Chapter 9

After improving his stamina a bit, Yuan Chenfei indeed felt much more relaxed.

According to the rules of the Gods' Game, every time a professional advances a level, the required energy actually increases by thirty percent. This means that to hunt monsters one level lower, one needs to kill 130 of them. If two levels lower, it's 169, and if three levels lower, it's 220.

This is also the lowest level allowed by the Gods' Game. Professionals hunting monsters four levels lower will not gain any energy or benefits, and even skills like skinning cannot be used.

Since Yuan Chenfei was already at level 2, and the animals were still at level 1, he needed to kill 130 of them to advance to the next level.

However, due to the increase in his constitution and stamina, Yuan Chenfei found it even easier to kill them, and he achieved his goal in just one hour.

It was already 6 PM.

The Gods' Game had officially begun, and whether people believed it or not, this world-changing event was destined to sweep across the entire globe.

After reaching level 3, Yuan Chenfei gained another skill point, which he again allocated to stamina, further enhancing his endurance.

Then he processed the monster corpses he had received, killed another batch of rabbits, and collected 300 rabbit skins. He left the farm for the second time to gather various materials to complete his life profession tasks.

It was still smooth sailing—monsters were scarce, and even if a couple appeared, they posed no threat to Yuan Chenfei.

Yuan Chenfei quickly completed the gathering skill task.

Seeing that the time was about right, he headed towards the tower.

However, this time, the tower area was not empty.

In the vast area, a few people could be seen walking around.

Seeing Yuan Chenfei enter, a bare-chested man laughed and said, "Oh, a new person. You're the ninth one, not bad."

Yuan Chenfei smiled inwardly but said nothing.

He didn't have time to chat and went straight to the Medusa's small shop, taking out a bag of materials and saying, "Turn in the task."

The Medusa took the bag, glanced at it, and smiled. "Well done, you've completed all three branches. Congratulations, you have successfully become a Gatherer."

Yuan Chenfei felt a warmth from the totem mark on his body, and a new line appeared below the Brutal Beastmaster.

Life Profession: Gatherer.

Possesses life skills: 1. Appraisal, 2. Gathering (Perfect Level), 3. Skinning (Perfect Level), 4. Mining (Perfect Level).

The greatest benefit of Perfect Level Gathering is that it can maximize the integrity of the collected items, preventing damage. Additionally, many special creatures can only be gathered with a high-level Gathering skill. Low-level Gathering either cannot gather them or severely damages the target.

"Thank you," Yuan Chenfei said politely, then left without further ado—having killed hundreds of rabbits, he was only turning in a portion of them, and the rest he planned to sell.

"Three hundred rabbit skins, four hundred thirty rabbit meats," Yuan Chenfei tapped the counter.

Puppet Paroro laughed and said, "I didn't expect you to have such a bountiful harvest so quickly. Alright, three hundred rabbit skins, one white crystal each, and rabbit meat, one white crystal each, four hundred thirty white crystals, a total of seven hundred thirty white crystals. Here you go."

Paroro handed seven green crystals and thirty white crystals to Yuan Chenfei.

The currency in the Gods' Game is divided into white, green, and purple units, with a hundred as the base unit. One purple crystal is equivalent to ten thousand white crystals, or ten thousand dollars.

Holding the crystals, Yuan Chenfei said, "Give me seven bottles of Blood Combat Potion, and rent me a material bag with the rest."

The material bag can hold an infinite amount of materials but is very expensive. Yuan Chenfei couldn't afford it, so he had to rent it.

"Wow?" Paroro exclaimed, "Seven bottles of Blood Combat Potion cost seven green crystals. You're really generous."

Paroro took back the crystals and gave Yuan Chenfei seven bottles of potion and a material bag.

At this moment, the man who had spoken to Yuan Chenfei earlier saw this and was shocked. "You're not a first-timer?"

Yuan Chenfei ignored him and walked out.

The man chased after him, shouting, "Hey, what number are you? What number?"

Yuan Chenfei ignored him and kept walking.

The man grabbed Yuan Chenfei, determined not to let him go until he got an answer.

Yuan Chenfei gave him a cold look. "Let go."

The man laughed. "Just tell me, I'm curious. I can't stand not knowing."

"I won't tell you," Yuan Chenfei grabbed back, trying to break free. The man was stubborn and refused to let go, and the two of them started to struggle.

The man failed to grab him and was instead shaken off by Yuan Chenfei.

The man exclaimed, "You're a warrior too, and your strength is even a bit greater than mine."

The Gods' Game gives everyone the same enhancement, but the initial differences between individuals mean that even after advancing, there are still subtle differences. These differences will become less noticeable as everyone's strength grows, but at the beginning, the initial differences are still quite apparent.

The man didn't know that Yuan Chenfei wasn't a warrior, but he was already at level 3, and his physical attributes had been enhanced three times, making him stronger. The man would only need to reach level 2 to match Yuan Chenfei in strength.

However, Yuan Chenfei wasn't interested in explaining and said coolly, "Want to know what number I am? Simple, beat me, and I'll tell you."

With that, he turned and left.

"Tch, so arrogant," the man muttered.

——

7 PM.

The second hour of the official start of the Gods' Game.

Yuan Chenfei was still practicing in the chicken farm, while a few quick-witted and decisive individuals had already embarked on the path of leveling up to embrace their new lives.

Most people, however, were still in a state of confusion, still struggling to digest and understand the sudden changes.

Xuguang City.

Xia Ning stood on the balcony, looking up at the sky.

The Heavenly Palace was located in the ninth heaven, obscured by clouds, and should have been invisible.

Yet, from the ground, the five Heavenly Palaces could be seen clearly, ignoring the clouds and even the curvature of the Earth. Despite being in five different directions on Earth, they could be seen from any angle on the ground, as if the Earth had flattened.

There was no scientific explanation for this.

The TV was still broadcasting news about the Heavenly Palace.

This was the will of the gods, and the governments of various countries had no choice but to comply.

The broadcaster, though seemingly calm, could not hide the fear in his heart as he explained the purpose of the gods' arrival, revealing a harsh reality: humans, who were the masters of Earth just a day ago, had now become pawns in the Gods' Game.

Xia Ning frowned, picked up the remote control, and changed the channel, but it was still about the Heavenly Palace—there were probably no other programs to broadcast at this time.

Xia Ning switched to a foreign channel, where a general was passionately declaring that humans would never accept servitude and called for all humans to fight to the death against the gods.

"Tch," Xia Ning sneered.

"Little sister," Xia Guanghe walked in from outside.

He was about to speak when Xia Ning raised her hand to stop him. "Let me guess, the meeting is over, and everyone has decided to accept the will of the Heavenly Palace and abandon resistance."

"How did you guess?" Xia Guanghe looked at his sister with admiration.

His sister had always been quick-witted and politically astute.

"It's not hard to guess. The technological gap is too large... if it is technology," Xia Ning looked up at the sky, where the distant Heavenly Palace seemed so clear, as if it were right in front of her. "All talk about humans vowing never to be slaves is nonsense. Comfortable lives have long eroded the fighting spirit of countless people. If everyone had the noble and rare quality of never yielding, it wouldn't be so rare."

Xia Guanghe shook his head. "The most important thing is that everyone believes this is not a war of annihilation. The gods... let's assume they are gods, are not invading us."

Xia Ning sneered. "Not invading? Treating humans as toys is not considered an invasion? Of course, as a form of self-comfort, this is understandable. It's better than being crushed like a cicada trying to stop a cart."

Xia Guanghe was speechless.

Yes, there would be no resistance, no war.

The gap was too large, so large that there could be no doubt about the outcome.

In such a situation, resistance was meaningless, and the outcome was predetermined.

The calls for resistance by a few individuals seemed to satisfy the psychological need of not wanting to be slaves, but in reality, they could do nothing. If they really succeeded, it might even be a disaster.

The general on TV was still speaking passionately, but the picture was starting to flicker.

Electricity was becoming scarce, and the world was about to fall into darkness.

But soon, a new light arrived.

Xia Guanghe took out a small crystal and inserted it into the power socket of the TV.

The picture stabilized.

"This is a crystal we just obtained. It has been confirmed that it can be used as a universal energy source. One crystal can provide the equivalent of 100 kilowatt-hours of electricity."

"One crystal can provide 100 kilowatt-hours?" Xia Ning was surprised.

"Yes, it has been confirmed."

"How do we get it?"

"By killing monsters and selling them to the tower area... this is the new currency of the future."

Xia Ning fell silent.

She lowered her head and thought for a long time.

She said, "Is this a game?"

"Um."

"Then what are the rules of the game?"

"We don't know yet. The gods haven't said, and we have to figure it out ourselves. The only thing we know now is... to kill monsters and level up."

"This is absurd."

"No absurdity, no game."

"What do Father and the others think?"

"They want to wait and see if we can negotiate with the gods." Xia Guanghe pointed upwards, a gesture that now specifically referred to the gods.

Xia Ning's face showed anger. "What else is there to wait for? Since the matter is already decided, we need to act quickly."

Xia Guanghe shook his head. "It's not that easy. From now on, the rules of the world have changed. We don't know what the future will be like. Acting hastily could lead to irreparable consequences."

"But missing the opportunity could put us far behind others."

"That's the risk," Xia Guanghe replied.

The larger the organization, the more cautious they must be. Even if many things are clear, once it involves mobilizing millions of people, it requires repeated consideration and weighing.

In comparison, individuals have it much easier. Someone like Yuan Chenfei, who acts immediately, doesn't need to consider the consequences.

Xia Ning understood Xia Guanghe's response but was also deeply disappointed.

She thought for a moment and said, "I understand that Father and the others need to be cautious. But for you and me, is it really necessary to be so cautious?"

Xia Guanghe smiled. "That's right. Father's idea is that, since they are older, they need to be more careful. We young people, with our energy, can be the vanguard and explore this new world."

A new world, new rules.

From now on, no one knows what the future will be like.

Some are unwilling to accept the changes and vow to resist; some cling to the old ways and watch cautiously; and of course, some are proactive and embrace the new era...