Job Change

Coordinates: Storm Abyss Frontline (30.5 km from starting point)

As the ten-meter-tall [Living Flame: Ember] crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar, the terrifying high-temperature force field that had shrouded the canyon exit finally dissipated.

[Server Announcement: Area Obstacle Cleared!]

[Frontline Advance: 30.5 km.]

[Gene Shop Update: "Titan Blood (Diluted)" Stock +3.]

"We won!!"

The cheers of fifty thousand players shook the entire canyon. Like a flood bursting through a dam, the main force surged madly deeper into the map through the gap opened by Feng Xing Tian Xia's squad.

Beside the giant's corpse, Feng Xing Tian Xia's elite squad collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.

Golden level-up pillars of light flared up one after another.

[Congratulations, player "Dali Chu Qiji" has reached LV.10!]

[Congratulations, player "Yun Zhong You" has reached LV.10!]

"Haha! Level 10!"

Dali Chu Qiji waved his now-chipped Bone Hammer excitedly. "The experience is insane! And the bar's still filling—looks like we can keep going!"

"Level 10 is a watershed. The stat changes are massive."

Feng Xing Tian Xia analyzed calmly. "You can only keep leveling after class advancement, so we need to finish the advancement quests ASAP."

However, the other two in the squad—Spirit Pivot Envoy Thunder King and Data Maniac—stared at their own experience bars stuck at LV.9 (95%), their faces twisted with envy and frustration.

"Damn! Just 5% short!" Thunder King wailed. "Did I miss a skill cast back there?"

"That's the contribution gap."

"Dali tanked the most damage, Youzi healed the whole raid—their contribution is naturally higher than you DPS players."

Feng Xing Tian Xia glanced at the Gene Shop stock: 3.

Besides the one he'd already bought, exactly three had just been restocked.

"Dali, Youzi, you two go advance first, then buy potions." Feng Xing Tian Xia arranged. "Thunder King and Data Maniac, grind mobs around here to fill that last 5%, then catch up on the next push."

"No problem!" Though Thunder King was itching for it, he understood the logic of maximizing combat power. "Plenty of mobs anyway—we'll catch up soon."

"Let's go. Back to town to find the NPC."

Feng Xing Tian Xia watched the two tear up their Town Portal Scrolls. "Remember, this game has no instances. The advancement quest might send you somewhere even more dangerous."

Sighing Corridor - Watcher's Station.

A flash of white light, and the three returned to that white calcified highland.

[Watcher: Zero] still stood there in solitude. As Dali and Yun Zhong You approached, his ghostly blue soul flame leaped abruptly.

"Mortal shells have reached their limit."

Zero's voice was hoarse and majestic. "To bear greater power, you need not enter illusory realms. The battlefield is the finest proving ground."

[Yun Zhong You's Perspective]

Zero looked at Yun Zhong You: "Life Weaver, your power stems from sustaining life. In this lung filled with death and decay, you must prove you can snatch lives from the Reaper's grasp."

[Advancement Quest: Flower in the Dead Land (Life Sage)]

[Objective: Go to "Storm Abyss - B3 Necrotic Zone," locate a "Dying Immune Node" (friendly NPC unit), and defend it for 10 minutes under siege from countless "Corpse Beetles," with the node's HP not falling below 50%.]

[Note: Other players or monsters may interfere with you.]

"The B3 Necrotic Zone? That place is full of poison gas!"

Yun Zhong You took a deep breath and tightened her grip on her Staff. "But I can do it!"

[Dali Chu Qiji's Perspective]

When it was Dali's turn, the [High-Energy Amber Essence] in his backpack resonated violently.

Zero stared at him: "You... carry the scent of flame. A Divine Guard is not merely a shield; it can also be the hellfire that consumes all. But to master fire, one must first be consumed by it."

[Hidden Advancement Quest Triggered: Flesh Furnace (Flame Prison Guard)]

[Objective: Go to "Storm Abyss - Geothermal Fissure," jump into an "Active Magma Pool" without using any fire resistance potions, Phagocytosis the lava, and survive for 300 seconds.]

[Warning: This is true damage. Failure will result in the character being completely annihilated, with a level loss of -1.]

"Jump into magma?"

Dali Chu Qiji looked at the quest description, grinned, and flashed a mouthful of white teeth. "Now that's what I'm talking about! Real men take lava baths!"

Coordinates: Storm Abyss - Geothermal Fissure.

This was a dangerous area on the flank of the frontline, the ground covered in cracked wounds from which crimson "magma" (high-temperature tissue fluid) erupted.

Dali Chu Qiji stood beside a bubbling magma pool, with quite a few passing players gathered around to watch the spectacle.

"Holy shit? What's that guy trying to do? Kill himself?"

"That ID is Dali Chu Qiji! The number one Divine Guard on the server!"

Dali ignored the stares around him. He glanced at Yun Zhong You beside him.

"Youzi, your mission spot is right next to that withered tumor (Immunity Node) over there. But on my end... I'll probably need you to heal me a few times."

"Don't worry." Yun Zhong You raised her staff. "We'll get through this together."

"Let's go all out!"

Dali Chu Qiji roared, checked the High-Energy Amber in his backpack, and leaped!

Splash!

He jumped straight into the magma pool, which was several hundred degrees hot.

"Ahhh---!!!"

Even with pain dulled, the suffocating sensation of being wrapped in high heat still forced a scream from him.

His health bar above his head began plummeting!

[-50!][-50!]

"Now! Eat it!"

Enduring the searing pain, Dali gulped down the boiling magma in huge mouthfuls!

Boom!

A red light shot into the sky.

Dozens of [Gelatinous Lava] (LV.8) wandering nearby were drawn by this energy, surging madly toward the magma pool, trying to claim a share.

"Monsters are coming! Hang in there, Dali!"

Yun Zhong You stood on the bank, healing the nearby Immunity Node while also splitting her attention to toss healing spells at Dali in the magma.

[Life Surge!]

White gel landed in the magma, instantly vaporizing, but the healing effect still took hold.

"Nobody's gonna interrupt my class change!"

Dali stood up in the magma. His skin was charring and peeling off, but new, black carapace flowing with a magma-like luster was forming.

He suddenly swung a fist, sending up a wave of magma that scalded the Gelatinous Lava rushing at him to death on the spot.

"Awesome!!!"

Five minutes later.

Two dazzling pillars of light rose on this chaotic battlefield, drawing the attention of nearby players leveling up.

Dali Chu Qiji climbed out of the magma pool.

His appearance had undergone a radical transformation: his full-body plate armor had become charcoal-like obsidian material, with unquenchable flames flowing through the gaps, and his hands had turned into two massive [Lava Gauntlets], leaving scorch marks on the ground wherever he walked.

[Class Change Successful: Flame Prison Guard]

Meanwhile, the staff in Yun Zhong You's hand had evolved into a crystal-clear [Resurrection Scepter], surrounded by a pale green aura of life.

[Class Change Successful: Life Sage]

"So this is the power of a class change..."

Dali clenched his fist and punched the rock beside him.

Boom!

The rock shattered outright, with an explosive burn effect.

"Don't just show off."

Feng Xing Tian Xia walked over. "Buy the potions."

The two immediately opened the shop, spent 3000 Bio-Energy, and bought the two golden [Titan Blood (Diluted Version)].

The stock instantly dropped to 1.

"Drink up and log off."

Feng Xing Tian Xia's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible tension. "Remember, no matter what happens, log back on in half an hour. We'll be waiting for you at the A7 District frontline."

"Got it!"

Blue Star, the real world. Jingdu City First People's Hospital.

Three in the morning.

Li You (Yun Zhong You) took off her helmet, trembling as if her whole body were shaking with nervousness.

The reason she said "seemed" was because her high-level paraplegia prevented even a tremor.

Boom!

A scalding hot current materialized inside her body, surging violently along her long-dead spinal column. Pain, excruciating pain, as if someone were chiseling her bones anew.

Fifteen minutes later, the heat receded.

Li You lay on the bed, drenched in sweat, tentatively issuing a command to her legs.

At first, nothing happened.

But just as despair was about to set in, the big toe of her right foot twitched—extremely faintly.

"..."

Sensation was returning.

Li You covered her mouth, tears bursting forth instantly.

Three years.

Her legs were no longer two dead logs.

A cheap rental room.

Wang Daqiang (Dali Chu Qiji) was curled up on the floor like a boiled shrimp.

His reaction was more intense than Li You's; every muscle in his body spasmed and reknit itself.

When he finally recovered and stood up, a series of crackling pops echoed from his bones.

He glanced at the 50-kilogram grip strengthener in the corner.

He squeezed it casually.

Crack!

The grip strengthener bottomed out in one pull!

"Holy shit..."

Wang Daqiang stared at his own hand, then at the muscle lines in the mirror that seemed to brim with explosive power.

"Is this Resident Evil or a spiritual awakening?"

Half an hour later. In-game.

When Dali and Yun Zhong You reappeared on the front lines of A7 District, even through the virtual avatars, Feng Xing Tian Xia could sense that completely different aura.

It was the unwavering conviction of a zealot.

"Brother Feng."

Yun Zhong You's voice was still trembling. "My toe moved."

"My back is healed, and my strength is terrifying." Dali Chu Qiji clenched his lava-flowing arm braces, flames burning in his eyes. "Killing monsters to get stronger—that's no longer just a slogan."

Thunder King and Data Maniac, who hadn't yet bought their potions, breathed heavily, itching to charge into the monster horde and slaughter everything.

"Don't rush. Potions will come. Everything will come."

Feng Xing Tian Xia calmed the group, but as he looked at the long, mist-shrouded dark corridor ahead, his brow furrowed.

"But we have a big problem."

He pointed at the map. "We've cleared thirty kilometers, but compared to the total journey of tens of millions of kilometers, that's not even a fraction. If our fifty thousand people rely on their own two legs to run there, we'll be dead and buried before we even see the final boss."

Just as Feng Xing Tian Xia was racking his brain for a solution, the sky suddenly trembled.

High-Dimensional Perspective: Titan Divine Body.

Gu Yuan was watching the players gathered on the front lines.

Though their morale was high, he understood the despair of the microscopic scale. A distance that was merely one breath for him was an endless march for the players.

"Relying on walking alone, my lungs won't even be healed before these players die of exhaustion."

Gu Yuan turned his gaze to the dense [Capillary Network] around the Bronchi.

Under normal circumstances, these blood vessels should function like a developed subway network, transporting Red Blood Cells (Crimson Boat) directly to the front lines. But now, due to severe inflammation and necrosis, all these "microcirculation channels" were clogged with metabolic waste and dead cell corpses.

"The road is blocked, so build a road."

"The blood doesn't flow, so dredge it."

With a thought, Gu Yuan mobilized his remaining divine power, and a golden, epic-level quest frame popped up on every player's interface.

code
[Server-wide Epic Construction Campaign: Crimson Project]

[Description: Warriors, the road to the core of the Abyss is long and perilous. To support the expedition of the great army, we must establish an uninterrupted supply line.]

[Core Objective: Reactivate the "Crimson Channel."]

[Phase Mission One: Clean Sweep (Waste Disposal)] Objective: Clear the "Stale Sediment" (blocked capillary entrances) on the side walls of the Storm Abyss. Required Classes: Divine Guard (haul boulders), Hunter (cut hard chunks). Reward: +50 Bio-Energy per ton cleared.

[Phase Mission Two: Hardened Pavement (Tissue Repair)] Objective: Use Bio-Gel to harden the soft, ulcerated ground into a dock suitable for the "Crimson Boat" to berth. Required Classes: Life Weaver (spray gel), Spirit Pivot Envoy (high-temperature drying). Reward: Experience points calculated by construction area.

[Phase Mission Three: Guide the Star Boat (Dredge Microcirculation)] Objective: Re-guide the "Crimson Boat" into the front lines through the opened "Crystal Tunnel" (capillaries). Reward: Unlock server-wide "Fast Travel" nodes.

As soon as this mission appeared, Feng Xing Tian Xia, who had been at a loss, suddenly lit up.

"The officials are going for a major infrastructure build!"

"Restart the channel? Does that mean we can drive those flying saucer vehicles straight to the front lines?"

For Dragon Kingdom players, what could get their DNA pumping more than "building roads"?

"Brothers! We've got work!"

Feng Xing Tian Xia roared in the regional channel, his voice spreading across the entire A7 War Zone.

"The system says so! We're building a highway! Send some people over to do some foundation—oh, I mean, infrastructure!"

"Divine Guard Corps! Put down the hammers, grab the shovels! Dig out all that garbage blocking the way!"

"Life Weaver Corps! Don't save your mana, lay down the floor!"

"After this, we might be able to build Respawn Points and teleport arrays right up to the boss's face!"

In an instant, tens of thousands of players turned into a frenzied construction crew, especially the newbies with limited combat power.

The battlefield, once thick with killing intent, suddenly changed its tune.

Dali Chu Qiji swung his Lava Gauntlets, rumbling like a human tunnel boring machine, smashing through the calcified rocks blocking the vessels.

Yun Zhong You led thousands of healers, like pouring concrete, hardening the originally muddy, rotten flesh ground into a clean, white, flat Bone Boulevard.

And behind them, in that tiny, newly dredged tunnel, the first massive [Crimson Boat], radiating a soft red glow, slowly sailed into the front lines along the re-flowing energy fluid.

That was a supply shipment from the heart.

It was also an express train to the abyss.

Gu Yuan watched this scene, a hint of a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"That's right."

"With the road open, the blood flows, and half of my illness is cured."

"Next, it's about using that newly built highway to launch your fifty-thousand-strong army like cannonballs straight into the Flame Demon's lair."