A Player's Personal Opinion (2)
The hall doors opened once more, and a Snake Woman led a large group of people in hazmat suits into the hall. The five gamers stared at the group, knowing full well that this was the target of their mission: the crew of the Christopher.
"Please wait a moment, Lady Serpent Queen will be here shortly. You may interact among yourselves!" The Snake Woman immediately withdrew, leaving more than thirty people in the hall looking at each other in bewilderment. Finally, Captain Christopher broke the ice, asking the players with a puzzled expression, "Are you also an Imperial exploration team...?"
"Empire? We belong to the research team of the Mechanical Watch Organization. Which organization are you talking about, the Empire, and which association do you belong to?" Tian Lan narrowed her eyes and quickly realized the information inside.
Based on the identities assigned to them in the game, they do not belong to the same faction as the crew of the Christopher, and may not even be from the same planet. This has both advantages and disadvantages, depending on how they use it.
Then Tian Lan and the captain talked, and they realized each other's identities. The people on the Christopher became restless. They had come here to search for a planet with life. Although they had seen the snake people before, they were different species, and this Shadow Kingdom was not very large, so it was not a suitable target.
After communicating with these gamers, they discovered that the living environments on both sides were almost identical, and even the racial differences were not significant. According to the information they received, the Starshine World also had many barren areas, making it a very suitable place for immigration.
At the same time, the players also obtained a lot of information. The Christopher set off to explore a planet with life. Tian Lan immediately realized that this was an opportunity. They had the coordinates of the Starshine World and could quickly get closer to the target and recruit more people to escape.
"Now we'll see what that so-called Serpent Mother is up to. According to the mission description, her actions have caused a split among these people. Some seem to have chosen to join the Shadow Kingdom, while the captain and his men have chosen to run away." Tian Lan calculated carefully.
After a while, the back door of the hall was opened, and Lilith wriggled her snake tail and came to the main seat in the hall. Her snake tail transformed into a long dress, and she sat directly on the main seat. Since Lilith's appearance, everyone present had become much more careful with their breathing.
Tian Lan felt a sudden pang of fear and quickly lowered her head, not daring to look at Lilith's stunningly beautiful face. A sense of danger reminded Tian Lan that if she wanted to survive, An'an had to stay quiet, as if the snake mother was not a delicate beauty, but a colossal beast from the starry sky.
"One side comes from the Starshine World, the other from the Imperial Planet." Lilith looked at the script her master had given her and said lazily, "No matter where you come from, welcome to the Shadow Kingdom."
"I won't beat around the bush anymore. My Lord's Shadow Kingdom is expanding and needs a large number of lives to join it. I want to ask you, are you willing to believe in the great Shadow Lord and join the Shadow Kingdom?"
"Our Shadow Kingdom will provide you with Shadow Rebirth, transforming you into half-shadow beings. You will not only gain immense power but also a long lifespan, transforming you from a pitiful short-lived species into a long-lived one."
"Take you for example. Your spaceship's propulsion technology has a huge flaw, and it will release radiation for a long time. Your body is actually riddled with holes and you won't live much longer," Lilith said, pointing to a crew member of the Christopher.
"As long as you are willing to join the Shadow Kingdom and undergo Shadow Rebirth, your illness will be gone." Lilith casually said, twirling a strand of her hair with her hand. "I will give you three days to consider. During these three days, you can Free Movement and visit the Shadow Kingdom, but it is best not to go into the wild, as those shadow creatures are not very obedient."
"I'm tired. Once you've made up your minds, please inform Xiaoya!" Lilith pointed to the Snake Woman who had appeared out of nowhere—the one who had brought them here earlier—before getting up and leaving.
"These are your identity tokens. Only by obtaining these can you avoid being attacked by the Thousand-Dimensional Defense System." The Snake Woman, called Xiaoya, handed them some jet-black cards and then said Bing Bing, "As the Snake Mother said, you are free to explore the city for the next three days."
"Your accommodations are arranged here. The card provides directions. As for food, due to your physical condition, you can only consume synthetic foods. Perhaps you could try visiting Some Shop."
Whether it was a misperception or not, when the Some Shop came up, the Snake Woman Xiaoya's lips twitched. She then told these people some taboos and instructed them on how to use the cards.
"May I ask what will happen if we don't plan to join the Shadow Kingdom?" Tian Lan asked Xiaoya tentatively.
"To some extent, you've trespassed without cause. If it weren't for the Shadow Kingdom's expansion and urgent need for manpower, we would have treated you as enemies!" The Snake Woman's snake eyes were full of malice as she replied with a half-smile, then turned and left.
Tian Lan rubbed the card and saw an eye open on it, with some pale blue light rising from it, forming a map projection in the air. Their current location was the reception room. When she tapped the reception room, the map zoomed in, displaying the map inside the reception room.
"Let's go take a look around first! I'm a little hungry, shall we go get something to eat?" Tian Lan looked at the others, who were all feeling complicated. The Shadow Kingdom's meaning was clear: if they didn't join, they would be enemies.
The captain nodded with a complicated expression. They had known for some time that there was a problem with the spaceship, but they hadn't expected it to be this serious. However, it was a product that had been rushed into production, so it was to be expected. Although they had long been prepared to sacrifice themselves for the Empire, they couldn't help but think about it when death was truly imminent.
The group arrived at the restaurant marked on the map and received their synthesized food from a machine. The food didn't taste very good, and it was clear that the machine had been temporarily created just for them.
After eating a little, the group put the food in the recycling tray and resumed their tour of the Shadow Kingdom. They needed to scout out the route for their escape and also assess the strength of the Shadow Kingdom.
As the group walked down the street, they could see a moderate number of snake people. Looking up at the sky, they could also see many eye monsters. After thinking for a moment, the group opened the map and found a place marked with Some Shop. Following the Snake Woman's instructions, they held up the card, and a giant eye monster floated down from the sky and landed in front of them.
This eye-bearing monster had enormous wings on both sides. The wings landed in front of the group, turning into steps. The upper part of the wings opened into doors, revealing some strange seats inside. The seats were U-shaped, and seemed to be suitable for snake people.