Absolute Death Game

Lin Feng stood at the back of the crowd of Solo Players, feeling extremely frustrated. When he first encountered this game, he made a firm decision to join it, and since then, he was always on tenterhooks. At any moment he could die, which forced him to be extra careful. Unlike in previous games where he could do as he pleased, here Lin Feng would not take the slightest risk.

As a result, he had spent a year in Newbie Village, during which time he learned every Professional Skill he could, nearly raised all five Basic Attributes to thirty points, and mastered seven or eight Basic Combat Skills before daring to leave the village for adventure.

But leaving the village didn't mean that things got easier. The game world was vast, yet it seemed there were hardly any territories without an owner. Everywhere he went he was met with the shadow of Great Guilds telling him, "This is our guild's turf. You're not allowed to take missions or enter dungeons here."

He didn't dare to venture into dungeons recklessly, knowing that dying in this game meant losing his life for good. So, he was left to hunt Minor Monsters. Still, being barred from taking missions seemed too harsh.

Nonetheless, the game world was truly immense, and even the Great Guilds couldn't monitor everything, allowing him to complete some odd jobs here and there, slowly but surely enhancing his strength.
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Lin Feng's chosen profession was Hunter, an Advanced Profession that sounded impressive: Ranger. In reality, he had hoped to adopt a Mage Profession, but in this game, Mage Professions were all Hidden Professions, difficult to access without the backing of a Great Guild or a stroke of luck. Thus, he had to settle for a job with special abilities.

The Ranger's special ability was to communicate with plants to glean information about recent events nearby, to track the traces left by humans and wild beasts, and to effectively hide in the wilderness, giving it a special forces vibe. Unfortunately, these skills wouldn't amount to much in the real world, but it was possible to have multiple professions in this game.

With his well-rounded Basic Attributes and skills, Lin Feng also cross-classed as an assassin skilled in Qinggong.

Even with two professions, Lin Feng's situation wasn't great. Fortunately, aside from the Great Guilds, there were many other Solo Players in the game. As time passed, he made a few friends to watch each other's backs, managing to just barely survive in the ruthless game world. Not long ago, he heard that Nine Dragons City had lost its ruling guild and had temporarily become unclaimed territory.

He and some close friends hurried here, but soon after arriving at Nine Dragons City, he realized that it was impossible to gain any advantages—there were simply too many people. Everyone was waiting for the Demon Clan to attack the city, taking on even the most menial tasks, like fetching water for a blind old woman, for only a few copper coins.

As the Demon Clan's siege drew nearer, events like these were often futile for Solo Players like him; they ran the risk of being killed if they weren't careful.

So when he received the system alert of monsters attacking a village while grinding Minor Monsters in the wilderness, he and his friends immediately headed toward Black Stone Village, knowing that defending a village was much easier than defending a city.

But even in such a remote place, he still couldn't escape the detestable Great Guilds.

While thinking, Lin Feng finally snapped back to reality and focused on the expression of that guy called Chen Chuan across from him.

"Hey, do you guys have any sense of fairness? This isn't the Awesome Empire's area of influence. It's not against the rules for us to take on missions here," Wang Xiong, a Barbarian Warrior skilled with blunt weapons and one of the only tank-type players among the group of Solo Players—an anomaly—spoke up.

After all, most were either thieves or assassins adept at stealth, or Hunters and Beastmasters with pets for combat, or Qigong Masters and Swordsmen with special abilities for escape and life-saving. Pure melee fighters were rare, and if they existed, they didn't last long. That Wang Xiong had survived so far was quite remarkable.

Chen Chuan, however, looked down on Wang Xiong, the outlier among the Solo Players, and sneered, "Humph, rules? Might makes right. Today, we're taking charge of defending the village from the monster attack. If you know what's good for you, you'll scram."

The equipment of Lin Feng and the other Solo Players wasn't impressive, a clear indicator of their limited strength. Unlike players from Great Guilds who had ample opportunities to run dungeons and missions, or those who specialized and had their logistics supplied by other players, their gear was poor.

Lin Feng himself only had three pieces of light-blue Armor, two of which he got from rare elites and one as a reward for a mission that resulted in him being chased by a Great Guild for days, almost to his death. Ultimately, it was the Ranger's unique hiding ability that had allowed him to escape.

The others were not much different, and many were even worse off than he was. After all, veteran players like him who had spent over a year in the game were few and far between here.

Chen Chuan exuded an overwhelming presence as a noble Mage, a figure not easily encountered. What made Lin Feng even more tense was Zhang Haojie, emanating a faint halo while standing silently on the palisade, looking into the distance. Lin Feng dared not underestimate him; with his experience in the game, he knew Zhang Haojie was no ordinary player.

"Don't push us too far," Wang Xiong shouted, unable to contain his anger.

But Chen Chuan just scoffed, "And what if we do? If you've got the guts, come at us. I'll even give you a chance—come at me all at once." With those words, he brandished his Magic Wand, and a blue lightning bolt surged into the ground with his wand, cracking the earth in a five-meter radius around him. The display forced everyone to retreat, knowing that Magic Damage wasn't mitigated by Armor.

Even though some equipment provided magic defense, these players could barely boast a piece of blue gear, let alone magic defense equipment. Against Mages, they essentially had no defense.

Lin Feng saw that everyone seemed inclined to back down, but he couldn't hold back any longer and stood out, saying, "Don't be afraid, everyone. We're in a safe zone now; they wouldn't dare to attack us here."

Chen Chuan seemed startled, as though Lin Feng had hit the nail on the head, and glared at him with a cold laugh, "You're right, but do you think you can stay in the safe zone forever? If you know what's good for you, you'd better get lost. I don't care about you killing minor monsters or taking their drops, but if you dare compete with us for the mission, don't say I didn't warn you."

Before Lin Feng could reply, someone from the team spoke up in dissatisfaction, "Hey, you can't be serious. The mission doesn't have a limit on the number of participants, so why can't we accept it too? Accepting the mission could help take some pressure off you guys."

Chen Chuan seemed to be getting impatient, "Indeed, this mission doesn't limit the number of participants, but the total value of the rewards is fixed. You lot are useless and won't be of any help. In the end, you would just dilute the rewards, which is why we absolutely can't let you accept this mission."

Lin Feng knew that what Chen Chuan said wasn't false. With his experience in the game, such a setting was very likely. For the same mission, if ten people accepted it, after completion, each person might get a white-colored piece of Armor, but if only one person did it, the worst they could get was a deep blue piece.

In the current situation, if everyone accepted the mission together, it was estimated they might each get a light blue or deep blue piece of equipment, but if only one person accepted it, they could likely get a piece of silver or even gold equipment.

Indeed, the other side had reason to monopolize this mission, but reason aside, faced with such a situation, Lin Feng found it impossible to be content. Why should they get to take it first? Why should our benefits serve them? Is it just because their fists are bigger?

Sitting in front of the computer, Lin Feng suddenly let out a bitter smile, (Yes, that's right, it's because their fists are bigger! No matter in this world or the one behind the screen, those with bigger fists make the rules.) Sitting at the computer, Lin Feng couldn't help but clench his fists, (Damn it, wasn't I playing this game to become stronger?

So why do I have to compromise and back down now?)

Although the solo players felt indignant, they didn't dare to talk back. After all, dying in this game came with a significant cost. If it were any ordinary game, hell-bent on pride, they would have fought no matter what, seeking the thrill of battle, victory or defeat aside. But in a game like this, seeking a thrill is out of the question; it's better to preserve oneself and retreat quickly.

Some people wanted to back down, some were not willing to let it go so easily, and others felt that with strength in numbers, something could be done. Lin Feng himself wasn't sure which group he belonged to, and while he was hesitating, a message suddenly popped up on the screen—

Xiao Buli whispers to you quietly, "Hello there, interested in accepting a mission? Head to the south of the village; you can accept missions there."

Lin Feng was taken aback for a moment, staring blankly at the words on the screen. It was the first time he had seen such a situation and wondered what was going on. Who was Xiao Buli?

However, being an experienced player, he knew there had to be a reason for this. Calming his mind, he replied, "Who are you?"

Xiao Buli whispers to you quietly, "Don't worry about who I am. Just do as I say. Also, call your people over; I can give all of you a mission."

Lin Feng figured there was an opportunity at hand, and he wasn't one to hoard resources, "Alright, but they're not my people."

After replying to Xiao Buli, Lin Feng said to the others, "Let's stick together for a moment, guys. I've got something to tell you."

He held some prestige among these people, and they generally got along well, so they were somewhat inclined to listen to him,

Without drawing attention, he called over a few people nearby and they walked away to talk. (To be continued. If you like this work, you're welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)