The Miserable Players

Those people sprinted as they screamed at the top of their lungs.

Some fell onto the yellow, muddy ground, still clutching their umbrellas as they scrambled toward the village on all fours, looking utterly wretched. They seemed terrified that if they were even a second too late, Fang Yue would eat them.

The reaction left Fang Yue completely dumbfounded.

What the hell? Am I really that scary?

But that was beside the point.

The refugees outside the village who were still conscious saw how the Patrol Team reacted and were so terrified they wet themselves on the spot. Screaming in panic, they grabbed their clothes, pulled them over their heads to shield themselves from the rain, and bolted for the village.

Their actions immediately set off the other refugees, who abandoned the fire and rushed toward the village, jostling to get there first.

Those who had been asleep scrambled up on all fours, grabbed planks nearby to use as makeshift rain shields, and charged outside.

The refugees surged toward the village like a wave. They looked as if they had seen the Japanese army marching into their village; every last one of them was scared shitless.

-1!

-1!

-1!

-1!

Under the torrential rain, their health plummeted as they ran. The damage numbers kept popping up one after another.

Numbers flew everywhere. It was quite a spectacle, and Fang Yue could only stare in bewilderment.

Well, would you look at that. Were they competing to see who could lose health the fastest?

The first to succumb were the refugees who had initially run toward the village.

Thud.

Soon, the first refugee collapsed to the ground and stopped moving.

His Health Bar had emptied. He was dead.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

The refugees fell one after another, dying.

Even the ones who had made it the farthest had only covered half the distance. They were nowhere near the village gate.

Seeing this, the others turned pale with fright and wheeled around, stumbling and crawling back with all their might.

"Shit! I've never run this hard, even in PE!"

"What's some world sprinting champion, A-Xiang, compared to me? I could break the hundred-meter record in a heartbeat right now!"

"Oh God! Damn game! Screw your brother! A torrential downpour in front and an anomaly behind us—are you trying to leave us with no way out?"

"Damn System, your mom's gone! I just got into the game, and you've trapped me between a rock and a hard place! What the hell am I supposed to do, screw your brother?"

"WDNMD, turn around! Turn around! In this rain, we'll die before we make it to the village gate!"

The refugees swore up a storm. Fang Yue could only stare at them in bewilderment.

Th-this...

That familiar feeling, that familiar tone...

Tears welled up in his eyes.

So they were all players!

He'd found his people!

Fang Yue's heart leaped with joy. He had been running straight for the village gate, but immediately turned around and ran toward them.

The sight filled every refugee with terror.

"Don't come any closer!!"

"Ahhhhh! I can't take it anymore! I'll fight you!"

"Brother, don't do anything rash! That's a Rain-grade Anomaly!"

"What's a Rain-grade Anomaly?"

"Who knows? But look at the Patrol Team—they ran like they'd seen a ghost. Do you think we can handle that thing?"

Remembering how easily the Patrol Team had killed them like dogs, everyone understood the terrifying gap in strength.

But... what could they do? What could they possibly do?!

They were suffering so much.

This damn game had made them refugees as soon as they arrived. They hadn't even gotten a character-creation screen.

That would have been bad enough, but refugees had a ridiculously low status. The villagers treated them like dirt and gave them no food or drink. All they'd gotten was a broken shack made from a pigsty, and then the villagers had left them to fend for themselves.

Some people had figured this was the Novice Trial Level: earn the villagers' favor and find a way into the village to clear the tutorial.

Others thought the villagers would let them in the next morning.

The problem was, the game ran at a one-to-one time ratio.

Wait until tomorrow morning? What were they supposed to do all night? Sleep?

Sleep outside the game with their Game Watches, then sleep in the game too?

And what about tomorrow? They still had work! Who could stay in the game all day?

What kind of situation was this?

Most people were at a loss, while a few started putting their brains to work and trying all sorts of crazy schemes.

Some tried to kill Patrol Team members to prove their strength.

Some sneaked into the city. Some stole things to use as bribes. Others left to seek opportunities elsewhere.

Every player had a different idea, and they all started acting on their own plans.

It was a game, after all. If they wouldn't dare act in real life, why be cowards in a game?

In the end, the number of players in the refugee camp dropped by twenty or thirty percent. Most had died, while a few had actually managed to sneak into the village. The others watched them with envy and jealousy.

The one who was most jealous, his eyes practically bloodshot, was Shi Wuliao.

"Shit! I'd ordered a Game Watch with a Lucky Gift Pack! That Scalper Boss said he had inside information and had arranged dozens of scalpers at the Jianghai City branch number 399, so I was sure to get one! But in the end, all he gave me was a regular watch!"

"If that hadn't happened, I'd be living the high life by now. And that First Kill of Anomaly would definitely have been mine!"

If ordinary players were merely jealous of those who had made it into the village, Shi Wuliao was furious enough to go insane.

He was the dignified Third Young Master of Shitian Group. He'd sent out an announcement saying he was going to make a big splash in Blue Sea, and now he was about to be killed by a monster and kicked out of the game.

If word got out, how could he show his face among the rich kids?

"Brothers, don't just stand there! Keep running!"

"Right, right! Let's get back and take shelter from the rain first! The Patrol Team said they were going to get Lord Han. That NPC must know how to deal with this!"

"Exactly! They can't start the game by having a BOSS slaughter the Novice Village!"

Their words lifted Shi Wuliao's spirits.

Right! What game started by slaughtering the newbies?

Go, go, go! The pigsty shack had to be a safe zone!

As everyone ducked their heads and kept charging, they suddenly heard the Rain-grade Anomaly laugh excitedly.

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Are you guys really this happy to see me? Hahaha!"

"By the way, what level are you? Oh, I forgot, this lousy game doesn't have levels. What are your stats?"

"Wait, wait! You've got it wrong! I'm a player too! I'm a new player, just like you!"

Huh? It was a player too?

Everyone was confused. Shi Wuliao quickly caught on.

"Don't listen to it!"

"I've had a chance to look at some information. The anomalies in this lousy game can imitate the way players talk to lure them in! Don't fall for it!"

Everyone suddenly understood.

"Holy shit! They're that intelligent?"

"Damn! It really is a newbie killer!"

If the rain hadn't been draining their health so quickly, they would have turned around and run for the village gate instead of toward the "anomaly."

At last, before their health dropped to one point, they made it back to the pigsty shack. They grabbed whatever they could use as weapons, guarded the fire, and huddled together, trembling as they warily watched the "anomaly" in the distance.

"What do we do now?"

Everyone looked at Shi Wuliao, who had spoken earlier.

Shi Wuliao replied irritably, "Wait to die. What else can we do?"

"Didn't you say you had inside information?"

"Damn it! I only know a little. If I knew more, do you think I'd be in the same position as you?"

Everyone thought that made sense, and despair filled their hearts once more.

Just then, a loud shout rang out from the village gate.

"Impudent anomaly! Lord Han is here! Stop at once!"

The booming voice carried far and wide, making their eardrums ache.

Everyone turned to look. An old man in a green robe stood there, a thin layer of frost gathering around his hands. He held a battered wooden sword and pointed it at the "anomaly."