The emergence of the Giant Thousand-Hand Centipede had wiped out nearly a dozen nations in an instant.
The world plunged into chaos.
For countries that weren't affected, it was still "just" fear.
But for the nations whose competitors had died—and whose resources had been completely extracted—what followed was pure insanity.
"Why?! Why did it have to be our country?!"
"That kind of monster isn't something humans can fight at all! It's impossible!"
"Damn it! If we hadn't run into that thing, our nation could've risen!"
"Exactly… our competitors had already found two F-rank resources! And then… haah…"
"So what do we do now? Where do we even go from here?!"
…
Resource extraction was a catastrophic blow to any nation.
Emergency meetings were convened one after another, governments trying to figure out how to survive what came next.
But no matter how long they argued, there was no answer.
Because even the countries whose competitors were still alive in the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone were barely hanging on themselves.
Who would have the spare capacity to help anyone else?
For the "resource-less" nations, the road ahead looked brutally simple:
Collapse into madness… and then vanish.
And it wasn't only the countries dragged into the abyss.
Even nations untouched by the A-rank disaster had their leaders sweating bullets.
After witnessing what an A-rank existence looked like, everyone finally understood the truth:
Don't be fooled by how "smooth" things seemed with expert teams guiding competitors.
No one knew when the next second would bring a monster of a terrifying rank—
and with it, the instant death of an entire country.
No appeals. No refunds. No second chances.
"Points Challenge Event?"
Then the next announcement from the Will of Blue Star seized every pair of eyes on the planet.
This time, the voice rang out in the minds of all humanity.
Inside I Watch the Divine Domain, the panelists heard it too.
Sienna Blake reacted fastest.
"I really don't understand what this 'Points Challenge' is supposed to mean."
Dr. Hart took over smoothly.
"From the way it sounds… it should be some kind of limited-time points event?"
The livestream chat instantly exploded.
"So points can still change!"
"Relax—our Dragon Nation is ahead by a mile. Even with a challenge event, no one's catching us!"
"Yeah! Trust Raven Shaw's strength! And… uh… 'Eat-Stream Adrian Vale' is strong too! At least when it comes to eating…"
"I'll admit it—when it comes to eating, I surrender."
"Hello everyone, I'm Lao Ba. I also surrender to Eat-Stream Adrian Vale…"
Classic chaotic chat—three lines in and the entire mood derailed.
But right then, the Will of Blue Star finally explained.
[The Points Challenge Event will last three days!]
[For the next three days, all points earned by competitors in the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone will be doubled.]
[After three days, the weekly points settlement will be triggered early.]
[Go mad for points, competitors!]
Four short lines—
and the world ignited.
Double points.
What did that mean?
It meant nations that had fallen behind finally had a chance to catch up at the top of the Points Leaderboard.
Because the rewards were already proving themselves.
Even an F-rank Chest could visibly boost a competitor.
So what about the guaranteed chests from the top of the rankings?
What kind of power would those produce?
After the A-rank centipede disaster, every government now understood this at a deeper level than ever:
In the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone…
strength was everything.
With strength, who cared whether you "found" resources?
You would take them.
The real temptation wasn't just the points—it was the head start.
The guaranteed rewards for the top three were enough to make everyone's eyes turn red.
And it wasn't only the chest itself.
According to the rules the Will of Blue Star had given:
Every 1,000 points allowed a chest to ascend once.
Everyone else had to start ascending from F-.
But the Top 3 started from D-.
A direct leap of six tiers.
Equivalent to being handed six thousand points' worth of progress for free.
Who could resist that?
Expert teams across the world immediately went into overdrive.
The panic caused by the centipede had barely cooled—
and now the entire planet was going insane again.
Back in the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone…
While the world lost its mind, Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw heard the announcement as well.
But Adrian Vale didn't care.
His attention was already locked on the direction carrying that overwhelmingly sweet scent—
beneath the eyepatch, his red-black gaze flickering with something sharp and hungry.
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