First Encounter

Wang Yang stopped when he heard the panicked voice. He could tell the girl's fear was genuine, unlike most players who couldn't stabilize their emotions on the second day of the game.

As someone who knew the game's situation a month later, he fully understood the changes in the player base. Initially, as time passed, emotions like fear and despair would slowly subside, but when rescue never came, all suppressed emotions would rebound violently.

The player base would be absolutely insane then, but only after experiencing such madness would they resignedly accept this world. That would be a month later, when the strategy guide would finally get on track.

It was only the second day of the game, so encountering such a sensitive player wasn't strange. To avoid further agitating the cloaked girl before him, Wang Yang remained silent and still.

Asuna never imagined she would be in this situation. Why had she inexplicably put on the NerveGear headset she never touched that day, then lay on the chair and spoken the command to enter the game?

She ended up trapped in an inescapable cage... She wanted to return to reality... But was that possible?

The game had only been out for two days, and she had already heard many people discussing the player death count, which had reached over three hundred. And this was only two days into the game.

Not believing it, she came to the Monument of Life to verify if it was true.

If it was true, could she still escape this giant cage?

It was impossible, so many people dying in a single day!

Seeing the names crossed out one by one, Asuna wanted to rush back to the Inn and never come out again. But just then, the sudden footsteps truly startled her.

After she questioned the person, the footsteps behind her vanished like a ghost.

Asuna felt her body stiffen slightly, a feedback from her brain nerves.

She slowly turned around and saw a black-haired young man wearing tattered equipment. He was extremely handsome, but his face was quite pale, and his dark eyes seemed dim, making one think of something incorporeal.

Fortunately, there was a green diamond marker above his head, indicating he was a Player. This put Asuna slightly at ease. After a pause, thinking the person before her might have come here with the same thoughts, she lowered her head slightly and quickly walked towards the entrance.

Wang Yang saw the cloaked woman seemed to want to leave. He subconsciously shifted his body to the side. The door was wide enough, and he didn't need to do this, but it was an unconscious action.

Asuna's steps were hurried, making her appear truly panicked to outsiders. Wang Yang sighed inwardly as he watched.

"Give up the idea of waiting for rescue."

Feeling he should do something, Wang Yang said faintly as Asuna brushed past him.

Asuna was startled and instinctively stopped, about a meter in front of Wang Yang.

"There's only one way to log out of the game, and that's to successfully complete the game's strategy. So, even if you don't fight, give up the idea of waiting for rescue. That way, you won't be too disappointed."

With his back to Asuna, Wang Yang spoke in an inexplicable tone.

Asuna bit her lip gently, staring at Wang Yang's back for a moment before turning and leaving.

Give up waiting for rescue?

Waiting for rescue was her only hope right now. How could she give it up?

When Wang Yang reached the Monument of Life, he looked back and saw that the cloaked girl had already left. Thinking about what she had said earlier, he couldn't help but laugh at himself.

Why did he say that? Perhaps it was simply because he didn't want to see a frightened girl become disappointed, almost desperate, a month later. Perhaps it was to convince himself not to be a coward. Setting aside these meaningless words, But do all girls like to wear cloaks these days?

Encountering two cloaked girls in one day was a rather low probability event.

Wang Yang grumbled inwardly, completely unaware that the person who brushed past him was Asuna. He tilted his head slightly to look at the names on the Monument of Life, slowly scanning from left to right. He wasn't interested in counting how many players had died; he just wanted to find He Gu's name and his own.

Vanishing into fragments and disappearing from this world, all that remained were the names crossed out on the Monument of Life. In essence, the massive stone monument before him was like a tombstone for players.

Normally, tombstones were meant to offer solace, but later players resisted coming here. Because just seeing a name crossed out conjured images of their companions dying.

After searching for a while, Wang Yang finally found He Gu's name, crossed out, in the left area of the monument. Next to the name, the reason was concisely stated: "Died at the hands of Monsters..."

His own name was in the bottom right area. Perhaps one day, his name would also be crossed out, provided he didn't hide like a coward.

After silently gazing at He Gu's name for a long time, Wang Yang turned and left the Black Iron Palace. He walked through the bustling square, entered the quiet East Street, and then found an ordinary Inn. He paid 50 Kael and checked in, collapsing onto the bed and falling into a deep sleep.

Before that, he hadn't had time to check his inventory, but undoubtedly, the items in his inventory allowed him to find an Inn and rest without any pressure. All he needed now was a good sleep.

Because he was so tired, he slept soundly. The next day, when Wang Yang woke up, it was already two in the afternoon.

Wang Yang was unaware that around ten o'clock today, an incident occurred in the Town of Beginnings where players successively lost consciousness and fell to the ground. This was because their bodies were being transferred to hospitals in reality. However, this had no impact on Wang Yang, as his real-world body was already in the hospital.

After a good night's sleep, Wang Yang felt refreshed, his fatigue from the previous day completely gone.

The first thing he did upon waking was to open his inventory. He hadn't even looked at the spoils from defeating the Wild Boar Leader yesterday.

Wild Boar Meat x32.

Tusks x25.

Wild Boar Bristles x80.

Broken Tusks x65.

Cloth Headband x2.

Cloth Leggings x1.

He skipped over more than half of the miscellaneous items before the items dropped by the Wild Boar Leader began to appear.

Minor Healing Potion x5.

"Healing Potion!" Wang Yang's eyes narrowed. This was a life-saving item. He quickly opened the effect description.

Minor Healing Potion: Restores 26 HP per second for 10 seconds, with a 30-second cooldown.

At this stage, it only takes about 10 seconds to recover all HP. This is the potion sold in the Apothecary, priced at 500 Kael per bottle.

Back then, even with a Minor Healing Potion, He Gu wouldn't have been able to withstand that final blow, because 10 seconds was too long.

Thinking of the deceased He Gu, Wang Yang's eyes dimmed. Not everyone was as lucky as he was, to meet a Player who taught him how to fight. One must know that most Players who died in the first month did so because they didn't know how to fight and fell to Monsters.

With a soft sigh, Wang Yang continued to flip through his inventory. He pulled down the scroll bar and turned to the next page. The name of the item ranked first caught his eye.

Recovery Crystal x1.

Seeing the Recovery Crystal, Wang Yang was stunned.

What level of Monster was this Wild Boar Leader, to even drop a Recovery Crystal?

Suppressing his surprise, Wang Yang clicked to materialize the item. A Pink Octagonal Crystal appeared in his hand. This was the first time he had come into close contact with a Divine Recovery Item from SAO... an item that could instantly restore all HP.

Gently rubbing the pink crystal, Wang Yang's heart grew even more somber.

The scroll bar in his inventory could still be pulled down another page. Wang Yang hadn't looked at the items below the Recovery Crystal yet, but he was certain that most of the items dropped by the Wild Boar Leader would be valuable.

The credit belonged to two people, yet now he alone enjoyed it.

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