Marco's first reaction was immediate. He spun toward Blue Kill, his voice filled with nervous urgency:
"What did Lucas just bring out?! What the hell was that thing in his hand?"
Blue Kill frowned deeply. His expression, usually calm and unshaken, carried a rare look of genuine confusion.
"I… don't know either."
The spectators in the live broadcast erupted. One in a hundred turned his eyes toward Blue Kill with outright disdain.
"You don't know? Aren't you supposed to be a supernova, just like Lucas? Aren't you on the same level?"
Blue Kill stiffened. His voice dropped, almost awkwardly.
"…."
His silence was answer enough.
What exactly was that small square piece Lucas had taken out? The strange black device that glowed with light, scanning the pipe in the food factory—none of the players had seen it before.
Dozens of spectators tried to guess, but in the end, no one could find a definite answer.
Time moved forward quickly within the dungeon.
The dark night faded.
Soon, dawn crept across Verne Town.
---
The Morning Routine
7:00 AM.
"Today is a new day for everyone in Verne…"
The radio crackled to life. The same nasal, hooked-nose voice echoed across every street and every household:
"Beep— Please all villagers tidy up their housekeeping, finish breakfast, and gather at the central square before 7:30…"
The broadcast repeated itself again and again, each time hammering the message into every villager's ears.
Inside the communal dining hall, villagers ate in silence. Everyone kept a safe distance from one another. Empty spaces stretched between each chair, and when they walked, they carefully avoided close contact.
The fear of the genetic virus had sunk so deeply into Verne's people that it shaped every step of their lives.
By 7:30, as ordered, all the villagers had gathered in the central square.
---
The Strange Pair
Among the crowd, one figure stood out—Lucas.
And next to him, barely reaching his waist, stood the little girl he had pulled from hiding the night before. She wore oversized clothes that sagged off her thin body, making her appear even more fragile. Her tangled hair fell over her face, hiding her features, but even so, the pairing of the tall man and the tiny girl was conspicuous.
Whispers rippled through the villagers.
"When did our town suddenly have a child?"
"I've never seen her before…"
"Be careful. It's possible she…"
Their voices trailed off, thick with suspicion. The villagers of Verne were cautious people, trained by fear and survival. No one trusted what they did not recognize.
The murmurs ended abruptly when a flash of crimson light appeared at the podium.
---
The Lady in Red
A woman in a red dress stepped onto the stage. Her elegant fingers rested lightly on the arm of the hooked-nose official at her side.
Da. Da. Da.
The sharp clack of her high heels echoed across the square, silencing the restless whispers.
Behind her, prison guards pushed the villagers forward with long white rods, forcing them to kneel upon the stage.
The system window flashed before Lucas's eyes:
[Modeling…]
[Generating a risk assessment based on the host's own strength…]
Lighthouse Top Management: Extraordinary Danger
Senior Management of the Town: Surpassing Senior Danger
Town Staff: Advanced Danger
Player Ethan Walker: Low-Level Danger
Player Zhao Guanghui: Intermediate Danger
Villagers of Gurala Town: Intermediate Danger
Villagers of White Sailing Town: Above Intermediate Danger
Villager Dragon Tiger: Low-Level Danger
Lucas glanced across the kneeling figures. In addition to the seven villagers from Verne who had escaped execution the previous day and a captured intruder from Nile Town, today's stage had even more. Four players, two outsiders, and four Verne villagers—eighteen in total—were pressed down by guards, their heads lowered in shame and fear.
The scene was grim.
Marco's face twisted with unease. "Six people reported in just one night… The power of villagers uniting together really is terrifying."
Lucas chuckled softly. His tone was calm, but there was a strange sincerity to it.
"The power of villagers uniting as one is indeed infinite."
---
Unity in Fear
The woman in the red dress tapped the microphone. The static hiss faded, and every villager's attention was pulled toward her. She smiled faintly, her voice both stern and enticing.
"Through the joint efforts of all villagers, we have uncovered two intruders and four infected. Once again, this proves what we have always said: only unity can create a better future."
The hooked-nose official began to clap. Soon the entire square joined him. Applause roared, echoing like thunder between the buildings.
The villagers were proud. To them, their efforts had eliminated threats. They were protecting Verne.
But on the stage, the captured players and villagers hung their heads in despair.
Ethan Walker, his body weak from severe injuries, let out a bitter laugh.
"It's impossible… to get people who have lived their whole lives as slaves to stand up and resist. They're too far gone. This whole Verne—no, the whole lighthouse—is a twisted world."
His words were laced with resignation.
---
Sentence of Death
The applause lasted for a full half minute. Then, with a single motion of her hand, the woman in red silenced them again.
Her voice rang out clear and cold through the microphone.
"Today, we will completely eliminate the sources of infection. We will restore peace to the town of Verne."
The applause exploded again.
She turned slightly to the hooked-nose official, who immediately barked orders at the prison guards.
The guards drew their long, thin rods, preparing to carry out the executions. The villagers leaned forward with expectation in their eyes.
The moment of death had come.
---
Lucas Interrupts
Just as the rods began to lift, Lucas's voice cut sharply across the square.
"Wait."
The woman in red froze. The faint smile on her lips vanished instantly. All eyes turned toward him.
"It's him?!" Zhao Guanghui exclaimed, his eyes wide.
Ethan Walker turned toward him, confused. "You know him?"
Zhao Guanghui nodded quickly. "Yes. He's another famous player. His name's Jason… We met at the food factory."
But even this recognition didn't ignite hope in Ethan. His voice was dry, bitter.
"A player… So what? Does he want to try copying what I did yesterday? It's pointless. He should just wait it out until the instance ends."
Zhao Guanghui, however, couldn't help but feel conflicted. Lucas had stepped up in the most dangerous moment. It stirred admiration in him—but also deep worry.
The woman in red pressed down her anger. Her tone remained deceptively polite as she addressed him.
"Villager, do you have something to say?"
Under the heavy weight of countless gazes, Lucas smiled faintly. His expression was shy, almost harmless.
"You seem to have missed one," he said. "There's another intruder here."
With that, he pushed the little girl forward.
His voice was calm, yet it carried through the entire square:
"We can't leave the virus in Verne Town."
The four players kneeling on stage were stunned into silence.
Your… mother actually wants to surrender someone?!
Their faces twisted in disbelief.
------------------------------------
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