Chapter 1 Mankind

Humanity, human civilization, the lands on which humanity depends for its survival, cycle endlessly, rising and falling. No matter how outstanding the figures, how great the achievements, how prosperous the golden ages, all will be forgotten by the eternal passage of time.

There are no monuments that can stand forever, for they will all eventually be toppled.

There are no stories that can be praised forever, because people will constantly write new and greater chapters.

"Old Earth," or "Earth One," is such a place, one that is gradually being forgotten...

One peaceful night in the twenty-second century, astronomers were astonished to discover a new bright spot in the sky through the clear lenses of the Shoal Mountain Peak telescope in the United States and the Arecibo telescope in Puerto Rico. It was clearly visible in the region near Pluto. Russian and Swedish observatories soon confirmed the discovery and speculated that a small meteoroid of unknown mass and origin was speeding toward the solar system.

Some newspapers carried brief reports on the new star, while news agencies merely mentioned it in passing. It seemed that for most people, news about astronomy was far less appealing than gossip and entertainment stories.

A few days later, astronomers observed that area of the sky with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity, wondering what was about to happen. They discovered... the meteoroid's size and brightness were increasing at an alarming rate, and its image could now be clearly captured on ordinary photographic plates. The closer it got to Pluto, the more uneasy the astronomers became. Even in the twenty-second century, a celestial collision occurring so close to humanity was still unimaginable. But at the time, the absolute distance between the two celestial bodies was still very large.

When the unimaginable rapidly became the probable, the world's media began to pay attention to the event unfolding in the sky. Even some students in schools created related celestial motion charts, and all the evidence indicated that people could only helplessly watch the meteoroid hurtle towards Pluto.

Soon after, the whole world was reporting on the event, because the imagined collision did not occur. Instead, the meteoroid, as it passed Pluto, dragged the entire dwarf planet into its own fiery mass...

The two celestial bodies fused into a giant, dazzling white sphere, visible to the naked eye from Earth.

Thus, in addition to the sun and moon, a new celestial body appeared, regularly appearing in people's sight as the Earth rotated. Every night, people watched the rising and setting of this sphere, and they gradually realized that the sphere was growing larger each time it rose...

People began to suspect, to fear... asking questions such as "Why is the universe so big, yet the meteoroid came here?" Asking such questions was foolish, like asking why one was born successfully among billions of compatriots.

Scientists explained some related knowledge of astrophysics to the public in news programs and published some of their research results. The overwhelming reports all said the same thing: this uninvited guest invading the solar system would eventually move towards the sun. Only the gravitational forces between the major planets could possibly deflect the celestial body from its destructive path, but in any case, the end of the Earth was at hand.

But what happened next was unexpected.

It was as if the Earth had been sentenced to death, but with a reprieve.

After swallowing Pluto, the fireball slowed down, remaining at a relatively safe distance, scorching the world like a twin brother of the sun. Winter disappeared, and the coldest season on the planet felt like early summer.

When one dawn ended, and a second dawn lit up the sky, so dazzling, so hot, hellish heatwaves and hurricanes raged across the world. No one knew how long this would last, but the rate at which the polar ice caps were melting reminded people that Earth was no longer a place to stay for long.

Optimists, skeptics, despairing, madmen, people reacted differently, and Earth fell into unprecedented chaos. Doomsday finally appeared in a tangible form before people's eyes, no longer assumptions like "environmental problems," "alien invasions," or "deadly viruses" that existed in movies or were often on people's lips. Instead, it appeared in the sky in reality, proclaiming to the world every day that the end was near.

Unexpectedly, this "reprieve" united humanity. In the following decade, human technological development even surpassed that of the past two centuries.

All of humanity finally abandoned differences in skin color, race, nationality, belief, and so on, and united to work together for the common goal of racial continuation, sharing the most advanced science and technology, scientists, resources, everything, without reservation.

Finally, twenty years later, humanity took the first step in interstellar colonization. The first "Ark-class" interstellar mothership flew out of the atmosphere, carrying a population of one million. Then came the second, the third...

Later, that glimmer of hope of escaping Earth... finally revealed people's true nature, and a war broke out on Earth, resulting in the death of most of humanity and the destruction of 93% of human-made facilities on Earth.

Twenty-seven years later, "doomsday" ended like a joke. Of course, no one laughed.

The meteoroid actually turned ninety degrees, accelerated again, and left the solar system. No one knew why. Perhaps it was not a meteoroid at all, but an alien spaceship, perhaps it was a special kind of life form, or perhaps it was a test of humanity by some unknown deity.

In short, when people had the ability to escape Earth, the crisis of Earth's destruction no longer existed. The most ironic thing was that the planet had been devastated by humanity's own nuclear war and was no longer suitable for survival.

Fortunately, people had mastered key warp technology, and long-distance interstellar travel was no longer a fantasy. So, the survivors on the Ark found a new home in the galaxy, an uninhabited planet very similar to Old Earth, a virgin land untouched by intelligent life—"New Earth," or "Earth Two."

In 2386, a new technology was developed, called "Ants," which were extremely tiny nanobots that could be used to repair the cellular tissues of living organisms.

Initially, "Ants" were used to reshape the bodies of those with severed limbs, or to treat patients with spinal cord injuries. Even patients who had been bedridden for a long time and had severe muscle atrophy could be restored to a normal state.

Later, when "Ants" brought a mountaineer who had been frozen to death on a snow mountain for several years "back to life," the technology gained attention, and people turned their attention back to Earth One...

From 2401 onwards, a very small number of human "ancestors" found on Old Earth were resurrected, and the truth of history and the lost civilizations answered many questions.

This became a trend that flourished for more than half a century and still has not stopped...

One day in 2455, a Level 4 catamaran transport ship named *Grendel* arrived at Old Earth. The research team on board discovered two cryogenically frozen living beings in the Crystal Lake Laboratory and brought them back to the ship. One was a female researcher named Rowan; the other was named Jason Voorhees, the immortal killing demon.

They did not know that the *Grendel* was not the only ship that visited the Crystal Lake underground laboratory that day. Another team with ulterior motives followed the research team to this place. After the team left, that group entered the laboratory...

…………

"Never thought... we'd run into a strong enemy." Zhongqiang Strike muttered.

"Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail, one of Blade-Sword Laugh, is indeed a rather troublesome opponent..." Doomsday Strike echoed.

The two members of the Corpse Blade Studio both had buzz cuts, pale faces, numb expressions, and spoke in low, even tones. They were both wearing green and black uniforms, the style of which was similar to the uniforms in *Star Trek*, only with different colors. On the left breast of the uniform was printed the Corpse Blade emblem, a meticulously crafted skull scimitar, and the words Corpse Blade were naturally in black.

"Is that guy called Feng Bujue also a master in *Jianghu*? How come I've never heard of him..." Doomsday Strike said, "Don't you think it's strange to encounter such a combination?"

Zhongqiang Strike responded, "It is indeed strange... According to the rules of this game, the difference in strength between the two teams should not be very large." He paused, then continued, "I have to admit that even if Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail is two levels lower than us, his strength is definitely not below you and me. But that Feng Bujue is only level sixteen..."

"In other words... the system believes that the combined strength of these two opponents is comparable to us two level nineteen players?" Doomsday Strike said.

"Hmph... Something must be wrong. Could it be that this unknown nobody called Feng Bujue is a powerhouse on par with Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail?" Zhongqiang Strike said, "If that's the case, the only possibility is... that he's actually a star-level professional player, but he's using a new nickname in Thriller Paradise."

"That makes sense." Doomsday Strike replied, "It must be a master who transferred from another studio to *Jianghu*, changed his game ID, and formed a partnership with Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail. This can explain... why we encountered two players who were lower level than us in a 2v2 match."

"Isn't that great?" Zhongqiang Strike said, "It's rare to encounter opponents who are lower level than us in a Killing Game. Presumably, the odds of winning are higher."

"Hmm..." Doomsday Strike nodded and said, "But even if we know we'll win after the fight, we can't be too careless. You see, our survival value is slowly draining, which means this script has a time limit. If the opponent uses delaying tactics and doesn't engage us directly, then this battle will become a war of attrition, pitting our survival value replenishment and healing abilities against each other. This game's health points don't have specific values, but are expressed as percentages. If the situation develops into a game of hide-and-seek, we'll have no advantage at all."

"That's what I was thinking too. We'd better make a quick decision." Zhongqiang Strike replied, "With a level advantage and the assistance of 'that drug'... it would be too much of a joke if we lost like that."

…………

On the other side, Feng Bujue was leading the way with a steel knife, and Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail followed him, moving quickly and quietly through the corridor.

Feng Bujue turned the [Casey Jones Mask] to the display state. Although it wasn't a gas mask, wearing it would at least alleviate some of the discomfort of inhaling harmful air.

"A war of attrition is a more favorable approach for us." Feng Bujue said as he walked. Because of the mask, his voice sounded muffled.

"What kind of attrition?" Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail said, "Are you referring to using ranged weapons or traps to maneuver around them?"

"No, as long as we don't meet them, it's a kind of attrition." Feng Bujue replied.

Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail pondered for a moment and understood what he meant: "Are you saying... to take advantage of the indiscriminate health reduction effect here?"

"That's right." Feng Bujue replied, "Their level is higher than ours, so their theoretical survival value should be a little higher." He coughed, "But the survival value loss caused by the environment is obviously calculated as a percentage. You and I just verified that."

They had exchanged information about their survival values a few minutes earlier. The two were one level apart, and their current survival values were both 95%. Even the timing of the percentage drop was almost the same, accurate to the second. This showed that the rate of survival value loss was independent of level. As long as you breathed the air here, your health would decrease by a percentage after a fixed period.

"Heh..." Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail laughed, "Brother Feng, can I ask how many survival value replenishment potions you brought?"

"I have four (medium) capacity ones." Feng Bujue replied.

"Leaving aside how many the opponent will have," Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail said, "Even I brought more than you." He shook his head, "Besides, what if one of those two specializes in healing, or is even slightly proficient in it? Wouldn't your 'war of attrition' be exactly what they want?"

"I said to start with a war of attrition, but I didn't say to end with a war of attrition." Feng Bujue said, "What I mean is, it's best not to let this game turn into a quick, decisive battle."

"You think we'd lose in a head-on confrontation?" Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail asked. The tone in which he asked the question already indicated that he didn't think so.

"Not necessarily." Feng Bujue said, "But since you asked me to be your teammate, you should know that, for our combination, our overall strength advantage is far greater than engaging the opponent in close combat." He slightly turned his head, looked over his shoulder at Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail, and said, "Strategic deployment is also part of strength." He paused, then looked forward again, "If you just want to charge straight in and confront the opponent head-on, teaming up with me would be less effective than finding a pure combat-type player."

Crazy Shadow of Sword's Trail said, "Alright, then..."

Roar—

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a strange low growl. Feng Bujue also stopped in time.

The two acted with great coordination. They both kept silent and consciously faced different directions, on guard. They listened intently, waiting for the roar to sound again to determine its location.