Monsters Are Coming-Chapter 2 - This is the Genuine Article!

The sky roared with hurricanes, stirring the red clouds into a tumult.

After a clap of thunder, black lightning spread across the sky like a spider web, disappearing into invisibility after a few seconds.

The earth, a chain of volcanoes erupting fiercely, red fire serpents snaking down, devouring all life in their path, the air saturated with the smell of sulfur and scorched earth. Atop the highest peak, under the light of the dark red waning moon, it gleamed with a blood-red light like a flaming serrated sword aiming to pierce the heavy curtain of sky.

Countless terrifying monsters roamed between heaven and earth.

Evil Qi with its eighteen heads, towering like mountains, the Frost Giant Beast whose breath could freeze thousands of miles, the Crimson Wing Haven capable of leaping tens of thousands of miles in a single bound... In addition to these apex predators, there were numerous other fearsome beasts capable of swallowing mountains and rivers and altering the landscape with a stomp of their feet.

This was an ecosystem composed of countless terrifying creatures.

The view shifted towards the earth, rapidly descending and finally zooming in on a dilapidated village, only for the scene to be shrouded in the darkness encroaching from all sides.

As the darkness dissipated, Li Zheng found himself floating in front of a towering blue crystal wall, as a voice echoed in his mind:

[Welcome, Challenger, to Monster World. Please begin creating your initial character.]

"Monster World? Wasn't the Newbie Village in the Dark Land called Dark City?"

Without pondering too much on this question, he simply assumed that the Moon Eclipse Clan had altered the game settings exposed years ago.

The aerial view from before and the character creation environment now made him realize he had indeed downloaded a cracked version of "Dark Land."

His excitement was indescribable; others spent 128888 to get their hands on the game, yet he had obtained it in just an hour's download.

The Benefit Officer really handed out benefits!

He no longer doubted the game's authenticity.

Who would spend a fortune to produce a game with such high fidelity only to deceive people?

If the earlier CG experience was meant to be more deceptive, then the cost of such a prank would be absurdly high.

In the field for creating a name, he used the virtual keyboard to type "Game Working Party" and confirmed his entry. The huge grid-like crystal wall in front zoomed in quickly.

The majority of the cells on the wall were empty, only the number 1-3 cells at the bottom contained monstrous figures of grotesque and ferocious appearance.

Inside cell number 1 was a humanoid stone statue with bat-like ears, squatting on a half-meter-high pedestal, finely carved with bloodshot light shining through its massive pupils and bared sharp, white teeth.

The monster in cell number 2 had fiery red wings and resembled an owl, its sharp talons constantly striking against the crystal wall, emitting a shrill sound.

Inside cell number 3 was a large black-armored snake, coiled within the cell, flicking its forked tongue.

[Please select initial status.]

Li Zheng's gaze moved to the first monster and detailed information appeared.

[Stone-Statue Ghost]:

Initial Level 1:

Initial Attributes:

Physical Fitness: 7 (Determined by a combination of body comprehensive values of strength, physical strength, durability, explosive power)

Spiritual Strength: 5 (Affects spiritual recovery, casting speed, magic strength)

Element Resistance: 5 (Affects the final assessment of elemental damage)

Primordial Ability: Petrification (Active)

Ability Description: Upon activation, enter an immobile petrified state, substantially weakening any form of attack damage, the specific effect influenced by physical fitness.

...

His sight then moved over to the eagle-headed monster and the snake beside the stone-statue ghost.

[Eagle-Headed Demon]:

Initial Level 1:

Initial Attributes:

Physical Fitness: 3, Spiritual Strength: 8, Element Resistance: 4

Primordial Ability: Resentful Chant (Active)

Ability Description: Enable Perception View to preemptively warn of nearby danger (malice, hostility, aura, fluctuations), with duration and warning range affected by spiritual strength.

[Black Armored Snake]:

Initial Level 1:

Initial Attributes:

Physical Fitness: 12, Spiritual Strength: 1, Element Resistance: 2

Ability: Fierce Poison (Passive)

Ability Description: Physical damage in any form carries a poisoning effect, causing continuous damage to the target.

...

How should he choose? Li Zheng fell into thought.

Faced with the three initial ability options, both the stone-statue ghost and eagle-headed monster required active triggering with continuous consumption of spiritual power, whereas the Black Armored Snake's ability could be triggered by any form of physical damage, clearly more suitable for a newcomer.

With a certain idea in mind, the figures in cells 1 and 2 disappeared, and the Black Armored Snake in cell 3 rapidly enlarged before his eyes.

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The sound of his heart beating violently became clearer in his ears.

Just then, the image of the Black Armored Snake suddenly raised its head and lunged at him with an open mouth.

Li Zheng was startled and reflexively lifted his hands to defend himself.

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However, the expected pain did not occur, and when he opened his eyes, he realized the scene had changed, and he was now wearing a game-provided black cloth garment.

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Looking around, he was in the dilapidated village that appeared in the final scene of the CG footage.

The village was enveloped in thick black fog on the outside, which seemed to be blocked by some mysterious force, preventing it from penetrating into the village. However, one could clearly hear strange noises emanating from within the fog.

Cries of night hawks, the crunching sounds of bones breaking, hoarse whispering voices... various eerie noises resounded through the skies above the village.

Li Zheng turned his head and was immediately startled.

He found that there was a phantom of a Black Armored Snake, over a meter long, floating behind him. When he stepped to his right, the phantom followed suit and shifted accordingly.

As his gaze focused, a flood of information surged into his mind, accompanied by an internal view of his body.

In that view, he could clearly see his spine had become a glowing pathway, resplendent like the Milky Way. At the top of the spine was his real-world appearance, and in the first notch below, there was a glowing black sphere embedded with the figure of a Black Armored Snake.

[Challenger Name: Game Working Party]:

Main Form: Human

Body Refining Level: 0 (inherits Life Soul attribute: 0)

(Reminder: Each level of Body Refining upgraded allows the perfect inheritance of all attributes of one Monster Form in human form.)

Star Vein Inlay (Level: 1):

No.1 Embedding Position, Black Armored Snake Life Soul Lv1 (trait: Fierce Poison)

(Reminder: The Star Vein function allows free switching of Monster Forms. While in Monster Form, one gains a 100% attribute bonus. Raising the Star Vein Level increases the number of Monster Life Souls that can be embedded.)

...

"Switch Star Veins?"

Confused, Li Zheng touched the first embedding slot of the Star Vein with his mind.

Immediately, an intense tingling sensation flooded from his spine to every limb, and his body twisted and changed under the surge of this power.

His line of sight rapidly descended.

Looking down, he was shocked to find that he had transformed into the Black Armored Snake that had been floating behind him.

At the same time, he could clearly feel a boost in his physical fitness, and even his vision had become sharper.

This game... is kind of twisted, but I like it!

Having switched back to human form, Li Zheng, who had grasped the basic settings of the game, looked around him with curiosity.

Driven by curiosity, he began to test the realism of the game.

Pinching his face, wiggling his hands, pinching his arm... the feedback was indistinguishable from reality, leaving Li Zheng utterly amazed.

Then, he squatted down, picked up a piece of broken stone from the ground, and slowly ground it to powder, feeling it slide through his fingertips.

"Damn, this game is amazing!"

The simple test yielded perfect realistic feedback, without any flaws to pick out.

However, Li Zheng was puzzled by the fact that there were no other players in sight; it seemed as though he was alone in the entire village.

Logically speaking, "Dark Land" was globally released, and based on sales fervor, Newbie Village should be swarming with players.

Could it be that different players are separated into different game channels? Am I in a newly opened channel?

As Li Zheng pondered how to explore the game further, the space beside him twisted, and a pale blue Water Ball appeared.

The surface of the Water Ball rippled, revealing a stern expression as it said in a grave tone:

[Evil spirits run rampant, fear descends. The Monster World under the rule of Emperor Zhao faces invasion by the Horror Black Tide. Empowered by Emperor Zhao, you bear the duty of saving the world. Please proceed to the Monster World promptly to hunt and retrieve Emperor Zhao's lost Primordial Power, contributing to the restoration of his True Body.]

With that, the pale blue Water Ball morphed an arm reaching towards him:

[I am your Newbie Guidance in the Monster World, you may call me Guidance.]

Li Zheng, somewhat bewildered, reached out and shook hands with the palm created by the Water Ball.

[We're buddies from now on; feel free to ask me anything you don't understand.]

Hearing this, Li Zheng grabbed the Guidance Water Ball, giving it a rub and a squeeze, and exclaimed:

"The feeling is great!"

[Great your uncle, if you keep this up, I'll go on strike!]

"A Newbie Guidance that can go on strike? Aren't you supposed to be an AI to be driven by players at will?"

[Your whole family are driven AI, if I'm not happy, I'll strike!]

Realizing he had annoyed the Newbie Guide and would lose an important tool during his novice period, Li Zheng immediately let go, allowing the Guidance Water Ball to float away, and promptly apologized:

"Sorry, my mistake."

[Kneel down and apologize.]

Staring at the cocky-faced Guidance Water Ball, Li Zheng had a helpless expression:

"I don't understand why the Moon Eclipse Clan would design such a humanized Newbie Guidance."

While grumbling, it dawned on him that his fellow sufferers were waiting for his feedback.

He immediately looked towards the Guidance Water Ball and asked:

"Guidance, how do I exit the game?"

[It's simple, call for the 'function panel' in your mind; it has a teleport function that will help you return to the real world. The process will take 30 seconds, during which you cannot suffer any damage, or the teleport will be interrupted.]

"Got it!"

Following Guidance's instructions, his view was shrouded in darkness as the teleport countdown ticked down.

Overwhelmed by a strong sensation of weightlessness, Li Zheng cried out excitedly in his heart:

"Brothers, we've got some real meat this time!"

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