Searching for the True Nature of the World

Russell didn't hear the system's self-talk; he was racking his brains, trying to figure out which world best met the requirements.

First, the level of this world must be high, otherwise, as he gets stronger, this world will become useless. Second, this world must have a beginner village, otherwise, if it's full of max-level monsters, he won't be able to... cough cough, he won't be able to level up, and he'll just keep getting beaten up. Who can stand that?

Furthermore, this world must be rich in resources. Since we have stepped into the hall of magic and decided to follow this path to the end, resources are an indispensable item.

There are no monsters or demons in the real world; if you want resources, you can only scavenge in other worlds. The time spent in mission worlds varies greatly, and there is too much unpredictability. Moreover, you only have 24 hours to complete a mission, which is really unhelpful.

The world of World Anchor positioning does not have this drawback...

As he pondered, Russell suddenly shook his head. He didn't know what kind of world he would encounter in the future, and thinking about it now was just wishful thinking. He should take it one step at a time and adapt to the situation.

Russell continued browsing the information related to the Character Card, and when he saw the 'A-Fu's' bizarre video, he was completely taken aback. His combat power fluctuated wildly, making it difficult to judge; only through actual combat could a conclusion be drawn, but this guy... his talk was so sassy!

Thinking about equipping himself with A-Fu's Character Card, and having his permanent skill 'Poison Tongue' upgraded to 'King of Flirtatious Talk', Russell felt a chill run down his spine and resolved to shut his mouth before using it.

"Uncle Luo, something terrible has happened! Uncle Luo... are you even listening to me? Russell? Xiao Luo? Poison Tongue Law? Little Rascal..."

Rumble!

In the mental world, lightning flashed and thunder roared, with endless thunderbolts raining down from the sky, bombarding the system relentlessly.

A moment later, the thunderclouds dissipated, and the system shakily got up. Just as it was about to say something, it saw an F-35 flying overhead, the huge black dot growing larger and larger in its eyes.

Rumble—

A churning mushroom cloud shot into the sky, and lava, fire, hurricanes, and nuclear radiation washed over the system one by one...

"If you're not dead, finish farting." Russell held his teacup and projected a figure into his mental world.

"It's... it's still alive!" The system crawled out of the mud with its face covered in black soot, and opened its mouth to exhale black smoke.

"Then release them quickly!"

You really want to smell my farts?

The system was internally cursing Russell, using mental victory tactics to torment Russell again and again, but in reality, it had a bright smile on its face, "Uncle Luo, just now, I suddenly discovered that your item 'Ring of the Goddess of Fortune' has gone missing, which led me to make a very bold guess."

Russell's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, but he said subtly, "Go on."

The system, with a fawning smile, moved closer to Russell: "Do you remember what I told you before? My previous host came to this world to do a mission, and because of his death, you were randomly selected to become the new host."

"I know that. Every world is real. In the world of the Eight Legged Freaks, I saw a Spider-Man movie poster. At that time, I was thinking, what kind of plot would my Earth be in other worlds? A gunfight movie, a horror movie, or a romance movie, and whether the male and female protagonists are human or ghosts."

Russell calmly said that his world was just a movie or novel in other worlds, and that he was a fictional character in other people's eyes. It was hard to accept, but on second thought, aren't we all the same?

"That's right! That's right!" The system nodded vigorously, giving a thumbs up. "Uncle Luo, you're incredibly clever!"

Russell slapped the system to the ground and kicked it twice more. "Idiot, that idiom is used to describe women."

You're the idiot! This phrase can sometimes be used to describe men who are both talented and handsome!

What does it feel like to flatter someone who is illiterate, and then have your praise interpreted as mockery?

The system was in a bind, but it believed that God had a benevolent heart and didn't want to stoop to Russell's level. After getting up, it continued to fawn over Russell, saying, "I suspect your... cough cough, your ex-girlfriend has become involved in the plot of this world because she carries the 'Ring of the Goddess of Fortune,' and I have also unexpectedly obtained the node to enter the plot world."

Russell squinted, extremely interested. "From the moment she stole the ring, I suspected that another system existed in this world..."

The system looked bewildered, then nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, that's what I thought too."

Russell slapped him again. "Instead of wasting time talking nonsense, tell me quickly, what mission did your previous host encounter, and how did he die?"

After the system got up, it didn't revert to its original state, maintaining the handprint and shoe print on its face, putting on a pitiful act. "This... he just came in, and before he could trigger the World Quest, he was sniped by a bullet."

Russell: "..."

What expression should I make? Should I smile?

Seeing that Russell remained silent, the system quietly took two steps back. "Uncle Luo, should we follow him into the world node and take a look?"

Russell looked puzzled. "We can go straight in. There's no countdown this time?"

"Yes, because you yourself are in this world!"

Russell licked his lips, which were a little dry. He picked up his water glass and drank it all, then stood up and straightened his gear. "Let's go now! It would be too embarrassing to talk about exploring other people's worlds without knowing the true nature of my own!"

"Received, let's depart now!"

Russell disappeared into the room...

The world is spinning!

When Russell opened his eyes again, the surrounding scenery had changed drastically, and his condition was not good either.

This is a spacious house with cold, silvery-white metal walls, ceilings, and floors, and a transparent glass wall directly in front.

It's a bit like an experimental observation room, but if it's really an experiment, then who is the object of observation?

Russell sat in the metal chair in the center of the room; as things stood, he was the one being observed.

With his limbs bound by iron hoops and a leather belt around his neck, Russell didn't rush to break free. Instead, he looked out the glass with great interest. Rows of sofas and chairs were arranged in a tiered fashion, five tiers in total, with four people on each tier, for a total of 20 people watching him.

This is not a laboratory. None of the 20 people are wearing white lab coats. They are dressed in suits or elegant formal wear, and each of them has a laptop in front of them. Waiters are also moving around, serving red wine, food and snacks.

Finally, a man in a white coat appeared, wearing a mask and pushing a medical cart, slowly walking to the chair. Russell's calm demeanor surprised him somewhat, but he said nothing and began wiping the scalpel and other tools with alcohol swabs.

Russell continued to observe the people outside the glass. He had probably already guessed where he was. He shook his head, smiled, and said nothing.

The man in the white coat came over with a piece of cloth and carefully placed it on Russell's shoulders. Russell nodded to him and even tilted his head back in agreement.

White coat. "..."

The man in the white coat was a little bewildered. He'd played so many games, and this was the first time he'd encountered someone like Russell. He turned to look out the glass; a man who was probably the leader also had a furrowed brow. This man nodded to the man in the white coat, signaling him to continue.

The doctor in the white coat felt a little flustered. Russell's mocking gaze, as if looking at a lamb to the slaughter, made him very uncomfortable. He felt like he was the one tied to the chair.

Shaking his head, the white-coated man dispelled the absurd thoughts in his mind, took out a white mask and placed it on Russell's face, outlining its shape with a black pen.

"Dude, have you ever imagined yourself tied to a chair?"

Russell asked with a faint smile, a smile that had been on his face ever since he guessed where he was.

The man in the white coat didn't reply. Russell's gaze put him under immense pressure, and he didn't even dare to meet his eyes. Following the instructions in his earpiece, he took a power drill from the shelf by the wall, turned it on, and placed it in front of Russell's forehead.

Buzzing—

Russell smiled throughout, ignoring the rapidly spinning drill in front of him. After 30 seconds, the white coat couldn't take it anymore. He put down the drill and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with a cotton cloth.

"The betting period is two minutes. If no player guesses the target correctly, all the chips in this round belong to the house."

Listening to the female voice coming from the loudspeaker, Russell said to the doctor in the white coat, "I also have a game, super exciting, super bloody, want to play?"

"What?" The doctor in the white coat, holding a scalpel, asked instinctively.

According to the rules, he shouldn't speak, as it would interfere with the target's judgment and make the game unfair. But he asked anyway; Russell gave him a very oppressive feeling, and if he didn't say something, he would feel suffocated.

Russell smiled and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his appearance had drastically changed, and his skin had turned purple. He struggled to break free of his shackles, pushed aside the white coat in front of him, walked to the glass, and said to the stunned crowd, "I want to play a game. Live or die, make your choice!"

I want to play a game where you decide whether to live or die!

Three chapters will be updated tonight, and one more chapter is still being written and will be released later. Two more chapters will be updated this afternoon. That's all for now for the tentative release!