Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 640 - 638: The Bank

"Fuck!"

Sunset Gold Smelter cursed instinctively, his eyes wide as he stared at the two figures on the newspaper, his fingers turning white from gripping the paper too tightly.

"No way, how can these two be here?!"

Sunset Gold Smelter said awkwardly, "This isn't normal! We're only Level 15 to Level 17, and Yuri and Gandalf... The former is a psychic capable of controlling the minds of millions, even tens of millions, as well as an apex-level scientist, while the latter is a demigod and close combat Mage who has lived for thousands of years, a terrifying entity who can beat a Flame Demon to death with a stick. Their strength obviously exceeds what we can handle, and even if we teamed up, we'd likely be no match for either of them."

"But why are you saying no?"

Li Ang curled the corner of his lips and said calmly, "The System won't issue tasks that are certain death. No matter how strong Yuri and Gandalf are, they might just be part of the setting's impressive backdrop. It's very unlikely that we're expected to rush in and commit suicide. Moreover, encountering demigod-level characters before we even hit Level 20 is obviously not normal. These two might not even be their original versions, and they could even be actors who just look rather similar."

"Because of the mission name and what's mentioned about the Ascension Ceremony in the newspaper?"

The Witch nodded and frowned. "Let's see what the newspaper says about it."

The front-page article read as follows: A Splendid Century, A New Era of Ascension. The 100th Global Ascension Ceremony will take place this afternoon at the Southern Suburb Arena of Central City. General Yuri, Supreme Commander of the Worldwide Forces, and His Excellency Gandalf, the Advisor, attended the unveiling ceremony of the Death Race, delivering a speech on site to the competitors, guests, and all the viewers watching the show...

The four players briefly scanned through the various reports in the newspaper and found that they all related to the so-called "Ascension Ceremony" and "Death Race." The concept of the former was still unclear, but as for the latter...

"'Former runner-up team participates! The return of past champions with overwhelming dominance,' 'Preview of the favorite teams to win the championship,' 'Twenty TV stations broadcasting the Death Race live'..."

Sunset Gold Smelter read the headlines of the articles in the newspaper, his tone gradually becoming more solemn. "Hmm... According to the information from the newspaper, the Death Race seems to be a hot event that has garnered the attention of the whole world. It is named Death Race, yet it combines elements of action, adventure, role-playing, shooting, racing, and survival building, making it extremely complex and brutal. Every year, there are deaths among competitors, live broadcast teams, and even spectators."

"In the 'Preview of the favorite teams to win the championship,' there are quite a few familiar names," said the Witch indifferently, "The Assassin's Union formed by Ezio Auditore, 47, Kelvo Anota, and Venom Snake; the God of War Blade formed by Kratos, Atreus, Senna, and Hephaestus; The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse composed of Fury, Death, War, and Strife; The Witcher team composed of Geralt, Van Helsing, Wolf, and William..."

"They're all characters from video games."

Li Ang smacked his lips. "Setting aside Van Helsing and Bald 47, who are more conventional people, just Kratos and The Four Horsemen are truly divine-level characters, and even in scenarios above Level 30, they would be considered off-the-charts boss-level characters."

"Which means they're most likely fakes, and there's a good chance they lack the capabilities they display in their respective games."

The Witch nodded. "Considering the 'Ascension Ceremony' mentioned in the mission, are we now in a 'Lower-Dimension World'? Do the inhabitants of this world need to compete in the Death Race in order to gain the qualifications for Ascension? But where exactly does ascension take us? It can't possibly be the real world, right?"

The more they knew, the greater their confusion. Just when the four players were puzzled, the train's intercom came to life: "Passengers, we are approaching Central City station. Those disembarking at Central City, please prepare in advance..."

"We're arriving already?"

Sunset Gold Smelter glanced at the clock and said solemnly, "Let's get off first. We disembark at 8:50 AM, and we only have 10 minutes to reach Pacific Bank."

The few passengers in the carriage all stood up from their seats and made their way to the doors. Taking advantage of the wait to disembark, Li Ang, dressed as an ordinary office worker, even resorted to some pickpocketing techniques, rummaging through the pockets of the clothes and trousers of the passengers in front of him. He didn't find any mobile phones. Li Ang spread his hands towards his companions, indicating that he hadn't found anything of value.

This was strange. Judging by the style of the train and the cityscape outside the window, this should be a modern urban setting, yet none of the passengers were carrying mobile phones. It was unclear whether this was a coincidence or some special setting of this world.

DING-DONG—

After the sound, the train doors opened, and the four players streamed out, immediately dashing out of the station.

There was a city map on the station wall. After converting the scale, this city was a staggering eighteen hundred square kilometers, and Pacific Bank, the target mentioned in the quest, was to the northeast of the station, within a five-minute drive.

At first, the players had planned to take a vehicle to their destination. They had already entered the realm of the extraordinary, and their sprinting speed was comparable to ordinary vehicles at low speeds. However, without understanding the world's background, it was best not to expose their unusual abilities. Yet, after rushing out of the station, the players realized they had been overly cautious.

The city streets were bustling. A large number of pedestrians were wearing shirts with different combat vehicle designs, holding balloons, and waving flags fervently as they moved along with parade floats resembling supercars, tanks, and armored vehicles, as if they were part of some massive celebration.

The strangest thing was the appearance of these city residents. Some looked rather like normal people, while others had disproportionately large eyes and colorful hair, with inexplicable cherry blossom petals floating around them as they walked. Some had big heads and slender bodies, with expression boxes, either smiling or laughing, floating next to their heads. And some were simply small animals walking upright.

Simply put, these people didn't have a consistent artistic style yet managed to stand together in a peculiarly harmonious way, creating a bizarre sense of déjà vu.

"This is..."

Sunset Gold Smelter pursed his lips tightly, looking towards the parade's banner reading "Warmly celebrating the 100th Ascension Ceremony," and murmured, "Passersby from The Sims, pedestrians from GTA5, colorful-haired youths from Galgames, even villagers from Minecraft..."

"I don't see any characters we recognize," the Witch said softly. "They must be the ordinary residents of the city, right? Are they all from other games, or is there a player behind each of these pedestrians, controlling them?"

This question remained unanswered for now. With the deadline fast approaching, the four players took a deep look at the diversely styled crowd of pedestrians, made their way through them, and ran towards the bank.