At this moment, several high-ranking Great Xia officials in Jianghai City had gathered. Some of them occasionally played games, so they were naturally curious about the God Forsaken Game. Yet as official personnel, their foremost priority was stability.
After Wang Meng finished reporting, an official frowned. "According to you, Shadow was already Level 3 half an hour ago. Why has he not returned to reality? Does he have no family to notify?"
Wang Meng shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe he really doesn't."
A pleasant voice interrupted. "Could Shadow be a transmigrator? Aren't transmigrators usually orphans who rise to power quickly?"
Everyone turned toward the speaker, stunned. A female police officer stood there in a neatly tailored uniform, beautiful, bright-eyed, and quietly dazed. Her legs were long and straight, her figure well-proportioned, forming a striking picture. With so many gazes on her, she flushed. "Did I say something wrong?"
A minister-level official sighed. "An Yu, I told you to read fewer novels. This is a serious occasion, don't joke around."
"Oh." She stuck out her tongue and fell silent. The officials resumed their discussion.
"From Wang Meng's description, Shadow's personality doesn't seem bad."
"Agreed. His temper may be strange, but he saved Wang Meng and the others. That shows character."
"In that case, it's necessary to befriend him."
They decided that Wang Meng and An Yu would be responsible for contacting Shadow in the game. First, they needed to verify his character. Second, determine his real-world identity as much as possible. Third, establish cooperation on behalf of the official side.
"Regarding lifespan, the higher-ups already confirmed the data's authenticity. Several elderly individuals died after entering the God Forsaken Game. Data comparison confirmed they had died repeatedly in-game, their lifespans halved over and over…"
"When remaining lifespan drops below one day, each in-game death forcibly deducts a day of lifespan, leading to real death."
"This game has now been confirmed as supernatural, and countries worldwide are treating it seriously!"
Officials quickly developed two routes of action: maintaining public stability and probing the game itself. A mysterious game controlling human lifespan was something no nation could ignore.
For now, the wider world only knew that the game affected lifespan. The true point of no return was once someone reached Level 10. At that level, a system prompt would allow them to extract all attributes, equipment, skills, and levels into reality by consuming tradable lifespan.
That would mark the beginning of global chaos.
…
More than an hour later, Qin Xiaoyou forced herself to sleep in her dorm and entered the God Forsaken Game. Just like in her previous life, she chose a random class and obtained the Hidden Class Life Priest.
Life Priest boasted stronger healing than ordinary Priests and could maximize team survival. In her previous life, Qin Feng had been just an ordinary Warrior, and because of that, Qin Xiaoyou had always looked down on him.
Even when Qin Feng's combat power far exceeded others, she never truly acknowledged him. She never understood that Qin Feng had chosen Warrior only to protect her.
In this life, with no Qin Xiaoyou by his side, Qin Feng had obtained the unique Hidden Class Shadow.
Both were Hidden Classes, but their tiers were different. Life Priest was a common Hidden Class others could also draw. Shadow was unique, its strength surpassing ordinary Hidden Classes.
"This is great, I got a Hidden Class…" Qin Xiaoyou's eyes lit. "Now I'll definitely be worthy of Brother Song Fei."
Thinking of Qin Feng, her mood soured. "Why hasn't he apologized yet? Forget it. Now that the God Forsaken Game is here, and I have a Hidden Class… don't come begging me to carry you."
Qin Xiaoyou was feeling triumphant. After all, Zhang Wei had already promised to assist her, which boosted her confidence even higher. She had no idea how vicious the early game actually was.
…
Shell Town.
Qin Feng's backpack was stuffed with loot, and he was ready to head back. "Fortunately I picked up a storage bag. Five extra slots is practical…"
Players started with a ten-slot hip bag. Qin Feng now carried an additional black pouch with five more slots, making storage far easier.
After a rough count, the items were worth at least five hundred days of tradable lifespan. Considering all the effort, slaying the Silver BOSS Curser and farming relentlessly, accumulating just over six hundred days previously, five hundred now was significant.
As he moved in stealth, he spotted two familiar figures.
"Jiang Li from Dajiang Industry?"
He passed them quietly and overheard the exchange.
"Young miss, you're already Level 3. Time to fulfill your promise, isn't it?" Mao Lijun asked.
"Relax. Our Dajiang Industry won't shortchange you for such a small matter. We're logging off now. Give me your number and contact me. Also, sell me your tradable lifespan at ten thousand a day," Jiang Li said.
"Deal. Haha!"
Mao Lijun, an ordinary Archer, had invested Agility for smoother early leveling. Bringing Jiang Li to Level 3 meant harvesting his reward. For someone who had never seen so much money, six million was life-changing.
He smirked inwardly. "Shadow, even if you reached Level 7, it's still just a game. The smart ones cash out. Lifespan can be farmed anytime, what's the rush?"
Qin Feng ignored them and continued on.
Soon he returned to Shell Town. He slipped into the basement beneath the central square, descended the stairs, and found a petrified teleportation gate. He touched it.
[Congratulations! You have lit up the teleportation array in Shell Town!]
[Shell Town is now connected to other Initial Towns in Jianghai City (Great Xia). You may teleport once a day for free. Additional teleports consume tradable lifespan.]
[Reputation +1]
After finishing, Qin Feng returned to the square. He released stealth and appeared as the black-robed Assassin, face veiled. Countless players stared at him with envy, jealousy, and awe.