Player Reload

In the deep of night, at 408, Building 2, Yunjin Road, Saige Tower Technology Industrial Park, Puluo District of Yin City.

This is a standalone three-story building styled in an antique fashion, with whitewashed walls and green tiles, intricately carved beams, and painted rafters on the outside, while the inside is classically furnished, brimming with antiquity and elegance.

Li Cheng sat in the third-floor office, looking out the window.

In the past few hours, he had followed Zhangsun Yao to visit the Yin City branches of numerous organizations.

The solutions offered by Prometheus Company did not include a complete cure. The conditions provided by other organizations weren't much different.

Derek Acheson, the research director of Gen-Sys Biotech Company, stated that their latest gene suppressor could confidently extend Li Cheng's life to six months.

The price was that Li Cheng needed to sign a contract, ceding his personal rights to the GS Company in his final stage of life, allowing them to perform a series of experiments on him, including live dissection and drug testing.

A guild called Thousand Throats Beast, specializing in selling monster magic pets, offered to turn Li Cheng into a Corpse Demon, leaving something for his family to remember him by and to serve as a bodyguard.

A guild called Demon Scientist Alliance proposed extracting Li Cheng's soul to create a long-term preservable soul crystal, at the cost of being permanently trapped in a container, unable to interact with the outside world.

Relatively speaking, the most reliable was a guild named Whale Song, specialists in computer and electronic information technology.

Their latest technology could scan and upload part of a person's consciousness, achieving a form of "electronic immortality" in some sense.

However, this technology still had many unsolved problems. The "person" uploaded to the server had only a few minutes of life, could not retain memories, and could only endlessly cycle through the same existence.

Li Cheng did not consider this a "cure," and when he inquired about purchasing player abilities for himself to enter the killing field and seek a cure, all the organizations gave negative responses.

At any time, player abilities are an extremely cherished resource. Aside from automatic selection by the killing field, the only other acquisition method was through the "non-player killing player to take their ability."

When the Slaughter Field Game was first launched and there were no rules to speak of, low-level players were no different from livestock.

Transnational corporations, gangs, terrorist organizations, regional warlords, and even violent institutions like the CIA would regularly hunt for players, kill them, and transfer their abilities to their "own people."

If a player wanted to fight back desperately, they would abduct their family in advance, force them into submission, and make them hand over all resources acquired from the killing field, similar to "breeding."

Only when the early players grew stronger and gradually gained the ability to resist modern weapons did a balance begin to emerge.

Transnational corporations no longer collected abilities through violence but turned to cooperate with civilian players, offering high salaries to buy them out, hire them, or even intermarry.

Civilian Summoners also spontaneously formed guilds to counterbalance transnational corporations and the state apparatus, ultimately reaching a dynamic equilibrium and establishing a set of basic rules, moving away from barbaric growth.

To this day, any guild organization that wishes to maintain a good reputation won't publicly sell player abilities.

If they do, it's in extremely special circumstances—such as if a non-human species killed a human player and acquired their ability, and the guild happened to capture that magic beast/ghost/demon/mechanical body, then there's no need to consider human rights.

Gathering his thoughts, Li Cheng surveyed the office.

Each painting on the wall came to life: sailors on ships in oil paintings screamed at the top of their lungs, struggling against the waves and winds by reefing the sails.

In the ink wash painting, a waterfall cascaded down, stirring up mist, while ancient figures by the pond played chess.

Below the scrolls was a row of locked glass cabinets, housing various items. Ranging from glistening ancient daggers to long-barreled flintlock guns, from red paper Chinese bridal garments to unactivated light saber hilts.

Beside the glass cabinet stood two movable blackboards, covered with numerous bounty notices.

[Meng Xiucheng, male, 40 years old, Lv17, not affiliated with any guild. Caused a red-level abnormal incident in Meng City to enhance his own Strength, and now likely hiding in the killing field (-52, 17, 290) area. Bounty: 7500]

[Lynn, female, age unknown, Lv27, former Demon Scientist Alliance member. Extremely dangerous, please report immediately to the Global Supernatural Alliance if encountered in the killing field, and any valuable information provided will be rewarded with over 2000]

[Bounty for an unhatched Dragon Egg, a requirement for metallic dragons from the magical system such as brass dragons, bronze dragons, copper dragons, gold dragons, silver dragons, etc. Compensation is negotiable]

[Three Soul Capturing Monsters for sale with integrity, all home-bred with pedigree certificates, tame and suitable for guarding homes]

[Eugene, male, 30 years old, Lv10, former Bell Tower member, fled after stealing seven Gold arrows from the guild, now likely hiding in Yin City]

As the business card stated, World Nuclear House's scope of business was extremely broad, not just undertaking private commissions, but also cooperating with other guild organizations.

The office door squeaked open from the outside, and Zhangsun Yao walked in, carrying a grey chinchilla on her shoulder and placing two rows of brown ampoules containing a transparent liquid on the table.

"These are strong gene inhibitors I obtained through European Heavy Industry channels. Although European Heavy Industry isn't as specialized in the field of biological engineering as GS Company, they are also industry pioneers."

Zhangsun Yao sat in the executive chair and said, "Thirty vials of medication, take one every two days, can suppress the insectoid reaction and extend your life as a human to two months."

"Thank you."

Li Cheng nodded, and in accordance with the agreement, he placed the semi-solid black grease he had previously seized from Cai Zixuan on the table as the agreed-upon compensation.

Zhangsun Yao glanced at the black grease, and a series of descriptions appeared in her line of sight.

[Name: Mad Laughter Ash]

[Type: Consumable]

[Quality: Fine]

[Special Effect: Curtain Call Performance. After application, it significantly enhances physical fitness for a period of time, while falling into an uncontrollable bloodthirsty frenzy. If one survives the frenzied stage, the enhancement effect will be permanently retained]

[Consumption: None]

[Cooling Time: None]

[Use Conditions: Not subjected to any supernatural enhancements]

[Note: Western theater originated from Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. This product is made from the volcanic ash of Pompeii, thanks to which, modern people can learn that the Ancient Romans had gray skin, no hair, and liked to lie on the floors of their homes using stones as blankets.]

[Note: When unhappy, go for a ride in a convertible; when sad, take a helicopter ride.]

"Fine quality Mad Laughter Ash?"

Zhangsun Yao tucked away the black grease, surprised, "You've encountered someone from the Wild Laughter Troupe?"

"Sort of." Li Cheng thought of the giant in the hospital, "Was this made by them?"

Hmm, the Wild Laughter Troupe is an infamous atypical guild with no strict management structure and probably not even a headquarters."

Zhangsun Yao said, "The members of the troupe pursue dramatic effects as their life's goal. Sometimes they appear out of nowhere to help official organizations resolve anomalies, and sometimes they are the creators of the anomalies themselves.

This stuff is one of their props, it can greatly enhance physical fitness at the cost of entering a bloodthirsty frenzy.

Once, they mixed a barrel of this stuff into the meals at an international summer camp, leading to over a hundred little school children from various countries fighting each other to death, with only one survivor.

And the reason turned out to be that someone in the troupe wanted to write an article called 'Competition at the Summer Camp.'

These people are a mix of pleasure criminals, lunatics, jesters, psychopaths, paranoids, and crazies; it's difficult to predict their actions based on the concept of interest, so it's best not to deal with them if you can."

"Understood, thank you for the reminder."

Li Cheng nodded, packed up the vial, and took it with him.

"Wait a moment." Zhangsun Yao took out two more items and tossed them to Li Cheng.

One was a spray can with black packaging, similar to an air freshener, and the other was a bottle of pills.

"The spray can contains Odor Remover, which can eliminate all the strange scents on your body and prevent you from being discovered by the other Master of Insects' hosts.

The pills in the bottle increase heart rate and pulse without side effects."

Zhangsun Yao said, "The Special Affairs Bureau's Sky-Net surveillance system contains a technology called Eulerian Video Magnification.

This technology can filter video pixel brightness, and by observing the extremely subtle changes in facial color as the blood circulates, it can detect the heartbeat and pulse frequency.

Transcendents have physical fitness far beyond ordinary people, and their heartbeats and pulses will unconsciously slow down. The Special Affairs Bureau has identified many outliers hidden in crowds based on this indicator.

Your current heartbeat level is fine, but during genetic mutation, you might still be detected by security cameras in places like high-speed train stations and airports with strict security measures.

Consider these two items as freebies, no charge. If you have more good stuff in the future, you can come and barter with me."

"Okay."

Li Cheng accepted the two gifts, stood up to say goodbye, and left the World Nuclear House. Facing the cold wind, he breathed into his palms and walked into the vast night.

Zhangsun Yao lay in her boss chair, reclining with her hands behind her head and her long legs resting on the desk, her sparkling eyes gazing at the moon outside the window, lost in thought.

"Squeak squeak squeak—"

The gray chinchilla on her shoulder called out a few times. She turned her head to glance at her pet and said casually, "You ask why I am so earnest with him? Hmm... maybe I see a former self in him."