This is the real deal!

Chapter 2: This is the Genuine Article!

The sky roared with hurricane winds, churning the red clouds.

After a clap of thunder, black lightning spiderwebbed across the firmament, vanishing invisibly seconds later.

On the earth, continuous volcanoes erupted violently. Crimson fire snakes snaked downwards, devouring all life in their path. The air was thick with the scent of sulfur and scorched earth. The highest peak's ridge, illuminated by a dark red crescent moon, gleamed with bloodlight, resembling a flaming saw-toothed sword thrust towards the sky, as if to pierce the heavy heavens.

Countless terrifying monsters roamed the land.

The Xie Qi, with eighteen heads and a height comparable to mountains; the Frost Giant Beast, whose breath could freeze ten thousand miles; the Red Wing Ming, whose wingspan could cross ten thousand miles... Beyond these apex predators, there were innumerable monstrous beasts capable of swallowing mountains and rivers with a single gulp, and whose stomps could reshape the land.

This was an ecosystem composed of countless terrifying creatures.

The viewpoint shifted downwards, rapidly zooming in, finally focusing on a dilapidated village before being enveloped by encroaching darkness.

When the darkness receded, Li Zheng found himself suspended before a towering blue crystal wall. A prompt sounded in his mind:

[Welcome, Challenger, to the Monster World. Please begin creating your initial character.]

"Monster World? Isn't the beginner village in Dark Land supposed to be Dark City?"

He didn't dwell on the question, assuming Moon Eclipse Clan had changed the game's settings, which had been leaked years ago.

The overhead view he'd just experienced, and the character creation environment now, made him realize he'd truly downloaded a cracked version of Dark Land.

His excitement was indescribable. Others spent 128,888 to get the game, yet he'd gotten it in just an hour of downloading.

The welfare officer really was providing welfare!

He no longer doubted the game's authenticity.

What scammer would invest so much to create a game with such high fidelity?

If the preceding CG experience was meant to be deceptive, the cost of this prank was far too high.

In the character name input field, he typed "Game Brick Mover Party" using the virtual keyboard and pressed confirm. The massive, grid-like crystal wall before him rapidly zoomed closer.

Most of the wall's grid cells were empty. Only in the bottom-most starting positions, cells 1 through 3, were ugly and ferocious monsters imprisoned.

Cell 1 held a humanoid stone statue with bat-like ears, squatting on a half-meter-high stone pedestal. Its body was intricately carved, and its large pupils glowed with a blood-red light. Its open mouth revealed bone-white fangs.

Cell 2 contained a creature resembling an owl with fiery red wings. Its sharp talons were relentlessly striking the containment cell's crystal wall, producing a grating sound.

Cell 3 housed a large snake covered in black scales, coiled within its cell, flicking its tongue.

[Please select your initial status.]

Li Zheng's gaze fell upon the first monster, and its detailed information appeared.

[Stone Gargoyle]:

Initial Level: 1

Initial Stats:

Physical Quality: 7 (Determined by comprehensive physical attributes like Strength, Stamina, Durability, Explosiveness, etc.)

Mental Strength: 5 (Affects mental recovery, casting speed, spell power)

Elemental Resistance: 5 (Affects the final outcome of elemental damage)

Innate Ability: Petrify (Active)

Ability Description: After using this ability, enter a petrified state where movement is impossible, significantly reducing damage from all forms of attack. Specific effects are influenced by Physical Quality.

His gaze shifted to the eagle-headed monster and the large snake next to the Stone Gargoyle.

[Eagle Head Demon]:

Initial Level: 1

Initial Stats:

Physical Quality: 3, Mental Strength: 8, Elemental Resistance: 4

Innate Ability: Wailing (Active)

Ability Description: Activates a perception view, capable of warning of nearby dangers (killing intent, hostility, aura, fluctuations). Duration and warning range are affected by Mental Strength.

[Black Armor Snake]:

Initial Level: 1

Initial Stats:

Physical Quality: 12, Mental Strength: 1, Elemental Resistance: 2

Ability: Venomous Bite (Passive)

Ability Description: Any form of physical damage dealt carries a poisoning effect, inflicting continuous damage on the target.

How to choose? Li Zheng fell into thought.

Of the three initial ability options, the abilities of Stone Gargoyle and Eagle Head Demon required active activation and would consume mental power continuously. In comparison, the Black Armor Snake's ability could be triggered by any form of physical damage, making it clearly more suitable for a beginner.

With a clear idea forming in his mind, the monsters in slots 1 and 2 vanished, and the Black Armor Snake in slot 3 rapidly enlarged before his eyes.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound of his heart beating violently grew clearer in his ears.

Just then, the Black Armor Snake in the scene abruptly raised its head and lunged straight at him.

Startled, Li Zheng instinctively raised his hands to block.

But no pain came. When he opened his eyes, he found the scene had changed, and he was now wearing a black cloth shirt that came with the game.

Looking around, he saw the dilapidated village that had appeared at the end of the CG scene nearby.

The area outside the village was shrouded in thick black fog, as if blocked by some mysterious force. It couldn't penetrate the village, but strange sounds could be clearly heard from within the fog.

The hooting of night owls, the crunching sound of bones shattering, hoarse whispers... all sorts of eerie sounds echoed over the village.

Turning his head, Li Zheng was startled.

He found a phantom of a Black Armor Snake, over a meter long, floating behind him. When he took two steps to the right, the phantom Black Armor Snake followed and moved with him.

His gaze focused, and a flood of information poured into his mind, followed by an internal view of his body.

In the image, he could clearly see his spine transformed into a network of starlight, like a galaxy. At the top of his spine was his real-world image. In the first slot below, a glowing black orb was embedded, containing the shape of the Black Armor Snake.

[Challenger Name: Game Brick Mover Party]:

Primary Form: Human

Body Forging Level: 0 (Inherited Soul Attribute: 0)

(Hint: For every level you raise your Body Forging Level, you can perfectly inherit all attributes of one monster form in human form.)

Star Vein Inlay (Level: 1):

Slot 1: Black Armor Snake Soul Lv1 (Trait: Potent Venom)

(Hint: You can freely switch monster forms through the Star Vein function. In monster form, you gain a 100% attribute bonus. Raising the Star Vein level increases the number of monster souls you can inlay.)

"Star Vein switch?"

With a hint of confusion, Li Zheng mentally touched the first inlay slot of the Star Vein.

Instantly, a strong tingling sensation surged from his spine to his limbs, and his body twisted and changed under the surge of power.

His vision rapidly descended.

Looking down, he was astonished to find that he had transformed into the Black Armor Snake that had been floating behind him.

At the same time, he could clearly feel his physical fitness amplified, and even his vision became sharper.

This game... is a bit perverted, but I like it!

Switching back to human form, Li Zheng, who now understood the game's initial setup, looked around.

Driven by curiosity, he began to test the game's realism.

Pinching his face, shaking his hands, squeezing his arm... the feedback was indistinguishable from reality, leaving Li Zheng amazed.

Then he crouched down, picked up a piece of gravel from the ground, and slowly crushed it with his fingers, feeling the powder slip through his fingertips.

"Holy crap, this game is f***ing awesome!"

The simple test revealed perfect, flawless realistic feedback.

But what puzzled Li Zheng was the absence of any other players. The entire village seemed to be occupied by him alone.

Logically, Dark Land was released globally, and judging by its sales heat, the newbie village should be swarming with players.

Could it be that different players are separated into different game channels? Am I in a newly opened channel?

Just as Li Zheng was pondering how to explore the game, the space beside him distorted, and a light blue water sphere appeared.

The surface of the water sphere rippled, revealing a serious expression. It looked at him and said solemnly:

[Evil spirits run rampant, fear descends. The monster world ruled by Di Zhao is invaded by a terrifying black tide. You, who have received power from Di Zhao, must shoulder the responsibility of saving the world. Please immediately go to the monster world to hunt for the primordial power lost by Di Zhao, and contribute to reshaping Di Zhao's true form.]

As it spoke, the light blue water sphere morphed into a right arm and extended towards him:

[I am your novice Guider in the monster world. You can call me Guider.]

Li Zheng, somewhat bewildered, reached out and clasped the hand formed by the water sphere.

[From now on, we're buddies. You can ask me anything you don't understand anytime.]

Hearing this, Li Zheng reached out, grabbed the Guider, and after a good rub, knead, and squeeze, exclaimed:

"This feels great!"

[Great your ass! If you keep this up, I'm going on strike!]

"A novice Guider can go on strike? Aren't you supposed to be an AI slave at the players' beck and call?"

[Your whole family is AI slaves! I'll strike if I'm unhappy!]

Realizing he had angered the novice Guider and might lose an important auxiliary tool during the beginner phase, Li Zheng immediately let go, allowing the Guider water sphere to float to the side. He then promptly apologized:

"Sorry, my mistake."

[Kneel and admit your mistake.]

Staring at the arrogant Guider water ball, Li Zheng's expression was helpless:

"I don't understand why the Moon Eclipse Clan designed such a user-friendly newbie Guider."

While complaining, he suddenly remembered his suffering brothers waiting for his feedback outside.

He immediately looked at the Guider water ball and asked:

"Guider, how do I exit the game?"

[It's very simple. Mentally call out "Function Panel," and you'll find the teleportation function there, which can help you return to the real world. This process requires a 30-second wait, during which you cannot take damage, or the teleportation will be interrupted.]

"Got it!"

Following the Guider's instructions, the scene before his eyes was gradually enveloped in darkness as the teleportation countdown began.

A strong sense of weightlessness washed over him, and Li Zheng excitedly shouted in his heart:

"Good brothers, we're going to eat real meat this time!"