Qi Si returned to Qi Family Village. After taking some fever medicine, he lay down on the bed and entered the Game Space.
This time, he spent two hundred points to extend his stay by two hours beyond the daily one-hour limit.
He covered his face with the Human Skin Mask and sculpted an utterly ordinary, particularly refined-looking student's face in the mirror, changing his eye color to an ordinary dark brown.
Once he was certain there was no trace of "Qi Si" left to be seen, he stepped down from the divine throne, made his way to the bronze doors of the temple, and pushed them open.
Eerie Game Player Plaza, Ruins of Sunset.
The dim yellow sky reflected the colors of dusk. A blood-red sun hung over the horizon, neither setting nor rising.
The wreckage of shattered buildings sprawled across the land. Gaunt colonnades leaned every which way, and the air was thick with inescapable dust. Burn marks mingled with golden molten streams that crawled over every corner.
A black tower rose from the ruins, layer upon layer stretching toward the sky. The six iron doors on every floor were sealed shut, like a solitary grave that had lain silent for ages.
At first, this place had no name. It was simply called "Player Plaza" or "Game Hall."
Later, someone gave it the alternate name "Ruins of Sunset." It was unexpectedly fitting, and gradually spread among the players.
By now, even the Eerie Game recognized the name.
At the heart of the Ruins of Sunset stood a gigantic golden tree. Its deeply rooted, gnarled roots extended like blood vessels into every corner, while its half-real, half-illusory branches and leaves spread in all directions. Floating motes of light drifted around it, and the soft radiance it gave off