Chapter 38
Chapter 38
Yu Huan sat in the car, listening to the man in the passenger seat brief him on the situation.
Just as Yu Lingling had sensed, he was also a Full-fledged Player in the Horror Game Instance. “We’ve used the Horror Game App to summon every Full-fledged Player of B-rank or higher in Hua Nation.”
The Grand Slaughter was the most exceptional of all Horror Game Instances. It was the only SSS-rank Instance.
This Instance opened once every ten years. Whenever it opened, the Main God of the Horror Game Instance would randomly select Full-fledged Players from ten small worlds to participate.
“This Instance opened just eight years ago. It shouldn’t be opening again so soon.”
“And it shouldn’t have selected our small world twice in a row. Nor should the main battlefield have been in Hua Nation both times.”
The man in the passenger seat was filled with hatred as he spoke.
The Grand Slaughter Instance was not particularly mysterious. It was simply cruel. After experiencing it once, they had managed to work out some of its rules.
The Horror Game Instance had descended upon their small world twenty years ago. Their small world had been under novice protection for the first ten years, during which it could not be randomly selected for a Grand Slaughter Instance.
More importantly, the Horror Game Instance would never select the same world for a Grand Slaughter Instance twice in a row.
After all, even if they wanted to reap another harvest, they had to wait for the crop to grow back first.
“Someone gathered all the items required to activate the Grand Slaughter and chose Hua Nation as the activation site.”
There were two ways to open the Grand Slaughter Instance. The first occurred once every ten years, with both the world and the instance mode chosen at random. The second was to gather all the required items and activate it manually, in which case the person who activated it could choose the instance mode.
The Instance that had opened eight years ago used an exceedingly simple and brutal mode. Players from the selected small worlds were placed on an isolated island and forced to slaughter one another. Every player was worth one point.
For three days, any Full-fledged Player from their small world could enter at any time. When the Grand Slaughter Instance ended, players would be rewarded according to their points.
The higher their score, the greater their rewards. The three small worlds at the bottom of the rankings would be punished.
For the next ten years, players from the bottom three small worlds would face increased Instance difficulty. In addition, ten S-rank Horror Game Instances would descend into the real world.
Eight years ago, their small world had experienced such a Grand Slaughter Instance for the first time. Their Full-fledged Players were inferior to those from the other small worlds in both level and ability, and the slaughter-based mode had put them at an even greater disadvantage. It was only through the sacrifice of countless players that they managed to secure fourth place from the bottom and escape punishment.
Because the activation site had been in Hua Nation, if a Horror Game Instance descended into reality, the people of Hua Nation would be the first to suffer. During that Grand Slaughter, Hua Nation’s Full-fledged Players had suffered the greatest casualties.
During that same Grand Slaughter, Yu Huan had been sent out of the Horror Game Instance through the sacrifice of countless Hua Nation Full-fledged Players. As long as he did not enter voluntarily, he would no longer have to enter an instance at regular intervals like the other players.
The second method involved a player gathering all the required items and directly opening the Grand Slaughter Instance. The player who opened it could choose the instance mode.
The available Instance modes were those their small world had already unlocked: Survival Type, Apocalypse Type, Slaughter Type, Puzzle-Solving Type, Stealth Type, SAN-Value Type, Point-Defense Type, and Escape Type.
Although it would still be a Grand Slaughter Instance, it would only be SS-rank. Players from other small worlds would not participate. Instead, nations would fight against one another.
The top three nations would receive generous rewards, while the bottom three would be punished.
For the next five years, Instance difficulty in the affected nations would increase for both Full-fledged Players and participants in Novice Instances. In addition, ten A-rank Horror Game Instances would descend into the real world.
The young man in the passenger seat ground his teeth. “We’ve been set up.”
During the incident eight years ago, Hua Nation’s Full-fledged Player contingent had suffered devastating losses. The High-level Full-fledged Player ranks, in particular, had nearly been wiped out, leaving an entire gap in their strength.
Fortunately, Yu Huan had been able to sever the connection between a Horror Game Instance and reality, buying them a chance to catch their breath.
The young man’s eyes blazed with fury. “We were supposed to watch each other’s backs.”
Yu Huan had already seen the news on the APP. He had considered everything the young man had, along with far more besides. By now, he had regained his composure and was speaking with the owner of the private restaurant where he and Yu Lingling had dined, choosing her dinner for the evening.
“There is no ‘supposed to.’ If you’re weak, you’d better be prepared to get trampled.”
The young man opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Once Yu Huan finished choosing the dishes, he closed his eyes to rest.
Silence descended over the car.
By the time Yu Huan arrived at the area where the instance was set to open, night had already fallen. He first sent Yu Lingling a message to let her know he was safe, then put away his phone and entered the temporary command center.
Since every player was worth points this time, they could not repeat the mistake they had made when they were inexperienced during the first incident and allow players of every level to enter.
The speaker was a woman who looked only around thirty, yet whose hair had already turned gray. “We don’t know what kind of instance this will be, so we’ve prepared several contingency plans.”
She looked at Yu Huan. “Mr. Yu, what type do you think it will be?”
Yu Huan was not in a wheelchair this time. He sat casually in an empty seat, toying with the egg that looked as though it were made of cheap plastic.
“Since this is a deliberate scheme against us, there’s a good chance it’ll be Point-Defense Type.”
Before Yu Huan arrived, the others had already discussed the matter and estimated a sixty-percent chance that it would be Point-Defense Type. With the other side prepared and Hua Nation caught off guard, Point-Defense Type was precisely what they wanted to face least.
Yu Huan did not mince words. At a time like this, only an idiot would bother trying to soften the truth.
“Players from several countries have probably joined forces. If it is Point-Defense Type, we’ll have to make our last stand.”
Upon attaining Full-fledged Player status in the Horror Game, a player’s information would be registered, and they could choose which nationality to declare. As long as another country was willing to accept them, they would also have an opportunity to change their nationality.
If Hua Nation lost this time, its players could avoid the first punishment by switching their registered nationality.
For a country, that would be the most devastating consequence of all.
As the meeting drew to a close, Yu Huan spoke up of his own accord. “If this is a Point-Defense Type instance, I’ll enter.”
A Point-Defense Type instance had another defining feature: the number of entrants was fixed, and no one else could enter once the game officially began.
Someone immediately wanted to object. Yu Huan was far too important to them, especially now that Horror Game Instance activity had intensified.
But before they could voice their objection, Yu Huan said, “I will be our final trump card.”
Back at home, Yu Lingling was searching for information related to the APP on Yu Huan’s phone, but she could not find a single trace of it.
The complete lack of information only made her more certain that it had something to do with the Horror Game Instance.
Her expression darkened. She looked at the Princess Dollhouse and tapped on it. Inside, the Four Dolls poked their heads out of the rooms they had each chosen.
“I want to enter my third Novice Instance. How do I get in?”
At that, the Four Dolls came out and huddled together, muttering in a language Yu Lingling could not understand. After discussing it for a long time, they finally spread their hands to indicate that they had no idea.
Yu Lingling closed her eyes and forcibly suppressed the agitation in her heart. She took the Princess Dollhouse over to the bay window and sat there, gazing out at the moonlit night.
After a while, she murmured, “I really hate this.”
She hated not being in control, hated this feeling of utter powerlessness.