Chapter 80-1: Gene Modification Division (1) |
Returning to the Primordial Altar, Qi Sheng sat cross-legged.
The brief journey was over, and he returned to his busy routine, browsing through player-generated information to seek directions for updates and optimizations.
The Mechanical Overlord he encountered on this trip had already been marked as a hostile force by him.
Its goal of crushing Monster World directly opposed his ultimate objective.
However, this hostile force could be set aside for now.
At least until the player army advanced into the Earthquake Continent, it posed no substantial threat to their development.
In his eyes, the vast expanse of Monster World had grown wonderfully complicated during the years since the disappearance of the Four Gods.
The terrifying Black Tide, the Anti-Tide Legion, the Mechanical Overlord… Clearly, many new powers had risen in this ancient and boundless world, playing out an unprecedented grand epic of power struggles.
This future of countless powers vying for supremacy filled Qi Sheng with anticipation.
Thinking of this, Qi Sheng looked up at the floating Guide water sphere beside him.
“Guide, if I attempt to win over this unknown Eight Extreme God using my Emperor’s Sign identity, what are the odds of success?”
[Boss, without concrete conditions to analyze, I don’t know whether the Anti-Tide can be recruited… Before we fully understand their situation, it’s better not to make contact. The identity of the Emperor’s Sign heir is too sensitive. Recklessly exposing it will surely attract attention from numerous factions, including betrayers who covet the power of the Emperor’s Sign and powerful external enemies.]
Qi Sheng nodded in understanding.
The Four Retainers had said similar things to him before.
The Emperor was the creator of Monster World; even the force behind the Black Tide could not refuse its power.
Before acquiring enough strength, exposing his identity would be suicide.
At that point, countless powers would gather, leaving no room for the player army to grow, and he would completely lose the initiative, becoming the focus of contention and swept along by the currents.
This was also why he chose to burn sacrificial power for hunting expeditions.
Without dwelling on it further, Qi Sheng shifted his attention to the forum.
While scrolling quickly, a post refreshed just three seconds earlier caught his eye.
[It’s finally my turn to strike it rich. Posting to draw attention before I complete the containment. The more you flame me, the happier I get, because I know you’re jealous. If you want to rant, come to my livestream. Even better if you throw me some tips.]
Poster: First Kill My Teammate
Content: (Livestream link)
—
Qi Sheng switched his view to the livestream.
Through Guide clone’s camera, three players were shown battling a vibrant green plant at a volcanic crater west of the Earthfissure Furnace region.
The plant’s roots were stabbed deep into the ground, while its branches and trunk lashed like flexible whips, striking the three players and making them cry out loudly. Each hit left red welts on their bodies, and the Black-Scaled Serpent in the lead had its scales torn off in large patches, its flesh lacerated.
Yet none of the players backed down, continuing to fight while howling in pain.
In the lower left corner of the screen was the analysis screenshot:
[Extraction (First-Generation Primordial)]:
Hunt Level: 18
Guide Analysis: A special monster wielding Primordial Power, possessing the unique ability to extract plant essence.
—
Seeing it was a Primordial Monster, the chat in the livestream was flooded with ‘You bastards deserve to die.’
What frustrated the watching players most was that this trio was clearly on the verge of successfully containing the Primordial.
Most of Extraction’s whipping branches had already broken, and its attack frequency was steadily decreasing. Containment was now only a matter of time.
“Serpent Constriction!”
With a roar, the ten-meter-long Black-Scaled Serpent player charged through the dense whipping branches and tightly coiled around Extraction.
“Ow, ow, ow, hurry up and deal damage! My soul’s about to get whipped out!”
Even with 90% of the pain dampened, the remaining 10% still made the Black-Scaled Serpent player grimace. He then bit into Extraction’s trunk, his sharp teeth puncturing the surface and digging deep inside.
The other two teammates raised their hands, conjuring black fireballs and hurling them at Extraction.
Upon contact, the fireballs turned into tongues of flame that spread across Extraction, but within seconds, the green glow emitted from Extraction’s body extinguished the flames, preventing any continuous damage.
The brutal battle continued for another five minutes.
Extraction completely lost the energy to fight, its branches drooping weakly.
As two large fireballs struck it again, the black flames no longer extinguished, burning fiercely. Extraction’s branches withered and shrank.
The Black-Scaled Serpent teammate, still entangled, was also ignited by the black flames. Once he loosened his coiled body, he collapsed to the ground and rolled around.
“You ungrateful bastards, get me a potion! I’m dying here!”
“Damn it, I swear I’ll never play melee again next life. This is pure torture. I’ve taken more beatings today than my whole life combined. My soul almost got whipped out!”
As the leading player cursed, the other two quickly stepped in to help, muttering as they fought.
“Brother Dian, melee is the true path of real men. You’re the strongest in our squad, so melee suits you best.”
“Brother Dian, hurry up and switch to Gargoyle. The Black-Scaled Serpent’s tanking isn’t strong enough. Only the brutal Gargoyle is truly suited for your soul imprint.”
While the trio chatted, a system-wide announcement rang out.
[Challenger Notification (Global): Congratulations to players ‘First Kill My Teammate’, ‘I Am Teammate’, and ‘I Am Hero’ for successfully defeating the First-Generation Primordial monster Extraction. Sacrificial power reward: 10,000 points (shared among participants).]
Amidst the barrage of spam in the livestream chat, the three players laughed happily.
The leading player, after switching back to human form, ran his visibly swollen head through his hair in front of the camera and flamboyantly said:
“Containing a Primordial? Easy. End of stream!”
The livestream feed was cut off.