The fall of the Appearance Association, a miserable fate

"That's right, let's move forward and see what's ahead; we're tired of this place."

Led by "Fengming," the girls agreed with the suggestion, and so the group slowly made their way towards a secluded valley at the edge of the flower field...

Meanwhile, in another corner of the flower field.

The scenery here seems no different from the surrounding area, with Blossoms blooming everywhere and fragrance filling the air.

A hummingbird, having strayed into a sea of flowers, was gracefully gliding by when, in an instant, a blurry black shadow shot out from the ground and, with lightning speed, dragged the hummingbird into the soil.

Only a few scattered feathers remained, quickly hidden by the swaying blossoms...

However, not far away, the clear, cheerful laughter of a young girl could still be heard:

"Fengming, look! The view over there is amazing! There are even Spirit Night Butterfly flying around, and a small waterfall hanging nearby!"

Looking over, everyone saw that the flower bushes beside the Stream were exceptionally lush, with rainbows appearing amidst the mist, making it a truly excellent spot for taking photos.

"Let's hurry over there, lest the Little Princess and her gang of bitches get there first again!"

The two sides had previously had disagreements over filming locations, so naturally they were unwilling to give in to them again this time.

As soon as we arrived at the stream, a unique and refreshing fragrance wafted over us, making us feel invigorated and our steps lighter, as if we had stepped into a fairyland.

"Even the air here seems especially sweet and moist. Don't you feel lighter and more refreshed?"

Several girls were captivated by the rainbow above the stream, unaware that something seemed to be slowly wriggling in the soft mud beneath their feet...

"Hey, where did Fengming and the others go?"

On the other side, "Imperial Dynasty Little Princess" was taking screenshots and chatting with her companions about her newly acquired outfits when someone suddenly noticed that Fengming and his group, who had been standing not far away, had disappeared.

"Who knows? Maybe they left without even saying goodbye. We're in the same association, after all."

"Never mind, they've always been this capricious."

These words, Little Princess, always struck others as somewhat ambiguous...

The group, who hadn't paid much attention at first, soon received an urgent message from Longyin — Fengming and the others were in trouble!

In fact, Fengming had invited Longyin to accompany him to the sea of flowers earlier that day, but Longyin firmly refused.

One reason is that since the top player "Chongxing" mysteriously disappeared from the leaderboard, although the official explanation was that the player was not in any trouble and was just temporarily offline for some reason, it is a fact that the overall ranking has moved up as a result.

After all, there are rewards for each ranking position.

Many people are currently seizing the opportunity to climb the rankings, and Longyin is no exception.

If you can make it into the top ten or even the top 100 on the leaderboard, you can not only receive rewards from the system, but also significantly increase your personal reputation and the attention of your guild.

As the leader of Dragon Soul, he naturally had to seize the opportunity and lead the entire guild forward.

In addition, there was another reason—he simply did not want to keep facing the cold looks from those female members.

After all, he's involved in a scandal.

He was not one to tolerate unpleasantness, nor did he possess the composure his wife displayed in the face of scrutiny from all sides.

He was leading his team in a fierce battle in a dungeon when a sudden system notification popped up. "Your master-apprentice relationship has been terminated!"

Generally, the death of a friend will not trigger a system notification. However, if there is a special connection between the two parties—such as a mentor-apprentice relationship—the system will send a notification to the other party if one of them dies.

The severing of the master-disciple relationship can only mean one thing: "Fengming" has suddenly encountered misfortune!

He immediately abandoned the dungeon boss he was fighting and hurriedly opened his friends list.

Sure enough, Fengming's name had disappeared from the list.

Remembering that she was attending a "Appearance Association" gathering today, he hurriedly tried to contact the other members of the association.

The unexpected turn of events brought the dungeon's progress to an abrupt halt.

Fengming is not only the vice president of the guild and his partner, but also an important representative of the family behind the guild.

Her unexpected death must be thoroughly investigated!

At almost the same time, Fengming's other companions were also found to have encountered accidents one after another.

Most of these people come from prominent backgrounds and have connections with various powerful forces behind them.

In an instant, forces from all sides were mobilized, and a large number of players began to gather in the direction of the "Firefly Flower Sea".

The Little Princess and her entourage, who were in the Firefly Flower Sea, soon received the news.

They were already surrounded by flowers, so they immediately began searching—what if there was still a chance to save them? After all, there were many skilled Priest present.

"Judging from the signs, they shouldn't have gone far; they probably lost track of each other in the vicinity of the flower field."

Everyone stay alert, the Priest are ready to cast spells to Healing at any time!

Little Bell and her companions were all Priest, so they naturally dared not be careless.

While carefully searching the surroundings for any traces that Fengming and the others might have left behind, they remained vigilant against any hidden dangers in the environment.

Unbeknownst to anyone, tiny, dust-like pollen particles were quietly drifting up from among the flowers, gently adhering to their clothes and skin, and then being silently inhaled.

It was as if something was lurking in the shadows, Jingjing waiting for the right moment to erupt...

At this very moment.

Meanwhile, investigators were questioning the survivors.

"So, you weren't acting together at the time, right?"

The families and relatives of those involved have all gathered at the Firefly Flower Sea to investigate the truth behind the players' disappearances.

"We... we really didn't notice where they went... until you asked, we thought they had left on their own." Several female players were still shaken.

The thought of their companion being murdered without their knowledge filled them with lingering fear: Had they, too, brushed past danger at that moment?

"Alright, for the time being, none of you should go out and participate in any activities without permission."

"If there's nothing urgent, just stick with the team and focus on leveling up."

"Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven" never expected that this Firefly Flower Sea, which they had previously paid little attention to, would harbor a deadly trap.

In leveling areas of the same level, they usually prefer to choose the Strange Stone Forest, where various materials drop.

Afterwards, an official team also came to inspect the flower field, but still found nothing unusual.

Despite the Dragon Soul Guild's persistent efforts to track down any possible monsters, they have come up empty-handed.

This incident caused quite a stir among Blue Star players, and the number of visitors to the Firefly Flower Sea also dropped sharply.

Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven felt that his younger sister seemed to have changed completely since that incident.

She no longer cared about going out, and even her previous tireless efforts to level up were put aside. She preferred to stay in her home or the player's mansion in the city all day long, becoming almost abnormally quiet.

"She still hasn't gone out today?" "Yes Yes Yes??" This reveals a hint of concern.

While they hoped she could have some peace and quiet, they didn't want her to be completely isolated from the world.

"She hasn't left the house for three whole days, and her leveling up has completely stopped."

"If this continues, her level will fall too far behind sooner or later. We have to talk to her," someone suggested to the guild leader.

"Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven" frowned. "I understand. I'll go to her residence in the city later."

Now that Blue Star has been fully integrated into the God's Domain world, for safety reasons, most players will purchase properties in the major towns of the God's Domain as their daily resting places.

After all, players' own homes are not suitable for long-term residence, and gatherings among players require more convenient venues.

NPC-controlled cities, at least, have free high-level NPC guards, making them relatively safer.

After all, the other party is controlled by the system, and they trust NPCs more than offline cities.

The city that the "Century Imperial City" guild chose to settle in is Neverwinter City.

Members of the same guild usually live together in one place.

As the elder brother, he had access to his sister's residence and could enter without knocking.

Even if he had sent a message beforehand, it would have been useless; lately, she simply refused to reply to anyone's messages.

As soon as I stepped into the room, a pungent smell hit me, like the scent of grass mixed with something gradually decaying.

"Zhiqiong? Are you inside? It's me, your brother." Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven frowned, standing outside the tightly closed bedroom door, but received no response.

An unpleasant odor seemed to be seeping out from the cracks in the door.

He walked across the living room, stopped in front of his sister's bedroom door, and knocked.

"Zhiqiong? It's me."

"Are you inside? Open the door." The sound of knuckles tapping on the wooden door was exceptionally clear in the silence.

He waited a moment, a vague unease rising in his heart.

... After a long while, a muffled response came from inside the door, as if it were coming from under a blanket:

"Brother, I'm fine. I'm just sleepy and want to sleep a little longer."

You go first.

"I'm fine."

Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven wanted to push open the door and go in to take a look, but his sister's words clearly indicated her refusal.

He paused for a moment, then could only whisper through the door, "Take care of yourself."

"If you feel unwell, be sure to come to me; we have a therapist on our team."

"Also, if you're free tomorrow, remember to come out and level up with everyone."

"Weren't you eager to run that dungeon?"

"... Okay, I understand."

He ultimately left the room, still feeling uneasy.

However, that lingering, pungent smell was like a thorn stuck in my heart.

It was a smell I had never encountered before.

It's unlikely that such a smell would come from a dwelling of a living person.

After leaving his residence, he immediately sent a message to "Yes Yes Yes??": "If my sister hasn't shown up by tomorrow, bring a Priest to her house."

The other party replied readily, "Okay."

During the few days that Chongxing away, the players' levels were rising rapidly.

At this rate, it probably won't be long before someone reaches the qualification to enter the Barbarian God Hall dungeon.

However, this seemingly stable order suddenly broke down one day.

A post with a alarming title suddenly appeared on the forum. "Disease Spreader Appears."

The post described in detail a group of players who suddenly contracted a strange disease: they emitted a nauseating stench, their bodies were covered in slippery mucus, they were extremely aggressive, and they possessed a terrifying ability to spread the disease.

The accompanying photos were even more shocking: the player in the pictures had vacant, dull eyes, stiff and slow movements, and his skin was covered with a thick, moss-like greenish substance.

It is said that they can also spray infectious mucus from their bodies to attack.

Staring at those photos, "Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven" felt a sudden sinking feeling in his heart.

He recalled that when he visited his sister's house a few days ago, he seemed to notice that the air inside was unusually damp, and the potted plants were growing abnormally lush...

"Quick! Come with me to Zhiqiong's house, something might have happened!"

He immediately exclaimed, "Yes Yes Yes??" and the two hurriedly headed to the residential area in the city.

"She didn't go out yesterday either, right? Did you take someone over to check on her?"

"I brought her. I left a Priest to look after her, and I went to level up myself."

"What's wrong?" "Yes Yes Yes??" he asked.

A growing sense of foreboding crept into Imperial Dynasty Defies Heaven's heart. "I feel something's wrong with her."

"What did the Priest say?"

"Yes Yes Yes??" He quickly checked his friends list— the Priest who remained was indeed his friend.

The list status is normal, but messages sent to it go unanswered.

"Yesterday, Zhiqiong wouldn't let me in, so I had the Priest stand guard outside."

I just asked the Priest, but he hasn't replied yet.

"So, the Priest can't be contacted either?"

The two exchanged a glance, both realizing the seriousness of the situation.

As they approached the residential area of Neverwinter City, they found that the city's guards had already surrounded the area, and the atmosphere was tense, indicating that something serious had happened.

"What's going on? That's Zhiqiong's house!" The two squeezed in front of each other and saw that the house had been invaded by strange plants that were growing wildly and by the slime that was flowing everywhere.

Looking through the window, the bedroom was in complete disarray.

A guard stepped forward and announced, "Plague Germ Carrier has been discovered within the city. Warriors, prepare for battle."

"Plague Germ Carrier?"

Just then, the world chat channel was also flooded with various messages.

Players from all over the country reported that similar spreaders had appeared in their cities, and without exception, they were all players in disguise.

Clearly, the consequences of global integration are gradually emerging.

Just as colonists brought new diseases when they entered the New World.

"What's going on?! I saw a person covered in grass rush towards me with my own eyes!"

"Watch out for their attacks! The slime Poison Damage and highly contagious! My teammate is already infected, and the Priest can't cure him!"

"Even the Priest can't cure it?"

"Wouldn't that put melee classes in danger? Everyone should stay far away!"

"Is there Priest here? I need Priest to save someone, and I'm willing to pay a high price! The fee is negotiable!"

"We're doomed. Melee combat is useless now. Ranged combat is much better."

"Yes, kite-like technology is humanity's eternal pursuit. From guns to missiles to drones, they are all essentially kite-like technologies."

"Melee combat is something you only write about in action-packed novels. In reality, if there's another way, who would bother with that?"

The city's built-in defense mechanisms have been activated; Plague Germ Carrier will be immediately expelled from the city.

Therefore, they are no longer seen in the city.

However, some players in the wild reported seeing groups of figures moving towards the "Firefly Flower Sea".

Players infected by the attack cannot receive conventional treatment and can only watch helplessly as their health continues to drop. Once they die, they can only be resurrected by Priest.

The world chat was flooded with requests for help and searches for Priest.

The game's official forces quickly dispatched medical teams, but many players still died permanently due to delayed respawn times...