Chapter 2 - 2 Prologue Part 2 Death by Destiny

Zhao Qingyun took off his headphones and slammed a fist onto the keyboard before standing up from his seat with a sullen face. He walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked downstairs through the glass. The wails of employees rose and fell in the gaming hall on the first floor. On the big screen, the members who took part in combat were in disarray, with casualties everywhere. The carefully assembled hundred-person Dragon Slayer Team was now more than half dead or injured. Continuous player deaths turned the screen a bloody red, leaving only a large “DEAD” on display. Looking around, over half of the computer screens in the entire hall displayed this scene, with players sitting in front of their screens looking as if they had lost their loved ones. Zhao Qingyun ground his teeth in frustration. Although there had been casualties when pioneering boss fights before, it was the first time to lose so many people in a single boss battle. It seemed that slaying dragons was still too much of a stretch. With this loss, the Azure Dragon Association would need to quietly build strength for a while. But it didn’t matter, as long as the Core Team was fine. As for the cannon fodder, they could always recruit more if they died. “Tsk tsk tsk, such a pathetic bunch, dying so miserably,” Liu Qiang’s voice, taking pleasure in their misfortune, rang out from the side. “Mr. Zhao, you’ve really lost big this time.” “Watch your tone, Liu Qiang. Don’t think you can disrespect me just because you were sent here from headquarters.” “Ah, of course, of course, how could I dare? I just have a loose tongue. Please be magnanimous and don’t take it to heart! Otherwise, I won’t be able to sleep at night. I apologize for my disrespect,” Liu Qiang theatrically bowed on one knee, his expression as infuriating as possible. However, now was not the time to mind such things. Zhao Qingyun turned on the microphone and cleared his throat. “Same rules as always. Those who survive, head back to town to regroup. After logging off, everyone must write a post-battle summary of no less than three thousand words. Team leaders, head to the conference room for a meeting. To all the players who died in battle, congratulations, you can retire. Go collect your severance pay, and remember to take your personal belongings.” Fifteen minutes later— Six or seventy players sat in a room, each looking oddly at each other. They were the unlucky ones who had been killed in the boss fight. Since entering this base, they had been told they had only one life in the game “Old Soil” they were playing, and once they died, they would have to leave, signifying the end of their job. The boss had once promised that as long as the game account wasn’t terminated due to personal reasons, a generous compensation would be given as severance pay. Only, it was uncertain whether this promise would be honored. After all, almost all of them had been brought here through various means and had almost completely lost contact with the outside world during their time at the base. Although the food was good and the treatment fair, with the job simply playing a game, one just needed to look at the ‘security guards’ armed with live ammunition to know that the boss of this base had a background that was anything but simple. “Do you think the boss will really pay us?” “Dream on, if we can get out with our lives, we’ll be lucky.” “I think it’s over for us. We’ve been locked in this base for over a year, without a chance to communicate. There must be a catch… They’re probably going to silence us.” “That can’t be, right? We’re just here to play a game. We didn’t get involved with anything illegal… This isn’t like some north.” Suddenly, the door to the waiting room was opened. Zhao Qingyun walked in nonchalantly, followed by several gunmen armed to the teeth, along with a pile of boxes. He gave everyone a look that was both smiling and not and then suddenly became serious. “Congratulations, you have completed your tasks at this base. As per the original agreement, each of you can collect three hundred thousand as severance pay for your services here. I, Zhao Qingyun, always keep my word. Come and get your pay now.” The crowd showed signs of surprise upon hearing this; they hadn’t expected to actually get paid. One by one, they went up to receive their boxes, some opening them in disbelief, only to find them neatly filled with cash. Soon every person had a briefcase in hand. Everyone looked at the money in the boxes with excitement. Having worked in this base for nearly two years, earning ten thousand a month, and being able to take another three hundred thousand before leaving meant they had made over four hundred thousand in two years, which was a lot more than what they would earn from a regular job. Then, some started to feel regret. It was a pity that, because of the game’s bizarre rule, each player had only one life, and once they died, it was GAME OVER, with no opportunity to create a new character. How great it would be if they could continue this job. Liu Qiang followed behind Zhao Qingyun, watching his performance and scoffing inwardly. A trace of pleasure at others’ misfortune appeared in his eyes as he looked at the crowd. He knew very well the fate that awaited these people. The so-called word of honor… it was indeed awe-inspiring. But the crowd was oblivious, all excitedly looking at the cash boxes in their hands. Actual cash, how generous. The money was quickly distributed. Zhao Qingyun glanced at his watch, “A car will be here to pick you up in an hour. Please wait here patiently. Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is where we say goodbye. I hope you had a pleasant stay at the base.” After finishing, he left with his people. Once the door was closed again, everyone immediately began to chat excitedly. “Hahaha, I told you so, the boss is a straightforward guy, he definitely wouldn’t cheat us.” “They really did give us the money, we’re rich now.” “What are you thrilled about? It’s only three hundred thousand; that’s not enough to buy a house…” “Be content, you got money and still complain… cough, cough, cough.” A player who was speaking suddenly started coughing, louder and more forceful as if he was about to cough out his lungs. He hunched over, completely collapsing on the ground, yet despite his distress, he still clutched the cash-filled case tightly. A friend nearby saw this and quickly asked, “What’s wrong, buddy?” “Cough, cough… I don’t know… cough, cough, it just feels a bit… uncomfortable, cough, cough—wow!” Saying this, the man suddenly started to vomit profusely, as if his lungs were filled with too much water to breathe, but he could not vomit anything out. His mouth wide open, he made terrifying coughing and retching noises, struggling on the ground as if he were drowning. This commotion suddenly drew the attention of the other players, who all stopped their conversations and watched in shock at the man on the ground. “Shit, A Gui, what’s wrong with you, I—blargh!” Another person started to speak but suddenly saw a blur before his eyes, felt dizzy and nauseous. As he looked down, his entire palm had turned dark green. The man thought he was seeing things, blinked his eyes, but found that it wasn’t just his palm changing color; his whole arm, his body was turning green, and a nasty, fishy smell started emanating from him, making others retreat from the stench. At the same time, an intense burning sensation spread all over his body. “Ah! Ah! It hurts, it hurts so much!” Screaming in agony, blood flowed from all his orifices. The chilling screams terrified everyone present. “What the hell is happening?” “Old Li seems to be poisoned!” “I—ah!” The third unfortunate one appeared rapidly. He hadn’t finished speaking when he felt an extreme pain from all over his body. Blood jets spurted from his chest and back, as if two holes had been punched through him. An invisible force tore at him, crushed his bones, and drove his ribs into his chest cavity, his screams muffled as he was compressed into an indistinct mass of flesh and blood. Following that, his body was torn open with wounds, with blood spurting out as if an invisible monster was biting and chewing on him. “Save me! Save… me!” He reached out to grab someone nearby, but everyone around him fled backward in fear. Snap, the man’s body broke in half… This grisly scene left everyone petrified. No one knew what was happening, as people continued to scream painfully, dying in various bizarre ways. Some rushed toward the door to get help but found that the lounge’s door was already sealed shut. Some noticed the camera overhead and shouted for help, but there was no response. Terrible ways of dying continued to play out: there were drowners, poison victims, those electrocuted by lightning, crushed, torn apart, or hit by unseen forces, crashing down with their heads bloody. When the screams finally ceased, the only thing left in the lounge was a floor strewn with contorted corpses and flesh. Zhao Qingyun watched it all through the monitor, his heart trembling. He had witnessed this scene more than once, but every time, he couldn’t help but be startled. That invisible, predetermined death could not be grasped or resisted. He only hoped such misfortune would not befall him. He turned his head away, trying to adjust his emotions. It’s okay, as long as he didn’t die in the game, there was no need to worry about mishaps in real life. With his level and equipment, plus the protection of his men, ordinary monsters posed no threat to him. Thinking this, he finally relaxed again. “It seems we need to recruit a new batch of players—Liu Qiang.” “Don’t worry, Mr. Zhao, recruitment is my job. Besides, as long as there’s money, we won’t have a problem finding people,” Liu Qiang said with a laugh, apparently accustomed to everything that had happened on the monitor. Zhao Qingyun nodded, “Then I’ll wait for the good news.”