Chapter Twenty-Five: Multiplayer Survival Mode

"Ah!" Luo Hanya let out a long sigh, deeply frustrated. He felt as though the game was deliberately targeting him. Someone with his luck, and yet he had never obtained any legendary items or divine artifacts upon entering the game—not even anything above average.

Just as Luo Hanya was about to howl his grievances to the heavens, he suddenly noticed the scenery before him shift. He found himself back in his own room.

Sitting up in the game pod, Luo Hanya saw his mother standing nearby in an apron. He sighed heavily. "Mom, let's talk things through. Why did you unplug the power?"

"I knocked on the pod for ages, but you kept ignoring me," his mother replied, clearly feeling wronged herself.

"Ah, I forgot to set the reminder. It won't happen next time, I promise," Luo Hanya admitted his mistake and quickly surrendered.

"Alright, alright, hurry up and eat. It's already seven-thirty," his mother said kindly, showing no signs of annoyance.

Luo Hanya ate breakfast steadily in fifteen minutes, carefully washed the dishes, then took a leisurely stroll in the garden to digest his round stomach. Finally, he climbed the stairs and lay down again in the game pod.

Upon entering the game, Luo Hanya searched for the nicknames of his four mischievous friends. Speaking of which, their chat yesterday had left him laughing for quite a while—just their chosen nicknames alone were hilarious.

"Splendid Literature," "Noble Yuan," "Divine Law," and "Mountain Sage"—each had selected a few characters from their own names and mixed in something extra. The most peculiar was Wang Yibo, who, because his name contained "Bo," couldn't find anything suitably powerful. In the end, he borrowed a move from Naruto with a similarly imposing name.

Luo Hanya added them all as friends and sent out team invitations.

The first to respond was Bombshell. When he joined the team, a new window popped up beside Luo Hanya, displaying their nicknames and levels.

Cold Crow Luo, Level 10
Noble Yuan, Level 5

"Wow, look at you! Did you find a pro to carry you through some rounds?" Bombshell was shocked to see Luo Hanya's high level, assuming he'd been quickly clearing team missions with help.

"No, I just played two solo scenarios, one of which I actually failed," Luo Hanya replied calmly.

"What? You cleared a solo scenario?" Bombshell looked utterly stunned.

"Is it really that hard?" Luo Hanya asked, puzzled.

"Hard? Have you even read the game's introduction? Solo mode is insanely difficult. Solo normal difficulty and team normal difficulty are worlds apart," Bombshell said, looking at Luo Hanya in disbelief.

"So, does that mean I'm already a master-level player?" Luo Hanya immediately perked up, tail high with pride. "Call me the Luo God!"

"Bah, Luo God is a woman, you idiot."

"Then call me Cold God. It’s still a god, after all."

Luo Hanya and Bombshell chatted merrily for a while, and soon the system announced:

"Divine Law" has joined the team.
"Mountain Sage" has joined the team.

Spinach and Bighead joined in, adding their voices to the banter.

"Sorry, I'm late," said Xia Wenhua as he entered the team at ten past eight. Luo Hanya's group was so used to his tardiness that no one even complained; instead, they pulled him into their heated debate about who was the true gaming master.

The five argued fiercely, but Luo Hanya stuck to his claim: "I have the highest level and have cleared a solo scenario." The others couldn’t refute him.

Xia Wenhua, Bombshell, Spinach, and Bighead, finding themselves outmatched, simply dropped the topic and suggested they jump into the game scenario together rather than waste more time.

Cold Crow Luo, Level 10
Noble Yuan, Level 5
Divine Law, Level 7
Mountain Sage, Level 5
Splendid Literature, Level 7

Please select the game mode for your team.

Three options appeared: Solo Survival Mode (Normal), Solo Survival Mode (Nightmare), and Team Survival Mode (Normal).

With five members, solo options weren’t available. They could only select Team Survival Mode (Normal).

"Wow, you really cleared it! Solo mode’s Nightmare difficulty is unlocked now," Bombshell remarked, obviously able to see Luo Hanya’s options.

"Would I lie to you?"

"Please remove 'would'."

"Hey, what's with you guys?"

You have selected Team Survival Mode (Normal). Please confirm.

Confirmed. Establishing neural link, generating scenario.

Please select a title. Title selected: Game Explorer.

Loading, please wait.

Meanwhile, a new window popped up:

This is your first time entering multiplayer mode. Please be sure to understand the following rules before proceeding.

1. Discriminatory behavior is strictly forbidden. Any form—physical gestures, lip movements, etc.—recognized by the system as discrimination will halve your scenario rewards. After three violations, your account will be suspended, and your identity information uploaded to the Cyber Security Bureau, making you a priority monitoring subject.

2. Intentions regardless of gender will be detected and directly blocked by the system. Your intent cannot be carried out physically. Three attempts will result in forced logout; two forced logouts will result in account suspension and your identity information uploaded to the Cyber Security Bureau for priority monitoring.

3. You cannot attack your teammates in any non-competitive situation; any intent to do so will not translate into physical action.

By 2063, issues of discrimination were effectively controlled. Anyone with such tendencies was placed under priority monitoring and blacklisted across multiple fields, making it difficult to find a foothold in society.

As a result, social chaos had greatly diminished. Perverts and creeps had faded into history.

Loading complete. You are now participating in Team Survival Mode (Normal).

This scenario contains special hidden missions. Completing them will earn extra rewards.

Upon clearing the scenario, each player may draw one item corresponding to their level.

Scenario introduction will begin shortly. The game will commence after the presentation.