Chapter Thirty-Eight: Players' First Battle / Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Endgame

Come to think of it, they were able to appear here because Bai Ye had Zhai Mao participate in the first part of the Guards Bureau's operation.

Though Zhai Mao was a little scatterbrained, she at least knew how to draw traffic. She directly posted the mission process and livestream recording on the forum, and the Players immediately realized that the Guards Bureau was making a major move.

Of course, not every Player rushed over. Only some who were nearby came.

There were probably over fifty of them.

The officers immediately grew nervous. With so many people gathering at once, it would be troublesome if something went wrong.

What was more, the Players' behavior was all rather bizarre. Visually, they looked quite intimidating.

"The Lungmen Guard Department is conducting official business here! Do not disrupt public order. Disperse at once!" a Guards Bureau officer shouted first.

Naturally, the Players were unwilling to make a wasted trip. One Player wearing a mascot headpiece could not help stepping forward to ask, "Is there anything we can do?"

"Yeah, officer. We're all concerned citizens. We want to bleed and sweat for Lungmen!"

"That's right, that's called cooperation between the police and the people!"

The Players eagerly volunteered, trying every possible posture to trigger a mission.

After more than half a day of exploration, they had discovered that Arknights Online was even freer than they had imagined. Nearly every NPC possessed independent AI capable of thought, so the usual methods of triggering missions were no longer fixed.

Hearing this, the Guards Bureau officer glanced at Bai Ye.

Bai Ye nodded.

Understanding his meaning, the officer said, "While the Guards Bureau's duty is to protect Lungmen and its citizens, we will not oppose righteous acts by enthusiastic citizens."

"Hell yeah!" The Players cheered. They had never expected that casually saying a few things could trigger a mission.

They had learned something new!

This game was so free! Other than not being able to take off your pants—which was absurd—it felt real in every other way.

"The Guards Bureau's target is the gang leader, but there are still plenty of gang enforcers outside. You may act freely and bring them to justice."

Bai Ye spoke from behind the Guards Bureau officer.

At once, a crisp and pleasant system notification sounded in the ears of every Player present.

Ding—

To Players, that was the sound of heaven.

"Let's go!"

Having accepted the mission, the Players were immediately filled with motivation and charged into the factory.

That night was a nightmare for the Brotherhood's enforcers.

No one knew how their boss had leaked the news, but the Guards Bureau cops had suddenly raided their factory overnight.

However, the cops' target was the boss, so after storming the factory, they headed straight for the core area according to the intelligence confessed by Safra's cleanup crew.

The gang enforcers and lackeys could neither advance nor retreat.

The Guards Bureau officers were unstoppable, and Chen was leading them. No one dared step forward to stop them. Following them to protect the boss was just seeking death. Hadn't every loyal man who chased after them been knocked unconscious by an Oni woman's shield?

They had no way to escape amid the chaos, either. A large number of cops had surrounded every exit, and the few who ran outside were all shot down by crossbow bolts.

Even the underground tunnels were guarded. There was no path to heaven and no door into the earth.

But at that moment, even more outrageous opponents appeared.

Lungmen's "concerned citizens"!

Yet the Brotherhood lackeys instead felt that these people looked more like gangsters than they did.

They wore bizarre outfits. Some wore nothing at all except a pair of underwear to preserve their modesty, gripping clubs in their hands like cavemen.

Others wore mascot costumes, and no one knew which amusement park they had escaped from.

Their weapons came in all kinds as well—daggers, baseball bats, nunchucks, machetes...

These people surrounded them.

Heh heh heh...

Chapter Thirty-Eight: Players' First Battle

"Don't come any closer!"

How could the Players care about that? The people before them were all walking experience points. It was rare to get such a huge mission, and the Players' eyes practically turned green.

Though they appeared to be charging in as a mob, the Players were not fighting without any strategy.

They knew that while they looked intimidating on the surface, they definitely could not defeat these humanoid monsters in one-on-one fights.

Before the battle began, the Players had actually held a discussion among themselves.

"Everyone, I'm a commander from the Star Second Regiment." A Player with I Will Always Like Mikoto Misaka above his head clasped his hands toward those around him. "If you trust me, why not hear my suggestion?"

"Star? The guild that got the world boss first clear?"

"Zero Lamp Boss. Impressive."

Naturally, the Players were familiar with the Star guild. Most of its members were celebrity Players, and they had not expected one of its commanders to be here.

"Wait, how could you betray us? Your ID was obviously 'I Will Always Like Shokuhou Misaki' last time!" Some Players had unusual trains of thought and focused specifically on strange details.

I Will Always Like Mikoto Misaka's face darkened at once. He hurriedly changed the subject. "How about I take command for now? Everyone, divide the battlefield first, then use fewer people to fight more. Ideally, we should make it three against one."

None of the Players objected.

Though this man's loyalties might be unstable, he was still a celebrity Player. Following his command meant everyone could share the spoils. That was certainly better than fighting chaotically.

Thus came the scene described earlier: the Players pounced forward, several surrounding one person and beating them relentlessly.

Those carrying crude shields stood at the front, while those armed with weapons dealt damage amid the chaos.

This was Terra's first taste of the Players' terror.

Fighting them was truly no easy matter.

First, these people possessed unwavering willpower. No matter how badly they were injured, they showed no fear at all, as if the blood flowing from them was not their own. They did not even furrow their brows.

Second, some Players muttered nonsense and talked to themselves while fighting. If you got close enough, you could hear some of them shouting as they fought, "Thanks to the boss for the airplane gift! Thank you, boss! Hope your body stays strong!" Those were the ones livestreaming.

"Holy shit, guys, I forgot to turn on filter mode! Can this splattering red blood even pass review? Mod daddy, please don't ban me!" Those were the ones testing the limits of censorship.

"Hello, everyone, I'm Falling in Love with Fire, ruaruarua... Today, I'll teach everyone how to crack down on criminal forces. Watch me block this attack first—ching!" Those were the ones recording gameplay footage.

"Dun dun dun!" Those were the ones providing their own background music...

In short, fighting Players required a sanity check every moment. Some even bore the appearance of ancient gods, terrifying anyone who looked at them.

Not to mention those who role-played as "the useless," rolling and dodging everywhere, making them impossible to hit. Some Players had even studied historical combat in real life, and now finally had a chance to use it.

"What the hell are these things?!"

Even when a Player was knocked to the ground or even beaten to death, the people around them should, by all rights, have been intimidated and become somewhat wary.

Instead, these people became even crazier.

"Bro, I'm here to avenge you!"

"Wow, where was your dodge? Rookie Players these days really suck..."

Some even complained that the dead Player was bad. They were utterly cold-blooded! Their friend had fallen right beside them, yet they were completely unmoved!

How terrifying.

That said, while the Players did suppress the gang enemies at first, they suffered when faced with ranged attacks.

Semi-automatic crossbows, Originium Arts...

There were archers and casters among the gang members, and they were even equipped with standard-issue Originium staffs.

"No honor! They've got mages!"

"Brothers, watch your rolls!"

"Side-step! Do we have any ranged attacks?!"

This mission was not something public beta Players who had just started the game should have been able to take. To fight the gang, they truly needed ranged equipment in addition to melee weapons. But the Players had only entered the game on their first day—how could they have developed that quickly?

This game was not an old-school MMORPG. Everyone started as a person with nothing, and there were no defined class divisions. No equipment was provided at the start either. If Players wanted ranged weapons, they had to find them themselves.

"I've got this!" Zhai Mao took out a semi-automatic crossbow from her inventory. It was a quest reward she had earned from completing missions.

"Pew pew—"

Unfortunately, there was only one, making it little more than a drop in the bucket.

And Zhai Mao was such a noob that even with a crossbow, she lacked the relevant skills. Most of her shots went wide.

"Looks like it's my turn..."

Bai Ye, who had been watching from the sidelines, knew that if he did not act now, the Players would be wiped out here. What terrible game experience that would be.

"Hold steady! Don't panic!"

Wearing a black trench coat, Bai Ye charged straight into the battlefield.

Like a night owl, he crossed the battlefield with his extraordinary agility, lunging directly before a caster in the middle of casting a spell. He knocked him down with one punch, then seized the Originium staff in his hand.

"Buzz—"

The moment the casting unit entered his grasp, Bai Ye immediately felt a close connection between himself and the Originium.

With his 20 points of Spirit, he found that he could easily wield this Originium energy. He was resonating with the casting unit.

However, he knew very few Originium Arts, and most were support-type. But at the moment, he had a better choice:

To unleash the innate Originium Art talent he had awakened.

It was a personal spell that could be used instinctively without instruction, so long as it had been awakened.

Originium energy moved at his will and activated instantly. The airflow around Bai Ye began to grow violent.

"Holy shit! The NPC is popping his ultimate!"

"A powerhouse!"

"So that's what was going on. There was a scripted kill after all!"

Following his instincts, Bai Ye released a wall of wind.

The barrier formed by the violent airflow blew away all incoming arrows and spells.

Then Bai Ye casually slammed the Originium staff against the ground.

Air currents wrapped around the Players' bodies, and they immediately felt themselves becoming lighter.

"Big shot, six six six!"

"Grandma Bai Ye shockwave!"

After doing this, Bai Ye stopped intervening.

By doing so, he could not only leech experience, but also maintain his cool image while letting the Players he assisted retain their sense of gameplay.

Look at other games—Players did all the fighting themselves, while NPCs only stood nearby adding buffs.

That was not because the NPCs could not win. It was because the Players were too weak. If the NPCs joined the battle, they would kill everyone.

Bai Ye blocked arrows with the wind wall while observing the Players.

He was comparing them with memories from his previous life, looking for celebrity Players, professional Players, or promising talents among them.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Endgame

With Bai Ye's help, the Players ultimately won the battle, though nearly half of them were killed or injured.

Only then did the Lungmen Guard Department officers—or rather, Terra's natives—begin to notice the unusual nature of the group called "Players."

They were truly capable fighters, and though they seemed chaotic, they possessed an order and logic of their own. Their many peculiarities made them seem utterly out of place in this world.

They did not fear death, nor did they ever grieve over the deaths of their companions. To them, the only thing worth being upset over was death itself.