Then What Are We Waiting For? Let's Go!

[Passing Pure-Love Warrior]:

"???"

"You absolute bastard! You secretly logged in to outgrind us while we were asleep?"

[Ji Luo]:

"Holy shit, what happened?"

"You really explored the Black Forest at night? Tell us already, what was it like out there?"

[Kindergarten Boss]:

"Ma Lou, staying up late is bad for your health... But what does that screenshot say? Night Survivor?"

Lu Ziye hurriedly opened the screenshot Ma Lou had sent.

Though the image had been exported through thought capture and its background was somewhat blurry, the system scroll glowing with a faint dark-blue light and the clearly legible text on it were unmistakably real.

[Explorer Achievement unlocked (hidden): Night Survivor!]

[...]

After looking at the screenshot, Lu Ziye's morning grumpiness vanished without a trace, and his eyes went as wide as saucers.

[Passing Pure-Love Warrior]:

"Holy shit! Physical immunity? Magic-type monsters?"

"More importantly, our starting class, Ash Apostles, can actually unlock skills?!"

During the day, they had been complaining that the game was nothing but a resource-grinding survival game, without even a single active skill. All they had were wild punches and handmade spears.

Now, the moment they saw the words "unlock more Ash Apostle skills," everyone was wide awake.

Skills!

They were the soul of an online game!

Who wouldn't rather lob giant fireballs from a safe zone than charge up to monsters with a rotten stick and fight them face-to-face?

[Even Monkeys Have Dignity] sent several outrageously smug voice messages. "Hehehe, tremble, mortals!"

"I ran into an elite magic-type monster out there with its own background music! I spent hundreds of meters running from its toxic zone and survived purely through slick movement! The system straight-up gave me a server-exclusive hidden achievement!"

"Also, I'm only a few experience points away from level 1 now."

"When we log in tomorrow, you may address me as Ma Lou the God!"

After listening to the messages, Lu Ziye ground his back teeth so hard they nearly cracked.

"Ma Lou, you traitorous bastard! We promised we'd all log off and rest together till we were old and gray, and you fucking went behind our backs to farm experience and achievements!"

[Ji Luo] was more interested in the game's mechanics. "This information is crucial. So leveling up and increasing territory prosperity unlock skills."

"This game is much more fully developed than we thought. The gameplay down the line is definitely going to be hardcore!"

Even Jiahao, who had remained silent until now, couldn't resist chiming in.

[I'm Not Jiahao]:

"Spectral monsters? No physical collision bodies?"

"That makes sense. It fits my theories about higher-dimensional life perfectly. Only by abandoning the crude carbon-based flesh can the soul transcend... You know what I mean, right?"

Although his writing retained its aloof, fragmented style, everyone could smell the jealousy dripping from Jiahao's words through their screens.

He had spent yesterday in the game posing and tweaking his eyelashes without gaining a single thing. Watching Ma Lou show off now hurt worse than being killed.

[Even Monkeys Have Dignity]:

"Enough chatting. I'm going to the forum to make a post and show off."

"Tonight, I'm the hottest guy on the forum!"

With that, Ma Lou disappeared, headed straight to the sprawling forum thread Lu Ziye had started, and dropped the screenshot into it without changing a thing.

The armchair gamers who had been mocking them as paid shills collectively fell silent for a moment.

Then the forum exploded.

"Holy shit? That UI, that lighting quality-don't tell me you whipped this up in Photoshop!"

"Hidden achievements? Territory prosperity? Unlockable Apostle skills? This game has that much depth?"

"Monsters immune to physical attacks? Running from a toxic zone like in a battle royale? Damn... That sounds thrilling!"

"Offering serious money for an Awakening of the Old Gods closed-beta key! Price negotiable! DM me if you have one!"

That night, countless hardcore gaming enthusiasts were destined to toss and turn because of this screenshot, staring hungrily at the 1 KB installer that told them "Access unavailable."

Early the next morning.

Sunlight spilled into the dormitory through the gap in the curtains.

"Ring, ring, ring, ring!"

Lu Ziye's relentless barrage of alarms went off at precisely six fifty.

He practically sprang out of bed like a corpse coming back to life.

He didn't need his roommates to wake him, nor did he need any extra sleep.

He kicked off his blanket, rushed into the bathroom to splash cold water haphazardly over his face, then scrambled back onto his bed at a sprinter's pace and put on his VR headset.

Seriously, after that bastard Ma Lou had spent all night outgrinding them, if he didn't get up and grind now, forget the first kill-there wouldn't even be scraps left for him today!

At precisely seven in the morning.

In another world, inside the dilapidated church beside the coastal cliffs.

Morning mist rolled in from the sea, enveloping the abandoned village and the distant Black Forest in waves of clammy cold.

Familiar flashes of light flickered across the Resurrection Array one after another.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Five figures in oversized linen shorts appeared in the center of the sanctuary right on time.

The moment he opened his eyes, Lu Ziye rushed forward impatiently, hooked an arm around Ma Lou's neck, and subjected him to a merciless "chokehold punishment."

"You sneaky bastard! If you dare secretly log in and outgrind us again tonight, I'm poisoning your well water tomorrow!"

"Cough, cough... Let go!"

"Lu, take it fucking easy! This game's pain simulation is no joke!" Ma Lou frantically slapped Lu Ziye's arm, but he couldn't hide the smugness on his face.

"What, jealous of my hidden achievement? That's called skill, understand?"

[Ji Luo] watched the two clowns helplessly, then clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

"All right, quit fooling around. Let's talk business."

[Ji Luo] instantly switched into tactical commander mode, his gaze turning serious.

"Between our scouting yesterday afternoon and Ma Lou's outing last night, we've pretty much figured out how dangerous the starting area is."

"The abandoned village is definitely a high-risk monster zone. Not only does it have an incredibly fast First Tier boss, but spectral monsters immune to physical attacks, like the one Ma Lou encountered, might also be roaming around."

"With our current setup-bare chests and wooden sticks-going into the village would be suicide."

[Ji Luo] pointed behind the church. "So today's strategy is clear: stay out of the abandoned village! We'll head east along the boundary between the church and the outskirts of the Black Forest!"

"First, gather loose stones, vines, and wood. We'll work together to make everyone a spear or a Stone Hammer."

"Second, target only the Corrupted Villagers wandering around the outskirts."

"If they're alone, we gang up on them. If there are more than five, we run! Our main goal today is to stockpile Ash Coins and get everyone to level 1 while we're at it!"

Bossy Guy flexed his fists and nodded earnestly. "I'm with Ji. Slow and steady is the safest way. I've gotta smash a few more mobs today and earn enough resurrection money for three lives!"

Jiahao also nodded slightly, one hand tucked into the waistband of his shorts. "Prudent capital management and risk hedging. That aligns well with my logic."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go! Here comes the big rig!"

[Passing Pure-Love Warrior] charged out through the church doors first, hollering at the top of his lungs.

Atop the altar, Lin En, who had just awakened from his slumber, watched this energetic bunch of workers with keen interest.

After a night's rest and Sivir's continuous prayers, Lin En's Faith Points balance stood at [135 points].

That was a pitifully small sum, but at least it could cover ten resurrections for them.

Go forth, my dear followers.

Clear out all those mobs for me. Whether our game can keep growing is up to you.

Lin En silently cheered the departing group on.

The five-man squad stepped through the barrier and, facing the gray morning light of the Wasteland World, plunged into the withered grass on the outskirts of the Black Forest like a band of well-trained brigands...