Essence Blood Squeezed Dry

The night in Water Curtain Cave was lit only by a few flickering flames on the rock walls, casting long and short shadows of the stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

Time slipped away in the quiet stillness, the clones on guard duty having been replaced round after round.

In the blink of an eye, it was the eve of dawn in the game world.

"Lord, Lord! Wake up! It's time!"

Lin Mo groggily opened his eyes to a gentle voice, seeing Lin Qi squatting beside him.

"What is it..." Lin Mo rubbed his eyes, his voice hoarse from just waking up.

The cave was dimly lit, with only a few torches about to burn out in the corner providing a faint glow.

Most of the clones were still curled up on the straw bedding, fast asleep, their snores echoing throughout the cave.

"You ordered me to wake you up one hour before logging off in the real world, at the dawn of the game world."

Lin Qi lowered his voice, "It's about time now, about an hour until the system's mandatory logout."

Lin Mo instantly sobered up and sat up abruptly.

Right! Maximize the use of Essence Blood!

He immediately brought up his status panel:

[Name: Lin Mo]
[Level: 5 (170/500)]
[Occupation: Lord (Legendary)]
[Essence Blood: 140/300]
[Status: Mild Fatigue]

"140 points..." Lin Mo quickly calculated, "The unconsciousness threshold is 20 points... meaning I can consume 120 points of Essence Blood to create clones!"

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and walked to a more open area in the center of the cave.

Lin Mo sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused his mind.

"Begin."

His will stirred, and the familiar sensation of detachment washed over him.

[Essence Blood -10]

The air rippled like water, and a naked figure slowly coalesced.

"I..." Before the new clone could even get a good look at its surroundings, Lin Qi and Lin Ba, who were already prepared, wrapped it in a crude robe hastily made from a piece of cloth.

"Stop babbling and wait over there!" Lin Qi pushed him to the corner, "The next one is coming out soon!"

Lin Mo didn't pause.

[Essence Blood -10]

The second clone appeared.

[Essence Blood -10]

The creation process became more and more proficient, the intervals shorter and shorter.

In the center of Water Curtain Cave, naked figures appeared one after another, only to be hastily covered with simple garments.

The center of the cave became like an efficient human factory.

Lin Mo's complexion grew paler as his Essence Blood was consumed, but his eyes shone brighter.

When he created the ninth clone, his Essence Blood dropped to 50/300, and his status bar displayed [Moderate Weakness].

"Continue," Lin Mo gritted his teeth.

Tenth clone, Essence Blood 40/300.

His vision began to darken, his heart pounded like a drum, and a strong sense of dizziness washed over him – a warning that his body was nearing its safety limit.

"Lord, perhaps..." Lin Qi sounded worried.

"Not at the safety line yet," Lin Mo shook his head, "Continue!"

Lin Mo took a deep breath and concentrated all his mental energy.

"The eleventh one!"

[Essence Blood -10] → 30/300.

His body trembled violently, nearly making him collapse.

He braced himself on the ground, gasping for air, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

The edges of his vision were already blurring, and a buzzing sound filled his ears.

"Just a little more... the last... one..." He struggled to maintain consciousness.

Thirty points of Essence Blood, below the safety line, but he hadn't fainted yet.

Theoretically, I can create another one.

My offline time is also almost up. If I pass out, I'll be kicked back to reality.

And one more Level 5 clone means one more source of strength!

"The twelfth one! Create!"

He almost roared the words out.

[Essence Blood -10] → 20/300!

"Ugh—!"

It was as if the last supporting string snapped. Boundless darkness and weakness surged over him like a tide, completely engulfing him.

Lin Mo's body went limp, and he stumbled forward.

"Lord!"

Lin Qi and Lin Ba reacted quickly, stepping forward almost the instant his body swayed.

They supported him firmly, one on each side, and gently laid Lin Mo down on the thick, dry grass.

Lin Mo's eyes were tightly shut, his long eyelashes casting faint shadows in the firelight. His face was as pale as paper, completely devoid of color.

Only the faint yet steady rise and fall of his nostrils proved that he still clung to a thread of life, though he had fallen into a deep, unconscious slumber.

Time flowed slowly in the silence of the stone chamber, with only the flickering flames of the torch dancing, illuminating the mottled marks on the rock walls.

Just then, a cold, mechanical prompt voice sounded in the depths of Lin Mo's consciousness without warning, echoing in the minds of all surviving players:

[End of the second day of the beta test (game time) is approaching]

[Player consciousness will be drawn back]

[During the retrieval process, time in the game world will be relatively static]

[Current surviving player statistics:]

[Survived yesterday: 8653]

[Died today: 648]

[Currently surviving: 8005]

[Successful job advancements: 17]

[In thirty seconds, all player consciousness will return to the real world]

[Real world time: 8:00 AM]

[Next entry time: 12:00 AM real world time]

[Please arrange your real-world life reasonably]

[Countdown: 30, 29, 28...]

The torch flames froze.

The flow of air ceased.

[3, 2, 1]

[Returning]

Silent golden light swept through the cave, enveloping the Lin Mo Main Body.

The next second, his figure on the cot slowly faded, eventually disappearing.

Inside the cave, fifty-eight clones remained in their respective poses, like lifelike sculptures, frozen in this time-stopped morning of the game world.

Outside the cave, the eternal waterfall remained in its absolutely still, amber-like, peculiar state.

The real world, precisely 8:00 AM.