Chapter 75-3: Reunion with Old Friends (3) |
Time passed, and by midnight, the annual veterans’ gathering came to an end.
Li Tie and his old friends, dead drunk, fell asleep right there in the bar, snoring away until dawn broke.
—
The next noon.
Back home, Li Tie pulled out his phone and found that all his old friends had already successfully secured access and were downloading the game.
To him, this didn’t seem unusual.
Having downloaded the game directly through the link the first time himself, he didn’t realize that the link provided limited downloads and couldn’t be accessed freely at any time.
There was another reason why this group of veterans had been able to obtain access so easily.
All network activity on Starnet was under real-time monitoring by Guide. Once it detected that he intended to share the access with his fellow veterans, Guide immediately relayed this information to Qi Sheng.
In Qi Sheng’s eyes, veterans possessed far superior mental fortitude and combat instincts compared to ordinary players, making them ideal candidates for player recruitment.
—
One hour later.
At Li Tie’s invitation, the veteran squad officially logged into the game and appeared at the resurrection point of Emperor’s Mound Village.
The moment they entered the game, their reactions were completely different from other players.
What shocked them wasn’t the visuals before their eyes, but rather the restoration of their missing limbs.
“My hand… it’s back.”
One veteran raised his arm before his eyes. The familiar yet foreign sensation brought tears to his eyes.
His gaze fixated on the arm he had once lost, now completely restored, and a complex wave of emotions surged through him. His fingers trembled slightly, every subtle movement feeling like a dream.
At this moment, the nature of this game had completely changed in the eyes of these veterans.
The pain of physical disability had once been an unbearable life blow. The strength they showed in front of others could never hide the sorrow and loss within.
But in this game, their lost body parts had returned.
“Hahaha, looks like I might live out my days in this game after all. This feels amazing.” Waving his arms, one veteran couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Seeing the joy on his old friends’ faces, Li Tie also grinned from ear to ear.
“Come on, let me take you to experience the battlefield of this game.”
With a wave of his large hand, Li Tie led his old friends toward the exit of Emperor’s Mound Village. Along the way, the veterans looked around the village with curious eyes, finding the game’s realism unbelievable.
During the walk, Li Tie kept chattering, introducing the game’s mechanics and how to use various functions.
The arrival of his old friends filled Li Tie’s heart with joy.
Although he had already joined the guild his granddaughter had formed in this game, he had never been able to blend into the chat atmosphere of the Dinner Gang Guild. He always felt out of place, which was why he chose to play solo.
It was nowhere near as comfortable as spending time with these old comrades.
Leaving Emperor’s Mound Village, the thick fog that blocked their vision dispersed, and the scene before them made the veterans tense up.
Black mist covered the sky like massive waves, each layer rising higher than the last, crashing down and releasing countless monstrous creatures formed from Black Tide energy.
The terrifying scene was overwhelming, and the veterans instinctively assumed combat stances.
“These are Black Tide Evil Entities. In the game’s setting, they’re our greatest enemies. Killing Evil Entities grants evolution points, which significantly enhance our physical stats, letting you feel the strength, speed, and stamina we only had when we were young…”
As he finished speaking, golden light burst forth from Li Tie’s eyes. Five spirit weapons manifested and hovered around him before converging into streams of golden light, fusing into a golden battle axe.
His aura surged, ripples of power spreading outward from his feet. The attribute enhancements from the spirit weapon fusion manifested as golden rune marks on his body, making him look like a god of war.
“Commander, you look absolutely badass.”
“Boss, how did you pull this off? Make one for me too!”
—
Hearing his old comrades’ exclamations, Li Tie’s vanity was greatly satisfied. Staring into the distance at the raging Black Tide, he grinned and said.
“Watch carefully, the best part is yet to come.”
As his words fell, Li Tie leapt over ten meters into the air, his body tracing an arc before landing and jumping again. The battle axe in his hand burst into dazzling golden light, like a meteor slamming into the horde of Evil Entities.
A massive crater appeared instantly. The unleashed power obliterated the surrounding Evil Entities into black mist, which then swiftly contracted and condensed, surging toward him and merging into his body as energy.
“Boss, that was awesome! Do it again!”
“Commander, this game is amazing! But why can’t we jump as high as you?”
“Iron Bro, you’re mighty as ever. You’re making me remember how you charged through the Mechanical Army. So damn cool.”
In the voice channel, the veterans clapped and shouted excitedly, filling Li Tie with pure satisfaction and greatly boosting his fighting spirit.
Inspired by their commander’s fearless display, the old soldiers followed his instructions to switch into monster forms. Roaring loudly, they charged after Li Tie into the Evil Entity tide.
Ten minutes later.
Breaker Warband – Comrades Chat Group
Old Dog: I’m so pissed! I only killed two before I got wiped. Why the hell is there a one-hour death cooldown in this game?
Big Steel: Damn it, one-hour cooldown? I was just getting into the groove and now it’s over? I’m suffocating here! How do we skip the cooldown? Can we watch ads or something?
Ashes: This game is awesome. Charging alongside the commander felt like reliving our hot-blooded youth. I think my mind’s gotten a bit clearer already. Emotional release really does help ease the PTSD.
Machete: Damn it, why does this damn game have such a crappy respawn cooldown? What’s the point of this stupid design? Let me back in! I want to keep fighting!
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