Night fell. As the clock neared seven, Wang Yang returned to Town of Beginnings through the East Gate, his equipment's durability on the verge of hitting zero. A five-meter-wide Bluestone Road connected the East Gate to the plaza at the center of town.
At the bottom of the second level, Mimic Sunlight had been replaced by the dim glow of Night Light. Lamps were lit in every building along both sides of Bluestone Road. Each building had its own NCP, and at this hour, according to their programming, most of them were going through meaningless motions of eating.
As Wang Yang walked down Bluestone Road, he even saw a reflection in the window of a house. It didn't take much imagination to picture a family of three enjoying a meal together inside.
This was life for the NCPs. They had no AI, but followed their daily routines, sitting down to eat together without any real feelings. Yet this pitiful behavior was something most players desperately envied.
Trapped in the game, they could no longer share the everyday meals they'd taken for granted with their families. That had become an unattainable luxury.
Only after losing something did people learn to cherish it and regret taking it for granted.
As Wang Yang walked along, he saw several players standing outside houses, staring blankly through the windows. He even heard one of the women let out a stifled sob.
Though he could only see their backs, he could imagine the expressions on their faces.
Perhaps they were lonely, despairing, envious—and still clinging to a little hope deep down.
Other players sat in small groups on chairs, steps, and even the ground, each slowly eating a piece of bread held in both hands.
Their faces were stamped with a painfully vivid mix of numbness and dejection.
After walking only a short stretch, Wang Yang suddenly felt a bitter urge to burst out laughing. Perhaps he should be grateful that he came from Earth, that he had arrived in this world alone, and that he had no one he missed back in the world he'd left behind.
Otherwise, he would have been in even worse shape than the players he'd seen. Even if the game released them, he would only return to reality—not to his own Earth.
Taking in the people he'd seen along the way, Wang Yang walked indifferently down the main road and entered the plaza, which could hold ten thousand people.
There were far more players in the plaza than on Bluestone Road, and they didn't look as downcast. The contrast between the two groups was stark, as if the plaza and Bluestone Road belonged to two separate worlds.
The players on Bluestone Road were mostly waiting to be rescued, while those in the plaza were working to escape the game as soon as possible.
The players in the plaza weren't numb or dejected. Small groups gathered to eat, and scattered laughter could even be heard among them.
They might still be afraid, but fear hadn't stopped them from moving. There wasn't a single player on their own in the plaza. To put it plainly, nobody stood alone; even the smallest groups had four or five people.
Of course, that was just what Wang Yang could tell at a glance. The full picture might be different.
As he headed straight for the Black Iron Palace, Wang Yang couldn't help overhearing some players' conversations.
"I'm level two now. Frenzied Boars only give around ten Experience Points. Should we hunt higher-level monsters tomorrow?"
"We'll have to. Have any of you noticed the Drop Rate's gotten a lot lower?"
"Oh? I hadn't noticed."
"Never mind, then. Let's hunt level-two wolves tomorrow."
"Sounds good. If we're careful, it shouldn't be dangerous."
"Has anyone counted the names crossed out on the Monument of Life?"
"How many?"
"...308."
"..."
"That can't be right."
"It's true. Apparently, the first name was crossed out two hours after the game began. The cause of death was... suicide."
"Were a lot of those 308 people suicides?"
"Maybe..."
"Let's go look at the Monument of Life after dinner."
"No... Just standing in front of it gives me the creeps."
"Uh..."
"Have you heard? A squad called Sword and Fire is warning players to watch out for a hunter."
"A hunter? What's that?"
"I don't know all the details, but apparently, during the Beta Test, some people targeted other players. They'd gain their trust, then look for a chance to kill them and take their dropped equipment. People like that are called hunters."
"No way! How could anyone do something like that?"
"Hmph. Why's that so surprising? Anyway, watch out for someone called Xiang Kong."
As he walked past, snippets of conversation reached Wang Yang's ears. By chance, he heard them mention himself. He froze and looked toward the voices, only to see a face full of disgust.
"So that's how it is..."
He sighed inwardly. The Xiang Kong they were talking about was most likely him, and the disgust on that person's face was clearly directed at him.
It was because of the story he'd made up last night. He'd accidentally earned himself a reputation nobody would welcome. He hadn't expected Sword and Fire Squad to spread a warning like that, or for it to travel so quickly. Still, given their reasons, Wang Yang had no right to blame them.
After all, he despised people who targeted other players, and in the days to come, there would even be players who took pleasure in killing.
Even after everyone learned what people were really like, distrust and wariness would still run rampant among the players. Those people were the root cause.
Thinking of this, Wang Yang opened his Friend List. He Gu's name had gone dark and would never light up again, while Arthurslin's and Argo's names were still lit.
Looking at Arthurslin's name, Wang Yang suddenly wondered: Sword and Fire Squad decided to spread the warning to protect the players. You didn't try to stop them, did you? Those people are awful, after all. But why haven't you deleted me?
Wang Yang couldn't quite understand. His index finger hovered beside Arthurslin's name. Then, as if possessed, he tapped the option to delete her.
"Should I delete her...?"
He stared silently at Arthurslin's name and let out a quiet sigh. Then he moved his finger away and closed the system menu.
After thinking it over, he decided Arthurslin probably hadn't deleted him because a tiny trace of doubt remained in her heart. He wanted to erase that doubt completely by deleting her himself, so she could believe he was a hunter and understand that this world wasn't a kind place.
But in the end, he was just an ordinary person. In this unfamiliar world, he didn't want to be the one to erase the good memories they'd shared.
He shook his head, trying to cast off his sentimental thoughts, gave a wry smile, and entered the Black Iron Palace.
As he passed through the entrance, the first thing he saw was a huge, two-meter-tall Monument of Life. Rows of stone pillars stood to either side of it.
Flickering candle flames burned high on the walls in each of the four corners, casting a faint glow over the Black Iron Palace's entrance hall.
Wang Yang hadn't expected anyone to visit the Monument of Life at this hour, but as soon as he entered the hall, he saw he'd been wrong.
Someone stood in front of the monument besides him, wrapped in a hooded cloak and about 1.6 meters tall. The cloak hid their build, making it impossible to tell whether the player was a man or a woman.
"Who's there?" Wang Yang had barely set foot in the hall when the cloaked player asked sharply, their voice alert.
The voice was clear and bright, like an oriole singing in a valley—beautiful, but Wang Yang could clearly hear the panic in it.
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