The players hiding nearby admired their fallen comrades' incredible acting skills. Those screams of pain and death sounded so real that everyone was convinced they'd practiced extensively beforehand.
Meanwhile, one of the players who had just experienced "death" exited the game, covered in cold sweat and trembling uncontrollably. He logged onto the forums weakly:
"You guys won't believe this, but I nearly killed myself playing this game… This experience is way too realistic! I just died, and it felt like medieval torture—I never want to experience it again."
"Are you a masochist? Why didn't you just lower the pain settings?"
"I did! But there's some bug. I clearly set my pain sensitivity to zero, but it didn't help at all!"
As soon as this post went up, it immediately sparked heated discussion. Other players who had also experienced death jumped in, confirming they'd faced the same issue. Despite setting their pain threshold low, it still felt agonizingly real.
"What? You too?"
"Me as well!"
After some discussion, everyone came to a shocking realization:
It wasn't a bug at all. Apparently, getting killed by the Boss in-game forcibly raised pain perception to 50%.
This brutal conclusion sent shivers down their spines.
"This is insane!"
"The devs are ruthless!"
"This must be a game mechanic to discourage players from recklessly attacking the Boss. Probably a built-in death penalty."
But outsiders reading these posts became even more intrigued. The immersive realism—so much so that players physically felt death—proved this was truly a groundbreaking second-world VR.
"Quick! Someone tell the players still inside the game that dying hurts like hell!"
"We can't! There's no in-game chat or forum access!"
"So what do we do?"
"Nothing we can do... They'll just have to experience our pain themselves."
Everyone exchanged nervous looks, sensing that the Beta's first day wouldn't be remembered as the glorious conquest of the Giant Boss. Instead, today would mark a massive tragedy—where veteran and new players alike would experience mass death, agony, spasms, and a brutal reset.
Back in his courtyard, Xu Zhi calmly sat on his chair, seemingly oblivious.
Normally, he didn't engage much with these players, letting them develop freely. Today, however, he casually slapped at these persistent insects biting his arm while enjoying his meal, finding the whole scenario strangely relaxing—like watching TV during dinner.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
The players attacked relentlessly.
"Brothers, I'll show you a real tough guy's death!"
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
Terrible screams filled the air as Xu Zhi swatted each tiny ant-like creature away, mildly annoyed but largely indifferent. After all, rural life often involved swatting away pesky bugs.
But during this distraction, AutumnMountainSpeed—the poison chicken—had finally managed to slip into Xu Zhi's lunchbox.
"Hehehe, finally, it's my turn. Watch me poison you to death!" AutumnMountainSpeed gloated, hiding deep within the rice and rolling himself further in.
The other players, watching from the chair's edge, cheered excitedly.
"We've sacrificed so much for this moment!"
"He made it into the lunchbox!"
Despite knowing their fallen friends were just acting, their screams had been so realistic that they felt genuinely moved.
Xu Zhi glanced down, feigning surprise. "You actually got into my lunchbox? Quite a sacrifice you made there." He shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, and resumed eating as usual.
If this player was so determined to be eaten, he'd happily oblige.
One bite after another.
The players hiding in the chair stared eagerly.
"Yes! Keep eating! He's almost there! Soon you'll bite into AutumnMountainSpeed—the poison chicken! You're dead meat!"
Crunch, crunch.
Xu Zhi continued eating.
But just as he was about to bite into the poison chicken, he abruptly paused and muttered, "I don't know what's going on today. All these bugs made my food go cold. Better heat it up."
He stood up and carried the lunchbox into the house.
Players: "???"
What the hell was this?
All the players' faces twisted in confusion and frustration. Why did the Boss suddenly decide to reheat his perfectly good food? Was this NPC programmed to be so annoyingly particular?
But Xu Zhi had his reasons. "Eating this guy raw feels a bit weird," he murmured softly to himself.
He'd already confirmed with the hive mind that cooking wouldn't neutralize AutumnMountainSpeed's special toxin; the poison was potent enough to withstand high temperatures. Raw or cooked made no difference, so Xu Zhi preferred it cooked—especially given his stomach condition.
Inside the lunchbox, AutumnMountainSpeed nearly choked on his panic. "What?! He's going to cook me?"
He felt trapped, terrified yet unable to escape for fear of exposure. Still, he comforted himself, "It's fine! My corpse will still poison him. Besides, I lowered the pain settings. Getting cooked shouldn't hurt, right?"
Bang!
Xu Zhi shut the oven door, setting it to the maximum temperature—280 degrees Celsius. Clearly, he intended this player to suffer thoroughly as payback for his previous mischief.
The oven lit up like a fiery furnace, slowly heating up. Inside, AutumnMountainSpeed started sweating profusely beneath his bright red feathers, trembling uncontrollably as the temperature rose rapidly.
"It's fine... just a little hot," he desperately reassured himself, sweat pouring down his tiny body. Yet the pain intensified, becoming unbearable.
"AAAAHHHHH!!!"
He finally screamed in agony.
Hot? This was an infernal oven far worse than any torture chamber! His screams quickly became more horrendous than any that had come before.
Xu Zhi casually sat down nearby, smiling warmly. "Consider this punishment for messing with me."
In his view, the poison chicken was certainly doomed. Teaching them a painful lesson was the best way to prevent further sabotage attempts—especially attempts as disgusting as poisoning his food.
Satisfied, Xu Zhi relaxed, believing this nonsense was finally over. For him, this was merely entertainment—a little test run of a new poison species while enjoying dinner.
But just then—
A clear, melodious cry suddenly echoed from within the scorching oven.
A phoenix-like cry?
Xu Zhi frowned in confusion. "He's been roasting for nearly ten minutes... and he's still alive?"
Could it be that this player actually survived the oven's intense heat, evolving due to extreme conditions?
At that moment, the Hive Mind's voice rang out with uncharacteristic surprise:
"The very first Insect Hero has unexpectedly emerged."