Although Ren Yifei had never faced Nian Tianxi directly, as they were both masters of disguise, he always felt that they would eventually meet and have a decisive battle at the Forbidden City to determine who was superior.
But to his surprise, the plot didn't unfold as he had envisioned.
The epic battle of disguise strategies ended before it even began.
"Is the information accurate?" Ren Yifei knew that Saman had many sources of information, but he still couldn't help but want to confirm it.
"That's accurate. I heard that the post-production team you used to work with is already looking for you."
Ren Yifei reached out and brushed his fallen bangs behind his ear: "It's only been ten minutes since you died, and you're already looking for a new home? You're really fast."
However, considering that even one of the top ten had only been dead for an hour before his lovers flew off to other people's homes, Ren Yifei understood the situation.
Everyone is just trying to survive; there's not much deep affection involved.
He was just a little disappointed that he hadn't seen Nian Tianxi's disguise style up close.
"No need to regret it. His style of only daring to hide behind the scenes shows that he knows he is no match and is afraid to fight. He has already lost." Saman on the other end seemed to have guessed what he was going to say, and miraculously, he connected with Ren Yifei's inner voice.
"What do I have to regret? It's you who's ranked similarly, don't you feel any sense of shared sorrow?" Ren Yifei sent the message.
"I haven't gotten the person I like yet, I can't bear to die, and I won't die." Two minutes later, this sentence appeared on the screen.
"You…" Ren Yifei typed a few words, then hesitated, deleting them one by one. He stared at the screen for a while before changing the subject: "This time, it seems you can't see my radiant soul?"
"No, I still saw it, just like the blazing sun. I lacked confidence in my intuition and missed it. I won't do it again next time. Heart.jpg," Saman replied with a smile.
Ren Yifei scoffed lightly: "Stubborn, you clearly didn't recognize him."
After being reminded by Saman, Ren Yifei actually changed his previous acting style.
Having spent over a decade in the entertainment industry, primarily in stage plays and films, he's still accustomed to cinematic acting styles. He extracts key elements from a wealth of information to highlight a character's traits.
A movie is only two hours long at most, and that needs to be divided among so many characters, so all the information in it is valid. He's used to it; when playing a character, every minute and second should be effective and contribute to perfecting the character.
However, this has led to the previous problem: the characters are too vivid and prominent.
Now, after the adjustments, his character has more 'ineffective plot points,' making him more relatable.
In the treehouse not far away, Saman held a light screen in his hand, but gazed at the sea at the end of his vision.
Saman didn't care about the official purge of high-level players or the division of power after the deaths of Nian Tianxi and others; he was only worried about one thing.
If Ah Fei knew that he was on the land he bought, would he be angry, or very angry?
The thought of the consequences made even the usually shameless Saman feel hot-faced. Although his behavior was initially unintentional, if word got out, it would be just as shameless as a stalker fan in the entertainment industry.
"If giving gifts could eliminate future ill will, that would be great. Even if a high-level item could only eliminate a little ill will, I would give away a hundred without hesitation," Saman thought, looking at his inventory of items.
Even for someone as wealthy as him, giving away a hundred rare items would be a significant financial burden. But as long as he didn't anger the owner of this land, Saman felt he could pack himself up and take it with him.
Feeling guilty, Saman couldn't help but send over a package containing glittering prop cards.
"There's too much; maybe it will be useful to you."
There are still too many props? This extravagance is overwhelming, and Ren Yifei feels like he's been shown off. He couldn't help but show off back: "No need, I don't care about quantity, and most of them are unnecessary."
Even with millet and rifles, we can still overthrow you.
Saman and Ren Yifei chatted happily by the sea, both forgetting about Nian Tianxi, the man they had used as a prelude to the beginning.
They forgot, but the other players didn't forget; they're going crazy.
Two quite famous and cunning characters died in one day. Are the recent dungeons really that difficult?
Hua Chaojiu was one thing; he was the type to actively solve dungeons, charging into battle on the front lines—it was bound to happen someday. But Nian Tianxi was a master of disguise, adept at self-preservation!
It is an ironclad rule that the boss cannot harm NPCs. As long as Nian Tianxi's disguise is successful enough, the boss cannot do anything to him.
So, how exactly did Nian Tianxi die?
"I heard that the Black Rabbit did it behind the scenes. Haven't they been having some disagreements lately?"
"Stop spreading rumors upstairs. Are you bullying Black Rabbit because she doesn't have any fans? Black Rabbit came out a little earlier than Nian Tianxi, and Nian Tianxi's dungeon was wiped out. They weren't even in the same dungeon."
"Who could it be? Nian Tianxi is the best at saving his life."
"No one. Wasn't it supposed to be a total wipeout? Maybe they ran into one of those world-ending dungeons. No matter how good he is at surviving, he's helpless against this kind of environment-crushing dungeon."
There are many different opinions on the forums regarding the deaths of these two people. But these are mostly bystanders far removed from the truth; those who truly understand the situation are high-level players like Saman.
"So the increased difficulty of high-end dungeons these days isn't just my imagination?"
"That damn official team is acting like a jerk again. They're definitely planning to wipe out a bunch of top players. I wonder how many people will die this time."
These expert players also have their own small forums for communication.
Shi Da and Nian Tianxi are two relatively prominent figures, but besides them, quite a few experienced veteran players have recently died. This might not be apparent on the Star Rankings, but the Potential Star Rankings have seen several changes.
Those in the know shook their heads and sighed. It's only the beginning, yet it's already making these people so terrified. Who knows how panicked they'll be when the authorities actually take action?
"Legend has it that seven years ago, the Wasteland also cleaned out a group of veteran players. The one who is currently in the top ten and has been alive the longest was just a newbie who had just entered the game and didn't know anything about it back then. Wenli, Butterfly, and others hadn't even entered the Wasteland yet."
"So you found out about this upstairs?"
"I've been in the Desolate Corner for years, so what's so strange about knowing this? I not only know this, but I also know something that's called a legend."
Whenever the topic turned to secrets or legends, people on the forum became interested and showered him with compliments, hoping he would tell them about the matter.
"I only heard about this. If it's a misconception, then don't come looking for me."
"Alright, go ahead and say it." The players were losing patience.
"I heard that when you enter the top ten rankings, each player has one chance to challenge the official team. If you win, you can get a wish. This wish... is even to leave the Desolate Corner and live a normal life."
After he finished speaking, the forum, where top players gathered, fell silent for a long time, at least three minutes, and not a single person showed up.
A few more minutes passed before someone finally asked, "Are you telling the truth?"
For players, returning to a normal life is simply a dream, an unattainable dream. And now someone is saying that this dream has a chance of coming true?
"If it's true, even if there's only the slightest chance, I'll definitely give it a try!"
"I don't know, but even if it's true, it must be incredibly difficult." The player in front of the screen sighed and continued typing.
The light reflected from the screen shone on his face. If the players in front of the screen knew who was chatting with them, they would be very surprised—for no reason other than this person was also one of the top ten, and the one who lived the longest.
He has lived in the Desolate Corner for seven years. This number may not seem like much to outsiders, but in the Desolate Corner, he is definitely an 'old man'.
That's not right either. This "old man" refers to players who make a living by playing games, not just casual gamers.
Lifestyle players have a much tougher time, but their average lifespan is also longer than that of players who progress through levels.
However, even if a casual player lived for decades, they wouldn't know about the official crackdown on high-level players. Even he, back then, was just a newbie who sensed a storm brewing and knew nothing about it.
It was only after that fall of the stars that he slowly realized the danger involved, and a chill ran through his chest.
The Desolate Corner has never hidden its purpose—killing, luring players into dungeons and killing them one by one. But it has disguised itself, deceiving players.
"We just need to reduce the number of players," he thought. "The opportunity to go out should attract a large number of players into this meat grinder, which will consume a group of high-end players."
He wasn't lying; there really is such an opportunity, and every player who makes it into the top ten gets one. Successfully completing the challenge grants them one wish—even simply retiring to a normal world to live a peaceful life.
But they all lost.
In fact, if the current top ten were to take on the 'opportunity challenge' again, they might not necessarily lose. Unfortunately, such an opportunity is fleeting.
"It's been seven years since I came to this desolate corner." He looked at his hands, which were still the same as when he first arrived, and he looked to be in his thirties.
Even including these seven years, he's not yet forty, in the prime of his youth, full of vigor and vitality. But why does it feel like centuries have passed, and he's become a weary old man?
"Ding-dong, you have a message from a friend." The guide sprite popped out, emitting a sweet voice.
He glanced at it, then turned on the communicator: "It's you. What's up?"
He couldn't help but laugh after hearing something said on the other end of the communicator: "Looks like everyone's getting restless. How many of you are there?"
He held the communicator, his eyes fixed on his reflection in the window, his voice laced with laughter, but his face held no real joy.
"Yes, I used this method a few years ago to survive. But… cooperating with the authorities is like asking a tiger for its skin. To them, we all deserve to die, it doesn't matter who dies. So you've made up your minds?"
He looked at his reflection in the window, a cruel smile curving his lips: "30%. That was the key to my survival back then. To get into the top ten and the Star Ranking, 30% of the people had to die first. It could be you or me, or it could be someone else."
"Oh, by the way, there's something you might already know: Ke Bei's Nirvana Card has been used up."
Author's Note: The Barren Corner: Isn't it normal to rush to meet performance targets at the end of the year?