Chapter 234
Grass!
A bright red plasma ball came flying towards me, grazing my hair as it retracted, and then exploded overhead with a loud bang.
The entire hangar was trembling slightly, and large amounts of molten steel dripped down, leaving Yuki, who was leaning against the wall, looking completely bewildered.
The warning hasn't been given, the game hasn't even started, and the war has already begun?!
Chapter 3 Levi Ackerman and Johnny Silverhand (5K)
Boom--
The hangar ceiling began to melt, molten steel bursting overhead, while Yuki, lying on the ground, looked completely bewildered.
Past experience seemed to have lost its value. In the four dungeons we went through, veteran players would gather in advance, and there was never a direct confrontation.
Are they dungeon monsters or players?
Yuki was unaware of this, and simply listened intently amidst the chaotic sounds.
"Damn it, we finally got a faction quest where we could make a decent profit, but the 'Mechanical Believers' has gone mad again."
"It's because they have a grudge against the 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons'; they'll be too restrained once the game starts."
"You have a grudge against us, so you're trying to sabotage us?"
"Damn it, from now on I'll kill every single Mechanical Believers I see."
"Terminate the exploration spacecraft and return to the landing module immediately."
Some were cursing, some were fleeing, Yuki obtained important information:
This is a battle between players; two rival factions clash before the game even begins.
That person is right. No one knows what restrictions the Reincarnation Game will set, forcing the two factions to stand on the same side with their noses in their mouths.
Yes, in the past, veteran players could start a battle on their first encounter, but to improve their survival rate, they would usually choose to wait.
"The hatred between these factions is greater than I imagined. Enemies meeting are extremely hostile, and they've even lost their rationality?"
Yuki hadn't forgotten that this was on a spaceship. Weren't they afraid of blowing it up and turning all the players into floating space debris?
Looking up, they realized the other side was truly fearless; aside from melting a large crater in the hangar ceiling, the spaceship was completely unharmed.
Most players prioritize survival and no one joins the fight. Yuki leans over the railing, his breath catching in his throat.
Players, lots of players.
Some people were wearing Western fantasy-style armor, while others wore uniform white combat suits. In any case, none of them should have been on this spaceship. A quick glance revealed at least several dozen people, and almost all of them were in groups.
They rushed out from the other end of the hangar, clearly those who had gone to explore the spaceship, and were surging into the passageway leading to the landing module, the indicator lights turning red.
There were too many people, and Yuki couldn't see anyone he knew clearly, so he quickly craned his neck to look down.
Sure enough, there were more than a dozen people confronting each other below the hangar. This time he looked more carefully and immediately saw the problem.
The five people on the left include one man and two women who look very familiar. The man is wearing sunglasses and armor, and his silver left hand is particularly conspicuous. Behind him is a little girl with green pigtails who is holding a huge high-tech gun.
Damn, Johnny Silverhand? Was the green-haired girl named Rebecca or Rebecca Chambers?
These two are characters from Cyberpunk 2077. Next to them are some players who look very punk, covered in various prosthetics. Among them is a rather handsome blue-haired boy whose style Taiyi from his companions.
Damn it, Aslan Zara, where did his genius go?
That's right, this is the 'Mechanical Believers'; and looking at the other side, the 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' is even more fitting.
They exuded a strong negative energy, and there were also semi-transparent ghosts, with the leaders being particularly eye-catching.
The boy with short red hair and tattoos all over his body —Yuki couldn't remember which Upper Moon he was, but he was definitely a demon from 'Demon Slayer'; next to him was a young man with long gray-blue hair, covered in stitches, and a smiling face—this one was more familiar.
Mahito, a top-tier cursed spirit. I remember their ability was something like stitching souls together.
Yuki held his breath. They were 'familiar faces' again, but the situation was completely different from before; they were all capable of fighting.
The two sides seemed to be exchanging words, but it was too far away to hear clearly. After a few minutes of standoff, the side of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons couldn't hold back any longer.
Soon.
The red-haired boy's figure blurred in my retina as he lunged forward at Transcendental Grade speed, only to be met with Johnny Silverhand raising his left arm and unleashing a blue force field.
Like beans conjuring soldiers, these fleshy buds rapidly expanded, growing into a bunch of twisted monsters, before they could run more than a few meters before being swept down by a hail of bullets.
The boy was blocked on the outside, punching the force field repeatedly, while the Mahito smiled and spread his hands, scattering a patch of flesh.
"Hahaha, you piece of trash!"
Rebecca Chambers's arrogant laughter reached Yuki's ears. A phantom cross appeared in his right eye. The gun in his hand disassembled and reassembled, and the six barrels kept spitting out tongues of fire, smashing countless round craters into the hangar wall.
Cursed energy, fighting spirit, stray bullets, and lasers flew everywhere, forcing even Yuki, who was secretly watching the battle, to dodge in all directions.
He was excited, though. The growth of people like Mai Sakurajima was completely unpredictable, but the performance of Johnny Silverhand and the others was in line with his expectations.
First, they will still choose a familiar power system.
Secondly, in terms of combat style, it is still an improvement on the version before it was added to the game, except that the 'Mechanical Believers' is slightly more difficult to control.
Third, he finally understood the significance of 'comprehensive evaluation'.
Based on their demonstrated strength, some of these individuals were stronger than expected, while others were weaker, which corresponds precisely to the improvement and retrieval of their abilities.
'In other words, I can use the informational advantage of a time traveler to make predictions.'
Yuki clenched his fist and ran across the outer ladder, showing no intention of intervening in the battle. There were still three minutes left, not enough time for either side to determine a winner. He had to be on guard, lest someone unleash a powerful attack that actually destroyed the spaceship.
But it's unlikely. The fact that the game doesn't impose any restrictions means that players with their current abilities cannot damage the spaceship in a short time.
As he ran, he glanced to the side; the fierce battle had already resulted in casualties, and the tension was escalating.
Where did the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons get so much energy? And where did the Mechanical Believers get so many Chaos Item?
Yuki saw Johnny Silverhand almost transform into Iron Man, manipulating force fields while unleashing laser cannons with his hands, his feet becoming jets, moving at incredible speed.
This is somewhat like Adam, but completely different; the modified body components are incredibly smooth, and no side effects have been observed.
Faction talents?
Yuki couldn't help but think in that direction, and then his eyes widened slowly. He saw a phantom appear behind Aslan, like a steel Giant gradually materializing.
Holy crap, do they really pilot a Gundam?
Only Yuki could probably recognize the shape of this machine at a glance, and then realize that it was smaller than he remembered, only about seven or eight meters long.
As a plastics enthusiast, he knew that this machine was originally supposed to be over 15 meters tall and weigh nearly 70 tons.
It's definitely not Chaos Item. Could it be that a war machine has the potential for growth?
That's funny, really funny.
Yuki grinned. This was like the ultimate version of Guan Yu fighting Qin Qiong. He realized that the Mahito was obviously not afraid of this steel monster at all. As a master of manipulating souls, he had no reason to be afraid of a lump of iron.
Bang!!
Suddenly, a loud bang silenced all the sounds of battle and made Yuki abruptly stop.
A sword mark several meters wide was cleaved into the steel floor, precisely separating the two sides locked in fierce combat.
Everyone turned their heads and saw a simple, unadorned greatsword. Looking upwards, they saw silver armor.
A stunningly beautiful blonde woman smiled gently at both sides, "Gentlemen, do you really want to become the target of everyone's criticism?"
Behind the mature woman were three others: a young woman in a martial arts outfit who looked like she stepped out of a martial arts movie, a blond strongman, and a short man with black hair.
"Oh, so the 'Hunters' want to get involved too?" The Mahito paused for a moment, then spread his hands helplessly and said, "Smiling Lady, they attacked first. It has nothing to do with us."
"Nonsense, isn't it just that you guys are greedy for other people's modified bodies and want to sell them for points?" The black-haired dwarf stepped forward, his face gloomy.
Before the Mahito could speak, the red-haired demon had already pushed him aside, his shattered fingers quickly repaired, and he stared intently at the dwarf.
"Captain, I challenge you to a battle."
The dwarf remained expressionless, carefully scrutinizing the other man before turning his head away. "I can't kill you in two minutes. Maybe next time."
You!
The demon grinned, almost lunging forward, but after taking a few steps, it was grabbed by the collar by the Mahito.
The long-haired spirit still had a smile on his face, his right hand on his chest, and he bowed slightly. "The Hunters are right. The game hasn't even started yet, and there might be opportunities to cooperate in the future. It's really not right to lose face like this."
Its words are naive. Things have already turned ugly; there's no room for cooperation. It's just that it's afraid the two sides will join forces and devour it first.
"No need for thanks. I know exactly what you're planning to do." The Smiling Lady nodded slightly, her silver eyes filled with sharpness.
"Ha, you flatter me. Actually, even I don't know what I want to do." Mahito rubbed his hair, seeing that time was running out, and didn't press the matter further.
Smack
After the snap of his fingers, a one-eyed ghost rapidly expanded, opening its massive mouth like a bursting balloon, carrying away all its wounded and dead soldiers. In the blink of an eye, it vanished without a trace from the hangar.
They really are a group of ghosts, extremely dangerous. We need to find a way to get rid of them as soon as possible.
The Smiling Lady showed no murderous intent, merely exchanging a glance with Johnny Silverhand: "Fellow followers of the Mechanical Believers, how about we cooperate in this instance?"
In this confined space, the Mechanical Believers were clearly at a disadvantage. Johnny Silverhand glanced at the two drained corpses on the ground, cursing under his breath as he lit a cigar.
He had no reason to refuse the olive branch extended by the 'Hunters,' as if he was well aware of the other side's position in the game.
"Madam, that depends on whether there's an opportunity to cooperate later. Of course, personally, I'd be happy to join forces with a powerful team like yours."
"There will definitely be a chance. Let's get into the landing craft first." The woman put her greatsword back on her back and casually glanced around.
There were many players spying on her from the outer corridor, which was a good opportunity to gather information, but most of them were frightened by her gaze and shrank back. Only one black-haired youth stared at her with a very complicated look in his eyes.
Which player did you team up with for which mission?
The woman paused for a moment, then gave a gentle and elegant smile before turning around with a graceful air.
"Let's go, the game officially starts in one minute."
[Player Yuki, please enter the landing pod within one minute.]
The murmurs began at the same time, but Yuki stared at that back figure, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
Smiling Teresa? Captain Levi Ackerman? That masked blond man looks a lot like 'Emperor' Reiner Braun.
What a chaotic mess!
This is the third camp he has clearly identified, and judging from its performance, it contains the most information.
The fact that those ghosts were wary of them, and that Johnny Silverhand was so respectful, seemed absurd from the perspective of a time traveler.
"Levi Ackerman aside, the original was at most at the level of Limit- human, and Teresa couldn't possibly be stronger than Mahito, yet she managed to suppress the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons."
This is clearly an improvement, using the Reincarnation Game to overturn perceptions, somewhat similar to my own situation.
"I can become a monster, and even Levi Ackerman's foundation is much stronger than that of ordinary humans on Earth." Yuki was not surprised; his homeland was much weaker and more normal.
If you're lucky enough and have a strong enough will, the Reincarnation Game offers countless paths for you to ascend to immortality.
Focus on the three factions: Mechanical Believers, Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, Hunters.
Time was running out, Yuki quickly entered the passageway with the green light on and crossed the corridor in just one second.
Click.
The landing module's door unlocked and opened upwards, revealing an interior layout exactly the same as the previous one.
Yuki could share the information he had just received with his seniors and the others, he sat down and fastened his safety belt when he heard a 'buzz' and the interior of the landing pod was filled with an ominous red light.
As the light dimmed, so did that strange murmur.
[Start Game]
[Faction Quest, Global Insect Sea]
[Task Time Limit: 30 days]
[Emerald Star is being invaded by the Star-Eating Insectoids. Players are arriving as reinforcements and are currently entering the planet's orbit, with official landing scheduled in ten minutes.]
[Emerald Star: Medium-sized planet, 27% land area, normal gravity, poor air quality, requires Limit physical fitness to survive normally]
[The Zerg invasion is progressing at a moderate pace; currently, the Terrans are retreating to the Emerald Basin, which covers approximately 1% of the land area.]
Yuki started to feel uneasy as he listened. This was the first time he'd ever heard a game's background setting explained; it had never been this complicated before.
Isn't it just about explaining the main quest, giving hints, and then getting right to it?
"Not only have the players changed, but the whole game has changed too. Luckily, I had my seniors max out their physical abilities." Yuki both puzzled and relieved. The dungeon had expanded to an unfamiliar planet. If they had just stayed silent like before, how much time would they have wasted exploring?