On the boundless sea, the afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled down, casting a layer of shimmering ripples on the water.

A huge cruise ship floated quietly on the sea.

The hull looked very new, with a deep blue paint that sprayed out a few letters with a strong sense of artistry.

DawnoftheSeas

Ocean Dawn.

This was a very luxurious cruise ship, with 21 decks and nearly 4000 guest rooms.

Lush central park, an amusement park integrated with the opera house, a high-altitude zip line across the atrium, a rotating slide spanning the 17th deck, as well as pools and bars of different styles and themes, and a magnificent casino, all resembling a bustling city at sea.

But it was also very quiet.

No human voices could be heard, only the melodious piano sound gently wafting in the air.

The lights on the ship were all on, and it was only when you got closer that you could see the glaring crimson on the walls and floors.

In the top-level outdoor facilities, the passengers lay scattered on the ground, their eyes swollen, their lips blurred with blood and flesh, dead beyond death.

The pool was also stained red with blood, floating with scattered internal organs and several bodies with their faces down - the scene froze in this cruel and bloody moment.

[5886, Summer]

[Dawn Embrace]

[An unknown virus swept through the Ocean Dawn, killing all 12,366 people, including the crew, with a 100% mortality rate and the organs of the infected melting within 2-3 days, with no cure]

[At least the medicine on this ship couldn't save them]

[The transmission route of the virus is temporarily unknown]

[But it doesn't matter, don't worry]

[You've already been infected]

[Just like the other colleagues who came to investigate with you]

[You reported the situation here to your boss yesterday, the mission is completed, now there's only one thing left]

[You are a kind and responsible person, and you swore before boarding that you wouldn't let the virus kill your friends]

[So you choose to kill them yourself]

[Number of players in this game: 30]

[Mission: Kill as many people as possible before the virus outbreak, to help them find release]

[Difficulty: A]

[Time limit: 3 days]

[Temporary items have been distributed to individual backpacks, please check carefully]

The subtitles fell.

This novel is available on "pawread.com".

A square light curtain appeared around Gu Chi, along with a 60-second countdown that appeared in his eyes.

This was another difference between the competitive mode and other modes.

In team-based scenarios like "City of Intrigue," the countdown might mean clues and hints, while the competitive mode simply gave players time to prepare, observe the terrain, and think about tactical strategies.

Gu Chi's spawn point was in the top-level outdoor pool.

The field of vision was relatively open, but it was not a good place.

He didn't see any other players, but other players might see him inside the house.

According to the normal strategy, Gu Chi should quickly find a hiding place with cover in his field of vision within these 60 seconds to avoid being sniped, and then figure out a way to get a map of the cruise ship, making it easier to engage with other players later. However, just now, he saw that there were 30 players in this game...

"It seems like it's just a small-scale scenario?"

So Gu Chi didn't think it was necessary to be so complicated.

This cruise ship was indeed very large, the most luxurious cruise ship Gu Chi had ever seen, without a doubt. It was estimated that the length of the ship was at least 400 meters, exceeding Gu Chi's understanding of the length of the world's first cruise ship in the real world.

But it was still just a cruise ship.

No matter how big it was, it was still just a cruise ship, and couldn't be compared to a real city.

So, the preparation time of these tens of seconds didn't require thinking about how to play, just buffing up would be enough.

Xia Leng's sword provided him with an additional 10 points of attributes, and he now had 85 points of Dao Yun, which meant that as long as the buff consumption was below 35 points, he could infinitely stack a pile of icons on top of his head.

So Gu Chi began.

"Enlightenment Elixir."

"Rapid Casting."

"Quick Chanting."

"Increased Speech Speed."

"Silver Tongue..."

On the other side.

Ghostly Child was a little excited.

She was also on the top level.

The ground was covered with corpses and blood, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood, carrying a strange and eerie stench.

This scene was just fantastic!

It was tailor-made for her!

The last time Ghostly Child encountered such a vivid scenario was in a haunted hospital, where the walls of the corridor were covered in blood, similar to this cruise ship, incredibly beautiful.

Most importantly, she saw Gu Chi!

"Hmm... it should be him, right?"

Ghostly Child was hiding on the rounded roof of the amusement park opera house, and she saw a very handsome man on the other side of the pool.

Ghostly Child immediately knew how to play this game.

"I'll go over and ask him first, to see if he's the prophet."

"If not, just kill him."

"If he is..."

"Then imprison him!"

Ghostly Child's eyes sparkled with excitement.

She could go to the security room to find some ropes, preferably heavy iron chains - there were generally no police on a cruise ship, but there would be cells, and even a morgue.

The captain had the most power, and if passengers or crew violated the relevant regulations, they could be locked up, and the corresponding tools would naturally be prepared there, ready to be used when necessary.The cabins on this cruise ship are numerous. She put shackles on Gu Chi's hands and feet, gagged him, and threw him into a room at random. No one would be able to find him.

Once she kills all the other players, she can come back and have some fun with Mr. Prophet.

"What a perfect plan..."

Ghostly Child was getting a little impatient.

But she wasn't someone who acted solely on emotions.

She had the beginning and the end planned out, but she was missing the middle.

Ghostly Child opened the player panel for the competitive mode.

In theory, she should have the highest attributes in this game, but just to be safe, Ghostly Child wanted to see if she knew anyone, so she wouldn't accidentally miss the opportunity to imprison Mr. Prophet.

【Real-time Player Ranking】

【1. Player ID: I've Air Forced, Kills: 0】

【2. Player ID: Exploding Juice Knife Technique, Kills: 0】

【3. Player ID: Orange Orange Won't Wake Up, Kills: 0】

【4. Player ID: Gu Yuan: Kills: 0】

【5. Player ID: Ghostly Child: Kills: 0】

【6. Player ID: Lemon Ball: Kills: 0】

【7. Player ID: Lemon Ball's Dog: Kills: 0】

【8. Player ID: Spiral Explosion Head: Kills: 0】

【……】

"Huh? Orange Orange is here too?"

She was genuinely surprised to see a familiar ID other than Gu Chi's.

Ghostly Child was slightly taken aback.

There were some players in the Do Nothing group with total attributes between 110-130, but not Orange Orange.

Orange Orange's attributes were similar to hers, around 160+ two months ago, so they should be around 170 now.

This game is matched based on Gu Chi's attributes. According to her previous deduction, Mr. Prophet was just over 100, so the average player's attributes should fluctuate around 100, with a fluctuation value generally not exceeding 20 points. She had entered with the Twin Contract, which was already a bit of a wild card, so what was the situation with Orange Orange?

Ghostly Child didn't know that Orange Orange Won't Wake Up had also entered with the Twin Contract.

She contracted with Gu Chi, and Orange Orange Won't Wake Up contracted with her.

They secretly tied themselves together.

Orange Orange Won't Wake Up wanted to sneak a peek at what effect Ghostly Child's legend had, to satisfy her curiosity and to catch her off guard.

Good sisters should tear each other's clothes and pull each other's hair.

And it wasn't just the two of them who had used the Twin Contract in this game.

There was also a certain fisherman who couldn't catch any fish and a dragon king who was spraying water in the world channel.

I've Air Forced and Exploding Juice Knife Technique looked a bit numb at the moment.

Like Ghostly Child, they had contracted with Gu Chi.

There are four types of conscription mode, and other than the competitive mode, all the other modes have a proper task.

In other words, they were here to cling to the legendary powerhouse, which was in a sense another form of teaming up.

From the version progress and the withdrawn announcement, it was easy to guess that one of the first three players to clear the game had obtained a legendary item. Whether it was team mode, individual mode, or PVP mode, they could go to Gu Chi to form an alliance, follow Gu Chi, and take the opportunity to ask for a friend request. Only the competitive mode didn't allow this.

The scores in the competitive mode were all based on the number of heads. Players could never trust each other, and if they encountered someone reckless, it would be an all-out fight. They might not even recognize who Gu Chi was and would already be fighting to the death with someone else...

What's even more absurd is that there's a Ghostly Child.

In a competitive mode game, there were two legendary players.

How is this supposed to work?

I've Air Forced: "......"

Exploding Juice Knife Technique: "......"

Orange Orange Won't Wake Up looked at the leaderboard with some surprise, and her sleepy eyes brightened a bit, then became suspicious.

"Gu Yuan... What a coincidence?"

"We just cleared the game and got matched up again. Could these two be together?"

If that's the case, it's going to be a bit difficult.

Just one Ghostly Child, and Orange Orange Won't Wake Up wasn't too afraid, but with Gu Chi, she would only end up being rubbed on the ground by the two of them.

Especially by Gu Chi.

Orange Orange Won't Wake Up's perspective was completely different from Ghostly Child's. She knew that Ghostly Child's attributes were not low, and Gu Chi was probably Mr. Prophet, who had managed to get a score of 39 in strength, and at least should be on the same level as a score of 39, maybe even higher.

Orange Orange Won't Wake Up felt that this was a high-level game.

She had to play seriously!

Other players saw Gu Chi and Ghostly Child's IDs and were secretly pondering.

Some planned to play it safe, the longer they survived, the fewer enemies there would be, and they might even pick up some leftovers.

Some planned to start the game with a bang, betting on their luck.

With a total of 30 players, it wasn't certain that they would encounter Gu Chi or Ghostly Child right away. As long as they took two or three heads, this conscription wouldn't be a loss.

There was also a player in the control room who was planning to play it cool.

He had a "loudspeaker" in his room that could broadcast to the entire ship.

He wanted to call on the players to gather on the deck and join forces against Gu.

Although the legendary sounded fierce, it wasn't to the point of taking on 20 people at once. Instead of being defeated by everyone, it would be better to charge at him together.

As for whether these players believed it or not, or whether they would come, it didn't matter.

He would just hide on the deck after shouting a few times, and each person who came would be a win for him.

The more, the better. If they started fighting among themselves, he could profit from it.

In just 60 seconds, players in various locations on the cruise ship had a clearer idea in their minds.After all, as seasoned players, even with limited strength, they still possessed the most basic competitive strategies.

Perhaps their bodies couldn't keep up with their minds, but that didn't stop them from thinking about how to fight.

Unfortunately, plans can never keep up with changes.

The countdown was down to the last three seconds.

"3."

"2."

"1."

Just as the countdown ended, the screen vanished, and everyone was about to rush out, a murmuring whisper suddenly sounded in their ears.

The words were indistinct, the first half completely unintelligible, and the latter half was also hard to make out.

Because the person spoke extremely fast, like a rap song played at 4x speed, they hadn't even reacted before the words were finished.

"O great God of Destruction, please heed the prayers of your most devout follower. The sky is shrouded in gloom, the earth is filthy beyond measure. People have forsaken the kindness in their hearts, turning into demons through desire. The sunlight is no longer pure, human nature is left with nothing but greed. To burn away the sins of this world, please turn your wrath into a blazing flame and bestow it upon this world!"

Juicy Blade Technique: "?"

Orange Orange Sleepy: "?"

All players: "?"

What's this?

Is it the special BGM for the instance?

Why does it sound a bit... chuunibyou?

Ghostly Child was also puzzled.

She remembered that this was Gu Chi's voice.

She also saw that it was Gu Chi who was muttering with his head down.

But what was he muttering?

What's this about filth and burning away sins... A spell?

Yes, a spell.

As Gu Chi's words fell, an apocalyptic aura enveloped the entire cruise ship without warning.

"Buzz!"

A fiery red pillar of light burst forth from the Solitude Flame Crystal in Gu Chi's hands, shooting straight into the sky.

This channeling process should have occurred during the chanting of the forbidden spell, but Gu Chi recited it too quickly. With the enhancement of various buffs, his lips and tongue had the power of twenty years, causing the spell to finish before the Solitude Flame Crystal reacted, missing the beat by a wide margin.

Even the God of Destruction probably didn't expect Gu Chi to speak so quickly.

The skill's energy transmission to the sky, which normally required some time, was also sped up by the "Quick Cast," resembling a laser beam shooting straight up, gone in a flash.

The flame light circulating within the Solitude Flame Crystal was completely drained, turning it into a transparent crystal ball.

The dim sky was illuminated fiery red in an instant, and the clouds struck by the flame light ignited, turning black as if they were burning paper, disintegrating into ashes within the flames, leaving behind scattered sparks.

These charred black clouds gathered to form a massive vortex, blooming a heart-palpitating red at its center.

The next second.

"Boom!"

A flame pillar, several times thicker than before, descended from the sky, slamming onto the cruise ship like a fiery red steel rod, piercing straight through it into the seabed.

Vast swathes of seawater churned, evaporating into mist under the terrifying heat.

The shockwave from the impact spread first.

Inside the cruise ship's rooms, cups and glasses shattered in unison, debris flying everywhere.

The players below the top deck had no idea what had happened, but they were already sent flying, crashing into the walls.

Ghostly Child's clothes and skirt rustled in the wind raised by the shockwave, her sleeves billowed, her hair fluttered, and her delicate features were half-covered by the strands of hair stuck to her face.

She had seen the pillar of light fall and was somewhat prepared, managing to stand quite steadily, but just standing firm was useless...

The real destruction came after the shockwave.

"Boom!"

There was only a moment's pause before a towering inferno erupted from where the cruise ship met the pillar of light, sweeping over everything like a tidal wave, instantly submerging the pool, playground, casino, and other facilities.

Ghostly Child's eyes widened, her red lips parted slightly, her small face full of disbelief. Her slightly dazed eyes reflected the approaching firelight until it engulfed her, unable to react any further.

The other players were even less able to react.

They had just been thrown into the air, still stuck to the wall without touching the ground, when they saw a bright flame before their eyes and felt intense burning pain.

The storm-like flames, carrying scorching heat, shattered the walls, melting their flesh and bones together.

By this time, exactly 5 seconds had passed since the countdown ended.

The timer in the top right corner froze at 00:00:05.

Ghostly Child at least saw her Prophet Mister and witnessed some special effects, felt the sea breeze, but they didn't even catch a glimpse of a person, their vision already turning gray.

【You have died, returning to the settlement interface...】

My Air Force: "???"

Juicy Blade Technique: "???"

Orange Orange Sleepy: "???"

All players: "???"

What happened?

Why did I die as soon as the game started??

...

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