### Chapter 17: Calamity? World Boss!
After the morning hustle and bustle wrapped up, the players quickly found their groove and got back to their usual antics.
Xu Xiaofeng was busy stacking bricks.
But as she watched the folks delivering express packages, the faces started to look suspiciously familiar.
There was one with the ID “Wei Long Zhan Shi,” who had sent out ten packages in just one hour!
And then there was “Sakura Island Mai, Queen of the Universe,” who had done it a whopping thirteen times.
Then there were others, each making multiple trips like they were on an express package relay team.
But the packages they sent weren’t like those massive bulk orders from big organizations—nope, just little ones.
When Xu Xiaofeng asked around, she found out that they were actually helping players deliver express packages. In other words, her little express delivery system had spawned an entire profession dedicated to that very task!
Truly, where there are people, there’s a market; and where there’s money, you can bet someone’s getting a slice of it.
Xu Xiaofeng hopped on the forum and sure enough, she found specialized posts for express delivery. Some players who didn’t want to schlep back to town just added these go-getters as friends and shot them a mail detailing their delivery needs.
And get this—the cut those couriers took was a whopping ten percent! Talk about highway robbery!
Xu Xiaofeng felt a pang in her heart. That was money she could be raking in!
Ah well, who am I kidding? I’m such a nice person; let’s just call it a community service.
Other than that, the day continued uneventfully. In-game mornings were bustling; everyone was diligently grinding—not a lot of slackers around, even the peanut gallery was notably sparse.
Except for Xu Xiaofeng, who had her fingers cramping from counting her earnings.
Suddenly, while she was busy counting, she sensed something off and looked up at the sky.
At the same moment, some NPCs in the town also had their eyes drawn upward.
What had once been a bright and sunny sky was quickly swallowed by shadows, followed by dark clouds rolling in like they had a no-good plan.
And then—boom! A thunder struck!
Simultaneously, all players heard a voice echoing in their minds.
*Ding!* “The total number of wolf-type creatures killed in the world has reached 100 billion! The total number of elite wolf-type creatures killed has hit 20! Every Beginner’s Village will welcome the World Boss—Wolf God: Fenrir’s Shadow—in six hours! Prepare for battle, players!”
As this system notification chimed, dark clouds swirled in the sky, forming an upside-down vortex.
Within the vortex, purple lightning crackled, and ominous red glows flickered. An unsettling presence surged forth.
Edward appeared in the Falling Leaf City Lord’s Mansion, standing shoulder to shoulder with Fan Lif, both wearing expressions that screamed “we are not ready for this!”
“Calamity is upon us again… And judging by this aura, it seems scarier than ten years ago.”
“It shouldn’t be! Why is another calamity showing up just ten years after the last?”
“It feels like something bad has shifted in this world, and for us, it’s an all-out disaster.”
Remembering the horrific event from ten years back made Fan Lif’s heart race.
A colossal serpent had appeared in the Jade Emperor Kingdom, accompanied by the disturbances in nature, wiping out nearly a fifth of the territory and causing countless casualties.
Ultimately, Emperor Abis himself had to jump into action, and after three days of intense battle, he finally slayed the monstrous serpent.
Once slain, the serpent’s body dissolved into black mist, leaving nary a trophy behind.
But the scars it left on the land, the despair in people’s hearts, and the losses for the empire? Those were immeasurable.
According to ancient texts, the serpent was known as Jormungandr, an ancient beast, and what they faced was merely its shadow.
After that battle, Emperor Abis was gravely injured and the commander of the Royal Knight Order had to step back.
The empire plunged into a long period of gloom, nursing its wounds, and only started to recover in the past two years.
And now, calamity had reared its ugly head once more.
Edward stared at the swirling vortex in the sky, his gaze deep and ominous. “We’ll face whatever comes. Time to prepare for the storm.”
Fan Lif replied, “What about you?”
“I’ll bide my time.”
“Are you… okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Soon, the entire city was buzzing into action.
The Jade Emperor Kingdom had faced its share of calamities before; it was better prepared than ever. They knew these disasters came in cycles—horrors tend to reappear after the Earth seems to settle down, and the more powerful the calamity, the longer the intervals.
Aside from that excruciating incident a decade ago, there had been smaller calamity projections approximately forty years back and even more ancient records of lesser disasters with minimal damage.
The big calamities occurred nearly a thousand years apart, making this latest double whammy of a calamity quite the unexpected twist.
While the NPCs quaked in their boots, the players were practically jumping up and down with excitement.
A World Boss! And one appearing in all Beginner’s Villages at once, including other servers abroad!
At that moment, in international regions, some people were jolted awake from their dreams by text alerts, while others in meetings found their bosses’ computers blinking ominously with notifications.
News outlets even cut to breaking news, urging players to jump into the “Otherworld” to take down the Boss!
This stirred up quite a clamor, igniting player passions.
Countries were buzzing about—whoever managed to snag the world’s first k*ll would snag monumental glory and rewards beyond imagination!
Xu Xiaofeng wasted no time and hopped back onto the forum to check the pulse of the players.
What she saw nearly left her disheartened.
This world has gone absolutely bonkers! Gaming bosses are more popular than winning the Nobel Prize!
Aside from the outside chaos, the forums were overflowing with analyses.
Game historians were sharing background lore, forming teams to strategize against the Boss, and speculating wildly about the Boss’s abilities. Naturally, the most entertaining part was the prediction section.
Who would score the first k*ll on the Boss?
In a whirlwind of speculation, “Fiery Conflict Across the Sky” topped the charts of likely candidates.
Of course, they were referring to his power base. After all, with so many players battling the Boss, no one would be cutting him any slack at the end.
And with “Fiery Conflict Across the Sky” soaring the ranks in “Otherworld,” he was firmly placed at the top while his followers occupied a fair chunk of the leaderboard. You could definitely call him the number one player!
Still, some thought he was just lucky enough to get a decent Beginner’s Village. Give the same circumstances to someone else, and they might shine even brighter.
But there was definitely pressure weighing on “Fiery Conflict Across the Sky.”
He was fully aware that the current 66th Beginner’s Village was chock-full of talent. Seven of the top ten ranks hailed from this village, and half of the top hundred were from here too. It was a haven for level six players running around, and level five players were practically as common as stray dogs.
Most of those were competitors.
Given the immense pressure of his current reputation, if he flopped on this first k*ll, it would seriously damage his standing.
And if any rivals decided to stir the pot and hype their own chances? His glorious reputation could come crashing down.
The internet was full of posts fawning over him, just waiting for the inevitable fall.
Fortunately, the system granted six hours for preparation, so he needed to rally up the high rollers in the same Beginner’s Village for a strategy session.
