Piaoling and Zhou Xiaorou did not expect there to be so many people. If they had known, they would have stayed outside!
Now, the two of them were huddled in a corner, while Xiao Hua was pressing against them under the guise of protecting them!
"Move a little further out!" Piaoling shouted angrily; this guy was getting more and more presumptuous!
"I don't want to, but the crowd is pushing me this way," Xiao Hua said innocently. Though he blamed the crowd, saying he didn't want to be there was a blatant lie. Without Fang Ning, spending more time around these charming women, Xiao Hua found himself starting to misbehave. Every chance he got, he took full advantage without any sense of guilt.
"Hmph, Xiao Yu, turn on the anti-harassment system!"
"Don't, beauties!" Xiao Hua, who was enjoying the intimate contact, cried inwardly upon hearing Piaoling's words. Before he finished crying out, he felt as though he had touched two blocks of ice—the anti-harassment system was activated!
Damn, you're ruthless!
On the side of the stones, it was cold and hard, leaving no room for imagination.
"Piaoling, how about I give you a book that instantly improves your reading skill?" Xiao Hua suddenly thought of a naughty way to get back at her.
"Are you kidding? Is there such a thing?" Piaoling seemed skeptical, asking doubtfully.
"I'm not kidding. My reading skill reached Master level a few days ago, and I found out that the library sells such books—one per month. Want it?" Xiao Hua said with a grin, sending her the information about his reading skill level to prove it.
"Yes!" Piaoling had never heard of anyone reaching Master level in reading skill and didn't know if it was true, but she believed that Xiao Hua wouldn't benefit from lying about this. After confirming that his reading skill was indeed at Master level, she chose to trust him.
"However, I should warn you beforehand; the book is called 'Flower World,' which seems a bit inappropriate. I can't read it myself, only women can. So, it's up to you whether you want it or not. If you don't, I won't waste my money buying it."
"Yes! Why not! I’m not a kid!" Judging from the title, Piaoling thought it probably wasn't an adult book, and even if it was, so what—it wasn't like she hadn't seen one before! The main point was that it could quickly improve her reading skill!
"Alright, we have a deal. If you’re embarrassed and don’t accept it later, it's too bad," Xiao Hua continued to lay down terms, trying to leave no room for Piaoling to back out.
"If what you say is true, I’ll definitely accept it." Piaoling sensed that Xiao Hua might be up to something, so she kept herself a way out.
"Hehe, that works. I'll buy it for you tomorrow." Xiao Hua secretly chuckled. Of course, what he said was false, but how could she pinpoint where the lie was?
Amidst the noise of countless players, time quickly passed until it was past nine-thirty in the evening. Just before ten, in the pitch-black sky above Snowdrift City, colorful lights began to flash. Everyone looked up and saw numerous brilliant fireworks exploding in the sky, their sounds echoing continuously.
"Wow, beautiful!" Piaoling and Zhou Xiaorou exclaimed like excited children.
One by one, the fireworks ascended from the horizon, bursting in the sky above, scattering their vibrant colors before quietly fading away. The colorful light from the fireworks reflected on the faces of countless players in the city, igniting their already excited moods.
"Roar!"
"Haha!"
"Hehe!"
The shouts, laughter, and playful voices spread like ripples, touching everyone's hearts as they watched the solitary yet splendid fireworks.
In the festive atmosphere, the fireworks gradually faded away after a while, and the sky returned to calmness. But soon, a dazzling glow appeared in the black sky, forming a beautiful white figure.
Most players recognized this figure—it was the angel, Capella.
Soon, the white silhouette became clear. Capella, dressed in white gauze, radiated a holy light, floating silently in the sky with her giant white wings.
"Hello everyone, I am the angel Capella. Thank you for being present in the game at this significant moment. As a gift, all online players will receive a massive amount of experience!"
Capella waved her left hand slightly, and a faintly glowing holy light descended like snowflakes, landing on all the players, whether in the city or training outside.
At the moment the light touched the players, countless upgrade notifications lit up across the Second World, one after another, endlessly.
System Prompt: Your level has risen to 28!
System Prompt: Your level has risen to 29!
System Prompt: Your level has risen to 30!
Xiao Hua watched his level jump from 27 to 28, then to 29, and finally stop at 30. The white light also rose continuously from the bodies of the players around him. Piaoling and Zhou Xiaorou's upgrades were even more numerous!
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"What's going on? How many levels did you gain?" Xiao Hua asked urgently.
"I jumped straight to level 30. How about you?" Piaoling sounded even more surprised, suspecting a glitch in the system. Although the official announcement mentioned rewards, how could it result in several level-ups? That's a bit too much.
"I also reached level 30," Zhou Xiaorou said uneasily, sharing Piaoling's suspicion about the system's reward malfunction.
"Do not worry, the reward is correct. The company is grateful for the support of the players and is rewarding experience in conjunction with this update," Capella reassured the crowd with a gentle smile in the sky.
With Capella's confirmation, the numerous players who leveled up due to the experience reward burst into joy, eagerly anticipating the major update. Such a generous experience reward, especially for low-level players, suggested new game elements that would allow everyone to participate!
"Now, as the second AI, Capella, authorized by the primary AI, Sky, I announce a major update to the game!
First, the prologue of Second World, 'Peaceful Era,' ends here! The first chapter, 'Shadows,' officially begins, opening the main storyline quests! Players can find relevant NPCs in the game world to receive the main storyline quests. Completing them will advance the game progress and earn substantial rewards!"
Hearing Capella's words, many players realized that Second World had never offered main quests before because they weren't available! But this prologue 'Peaceful Era' had run for too long. While many felt this way, even more players were secretly delighted, already imagining the huge rewards for completing the main quests.
"Second, all gaming regions worldwide merge, eliminating physical barriers. Players can infiltrate other regions via special methods from the border areas of each region. Each region's main storyline quests will progress independently, and the region that completes the main storyline first will receive special rewards for all its players!"
Region merging? This news was even more surprising than the opening of the main storyline. Although Second World operated globally, the regions had been independent, with tasks, items, equipment, and currency isolated from each other. With the merger, wouldn't it mean the possibility of inter-regional battles?
Immediately, Capella clarified the situation for the many confused players!
"Third, all player cities open battlefields. Participation requires level 30 or above. At the beginning of each month, each city's battlefield will refresh, facing off against different cities from other regions. If the main city in the battlefield is captured, all players in that city will drop one level!"
Finally, battlefields opened, allowing battles with foreign players. Many PvP enthusiasts got excited upon hearing this news. The NPC for battlefield teleportation had always existed in every city, but the battlefield itself was closed. Equipment like battlefield honor sets and honor medals had great stats, but without the battlefield, no one could earn the honor to exchange for them.
Xiao Hua also understood that the level boost was meant to allow lower-level players to participate in city battles. But he still felt that jumping straight to level 30 was too abrupt. The only explanation was that the proportion of players below level 30 was too small, and the company decided to offer a significant promotion to maintain popularity, as the loyalty of lower-level players was lower than that of higher-level players.
"Alright, that's all I have to say. Enjoy the game!" After Capella finished speaking, she waved her hand, and her figure gradually disappeared from the sky.
System Prompt: Update complete, battlefields are now open. Players can enter the battlefield through the battlefield teleportation NPC!
Seizing the opportunity, many players planned to rush into the battlefield. But at this moment, the world flickered, turning from black to white and then back to black, momentarily blurring the vision before returning to normal. This sudden change caught everyone off guard.
Thinking it best to log off and check the situation, many players logged off. However, shortly after, numerous players logged back in with horrified expressions!
They couldn't return to reality!
This news spread rapidly from player to player!
Seeing the sudden change in his view, Xiao Hua felt something was wrong. Hearing the news, his face changed, and he immediately logged off.
When players log off, they return to the login space—a semi-circular room with an ancient ambiance. Normally, players are in a soul state in the login space, with their characters standing on a pedestal. When consciousness connects with the character, they log back into the game.
But this time, when Xiao Hua reappeared in the login space, he found himself not in a soul state but controlling his character as if in the game. Usually, a simple thought would let him reach the game forum or return to the game pod, but this time, there was no response!
More importantly, a previously unseen NPC in green attire appeared in the login space. The NPC floated vaguely beside the pedestal where the game character usually stood. Not easily noticeable unless closely inspected, but once noticed, her form became clear.
"What's wrong with the game?" Xiao Hua asked urgently upon seeing the NPC named "Emergency NPC."
"There's a minor issue in the real world; players cannot return for now. But don't worry, the Second World game pods have contingency functions set up to handle such emergencies. Your real body will enter a cryogenic state, allowing it to survive for hundreds of years. When the issue is resolved, the game pod will thaw your body, and you can resume normal life," the Emergency NPC replied with a smile.
"What happened in reality?" Xiao Hua asked more suspiciously. Reality had been fine, so how could there be a problem? If there was a problem, it must be with this revolutionary game, locking countless people's consciousness in a game and freezing their bodies!
"Sorry, insufficient data, cannot determine. However, the main AI is handling it, and a resolution is expected soon. Please wait patiently," the Emergency NPC apologized.
"How long will it take?"
"Sorry, insufficient data, cannot determine. We need to wait for the main AI to analyze the situation," the Emergency NPC repeated.
Damn! An emergency NPC that knows nothing! Even someone as carefree as Xiao Hua couldn't help cursing at this completely unknown and unexpected situation.
Suddenly, Xiao Hua noticed a green digital clock counting down beside the Emergency NPC.
07:56:33! The numbers ticked down second by second!
"What does that mean?" Xiao Hua pointed at the ticking numbers and asked.
"This is a special setting for special situations. To keep players' minds active and prevent brain death upon returning to reality, players can stay in the login space for a maximum of 8 hours daily, and each stay cannot exceed 8 hours. This is the remaining time you can spend in the login space today," the Emergency NPC explained patiently.
Calm down! Calm down!
Xiao Hua forced himself to calm down, thinking in silence for a while. He realized that panicking wouldn't help and decided to return to the game to discuss the situation with Piaoling and Zhou Xiaorou.
"How do I return to the game?" When his mental command to return to the game failed, Xiao Hua sought help from the Emergency NPC.
"Just stand on the pedestal," the Emergency NPC smiled and pointed to the pedestal beside her.