Chapter 178: Level III 2
“Big Chu!”
A voice rang out. It was You Che, waving and running towards her. Behind him were a few other people, presumably the players who were going to discuss cooperation with her.
Chu Yian’s gaze swept over the faces of these six people, meeting the eyes of one of them.
The collar of his white shirt was slightly open, revealing the graceful line of his neck. His gaze was languid yet scrutinizing, like a leopard not yet fully awakened.
The moment Chu Yian saw him, she felt a strange sense of danger.
He also looked at Chu Yian, then a faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Perhaps he knew his situation and tried his best to appear friendly. He extended his hand towards Chu Yian, “Hello, Jie Yan.”
“Chu Yian.”
Their fingers clasped for a moment, signifying their introduction. The others behind Jie Yan also introduced themselves to Chu Yian, finally allowing Chu Yian to match their names to their faces.
The group gathered, just about to discuss how to proceed, when the screen of the giant television in the plaza suddenly flickered, then went black.
Not only did the television go black, but all electronic devices in Sector 13 malfunctioned at that moment.
Hum—
Hum hum—
A strange sound began, followed by the ground starting to shake.
An earthquake?
Feeling the violent shaking of the ground, Chu Yian and her group didn’t run.
Buildings surrounded them; they were standing in the most open area of the plaza, so there was no need to run. Instead, other people from around them rushed towards their location, and soon the plaza was filled with people.
People were still shaken by the commotion, but then the landmark in the very center of the plaza suddenly collapsed.
Those who had been standing near the landmark fell without warning, and the surrounding people screamed and scattered.
Chu Yian also stared at her feet, afraid that the ground she stood on would crack, leading to her demise before she could even begin.
But it didn’t.
After the landmark fell, the ground stopped shaking. Instead, a humming sound came from underground again.
“It seems like there’s something underground?”
“Don’t get close, what if it’s dangerous?”
People whispered, forming a circle around the collapsed area. Then they saw a spherical machine slowly rising from underground.
The object was as large as a house.
The metal gleamed red in the sunlight, and from the bottom of the sphere, several metallic tentacles, also glowing, extended. It slowly ascended, hovering at a height of only 10 meters above the ground, then suddenly, it opened like an eyeball!
Within Layer I, tens of thousands of such metal spheres opened their eyes simultaneously at this moment. These machines emitted a beam of light, encompassing a radius of several tens of miles with it as the center.
If one could take a picture from the sky, they would see these machines tightly connected, enveloping the entire Layer I within them.
A child-like voice, neither male nor female, reached the ears of the people on the ground.
“The Ascent Competition now begins.”
“Layer I, Track 13 has a total of 1324 safe zones. Safe zones that turn red will collapse in two hours. Only by reaching a green-lit safe zone will you have a chance to enter the Track II Competition.”
“Damn, what is this thing?”
You Che looked at the ugly Big Eyeball in the sky, not understanding what the words meant.
And after the mechanical voice disappeared, Chu Yian saw a large map appear in the sky. It showed Sector 13, densely marked with numbers.
From 1-1324.
The locations of those Big Eyeball machines?
No, they were serial numbers!
Chu Yian looked at the Big Eyeball above their heads; the number “22” was clearly marked at the bottom. Comparing the number with the map in the sky, the digits were identical.
What did this mean?
This round of the game didn’t allow people time to think, and then the voice appeared again.
“The first round of collapse is about to begin.”
“Countdown 1:59:59”
As the sound rang out, the Big Eyeball in the sky emitted a green light, enveloping the surrounding area.
It has already begun?
Chu Yian remembered the rules the child-like voice had just stated; the green light meant they were safe for the next two hours.
“What is this thing?”
“A secret weapon newly developed by the military?”
“It’s not the end of the world, is it? By the way, what happened to those few people who just fell…”
While the NPCs were still in a state of confusion, the players had already reacted.
“Cars, gasoline, weapons – these are the most important things in this round of the game.”
Jie Yan looked at You Che, “First, get a car out. In this round, we’ll prioritize getting gasoline.”
You Che didn’t dare to delay and immediately used his ability.
An ordinary minivan appeared. It wasn’t great, but it didn’t overturn. You Che breathed a slight sigh of relief. The eight people squeezed together, a bit cramped.
With the sudden appearance of this eyeball-like object, people hadn’t yet fully reacted. The most basic public services were still operational. Within five minutes, they arrived at the nearest gas station, where the staff were still working.
“We need a large amount of gasoline.”
Jie Yan got out of the car, grabbed a staff member, and concisely stated his demand.
He looked like he was robbing them.
No, they *were* robbing them.
The gas station employee, surrounded by seven big men, filled five iron barrels with gasoline. With the fuel in hand, they drove off, making their ‘zero-dollar shopping’ perfectly clear.
Countdown 1:23:36
They had plundered enough gasoline.
The phone communication system finally recovered at this point, and all phones received an official text message.
“Dear citizens, a large number of eyeball-shaped machines have appeared in Sector 13. The specific reason is unknown. For safety, please obey the requirements of the eyeball-shaped machines. Citizens in red-light areas, please proceed to areas where no red light appears.”
“Currently, the areas with red light are numbered: 2, 4, 14, 26… a total of 32 locations. Please avoid these areas during your escape.”
It wasn’t until the official notification arrived that many NPCs belatedly began to act.
Some people, seeing the message, thought it didn’t concern them.
“We’re in a green light area, we’re fine.”
“Bullshit, I survived the spatial rift three years ago, now what new trouble is this? Life and death are fated, wealth and honor are from heaven. I don’t give a damn.”
“Our sector has hundreds of millions of people, no one else is panicking, why are you?”
…Whether online or among the people around them, many held such attitudes. When people were scared, their most common choice was to go home and stay there, or go to the supermarket and buy food to hoard.
Meanwhile, the player team had already bought a large quantity of Snickers and other biscuits, and also swept through two large pharmacies for medicine.
Chu Yian’s treasure box was filled with supplies in a short amount of time. 1.5 cubic meters of space was more than enough for one or two people, but for eight people, they had to be frugal.
However, her treasure box plus each person’s own bag was entirely sufficient.
