Ye Lian let out a long breath after hearing the system broadcast.
His tightly strung nerves finally relaxed.
He stabbed his spear into the ground and plopped down onto the floor.
Although the recent battle seemed to be in his favor, in reality, every moment was filled with danger.
One wrong step or a split-second delay could have left him seriously injured.
Fortunately, the armored swamp crocodile had collapsed first and died on the spot.
“This game’s difficulty is no joke. How many players are going to die in this closed beta?”
He glanced at the corpse of the armored crocodile, frowning.
Even with a weapon, the fight had been grueling.
‘Players without weapons would be walking straight into death, wouldn’t they?’
“Killing that crocodile only gave me 100 experience points—just enough to level up once. This game doesn’t make leveling easy either.”
He opened his status panel and saw a [+1] beside his level.
He tapped it, and his character’s level changed from 0 to 1.
Immediately, five free stat points appeared on the screen.
‘There are only five attributes I can allocate points to: Strength, Endurance, Speed, Spirit, and HP.’
‘One point gives only 5 HP.’
‘That’s not very efficient.’
‘After leveling up, my HP went from 10 to 15. No need to invest more there.’
Thinking it over, Ye Lian kept scanning his surroundings in case another monster appeared.
‘My Strength is at 15, Speed is 20, Endurance is 15, and Spirit is 15. Speed is good enough for now, so I can skip that. Endurance boosts defense and stamina—better add 2 points there. Better safe than sorry.’
‘Spirit is probably tied to mana or magic later on. I’ll put 2 points there too. The last point goes to Strength.’
***
After confirming his choices, he immediately felt his body change.
He was clearly stronger than before.
If he had to fight the armored crocodile again, he was confident it wouldn’t even take a minute to finish it off.
‘No materials dropped. Am I supposed to gather them myself?’
He opened his backpack, only to confirm that there was nothing from the armored crocodile inside.
“This game’s level of freedom is insane. I’m really not used to it yet.”
With high freedom comes high hassle—everything has to be done manually.
Standing up, he yanked his spear from the ground and walked over to the crocodile’s corpse.
“These scales tore so easily from my attacks. I wonder if they’re actually any good for defense… Wait, the scales on the tail were tougher. Might be perfect for crafting armor!”
His gaze landed on the crocodile’s three tails—only slightly damaged.
Earlier, he had tried to sever them to weaken the creature, but eventually gave up.
Why? Because they were ridiculously tough.
Using those scales for armor would definitely provide solid protection.
***
As Ye Lian began crafting his armor, the game was about to claim its first casualty.
Boyang, thirty years old, tall and broad-shouldered, had golden hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.
He wasn’t exactly handsome, but he radiated an intimidating aura of authority.
Just by standing there, he made others feel the weight of his presence.
And indeed, he was a person of authority.
Boyang came from one of the three major powers—the Atlantic Federation—and belonged to its secret military organization, [Black Gold].
[His rank: Deputy Commander.]
To hold such a high position in Black Gold at his age, Boyang’s strength was unquestionable.
Currently, he was leading the known group of closed beta players from the Atlantic Federation on an exploratory mission.
A total of 102 people.
It was a rather sizable team—at least in terms of numbers.
“Everyone, take a break!” Boyang suddenly ordered.
The game had been going on for nearly an hour, and some of the less fit players were already exhausted.
If they didn’t rest soon, frustration would start building, eventually threatening the cohesion of the group.
Among these players were drivers, housewives, students, and unemployed drifters…
Ten of them, however, stood out with better physical condition and sharper mental clarity.
Like Boyang, they belonged to the Black Gold Organization.
After receiving alerts from the closed beta terminal, they had been gathered for a series of tests.
Now, these eleven players were lying on beds in the research facility, being studied.
***
“Vice Captain! We found a patch of cactus-like plants in a low-lying area ahead!”
A physically fit player, around 25 years old, came running back from reconnaissance.
“We? Who’s the other one? Why didn’t he return?” Boyang asked, clearly displeased.
He hated anyone who disobeyed orders.
“Vice Captain, it’s Li Anping!” the man replied.
“Oh, that so-called plant expert Li Anping? Damn it, Banana!”
Boyang’s face twisted with anger.
He looked like he wanted to strangle the Chinese youth right then and there.
He stomped hard on the ground before ordering the man to lead the way.
A few players, bored from resting, followed them.
Normally, Boyang would’ve turned around and roared at them.
But now, he couldn’t be bothered.
After all, there was a troublemaker that needed to be taught a serious lesson.
Let them come.
They could witness firsthand how brutal he could be.
Anyone who didn’t follow the rules would end up like that Banana guy!
***
“Li Anping!”
The low-lying area wasn’t far from the rest spot.
In under a minute, Boyang arrived with the group.
Sure enough, there was a patch of cactus-like plants up ahead.
However, these were a disturbing shade of grayish-black, giving off an unsettling feeling.
As if they concealed some hidden danger.
Standing in front of the gray-black cacti was a thin, frail-looking Chinese youth.
Upon hearing the angry voice, he instinctively shrank back, his face filled with fear.
“I told you—once your turn on recon duty was over, you were to return immediately! What the hell are you doing staying here!?”
Boyang stormed down the slope, eyes wide with fury.
The youth turned around and, terrified, stumbled a few steps back.
In his panic, his hand accidentally landed on one of the gray cactus.
In that instant, the cactus behind him suddenly reacted as if provoked.
Its dense black spines shot out like bullets.
In the blink of an eye, Li Anping’s back was riddled with countless tiny holes.
“Ah…”
He opened his mouth slightly, letting out a faint groan.
His eyes widened, pupils contracting rapidly.
Then, with a dull thud, he collapsed.
At first, Boyang thought he had merely scared the boy stiff.
Just as he was about to mock him, he saw Li Anping’s body start to melt in a horrifyingly unnatural way.
In moments, only a puddle of red-and-white goo remained on the ground.
“Urgh!”
Up on the slope, the players who had followed them began vomiting uncontrollably, consumed by terror.
Most of them had never seen a real corpse before—let alone watched a human body dissolve in front of their eyes.
It was sickening.
Terrifying beyond words.
Even Boyang, who had seen his share of dead bodies, felt a chill crawl down his spine as he watched Li Anping melt away.
***
At the same time, in the outside world.
Black Gold Research Institute.
The black cocoon surrounding Li Anping suddenly vanished.
The researchers rushed forward to check.
“He’s dead! He’s dead!”
Seconds later, one of them cried out in panic.
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Tftc!