These seven were professional mercenaries hired by Nanbo Wan for a hefty sum. Su Yao stood on top of the stone cave on the east side of Loulan City, witnessing many people fighting or cooperating for the same goal. But was this time-space gate really meant to deceive? The Red Medicine Hall tried to approach; within five steps, the system prompted her about the conditions needed, as people had tried everything. Some killed their wives, others married men, some stripped naked and ran, and some shouted “I love you, Sister Phoenix.” People tried all sorts of bizarre methods to activate it, but the time-space gate remained unmoved. Watching the performances of the people, Su Yao burst into laughter. At that moment, Qin Chuan emerged from the kitchen after disposing of spoiled food and washing dishes. He glanced at someone laughing while hugging her knees in front of the screen, silently passed by, and began collecting her scattered clothes from the couch, bed, and floor, throwing them all into the washing machine. Su Yao noticed Qin Chuan’s earnest demeanor as he cleaned her place, which made her feel both touched and amused.
Her laughter, which convulsed her entire body, did not escape Qin Chuan’s notice. Damn, was it really that funny? The Grim Reaper gritted his teeth, plotting how to deal with her later. After half a day, Su Yao’s doghouse finally looked livable. Meanwhile, the previous wars between Yan and Xia nations had been forgotten. Qin Chuan, sitting beside her, opened his laptop. After a few glances at her screen, he understood what was happening. Now, he logged into his level 122 assassin, Three Ways River, to find the Red Medicine Hall in Loulan Cave. “This is pointless,” Qin Chuan said, “No prompts at all. We probably won’t see results tomorrow. How about… we get married?” “Pfft.” Su Yao spat out blood, “You’re not interested in the divine artifact?” Many players would give their lives for a top-tier piece of equipment, let alone a divine artifact. “What’s that?” the Grim Reaper said indifferently, “Having you in this world is enough for me.” … Little Lion was struck by his words. The Red Medicine Hall and Three Ways River arrived at the marriage hall. Su Yao looked at the eager matchmaker, Yue Lao, and suddenly felt mischievous: “I don’t want to marry you.” Qin Chuan glanced at her, and she decisively logged off, switching to Little Mary’s account.
That was fine, anything was fine. But Qin Chuan didn’t expect Little Lion to have a mischievous look, laughing heartily as she said, “I want to marry the Eternal Palace!” The Eternal Palace, the most mysterious player in the world, was exactly Qin Chuan’s type—low-key, valuing his name, allowing no one to trample on anything of his. If news of his marriage got out to the game forums, it would be the biggest shock in human history, and his anger would be no less than if he were forced to dance in a bikini on the street. Qin Chuan still silently watched her, “Fine,” he said, smiling and cursing. “Just wait and see,” he thought, gritting his teeth. The young lion squatted on a chair, laughing uncontrollably. After the couple paid the fee at the matchmaker’s, the system issued an announcement. This announcement, posted in the world channel, was quickly overwhelmed by countless discussions about divine artifacts, and the enthusiastic crowd paid it no mind. Only Su Yao, seeing the name appear in her spouse column, smiled smugly. Their wedding had no grand feast, no pomp and ceremony, but at this moment, she felt she was the happiest person in the world.
The newlyweds walked out of the temple, pondering whether to return to Lou Lan City to join the enthusiastic crowd or to do something more meaningful first… Ding-dong, a dialogue box popped up simultaneously on both screens, “Damn, forced offline!”
On the official website, the game company issued a statement regarding the emergence of the Western divine artifact.
[Dear players of “The Mortal World”, we sincerely apologize for today’s incident where the Western divine artifact quest was triggered due to a technical error by our staff, mistakenly unlocking part of the new expansion pack intended for the summer release. This led to players below the required level of 300 obtaining the quest scroll, opening a temporal rift which they could not enter due to insufficient levels, thus wasting much of your time in speculation. We deeply regret this.
- After a 10-minute maintenance, the temporal rift will officially open, accessible to all regardless of level.
To prevent lag from too many players in one area, we have set up 36 independent closed maps within the rift, each allowing up to 20,000 players to sign up. Free PK will ensue, and the last survivor will advance to our company’s official final tournament.
PK will officially start at 19:00 tonight, with all entrances closing at that time. Use of any drugs during PK is prohibited, and the situation will be broadcasted live on our official website.
Players disconnected for over an hour will be disqualified; death in-game results in disqualification; voluntary withdrawal or use of cheats will also lead to disqualification. The last player standing in each map will be declared the winner.
The 36 winners will receive full travel and accommodation expenses from our company to travel to Beijing for the final live tournament. The first place will win the divine artifact, second and third place will receive divine sets, and the remaining 33 heroes will each receive a set of priceless top-tier equipment.
“What an opportunity,” said Gu Chaoyan, flexing his fingers.
His mood had already soared when he read the announcement; he didn’t care who would be the ultimate winner; he only knew that once he stepped in, nothing could escape his grasp. Experiencing such a rare and thrilling event in life was something not to be missed.
The lone ranger, known as “One Morning Smile,” headed straight to Lou Lan City after the maintenance ended.
“Not using your main account?” Wang Shenmu watched him operate the ranger with fluid movements. The ranger was one of his favorite classes in the game, aside from his own summoner mage, with a longbow on his back, standing alone and free.
“My main account is too conspicuous,” Gu Chaoyan laughed, squeezing into the crowd. “Damn, these people are too crazy,” he thought, finally managing to register at the entrance of the 28th map.
Seeing Gu Chaoyan enjoying himself, Wang Shenmu suddenly remembered he was now just a regular player. Why shouldn’t he play too? Indeed, the idea of a massive PK for fair competition was his brainchild; it was simple, direct, popular, and cruel.
Wang Shenmu made an appointment to chat again later and logged off to sign up in the 36th map, the last one.
Chapter 39: The Strongest Couple in History
When Su Yao saw the announcement, her heart skipped a beat. The group stage, the knockout rounds, more grouping, and more knockouts… then the semi-finals and the final, this was such a familiar history. She had once fought her way through countless sleepless nights training her skills, feeling the rush of adrenaline as her ranking improved. She walked step by step towards the tower of her dreams, only for it to collapse when she least expected it. She thought those days were gone forever. But now, the person she yearned for back then was right beside her, meticulously peeling an orange for her with the same fingers that had once slain gods. His eyes were filled with the utmost tenderness. To him, no in-game item could compare to her simple words, “Qin Chuan, give it to me.”
He fed her a segment of the peeled orange, and Su Yao bit into it, mischievously sucking on his fingers, the sweet taste spreading in her mouth like sunshine filling the room.
“Want more?”