Guard the Island

[Blood Moon Arrival Warning: In one minute, the Blood Moon will officially descend and cover the entire zone. At that time, both monsters and players will be affected!]

[Emergency mission released: "Guard the Island"]

[Blood Moon energy triggers monster deformation. In five minutes, monsters will begin attacking player islands.]

[Total mission duration is half an hour. If the zone's total points reach ten million, the mission can be completed early!]

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

[Now, all players, please immediately prepare for defense!]

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

The blood-red words blazed before her eyes, accompanied by the eerie, terrifying background music and the ticking countdown.

Even though Ji Xinghe had experienced a Blood Moon descent once before, she couldn't help but feel a bit tense.

Her heart pounded wildly.

She remembered that in her past life, the disaster after the newbie period was "Extreme Heat"!

The Guard the Island mission had also been against ordinary Sea Beasts, not these Deformed Monsters.

Ji Xinghe had no time to read the newly updated content. She immediately pulled an Anti-Poison Mask from her Storage Box.

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

"Trait: Anti-fog and anti-poison, can block 100% of fog poison below level ten."

This mask should significantly slow down the deformation speed.

In her past life, even an ordinary mask had some effect, let alone a purple-quality item.

She also had the Dark Mist Erosion Core, White Ground Orchid, Purple Raven Grass, and Green Leaf Grass on her to reduce deformation value. It should be fine.

Just as she put on the mask, the system broadcast rang out.

[Ding... Blood Moon has descended!]

[This disaster duration: Ten days.]

[When players are exposed to Blood Moon light outside, deformation speed: +1% per minute. Players in a Shelter or using special items can resist or slow down deformation speed to a certain extent.]

[Deformation value details: When deformation value reaches 60% or above, players will fall into frenzy. At 90% or above, they will go mad and lose their wits. At 100%, they will deform and completely lose their survivor identity, turning into monsters!]

The moment the system broadcast sounded, the originally clear sky gradually turned blood-red.

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

Chilling cold winds blew in gusts, sending shivers down one's spine.

Ji Xinghe pulled her cloak tighter and opened her personal panel.

"Deformation value: 0%" (During the Blood Moon disaster, players in a Shelter reduce deformation value by 0.5% per minute. Players wearing an Anti-Poison Mask reduce deformation value by 0.5% per minute.)

"Bang!" The wooden cup in her hand fell to the ground.

Ji Xinghe stared at the panel, both thrilled and excited. Did this mean that as long as she stayed in the Shelter and wore the mask, the Blood Moon would have no effect on her at all?

She let out a long breath. After confirming she had all her equipment ready, she walked to the door, gripping the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow tightly in her hand.

If that was the case, then she was going to go all out.

For the supplies in the Limited-Time Shop, she had to give it her everything.

Chat channel.

Pray for the God of Wealth's Love: "WTF, why is there a chunk missing from my island? And what the hell is this Blood Moon? Is the system playing background music just to scare me? System, I admit you win. Take it back now."

Tyrannosaurus Warrior: "Deformation value, I get this. The higher the deformation value, the stronger the combat power, right?"

Player 777: "Guy above, read carefully. This isn't a game. No joking around!"

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

Old Pickle Cabbage: "I miss Mommy too..."

Seeing this, Ji Xinghe sighed. Just leaving the newbie village and running into a big boss—this batch of players really had it rough.

She clicked on the channel chat box. Player 001: "Everyone, you can hide in your Shelter first. Even a level-one Shelter can reduce deformation speed to some extent."

May Peace: "Thanks, big shot. Just came in, and the panel shows -0.3% deformation value per minute."

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

Sweet Candy Little Sister: "Then what about those without a Shelter? I used all my materials to buy food..."

Ou Ou Ou Ou Ou: "Then go buy some quick. The big shot's materials are almost sold out."

Hearing this, many people left the channel and rushed to the Trade Market to grab materials.

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

It was still the basic materials from West Sector for one Wow Coin, and she wasn't exploiting Area 66's crisis.

After all, she still had plenty of stones to sell on her island, so 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. Mission countdown: 00:29:59]

[Limited-time shop opened. Shop closing countdown: 00:59:59]

[Area 66 Rankings opened. Real-time viewing available.]

Ji Xinghe closed the panel and looked out at the sea beyond the Shelter, where blood-red monsters were surging endlessly toward her.

She grabbed the Star Feather Repeating Crossbow and walked outside the Shelter.

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

Ignoring the system prompt, she figured—half an hour would only raise the mutation value by 15%. She could afford that!

Watching the blood-red monsters about to land on the island, she fired wooden arrows in rapid succession.