroes".

That's enough.

"The server will shut down in three hours, right? Still want to try some good wine worth twenty Gold Coin?"

Singo took out a beautifully packaged bottle and deliberately shook it, letting the sweet and tempting liquid cling to the bottle's sides.

The Wyvern also descended beside them, nuzzling the knight's body affectionately with its slender neck.

The Steamed Bun was suddenly filled with boundless pride.

"Come on! Let's drink until we drop!"

The Lang Li Bai Tiao draped his arm around Steamed Bun's shoulder and said in a cheeky tone, "Come on, come on!"

"Lang Chu, you dare to say that?"

"It's the last day, don't be so stingy, right?"

"Aww~"

"Damn it, why is your lizard biting again? Is it targeting me?"

Iron Dragon Wing Palace.

Keosius sat cross-legged on the cold throne, his eyes fixed on the panel, and also closely watching the Magic Image from all over the kingdom.

The countdown on the panel was ticking away, second by second.

"10, 9, 8"

"2, 1"

0.

The numbers finally reached zero.

Without any warning, in that instant, the clamor in the tavern came to an abrupt halt, and the revelry in the square quietly ceased.

Whether in the wilderness, in Mechanical Factories, deep in the mountains, or even in the gaping maw of Manticore, all the players' bodies instantly turned into tiny, illusory particles of light, and then disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed.

Although there are only a little over a thousand players, North Wind Fortress seems to have lost a lot of its vitality without them. Many local residents have gotten used to these crazy guys and are even a little unaccustomed to their disappearance. This is even more true for places like Bator City and Sigg Town, where players started their businesses.

The owner, who had just finished mixing the drinks, stared at the empty tavern and froze, speechless. After a long while, he finally managed to stammer, "Then who's going to pay for them?"

"Wait a minute. How do I control the magic circuit to be cut off? And which indicator light do I need to look at again?"

"You didn't have a chance to say it yet—"

The trainees in the factory witnessed their mentors disappear and were somewhat at a loss as they looked at the huge and complicated machines in front of them.

"Huh?"

Just moments ago, the Manticore was toying with its prey and swallowing a human whole. Now, seeing its prey slip away, it feels its mouth empty and is helpless. All it can do is let out a furious growl. Its small brain is not yet able to comprehend what is happening.

Inside the Iron Palace, Keosius asked the magic mirror:

"So, have you noticed anything unusual?"

Lang Pu's ugly face appeared in the mirror, and he replied in a somber tone, "Still... no."

"We found twelve players to conduct the experiment and set up a control group for each. We also monitored the spells of hundreds of players, but we found nothing suspicious."

"Logically speaking, such a large-scale teleportation, regardless of the method used, should leave traces of the Weave, even if it is a miracle. But these ' Starfallers ' seem to have vanished into thin air, without any magical fluctuations or traces of teleportation spells."

Keosius said calmly, "I understand. This matter can be put aside for now."

"Yes, Master. I think we need to go and help deal with the things left behind by the Church of the Machine God. After all, there are still too few truly intelligent spellcasters in the country. I'm worried that the people sent by the kingdom won't be able to operate correctly and will cause losses."

"Go."

As Keosius deliberately severed the link, the mirror dimmed again, and Lang Pu's image disappeared.

"So it still doesn't work. What kind of power is hidden behind this so-called ' Game System '?"

"Perhaps only by reaching the realm of the gods can we barely glimpse the secrets hidden behind this mist."

Keosius stared at the words "Temporarily Closed" on the panel and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

The Red Dragon also took this "server shutdown" incident very seriously, gathering almost all the spellcasters of the Embers of the Burned Kingdom to study it, but still found nothing - this can only mean that the level of power behind it is too high, even for a high-level mage like Lang Pu.

"Call"

Keosius exhaled a breath of Sulfur Scent smoke, and flames suddenly appeared from his mouth, turning the interior of the palace into a blazing furnace. Fortunately, this was a brand-new palace, otherwise it would have caused another disaster.

"The ancestral bloodline in my body is almost out of control. If it is not digested soon, it may erupt like a volcano. It seems that I must go into hibernation within a month."

Just then, the Tiefling Guard at the door knocked on the door to report, which was quite inopportune.

"Well!"

His hands were burned by the red-hot iron door, and he couldn't help but cry out in surprise, but he still endured the pain and reported:

"Your Majesty, Lord Freed of the Dragon Oath Hall requests an audience, and this time he has brought twelve humans with him."

"Let them in."

Keosius answered calmly.

He slightly flapped his wings, and the powerful force of his domain instantly smoothed out the Weave and calmed the restless Fire Elemental, causing the surrounding scorching air to gradually cool down.

"It seems Freed has finally selected his first batch of people."