Identity and items

[Player Xin Jiu has obtained an identity: Inspector]

[Inspector privileges will unlock upon entering the tower.]

Inspector?

What did that mean?

Xin Jiu waited a while, but the system went silent again.

"..."

Everyone in the livestream chat panicked.

After all, they had only read about things like games descending into reality in novels.

At that moment, people all over the world saw the announcement.

Those forced to enter the game were howling.

The non-players, who could only wait for players to earn points and save their countries, were howling too.

This wasn't a game. It was a battle royale!

[Only players who logged in during the open beta will be pulled into the game. Don't worry!]

[We non-players are still safe for now.]

[But if our total points rank last, anomalies will be released, and we'll still die, right?]

[Don't be scared. Our Nine Provinces is best at human wave tactics. Why worry about our total points losing to other countries?]

[Exactly! That tiny country next door should be panicking!]

[I think the game will take the average. Otherwise, our Nine Provinces' points would be too heaven-defying.]

Xin Jiu was still studying the panel.

Aside from her personal interface and the map, the chat interface, trading hall, and friends list were all grayed out.

Would they only unlock after she entered the tower?

She opened the map.

Hundreds of red dots appeared on it. They were probably the beginner gift pack locations the system had mentioned.

A small indicator in the top-right corner showed a countdown.

[5:58:38]

"If you received the system notification, head out and find a beginner gift pack right now. Be quick. If you've decided to go straight into the tower, don't forget to prepare medical supplies, weapons for self-defense, food, and water. Remember, stay calm at all times."

[Jiujiu, you have to stay safe.]

[Everyone, stay safe.]

[I'm heading out. Remember my ID, and come watch me slaughter my way through the game!]

[Me too, me too! Remember my ID too!]

The livestream's viewer count plummeted from twenty thousand to three thousand.

Those who left the livestream had all played Codename: Divine Descent during its open beta.

The streets were filled with panicked crowds.

Xin Jiu wove through traffic on her Kawasaki H2, glancing at either side of the road from time to time. Some people knelt on the ground and prayed toward the tower, while others clutched their heads, screaming and sobbing.

The game's invasion had come too suddenly.

People simply couldn't accept it.

When she passed the subway station, the scene was even more chaotic.

"I want to get out of here! I don't want to enter the tower!"

"Are we going to die? I don't want to die!"

"Stop pushing! Didn't you see what they're saying online? Towers have appeared all over the world. Where can you run?!"

Exactly.

Towers.

There were towers all over the world.

Xin Jiu glanced at the black tower that had risen from the ground nearby.

It clearly had only thirty floors, yet it stood taller than every building in S City.

Lakeside Park.

Xin Jiu took off her helmet.

The dot on the panel was right in the center of the park.

There, she saw a Shatang Tree from the game, as well as the players.

She hadn't expected the first obtainable resource to be Shatang Tree fruit.

The Shatang Tree was actually just a very ordinary-looking tree.

Its fruit, however, could boost players' attribute points.

One fruit randomly increased an attribute by one point, and the effects couldn't stack.

It was a must-have resource for beginner players.

"Xin Jiu!"

Xin Jiu turned and saw her younger half brother, Xin Yue.

Xin Yue was her father's illegitimate son, born behind her mother's back, and was only three months younger than her.

Her mother had died of illness the year she started middle school.

After that, he had brought Xin Yue and that woman home.

Disgusted, Xin Jiu had reclaimed her mother's property and the share she herself was entitled to, then moved out with the nanny.

Afterward, she had never returned to the Xin family home.

Xin Yue knew she was a high-level player in Codename: Divine Descent and that she had spent two years grinding to clear it, so he wanted to team up with her.

"Xin Jiu, you're just in time! Hurry up and help me grab some fruit!"

Xin Jiu noticed the bruises on his face.

It seemed Xin Yue had arrived before her and fought the other players over the fruit.

Uh... and lost.

He really was getting more useless as he grew older.

A man with tattoo sleeves stepped forward.

"More and more people are gathering here, and there are only so many fruits. Talking won't settle anything. Everyone's on their own!"

The players had been waiting for those words, and they all charged toward the Shatang Tree.

They shoved and jostled, none willing to give way.

Seeing this, Xin Yue rushed forward too, only for the tattooed man to punch him in the stomach and knock him to the ground.

"Trash like you thinks you deserve fruit?!"

"Xin Jiu!" Xin Yue clutched his stomach and screamed, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and grab some fruit!"

She ignored me when I spoke to her earlier too. Is she deaf?!

Xin Jiu still didn't move.

She couldn't fight for this fruit, because once she ate it, the thing inside the trunk would no longer work on her.

A man wearing glasses was the first to get a fruit.

After he ate it, everyone saw a green indicator appear above his head.

[Stamina +1]

"It really increases your attributes!"

"Stop pushing me!"

"I got agility!"

"I got perception!"

Dozens of people fought over a mere dozen or so fruits.

The scene couldn't have been more intense.

Xin Jiu quietly backed away to a safe distance.

The fruit did increase attributes, but the Shatang Tree was no pushover. It attacked players.

They probably hadn't played for so long that they had forgotten that part.

Or perhaps the lure of attribute points had gone to their heads.

As the fruit dwindled and Xin Jiu still made no move, Xin Yue's eyes reddened with urgency!

"Xin Jiu! What are you still standing there for?!!!"

Within a dozen seconds or so, the players had taken every last fruit.

Those who had gotten fruit looked excited.

Those who hadn't sighed.

Even knowing their chances were slim, they planned to try their luck at the next location.

Just then, the ground suddenly began to shake!

Here it comes, Xin Jiu thought.

Once all its fruit had been picked, the Shatang Tree would enter berserk mode. Apparently, that hadn't changed after its descent into reality.

Thick vines burst out of the ground.

Before the nearest player could react, a vine pierced his body.

He stared in disbelief at the vine in his chest.

He raised his hand in agony.

"Save me..."

The vine pulled out of his body and began chasing the other players.

The scene instantly descended into chaos!

Everyone ran for their lives!

"I remember now! It's a Shatang Tree! It goes berserk if you pick its fruit! Run!" someone shouted as they ran.

Dead memories began to revive.

Every player present remembered the fear of being at the Shatang Tree's mercy back then.

Xin Yue went pale with fright and turned to run too!

Xin Jiu suddenly asked, "Don't you want to increase your attributes anymore?"

She would still need Xin Yue for something in a little while.

How could she let him run off just like that?

"All the fruit's gone! How am I supposed to increase anything? Don't even think about getting me killed!"

She hadn't responded earlier, yet now she spoke up.

What could she want if not to get him killed?

"Then go."

Xin Yue ran a few steps, then saw that Xin Jiu was still standing where she had been.

Is she scared stupid?

No, that's not right. She's a high-level player in this game.

She knows more about the game than everyone here put together!

Xin Yue gritted his teeth and ran back.

"Do you know something?!"