Chapter 39

"What place is this?"

Zhen Yu looked around.

After temporarily ensuring her safety, her instinct to take photos kicked in, and she began snapping pictures around the area.

This was a meadow covered with tender green grass.

In the four directions—east, south, west, and north—countless vines and plants similar to holly intertwined, forming a wall of vegetation that towered into the clouds, resembling the ancient city walls of a fortress.

Humans standing below felt as small as ants.

"I wonder what's beyond those plant walls?"

Zhao Siyu was worried.

"It's probably the venue for the second game, right?"

Xu Qingshan lay on the grass, a blade of grass in his mouth, gazing at the sky in a daze.

The others didn't have the energy to worry about such things.

Although they had only been in the Tower of God for about a day, almost everyone except Sun Yuan hadn't eaten or drunk anything, and they hadn't slept well. Now that they were temporarily safe, the fatigue set in, and many began to catch up on sleep.

Some extremely hungry players even grabbed handfuls of grass and chewed on them.

At the center of the meadow, there was an altar identical to the one in the mushroom forest, which now glowed again.

Zhao Siyu immediately looked over.

It was Chu Yuntao and his group being teleported over.

"Wow, quite a few people completed the task!"

Chu Yuntao muttered to himself. Upon seeing Sun Yuan, he cursed, but Li Minglu nodded and greeted him.

"Lu, look, it's Tang Yan and Tang Xia! Hey? Su Tanxia is here too!"

Chu Yuntao, seeing Tang Tang and Su Tanxia, became immediately excited and ran over. "I have two pigs, ready to roast. Do you want to join us for a meal?"

Everyone swallowed hard at the mention of food.

So hungry!

As the time approached 12 o'clock, many players who completed their tasks at the last moment were teleported over, forming a peak of arrivals. This quickly subsided, and the arrivals became sparse.

Sun Yuan glanced around; there were about four hundred survivors.

These were the players who would participate in the second game of the Tower of God. Perhaps a few lucky ones would still make it, but not many.

"Pay attention to these players; they might be our opponents!"

Sun Yuan reminded them.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The grand bell tolls echoed from somewhere, carrying an ancient and distant aura.

It was 12 o'clock.

Crackling.

Silver arcs of light flashed in the air, and a black cube appeared.

"Congratulations to all players for successfully passing the first game."

The voice of the Silver Horse sounded.

"Next is the elimination time. Winners can enjoy the tragic endings of the eliminated players."

Fifty large virtual screens were projected into the sky, like IMAX screens in a cinema, clearly showing the players still in the mushroom forest.

...

Chen Yang punched away a male college student who tried to grab him and die with him, and sprinted towards the altar with all his might.

But just as he stepped onto the stairs, time ran out.

Bang!

His head exploded, and the splattered blood and flesh fragments fell like the glow of fireworks, carrying the last light of life.

Thud!

The headless body fell to the ground.

This cruel scene made Shen Jingran cover her mouth, feeling nauseous and terrified, with a lingering fear.

This male student, Chen Yang, had been pursuing her. He came from a good family and was very hardworking. If nothing unexpected happened, he would either start his own business or become a civil servant after graduation, living a comfortable life and being a winner in life.

But now, because of this game, he was dead.

"If I didn't have Sun Yuan's help, I would have ended up like this too!"

Shen Jingran muttered, deciding to cling to Sun Yuan for support.

"It's Yang Limin!"

Zhuo Wen pointed to a screen, showing it to Sun Yuan.

On the screen, a group of people were fighting over mushrooms. Yang Limin was among them, and then a player's head suddenly exploded.

Bang!

The fallen body and the bright red blood further stimulated the nerves of the others, making their battles even more frenzied.

"Don't eliminate me, I'm about to get three mushrooms!"

A player shouted, but it was useless, and he was still eliminated.

"This Silver Horse is a sadistic killer!"

Xu Qingshan cursed.

It didn't eliminate them all at once but one by one, with a brief pause in between, which was a torment for those who were destined to die.

It would have been better to just kill them quickly.

Finally, only Yang Limin was left. She excitedly pried three dew mushrooms from a male college student's corpse and shouted to the sky.

"Silver Horse, look, I have three dew mushrooms."

Yang Limin raised her arms high, afraid that the Silver Horse wouldn't see.

One second!

Two seconds!

...

The air was silent.

Just as Yang Limin thought she had passed and was about to breathe a sigh of relief, she heard a nightmare-like voice.

"Player Yang Limin, you failed to reach the teleportation array within the specified time, elimination!"

The Silver Horse declared.

Yang Limin was desperate, unable to even curse before her head exploded.

Li Wan, frightened, clung to Sun Yuan's arm.

A classmate had died, and it was a terrible death.

...

"It's Xu Jing!"

Bao Qi poked Wang Yu's arm.

"I... I see it!"

Wang Yu's voice trembled.

He Ming's death made Xu Jing realize she was doomed, and she went crazy, shouting and running around. Then her head exploded.

Seeing this, Bao Qi warned herself that she must not defy Sun Yuan and let him abandon her.

...

Each virtual screen showed the elimination of players.

Sun Yuan saw Dean Wang Shuyuan.

He was leading over thirty players, encouraging them.

"Don't be afraid, I will protect you!"

Wang Shuyuan reassured the students and shouted to the sky, "Silver Horse, I want to negotiate with you!"

"I am the Dean of the Foreign Languages College and Vice President of Ancient City University. I will become an academician next year, and I have several research achievements..."

Wang Shuyuan listed his credentials, not to boast but to show the Silver Horse that he had the capital to negotiate.

A person like him would receive the highest honors even abroad.

Unfortunately, in front of the Silver Horse, even a president of a country was as insignificant as a worm, with no value.

Bang!

Wang Shuyuan's head exploded like a rotten watermelon.

Thud!

The body fell to the ground.

The students were stunned for a moment, then scattered in panic, but it was useless. Their heads exploded one by one, and their bodies fell one after another.

Whistle!

Chu Yuntao whistled, "What a spectacle!"

"The world has changed; the old social hierarchy is collapsing."

Tang Yan sighed, "In the future, whoever can conquer more Towers of God will be the elite!"

"Is that bad?"

Tang Tang asked.

Tang Yan raised an eyebrow and laughed, "Of course not, such a world is more fun!"

...

Near the altar, all human sounds had ceased.

Fan Youbao, lying on the ground, sat up, looked around in a daze, and saw only corpses, scattered like ants trampled by children.

"I... I didn't die?"

Fan Youbao felt a surge of joy and quickly checked his phone.

12:05.

"Could it be that I'm a lucky one who was spared from death?"

Fan Youbao stood up, looked at the altar, and hurriedly walked over, then ran.

If one could live, who would willingly give up their life?

If I can survive and go back, I want to fall in love, even if my girlfriend is a bit ugly...

Fan Youbao thought, standing on the teleportation array.

"Player Fan Youbao, the game time has ended, and you failed to complete the task, elimination!"

Fan Youbao was stunned, and then he cursed.

Damn!

Bang!

Fan Youbao's head exploded.

...

The forest was completely silent.

The virtual screens showed a scene of deathly stillness. Soon, insects crawled onto the corpses, ready to feast on the abundant meal, and then the screens disappeared, showing three lines of text.

Tower of God Game, First Level: Little Red Riding Hood Picking Mushrooms.

Participants: 1000.

Deaths: 587.

Survivors: 413.

"More than half the players died?"

Zhen Yu drew a sharp breath. She had thought the game was simple.

"I now realize that looking for mushrooms was a foolish act. We should have found food first, eaten and drunk, then recruited a group of strong companions, and then robbed other players of their mushrooms."

Zhao Siyu reflected.

Not everyone was as smart as Sun Yuan, who could discover the key to passing this level. So, the players searched for mushrooms in a carpet-like manner, wasting time and energy, and becoming exhausted.

By the time they were robbed, they couldn't keep the mushrooms.

Looking at the players gathered on the meadow, almost none were lone wolves; they were all temporary teams.

Regardless of their combat strength, at least in numbers, others would think twice before robbing them.

"Players, you must work hard, or you will end up like these eliminated players, dying in the game!"

The Silver Horse's tone was teasing, as if afraid the players weren't tense enough.

"The next level is the Maze Escape!"

Sun Yuan, hearing the name of this level, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Great, it's the same as in the mobile game, no changes.

I've played it!

"After the game starts, you will be driven into a maze. Find the correct path and escape the maze to pass the level."

The Silver Horse explained the rules: "The game time is 24 hours. If you don't escape the maze by then, you will be eliminated!"

"The game will start in ten minutes. Wishing all players a pleasant game!"

The Silver Horse disappeared.

"Only ten minutes? I can't even finish slaughtering the pigs!"

Chu Yuntao cursed.

"What to eat? Keep it, this might be the key to passing the level!"

Li Minglu looked at the players, his gaze finally landing on Sun Yuan, wondering how he would perform in this level.

Should I follow him?

Ten minutes passed in a flash, and the game began.