Chapter 123: Special Commemorative Event and Selection Competition
Time flew by, and soon it was the one-month mark since the game’s launch.
One day, out of nowhere, all online players received a system announcement about a major event, and newcomers would get a pop-up as well.
“To celebrate the one-month anniversary of the game’s launch, we’re holding a server-wide joint event – Dungeon: Ruinous Country! Each server will select 0.01% of players based on the number of active players to participate in this dungeon event.
Dungeon rules are as follows:
1. This is a special dungeon lasting 48 hours. If you d*e or exit, you cannot re-enter.
2. All player levels will be temporarily boosted to level 30; all equipment and skills will be unlocked. After leaving the dungeon, you return to your original level.
3. This is an exploration dungeon where players can find skills and equipment to enhance themselves. Rankings will be determined based on your exploration progress and contribution points, with rewards distributed according to your scores and rankings. All items obtained in the dungeon are temporary and cannot be taken out.
4. This event is cooperative; players cannot damage each other.
Click here for more details on related rules.”
Alongside that was the announcement for the selection competition.
The event content boils down to those four rules mentioned in the announcement, with the details just supplementing examples, but the actual dungeon content wasn’t revealed.
The selection competition was even simpler: 10,000 players would engage in a chaotic free-for-all until only 20% were left to advance to the next round. The ratios and number of participants would adjust for each round, repeating this until the final 0.01% was selected after five rounds.
Upon seeing these two announcements, chaos erupted.
First off, this was the first server-wide interconnected event! The last World Boss doesn’t count; those were individual newbie villages fighting their own battles.
This time, the players participating after selection would undoubtedly be the best of the best from each server.
All the strong players gathering in one dungeon to cooperate—imagine the magnificent spectacle that would create!
Some would ruminate on their strategies to secure participation while others couldn’t care less, just glad to watch the event and feel involved.
Every player buzzed with excitement over the upcoming activities.
Meanwhile, official representatives from various countries started promoting the event, pouring resources and cash into advertising, as if competing over who could shout the loudest.
Even the five rational nations joined forces to release a joint promotional announcement—this was going to be a global feast!
Not just a feast, but a battlefield.
Major countries would duke it out for supremacy while minor countries desperately showcased themselves. If anyone made a particularly bright performance during the event, it would be a great way to bring honor to their nation!
At the same time, many noticed (or perhaps it was deliberate placement) that the first rule emphasized: no exiting the dungeon for 48 hours.
No wonder all the nations had rolled out gaming sleep pods recently; this event was the reason!
So now the problem was, would there be time to order one?
At least the official response from the Huaxia Kingdom was clear: they guaranteed installation within two days. The selection competition would last three days; the official event would start right at midnight on the fourth day.
So, let’s go!
Sales of sleep pods skyrocketed!
And what about players who couldn’t afford one?
Sorry, but if you can’t even get a sleep pod, it probably means you didn’t accomplish much in the game, so what are your chances in the selection competition?
This game can be profitable, and many experts made a killing.
Unless you’re just lucky enough to repeatedly find awesome gear while grinding, then maybe you can scrape by.
Yuliya also noticed the event announcement—being an announcement, it must have been from Sister Tong.
“How interesting. Sister Tong really knows how to stir things up,” she chuckled.
She felt no pressure—she’d breeze through the selection competition. The only issue was how to do so stealthily and without drawing attention.
She was actually quite scared of being discovered and mobbed.
If that happened, she’d have to… well, take everyone down!
Wouldn’t it be kind of embarrassing if only one person advanced from a match?
With a gleam in her eye, she quickly thought of a plan.
After all, there was no livestream; she could play however she wanted.
“Little Moon, good luck in the event!”
“Mm, Big Brother, you too… just do whatever.”
Then she casually told Xu Xiaoyue that she was going home for a family visit and would be away from Emerald City for a week.
Though puzzled, Xu Xiaoyue thought nothing of it and simply gave her a farewell hug.
Soon enough, the first round of the selection competition began.
Players were instantly transported to a replica of Emerald City set in another dimension, where they grouped into thousands and chaos ensued.
In the original Emerald City, NPCs were unfazed by the sudden disappearance of Outsiders, continuing their routines like nothing was amiss.
While others fought tooth and nail, dodging ambushes and striking at one another, Yuliya enjoyed far more freedom.
She simply found a spot, created a temporary pocket dimension, snuck inside, pulled her little blanket over herself, and lay there waiting for the circles to shrink.
“Sister Tong’s dimension-opening skills are quite impressive—almost similar to mine. But she can create an entire Emerald City, while all I can manage is a little nook.”
Even if other players happened to stroll by her hiding spot, they wouldn’t notice, continuing their hunt for the next target.
Of course, there were others like Yuliya choosing to play it safe, but those would be the first to be dog-piled if discovered.
This situation clearly illustrated that if you’re not adept at being the sneaky type, don’t even try; it’ll end badly.
Yuliya managed to skirt through without incident right to the final round of the selection.
But a small hiccup arose in this round.
They needed to select 10 players from a pool of 100, and when they were down to just 11, everyone realized they recognized each other.
So, where was the final person?
They scoured the last circle, but the last sneaky player was nowhere to be found.
With time running out, and the poison gas looming, they had no choice but to vote someone out.
Sigh, another friendship ruined over Yuliya’s antics—there’d be fallout and betrayals, true sins of a rogue.
Wait! They formed their little clique and were unfairly competing—it’s all on them!
Anyway, Yuliya smoothly passed through the selection competition and made it into the event dungeon!
Unfortunately, Xu Xiaoyue was knocked out early in the last round and couldn’t enter the event dungeon.
It’s worth noting that Fat Wang somehow managed to survive into the event.
His survival relied solely on a miraculous skill—Wisdom of the Black Tortoise.
After testing it, they found this skill allowed him to open a temporary space within his armor, retracting his head and limbs into it to form an absolute protective pose, with a remarkable 99% damage reduction.
The downside? It continuously drained mana, couldn’t move, and couldn’t be actively canceled—he’d have to wait a good ten minutes til his mana was drained to nothing.
Pure turtle shell!
Seeing this pitiful shell, others found themselves utterly helpless, only able to beat up on each other.
And the lucky dude kept landing fate circles, riding that wave straight into safety.
