Chapter 297
Under the management, they expanded the business and made friends everywhere.
He dragged his weary steps back to his building. The view from this Outpost was initially quite impressive, but it became boring after a while. If he couldn't instantly return to his room, most people would really get lost.
The doors were exactly the same, and the interior space was allocated according to the number of team members. The Brotherhood allocated nearly 10,000 square meters, which was then remodeled to resemble his memory.
Running an ice factory is a dangerous business, and being a player is the same, except that in this Reincarnation Game you can't be bribed like a cop.
He chuckled to himself, somewhat envious of players from other factions. They were born to live in the Transcendental Grade world, unlike him, who had to climb up step by step from being an ordinary person.
Click.
The door opened, and the Vicious man tensed up. This was his kingdom, but he also had to face a dozen treacherous henchmen.
Everyone wants to be the boss, and the exclusive space allows him to use all Transcendental Grade powers, making him have to keep one eye open during sex.
Something's not right.
The room was quiet, devoid of the raucous laughter of the henchmen; the rugged factory was deathly silent.
Without a moment's hesitation, he turned and tried to escape, but the door lock was as if it were welded shut and he couldn't turn it at all. Large beads of sweat immediately poured out of his forehead.
Is this the rule that I shouldn't open the door and leave?
"Now that you're home, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"
The sound came from the second floor of the factory. He turned his head and saw a young man with black hair and red eyes standing on the corridor stairs looking at him.
Are these players idiots not even bothering to investigate the strength of the easy target?
He cursed Vicious, wondering why she had switched careers to cooperate with those monsters, just because a simple honey trap might result in her being killed instead.
But wait, how could he possibly lock the door? This is my private space.
His pupils dilated, and the cigar fell to the ground.
"Looks like you understand now. That's right, it was me who sent the notification." Yuki casually, his Vicious expression revealing just how terrifying his words were.
Send a notification, Trail Blazers...
The man's face trembled, contorting the scars. Wasn't this a rip-off? Why wait until now to show up when there were clearly pioneers already there?
"Senior, no, Your Excellency, I promise I won't make the same mistake again. I'll be a player who absolutely follows the rules, and I'm willing to offer up all my possessions. Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it."
He knelt down decisively. In the Reincarnation Game, true power is not about destroying mountains and rivers, but about controlling the rules, which is simply impossible to resist.
"You're quite a character." Yuki nodded approvingly, gently stroking the hilt of his sword. "But I still have to keep an eye on you, which is too much trouble. How about you lend me something?"
The Vicious raised its head, sensing an extremely ominous situation, and secretly prepared its special abilities and skills.
"Wh-what thing?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the pitch-black night unfolded before his eyes. He looked around blankly and found himself suddenly in an unfamiliar area.
The Red Soil was like blood, and some purple light floated in the deep darkness; the horror made my heart pound.
The night sky formed a network of stars, accompanied by the long sword that the young man opposite him was slowly drawing out.
"I'll borrow your head for a bit."
Transcendental Grade IV, nothing special.
A minute later, half a corpse remained on the ground, the splattered blood making the Red Soil even more striking.
This person upgraded their ability to LV3, which releases a mesmerizing icy blue poisonous mist. Unfortunately, before they could unleash it, they were slashed down by Yuki.
At full power, Yuki can surpass the speed of sound from a standstill in an instant. Without skills like dynamic vision or Transcendental Grade physical abilities, no one can react in time.
He sheathed his sword, bent down to pick up a test tube-like object from the corpse's hand, and then tossed the corpse into his storage space.
Transcendental Grade level, but a bit poor.
Yuki has found a lucrative way to make money; if he didn't possess skills like mind control, he would surely have made these criminals confiscate his ill-gotten gains.
Unfortunately, the players aren't stupid. Once they realized there was no hope of survival, they immediately put the items back into their storage space, so no one could steal them except for the Reincarnation Game itself.
"I've gotten stronger; this is the norm for ordinary players."
With a Transcendental Grade IV player leading the team, along with two or three Transcendental Grade players and a group of Extraordinary players, a decent player team is already formed. To be honest, they could even be supporting characters in Global Insect Calamity game.
But they are too weak. Even with LV3 characteristics or level 5 items, they are still no match for me. Ignoring the element of surprise attack, I could defeat this organization head-on within ten minutes.
The feeling of becoming stronger is quite good. With the sound of the door lock clicking, a girl with an extremely pure appearance appeared at the door. She stared wide-eyed, not understanding why a stranger would appear in her house.
But she reacted extremely quickly, retreating while activating her items to form Petal -like energy shield in front of her.
But with a crisp 'crack', the flaming hand Piercer through the level 4 prop from the front, like an iron clamp clamping onto her face, lifting her up like that.
"You're really unlucky."
Outpost, Central Park.
This enormous city doesn't actually have a center; the park, located directly below the whirlpool, has become the customary gathering place.
The square was crowded with people. Dozens of players looked grim at the dozen or so corpses in the middle, reporting to their captains using various communication devices. Occasionally, they would glance around, feeling a chill run down their spines.
Players are already numb to gory scenes, so they wouldn't normally show serious expressions, but this time it's different. People have died at the Outpost, and their bodies are being laid out in the central square in full view of everyone.
While feeling uneasy, various pieces of information spread rapidly.
The 'Brotherhood' was not only notorious, but also infamous, yet no one applauded it.
"All of them were killed with a single strike. Judging from the marks, it can be determined that it was done by one person. The Vicious is at least Transcendental Grade IV level, and the player who could kill him must be at least Monster II or higher." Ayanokoji Kiyotaka personally took charge, and many players are experts in trace evidence analysis, even able to reconstruct the scene of the battle.
"Monster II, there isn't one in the entire Thorny Rose, is there?" Sakayanagi Arisu licked her lips and lowered her voice. "Is it a hidden master who has jumped out to act as a messenger of Justice?"
"Who knows? But we need to consider the clues we just heard. A Vicious old fox like him wouldn't let dangerous people into the room. I've heard he stopped doing that kind of dangerous 'honey trap' a long time ago."
The intrusion was detected from the outside.
The girl's breath hitched, and she looked around in panic. "Are there other players in this Outpost? Are they monitoring everything?"
She should be panicked; it shows that the Outpost is not safe at all. Someone is stronger and has higher authority than them, so they can treat the players like pigs and dogs.
"How about... we hide in the Borderlands?"
"With so many of us, we need several enhancement points a day. We've only been ascended for a little over twenty days, how can we afford that?" The boy smiled bitterly. Who knew the new stage would be like this? Each player didn't have many Chaos Item.
"Don't panic, we're law-abiding citizens. The killer clearly targeted us. See those 'mafia' guys? They're terrified."
Several players wearing round hats and black suits were hurriedly leaving. No one was a fool; Ayanokoji Kiyotaka could guess, others could guess as well.
[Within the Outpost, please abide by the laws of the land, or you will be punished.]
This prompt was clearly a spur-of-the-moment thing. When players heard it, they felt like they were being watched, waiting for a fool to try something and then get punished.
Without law enforcement, the law is just a piece of paper. The complete annihilation of a mid-to-high-level player squad tells the remaining players that there is order here, and they must live by the rules. And—
The law enforcement officers are very strict.
Could it be him? Even if he's improved compared to us, could the difference in strength be this great?
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka was deep in thought when suddenly someone patted his shoulder, almost making him jump up on the spot.
How did it manage to escape my senses?
He turned around abruptly and saw a familiar face he had been longing for day and night.
Yuki Sorajima!
Chapter Nine: Welcome to Paradise! (4K)
Central Park, where the flowers never fade and the air is filled with a captivating fragrance.
There was no sun in the sky, but the purple vortex slowly rotated, flashing light from time to time, indicating that another group of players had arrived at the Outpost.
What should have been a pleasant and relaxing scene Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's expressionless face and his fingers trembling slightly behind his back.
It was him.
This man has always been very mysterious. After the young man ascended to immortality, he made a special trip to inquire about his whereabouts. According to Zhang Jin, he died in a dungeon called 'Calamity of Blood'.
"You really didn't die."
"When friends meet, can't you say something auspicious?" Yuki snorted, glanced at Sakayanagi Arisu seemed about to speak but hesitated, and nodded slightly as a greeting.
Auspicious words? Do you know how many unsolved mysteries they've brought me?
A million thoughts raced through the boy's mind; there were so many things he wanted to know, but he swallowed them all back down before he could say them.
This is not something I should ask, cannot ask, and dare not ask.
"What brings you here specifically to see me?"
Hearing this, Yuki smiled with satisfaction.
Why did he seek out Ayanokoji Kiyotaka? The reason is simple: besides their previous cooperation and mutual understanding, there's also Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's organizational strength and his vast alliance with Mr. Ye, Zhang Jin, and others.
More importantly, he was very smart and knew what to ask and what not to inquire about.
"Can't I catch up with you?"
"No, I'm afraid of touching on secrets I shouldn't know and bringing about my death." Ayanokoji couldn't laugh at all; he was almost certain that the 'Brotherhood's' destruction was related to this man.
He's incredibly cautious; it's a real hassle to deal with him.
"Okay, I'm calling you because I have something good to say, like..."
"Wait a minute, why should I get to have such a good thing?"
"Because you're my friend, and it's good to keep things in the family." Yuki shrugged, then gestured towards the corpses. "Besides, you're good at maintaining order and suppressing the players' inflated desires. Every faction has its own characteristics, like the cannibalism of 'Night Parade of One Hundred Demons' or the hunting of 'Hunters.' Some people hope that 'Thorny Rose' will maintain order on Earth."
"Killing, destruction, and rampant sabotage are inevitable, but they cannot become the norm. Letting this Outpost become a place of evil would be very unsettling for most players from ordinary backgrounds."
It really was related to him!
Ayanokoji Kiyotaka's eyes twitched, and Sakayanagi Arisu opened her mouth, their feelings becoming extremely complicated.
On Earth, the two sides were not actually equal in terms of status, but at the Outpost, it was less of a request for cooperation and more of an order, with the roles completely reversed.
Was it his intention, or the intention of the person behind him? Hmm, the latter is more likely. This Outpost clearly existed a long time ago and was linked to the Borderlands through faction assessments. He arrived at most ten days earlier than me, so it's impossible for him to have done these things.
Could it be that some previous players were trapped for some reason and needed someone to act as a go-between? And he was chosen?
Ayanokoji realized she was about to access deeper secrets, and her breathing became heavy. "Can I refuse?"
"No, this is like a windfall for you. Why would you refuse such a good thing?" Yuki slowly, his tone leaving no room for negotiation. "Besides, maintaining order from Earth's time and allowing players to be ordinary people first—isn't that also your wish?"
Yes, that's exactly what I want.
Ayanokoji's expression shifted slightly. Why was he going to such lengths to maintain the team's 'student' status?
From an idealistic point of view, he hoped to return to his previous life. After all, the players of 'Thorny Rose' were different from those of other factions; most of them were ordinary people living in the normal world.
They weren't kept like livestock in cages, they didn't experience bloodshed, and there were no demons or gods in reality. The Reincarnation Game was more like a nightmare; it was exciting at first, but then it turned into endless suffering.
In a realistic sense, Transcendental Grade powers can easily turn people into beasts, who will steal what they want and sleep with the women they like. People living among beasts feel insecure.
After hesitating for a few seconds, he asked with difficulty, "What should I do?"
"Contact your friends and bring most of the players under control." Yuki had long anticipated that birds of a feather flock together, and those obsessed with the Reincarnation Game would not be able to become his friends.
"What if someone causes trouble? Not everyone likes order."
"Give me the list, and someone will carry out the punishment."
Wow, just how powerful is the force behind this guy? Could it be an epic-level player?
Having worked with Yuki many times, he knew the other man never boasted, but he still found it somewhat hard to understand.
Why don't you do it yourself?
"Dealing with people is too troublesome. I have no interest in scheming against strangers, and building up influence from scratch would take too much time."
Well, this practically screams "I want to lie down."
Ayanokoji accepted this reason. He knew that Yuki was not good at dealing with people. Building a large organization required more than just strength; the key was interpersonal skills. He couldn't help but feel a little depressed.
"I'll discuss this with Mr. Ye and Mr. Zhang later, but I still have to ask: you've made me do all the troublesome things, so what have you been doing?"
Seeking fairness in all things, Yuki considered for a moment before looking up at the purple vortex.
The light flashes, and players occasionally ascend to this place, only to have all traces of their existence erased from Earth. This is an eternal separation between heaven and earth, after which they either grow or die in the endless stream of dungeons.