The First Ripples, the Illusionist's Cruelty!

"Damn it, you're dead!"

"You dare rob me? I'll let you rob me!"

The bespectacled college student, as if in a state of stress, stomped hard on the short, masked man.

One kick after another, red, white, and black appeared one after another.

The others watched in horror; some even vomited.

The driver was so frightened that he fell silent, not daring to make the slightest move, lest he attract the attention of this ruthless man.

Unlike the fearless bystanders in the novel who were always amazed by the powerful figures fighting, none of these bystanders dared to comment. They all kept their heads down, afraid of being noticed by the college students.

Xu Gou could tell that this college student must have been bullied in the past.

At first, I wanted to settle things peacefully, and it's true that I ran away to use the restroom.

Unfortunately, the two robbers courted their own death.

Now the other party has vented.

In the past, they would have been arrested by the Xu Clan's people and had their game privileges confiscated within ten minutes.

Now, naturally, nobody cares.

The Xu Clan wouldn't care, Gao Linzhi certainly wouldn't care either.

Xu City and Liang City have become gathering places for Rogue Players due to Gao Linzhi's sudden rise to prominence.

Those who had the authority to manage the area treated it as a taboo because of Gao Linzhi's presence.

This college student with glasses has benefited from the popularity of Rogue Players.

After he vented his anger, he finally came to his senses.

The bus was parked on the side of the road at that moment, and he hurriedly ran to the back door.

Before he could even speak, the driver quickly and obediently opened the door, letting this troublemaker leave.

Objectively speaking, he saved everyone.

But everyone was still afraid.

Because he is a tiger.

Only after he left did the driver hurriedly call the police.

The passengers, however, all got off the bus and fled the area.

Only then did the passersby dare to speak.

Who was that person just now?

Is he Superman from the movies?

How could he do such a thing?

"That looks like a move from a comic book, it's so damn cool!"

"I'd occasionally seen people online talking about game intrusions that disappeared quickly, and I thought it was a scam. Now they're telling me it's actually true?"

"Damn it, what exactly did we miss?"

Xu Gou looked at these ordinary people and couldn't help but shake his head.

There was a time when he was just like that, drifting with the tide, helpless, and could only carefully live his life.

Someone quickly called the police.

After the police were not notified, the news was not quickly suppressed this time.

Instead, some posts, videos secretly taken by passersby, as well as videos from bus companies and roadside cameras, began to circulate.

A heated discussion has arisen on local online forums in Xu City and Liang City.

"Is this a movie shoot?"

"It must be special effects; they even bought a bus."

"Yes, those passengers' expressions were so realistic. These ordinary people are much more dedicated than the extras."

"Hey, I think this is real. Are there any video experts who can help me identify it as either special effects or real footage?"

"It's true, I'm a video verification expert."

"Hehe, if you believe what the person upstairs said, you've got it for life."

"That's right, immediately sell him health products and insurance, so he can avoid decades of detours."

A bunch of weirdos who don't believe these videos at all.

Most people don't believe it either.

In other cities, ordinary people mostly don't believe when they hear local tales and strange theories.

Such stories are common. For example, in some northern cities, people often tell tales of the Five Immortals asking for directions and receiving titles, making it sound very plausible. But when you actually go to investigate, you find that it's all just a fabrication.

Or maybe he's a weasel that stole chickens and got caught, so he staged a photo to gain attention.

And at this time...

On the Player <Archipelago> forum, however, it became incredibly popular.

"Damn, it's been exposed! Won't the local company delete this kind of video?"

"What the hell? If everyone finds out about the players and the Skyfall Game, things will get chaotic."

"Yeah, we're all on the bus now, so we need to weld the doors shut as soon as possible (doge emoji)."

"That's right, we can't let anyone else know, otherwise our situation will become even more dangerous. They'll organize themselves like a corporation and hunt us down!"

"This college student is an idiot. He really thinks he can do whatever he wants just because he has some ability. Didn't he see that the big shots are all cowering underground? (doge)"

"I bet this guy will be killed by the hunters in three days at most!"

"Yes, even something as simple as ivory attracts organized poaching, let alone something as ordinary players like us?"

"This college student is an idiot. He hasn't read enough novels; he doesn't know the ways of the world!"

In a secret post on the forum.

"Hehe, very good. The Xu Clan and the Liang Clan have given up. We'll just leave them be."

"Let's see what we do with Gao Linzhi."

"He probably doesn't want his hometown to become a mess either."

"Then he'll have to clean up the mess, and then he'll understand how difficult things are for our company."

"That's right, these free spirits don't understand our difficulties. They just want to be beasts of burden every day, while we have to think about so much more."

"If it weren't for the United Association maintaining order and suppressing those Rogue Players causing trouble, the whole world would have been in chaos long ago."

These people laughed gleefully.

They couldn't wait to see Gao Linzhi make a fool of himself.

At this very moment.

Gao Linzhi, who was preparing sacrificial materials, already knew about the offline events.

He naturally needed to pay attention to the offline situation to avoid being caught off guard and having his base raided.

He remained unmoved by the appearance of Rogue Players with extraordinary power in Xu City.

He wouldn't care about those things.

He should focus his energy on improving his own abilities.

Someone will take care of it.

After all, it was a piece of fat meat.

Some might think he would care about so-called order?

How ridiculous.

He wouldn't bother with those messy things; he only cares about himself.

After all, no one had ever cared about him before.

Why should he care about others?

As long as a person can manage themselves, that's good enough.

He continued collecting sacrificial materials.

At this very moment.

After giving Gao Linzhi, the group then faced another headache.

That is, how to obtain the title.

"We must obtain the title of Lord of a Hundred Islands; it's crucial for the United Association's rapid growth in the Skyfall Game."

"Damn it, how could a variable like Gao Linzhi appear?"

"Why didn't he just die peacefully instead of making things difficult for us?"

"The original strategy was executed so well: every time a Rogue Players appeared, we would kill them, take a game qualification, and then keep it in our hands."

"Yes, we anticipated that they would go to the no-man's-land, so we spent a lot of money to train professional divination players in advance."

"We divined their locations one by one. Many Rogue Players ventured into the no-man's-land thought themselves extraordinary, but in the end, we killed them all."

"But this Gao Linzhi is too strong. Although he is not strong enough to withstand the various killing moves we use in reality, he has too many Revival Stones."

"Damn game mechanics, the Revival Stone are given out way too easily!"

"Yes, the top-ranked players have Revival Stone, and they can't guard the corpse after resurrection; it even has a real-world effect."

"As for Formation Master and sealing masters, their deployment speed is too slow, and they currently have no practical combat value. They are only suitable for dealing with giant objects that do not have much mobility."

"The title must be taken down," someone insisted.

"The main problem now is that many of our methods are ineffective against him."

"Even if we were to use divination now, we wouldn't be able to determine his location."

"This guy has activated anti-divination measures; I highly suspect he's already left his original location."

"It's also possible that he didn't actually leave, but simply dug into a deeper and wider Underground Labyrinth."

After much discussion, they found the situation extremely difficult.

They never imagined that one day they would be so distressed because of someone.

In the past, if they couldn't solve the problem, they would just deal with the people who caused it.

This method left by the Saint is always effective.

Commercial vehicles, Zeng Sheng... I already told them.

Unfortunately, these wise men never imagined that one day someone would actually be like a copper pea, impossible to steam, boil, or flatten, a sight that is unbearable.

For those who want to control everything and have everything proceed in an orderly and controlled manner, this is undoubtedly a devastating blow.

"Damn it, this guy's existence is disrupting the order!"

"He is utterly wicked!"

"Y must be abolished!"

"By the way, doesn't he still have some former colleagues?"

"Arrest all his colleagues, especially the pretty female ones, and execute them one by one to force him to give up the list!"

These people were venting their frustrations without restraint in the posts.

These words cannot be spoken, even in a private Secret Room, because of the ability to perceive with intuition.

Only in this player forum can we prevent all prying.

That's why these high-ranking managers would comment and exchange ideas in such posts.

"Wait, I have an idea!" someone suddenly exclaimed with delight.

"What method?"

"I just checked the power I have and discovered that among the people I'm focusing on training, there's an Expert Level illusionist."

"He's already level 55. Let him go and create a large illusion to trap that guy, create a fake game event, and make him waste his time and lifespan there!"

"That's right, lifespan in the game is limited. Even with Revival Stone, lifespan won't be reset after resurrection!"

Hearing this, everyone became excited.

"Our United Association is indeed powerful. I've inquired around, and the highest level in that so-called Official Built-in Group is only level 52."

"And now we have trained Expert Level illusionists."

"Hehe, actually, that's because I completed a very difficult mission with a somewhat evil purpose, and had an NPC Skill Transfer so I could learn them ahead of time."

"I see, this game really does have many side quests. You can't achieve great things by staying in one place!"

"That's right, I don't believe Gao Linzhi's real abilities are that strong. He's just cheating with his talent."

"Yes, how can he, one person, compare to so many of us?"

The members of the United Association acted swiftly.

And at this time...

Gao Linzhi searching for materials related to the event.

He's asking for Game Help.

What are the materials needed for sacrificial rites and upgrading ancestral halls?

"Dear Noble 23 players, a shop will be available during the event."

"There are limited quantities of rare event items available for purchase each day. These items can be used as sacrificial materials and as upgrade materials for ancestral halls."

What materials are available in the shop?

"The limited-time materials we will be releasing include high-quality Demonic Creature Souls, high-quality Villager Incense, and top-grade Monster Suppressing Stone."

"What's the price?"

"The price will be discounted."

"Damn it, are you trying to rip me off again?"

"Dear Noble 23, we have noted your feedback and will gradually incorporate it into future optimizations in the game."

"Rough."

Gao Linzhi asked a few more questions, but the Game Help only gave the same old answers.

However, Gao Linzhi understood one thing—the purpose of the new event was still to strengthen the power of the players and the village.

This time, it's a formal confrontation with the supernatural.

Strange phenomena are the primary factor affecting the growth of villages and the power of players.

Like the last voyage, many players could actually sail long distances, but the strange system limited them.

Only those players who take unconventional methods have a chance to avoid the strange occurrences.

For a village to grow stronger, the larger the territory it occupies, the better.

If we can conquer all the surrounding islands, then a village can be upgraded to City-State.

Gao Linzhi had a feeling that the Skyfall Game was incomplete, and because of this, it had an instinct to complete itself.

He had previously used his own Power of Space-Time to replenish a tiny fraction of the damage.

It seems the other side is now exploiting the players, using manpower to build all the facilities needed in the game.

For example, this time, the village ancestral hall is very likely to be upgraded to an essential Newbie Safe Zone in the game!

To be honest, Gao Linzhi felt something was off from the beginning.

Shouldn't new players spawn in the Safe Zone?

Which game doesn't have a Newbie Safe Zone?

Card and board games also have a beginner's area, and competitive games have a matchmaking system.

Only hardcore games put players in a super boss fight right from the start.

Gao Linzhi suddenly realized.

The benefits of the Newbie Safe Zone are enormous.

Just running a shop is a huge source of income.

The outside world is strange; in this Safe Zone, a mere security value can send land prices soaring.

As long as people are still alive, there's no need to worry about land becoming worthless!

Thinking about this, Gao Linzhi suddenly realized something.

He summoned Qingcheng*Bored.

"How much territory has the Four Village Trading Company expanded to now?"

How many villages do we directly control?

Boredom suddenly struck him.

This boss has always only provided military value and has never interfered with the trading company's business.

Now, is the boss going to get involved personally?

I need to go back and give them instructions as soon as possible; they need to clean up any loose ends.

The idea of a boss who gathers loyal subordinates who never take anything for themselves only exists in novels.

In reality, even the most loyal henchman cannot control his subordinates from taking what they want.

"What, is it difficult?"

"No," Bored quickly and honestly replied, "Right now, the villages we can truly control are the four villages in the east, west, south, and north, plus Panlong Town Fortress."

"As for Wolf Snake Island and the nearby Eagle Island and Sirius Island, we haven't established fixed shipping routes yet, so it's difficult to actually control them. Right now, we can only temporarily switch to them by exploiting a near-death bug offline. Normally, we exchange supplies with each other through offline trading."

"However, because online flights are not available and switching to offline operations is still troublesome, we cannot fully extend our influence to their island."

"The main reason is that the ocean is complex; what is driven away today may be carried back by the currents tomorrow."

"Moreover, the seabed is boundless, and no one knows what lies beneath it."

"This is completely different from the land."

Gao Linzhi nodded. Expanding at sea is far more difficult than expanding on land.