"Hoo…"
Cold air escaped his mouth and nose. On the unfamiliar street, the Frost King shook his head; the world before him began to double.
Images overlapped and flickered incessantly; one moment the city before him was in ruins, the next it was pristine and undamaged.
His vision was like a flickering projector; with every blink, a different world appeared.
Unparalleled confusion assaulted his consciousness, prompting him to bite the index finger of his left hand.
He bit so hard that his fingertip broke, blood welling up.
Blood trickled down his chin; passersby instinctively avoided him.
Needless to say, this person must have some kind of mental illness.
Bloodshot veins crisscrossed the Frost King's eyes, terrifyingly red, as if he'd forgotten his medication.
He stumbled erratically through the streets, not even noticing that a traffic light had turned red.
A speeding taxi seemed oblivious to his presence.
Just as the taxi was about to make intimate contact with the Frost King, a slender arm suddenly reached out from behind, yanking him back!
The Frost King fell backward, landing on his backside; at the same moment, the taxi sped past him.
"Are you alright?"
A girl in her late teens asked tentatively.
Clearly, it was this girl who had just grabbed the Frost King.
The Frost King's eyes showed confusion as he looked at the girl.
Suddenly, the image before his eyes flickered, transforming into a red sky!
009, riding a rocket and wielding his spear, charged forward; behind him, a huge monster lunged towards them!
The Frost King rolled to his feet, simultaneously throwing a punch to meet the massive monster!
A bat-like, wolf-like creature emerged from behind the Frost King, its massive claws striking towards the monster's fist!
Boom!
A wave of light exploded; everything before him vanished.
The Frost King regained his senses; the girl unconsciously stepped away from him.
"What… are you doing?"
The Frost King exhaled a puff of cold air, shaking his head, preparing to leave.
"For a while now, I've been wondering… you don't have anything wrong with you, do you? Should I take you to the hospital?" the girl asked.
Illness? Hospital?
What language was she speaking? Why could he understand each word individually but not the sentence as a whole?
And… where am I now?
So sleepy.
Why can't I sleep?
Why…?
Because he couldn't sleep.
If he slept, irreversible things would happen.
"No, I have to… endure…"
Thud!
The Frost King's vision suddenly darkened, and he collapsed onto the pavement.
Whatever bad things happened, it didn't matter…
Nothing mattered.
...
Not much time had passed.
His hands were wet, uncomfortable, and his skin stung.
The Frost King opened his eyes; before him lay a deserted city.
Blood…
Blood everywhere.
Corpses. Nothing but corpses.
The Frost King raised his hands; his bloodstained hands rested on the corpse of a young woman.
The corpse was mangled, as if torn apart by a wild beast.
The Frost King exhaled a puff of cold air; his heart began to beat faster, each thump a thunderclap.
In a fleeting moment, the Frost King turned his head and saw a bat-like, wolf-like creature approaching.
It had no legs, a long body, long shaggy fur, wings, and an overall bluish-purple color.
The incomprehensible creature brushed against the Frost King's body.
Suddenly, a gigantic centipede-like monster fell from the sky!
The shaggy creature instantly grew, transforming into a huge monster that lunged at the centipede monster!
"What are you looking at?"
A strange voice came from behind. The Frost King turned, and everything before him vanished.
It was the same unfamiliar city, the same street he'd been on before.
And there was the young woman again.
The Frost King looked at his hands again; the bloodstains were gone.
The Frost King clasped his head in his hands; his eyes were vacant.
"You… how did you revive?"
"Huh?"
"What are you talking about?"
Right, what was I talking about?
"Did I fall asleep just now?"
"No."
I didn't sleep?
Could it have been a hallucination?
If what happened just now was a hallucination, then what is this now?
"Ugh…"
The Frost King felt an inexplicable nausea and revulsion; this feeling surged, as if…
"Poof!"
The Frost King suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, containing a living, centipede-like insect!
Yes, he'd spat out a centipede-like insect!
"Something's wrong…"
"What's wrong?"
"You're dead."
The girl crouched down. "So, do you still remember that you wanted to open a laundry?"
The Frost King suddenly struck out; his arm swept through the girl, passing right through her body.
The girl's figure dissipated at that moment.
"I've seen you…"
"But not for the last time."
The Frost King stood up; before him stood an old man in a leather jacket.
"Kid, why are you muttering to yourself?"
"Having hallucinations?"
Looking at the old man before him, the Frost King swiped at the air; a large sword materialized in his hand.
"Yes… having hallucinations."
With that, the Frost King slashed, splitting the old man in two.
Like the girl before, the old man's figure dissipated.
"I've met you too."
The Frost King looked up; the sky warped, revealing a giant eye!
"This is all wrong."
With that, the Frost King threw the large sword, aiming it at the giant eye in the sky!
But at that moment, the sword dissolved, transforming into a white-haired man.
He had insect wings like a bee; without a word, the man lunged downward, kicking the Frost King in the chest!
Boom!
The Frost King was sent flying backward, landing in the street.
Another dizzying whirl; the man with insect wings and the giant eye in the sky vanished.
The Frost King stared blankly at the sky; blue sky, white clouds, and falling snowflakes.
Lights flickered; someone seemed to be on the phone.
"Hello, 120? Car accident!"
"Yes, on Cheng Hua Road, the light was red, and the man just stood there motionless!"
"He was biting his finger earlier; he might have a mental problem!"
Soon, the sound of an ambulance approached.
Along with the ambulance came a traffic police officer. "What exactly happened?"
"The light was red, and the man just stood there!"
"Okay, okay, calm down. We'll check the surveillance footage. Let's check on the man first."
An emergency medical technician approached, lifting the Frost King's eyelids and using a flashlight to check his pupils.
Then he checked his pulse and breathing.
"He seems… fine?"
"How can he be fine? The man flew over four meters! How can he be fine?!"
Before the shocked eyes of the emergency medical technician, the Frost King stood up.
He brushed off the dust from his clothes and walked away as if nothing had happened.
An emergency medical technician hurriedly stopped him. "Hey, wait…"
The Frost King looked at him questioningly. Why could this person still move?
An invisible light spread; frost instantly enveloped everything around them—the street, the buildings.
But the people present remained unaffected. They waved their hands in front of the Frost King and then held up two fingers. "Can you see clearly? How many is this?"
"Huh?"
"The patient's consciousness is somewhat fragmented; there may be brain damage."
A traffic police officer picked up a large sword near the Frost King. "Is this yours?"
"Seems like it."
"This is dangerous. We'll keep it for you for now. You need to come with us to the hospital for treatment."
"Do you remember your name?"
My name…? I'm called…
"Chero."
The Frost King uttered a name, as if it were a muscle memory.
"Chero, right? You…"
Before the traffic police officer could finish, a group of men in black suits and sunglasses suddenly intervened.
"We'll take this man."
"Who are you?"
The traffic police officer looked at these men in bewilderment. One of them coldly approached and produced a certificate.
"United Nations Security Bureau. This man is not an ordinary person. We are not authorized to disclose details; we hope you will cooperate."
Without a word, the men in black handcuffed the Frost King.
The Frost King made a mental note; frost instantly spread.
But as before, his frost enveloped the street but couldn't touch these men.
At that moment, a black-clad man's alarm suddenly sounded.
The man with the alarm looked at the Frost King. "I advise you to give up. We can't see you."
As soon as he finished speaking, a terrifying force lifted him into the air!
"What!"
The man, seeing his feet dangling, frantically tried his alarm again, but this time it didn't respond!
At that moment, all the men in black were flung into the air!
The Frost King subtly exerted force; the handcuffs snapped.
Before the shocked gaze of the traffic police officer, he picked up the large sword and silently walked away.
One of the men in black grabbed his radio and began shouting.
"Target compromised! Clearly, we cannot detect his abilities, but his abilities still affect us!"
"All units, attention! Target possesses an undetectable psionic ability!"
"Requesting assistance from Kitsune Mobile Task Force!"
...
This time, it couldn't have been a hallucination, could it?
The Frost King walked down the street; a large number of people brushed past him.
For some reason, they couldn't perceive the Frost King's ability.
So, what exactly was the Frost King's ability?
In reality, it was a type of absolute attribute.
It was called Absolute Freeze.
Like Absolute Penetration, it was an ability that could arbitrarily violate rules.
The Frost King's previous freezing of time was similar to pausing time.
009's statement that his ability was related to time was inaccurate.
Because this wasn't time stopping; his ability merely coincidentally affected a portion of time.
But for some reason, although the Frost King had clearly frozen time, these ordinary people were completely unaffected.
The disoriented Frost King couldn't figure out why.
The Kitsune Mobile Task Force surrounded him; they were heavily armed, their faces concealed.
A leader gave a signal; his men nodded, but as they took a step forward, they were flung back!
"Return."
The Frost King turned and spoke to the air.
As he said this, a Kitsune soldier about to be thrown suddenly fell from the sky.
He looked at his hands in confusion. He'd felt a pulling sensation.
As if something had grabbed the back of his collar and lifted him like a chick!
"What kind of ability is this?"
"Unclear. Completely invisible, yet it affected us. I think we need to report this to the O5 Council!"
While they were communicating, the Frost King suddenly kicked off the ground and flew into the air.
In a blink of an eye, he vanished before them!
"What?"
"What happened?"
"Target vanished."
"Vanished?"
"This target… is rather unusual."
...
So, what exactly happened from the moment the Frost King walked onto the street until now?
Only Mei, who could see the whole picture, would know.
In Mei's view, the Frost King walked down the street, then was hit by a taxi. Simple as that.
Of course, that's just the surface.
In reality, what he experienced was quite complex.
His mental state was highly unstable, fluctuating between the Reason World and the Manifest World multiple times; during this, he even slept once.
Yes, he fell asleep.
Although only for a very short time, he did fall asleep.
And what happened after he fell asleep? Nothing much actually happened; at least, nothing happened from an outside perspective.
As for the girl who pulled him back?
Ha.
No one pulled him; it was a hallucination.
Including the old man he saw later—all hallucinations.
From beginning to end, no one pulled the Frost King; he was simply hit by the taxi, with no further storyline.
However, those two people's identities were rather interesting. They were the young girl and the former Soviet cosmonaut who were killed by 009.
In short, everything that happened just now occurred within the Frost King's Spiritual World.
Hallucinations don't necessarily mean illusions; they are simply manifestations of the Spiritual World.
Mei had mentioned before that before Dreamland's descent, the original world could be divided into two aspects: the spiritual and the material worlds.
The Spiritual World is like the Netherworld, and humans exist simultaneously in both the spiritual and material worlds.
Like two magnets, but separated by a sheet of paper.
The two sides of the paper represent the two worlds: one half is the physical body, the other half is the soul.
If the physical body dies, only the soul remains in the Spiritual World.
If the soul dies, only the physical body remains in the material world.
Therefore, the notion of the physical body dying and the soul returning to the Netherworld doesn't exist.
The human soul and body are in a superimposed state; the Spiritual World and the material world are also in a superimposed state.
It can be said that after the physical body dies, the soul in the Spiritual World has no access to, or method of contacting, the material world.
Normally, the material world dominates the Spiritual World.
The spirit is dependent on the material, so it can only perceive the material world.
However, when the Frost King's mental state is unstable, he may perceive the Spiritual World, resulting in something akin to hallucinations.
Therefore, hallucinations don't necessarily mean falsehoods; they are simply another manifestation of the spirit.
Perhaps in the Spiritual World, those two deceased individuals were actually standing there watching the Frost King.
But speaking of which, what would happen if the Frost King didn't sleep?
In fact, nothing would happen.
On the contrary, his condition would stabilize, staying within the manifest world.
But Mei wanted him to fluctuate between worlds; she wanted him to be unstable!
This was to complete an experiment, which is why she told him not to sleep.
Indeed, Mei deceived him.
But to a certain extent, this was for his own good.
Only under these conditions of intense fluctuation would his abilities be complete.
Once his consciousness stabilized in the manifest world, he would not be in a unified state, not a complete state.
He would lose part of his abilities, losing his 4th Step power.
...
"Even I can't see his ability…"
Within the United Nations, outwardly the GPA, but in reality, the Kitsune headquarters.
Zero repeatedly reviewed two video recordings: one from Africa, depicting the Frost King's actions, and the other, the most recent recording from Asia.
Through repeated review of these two recordings, Zero concluded something.
The Frost King's ability may consist of two parts.
One he can see, and one he can't.
Clearly, the unseen aspect of his ability transcends 3rd Step; this is the only plausible explanation.
Based on current observations, the Frost King seems to be able to freeze time, but like ordinary psionic abilities, ordinary people are unaffected if they cannot perceive it.
This is nothing special; it's merely an incredibly powerful ability, especially given that it manipulates time.
However, it still operates within the system's rules; ordinary people are unaffected unless they perceive it.
But this was in Asia. The situation in Africa was different.
The Frost King's ability was essentially absolute freezing; all Chaos Insurgency members were frozen.
The reason is easy to understand: 009's subordinates were not ordinary people—that's clear.
But their non-ordinariness stemmed from 009's various split objects.
For example, one known receptacle: the Golden Lotus Platform.
The Golden Lotus Platform periodically produces lotus seeds; those who consume these seeds enter a state of unique learning.
As for what constitutes a learning state, simply put, after consuming a lotus seed, the learning and memory abilities are enhanced a hundred or even a thousandfold within 24 hours.
The exact amount varies from person to person.
Whether learning a language, various forms of knowledge, or physical techniques and skills, one could go from proficient to expert in a relatively short time.
This is one known receptacle; another unconfirmed receptacle exists, called the Iron Maiden.
As the name suggests, the Iron Maiden is a large object, similar to a coffin.
The interior of the coffin is filled with sharp spikes; anyone placed inside would be pierced like a sieve, serving as a form of torture device.
But this torture device could allow the subject to ascend.
How this ascension occurs was heard by Zero from an outsider member of the Chaos Insurgency. He said…
"A hundred people entered that room; screams constantly echoed from within; no one could last thirty seconds."
"Blood flowed from the room; I saw dozens of horribly mangled corpses being dragged out."
"Clearly, they failed; they couldn't ascend; they died!"
"Only one person emerged from that ritual, a man."
"He seemed to have absorbed the life force of those hundred people; he could shatter rocks with a single punch and break steel with his bare hands."
"He shot himself in the head, but the bullet was embedded firmly in the skull."
"It's always like this; in each ritual, either one person ascends, or no one does."
The above is information regarding the Iron Maiden, but it's only hearsay; its reliability is low.
There's supposedly another object, but no one knows what it is.
Only the most core members of the Chaos Insurgency have the privilege of seeing certain objects and becoming leaders.
009's constant troublemaking is Zero's biggest headache.
He can't stay here forever; an invisible binding sensation is growing stronger.
Zero himself has undergone a process called Awakening; it was sudden, and once it began, it couldn't be stopped.
After Awakening, he began absorbing energy from the world.
This energy is constantly nourishing his demonic body, intending to propel him from this world to a higher one.
Zero is nearing the peak of 3rd Step; even without consuming the potion, once he breaks through this peak, he will ascend to a higher world.
In terms of time, this may take several years or a decade; but years can pass in the blink of an eye.
If that day comes and 009 is still unresolved, what will he do then?
Zero urgently hopes to cultivate a few leaders.
The most suitable candidate is Reinhard, whom he had previously favored.
But after the betrayal of his right hand and the creation of the Chaos Insurgency, Reinhard vanished without a trace; he's likely dead.
Besides Reinhard, Zero actually had another candidate in mind—005, Gluttony, whose body is sealed.
He is also a suitable candidate, but the problem of Nickel-60 radiation hasn't been solved.
Therefore, they couldn't be relied upon for now.
So, after a while, Zero began screening soldiers for suitable candidates.
These individuals didn't need to have particularly strong abilities; he only required three prerequisites.
Firstly, unwavering dedication to humanity and resolute willpower; if they could achieve an iron will through 'that' receptacle, even better.
Secondly, they must possess decisive abilities; indecisiveness, hesitation—absolutely not acceptable.
Many people met these first two criteria, but whether this was genuine or feigned wasn't something Zero could discern immediately. He needed to observe them for a while longer.
This process had been ongoing almost since the world restarted. To date, Zero had found eleven suitable candidates.
These individuals joined the O5 Council, but they weren't responsible for decision-making; they only provided Zero with advice.
This violated Zero's initial authoritarian management philosophy.
But it was a necessary compromise. First, Zero would inevitably leave, so he needed to find his successor and begin guiding these individuals on decision-making.
Furthermore, human hearts are fickle, but if a framework is established, then using a majority vote system for decision-making would guarantee continuity to the greatest extent.
If personal decision-making continued, and after Zero left, that person's heart turned treacherous, then the entire Kitsune would be finished.
Therefore, this was the only way.
However, Zero had a backup plan, but this plan was extremely risky.
Zero planned to divide the potion he possessed among his ten most trusted individuals.
Yes, perhaps he wouldn't need to consume the entire potion himself.
Because even if he didn't drink it, he would eventually reach 4th Step.
So why not distribute this power, entrusting it to more people?
Zero already had suitable candidates in mind.
But distributing the potion was an unprecedented experiment, a risky undertaking.
No one knew what the consequences of distributing the potion would be: would the power be evenly distributed among the ten individuals, or would none of them gain any power?
Zero took out a list and wrote a date on the back.
"Currently, Serpent's Hand and the Chaos Insurgency are unwilling to engage us; they're playing a waiting game, and the battles are at a stalemate."
"Furthermore, what is the background of this newly emerging organization?"
Zero took out the next report; it showed a playing card.
The playing card was predominantly black and white; a diagonal line split the card; the upper left background was black, with a white crown in the center.
The lower right background was white, featuring a woman in queenly attire.
The overall style was somewhat reminiscent of Tarot cards or perhaps playing cards.
"Black Queen."
"Date of establishment unknown; extent of influence unknown; primary methods unknown."
"But the organization's puppet master possesses the ability to communicate with Library 024 and has ties to Cain, one of the three leaders of Serpent's Hand."
...
On a dark and stormy night.
Two groups of figures in black robes met on the top floor of a skyscraper to conduct a transaction, each group producing a briefcase and opening it.
A member of Serpent's Hand, bearing a Serpent's Hand tattoo, opened his briefcase, revealing a large crystal diamond.
"This is what you wanted. While this is also a receptacle, as previously discussed, it has no special use; at least, we haven't discovered any."
"If this doesn't meet the Black Queen's requirements, we'll fully refund you."
The other group of figures in black robes wore black-and-white playing card masks, each with a different design.
A figure with a K on his mask stepped forward and opened their briefcase, revealing a book.
A book bound in human skin, or perhaps a complete, dissected human face.
A large purple crystal was held in the mouth of the face; the eyes were black and lifeless.
You could even see dried tissue on the book.
"The Black Queen hasn't changed her mind."
The Serpent's Hand member stared at the book, unable to decipher the writing. "I can't understand the writing. How can I verify this is genuine?"
"If you can't understand it, then it's genuine. Does it need verification?" said the masked figure with the K.
"Besides, we're not familiar with forgery. Forging something like this is harder than simply obtaining the genuine article."
"Furthermore, books borrowed from the Library must eventually be returned. The return date for this Ghoul Book is six months."
"Remember to inform Cain that if anyone comes to retrieve the book after six months, he should hand it over willingly, unless he wants to die."
"Of course, since we borrowed the book, to be safe, we'll retrieve it from Cain before the deadline and return it ourselves."
The Serpent's Hand member abruptly closed the briefcase. "We went to great lengths to steal this gem from the Chaos Insurgency, only to receive a temporary Ghoul Book in return."
"No matter how you look at it, we got the short end of the stick."
The masked figure with the K produced the Ghoul Book and slowly turned to the first page. "Then I think it's necessary to show you the value of this book."
With that, a figure with a J mask kicked a nearby man to the ground and plunged a long dagger into his neck.
Poof poof!
Blood sprayed; the corpse fell.
The J mask casually tossed the corpse in front of the K mask.
The K mask began chanting a strange melody, reaching into the Ghoul Book.
Quickly, he pulled out a clump of green light, radiating a putrid stench.
Shining this green light on the corpse, the corpse began to tremble and contort; cracking sounds emanated from its body!
Soon, the corpse rose, emitting a foul odor, its eyes glowing with a dark green light.
"Anyone holding the Ghoul Book can control it; very convenient, wouldn't you say?"
"We can give you this Ghoul as a bonus."
The Serpent's Hand member was about to say something else when a voice urgently sounded in his earpiece.
"Hurry up and take the goods and leave. So many eyes are watching you; do you have time to haggle?"
The Serpent's Hand member was startled. "Master Cain, I was just…"
"Don't waste words."
"Fine."
The Serpent's Hand member closed his briefcase; the figure with the K also placed the Ghoul Book in his briefcase.
Both sides exchanged briefcases, completing the clandestine transaction.
"Pleasant cooperation. Hopefully, this isn't our last collaboration."
The K mask said, turning and leaping into the air. The others behind him did the same, jumping and flying.
Watching them leave, the Serpent's Hand member lowered his hood and descended the stairs.
Don't ask why they used the stairs; they couldn't fly.
...
Time flew by; a month passed.
Reinhard, with his unwavering resolve, paid no attention to what was happening outside.
He focused on his daily training and then, when the time came, entered the game space.
Today was Reinhard's fifth time entering the game space; he had accumulated 17,000 points.
But this wasn't considered a lot.
The points in the game were now severely polarized; some personnel had between 10,000 and 20,000 points.
Others still hadn't even reached 5,000 points.
Why? Because they kept losing; simple as that.
Reinhard didn't receive a special role in this game; he was a 'Little Brother.'
D-class employee, now known as "Little Brother."
He and nine others respawned in the same location.
"Why am I a Little Brother again?"
"I don't care. This time, I'm going rogue; I'm attacking the scientists and stealing access cards!"
"Same rules; eat candy. One candy strengthens the body; two candies cause a body explosion~"
Since the game had been played many times, except for newcomers, the rules were already known.
D-class personnel were considered the weakest, but their choices were the most diverse.
Currently, there were three known strategies: retreat with the scientists; rejoin the battlefield as a Kitsune soldier;
Or as one person mentioned, kill the scientists, steal the access cards, and escape.
This is the so-called going rogue; however, going rogue turns the name red, making one a likely target for security forces.
Furthermore, even if one successfully retreats, they won't become Kitsune but instead become Chaos Insurgency and return to the battlefield.
Finally, the pure Little Brother strategy.
Simply find a boss monster and work for the Monster faction.
Of course, being a dog isn't so bad; you earn points and don't have to fight.
But regardless of the strategy, the first step is always rushing into a low-intensity collection area and grabbing whatever you can.
Each game randomly spawns various receptacles and tools; some are fixed, such as candy boxes.
If the Monster faction knows how to play, monsters will block access to low-intensity receptacles, killing anyone who tries to take items.
But with so many D-class personnel, some will inevitably slip through.
Everyone just charges in; if they die, it's only a few hours before they respawn as Chaos Insurgency.
Yes, if the game hasn't been decided after a certain amount of time, everyone who dies will return to the battlefield as Chaos Insurgency.
Chaos Insurgency weapons are quite interesting—shotguns or shock weapons; they're easy to use and effective at close range.
Unlike the Kitsune side, which uses mostly rifles and machine guns.
Reinhard followed the main force and charged into the low-intensity collection area.
They unexpectedly encountered an acquaintance. "Oh, it's you, Little Brother."
This person's ID was a series of numbers, seemingly randomly generated.
However, despite his seemingly random name, this individual was quite famous.
He was known among players as the Monster Commander.
He had randomly become the computer twice and a monster once, successfully commanding monsters to victory in three games, without ever losing.
"Commander, any suggestions?" Reinhard asked while running.
The person with the numerical ID seemed a bit hesitant. "I think it's probably a god-tier item."
"I respawned in Area F and noticed that Lights 001 and 023 were flashing; that could indicate two Angels."
"If we get lucky and find a cannon, while the Angels haven't evolved, we could directly ring the bell, wake them up, and shoot them—that should be fairly easy."
"Otherwise, we'll just have to rely on divine luck."
Bang!
"Here we go!"
Someone shouted. A white-haired, red-eyed man burst into the low-intensity collection area; a spray of blood erupted as his sword swept across!
"It's 008?!"
"Hold it! I'll be the dog! Big brother, spare my life!"
Faced with 008 blocking the entrance, a group of D-class personnel fought back.
Reinhard, sensing danger, retreated to a small side door leading to an armory.
The individual with the numerical ID followed him. "Looks like we're on the same page."
"Since 008 is here, the armory should have Mithril weapons."
Reinhard nodded; that was his plan.
They pushed open the armory doors. Ten Mithril weapons were neatly displayed—uniformly shaped silver crossbows.
The contents of this armory randomly spawned based on the monsters present in the game.
Only if specific monsters existed in the game would the armory refresh with corresponding weapons.
For example, 008.
Reinhard and the other efficiently grabbed Mithril crossbows. They didn't choose to confront 008; these were for self-preservation.
Those D-class personnel were sure to be wiped out; going back now meant facing countless battles.
These crossbows are single-shot; reloading takes longer than the average lifespan.
Maybe they could use them against a stray 008-1, but against a large group, it wouldn't make a difference.
"We've got 10 minutes until the Kitsune respawn. What do you think? Should we break the game or become collection specialists?"
After successfully retreating, D-class personnel rejoin the Kitsune and become collection specialists, receiving better weapons.
Reinhard rarely chose the Kitsune route, unless he spawned as Kitsune.
"So, you're saying we should rely on luck, right?"
Reinhard turned to the numerical ID individual; the other nodded.
"I'm thinking of going the Kitsune route. We need three circuits to trigger the lucky break; each circuit's location is random, but there will always be one or two on the bottom floor."
"So, I suggest we take a gamble while the Angels are asleep and search for a circuit on the lower floor."
That's a clear line of thinking.
Three monsters currently spawn, but there's seemingly no computer player.
Why? Because the alarm hasn't been suppressed.
If there were a 020 player, they usually like to suppress the alarm, then open the doors and release all the monsters.
Of course, there's always the possibility the computer isn't playing.
But Reinhard and the other lean towards the former possibility. "There's likely no computer player; theoretically, the only receptacle currently deactivated is 008."
According to the game's rules, a deactivated receptacle means a monster spawns.
Yes, each game has at least one monster spawn.
If there's a computer player, the first deactivated receptacle would be the computer's.
Judging from some papers collected from the rooms, it was probably a D-class personnel going rogue, plugging the 020 computer into the mainframe.
But if there's no computer player in this game, it means some monster accidentally broke containment.
According to the current mainstream strategy, one monster will emerge; it will try to stop the Little Brothers first.
Then, if it has special abilities, it'll release its allies.
If not, it'll kill a scientist to steal the access cards.
Clearly, 008 was employing this strategy; it wasn't brilliant, but it was effective.
Following this logic, they could exploit the time 008 spends releasing other monsters to sneak into the lower levels and collect items.
With a plan in place, they split up. Reinhard went from Area B to Area C; the numerical ID individual went from Area B to Area E.
One went to the armory; the other to the low-intensity collection area.
Reinhard headed for the low-intensity collection area. Monsters only defend the first wave; sneaking in from behind should allow him to grab a couple of receptacles.
Luckily, 008 and its minions had already moved on.
Reinhard expertly tossed a candy into his mouth, then, without checking its ability, rushed into the next room.
As he ran, a rift appeared before him.
Shortly after, subtitles flashed before his eyes.
[Ability Awakened: Bone Bullet Pistol]
"Useless ability."
Reinhard charged into more than ten rooms but found no circuits. The tools he found were all useless.
Until he entered the next room, where he saw an unfamiliar tool.
A radio.
Reinhard looked at the nearby notice board; it vaguely mentioned a recorded memetic kill agent, a form of mental contamination.
Strictly prohibited from broadcasting.
Embracing a reckless approach, Reinhard didn't activate the radio immediately but took it with him.
...
Game time flew by; the Kitsune main force quickly arrived on the battlefield.
"Collection specialists inbound! Everyone clear out!"
"Damn it, I'm a veteran player, and when did I get a monster?"
"Did a Little Brother run over here?"
"Let me see… we don't seem to have any collection specialists here; the Little Brother probably got lost."
"Is there a big boss commander?"
"Where's the Commander? I need the Monster Commander!"
"The Commander is a Baby."
"I'll take command."
The so-called "Baby" was similar to "Little Brother"; it was a playful term, akin to calling someone a demon.
The Kitsune soldiers opened the elevator; unexpectedly, the elevator ascended by itself.
A group of people rushed out—three scientists, seven security guards, and more than ten Little Brothers.
One of the Little Brothers threw out two circuits. "These are for the two Angels; it's going to be a divine lucky break!"
"Damn, two sixes?"
"Are you a collection specialist, sir?"
"Isn't this the Monster Commander? Why are you on our side?"
"Or would you like to take command?"
They joked amongst themselves, but the mention of two Angels made them all wipe sweat from their brows.
Thankfully, this new human commander had the good sense to pull out two circuits and initiate the lucky break!
"I'll handle this. We'll find the last six; everyone else secure the elevator; don't let the monsters reach the ground floor."
The facility's structure is similar to a Queen Bee hive—the original Kitsune base.
It's a bunker-style structure; a subterranean nuclear explosion wouldn't affect the ground floor.
Theoretically, if monsters reach the ground floor, a lucky break is pointless.
But these monsters aren't easily stopped; they can cut the power or destroy the elevator.
The numerical ID individual went to find the last circuit, but Reinhard was intercepted.
The Angels awakened and were gathering on the second floor.
Reinhard unfortunately was spotted by a Little Brother, but he quickly flashed his ability; a bone shot from his finger!
Bang!
This is the Bone Bullet Pistol ability; it's literally a pistol.
It can fire bones from the hand.
The advantage is that it's extremely quiet.
The disadvantage is that it consumes bone mass.