The echoes of the race-wide announcement rang in the ears of the many human players, their faces filled with shock and envy.
"This guy is fucking awesome. One man attains the Dao, and the whole village ascends to heaven!"
"They really lucked out. Everyone in the village gets a piece of equipment for free!"
"A dungeon? Doesn't that [Endless Ant Nest] count as a dungeon? I cleared it, so why didn't I get any extra rewards?"
"Too bad you can't travel between novice villages. Otherwise, I'd definitely grab Return to Zero and ask him the secret to unlocking dungeons!"
"The people in that novice village must be worshipping Return to Zero by now, right?" someone teased.
"Absolutely! Definitely! Right on the money!" a nearby player agreed, a hint of mockery in his voice.
In Novice Village No. 847783, a bare-chested youth with long, silver-blue hair sharply flicked the blood off the massive hammer in his right hand.
Several chunks of flesh flew off!
His gaze calm, he turned and walked into the nearby teleportation array.
The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
"This world doesn't seem as boring as it used to be."
Out in the wilderness of Phoenix City No. 9093, a powerfully built man two meters tall suddenly appeared, holding a massive shield.
Boom!
The imposing shield slammed into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.
He narrowed his eyes slightly and gazed up into the distant sky, seemingly waiting for something.
Suddenly, Lin Yi's three race-wide announcements reached his ears.
He froze briefly, then continued gazing into the distant sky without doing anything else.
One minute...
Two minutes...
Five minutes...
Without any warning!
His eyes instantly widened with fury, and he roared at the sky:
"Why!?"
"Why didn't a powerhouse like me, the second person to pass the [Hell-Level Class Change Trial], get a race-wide announcement!"
"Yet some nobody opens a bullshit dungeon and gets a race-wide announcement?"
"Don't tell me his announcement bumped mine out!?"
"Motherfucker!"
"Return to Zero, huh?"
"Just you fucking wait!"
Out in the wilderness of Azure Firmament City No. 43290.
Sunlight filtered through the sparse clouds and fell upon a woman, making her deep-blue qipao look even more mysterious and elegant.
Her skin was like the purest white snow, with an almost translucent sheen.
Her features were picture-perfect, her long eyelashes trembling gently, every blink seeming to convey endless allure.
She furrowed her brows slightly and looked up at the sky.
"How did I end up here again..."
"..."
Whoosh!
Her staff traced an elegant arc through the air before she instantly stowed it in her inventory, then turned and walked toward Azure Firmament City.
Her steps were light and elegant, as though each landed upon the clouds.
Her qipao swayed gently in the wind, outlining her graceful figure.
The ground had been ravaged by flames and icicles for hundreds of meters.
Numerous monster corpses lay scattered amid the wreckage.
The embers still glimmered faintly on the ground, while fragments of ice reflected dazzling light beneath the sun.
The players of Novice Village No. 4396 were even more excited, as though they had glimpsed a turning point in their destinies.
Their expressions brightened before they erupted into earth-shaking cheers:
"Long live Return to Zero!"
"Boss Return to Zero is fucking awesome! As expected of our village's top dog!"
"Our Novice Village No. 4396 even made it onto the race-wide broadcast! What an honor!"
"One piece of equipment added twenty thousand combat power! Fucking awesome!"
"Holy shit! The stats on my [Meteor Warhammer] are insane! Thank you, Daddy Return to Zero!"
"My [Jade Void Footwear] adds 2 m/s to movement speed. Isn't that ridiculously overpowered?"
"This equipment has more combat power than I originally had! I can finally go kill monsters! Talk about defying the heavens and changing my fate!"
Of the novice village's ten thousand people, 99.9% were basking in the joy of obtaining powerful equipment.
In front of that invisible gate in Novice Village No. 4396, hundreds of people were similarly elated.
"My first piece of equipment besides starter gear!"
"Holy shit, fucking awesome! Return to Zero, you rock!"
"Huh? Where did that fully equipped guy from earlier go?"
"Didn't I tell you that kid Return to Zero would amount to something?"
"So... Return to Zero didn't create this invisible wall?"
"Of course not! He gave us all free equipment. What more do you want?"
"Exactly! We misjudged Boss Return to Zero! He really is on another level!"
Suddenly!
Thick fear filled the wide-eyed warrior's eyes, and he called out loudly:
"Everyone, eyes... on me!"
But everyone was swept up in joy, and no one paid attention to what he said. The occasional person who glanced his way quickly looked elsewhere.
The warrior gritted his teeth and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"I'm... a complete fucking idiot!"
Silence!
The air seemed to fall still for an instant, and everyone turned to look at him.
His eyes slightly red, he panted heavily and said loudly:
"Since I've been following Boss Return to Zero, I'm somewhat familiar with his appearance and equipment."
"And that fully equipped person who disappeared just now was Return to Zero himself!"
Everyone panicked at his words.
Many of them had bad-mouthed Return to Zero, and they had done it right in front of him!
Only then did they realize that the [Nightmare Deadlands] lay on the other side of this invisible wall!
One warrior trembled slightly. He had cursed Lin Yi the loudest earlier, and now he was panicking like crazy!
With Lin Yi's current strength and influence, reducing his lifespan to one year through repeated kills would be no problem!
Thud!
Terrified, he dropped to his knees on the spot, tears and snot streaming down his face.
"Boss Return to Zero, I was wrong! My tongue slipped!"
"I'll never do it again! Please don't kill me!"
Seeing this, the others who had bad-mouthed Lin Yi also dropped to their knees, sobbing loudly through tears and snot toward the deserted invisible wall.
At that moment, Lin Yi could not see the people outside. He checked his stats: in addition to ten thousand reputation, he had also gained a piece of two-star equipment.
[Nightmare Shorts] Category: pants Grade: CA Effects: combat power +150000, movement speed +3 m/s, reduces sound produced while moving at night by 50%, increases dark resistance by 15%. Description: shorts made from a mysterious material. Not only do they provide extremely high defense, they also grant the wearer additional protection in the dark.
A hint of satisfaction flashed through Lin Yi's eyes as he looked at the equipment.
Combat power and the like did not matter. The movement speed bonus and percentage resistance bonus were what mattered most, especially in his current surroundings.
"In my previous life, I never heard of any dungeons in novice villages."
"And there's even ten thousand reputation?"
"This reward really is pretty generous. That would get me at least a two-star skill from the reputation merchant in the Azure Billow Realm!"
"But..."
Lin Yi raised his head slightly and surveyed the scene before him.
Rumble!
An enormous thunderclap exploded across the overcast sky, like the roar of a god, shaking every creature on the earth.
Dark clouds churned, blocking out the sunlight. An oppressive aura of death filled the air, seemingly heralding an approaching storm.
At the same time, multiple pairs of scarlet eyes lit up in the distance, revealing terrifying cruelty and savagery.
Excitement gleamed in Lin Yi's eyes, and he let out a long breath.
"What excites me most..."
"Is still you big guys!"