Chapter 536: The Hells' Propagation

Chapter 1

Cat Leap felt completely disoriented and didn't remember how he had exited the Reincarnation Hall. When he finally came to his senses, he found himself back at the Battle Pavilion, where a bustling crowd was joyfully controlling machines and engaging in combat.

"Am I getting involved in something nefarious? Twisting history... I feel like I've gotten myself into serious trouble! No one knows what that mysterious entity is thinking; everything is shrouded in mist, and only he knows the world's past!" Cat Leap vigorously shook his head. This was probably what it felt like to join an NPC faction, gain allegiance, and start fabricating history to deceive the world.

All in all, it wasn't a loss for now, though he didn't know what the future held. After all, deceiving all beings and concealing the true history felt terrifying.

Although this online game was called an online game, players were now more willing to pour their hearts into it, treating it as a true second life.

He began inspecting an arcade machine. "It feels like nothing happened, yet something subtly did. Are these characters really coming to life? This entity is too mysterious, impossible to grasp. The world-building and background of this online game are indeed profound and enigmatic. This must be the follow-up quest chain triggered by the Fengdu mission. The game development team certainly won't disappoint us!"

At this moment, just over twenty-four hours after the online game launched, the buzz it generated had already set the entire internet ablaze. Too much had happened.

"It's only the first day of the server, and Yuan Qinghua and Bai Xiaojun have already given birth to a plump, green little tree son, completely emerald! Truly the color of love, super cute, absolutely adorable! Indeed, only same-sex relationships have true love; let's burn all heterosexuals, starting with myself!"

"Hahaha, apparently they were captured, and that praying mantis got a taste for it and is making them keep having children. The first 'gourd baby' has appeared, so are the seven 'gourd babies' far behind? Just waiting for enough to be born to start saving Grandpa!"

"Meanwhile, on another main storyline, a large number of dead people were tricked, and Fengdu is already being established!"

It was only the first day, and so many explosive events had already occurred. Many couldn't help but be incredibly excited, watching the spectacle unfold. It's important to remember that one day in reality equals one year in the game's Hell and Beast Realms, which is where the players are. In the Mortal Realm, it's ten years, and in the Heavenly Realm, a full hundred years!

"However, out of 6,000 players, over 3,000 were eliminated. By the second day, only over 2,000 remained."

There was no way around it; this game had a very anti-human setting: a game time limit of a maximum of eight hours online per day. For the rest of the time, players were forced offline and had to find a safe place to hide. Truly a game that promotes learning and healthy habits, its anti-addiction mechanism was very much like traditional "online games."

Previously, players in the Culinary World would group together, taking turns logging in, with someone always there to protect you. This wasn't an issue; in reality, you could eat and sleep as usual. But now? After logging off, they couldn't help each other at all.

At this moment, someone began to summarize the first day of the game, with a host reporting:

"As we can see, eight hours have passed, which is four months in the game. Today's game time has ended, and it's likely the first wave of players quitting has appeared! Although everyone prepared in advance, surviving for four months individually and finding places to log off, waking up on the second day still meant eight months had passed in the game—too long! The player count decreased by 30%! Many of these players were dug up and eaten by wild animals, a truly cruel fate, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside..."

In reality, although their offline time amounted to eight months, they didn't need to worry about starving to death during that period. A solution had already been found in the previous Culinary World: offline time would adjust their characters' time flow, freezing them, so it was equivalent to only half a day passing in real time.

It was now early morning on the second day.

"I'm done for. I really envy the players in 'Spore Evolution,' unlike Wizard Community and Culinary World, which have anti-addiction mechanisms..."

"Well, then write your theses!"

"No choice. This is a mass-market open game; it's already good that we can play it. If you can't survive, whose fault is that?"

"I also think a maximum of eight hours online per day and the anti-addiction mechanism are very reasonable. Are people trying to die in real life? You definitely need to eat, sleep... Playing for eight hours a day already takes up all your free time. You need eight hours for sleep, two hours for eating, showering, etc.? And several hours for exercise?" someone offered a more rational analysis.

In short, everyone was discussing it. Despite ample preparation on the first day, many players still met their end because they were unfamiliar with it! It was their first time playing this kind of virtual-reality online game set in a real world; when you logged off, you didn't just vanish, you fell asleep on the spot, which made it very "real."

Another point was that everyone logged in for the same six hours on the first day. Even if they met and grouped up, they all logged off at the same time, with no one to "guard their bodies," leading to an extremely high death rate. As the second day began, those grouped players had already agreed to take turns logging in, dividing the 24 hours into three time slots, which should significantly reduce the death rate.

"Personally, I think we should build a city in the Beast Realm!"

"Yes, gather like-minded people and build a city together! Then the city will be safe, and we can sleep soundly!"

"Exactly, players can't rest in the wilderness; the risk is too high. If we gather and build a city, we can even speculate on land."

"Cough, cough, ultimately, we're really obsessed with building cities. Fengdu hasn't even been completed yet, but it's definitely a milestone for us players. If we gather and build a city, continuously developing, we can then counterattack a certain place, rescue the family of three characters, and then our Asura Realm will rise, becoming one of the true Six Paths of Reincarnation, a major power, and a player-made disaster will appear!"

Players began discussing, and although they could only play for four months a day (game time), they were still very happy. And they were full of anticipation to establish their own player faction as the rising Asura Realm, one of the Six Paths, in this indigenous world.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Ten years had passed in the Mortal Realm, but a full century had already gone by in the Heavenly Realm. This past century had been extremely damaging for the Heavenly Realm. As it was already sparsely populated, the most difficult part was their accelerated time flow, which meant their newborns couldn't replenish the population. After a hundred years, they were operating at a deficit, and their combat power began to decrease significantly.

Within just one year in the Hell Realm, Fengdu was nearly complete. The general outline of the city had been constructed, and streets and facilities still needed meticulous detailing, but the demand for manpower was no longer as high. A group of people began to be forcibly reincarnated.

Celestial Year 393. Over seventy years had passed since Emperor Zhang Xiao wielded his blade and the Xiao Kingdom fell. After a period of recuperation, the Mortal Realm gradually began to recover. And during this time, Li Sansheng finally awaited the person he had long yearned for: Xu Yingluo.

"It's time to say goodbye..." Li Sansheng's ability to not get too caught up pleased Zhang Xiao, especially since recent developments were very enticing, telling of the era after the Alchemist Emperor's death, when his disciples, Armin and Medusa, began their fight against the Cthulhu evil gods.

"Go," Zhang Xiao smiled. "May the combat skills you've honed become instinctual in your next life."

Li Sansheng nodded, took the hand of the woman beside him, and gently leaped into reincarnation. Their eyes met, and he said, "In this life, Yingluo, we must truly be together!"

All was black.

Waaah! Waaah! Waaah!

In a moderately wealthy household, a loud cry echoed. Outside the room, Master Li urgently asked, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"It's a boy!"

"And he even has talent!" Voices came from inside the room.

Master Li was immediately overjoyed. In this era, having talent was relatively rare. He entered the room, looked at the baby, and couldn't help but laugh heartily, "Everyone, what's a good name for the boy, my son?"

"San... Sheng..." The infant strangely uttered two syllables, as if fragmented memories flickered.

"A born prodigy? Hahaha! Then let's call him Li Sansheng." In the following years, Master Li doted on his son, believing that with such extraordinary talent, he would surely lead the family to prosperity. In less than five or six years, the boy completely redefined everyone's understanding; he was a child prodigy.

"I always feel like I need to do something... find something." The beautifully delicate Li Sansheng often sat on the stone steps, his chubby little hands cupping his chin, looking very cute. He frowned in deep thought for a long, long time, when suddenly, inexplicable images flashed in his mind. "That's right! Yes, there are also some special martial arts..."

"Outer Style, Nianairo!" He performed a cool movement on the spot, and a handsome flame appeared in his hand. He immediately felt at peace. "So this is what I was looking for."

He was content. The child couldn't help but return to his room and began writing a chronicle, not for money, but quietly spreading it, seemingly out of interest. Within a few years, some unique stories spread to various places. Among their contents, the world after death was subtly described, featuring the Bridge of Helplessness, the Yellow Springs Road... and the Six Paths of Reincarnation, all referred to as — the Underworld.

It was at this time that the mysterious concept of the Underworld slowly and quietly began to spread for the first time in the world.