Interlude II

—Amid the tide of people, while the "motivated ones" busied themselves amid the chaos, some others appeared to be "spacing out."

Their luck was not bad. When they returned after their mission ended, their original spots on the platform had not yet been completely "occupied." He Qiu and the other two, who had landed nearby, quickly found one another through the communication function between Main God ID users.

Clearly, with the Main God previously offering a choice of one out of "five random mission worlds," their original idea of possibly "joining a team by holding hands before entering" had immediately fallen through.

It was only now, after returning to the platform, that they met again.

"...The situation isn't great. The Main God's free refresh service only restored my condition. This gun wasn't repaired."

Gathered amid the crowd, Lu Yansheng pointed out a serious problem after their brief exchange.

With a flash of light, the heavy firearm he had held dearly in his arms before entering the mission world reappeared in his hand.

However, seeing the obvious "dent" near the front chamber of the gun, along with several compressed metallic fracture marks, even Du Qifeng could not help hissing. "Brother Lu, what happened to this?"

"The mission world I entered this time was called [Hunting Ground Time]. It was probably some bullshit cooked up by a group of local rich people there who were supposedly seeking thrills."

At the mention of it, Lu Yansheng wore an expression of utter numbness.

"They kidnapped a group of ordinary people and sent them to an island, then scattered supplies and weapons all over it, forcing those people to kill each other."

"According to the Main God's prompt, my identity at the time was one of the people who had been kidnapped."

"Then, when I was doing the main mission, I got caught in an ambush. Most of the bullets were blocked by the bulletproof vest I found, but the other side also threw explosives in."

"I hadn't found any firearms then, so in my panic, I took out this gun... I got out alive, but the gun ended up like this."

Apparently still shaken by the experience, the older "Lu Xun" showed clear lingering fear on his face.

"One of the official user services the Main God provides is Death Perception Blurring. It's enabled by default. But to be safe, remember to check before every mission whether it's still on."

"Got it, got it. I'll remember."

"Still, it sounds like you ran into something like a battle royale on a deserted island, Brother Lu."

Unlike Lu Yansheng, an "old-fashioned fossil" from the last century, Du Qifeng understood immediately. Yet looking at the damage on the heavy gun still made his teeth ache.

"So what do we do about this?"

"I asked the Main God. It can be repaired directly, but it costs five Universal Points. It's not too troublesome."

He casually released the gun, allowing it to vanish silently into thin air once more, and merely waved his hand.

"I'm just reminding you that repairing items apparently costs us users money. Be more careful from now on."

"Understood."

He Qiu, who had been rapidly swiping through his personal light screen and thus appeared motionless to outsiders, nodded at that.

"I have some news too. The mission world I went to was an ancient battlefield ruin. The mission background introduction seemed to contain a lot of complicated information, and I didn't really understand it. Halfway through, a feng shui master carrying a compass caught me off guard. I nearly died and got sent back early."

Though he said his mission had nearly failed, He Qiu rubbed his fingers together and grinned like a weasel that had stolen a chicken.

"But I confirmed that, unlike reality, that mission world allowed people to 'cultivate.'"

"And the effects of cultivation didn't disappear after returning."

"Holy shit... Doesn't that mean you struck it rich?"

"Yeah, that's a good thing."

Du Qifeng looked openly shocked. Lu Yansheng, beside him, remained much calmer, though there was faint happiness in his expression as well.

"Don't rush. Listen to the rest first."

"After I got ambushed, a wave of trap arrows came down. The two users beside me, along with a whole group of people, dropped dead on the spot. They looked like a bunch of porcupines!"

"If my reactions hadn't been fast enough, if I hadn't stayed farther back, and if I hadn't had some inner energy protecting me, I would've died too."

"So I just lay there pretending to be dead. After several groups of them tore each other apart, I only got up after it was all over and barely cleaned up the remains!"

"You should've seen that local feng shui master's expression when he saw me climb back up alive! It was incredible!"

At that point, He Qiu deliberately paused.

"The key is, once our normal main missions meet their conditions, can't we choose to return immediately?"

"After I kicked that feng shui master into a leftover pit in the ruins and smashed the magical seal he found with one strike, my main mission was completed right then!"

"But I didn't choose to return immediately!"

"Then the Main God prompted me that I could stay in that world for up to three extra days. After three days, I'd have to pay to remain in that mission world."

"I still had two arrows stuck in me at the time! I cut off the shafts myself, and that fucking hurt! Then I cultivated for a full three days before coming back!"

Though he put it that way, seeing He Qiu grinning so broadly, who would not know he had gained a great deal this time?

"Cultivating with arrow wounds and holding out for three days... The injuries probably didn't hit anything vital. You really took a risk, kid."

By comparison, Lu Yansheng's face showed undisguised envy.

Honestly, this middle-aged man's luck had indeed not been very good. From the Main God's Newcomer Blind Box, he had only drawn a heavy firearm with the trait of "automatically replenishing expended ammunition every twenty-four hours," without any other special qualities.

For that reason, like Du Qifeng, he had exchanged eighty points with the Main God for a [Basic Human Gene Enhancement Agent · Strength], allowing him to handle this rather weighty firearm more flexibly—a different sort of weakened version of "infinite ammunition."

Theoretically, among the three of them, he possessed the most obvious immediate advantage in terms of breakthrough power and lethality.

Who would have thought that his first mission after acquiring the weapon would go so poorly, ending in failure...

He Qiu's smile suddenly faded as well. He realized that he might have sounded like he was showing off and rubbing salt in someone's wounds.

The three tacitly chose not to continue with that discouraging topic.

Within just a few minutes, the white lights of Main God transportation around them had completely stopped, and the three gradually turned their attention back toward the crowd.

The scene before them was undoubtedly a rare spectacle.

Honestly, merely within the range of their sight, they could see clothing, features, ornaments, tattoos, and even more visible differences in skin color, facial features, and language from different regions, countries, and faiths—all mixed together at an unprecedented scale and density into one chaotic stew!

Like a surging torrent of disorder, these people—or perhaps "ants"—who were mixed among one another flowed noisily across the platform.

Anyone would feel profound shock and confusion, perhaps even fear, upon realizing just how small they were within it.

Du Qifeng unconsciously loosened his collar.

Such a thing should not have been possible on the Main God Platform, yet merely watching it made Du Qifeng feel an unusual tightness in his chest.

It had to be said that no one could have imagined seeing such a scene in their lifetime.

A crowd so vast that counting it seemed meaningless...

No, it should be called a sea of humanity.

These figures, each of whom had experienced at least one Newcomer Trial yet still retained many of their original traits, might once have been farmers, soldiers, students, forest owners, programmers, hunters from tribes...

People from modern society, polar communal settlements, African tribes, tropical islands...

This was no joke. He had even seen a South Pacific islander with white clay war paint on his face, holding a broken spear less than half a person tall, while the hide shield tangled with grass fibers bore large bloodstains as well.

Those dark brown eyes wandered around blankly, carrying either the remnants of vigilance or complete numbness—it was impossible to tell which.

For someone whose entire world might once have been a single island, he had probably never imagined there could be so many people in the "world."

Individuals from every corner of the real world, with completely different pasts, cultures, customs, and divisions, yet sharing the title of "human," had somehow gained a common new identity upon this boundless azure platform—the participants of the "Main God Game."

For some reason, though the sight was moving and shocking, it also felt extraordinarily absurd...

But no matter what, many perceptive people understood that with newcomers entering the platform on a scale clearly far beyond the previous time, the situation had already changed drastically.

And the most urgent matter, aside from figuring out more about the situation, was to preserve their own "first-mover advantage" as much as possible.

This was especially obvious among the Main God users who counted as "veterans."

Clearly, the positions Main God users occupied on the platform before entering a mission world also affected where they "returned" afterward.

At least, in the eyes of some experienced users, the beams descending from above, representing the "free treatment service," mostly appeared within the "inner ring" closer to the Main God Light Sphere.

That was the area where Main God users had mainly gathered before entering the mission worlds.

The farther outward one went, the fewer such cases there were.

After some people noticed this, a subtle atmosphere gradually began flowing silently among the crowd...

Some might not yet have realized what it meant... but those who reacted quickly were already growing restless!

And soon, once the first "early bird" appeared, the mood swiftly veered in another direction!

"Friends, I believe you have already learned that this is the realm of a god who rules all things. Complete His demands here, and you can obtain every reward you have ever dreamed of!"

"Status! Power! Life! Curing disease! Gaining immortality! Reviving the dead! Even becoming a true god!"

"I am a 'pioneer' who has already experienced many of these 'games of God.' I possess ample and extensive experience clearing them, and I understand this place beneath your feet, as well as many of the 'hidden rules' within God's games!"

"If you need it, you may consult me for specific experience. For the mere price of five 'Universal Reward Points,' you can receive the relevant experience and selfless instruction of a 'pioneer'..."

Nearby, a well-dressed man whose physical features and face alone were shrouded in faint "mist," clearly with the Main God's identity concealment mechanism enabled, slapped his forehead.

After swiping his fingers across the air before him several times, a flash of light appeared, and a... golden "loudspeaker" materialized in his hand?

Before Du Qifeng could even react, he heard this obvious veteran Main God user begin delivering the above "speech" in an exceptionally deep voice amplified through the loudspeaker—he was practically standing on tiptoe.

Judging from the added cadence beneath the translated voice, he had even specifically used English!!!