Chapter 368: First Battle

"Has it started?"

The door opened. Carrying a bag of beer and a pack of snacks, Qi Ming stepped inside and froze at the sight of the packed room.

"Oh..."

Everyone looked at Qi Ming with knowing expressions.

Ren Tongtong clutched her head. Hadn't she sent this damn guy a message?

Snapping back to reality, Qi Ming looked embarrassed.

"I—I didn't check my phone."

"Oh."

The knowing expressions around the room deepened.

"No wonder you didn't show up for the Mid-Autumn Festival," Fan Jue said, hitting the nail on the head.

Ren Tongtong took a deep breath and clenched her fists. She knew she shouldn't have trusted this idiot; he didn't even look smart.

"Hey, where's Xiao Ran? I don't see her."

Qi Ming quickly changed the subject.

"Our great Reporter Lin is

"Has it started?"

The door opened. Qi Ming walked in with a bag of beer and a pack of snacks, freezing at the sight of the packed room.

"Oh..."

Everyone looked at Qi Ming with knowing expressions.

Ren Tongtong clutched her head. Hadn't she sent this damn guy a message?

Qi Ming snapped to his senses, looking embarrassed.

"I... I didn't check my phone."

"Oh."

The knowing expressions around the room deepened.

"No wonder you didn't come to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival together," Fan Jue said, hitting the nail on the head.

Ren Tongtong took a deep breath and clenched her fists. She knew she shouldn't have trusted this idiot; he didn't even look smart.

"Hey, where's Xiao Ran? How come she isn't here?"

Qi Ming quickly changed the subject.

"Our great reporter Lin is broadcasting live on the scene."

Ren Tongtong ignored the speechless looks from the people beside her and played along stiffly. "I heard her childhood friend is in the dungeon this time too. I just didn't expect this dungeon would actually broadcast live to the Surface World."

"Because Mr. Yan is in the dungeon," Qi Ming said, speaking from experience. "My last dungeon was like this too. He has an ability that increases the difficulty for everyone, and it probably boosts his own rewards as well."

At the mention of Yan Jing, a subtle change washed over everyone's faces.

For a moment, no one joked around anymore, as if the name Yan Jing was a matter of utmost gravity.

Zhou Xian, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. "It's about to start."

Instantly, everyone's attention was drawn to the television in front of them.

"Hello everyone, this is the primary live broadcast feed from the Rainbow Newspaper. I am your reporter, Lin Xiaoran."

On the screen, Lin Xiaoran wore a black windbreaker, her ear-length hair whipping wildly in the wind. Behind her, a massive screen floated in the sky, rippling with circles of weird energy that stirred the wind and clouds.

A number counted down on the screen.

"Five minutes remain until this dungeon live broadcast officially begins. At that time, we will point our cameras at the screen so everyone can truly experience the conditions inside the dungeon."

"Our Rainbow Newspaper has set up over a dozen camera angles for this live broadcast. If the screen uses a split format, you can also switch viewpoints by sending bullet comments."

As Lin Xiaoran gave her introduction...

The countdown hit zero.

[Supreme Status Dungeon is about to begin.]

[The location for this mission is Peace Heavenly Kingdom.]

[Your landing zone will be randomly assigned to any location within Peace Heavenly Kingdom.]

[Your initial Mental Immunity Value is 100 points.]

[Welcome back, player.]

Yan Jing slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a red-flashing electronic device strapped to his right wrist.

In the upper right corner of his vision, two numbers were displayed:

100/3

0/3,000,000

The 100 likely represented the number of survivors, while the 0 was probably the Sin Live Broadcast value.

But they weren't the 5 and 1,000,000 broadcasted at the very beginning; they were new numbers.

The citizens of Peace Heavenly Kingdom watching the live broadcast immediately noticed this change as well.

"Didn't it just say 5 left and 1,000,000 points?!"

"Fuck, I picked someone I thought could barely scrape in, hoping for higher odds. Now I'm screwed."

"Me too! Fucking rigged!"

"Rigged!!! They're just harvesting our money!!!"

"Damn it, we never should have trusted these conglomerates!! They're even bleeding the public dry!!"

"Protest!!! Rigged!!!"

"Protest!!"

Peace District.

Nochen Bio Tower.

Zeng Ru was currently roaring at Gu Yi through the Information Component. "What is going on?! Is your government trying to snatch up this little bit of money too?! Didn't I already give you a massive sum?!"

Nuochen Biotech was officially credited for this event, and Zeng Ru's full name was explicitly attached to it. A situation like this would clearly deal a massive blow to Nuochen Biotech's credibility.

It could very well tank their market value.

"N-no, it's not—"

Gu Yi looked completely bewildered.

What right did he have to activate the power of the Heavenly Kingdom? Every message he received came directly from above.

And that was exactly what the higher-ups had told him.

"No, it really wasn't me. I have no idea either."

Gu Yi, a man in his forties or fifties, found himself unable to argue his case. He felt deeply wronged.

On the other side of the line, after venting her anger, Zeng Ru gradually calmed down.

It most likely wasn't Gu Yi. He didn't have the capability. Even if it was him, it had to have been authorized by the person at the very top.

In that case, this was a very dangerous signal.

It was highly probable that the person at the top was deliberately sending a warning to the conglomerates.

Since taking office, that person had been very cooperative, unlike certain maverick presidents of the past.

He had been re-elected for several terms and had always maintained peaceful relationships with the major corporate giants.

So what was this now...

Alarm bells rang in Zeng Ru's head. She quickly called for her financial analysts. "Calculate how many people bet on the most likely candidates for fourth and fifth place this time. If we compensate them, how much will we have to pay?"

The analysts quickly identified the candidates and calculated the compensation amount.

Fourth and fifth place would most likely go to a human named He Xinquan and a criminal nicknamed the Financial Bully.

Not too many people had bet on them, and the odds weren't high. The calculations showed they would need to pay out around eight to nine million eerie points (equivalent to four to five hundred million surface coins).

Zeng Ru estimated the event's overall revenue and gritted her teeth. "Run the numbers again. List all the possibilities."

"Once verified, issue an announcement. Explain the situation and tell the public that no matter who takes fourth or fifth place, we will issue a humanitarian compensation of fifty percent."

"If they still aren't satisfied, keep raising it."

Elsewhere, Yan Jing smiled as he read the announcement issued by Nuochen Biotech.

"That's more like it."

He stood up and leisurely strolled forward.

He was currently in a district known as the Victory District.

If he remembered correctly, there was a structure here called Victory Bridge. It had been constructed in the early days of Peace Heavenly Kingdom to celebrate the nation's founding, heralded as a victory for all citizens of the Peace Heavenly Kingdom.

To this day, it remained a symbol of faith for many of the older generation in the Inner World.

And this very structure just so happened to be his target building this time.

Soon, a pitch-black steel triangle slowly rose into view at the end of the highway.

It was likely the tip of the bridge.

Yan Jing was about to continue forward when he spotted a figure standing beneath that massive bridge tip, their back turned to the sun.

It was a Smart Seed. Other than his head, his entire body was composed of black mechanical parts, gleaming with a faint golden luster beneath the pouring sunlight.

Curved, pitch-black energy tubes tightly connected each mechanical component. He seemed to have some sort of solar energy conversion device on his back. As the sunlight beat down on it, the weird energy fluctuations around his body grew increasingly intense.

He spread his arms wide and closed his eyes. As if he hadn't seen true sunlight in a very long time, he embraced the world with all his might.

"Pilgrim Shi Yufan."

On the Peace Heavenly Kingdom live broadcast, someone noticed their encounter.

"This human is dead meat."

"Back in the day, the Pilgrim forced his way into the headquarters of Guqi New Energy just for their solar power. He stole their latest energy conversion technology and caused the biggest solar explosion in history."

"You have to understand, Guqi New Energy was a major corporation on the rise back then. They had a Sixth Tier expert guarding them. Although Shi Yufan ended up heavily injured, he still managed to escape from that Sixth Tier, and he even killed one of their Fifth Tier experts along the way."

Meanwhile.

People in the Surface World had also noticed this battle. There weren't many encounters at the very beginning—only two or three in total—and only two involved humans.

The Surface World only had access to human perspectives, so many viewers immediately switched to Yan Jing's point of view.

"Who is this guy? Anyone know?"

"No idea here in the Central Municipality of the Second Ring Domain."

"No idea in the remote cities of the Second Ring Domain either."

"Central Municipality of the Third Ring Domain doesn't know him."

Finally, a bullet comment popped up.

"We know him in Rainbow City of the Fifth Ring Domain."

"Yan Jing, Rainbow City's... absolute strongest!"

Soon, information on Yan Jing was flying everywhere. A well-known content creator on the forums even compiled and analyzed his battle record, ultimately reaching a conclusion:

"Mid-level seed strength."

"At the Third Tier, he could fight a Fourth Tier. I don't know if he has the strength to fight a Fifth Tier while at the Fourth Tier."

As soon as this analysis came out, many people were quick to write him off. After all, his opponent was clearly a Fifth Tier, and a strong one at that.

Right now.

Inner World.

Shi Yufan slowly opened his eyes, looked at Yan Jing approaching him, and smiled. "Excuse me, but could you please leave? I'd like to embrace the sunlight a little longer. I don't want to be disturbed."

"I won't disturb you," Yan Jing said with a smile. "My target is the bridge behind you."

Shi Yufan smiled and shook his head. "That bridge is my side dish while I enjoy the sunshine. Once I'm done, I'm going to eat it."

"Then there's no room for discussion," Yan Jing said with a smile, his forward momentum never pausing.

"Then come right ahead."

Shi Yufan returned the smile, his feet remaining planted on the spot.

The distance between them steadily shrank.

Yet neither made the first move.

Outside the screen, the viewers seemed to feel the strange, murderous tension radiating between the two men, and instinctively held their breath.

Ten meters, five meters, two meters—

Seeing that the gap between them had narrowed to just over a meter, everyone understood that this clash would be a test of pure striking speed.

At this range, whoever was faster would seize the absolute advantage.

Suddenly...

Shi Yufan moved.

His pitch-black mechanical body seemed to have drawn immense energy from the sunlight. In an instant, all the light in the area dimmed as it was absorbed into his body, making him the sole focal point in the world.

Dark exhaust flames jetted from his right elbow. Coated in a golden glow, his fist blasted straight toward Yan Jing's abdomen.

His speed seemed to break the sound barrier. The audience only saw a black blur shoot out from his right side, and a moment later, they heard the explosive roar of the air being blasted apart.

In that split second, the image of Yan Jing's abdomen being punctured, blood spraying like a geyser, involuntarily flashed through the minds of everyone watching.

But suddenly, just as that rock-hard black metal fist was about to connect with Yan Jing's body, Shi Yufan's figure jolted to a violent halt.

As if his mechanical core had glitched, he completely froze for a fraction of a second.

To the audience's eyes, it was as if they had just witnessed a movie played in fast-forward within that single moment.

Fragments of light and imagery rapidly intertwined, shattering like a lake's surface scattered by the wind. By the time they regained their senses, they only saw Shi Yufan's body impaled by a massive, upward-slanting tree of Thorns.

The menacing barbs threaded directly through the gaps in Shi Yufan's chassis, completely piercing and destroying the expensive, durable metal. Fissures spread across his body, and it began to crumble.

Disbelief filled the last gleam of light in Shi Yufan's eyes. All around his body, blaring prompts began to sound off.

"Warning! Warning! Neural system destabilized!!"

"Warning! Warning! Temperature system failing!!"

"Warning! Warning!—"

Finally, amidst the wailing alarms and a massive explosion, Shi Yufan's figure was reduced to a heap of scrap metal.

By then, Yan Jing had already walked several meters away.