Chapter 11 The 11th Level of the Dark Abyss

On the 11th level of the Dark Abyss, among the 1,950 participants, the most terrifyingly powerful was undoubtedly the universe's mega-star live streamer, 'Tata,' who had long since reached the limit of the eighth level. Millions of fans in her streaming room were closely watching her every move.

"Medium-sized Escape from the Abyss, Tata always breezes through the first nine rounds, easily earning a fortune. Why can't I learn how?"

"That's because Tata is too strong. I've reached the seventh level, and I played five times today, only managing to get past the first nine rounds once by luck."

"Tata's strength is incredible! Watching her Escape from the Abyss is an art."

The fans exclaimed in admiration.

Tata, a cute girl wearing a hat, couldn't see the comments, but she still pressed down on her hat and said with a smile, "From the tenth round onwards, I have to be careful too, because I can trip and be eliminated at any time."

Of course, what she said was only audible to the audience in her streaming room.

"Actually, the Dark Abyss officials have always favored newcomers and the weak, targeting the strong," Tata explained. "This is normal. For example, in this Escape from the Abyss event, there are a million participants, and nearly 900,000 of them are fifth-level Star Lifeforms. The majority of the prize pool is provided by fifth-level Star Lifeforms. To ensure the attractiveness to fifth-level Star Lifeforms, the early stages naturally favor them."

"Even with the bias, the first three rounds will only leave 125,000 people, eliminating over 870,000. The eliminated are naturally mainly fifth-level Star Lifeforms."

"For fifth-level Star Lifeforms playing Escape from the Abyss, I suggest going to the low-level Escape from the Abyss. Relatively speaking, the probability of breaking even is higher. Playing medium-sized Escape from the Abyss... they mostly lose money. It's really not wise."

"As for seventh-level Star Lifeforms, although they are targeted in the first six rounds, the elimination rate is only over half."

"The most dangerous for them is the seventh to ninth rounds, because each round is team-based, and the losing team is eliminated entirely. So, after each round, about half of the seventh-level Star Lifeforms are eliminated. These three rounds eliminate too many."

"After the first nine rounds, seventh-level Star Lifeforms are less than one-tenth."

Tata smiled and said with emotion, "This is still the average data! If you're an old player, you're experienced, you earn a lot... the more you earn in Escape from the Dark Abyss, the more you'll be targeted."

"Like when I participate in large Escape from the Abyss events, I can easily trip in the first few rounds. Because in large Dark Abyss events, there are too many eighth-level masters, and even the occasional ninth-level participant."

"So, you can't be greedy, you have to keep a clear head at all times. If you get a fever from a large amount of prize money, you may eventually fall into the abyss and lose everything."

"Everyone says they want to escape the Dark Abyss," Tata said with emotion. "But the real key to this game's mission is to 'escape the dark abyss of your own heart.' Only by mastering your own mind! Having absolute self-control! Can you become the victor of 'Escape from the Abyss.' The vast majority of other participants are swallowed by the Dark Abyss."

Tata's words caused countless viewers in the streaming room to sigh.

"I'm one of those swallowed."

"I can't get rid of the dark abyss in my heart."

"My dad is an old player. I calculated that he earned over ten million in the last month! My dad is an eighth-level Star Lifeform. He could easily earn tens of millions a month doing any job. But my dad still plays often, and he plays large Escape from the Abyss events, saying it's to hone his mind and prepare to break through to the ninth level. I think he's sinking into the Dark Abyss. I don't dare to control him. Alas, helpless!"

"Hehe, I'm a sixth-level Star Lifeform, and I earn ten times more in Escape from the Abyss than I do at my job! If you want to learn, you can contact me!"

...

"The tenth round has begun."

Tata walked around carefully, saying, "I mainly play medium-sized Escape from the Abyss. The first nine rounds of medium-sized Escape from the Abyss don't threaten me. Even if it's team-based, whichever team I'm assigned to is sure to win. But from the tenth round onwards, the game officials will definitely try to target me."

"Because I'm probably the strongest one in this group of over a thousand people! Actually, the game officials are too stingy. I really don't earn much from them." Tata walked cautiously, looking wary.

Tata had reached the limit of the eighth level a long time ago, and she had many outstanding achievements. Any job would give her a terrifying income.

Tata didn't care too much about the 'unstable prize money' earned from Escape from the Abyss. On the contrary, the donations from her millions of viewers were the big money!

Having lived for over five thousand years, she had even bought an indigenous life planet with beautiful scenery as her territory! Her greatest pursuit now was to become a 'ninth level.'

"Okay, I won't chat anymore." Tata carefully observed her surroundings. "This level of the abyss has a small number of hidden weapons, but I know very well that the game officials won't hide the weapons near me."

"That participant with the horn, he killed more than thirty people in the previous team battle. He's likely an eighth-level Star Lifeform."

"Yes, I also testify."

"Amazing, he killed more than thirty people alone."

In the distance, a man with a single horn and emerald green eyes was being targeted, surrounded by many participants.

"That unlucky guy should have shown too much strength in the team battle." Tata watched from afar and said in a low voice, "His teammates treated him like a treasure before, but now they can't wait for such a master to be eliminated early."

...

While searching for weapons, Xu Jingming maintained his distance from others. He was almost at the edge of the land, and he could see the land collapsing slowly in the distance. As it collapsed, the land area would become smaller and smaller, and the area where the participants could move would become smaller and smaller.

"They're already fighting in the middle." Xu Jingming glanced at it from afar. He had been placed on the outermost edge from the beginning, so he could try to keep his distance as much as possible.

"Kill."

"This one with the purple hair is also very strong, probably an eighth-level master. Kill him!"

"Take him down."

The participants in Escape from the Abyss all had ambitions and wanted to be the final victor. Now, they were all targeting the super-strong players who had been exposed in the 'team battles'! One by one, masters with at least a 20-fold combat power boost were surrounded by a large number of masters, and even experts like 'Tata' were mixed in among the attackers.

"In three consecutive rounds of team battles, if you don't show your strength, your team may lose and be eliminated. But if you show your strength, all the other teammates will remember him! It will be completely exposed," Tata said. "So, guiding the team to victory without revealing your strength is the key to surviving to the later stages."

"Pfft."

Tata was also mixed in the crowd, suddenly launching a sneak attack. A kick forced the one-horned, green-eyed man to dodge, but another person behind him tore the flesh of his waist with a claw.

The one-horned, green-eyed man was quickly besieged and killed in frustration.

"What a pity." Xu Jingming also saw the purple-haired man in the distance lose his life after being besieged by more than a dozen people.

In the early stage of the land shrinking, the participants were more focused on targeting those who had 'displayed strong strength' before! After all, most of those who could survive the nine rounds were quite strong. They naturally cooperated with each other to eliminate some powerful enemies in advance!

These powerful enemies were the biggest obstacles to winning first place.

"Hmm?" Xu Jingming glanced around and saw a blue-haired man take out a sword from the grass. Several people immediately rushed towards him.

With a flash of sword light, an arm was severed and thrown into the air! One person was killed instantly, and two were injured.

"Haha, good luck." The blue-haired man held the sword in one hand, looking around with excitement.

The other participants' expressions changed slightly, and they didn't dare to get closer. Since they couldn't grab the weapon the first time, going to grab it again would be too risky.

"This man knows swordsmanship."

"There's no need to fight him." The other participants walked around him.

A first-rate expert with a sharp weapon was even more terrifying than a super-first-rate expert with bare hands.

Because with a body of flesh and blood, no one dared to touch a sharp weapon. If they touched it, they would lose an arm or a leg! Unless the difference in strength was very large, with combat power differing by several times, could they defeat those masters with weapons with their bare hands.

The land was collapsing, the area was getting smaller and smaller, and the participants were getting closer and closer.

Killing was becoming more and more common.

After all, the participants were very careful. When the area was small and they were too close to each other, they would naturally strike first to gain the upper hand!

When the area shrank to a certain extent, a large-scale battle broke out. Xu Jingming had just exchanged a few moves with one person when a dark red beam of light descended! Because the killing in the center was too tragic, the number of deaths was already sufficient.

"Buzz." The dark red beam of light enveloped Xu Jingming and the others, taking them to the 10th level of the Dark Abyss.

...

"I survived the tenth round fairly easily. On the contrary, many experts, such as the purple-haired alien, were eliminated," Xu Jingming thought to himself. He was indeed inconspicuous, because his true strength was only at a medium level on the field!

Dark Abyss, 10th level.

Xu Jingming was once again assigned to an area relatively close to the periphery. He immediately began searching for weapons.

"According to the information I've collected, the 11th level generally has about ten weapons, and the 10th level has about twenty weapons. Once you get a weapon, most of the other participants... don't want to rush up with their bare hands." Xu Jingming searched anxiously. "Once I get a weapon and escape the abyss, I can go further, and the prize money will be higher."

Not far away, Xu Jingming's eyes caught a faint gleam in the weeds on the distant hills, and his heart trembled.

"A weapon?"

Xu Jingming immediately moved closer, trying to take the weapon quietly, but he found that a burly, blue-skinned alien was also approaching. The blue-skinned alien also looked at Xu Jingming.

Their eyes met! They both realized that the other had discovered the weapon!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The two of them instantly burst into speed, heading straight for the gleam!

"Hmm?" Their burst of speed immediately attracted the attention of other participants around them, and several people quickly approached.

"Get out of the way!" The blue-skinned alien rushed forward, his leg sweeping like a great axe, striking as fast as lightning.

Xu Jingming, however, was unwilling to retreat, because retreating meant giving up the weapon. He raised his arms and used a shield technique to block the heavy leg! The impact of the elbow's tip against the leg bone caused the blue-skinned alien's expression to change slightly.

"Swish." While blocking the leg, Xu Jingming kicked the weapon to the side, in the direction where there were no participants, and then darted out.

Naturally, he was the first to catch up! He grabbed the weapon with one hand.

It was a dagger.

Holding the dagger, Xu Jingming stopped and looked around. The five participants around him looked at each other and began to retreat one by one. No one wanted to fight a participant with a weapon.

"I got the weapon." Xu Jingming was overjoyed. With the weapon in hand, his strength had increased several times. He was confident that he could deal with a super-first-rate expert!

...

Xia Country, Life Evolution Bureau.

Director Zhou sat at his desk, looking at the files on the panel. He scrutinized them carefully.

"Last year, the virtual world was fully opened, and people around the world began to practice evolution methods, which was also a period of explosive growth for geniuses. A group of talented experts such as Xu Jingming, Liu Hai, Tu Ling, Fang Yu, Zhao Fan, and Zhang Qing emerged in Xia Country," Director Zhou shook his head slightly. "But that was a selection of billions of people around the world. Now, it's too difficult to find a genius again."

At least within Xia Country, the other geniuses discovered couldn't compare to Xu Jingming and Liu Hai, let alone Fang Yu and Zhao Fan.

"It's really difficult."

Director Zhou sighed inwardly.

Buzz—

Director Zhou frowned slightly and gently touched his watch, and a light screen immediately appeared.

On the light screen, Secretary-General Angus was smiling at Director Zhou. "Director Zhou, hello, I have good news to report."

"What news?" Director Zhou asked in confusion.

"Our Blue Star virtual intelligence is constantly collecting major information on the virtual world network," Secretary-General Angus said. "We just collected a message. In the Dark Abyss virtual world, in one of the popular missions 'Escape from the Dark Abyss,' Xu Jingming is participating. He has now reached the top 1,000! Because his appearance hasn't changed at all, our Blue Star virtual intelligence was able to identify him instantly."

"Escape from the Dark Abyss? Top 1,000?" Director Zhou couldn't believe it. "Is it a low-level Escape from the Dark Abyss?"

"Medium-sized," Secretary-General Angus said.

"What?" Director Zhou couldn't believe it.

"This news has shocked many people. Many high-ranking officials on our Blue Star have gone to watch," Secretary-General Angus's eyes lit up. "If Xu Jingming has extraordinary luck and can get first place, then..."

Director Zhou said, "Wake up, wake up, don't dream."

Secretary-General Angus laughed. "I'm just thinking about it, after all, it's 50 billion universe coins plus audience donations."

"Getting into the top 1,000 is already amazing. After all, it's a competition among one million universe citizens." Director Zhou couldn't help but say, "I'm going online now."

...

Director Zhou and a group of Blue Star's high-ranking officials were all watching the official live broadcast of the Dark Abyss. The game officials were also broadcasting the 'Escape from the Abyss' event. The number of viewers for just one 'medium-sized Escape from the Abyss' live broadcast reached a staggering 300 billion!

This was just a relatively popular side quest in the 'Dark Abyss' virtual world.

From this, it could be seen how amazing the number of viewers was for 'Dark Abyss,' which ranked second in popularity in the entire universe for evolution-type virtual worlds.

"300 billion universe citizens are watching?" Director Zhou and the others were one of the 300 billion people, watching the Dark Abyss scene appearing before them.

Buzz—

A dark red beam of light descended, enveloping 500 people.

The 500 people arrived at the 9th level of the Dark Abyss. Xu Jingming was holding a dagger, and he was one of the very few people among the 500 with a weapon.

"Xu Jingming has entered the top 500." Director Zhou's eyes lit up. "Moreover, only thirty-five people have weapons. Jingming has an advantage!"