[Witness the true world...]
Suddenly, the words on the System Panel twisted and flickered like garbled text, then vanished completely.
"?"
Pipi Axe watched his boss looking utterly dazed and cautiously waved a bony hand in front of Su Li's eyes.
Pipi Finger was more direct. Its five fingers crawled up onto Su Li's shoulder, trying to wake its disconnected master.
After a long while...
"Whew—" Su Li's Soulfire flickered violently.
He stared around in confusion.
"What did I just see?" Su Li instinctively tried to recall the scene from that moment.
But a sharp pain immediately shot through the depths of his soul.
The pain didn't come from his body. It came from a collapse in his perception.
It was as if an eraser had forcibly wiped away part of his memory, leaving only a blurry, distorted patch of color.
The only thing he could remember was red: boundless red, clashing, devouring, and tearing at another, even more frenzied red.
That war had transcended dimensions. Just glimpsing its aftermath had nearly shattered his soul on the spot.
"Hiss..." Su Li clutched his head, his Soulfire turning an even deeper crimson from the pain.
"Forget it. I'm not thinking about it." After a moment, Su Li decisively gave up.
"This game even has a memory-wiping function? What kind of black technology is this? Is it to stop players' SAN Value from hitting zero?"
If he couldn't remember, then it meant he wasn't qualified to know yet.
He turned around and looked toward the place he had come up from.
The enormous hole Pipi Dragon had smashed open, along with the abyss below, had vanished. The Corruption Pool had returned to normal, as if everything that had just happened were only a hallucination.
[Congratulations! Exploration successful... Congratulations on leveling up! Lv9 → Lv10 (0/24800)]
[Obtained Free Attribute Points: 3, Current Free Attribute Points: 6 (
Staring at the system notification, Su Li froze.
"What exactly happened down there? How did I level up?"
Before he could think it through, an even more eye-catching golden notification box appeared, filling his entire field of vision.
[Player has reached Lv10. Race: Revered Corrupted Skeleton Soldier]
[Searching for evolution paths...]
[Search complete. As the first skeleton player on the server to reach Lv10, you have triggered a special evolution branch.]
"I can evolve!" Su Li perked up. His headache was instantly forgotten.
This was his second major evolution! It was sure to be a qualitative leap!
[Option One: Revered Corrupted Lich Knight]
[Description: Death is not the end, and corruption is another form of rebirth. You have broken the boundary between warriors and spellcasters, perfectly combining the strength of the body with the magic of the soul.]
[Attribute Bonuses: Strength +10, Spirit +15, Faith +15]
[Passive Trait: Corruption Bed upgraded. Magic in your left hand, combat techniques in your right. When alternating between spellcasting and melee attacks, damage amplifies each other by 15%.]
[Disguise: As a lich, you have mastered the basic secrets of reshaping flesh. Compared to a skeleton, you will look a little more human.]
[Special Unlock: Retinue Knight (0/2). Your contracted undead will gain the right to evolve alongside you.]
[Option Two: Heavy Skeleton Knight]
[Description: An iron fortress specialized in defense. There's nothing a shield can't block. And if one isn't enough, use two.]
[Attribute Bonuses: Strength +10, Constitution +30]
[Passive Trait: Ultimate Protection: When equipped with a greatshield, Block Value increases by 50%. Tank: Maximum HP increases by 30%, and when you take fatal damage, there's a chance you'll be forced to retain 1 HP.]
[Special Unlock: Retinue Knight (0/2).]
[Option Three: Revered Corrupted Skeleton Swordsman]
[Description: A swordsman who pursues the ultimate speed. In the martial arts world, nothing is unbeatable if it isn't fast.]
[Attribute Bonuses: Strength +10, Agility +20, Spirit +5, Constitution +5]
Su Li's gaze swept over the three options before settling firmly on [Option One].
"A little more human!" It perfectly matched the upgrade path he had planned for himself!
"And Lich Knight sounds so impressive. A staff in my left hand, a greatsword in my right—that's what a man's romance is all about!"
"But I have to play it safe before evolving!" Su Li beckoned to Pipi Finger, practiced as ever.
Su Li lay down with satisfaction. "I feel like I'm getting more and more used to burying myself..."
As the soil covered his vision, Su Li entered the evolution countdown.
"Ten minutes left. Might as well browse the forums."
The group chat was quiet. Chatty Spider and the Slime were probably busy leveling up; neither had made a sound.
He casually refreshed the "Latest" page, and a shocking headline caught his eye.
[Unluckiest Player: Shocking! Whatever you do, don't die! The death penalty is brutal! A lesson learned in blood!]
Su Li raised an eyebrow and clicked on it.
OP: "Guys, I'm screwed. I might be the first player on the server to actually die.
"I'm telling you from personal experience: whatever you do, don't! Don't! Don't! take stupid risks!
"The death penalty in this game isn't as simple as losing levels and equipment. It straight-up deletes your character and makes you start over!
"And then you have to serve a 30-day death penalty in real time. You can't create a new character or log into the game during that period!
"In other words, I have to sit in jail for a whole month before I can play again!"
Second Floor: "Holy crap, seriously? They delete your character and ban you for a month? That's hardcore!"
OP: "Absolutely true! I tried to contact Eternal Technology's customer service, only to find out this damn company doesn't even have a customer service number on its official website! There's nowhere to file a complaint!"
Fourth Floor: "Can you tell us how you died? This game feels so realistic that I'm scared to take stupid risks."
OP: "It's a long story..."
Sixth Floor: "Then make it short. Nobody wants to read you padding out the word count!"
OP: "All right. I got curious and climbed up beside the village's Septic Tank. Then I slipped..."
Seventh Floor: "..."
Eighth Floor: "You're a real madman. And that's one hell of a stinky way to die."
Ninth Floor: "Rest in peace, OP. Next time you're reincarnated, stay away from the cesspit."
Su Li read the post, the corners of his mouth twitching wildly. "This batch of players is full of characters."
He silently closed the very stinky post, but his guard was now at its highest.
That penalty was enough to scare people away. But that was exactly why the game was so addictive.
"Looks like I'll have to play it even safer from now on. Absolutely no reckless moves."
Just then, the system notification sounded. [Evolution countdown complete.]
"Vmmm—" The light surrounding him gradually faded...
But before he could check what had changed—
"Bzz—bzz—" The entire world suddenly shuddered violently.
Then the whole Corrupted Cave, and even the entire Aiseland Continent, seemed to have been frozen in place.
"What's going on?!" Su Li realized he couldn't move. He turned to look at Pipi Axe and the others, only to see them standing motionless like statues.
Then a notice appeared before Su Li.
[System Announcement: To provide a better gaming experience, the server will undergo maintenance.]
[Estimated Maintenance Time: 48 hours in Blue Star time.]
[Preview of Update Contents: Remove restrictions on beginner areas, open up the world map, launch a small-scale multiplayer test, add 200 beta access slots, and optimize the evolution models of certain races.]
[Countdown: 3...2...1...]
"Damn it! Forty-eight hours for an update? Is your server made of potatoes?!" Su Li only had time to complain to himself.
The next second, his vision went black, and his consciousness was forcibly pulled away.
Real world, 7:00 a.m.
Su Li removed his headset and sat up in bed.
"Whew—" He didn't feel tired from staying up late. Instead, he felt indescribably refreshed.
It was like he'd just had a full-body massage, with every cell in his body cheering.
Today was a rare day off. His younger sister, Su Lin Yue, who was in her senior year of high school, was probably still sleeping in. He didn't have to get up early to cook.
"Can't log in for 48 hours. What should I do these next two days?"
Su Li picked up the Huami phone he'd bought recently and habitually started scrolling through Douyin.
[Breaking News: A netizen from Ameriken calling himself "Old A" posted a video claiming he saw a "Slime" grow tentacles...]
"Slime?" Su Li's heart gave an inexplicable jolt.
Before he could look closer, the page displayed the message "Content removed for violating regulations."
"..." Su Li frowned and kept scrolling.
[Trending: Recently, young people in many parts of the world have been experiencing strange symptoms, including confusion and slurred speech. Experts say this is an extreme case of "dementia at a younger age," and urge young people to stay up less, play fewer games, and get enough sleep...]
The comments were full of jokes: "The experts are right, so I choose to cultivate all night."
Su Li naturally scoffed at the experts' advice to go to bed early.
"Creak—" The sound of Su Lin Yue's bedroom door opening came from down the hall.
"Huh? Yueyue's up this early? She really is the pride of the Su family." Su Li quickly got out of bed and left his room.
Before you continue