Chapter 24 Expansion of the Divine Realm and the Awakening of the "Fourth Calamity"
The temple square, though quiet in the dead of night, was instead illuminated by scattered green lights – the "slime magic lamps" invented by Edison.
As the players, covered in blood and carrying heavy equipment and survivors, crossed the makeshift wooden wall, the villagers who had been waiting there swarmed forward.
"They're back! Our benefactors are back!"
No one needed to organize it; the village women, who had once been refugees themselves, wept as they carefully took the emaciated survivors from the players' backs.
"My God... is this even human...?"
The old village chief looked at an old man being held in Gangzi's arms. The old man's body was covered with sores and whip marks, and he was covered with sores and whip marks, which made people want to cover their noses.
But Gangzi didn't show any disgust. He simply placed the old man gently on the soft grass and said in a low voice, "I brought him back alive. The rest is up to you."
"Move aside, let me do it."
A clear, cool, and gentle voice rang out.
The forest elf, Eileen Moonsong, pushed through the crowd and walked over. Looking at her fellow humans who had suffered inhuman torment (though of different races, they were all victims in the wasteland), a hint of pity flashed in her emerald eyes.
She didn't find the stench offensive; instead, she knelt on the ground and gently placed her hands on the injured person's forehead.
"Great spirits of nature... listen to the whispers of the wind..."
She closed her eyes and began to sing softly. It was an ancient, ethereal song that seemed to cleanse the soul.
As the song played, the withered weeds around the temple miraculously began to sprout a hint of green. Tiny specks of pale green fluorescence gathered in the air, drifting down like fireflies onto the wounds of the injured.
Unlike the domineering instant healing of Holy Light, this is a gentle, nourishing process.
The wounded men's furrowed brows gradually relaxed, their festering skin began to scab over, and their previously rapid and weak breathing became steady.
The players stood aside, watching this scene. Although there was no system notification that the "mission was completed," the feeling of a huge weight being lifted from their hearts was more real than any reward.
"This game..." Husky wiped the dust off its face and leaned on Gangzi's shoulder, "Although it's dark and cruel, it's actually quite therapeutic to play it like this once in a while."
...
High on the platform, deep within the temple.
Looking at the heartwarming scene below, Li Wei felt the power of faith within his divine core—not immense, but extremely resilient and pure—that came from the gratitude of those saved and the "sense of accomplishment" of the players.
"That's about it."
Li Wei slowly stood up, his body under the black robe no longer as weak as when he had just transmigrated.
Through the mine battle just now, the players reaped a large amount of fear (to the kobolds) and anger (to the atrocities), and these emotional energies, after being transformed by the Heart Mirror, are now all gathered in his body.
"Divinity restoration progress... 1%"
Although it's only 1%, for a dying evil god, it's a qualitative change from 0 to 1.
"Since you have accomplished this, as a god, I should also fulfill my promise and expand the 'home' for my warriors."
Li Wei raised his right hand, and purple-gold divine power condensed in his palm. Then he pressed down hard.
"Divine Realm... unfolds."
Buzz—!!!
A deep humming sound resounded throughout the heavens and earth.
The crowd in the square looked up in alarm.
The black mist that had lingered above the temple year-round suddenly surged like boiling water. Then, it broke through the boundary that had previously only enveloped the temple, spreading wildly in all directions!
The black fog surged across the square like a tide, overflowed the simple city wall, and swallowed the ruins of the back mountain, only slowly stopping when it covered an area of two kilometers in radius.
But the black fog no longer felt suffocating.
The players inside felt a sudden lightness in their bodies.
The fatigue accumulated from the long journey and battles (resulting in a reduction in stamina) was swept away the moment the black mist enveloped them.
Gangzi clenched his fist in surprise. He felt an itch on his wound, a sign that his cells were healing with high activity.
The husky tried jumping and was half a head higher than usual, its body as light as if it were in a low-gravity environment.
[Server-wide announcement: The expansion of the Divine Realm is complete.]
[Current divine power coverage area: Temple Square, Back Mountain Ruins, Outer Living Area.]
[Divine Protection (Passive): All allies within this area experience significantly increased stamina recovery speed, faster wound healing, and enhanced mental resistance (they are no longer easily startled or suffer rapid sanity drops).]
"Holy crap! Home advantage?!"
"This buff is awesome! Won't we be invincible when fighting at home from now on?"
Before players could even recover from their surprise, an even more shocking change was on its way.
All players who have reached "Level 4 Peak" (i.e., have reached the maximum experience points and are waiting to break through) simultaneously emitted a dazzling light from the chest protector.
[Soul strength has reached the threshold.]
[Your mortal bodies can no longer bear your will.]
[Advanced... Beginning.]
There are no pop-up windows for players to choose between "warrior" and "mage", and there are no tedious data lists.
Under the shroud of the divine realm, the consciousness of each player was drawn into a mysterious space.
Here, they saw four distinct paths, formed by ancient runes and phantoms:
The first path is the phantom of a giant sword stuck in a rock.
It exudes a heavy, violent aura. Choosing it means the ultimate enhancement of your physical body. Your skin will be as hard as rock, and your strength will be able to shatter steel.
This is the path of the [Destroyer] (Power).
The second path is a dark dagger that appears and disappears in the shadows.
It represents speed, precision, and lethality. Choose it, and your senses will be sharp as a wild beast, your form will blend into the darkness, and you will deliver a fatal blow to your enemies from unimaginable angles.
This is the path of the [Stalker] (Agile).
The third path is an eye that floats in the air, burning with purple flames.
It represents spirit, control, and the perception of energy. By choosing it, you will be able to manipulate flames manifested by divine power, see through the weaknesses of your enemies, and interfere with matter with your mental power.
This is the path of the [Mystic] (Intelligence).
The fourth path is a piece of flesh stained with blood.
It represents the alienation of flesh and blood. By choosing it, your body will possess unparalleled vitality, you will gain super resistance to negative states, and you will gradually ascend to the path of immortality.
This is the path of [Calamity Messenger] (Constitution).
"Is there even a need to choose?"
In the space of consciousness, Gangzi looked at the giant sword, grinned, and reached out to grasp it without hesitation.
"A real man is tough!"
boom!
A surge of heat washed over his entire body, his muscle fibers seemed to be reorganized, and his bones became denser. When he opened his eyes again, although his appearance hadn't changed, he felt like he could kill a bull with a single punch.
On the other side, the husky's fingers touched the dagger.
"I want to be a man like the wind!"
There was also canned food; he walked toward the eye.
"Wisdom is the ultimate power."
More than a dozen beams of light shot into the sky from the square.
When the light faded, the players didn't transform into three-headed, six-armed beings, but their overall demeanor changed.
That was a transformation that shed the fragility of ordinary people and truly stepped into the realm of the "extraordinary".
There were no specific numerical values displayed, but they knew—they had become stronger. Strong enough that if they encountered that Centurion Fang again, they could probably crush him in a one-on-one fight.
"Is this... Level 5 job advancement?"
Canned food looked at the faint purple flame dancing on its fingertips, pushed up its non-existent glasses, and revealed a fanatical smile.
"No, this is called... awakening."
...
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, stubbornly piercing the dim bedroom and landing on the messy computer desk.
Wang Kai (ID: What Canned Food I Say) slowly took off the technologically advanced, cool black helmet.
Based on his past experience, as a nearly 30-year-old office worker, if he stayed up all night playing games (more than 10 hours), he should now feel a splitting headache, bloodshot eyes, a pounding heart, and be on the verge of sudden death.
However, Wang Kai stood up from the chair with light movements, without any stiffness or cracking sounds from his joints.
He took a deep breath, the morning air filling his lungs. Far from feeling tired, he felt refreshed and his mind clearer than ever before. It was as if he had just finished a ten-hour, dreamless, deep, infantile sleep.
Even his neck and lumbar spine, which usually ached from long hours of desk work, felt warm and cozy at that moment, as if he had received a top-notch Thai massage.
Although he had woken up in this state many times before, he still looked at the helmet in his hand with a hint of doubt, and then at the wall clock.
It was indeed 7:30 in the morning. In that other world called "The Forsaken Land," he had been diligently working, slaying monsters, marching, and rescuing people since 8 PM last night.
In the game, he was exhausted, his stamina bar turning red countless times.
But in reality, he's like someone who's just been fully charged.
"This isn't a game console!" Wang Kai stroked the dark gold logo on the helmet with a feverish look in his eyes. "Is this some kind of medical device? Repairing brain fatigue through neural connections? What kind of alien black technology is this?"
In the past, he played games to escape reality. But now, this game actually allows him to face reality in a better state of mind?
If this gets out, not to mention gamers, wealthy people suffering from insomnia, students anxious about exams, and programmers working overtime until they go bald, wouldn't they crash the servers?
"I have to post this! I have to let more people know!"
Wang Kai didn't even bother to wash his face before rushing to the computer.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, recalling last night's harrowing "journey to hell." Anger, emotion, passion, and the shock of returning to reality all coalesced into lines of burning words.
Ten minutes later, a long post with pictures and text was published on the official forum of "The Forsaken Land" as well as on major platforms such as Bilibili and Weibo.
[Title: You'll Never Know What You're Missing If You Don't Play This Game – An In-Depth Review from First-Test Player "Canned Food" (Multiple Images, Proceed with Caution)]
"Brothers, I am canned food."
"Before posting this, I had just finished an 11-hour exploration of the 'Forsaken Lands'. Now, sitting in front of my computer, I don't feel the lethargy that comes with cultivating immortality; on the contrary, I feel so energetic that I could go out and run a marathon. I won't go into too much detail about the game's'sleep technology,' those who know, know—it's definitely a singularity of human technology."
"Today, I want to talk to you about this world."
"Many people think this is just a fun game about killing monsters and leveling up. They're wrong."
Please look at this set of pictures.
(Image 1: Deep within the Black Rock Mine, a ghastly mountain of corpses composed of human and demi-human bones. Under the green slime light, the eerie atmosphere is suffocating even through the screen.)
"This is the dungeon we conquered last night. There are no treasure chests here, only this."
"Those kobolds aren't cute little monsters. They're ogres, predators. They keep humans captive and hang them on iron hooks like cured meat."
(Image 2: The moment the dungeon was smashed open, Gangzi (Dangdang's Gangzi) took off his leather armor and draped it over an old man covered in sores and emaciated. The 1.9-meter-tall strong man had tears in his eyes in the game.)
(Image 3: By the bonfire in the temple square, the forest elf Irene Moonsong is singing, and green light spots are healing the wounded. The little girl who was rescued by the husky is holding half a loaf of black bread, eating it with tears streaming down her face.)
"This game doesn't force you to be a good person. You can even kill these NPCs and steal their clothes."
"But when you smell that stench of decay, when you see the light that ignites in those desperate eyes when they see you..."
"You'll find that the sword in your hand is no longer for looting equipment."
"We are the Fourth Calamity, we are the chaotic fun-seekers. But in that world abandoned by the gods, for those desperate natives..."
"We are the only salvation."
"This is The Devil All the Time. It's brutal, it's hardcore, and it doesn't use any numbers to quantify your kindness. But it can give you the highest level of immersion as a 'human being'."
"One last thing: the kobolds must die! Gru must die! For all the brothers who want to join, see you in the third closed beta!"
...
The moment the post was published was like dropping a nuclear bomb on a calm lake.
The netizens who were originally "cloud gaming" on the forum because they were not eligible have completely erupted in anger.
[First Floor]: Holy crap... The first picture made me want to vomit. Is this really a game? How could this art style pass censorship?
[Second Floor]: Gangzi is a real man! That photo of him wearing a coat is so evocative, capturing the warmth of the wasteland—it's amazing!
[Third Floor]: I originally thought I was going to play a farming game, but you're telling me this is a savior game? The little girl's eyes broke my heart.
[Seventh Floor]: The key point is the "sleep technology" the original poster mentioned! Playing games all night equals deep sleep? If that's true, I'd be willing to spend 100,000 yuan on a helmet! Even if I don't play games, I'd go in and sleep!
[12th Floor]: Stop talking! Open the recharge channel now! Start the third closed beta test now! My sword is itching for action! I'm going to chop down those kobolds! They dare to eat people? I'll turn them all into hot pot!
[Top Comment]: "If the gods do nothing, then we are the new gods. The Fourth Calamity, assemble!"
Within just one hour, the hashtags #RedemptionofGodsForsakenLand#, #ElectronicElixir#, and #KoboldsMustDie# simultaneously trended on social media.
Countless people who were initially uninterested in games were drawn in by this narrative, which is full of humanistic concern (and violent aesthetics). The number of pre-registrations on the official website skyrocketed