Chapter 1 Hour into the Game, New Changes Arise

An hour after the start of the competition, forces from all sides ran into each other on narrow paths, and battles sprang up one after another throughout the city.

But at this moment, in the center of the Maze City, new changes were occurring…

Here, there was originally an open square covered with pebbles. But now, it had become the most polluted area in the entire city.

The pungent smell of sulfur permeated the air, obsidian shards covered the ground like sand, and small hills piled with corpses could be seen everywhere…

In the middle of the square stood a huge gate, more than ten meters high and about four meters wide. One side of the gate was shrouded in a black, misty miasma, while the other side was closed.

Near the top of the gate frame were five magic arrays of different colors, arranged in the five-pointed positions of a pentagram. Each of the five arrays was painted with obscure divine patterns, but at this moment, all five of these imprints had dimmed…

Suddenly, a crisp sound.

The light on the magic imprints completely disappeared, crumbling away…

The gate… opened…

On the other side of the Demon Gate was a horrifying scorched earth.

If the scene on the city side was a living hell, then the place on the other side of the gate… was hell itself.

At this moment, a blurry black figure was slowly walking towards the gate that connected the two spaces.

And the monsters bred from the evil forces in the city, the Time Lord's officials, the jurors of the Court of Truth, including the derivatives… all sensed the approach of a powerful being at this moment.

Even its mere "approach" was enough to make those low-level monsters tremble. Countless heart-wrenching wails and frantic roars resounded throughout the city, all of them expressing a kind of despair.

That monarch symbolizing the end had descended upon this land…

…………

At the same time, the real world.

Somewhere in Corpse Blade Studio.

"What? You're only reporting this to me after one o'clock?" The person speaking was the head of their game department, who was currently scolding a staff member with a deep frown.

"What's wrong?" Coincidentally, the manager on duty that night also passed by the corridor, holding a cup of coffee from the vending machine in his hand. "What's going on?"

The head of the department glanced at the staff member, sighed, and held up a paper form in his hand. "Look at this yourself. This is the monitoring data sent back from 'Corpse Blade – For the Win' two minutes ago."

The manager took the paper and looked at it while drinking his coffee, nearly spitting it out. "What's going on? Did he not take his medicine?"

The staff member looked very wronged. "He said he took it."

"He 'said' he took it?" The head of the department immediately repeated in a questioning tone.

The staff member also got a little angry, glaring at the head of the department and saying, "Then what else do you want? Do you want us to go to the休息室 and watch him take it? Feed him?"

"You…" The head of the department was choked speechless. In fact, he knew very well that this matter couldn't be blamed on anyone else. Entering the pod without taking his medicine was definitely Corpse Blade - For the Win's own problem.

"Alright, alright." The manager was an understanding person. He knew that the head of the department was the kind of person who thought of shirking responsibility rather than solving problems when faced with any bad situation. Many second-rate middle and lower-level managers had this common problem. "If For the Win threw away the medicine and lied about taking it, there's nothing we can do. We can't see any abnormalities in the readings when he logs into the space, only when he enters the script will the monitoring equipment show different data." He looked at the staff member. "You discovered it in a timely manner, very good. Go back to your post."

Upon hearing this, the staff member turned and left, but was glared at fiercely by the head of the department as he left.

The manager then said to the head of the department, "This matter could be big or small… I have to call the boss and ask him how to handle it. You go back to work too."

"Okay…" The head of the department replied and left.

The manager looked at the other party's back and snorted disdainfully. "Hmph… you're useless. I'll fire you tomorrow." He then looked down at the form again, pondered for a few seconds, and muttered, "This kid… could it be that he was stimulated by something and suddenly had the idea… to have a 'fair and square competition' in the finals…" He shook his head. "Does he really think of himself as some so-called 'expert'? Hmph… if you really had the strength of a star player, would you still be working at Corpse Blade…"

…………

Game world, somewhere in the north of the city.

"We meet again." [Feichai Shu] said, holding a cigarette in his mouth, with his hands in his pockets, looking at [Corpse Blade - For the Win] in front of him. "You retreated quite decisively last time."

"I won't run away this time." When Corpse Blade - For the Win spoke, he had already summoned his halberd. "Let's决胜负!"

"Oh?" Feichai Shu raised his hand and lowered his sunglasses slightly, looking directly into the other party's eyes. "Hmm… not bad, your eyes are different from last time." He then put his sunglasses back on and snorted coldly. "Could it be that you used some kind of 'new medicine', so your confidence has increased?"

"Think what you want." Corpse Blade - For the Win replied. "I don't want to explain anything."

"Okay, let's fight then." Feichai Shu took both hands out of his pockets. "Whether you're a regular player or a seed player, it's all the same to me…"

[Tension tension tension, one side is eyeing covetously, one side is waiting for an opportunity.]

[Past grievances, today's reunion, a desperate battle, unavoidable.]

…………

On the other side, somewhere in the east of the city.

Here, there was a "blood lake" covering an area of about three hectares. The lake water was constantly boiling, so the temperature in the surrounding area was also very high.

In the lake, viscous blood plasma and many unknown liquids were mixed together, like a lake of extremely disgusting cocktails. No one knew how this lake was formed, and no one cared…

Due to the existence of this lake, the visible range in the nearby area was good. As long as the reconnaissance specialization was above D-level, one could see the other side of the lake at a glance.

Therefore, there was such a scene… a total of twelve players, looking at each other across the lake.

These twelve people were naturally not standing around the lake in a circle, but were in groups of three, each occupying a side.

East three, [Zui Wo Chang Ran], [Sheng Yu Pian], [Wu Si Can Xuan].

West three, [Vishnu], [Brahma], [Yama].

South three, [Wu Dao Ke], [Kuang Zong Jian Ying], [Xiao Wen Cang Tian].

North three, [Ming Zi Zhen Nan Qu], [Qu Ming Zhen Shi Nan], [Zhen Nan Qu Ming Zi].

This was undoubtedly a strange sight. The masters belonging to the four guilds of Order, Gods, Jianghu, and Bingdi — the four groups of "Zuisheng Mengsi," "The Four Heavenly Kings of the Gods," "Dao Jian Xiao," and "Quming Nan" — had gathered together in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Although [Meng Jing Chan] and [Shiva] were not present, this lineup was already gorgeous enough.

Here, we have to focus on the "Quming Nan" trio…

Some people may feel that putting these three sarcastic host club members together with the previous three groups lowers the overall level. But that's not the case…

Let's take a look at their game journey and it will be clear at a glance:

First of all, these three are in a very small, newly established studio, and *Thriller Paradise* is the first game they came into contact with after becoming professional players. Under this premise, they actually became well-known players in less than two months.

Secondly, what made them famous was not their solo ability, but their strength in 3v3 team battles (during the Cang Ling Sword Debate, Ji Bu郁闷 expressed that these three always left him to line up for slaughter games)…

Thirdly, they, who excel in team battles, have also made their way into the top 50 in the peak battle for supremacy, which tests solo strength.

If these three points are not enough to prove their strength, then please take a look at their逗逼 nicknames. To be honest… I can't remember who is who… so I distinguish them by hairstyle and nickname: [Ming Zi Zhen Nan Qu] (nickname, Baldy); [Qu Ming Zhen Shi Nan] (Lao Qu, Afro) and [Zhen Nan Qu Ming Zi] (Brother Zhen, Mohawk).

The fact that IDs like this that you may not remember even if you try to can become popular in the game is also evidence of their strength…

"The situation is a bit complicated…" Baldy muttered, looking at the lake.

"It seems that there are many people in this final who are using 'prioritize finding teammates from the same guild' as a strategic action." Brother Zhen continued.

"That's right… we're smart, but others aren't stupid." Lao Qu shrugged. "Since it's a points system, it's only natural to first find trusted companions, try to get kill points together as much as possible, and then solve internal problems after dealing with other players."

"Hmm…" Baldy continued, "The problem right now is… we've already entered the enemy's line of sight, and there are three different groups of enemies. What should we do… should we make a move?" He paused. "If we want to make a move, which side should we attack first?"

"Don't joke around." Lao Qu said, "In this situation, making a move first is almost like suicide. For example… A launches an attack on B, and C and D are watching from the sidelines. After A and B have fought halfway or finished, either C or D can come over and reap the rewards."

"But how do you know that C and D won't fight each other?" Brother Zhen said, "If C or D kills the other before A and B are decided, they can turn around and ambush A and B in time."

"But if A and B finish fighting first, the winning side can turn around and ambush C and D who are fighting." Baldy continued.

"Then how about trying to negotiate, A and B join forces and kill C in one fell swoop…" Lao Qu hypothesized again.

Brother Zhen nodded, "But the trust between A and B is unreliable. It's hard to say what kind of changes will happen during the battle…"

"Hmm…" The three of them all put on a troubled expression, tilting their heads and pondering.

On the other side of the lake, a young man with a pot lid haircut (Sheng Yu Pian) was making a囧 face and said to the two companions next to him, "The Gods and Jianghu are discussing tactics, but I don't understand what Bingdi is saying…"

Wu Si Can Xuan asked, "What? Are they speaking a foreign language?"

"Yeah… ABCd and stuff…" Sheng Yu Pian said, "It feels like… they've lost themselves in some extremely boring, impossible multiple reasoning."