Garton Star System, Ninth Star Zone, Planet Aquamarine.
The Southern Continent is experiencing scorching heat in summer, with the Blazing Sun blazing high and the air distorted by the intense heat.
The moment version 2.0 was launched, players appeared one after another in the Third Sanctuary 3. Hundreds, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands... The once spacious plaza became incredibly crowded within seconds.
Before the version update, due to the [The Last Stand] mission left by Han Xiao and the analysis of the 2.0 main storyline by the Galaxy Times, hundreds of thousands of players on Planet Aquamarine gathered at the Sanctuary and chose to log off there. When version 2.0 was launched, the place where these hundreds of thousands of players logged on was the Third Sanctuary.
Hundreds of thousands of people crowded around, curiously looking around.
"Is it version 2.0 now?"
"It seems like nothing has changed."
"Hey, the level cap has been raised, but experience can still be used to level up. It's definitely a new version."
"Aren't there any other changes? I really just wanted to try taking a dump in the game."
"Those who like to take their pants off, please have some self-respect."
Players discussed among themselves, each opening their panels to check their attributes. Apart from the capped level now being able to be upgraded further, their personal information remained unchanged.
However, someone soon noticed that the mission notification had changed; it was now "[The Last Stand]," and the mission status had changed from "Frozen" to "Active."
This was a prize pool mission left behind by Han Xiao before he left. The mission required protecting the Third Sanctuary, which was intended to generate hype for the Mutation Disaster and attract players to gather here. As he expected, players suspected that this mission was related to the 2.0 storyline.
And now, this mission has actually begun!
Doesn't that mean the "catastrophe" mentioned in the mission prompt has already begun?
Many players immediately became excited. Thanks to Black Phantom, they had hardly participated in the main storyline of the previous version, but this time there was finally a real big event!
Oh right, the NPC who gives out this quest is still Black Phantom... oh, now he's called Black Star, is he still in interstellar space?
The thought of Han Xiao makes many players envious of the professional players he took with him, who entered the interstellar world much earlier and whose food, clothing, and other necessities far surpassed those of the professional players.
Just as the players were observing, an announcement suddenly came over the loudspeaker inside the Sanctuary.
"All those with Inhuman, please remain where you are! I repeat, all those with Inhuman, please remain where you are!"
Soon, a large number of guards surrounded the square, their faces filled with suspicion and uncertainty as they nervously watched the massive crowd of players.
The Inhuman on the entire planet had disappeared for a whole year, but their sudden appearance today really startled the managers of Third Sanctuary. Bennett quickly sent people to control the scene.
Meanwhile, players in Third Sanctuary triggered the same mission.
[Stay Where You Are]
[Mission Introduction: During your absence, many things happened on Planet Aquamarine, and the planet is now at a critical juncture for the survival of civilization. Stay Where You Are and patiently wait for relevant personnel to explain the situation.]
This is a small task with little reward, but players are also eager to understand the situation. Hundreds of thousands of people are obediently staying in the square—mainly because there are guards all around. Who knows if leaving rashly will result in an attack? Nobody wants to lose the Sanctuary's favor at the very beginning of the version.
Before long, Bennett rushed over, and a look of joy flashed in his eyes as he saw the sea of people.
He recalled Han Xiao's instructions, saying that the Inhuman were the backbone of the resistance against this catastrophe. At this critical moment, the Inhuman reappeared. He didn't know the reason, only that the Inhuman had arrived at the perfect time, when manpower was urgently needed.
Bennett pulled out a megaphone and shouted, "Ladies and gentlemen, Planet Aquamarine is suffering from an unprecedented disaster and urgently needs help..."
He quickly explained the situation, and the players then learned that more than a year had passed since the last version. Just over a month ago, a strange phenomenon rapidly spread across Planet Aquamarine, eventually turning into a global catastrophe.
Planet Aquamarine refers to it as the "Mutation Disaster".
A month had passed since the full-scale outbreak of the Mutation Disaster, and the entire planet's political landscape was in great turmoil, with the Six Nations collapsing almost within a month.
No one knows the cause of the disaster, only that it is some kind of virus, which is called the "Mutation Virus". Countless creatures, including humans, wild animals, and even plants, have been infected, but the appearance, transmission mechanism, and operating principle of the Mutation Virus cannot be determined at all. No one knows whether they have been infected.
When the virus is not active, each infected person is no different from usual. Once it takes effect, the infected person will suddenly experience unusual desires, including but not limited to murderous intent, destructive urges, anger, sadness, madness, burning lust, hunger, thirst, and other tendencies. A weak person may suddenly become a ruthless Butcher, a normal person may suddenly squat down and frantically swallow sand until they swell up to death, and a dignified woman may suddenly become a harlot.
The most frightening thing is that during an episode, the person remains rational, meaning it's not a loss of control or impulsiveness, but rather that these desires guide their thoughts, leading them to take various actions.
According to survivors' recollections, during the episodes, these desires were genuine and heartfelt, reflecting their true thoughts at the time. It was as if their personalities had been altered, transforming them into different people, including books, without them even realizing it. During these episodes, they felt their behavior was perfectly normal.
Bennett gave several examples, and the bewildered players suddenly understood the horror of the Mutation Disaster.
Red Maple was the first place to experience a large-scale outbreak. Infected soldiers in the army picked up guns and went on a shooting spree, plunging the army into chaos. No one knew which soldier was infected, and a civil war broke out, involving tanks, helicopters, rockets, and other weapons. This large-scale outbreak almost wiped out half of Red Maple's military strength.
The president even exhibited severe violent tendencies and wanted to plant mushrooms around the world. Fortunately, launching a nuclear missile requires a complex procedure. If the nuclear launch button had been on the president's desk, the world would probably be at nuclear peace by now. The president was subsequently arrested.
All sorts of absurdities that would never happen under normal circumstances unfolded without warning. It's not scary that one person goes mad; what's scary is that the whole world has gone mad—it's like a chaotic dance of demons.
No one knows when someone around them will have an attack, or even whether they themselves are normal. This panic is unparalleled, as if the whole world has become the enemy. No one dares to trust anyone else anymore, and people live in constant fear.
A month after the outbreak of the Mutation Disaster, social order collapsed, and many once prosperous cities were turned into wastelands. Citizens had to relocate or find places to hide for safety. Pessimism became the mainstream sentiment, and a view on the Mutation Disaster became popular around the world, believing that nuclear radiation was the cause of the virus's emergence.
As a result, countless civilians began to angrily denounce and condemn the Germinal War that had brought them peace, believing it to be retribution and the end of the world!
After hearing the introduction, many players felt a chill run down their spines. Putting themselves in the player's shoes, they realized how terrifying this virus was. Players had various speculations about the so-called "disaster" in version 2.0, but they never expected it to be such a bizarre situation.
What exactly is this Mutation Virus?
For a moment, the players were bewildered. The time flow was out of sync during the update; what they perceived as a mere few days of update time had been turned upside down.
Is it that exciting?!
"Isn't this virus incurable?" one player asked.
Bennett shook his head. "We've discovered two ways to resist the Mutation Virus. First, superhumans are not easily infected, which has been verified. Second, our Third Sanctuary has developed an inhibitor that can provide immunity to the virus for a period of time, but production capacity is limited. We're working hard to cultivate raw materials, but the quantity is far from enough."
As soon as the words were spoken, the players' screens reacted, triggering the main quest!
[[The Mutation Disaster]]
[Mission Brief: The Planet Aquamarine is suffering from an unprecedented catastrophe. Resisting the Mutation Disaster is the responsibility of all living beings on this planet!]
[Mission Requirement: Contribute to the fight against the Mutation Disaster]
[Progress: 0/3000w]
[Success Condition: Achieve the required progress before the Mutation Virus reaches its complete form]
[Failure Condition: The Planet Aquamarine collapses, and all survivors are forced to evacuate]
[Rewards: Depend on individual progress contribution (Note: Even if the virus growth causes a decrease in the overall progress, the individual's previously accumulated progress will still be included in the reward evaluation)]
The task requirements for hundreds of thousands of players are similar to those for Han Xiao, except that the players' [Mutation Disaster] task only requires 30 million progress points on Planet Aquamarine, while Han Xiao's task requires all other planets that have been affected by the Mutation Disaster. Obviously, Master Han's task is more complete.
This is a large-scale main quest that all players undertake together. Every player's contribution will be counted towards the overall progress, and everyone needs to work together to achieve the quest objective.
"We just logged in and the main quest has already started? The story is progressing so fast this version!"
"No foreplay, straight to the point, I like it this direct."
"... No, we directly received the main quest because we logged in at Third Sanctuary, which allows us to enter the main quest earlier. The Galaxy Times analysis is correct."
As everyone recalled the events, they suddenly realized what had happened.
That's exactly right. If it were anywhere else, no one would have explained the situation in detail. And Bennett just said that Third Sanctuary is the only place with suppressants, which means that this is a key scene in the 2.0 main storyline. It was the mission left by Black Phantom that guided them here.
He is our guiding light!
With the main questline in place, the players were invigorated, eagerly asking how they could help. The sheer number of players—hundreds of thousands—caused a brief period of chaos. Bennett managed to restore order and had his men list various tasks. These were all missions, each with different content, but the reward was always to advance the main questline.
Each task required a limited number of people, which immediately sparked a frenzy of competition.
The major guilds secured the most quests, while some solo players missed out on the official Sanctuary quests and looked rather disappointed.
One player couldn't help but ask, "Can we leave the Sanctuary now? I want to go somewhere else."
Bennett looked exasperated. "You'd better go up to the city walls and see for yourself."
The massive steel walls of the Sanctuary completely blocked out the view outside. Hearing this, many players became curious, and a group of them climbed the walls to look outside the Sanctuary.
After just one glance, the players were stunned, their faces showing shock.
Within a radius of tens of kilometers around the Sanctuary, countless tents were densely packed together, like gray clouds covering the reddish-brown earth, resembling a huge open-air refugee camp. It was unclear how many people remained outside the Sanctuary, unwilling to leave. From time to time, angry shouts and fighting could be heard from somewhere, whether someone had fallen ill or was fighting over scarce water or food.
"The news that we have inhibitors has spread, and countless people come here every day wanting to get injections and seeking our protection."
Bennett followed, gazing at the endless refugee camp, his voice filled with sorrow.
"But our inhibitor production is limited, and we can only inject a certain number of refugees each day. The rest have to camp outside and wait. The more people there are, the more cases will occur. Many people are dying outside every day, but I can't let everyone in, otherwise there will be riots inside... I can only watch them die."
The whole world was helpless against the Mutation Disaster, except for the Third Sanctuary. The result was obvious: it became a haven for refugees, carrying their last hope, and countless people flocked there.
After the Mutation Disaster in the previous life, everyone was like headless flies, panicked and confused, without any destination, and the situation was extremely chaotic. But now, due to Han Xiao's influence on the plot, the refugees on the entire planet have a goal, namely the Black Phantom's Third Sanctuary, which they regard as their only savior.
However, the inhibitors created by One Leaf Green and Aurora only had a temporary effect and could not permanently eradicate the virus. Bennett had absolutely no idea how to resolve this catastrophe; no one on the entire Planet Aquamarine knew. He couldn't help but think of Han Xiao's reason for going to interstellar space— the Black Phantom was going to find a solution to the disaster. Did this mean that staying on Planet Aquamarine wouldn't solve the Mutation Disaster?
Bennett could only pin his hopes on Han Xiao... if he could really come back.
"There are no other Sanctuary left..." Bennett said gravely, "This is the only Sanctuary."