While Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw advanced toward the location marked on the treasure map inside the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone, the internal free-for-alls in the real world were still raging in full swing.
Across the globe, ordinary people—after finally witnessing what these "big shots" could do—were left stunned over and over again.
Most of them had lived their entire lives in an era of peace. How could they ever have imagined scenes like this?
"Holy crap… my entire worldview just got rewritten."
"So there were monsters like this living right alongside us the whole time?"
"Are these guys even human? I swear I'm not the same species as them."
"Flying, tunneling, x-ray vision, walking through walls—everything's on the table."
"How do you know they've got x-ray vision?"
"Dude… you're suspicious."
"Go watch the Miracle Nation free-for-all. I swear there are barely any normal people over there!"
A few hours earlier—
After learning about Blue Star Deathmatch, Miracle Nation's top brass immediately convened an emergency meeting.
Once they heard Will of Blue Star's announcement, they understood something clearly: this Blue Star Deathmatch was Miracle Nation's last hope.
Whether they could turn things around and surpass Dragonia again would depend on this one event.
In truth, Miracle Nation's leadership had been preparing for a long time—well before the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone ever opened.
Of course, those preparations hadn't been made for the Forbidden Zone in the first place.
What they had been planning… were "human experiments."
Back when Adrian Vale first appeared, they'd already brought it up.
Those "human experiments" were the development of enhanced super-soldiers.
A project that required the most cutting-edge tech Miracle Nation possessed.
And the purpose of such a project wasn't hard to guess.
The program had already reached its final stage.
If they completed the last step, Miracle Nation would be able to mass-produce these super-soldiers.
And each one would supposedly have the strength to fight a hundred on their own.
If that production line truly came online, it would be an absolute disaster—whether for other nations, or for all of Blue Star.
But just as Miracle Nation was secretly building toward that future, the sudden appearance of the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone completely disrupted their plans.
The super-soldier project—something that should've been completed long ago—was shelved.
Because once the Forbidden Zone opened, every high-tech researcher Miracle Nation had was reassigned: studying the Forbidden Zone, and supporting Miracle Nation's two contestants inside the Divine Domain.
With their manpower diverted, the super-soldier program stalled.
And the irony was—neither the Forbidden Zone research nor the contestant support produced anything meaningful.
After repeated failures, Miracle Nation's leadership pushed the research focus back onto the super-soldier project.
But just as they resumed work, the Nation Gate disaster struck like a hammer.
It blindsided them all over again.
In fact, when the Doomsday Nation Gate event first began, the super-soldier program had already achieved initial success.
All that remained was a short window of time to begin large-scale production.
When Prime Leader Daley heard that, he was ecstatic.
In his mind, while other nations were still scrambling inside the Divine Domain for resources, Miracle Nation would soon have a blunt instrument strong enough to seize resources directly.
At that point, why would Miracle Nation need to waste effort supporting those two "useless" contestants in the Divine Domain?
If they could conquer Blue Star with super-soldiers, why wouldn't they?
Daley even started dreaming.
But reality slammed him in the face.
The moment he witnessed the powerhouses revealed by the Nation Gate disaster—figures hidden in the world's shadows—Daley was completely stunned.
He never imagined they could be that strong.
Those people had already stepped beyond the category of "ordinary humans."
Some of them could wipe out Divine Domain creatures with ease, even without ever receiving attribute rewards from the Divine Domain.
Against that kind of strength, Miracle Nation's "super-soldiers"—even the first successful batch—were nothing but cannon fodder.
That realization made Daley issue a new directive to the researchers.
They didn't need mass-produced super-soldiers anymore.
They needed a truly top-tier existence.
"I want a real super-soldier," Daley demanded.
"One who can grind every last one of those people beneath his feet!"
The researchers understood him perfectly.
If the strength wasn't there, then no matter how many you produced, they'd still just die in waves.
Only overwhelming power could make Miracle Nation rise.
So they halted their mass-production pathway and shifted entirely toward qualitative mutation—pouring everything into one single super-soldier.
A single subject, meant to be a leap rather than a line.
The experimental body they pinned all hopes on was designated: No. 10001.
And with Miracle Nation's best minds fully committed, No. 10001 met expectations.
Now, the countdown to the internal free-for-all had fallen below ten minutes.
Daley sat alone in the conference room, visibly agitated, tapping his index finger against the table—eyes locked on the desk phone.
Beep… beep… beep…
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the phone rang.
Daley snatched it up the instant it did.
"Well?!"
"Sir! We succeeded! No. 10001 can be officially activated!"
Daley sprang to his feet.
"Really?! He can be activated?!"
"Yes, sir! Just now, No. 10001's final test concluded. All metrics are normal—no, they're far beyond what we expected."
Daley's hands trembled.
"Good… good! Hahahaha! With this, Miracle Nation can finally crush Dragonia completely!"
They spoke for a while longer about the subject's specifics.
Then the voice on the other end asked carefully, "Sir… the official codename for No. 10001 should be decided by you. What will it be?"
Daley paused, thinking.
Then he spoke slowly.
"Adam."
Back to the present—
It wasn't only Dragonia's internal free-for-all. Every nation's free-for-all was equally vicious.
Miracle Nation's leaders stared at the live feed, searching for the silhouette they'd been waiting for.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The arena was chaos.
Contestants clashed in ones and twos, in swarms and dogpiles—there were even groups forming temporary teams just to beat other groups down.
Just as the rules had said: no restrictions.
As long as you were one of the last ten standing, you advanced.
Will of Blue Star didn't care how you got there.
Dragonia had its show.
Miracle Nation had its own broadcast team, too.
And under their guests' introductions—just like Dragonia's side—Miracle Nation's viewers managed to remember a few faces.
The most eye-catching one was the creature tearing through the battlefield right now—
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
A massive black figure leapt everywhere, ripping through the crowd.
It didn't look human at all.
Calling it human felt wrong. Calling it a ferocious beast felt more accurate.
At first glance, many people had even thought it was a Divine Domain creature left behind from the Nation Gate disaster.
But after the show's introduction, everyone learned the name of that "beast"—
Venom.
Even knowing he was a Miracle Nation contestant, the viewers couldn't help but complain.
"Oh my god… you're telling me that's a human? It doesn't look like one at all!"
"Exactly! I seriously think it's a Divine Domain monster!"
"No, no—you didn't notice earlier. That thing really used to be human."
"Huh? It became that? My god… tell me this is a joke."
"Ha— not bad, Miracle Nation. You really do have all kinds of freaks."
And then Dragonia viewers—who had come flooding in just to see what the fuss was about—couldn't resist chiming in.
"After watching this, I think Dragonia's free-for-all is way better."
"Yeah. Our side has more cute guys and girls."
"What do you mean 'cute guys and girls'? Can you talk properly?"
"Dragonia people? What are you doing in our stream?!"
"Your daddy's here to check on his sons—problem?"
They talked trash, sure.
But even they had to admit it: Miracle Nation's contestants were terrifying.
Especially Venom.
Shhk! Shhk! Shhk!
Pff! Pff! Pff!
Venom moved like a hunting beast, leaping through the crowd.
Every pass left behind a trail of blood that made the scalp go numb.
"Hehehe…"
As he slaughtered, he let out a cold, eerie laugh.
His movement was sharp, and his claws were like razors.
Anyone he fixed his gaze on was almost guaranteed to get taken out.
Yes—everyone knew death wasn't permanent.
But facing a monster like that, how could they not be afraid?
Just like before: even if death wasn't final, the pain before it was absolutely real.
That "death experience" wasn't something an ordinary person could endure.
"M-Monster! Monster!"
"I forfeit! I forfeit!"
"Don't—don't kill me! Don't kill me!"
The contestants nearby were already shaking, courage shattered.
There was no will to fight left.
Venom, of course, didn't care about pleading.
If anything, the begging only made him more excited.
"Hehehe… beg more. Maybe I'll let you go."
His voice scraped like metal.
Even the viewers watching through the livestream felt chilled.
"Oh my god… is he a devil crawling out of hell? That's horrifying."
"I know they come back on Blue Star, but being torn apart like that… that has to be agony."
"No… maybe they don't even feel pain before they go down."
"That's not right either. The worst part is the moment right before it."
"Damn—why are you guys analyzing this so seriously? Isn't that the show's job?"
"Wait a second—weren't you people calling Eat-Stream Adrian Vale a Divine Domain creature before? Doesn't your Venom look way more like one than him?!"
Miracle Nation's viewers fell silent.
Because it was true.
Back when people insisted Adrian Vale was a Divine Domain creature, the loudest voices had come from Miracle Nation's side.
Now, looking at Venom…
They couldn't even argue back.
The feed cut again.
This time it centered on another contestant—one the Miracle Nation show had already introduced.
He wore a black-and-red combat bodysuit.
Two short blades were strapped across his back.
Every inch of him was sealed under the suit; not a sliver of skin showed.
You couldn't even see his face.
But from his behavior alone, everyone could tell—
this guy was a complete clown.
His name was Deadpool.
More like a codename than a real name.
No matter how absurd the world was getting, nobody was actually named "Deadpool."
And Deadpool obviously wasn't going to tell anyone his real name.
So the audience could only guess wildly.
"That name is so weird. I've only seen stuff like this in the Eastern Isles."
"Obviously not his real name."
"But… 'Deadpool' sounds kind of cool."
"And that suit is cool, too."
"Not just cool—look at his footwork. He's insanely strong."
"Handsome and strong… but unfortunately he has a mouth."
Just as the viewers said, Deadpool kept taking people out while talking nonstop.
"Hey, buddy! That's not how you use a knife!"
Shhk!
Before the guy even reacted, Deadpool jumped up and cleaved straight down at his head.
One strike.
The head split open.
"See? This is how you use a knife—"
He even twirled the blade afterward, like he was showing off.
The opponent, of course, couldn't respond anymore.
"Ha!"
At that moment, two burly men rushed him from behind for a bear hug.
Deadpool didn't even turn around.
He spread his hands helplessly and sighed.
"Oh—come on. Who yells when they're sneaking up on someone?"
Shhk!
Just as the two men were about to grab him, Deadpool's figure flickered—
and vanished.
When he reappeared, he was above them.
Pff! Pff! Pff!
Whistling casually, Deadpool drove both short blades down into a bald man's head again and again.
"AH! AHHH! AHHHH—!"
Each thrust pierced through, blood spraying.
Deadpool didn't care in the slightest.
He kept stabbing while chatting like it was nothing.
"Well, look at you—still not down? Not bad!"
Pff! Pff! Pff!
He stabbed again and again until, unsurprisingly, the man finally collapsed.
Compared to Venom, Deadpool's methods were even more cruel—
because he didn't always finish it cleanly.
He made people suffer.
Even if they came back on Blue Star afterward, that kind of experience would break most people.
The other burly man stared at his companion's horrific end, panic crawling up his spine.
He screamed, "Devil! You're a devil!"
Then he turned and ran—no hesitation at all.
Deadpool shrugged.
"Tsk."
Then, to everyone's shock, he hurled a short blade after the fleeing man.
Pff!
The knife punched straight through the back of the man's skull.
Boom!
The man fell hard, dead silent.
A moment later, white light swallowed him, and he vanished—teleported out of the arena.
The livestream erupted.
"My god! I take back what I said—this guy is insanely strong!"
"Strong? That cruelty alone tells you he's not a good person."
"Holy—this is going to shock me for a whole year."
"Being able to do something that brutal while joking around… that's the scary part."
Then the feed cut again.
Finally, it landed on the contestant Miracle Nation's leadership wanted most.
No. 10001.
Adam.
From the outside, Adam didn't look imposing.
He was under 1.8 meters, slim, not visibly muscular.
But Miracle Nation's high command knew better.
Inside that body was explosive power beyond imagination.
"Hey! Brat! This isn't your playground!"
A vicious-looking man locked onto Adam.
To him, Adam looked like the easiest target in the entire arena.
Adam had white hair—not too short—and wore a tight, high-tech suit produced by Miracle Nation's research institute.
It looked futuristic, but anyone would assume a suit like that offered no protection… and would probably restrict movement.
Adam didn't answer the provocation.
He simply glanced at the man with a calm, empty gaze.
It wasn't the kind of look a living person should have.
That gaze only made the man angrier.
"Bastard! What kind of look is that?!"
He didn't hesitate.
A combat knife was yanked from beneath his arm, and he shot forward like lightning.
Shhk!
The knife flashed with a dangerous glint.
And in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Adam, swinging down toward Adam's head without the slightest intention of holding back.
The viewers screamed.
"Oh my god! Dodge, Adam!"
"I know it's a free-for-all, but that guy is way too vicious."
"You didn't say that about the last two."
"Face really is justice, huh?"
"Heh. Women."
Adam looked about twenty.
Clean features, almost delicate—enough to make people instinctively feel protective.
But Adam didn't need it.
As the blade fell, Adam moved first—leaning his entire body backward.
At the same time, he kicked silently toward the man's abdomen.
The sudden shift caught the attacker off guard.
But he wasn't ordinary, either.
He reacted instantly.
His knife had been in his right hand, while his left had stayed hidden behind his back.
Because he was actually left-handed.
The right-hand strike was only a feint.
The real kill shot was in his left.
As Adam's kick came in, the attacker's left hand shot out like a bolt—
aimed straight for Adam's groin.
A dirty, vicious move.
Miracle Nation's high command frowned in disgust.
"That's low."
"Ugh… I felt that in my soul."
"Hmph. Naive."
The viewers watching felt the same chill.
"That's disgusting."
"That's a man's weak point—he's ruthless."
"I heard getting hit there hurts ten times worse than childbirth."
"Huh? That exaggerated?"
"Someday I've gotta test it."
No matter what people said, the attacker's stab didn't slow.
He was already imagining Adam's face twisting in agony.
It wouldn't be fatal, even if he ruined it—
but it would be unbearable pain.
If you won't accept a clean end, then enjoy what I'm about to give you…
Shhk—!
But right as he thought that—
Adam changed again.
His raised right leg twisted with the motion, and his whole body spun.
It was as if he'd been lifted in midair and was rotating smoothly.
He wasn't doing a circus trick.
As Adam rotated, his legs wrapped around the attacker's left arm, locking it tight.
The attacker startled—then terror took over.
Because the moment Adam's legs clamped down, an irresistible force surged out.
Crack… crack… crack…
In an instant, the attacker's entire left arm was twisted apart.
Bone-breaking sounds made everyone's scalp crawl.
The arm deformed under Adam's crushing strength.
And it wasn't over.
Before anyone could even process it—before the attacker himself could—
Adam's legs tightened again.
Adam's hands were braced against the ground now.
He drove from the waist, using his entire body like a lever—
and hoisted the man up.
With his legs.
He lifted him into the air.
Then—
Bang!!!
A thunderous impact.
Adam slammed the man down.
Headfirst.
Under that force, there was no surprise at all:
the man's skull burst open.
Blood spread across the stone.
From start to finish, he didn't even have time to scream.
White light flashed.
His body vanished—teleported out of the arena.
Adam remained expressionless.
He dusted off his hands and didn't even spare the man a second glance—
as if he'd only crushed a piece of trash on the street.
The viewers exploded again.
"Oh my god! That was insane!"
"Looks harmless, hits like a monster."
"He looks so soft—how is he that brutal when he fights?"
"I think I can—"
"Upstairs, I swear you're that same woman again."
"Face really is justice!"
The internal free-for-alls in the real world continued to rage.
And inside the Divine Domain: Forbidden Zone, Adrian Vale and Raven Shaw kept moving toward the location marked on the Rustic Peerless Treasure Map.
They weren't moving particularly fast.
If anything, it felt like a leisurely stroll.
Along the way, Raven chatted at Adrian now and then, but Adrian ignored her most of the time.
As they advanced, the forest gradually thinned and faded.
A wasteland spread before them.
As far as the eye could see, massive rock slabs piled into jagged stone "mountains."
Layer on layer, stacked upward like a thousand-layer cake.
Almost every rocky rise around them was formed like this.
And because it was a wasteland, vegetation was scarce.
Everything looked bleak and barren.
Worse, perhaps because of all the stone, the air here was frigid.
Seeing the environment change, the livestream chat began guessing.
"So this is where the treasure map points?"
"Man… this doesn't look like a place with treasure at all."
"You don't get it. The more desolate a place is, the more likely it hides something."
"Wait—doesn't it look really cold over there? There's snow on the distant peaks!"
"Holy crap—there is!"
Adrian wasn't especially sensitive to temperature, but even he could clearly feel the drop.
Still, he had no time for trivialities.
Feeling the RC cells inside him stir, Adrian narrowed his eyes.
Raven seemed to sense something, too. She looked at him.
"Kid… you feel it too?"
Adrian didn't speak. He simply nodded.
Then the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Clearly, whatever lay hidden in this wasteland had caught his interest.
And his RC cells had never disappointed him.
Here—
there was definitely something that could drive the entire world mad.
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