Chapter 1: Shaking the Small Thousand World (10)
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The closer Lin Nan got to Sky Sword City, the more her heart raced.
This had never happened before.
As the largest city in the Human Race territory, it was a popular choice for players to be born.
Humans naturally felt more at home with their own kind compared to the Demon Race and Monster Race, and it made them feel a certain camaraderie.
But who would have thought the System would pull off such a stunt, sending everyone on a collective journey through time and space, plunging the human players into widespread famine and fear?
Lin Nan estimated that players siding with the Human Race made up at least seventy to eighty percent of the total population, and half of those gathered around Sky Sword City. This meant around thirty to forty million players were mixed up in this chaos.
As a result, overnight, the Sky Sword City area became the most densely populated spot on the Asking Dao Continent.
When Sky Sword City sensed the panic of the population influx, it immediately shut its gates. But by then, there were already about four to five million players crowding in, nearly bursting the city’s seams. Walking the streets at midnight left little room for even a foot to stand.
Lin Nan flew closer, and as she got within about four to five hundred kilometers of Sky Sword City, she could feel things getting exponentially worse.
Surrounding the once-bustling city were fields and villages, towns scattered like stars across the landscape.
Sky Sword City had a resident population in the hundreds of thousands, who needed a steady supply of agricultural products and daily essentials. As a result, the city and its surroundings had always flourished, with the Heavenly Sword Sect protecting the residents, ensuring a peaceful existence.
But with millions of players arriving out of nowhere, everything turned upside down.
The Dark Feather Crane swooped down low, and everywhere Lin Nan looked, there was rubble and scorched remnants of homes, signs of destruction everywhere.
Black smoke twisted in the sky. Even at noon, the warm sunlight struggled to break through the thick haze.
Lin Nan could even faintly smell a hint of charred flesh in the air.
The once-calm countryside was now a hell on earth.
She casually landed next to a still-warm pile of ruins and spotted quite a few charred bodies—both locals and players.
If the chaos outside the city was this intense, what was happening inside?
Resolute, Lin Nan decided she wouldn’t stop for anything, having already lost too much time.
The Dark Feather Crane soared up rapidly, breaking through the black mist and into the white clouds, until the houses below diminished to the size of ants.
Half an hour later, the Dark Feather Crane slowed and began to descend, indicating they were nearing Sky Sword City.
The Dark Feather Crane wandered about during its spare moments, mapping out all the key cities on the Asking Dao Continent in Lin Nan’s mind. It had essentially become her live map; even in the Demon Realm’s big cities, all she had to do was give a command, and the Dark Feather Crane would track the route flawlessly.
Right now, the priority was the Small Thousand World.
As for the situation in Sky Sword City, she simply couldn’t be bothered at the moment.
As the sun began to set, it wasn’t even five yet, but the light was dimming, gradually ushering in the night.
Lin Nan snapped her fingers, and her previously weightless Black Robe instantly transformed into a sleek outfit suitable for action—skin-tight shirt and pants, topped off with a black coat.
It was only then that she realized after reaching level 80, her Black Robe had acquired the ability to change outfits. Unfortunately, her mind drew a blank for female apparel and only had a few styles of men’s clothing kicking around.
But the good news was, the Black Robe could only store two extra outfits, so she didn’t have to fret too much about what to change into. All she needed to do was remember the flashy outfits that caught her fancy.
What she wore now was the result of her brainstorming, and it turned out feeling pretty great.
Since the Dark Feather Crane was too big to fight in the narrow streets, Lin Nan instructed it to wait outside the city. When she needed it, she’d send a signal.
Then, stepping onto a snowflake, she gracefully floated down, landing near the teleportation array between Sky Sword City and the Small Thousand World.
As dusk fell, her landing spot was eerily empty. The shops along the street looked barely recognizable, smashed to bits, and the ground was soaked with bl**d, splattered everywhere like it was confetti at a gruesome party.
Lin Nan didn’t need to think hard; it was evident that there had been multiple large-scale brawls here.
In the struggle for survival, for food, for the hope of making it through until spring, everyone had thrown away their civilized identities in favor of wielding weapons against players they once called allies.
She sighed softly.
Her shoes crunched over a street littered with shards of glass, squeaking loudly in the eerie quiet.
Too quiet.
This didn’t sound like a large city filled with millions of newcomers.
After walking a few minutes, the teleportation array right in the center of Sky Sword City came into view.
There were no guards around.
The area before the teleportation array was a chaotic mess. Mountains of trash piled high, intermixed with human limbs and chunks of flesh, like someone had spread a layer of chili sauce over the ground, making her stomach turn.
If it were summer, the stench of decay would probably engulf the entire Sky Sword City.
Just looking at the abandoned state, it was clear that the teleportation array was out of commission. If the Heavenly Sword Sect Disciples were around to maintain order, the city wouldn’t have devolved into such a horrific situation.
But now that she was here, she might as well take a look inside.
The teleportation array wasn’t large—only accommodating around ten people at a time. But it was quick, which was sufficient for daily use by the Heavenly Sword Sect.
After all, many disciples often spent extended periods training in the Small Thousand World and rarely emerged.
Now, Lin Nan was standing in a filthy, almost garbage heap of a teleportation array, her right index finger trailing along the iron railing.
A thick layer of dust coated the railings, indicating it hadn’t been used for at least four to five days.
Otherwise, if it were used regularly, even the daily comings and goings would keep the railings shiny and clean, negating any dust accumulation.
She had no understanding of spatial magic and had no clue who built this teleportation array. It was just like being stuck at a malfunctioning elevator in the real world; ordinary people were utterly helpless and could only wait for a technician to fix it.
Unfortunately, she had no idea who else in this world knew about teleportation arrays, so she sighed and left the decaying space behind.
But just as she stepped out of the teleportation array’s entrance, she noticed a swarm of figures swaying nearby.
What struck her as odd was that these living beings exuded an air of d*ath.
