Guard the Island

[Blood Moon Arrival Warning: In one minute, the Blood Moon will fully descend and cover the entire area. All monsters and players will be affected!]

[An urgent mission has now been issued: "Guard the Island."]

[The Blood Moon's energy is causing monsters to mutate. In five minutes, they will begin attacking players' islands.]

[The mission will last half an hour. It can be completed early once the total points for the entire area reach ten million!]

[The Limited-Time Shop will open in five minutes and remain open for one hour.]

[All players, please prepare your defenses immediately!]

[Blood Moon arrival countdown: 00:00:36]

Blood-red letters filled her vision as she listened to the eerie background music and the ticking countdown.

Even though Ji Xinghe had already experienced the Blood Moon's arrival once, she couldn't help feeling nervous.

Her heart pounded wildly.

She remembered that the disaster after the newbie period in her previous life had been Extreme Heat!

The Guard the Island mission had also involved fighting ordinary Sea Beasts, not Deformed Monsters.

Ji Xinghe had no time to check the newly updated information. She immediately took an Anti-Poison Mask out of her Storage Box.

"Anti-Poison Mask (Purple): Equipment item"

"Traits: Protects against fog and poison; can completely block fog poison below Level 10."

This mask should slow down the mutation quite a bit.

The ordinary mask she'd worn in her previous life had helped a little, so a purple-quality item would surely be even better.

She also had a Dark Mist Erosion Core, White Ground Orchid, Purple Raven Grass, and Green Leaf Grass, all of which reduced mutation value. She should be fine.

As soon as she put on the mask, the system announcement sounded.

[Ding... The Blood Moon has arrived!]

[This disaster will last ten days.]

[When players are exposed to the Blood Moon's light outdoors, their mutation rate will increase by 1% per minute. Players inside a Shelter can use special items to block or slow their mutation rate.]

[Mutation value details: At 60% or higher, players will become delirious. At 90% or higher, they will lose their minds and go mad. At 100%, they will mutate into monsters and lose their survivor status completely!]

As the system announcement sounded, the clear sky gradually turned blood-red.

A massive blood-red moon suddenly appeared in the sky, and a faint grayish-red gas, invisible to the naked eye, emerged in the air.

Chilly winds blew in gusts, making people shudder.

Ji Xinghe drew her cloak closer and opened her status panel.

"Mutation value: 0%" (During the Blood Moon disaster, players inside a Shelter will lose 0.5% mutation value per minute. Players wearing an Anti-Poison Mask will lose 0.5% mutation value per minute.)

"Clatter!" The wooden cup slipped from her hand and hit the ground.

Ji Xinghe stared at the panel, delighted and excited. Did this mean that as long as she stayed inside the Shelter and wore the Anti-Poison Mask, the Blood Moon wouldn't affect her at all?

She let out a long breath. After making sure she had all her equipment, she went to the door, gripping the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow tightly.

If that was the case, she could really go on a killing spree.

She'd have to give it her all for the supplies in the Limited-Time Shop.

Chat Channel.

Pray for the God of Wealth's Love: "What the hell? Why's a corner of my island missing? And what is this Blood Moon thing? Is the system playing creepy music to scare me? System, I admit defeat. Take it back already."

Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "Mutation value? I get it. The higher your mutation value, the stronger you are!"

Player 777: "Hey, read the prompt carefully. This isn't a game. Don't joke around!"

Little Fist Wangzai: "Mommy, I'm so scared. Mommy."

Old Pickle Cabbage: "I miss my mommy too..."

Seeing that, Ji Xinghe sighed. They'd just left the newbie village and already run into a major boss. This batch of players sure had it rough.

She tapped the chat box. Player 001: "Everyone can go into your Shelters and hide for now. Even a Level 1 Shelter can slow down your mutation rate."

May Peace: "Thanks, big shot. I just got inside, and my panel shows my mutation value going down by 0.3% per minute."

Pray for the God of Wealth's Love: "Huh? Why is mine only going down by 0.1%?"

Sweet Candy Little Sister: "What about people who don't have a Shelter? I used all my materials to buy food earlier..."

Ou Ou Ou Ou Ou: "Then hurry up and buy some! The big shot's materials are almost all gone."

At that, many people left the channel and rushed to the Trade Market to buy materials.

The materials on the Trade Market were wiped out in an instant. Seeing this, Ji Xinghe quickly listed all the extra materials in her backpack.

She stuck to her usual price: four units of basic materials for one Wow Coin. She wasn't going to take advantage of the crisis.

After all, she still had a lot of stone to sell on her island. She couldn't afford to ruin her reputation.

Five minutes passed in the blink of an eye.

[Ding! The "Guard the Island" mission has begun. Time until the mission ends: 00:29:59.]

[The Limited-Time Shop is now open. Time until it closes: 00:59:59.]

[The Area 66 Rankings are now open. Players can check them in real time.]

Ji Xinghe closed the panel and looked toward the sea outside the Shelter. Blood-red monsters were streaming toward it.

She took the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow and stepped outside the Shelter.

[Player has left the Shelter. Current mutation rate: +0.5% per minute.]

Ignoring the system prompt, she thought, Fifteen percent more mutation value over half an hour? I can handle that!

The blood-red monsters were about to reach the island, and she fired Wood Arrows in quick succession.