Wilderness of Chaos is truly, truly chaotic.
This was a fact that the four food-loving friends realized on the second day of their mission.
Because the Teleportation Tree cannot be placed outside the coverage area of Root Network, the only way for the four people who cannot afford Hoofed Beast to reach their destination is to walk there.
Based on walking speed, this process should last about five days.
Logically, five consecutive days of travel should be enough to make someone give up their love for a game, but the World of Disorder always has an irresistible charm.
It wasn't because the group made a small fortune or found any treasure along the way; it was simply because the journey was extremely dangerous.
The dangers of the Wilderness of Chaos possess a unique kind of allure.
They had already learned from Gray about the potential dangers at the target location, so they knew what they would face and were mentally prepared in advance.
But to their utter surprise, even getting to the mission location proved to be fraught with difficulties.
The chaos in the Wilderness of Chaos is a chaotic mess devoid of logic, far more disordered than any area occupied by a major power, which led the four to witness many strange sights along the way.
The first day featured the spectacular Backflow Waterfall. Watching the towering spray of water rushing upwards, several members of the group started taking photos to capture the moment.
The four's vlog garnered a huge number of views on the World of Disorder Forum, with many people hoping that the Second Holy See would take over the area as soon as possible.
After all, resurrection is less troublesome only within the territory. Many players have come to regard this place as the developers' testing ground, treating it as a special terrain for the testing phase.
The next day, a sudden heavy snowfall occurred. The group of friends who had arranged to log in found themselves buried in snow up to their necks deep, almost thinking it was a graphics issue caused by a game rendering crash.
Fortunately, after sticking their heads out of the snow, they realized that the snowfall area was only a small patch, and they could see the edges of it.
On the third day, the four encountered a bizarre realm where one of their five senses was randomly deprived. [ Pizza Heart ] became blind, [ My Buddha Ciba ] became mute, and [ Namo Goose Rice Tofu ] could not hear any sounds around him.
Only [ Clear Soup Master ] temporarily lost his sense of taste, and the dry rations they carried with them were already quite tasteless.
The four unfortunate disabled men supported each other throughout their journey, and finally escaped this eerie realm on the fourth night.
After a night's rest, they finally arrived at the area marked by the mission.
To their surprise, this area seemed surprisingly safe compared to the previous inverted waterfall, blizzard, and sensory-depriving zone.
On the plain covered with rocks, countless blades of grass, no taller than a finger, grow in the cracks between the rocks, and even more moss covers almost every shaded corner.
A warm, humid breeze brushed against their faces, making the Blood Corpse hiding in the shadows appear much softer.
Looking at the desperate situation before him, [ Pizza Heart ] couldn't help but sigh:
"To be honest, why seal vampires in such a good place? I think the previous places were all quite good; the environment was so harsh, they were perfect for sealing them."
[ Clear Soup Master ] seemed to agree with his point of view. [ My Buddha Ciba ] thought for a moment and said:
"I remember that the seal can be broken, perhaps because the seal deteriorates faster in extreme environments..."
His reminder reminded them of some setting-related posts on the forum, one of which mentioned that the cave where Bennett was revived contained a sealing array that had almost completely faded.
If sealing techniques truly have an expiration date, then such a conjecture is quite reasonable.
After a few casual words, [ Namo Goose Rice Tofu ] said:
"Everyone, go your separate ways to collect data. We'll meet again after dark to prevent any unexpected incidents."
"Good."
The proposal passed unanimously, and the four of them went their separate ways.
As their eyes swept across the surroundings, a map of the area quickly began to take shape within the Root Network.
Ed, inside the castle, looked at the increasingly clear terrain map and couldn't help but marvel at how incredibly useful the player was.
After a period of development, Ed has integrated all the functions such as brain communication, account synchronization, teleportation array, self-service purchase, and forum posting into one, forming a new generation of [ Root Network ].
Ed didn't know if other factions had such useful tools, but he was certain that this structure, copied from his previous life, would shine just as brightly in this world.
As long as they are alive, the players' data will always be safe.
As darkness fell and the lurking Blood Corpse let out unconscious roars, the four gourmets regrouped.
What do we do now?
[ My Buddha Ciba ] asked:
"At this rate, exploration will need to continue for another week to ten days, assuming we work a full twelve hours every day..."
[ Clear Soup Master ] shook his head in denial:
"That's not necessarily true. After all, other teams have also taken on this mission; they just started later than us. Even if we die here, the exploration mission will still be completed as scheduled."
"Then we need to speed things up even more, otherwise our share will be reduced!"
[ My Buddha Ciba ] got a little anxious after listening to [ Clear Soup Master ]'s analysis:
"But there are so many Blood Corpse at night, and there's nothing we can do..."
" Aluode."
[ Pizza Heart ] suddenly uttered a name, and the four of them fell silent.
Clearly, among players, the word "Aluode" has long since transcended its meaning as an ordinary name.
This word represents betrayal, backstabbing, infiltration, and treachery...
In this particular context, however, the group has a new understanding of the term—to become Blood Corpse and then feast on the completion progress of the special mission while other teams log off at night.
Damn it, he was born!
After realizing how outrageous [ Pizza Heart ]'s suggestion was, the group members showed reluctance, but none of them voiced any objection.
After all, the plan sounds really perfect.
As for the ending, everyone has already figured it out.
Remember when Aluode backstabbed Bennett and then chose to commit suicide to reshape his body? It seems they could also choose the same method to achieve a quick return to the city.
As for the equipment left here... well, it's only for the players who will be eating the leftovers later.
After finalizing the plan in detail, the four of them immediately began their operation.
The first step of the plan, of course, is... to become Blood Corpse.
Soon, the four of them cornered a weak, pitiful, and helpless Blood Corpse in a crevice in the rocks.
After grabbing its claws and forcibly slashing my wrist, the strange change began.