Chapter 9: "Secret Realm Name": Blood Night Cannibal Village.

His original plan was to visit those secret realms that had been perfectly cleared. Although the rewards from these maps were much less due to being perfectly cleared by others, they had the advantage of being old maps with many detailed strategies available online.

The danger level of the secret realms would be much lower.

Every perfectly cleared secret realm has its entrance bound to the player who cleared it, corresponding to their city-state. In the Secret Realm Building of Fengtian City, one could freely choose which secret realm entrance to go to by taking the elevator.

However...

After he went there, they told him that Unregistered Residents were not allowed to enter.

Bullshit.

As an Unregistered Resident, he really couldn't get anywhere. Others crossed over into the bodies of locals, so why was only he transported naked and entirely in person?

Thus, he could only head to the outskirts outside the city to try his luck in one of these unperfectly cleared secret realms, which were without limitations and open to everyone.

Advantage: The rewards were high, especially for a first perfect clearing, which would bring an exclusive first-clear reward.

Disadvantage: Everything inside was unknown; there was no information available online. One had to explore everything on their own, and the rate of injury or disability was extremely high.

In the entire federation.

New secret realms were being born constantly every day, but besides professional exploration companies, guilds, families, and gangs, most people rarely ventured into these newly-born secret realms. Though the rewards were generous, one could only obtain enough rewards if they kept on living.

And constantly risking one's life... would one day lead to death.

This white vortex entrance before him was the lowest grade of map, an F grade.

A silver-grey one would be a higher, E grade.

Although he had no choice but to go to a newly-born secret realm, Chen Miao would not recklessly venture into an E grade map.

"Huff!"

Chen Miao took a deep breath to calm the slight nervousness in his heart before he began to check his equipment.

A "Python R6 Revolver."

Plus 30 rounds of corresponding ammunition.

He also had a bayonet that cost 1000 credits. It wasn't a supernatural prop, but it was indeed sharp, which was much better than bare-handed combat when in a melee.

Hungry Monkey was carrying a large hammer on his shoulder, almost 70 pounds. Frankly, he could lift it, but definitely couldn't swing it properly.

That hammer cost him 4000 credits.

It nearly emptied his savings, leaving just over 3000 credits left. One night's hard work at the clinic, gone in the blink of an eye.

He had planned to buy a bayonet for Hungry Monkey as well, but after swinging it a few times, Hungry Monkey said it felt too light. He wanted something heavier, so they ended up with this rusty hammer, which was originally a discarded part from some factory machinery.

After being reported as scrap by employees, it ended up on the market.

But it was sufficient for the time being; after all, a 70-pound object, even if not designed as a weapon, if swung full circle and hitting someone's head, would immobilize anyone, leaving them stiff on the ground.

"Don't be nervous."

Chen Miao took out the "Python R6 Revolver" from his bosom, held it in his hand, and with the bayonet in his left, held sideways in front of his chest, he took another deep breath and reassured Hungry Monkey, "Don't be afraid. This is just the lowest level of secret realm. Even if it's newly born, it's still a lowest-level secret realm."

"It's all good, no problem."

"Definitely don't be scared."

"You know..."

With the hammer resting on his shoulder, Hungry Monkey scratched his head after hesitating for a while and spoke, "I'm not nervous, Miao. Do I look tense to you? You might have seen it wrong?"

"..."

Chen Miao stood in silence without any expression, not knowing what to say for a moment, and too lazy to talk further. Instead, he walked decisively into the secret realm in front of him, casting aside all thoughts to focus entirely on the challenge that lay within.

This was the first secret realm he was going to.

To say he wasn't anxious would be a lie.

But he had no choice but to enter; in six days, there was a mandatory combat event. If he didn't become strong enough in these six days, whether or not he died in today's secret realm, he would surely die in the combat event six days from now.

As for Hungry Monkey, either he was heartless or just plain carefree.

He genuinely showed no sign of nervousness at all...

The next second—

Chen Miao and Hungry Monkey stepped into the illusory white vortex before them, simultaneously vanishing from their original spot.

...

They felt an intense sensation of weightlessness suddenly enveloping their entire bodies, surrounded by white mist, as if plummeting through the fog at high speed.

In the blink of an eye, they regained the feeling of solid ground beneath their feet.

The mist beside them dissipated quickly.

The scene around them also came into full view for both Chen Miao and Hungry Monkey.

Before them lay a village, basking in the midday sun high in the sky, and they stood not far from a stone bridge, where two rows of elderly people were sitting, fanning themselves and seemingly chatting about family matters.

Noticing Chen Miao and Hungry Monkey, all the elderly turned their gaze toward them, murmuring something among themselves.

One of the old men, with a face full of kindness, nodding and smiling at Chen Miao.

At the same time.

The Secret Realm Introduction panel appeared in front of Chen Miao and Hungry Monkey.

「Secret Realm Name」: Blood Night Cannibal Village.

「Secret Realm Level」: F-level.

「Secret Realm Introduction」: This is a village abandoned by the rapidly developing society, inhabited only by lonely elderly waiting for death. The young have long fled to big cities. Yet, for some reason, the village began to be shrouded in a mysterious aura, and often at night, blood-curdling screams can be heard, accompanied by a strong stench of blood.

「Secret Realm Mission」: Survive for 12 hours.

「Secret Realm Progress」: The highest clearance progress of this instance is 12%, never perfectly cleared.

「Secret Realm Introduction」: When night falls over the village, it will reveal its mysterious side.

-

"..."

Chen Miao glanced at the panel's time within the Secret Realm—it was exactly 12 noon. Their mission was to survive for 12 hours, meaning if they made it past midnight, they would be able to leave the Secret Realm successfully.

Not too difficult a task.

At least on the surface, the elderly chatting on the stone bridge appeared benevolent, and no danger was evident. The entire sky above the village was cloudless, dominated by the blazing sun.

One could even vaguely see someone working in the fields beside a narrow path.

It indeed looked harmonious and entirely without danger.

But the words on the Secret Realm panel—Blood Night Cannibal Village, mysterious aura, blood-curdling screams, thick stench of blood—all pointed to the perilous aspects of the village.

"It's just..."

Chen Miao's brow furrowed slightly as he gazed at those words on the Secret Realm Introduction panel, feeling something was off. It seemed too obvious, as if they were afraid the players wouldn't realize that the village would undergo a transformation at night.

The contrast between the words on the panel and the amiable elders chatting at the village entrance was stark and somewhat stiff.

It was as if a third-rate novelist, after wracking his brain, came up with a twist he was quite pleased with.

This sense of discord was strong.

If it were up to him to design this Secret Realm, he would certainly not resort to such a clumsy design; he would have no information disclosed on the Secret Realm panel, and when players entered this ordinary-looking village, they would pick up on subtle details in the villagers' houses. For example, one might notice the black-and-white portraits on the wall of a family that they seemed to have seen sitting on the stone bridge upon entering the village.

Then let players suddenly realize that perhaps this village isn't as peaceful as it appears on the surface, that perhaps those elderly people chatting on the stone bridge are long dead, and there might not be a single living person in the village.

This kind of realization, that comes after the fact, would send shivers down the players' spines.

At least it should be designed to have that kind of impact.

But this Secret Realm Introduction panel was designed in a rather simplistic way, so much so that it was almost embarrassing for him to continue looking at it. This wasn't just a hint; it was a direct statement, utterly lacking in subtlety.

It lacked that rush of sweat down the back, that spine-tingling sensation, as if it were saying,

'Young man, pick up your weapon and fight your way through!'

And just then—

On the side, Hungry Monkey was eyeing the old men on the stone bridge hungrily, a large hammer in hand, "What do you say, Miao? Go in swinging? I can take them all out in a minute!"