Translator: AnubisTL
"Defend Kindling City?"
Chen Jiang frowned slightly, remaining silent. This sudden global event felt like the Ten Thousand Races Arena was trying to drive the human race to extinction.
Unlike the human race, which possessed both a racial innate ability and a random personal innate ability, not every race had this dual advantage.
Moreover, every alien race player who killed a human player could acquire the human player's random personal innate ability.
It was easy to imagine how this would make all alien race players' eyes bloodshot with greed.
If an alien race player killed Chen Jiang during the event, they could gain his unrestrained modification innate ability.
If that player spent 100 kindling points to solidify the ability before the event ended, they would permanently possess the unrestrained modification innate ability.
This event essentially put the human race on a spit, roasting them under the gaze of all alien races.
Most critically, the city had just endured a missile bombardment from the light gate, and the battlefield hadn't even been cleared before they faced an even greater ordeal.
Frankly, Chen Jiang didn't believe Kindling City could withstand it.
This, the human race's premier city, might be destroyed today, barely after its founding.
Just then, Chen Jiang noticed the human race's Guardian Lord striding toward him along the city wall.
Chen Jiang's brow furrowed slightly as he stood motionless, already guessing what the human guardian was about to say.
Yet when the human guardian strode up to stand a meter away, his face remained stern as he stared intently without uttering a word.
"To be honest," Chen Jiang began after a pause, his voice soft, "while I don't mind helping the human race, given the current situation, I don't have any good solutions."
If it were a mechanical race city...
Or even a few alien race strongholds...
He would have had a plan.
But the reality was that every alien race player, driven by greed, would rush through the light gates with bloodshot eyes, eager to slaughter humans.
And there were thousands of these light gates.
Ghost knows how many alien race players would pour through them every second.
"A three-star item."
The human guardian offered no further explanation. He pulled a three-star item from his chest and presented it to Chen Jiang, his expression grave. "Moreover, you need not worry about your safety."
"On Blue Star, I hold no significant official position."
"Nor do I possess exceptional administrative skills. The reason I was given the title 'Human Race Guardian' and appointed leader of the Human Race Guardian Association is because of my innate ability."
The old man paused, then without hesitation, displayed his talent panel to Chen Jiang.
Innate Ability Name: Guardian
Innate Ability Effect: Your life is bound to all human players. If the number of human player deaths exceeds 60%, you will die as well, and your racial innate ability, Phoenix Nirvana, will be nullified.
However, if the number of human player deaths remains below 60%, you will be rejected by death and cannot die for any reason.
Additionally, slightly increases the drop rate of mutated beasts for all human players.
Chen Jiang narrowed his eyes slightly, pausing as he glanced at the old man's talent panel before murmuring, "This is the first time I've seen an innate ability like this."
The old man closed his talent panel and leaned against the city wall, his arms braced against the edge, as if chatting with an old friend. He gazed at the battlefield being cleared in the distance and said slowly, "Every human player receives a random innate ability."
"And almost none of them are the same."
"I've seen countless human players' random innate abilities."
"Some are completely useless, like the ability to pee perfectly into any hole, no matter how small, or the ability to never snore while sleeping."
"We call these 'useless talents.'"
"Players with such talents are often equipped with firearms, like those human players with rifles down there."
"Their only offensive capability lies in their firearms; they possess no inherent combat abilities."
"Though it sounds harsh, they are indeed less valuable than human players with superior talents."
"Then there are the powerful personal innate abilities."
"Like the absolute defense you just witnessed."
"That human player's talent allows them to defend against any level of attack, with the duration inversely proportional to the area of defense."
"What a mess. They don't have any innate abilities worth mentioning."
"But even the most useless innate ability can still serve a purpose."
"And if these abilities are stripped away by alien race players, the human race's situation will become even more dire."
Chen Jiang paused, then casually remarked, "It's inevitable that they'll be stripped away. The human players who have come here represent only a small fraction of the entire human race."
"The majority of human players are still scattered across the planet."
"In this situation, how could any human player's innate abilities possibly remain untouched?"
"No."
The elder shook his head resolutely. "Only human players killed near Kindling City will have their innate abilities stripped away. Those killed by alien races outside Kindling City will retain their abilities."
"Oh?"
Chen Jiang glanced at the activity panel again.
[During this event, all alien race players who kill human players will receive a random personal innate ability from the slain human player.]
"The activity panel doesn't mention anything about only human players killed near Kindling City having their random personal innate abilities stripped away."
The elder clapped his hands lightly, and a guard strode forward.
"Show me your talent panel."
"Yes, sir."
[Innate Ability Name]: Eye of Illusion.
[Innate Ability Effect]: You can see through the hidden rules of all global events.
These were simple words.
The elder spoke again, explaining, "It's a support-type innate ability. Most of the time, it's useless, but it can prove useful in critical moments."
"For example, the recently concluded global event, Mist Paradise, was a recreational activity with minimal life-threatening risks."
"Or, consider the hidden rules governing the defense of Kindling City in this global event."
"I see."
Chen Jiang glanced at the guard's talent panel with a slightly strange expression. After a moment of silence, he accepted the three-star item and turned to the elder.
"I can't protect all of humanity right now."
"But since you've offered a three-star item, helping the human race defend Kindling City is something I can do."
"However, before we proceed, I need to inform you of three things in advance."
"Speak," the elder replied immediately, his expression serious.
"First," Chen Jiang said, pointing to the thousands of light gates in the distance, "when the event begins, I will continuously bombard the light gates and the surrounding area. This will essentially guarantee that no alien race players will emerge alive."
"The bombardment will last for 24 hours, until the event concludes."
"This means that whatever state the wilderness near your light gates is reduced to will be your sole responsibility."
"Wait a moment..." The elder frowned slightly, instinctively questioning, "You're saying you'll bombard the area for 24 hours?"
"Isn't 24 hours a bit excessive?"
"Yes," Chen Jiang nodded. "I don't wish to elaborate on this point for now. I simply want you to understand that whatever destruction occurs in that area will be entirely unrelated to me."
"This..." A flicker of hesitation crossed the elder's eyes. "If your bombardment truly prevents the alien race players from invading, I naturally won't hold you accountable for any damage."
"However, we also possess firearms."
"Firstly, the cannons can't sustain continuous fire for too long. Secondly, there are simply too many light gates. Ordinary bombing runs can't completely stop the alien race from pouring out."
"That's my concern," Chen Jiang interrupted the elder, pausing before continuing. "Secondly, I need you to prepare 130 of these items for me."
He tossed an item into the elder's lap.
[Item Name]: Energy Cartridge Replenishment Gun
[Item Star]: One-Star Item
[Item Effect]: When aimed at the energy cartridge of your energy weapon and fired, it instantly restores the cartridge to its peak condition.
[Item Description]: As you know, this method of instant replenishment is far more costly than allowing the cartridge to recharge naturally. Therefore, you should understand why it comes at a premium price.
[Item Price]: 1,000 Human Merit Points
To maintain 24-hour continuous bombing, the Energy Cartridge Replenishment Gun is indispensable.
He had already purchased 100 energy cartridge supply guns in advance and stored them in his space bracelet as strategic reserves.
However, his current human race merit points totaled only around 100,000, far from enough to cover his needs.
His Steel Sword Autonomous Turret had an ammunition capacity of 81,000 rounds and a firing rate of 6,900 rounds per minute. This meant it could sustain full-power fire for approximately 11 minutes.
To maintain continuous bombardment for 24 hours, he would require at least 130 energy cartridge supply guns.
"This item..." A flicker of understanding crossed the elder's eyes. "This item costs 1,000 merit points each in the human race merit points shop."
Acquiring 130 units would thus require 130,000 merit points.
The elder pondered briefly before speaking. "We'll need to gather them. I can guarantee all 130 energy cartridge supply guns will be in your hands within an hour."
"Good."
Chen Jiang paused before adding softly, "Thirdly..."
"Since you invited me to handle this, I bear no responsibility for the state of the ground around the light gate, regardless of how heavily it's bombarded."
"That's understood."
A flicker of confusion crossed the old man's eyes. Hadn't Chen Jiang already mentioned this during their initial conversation? Why was he repeating himself now?
"If that's the case," the old man said, "then there's no problem."
Chen Jiang nodded slightly. "The event starts in three hours," he said. "Get the players below into the city as quickly as possible. And let the human players who haven't entered the light gate yet go through first. The bombing won't discriminate—we need to avoid friendly fire."
"I'll arrange it," the old man said, his lips twitching as if he wanted to say more. He turned to leave.
"Wait."
Chen Jiang watched the old man's retreating figure expressionlessly. As the man left, he had casually taken Chen Jiang's energy cartridge supply gun with him.
I only showed it to him as a sample, Chen Jiang thought. Who told you to just take it?
"Sigh."
He sighed softly, leaned against the city wall, and gazed down at the dense crowd below without speaking, his thoughts unreadable.
"Brother Jiang," Scar Dog said after a moment of silence, "is the Ten Thousand Races Arena really going to end with the extermination of ninety-six races?"
"Even if the last race survives, they probably won't last long after that, right?"
"Who knows?"
Chen Jiang gazed down at the hellish scene below, pulled a pack of cigarettes from Scar Dog's pocket, took one, and casually said, "Maybe our human race will be lucky enough to be the only one to survive."
"And just when we're all excited to return to Blue Star..."
"We suddenly discover there are 99 more Ten Thousand Races Arenas like this one."
"The victorious races from all 100 arenas are then thrown into another world to fight each other again."
"It's like there's no end to it."
"Uh..."
A flicker of confusion crossed Scar Dog's face. "Brother Jiang, what you're saying actually makes sense. Why else would it be called the Ten Thousand Races Arena? 100 arenas, each with 100 races, that's exactly 10,000 races."
"That's what makes it the Ten Thousand Races Arena, right?"
"Don't overthink it."
Chen Jiang pulled a lighter from Scar Dog's pocket, lit the cigarette in his mouth, and said casually, "There's no point in dwelling on this. Let's just focus on surviving for now."
"Cough, cough!"
Before he could even take two puffs, Chen Jiang suddenly choked and coughed violently, extinguishing the cigarette and tossing it over the city wall. "Cut back on this crap," he muttered.
"I-I wasn't smoking!"
Scar Dog stared blankly at Chen Jiang. Weren't you the one smoking? What does it have to do with me?
Chen Jiang, however, was looking down at the three-star item the old man had given him earlier.
[Item Name: Cigarette Production Line]
[Item Star: Three-Star Item]
[Item Effect: This is a production line capable of manufacturing cigarettes. It requires no raw materials; simply invest a certain number of human race merit points, and it will continuously produce cigarettes for you.]
[Item Description: Production line items are exceedingly rare.]
Chen Jiang glanced at the Lego-like item in his hand with a slightly strange expression. "This item... looks utterly useless."
"Though I knew he wouldn't give me a truly powerful three-star item."
"After all, three-star items are still incredibly rare."
"But this item feels like such a half-hearted effort."
"It almost makes me want to turn around and walk away right now."
"Uh..."
Scar Dog took the item from Chen Jiang. "Well, actually, this item is quite useful. My rations are almost gone, and I've been racking my brain trying to figure out where to get more."
(End of the Chapter)
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