T0 Gaming Guild Saves the World.

Chapter 245, Section 244: The 8th Person

The 11th floor of the Temple of the Clarity, the central floor.

Having painstakingly reached the boundary between the real and virtual worlds by establishing coordinates, the first thing the group saw was an endless sea of ​​clouds.

Similar to the spatial design of the 9th floor, the end of the passageway is a floating platform located high in the air.

Ten teleportation portals, each about two people tall, appeared and disappeared amidst the clouds and mist.

The central magic array that once connected all the floors was now broken, and the portal spewed out turbulent magical energy, which could be clearly felt even from a distance on the platform.

In the Slime King's narrative, the central magic circle connects 10 floors directly, but before the Church of Eternal Night attacked, the magic circle fluctuated violently, causing the most critical 2 to 3 layers of defense to fail and the puppets to turn against them.

"I forgot to ask Elsa if she'd found the mole," Jiang Heyi realized belatedly. "To be able to access the core of the magic array, his level must be very high."

The effects of the drug hadn't worn off yet, and everyone was still maintaining their comical animal-like postures.

The potion effectively sealed everyone's weapons, leaving them only able to use magic, and they would have to wait another half hour to recover.

Although Alna originally created it as a prank, if it can trick the other party into taking it, wouldn't that be able to subdue some high-strength, martial arts-type enemies?
Thinking of this, Jiang Heyi suddenly felt that this magic potion might have endless uses.

To make it easier to move around, everyone squeezed onto the ibex, except for the blankets, to enjoy the broad back of the ibex.

"It was a very novel experience; I never knew animals could see things from their perspective."

"Veteran gamer French Fries's comment on the Star Transformation System: The realism is extremely high, and I'm very happy to transform into a sheep." Jiang Heyi asked with a smile, "Then you should experience the rock sheep's climbing ability. Look, there's a cliff behind the floating platform, which gives you a lot of room to maneuver."

"Don't experience it, don't experience it!"

The orange tea, which had done a great job, was now perched on the corner of the fries, clinging to it tightly with its feet, cautiously peeking out with its eyes practically popping out of its head.

"So high, so high!"

Like the 9th floor, it boasts an incredible vertical height that's level with the clouds. Even those without a fear of heights will feel their legs go weak just looking at it from the platform.

If the fries slipped even slightly while climbing the mountain, everyone on their backs would be thrown into a pot of boiling water.

As they slowly approached the ground via the spiral staircase, they could see that the ground was mainly composed of grasslands and forests, with a huge lake located in the center of the entire floor.

The central level connects directly to each floor, and each floor also has areas that connect directly to this place. Therefore, many buildings and facilities have been built around the lake to facilitate rest and recreation for those who appreciate the beauty of the lake.

The billowing black smoke foreshadowed the fate of these buildings.

As a blue sheep, it's bound to feel awkward walking on stairs provided for humans.

French fries accidentally stepped into the air, and the already round Jiang Heyi flew out with a thud.

"Ah~~~"

A bright green pudding-like creature rolled and bounced down the spiral staircase, crashing into the railing before changing course and flying straight off the stairs.

The high level of realism is indeed commendable. Jiang Heyi spews green slime, like Spider-Man, sticking to the platform, his rapidly falling body swaying like a taut spring.

In the game, each transformed pose is given some unique skills.

The moment Jiang Heyi struggled to throw herself back up the stairs, her vision was completely red.

Red Vision?

That can't be right. My fall is only a few Gs, how could it produce such a realistic feedback?
He looked into the distance with a puzzled expression. The rolling mountains in the distance and the lush forests below seemed to be shrouded in a layer of blood-red mist.

The eerie heartbeat pounded loudly, as if it were pressed against someone's heart, listening intently, so close.

French Fries, carrying the animal group members, caught up with Jiang Heyi.

"What's wrong? Why are you staring blankly?"

Jiang Heyi rubbed against the leg of the rock sheep fries and wiped his eyes.

"I knew it! Potato, you and I are kindred spirits!" The jailer exclaimed excitedly in a second. "So you're a hoof fetishist!"

I really admire the jailer's ability to make connections.

"Looks like you want to get off and climb out yourself," Fries said coldly.

Zhong Zemo was puzzled when he saw that Jiang Heyi wasn't complaining about the prison guard: "Why aren't you saying anything?"

“No… it wasn’t me.” Jiang Heyi hesitated before speaking, then said, “For a moment just now, the sky and the earth were blood-red.”

Upon hearing this, everyone looked around and saw blue skies, white clouds, and a peaceful atmosphere.

Zhong Zemo said, "The perspective after transformation is really realistic. The prison guard's pupa can only see a slit, and the French fry ibex's vision is also a bit strange. Maybe the slime will occasionally trigger red vision when looking at things."

Jiang Heyi thought about it for a moment and didn't take it to heart.

The enamel mug, however, took root in my heart.

He was certain that what he was witnessing was not an illusion.

"What...what is this?"

Chen Shaoyu explained: "Based on the permissions that Zhu Huo granted me, this is 'the reality that the world wants you to see'."

"The entire Temple of the Clarity?"

“No, it started when we made contact with Freya,” Chen Shaoyu said. “They’re not aware of it yet.”

……

……

Quiet, too quiet.

The rustling sound of the argali sheep trotting on the grass and the muffled thud of their hooves hitting the soil were clearly audible.

The 11th floor seemed to have only two living creatures: a argali sheep and a large black rat.

A gentle breeze rustled the neat rows of grass, making them sway in unison, creating a shimmering effect.

The wind took shape at that moment, stretching out its large hand to gently blow across the earth, smoothing the fries' messy hairs that everyone had pulled.

There were no enemies, no noise; this floor felt like a carefully planned sightseeing simulator, and the game's pace suddenly slowed down.

"It feels so quiet," the Primal said in a low voice.

The jailer blurted out, "It's probably because all the people from the Eternal Night Church have reached the 12th floor."

"Sigh, the blankets have moved so fast, I'm nowhere to be seen." Zhong Zemo complained subconsciously.

French Fries emphasized, "What are you talking about? The blanket has been following behind our team the whole time."

As she spoke, she turned around, her eyes widening in surprise.

Where's the blanket?
"See, I told you she ran ahead, I saw it with my own eyes."

Zhong Zemo reluctantly opened the menu and sent a private message.

"The potion's effects haven't worn off. Don't stray from the group; it's too late to save him."

Ten seconds passed.

Twenty seconds passed...

The group, who were waiting to return to their beds, craned their necks but couldn't see the large black rat appear in the distance.

There was no reply to the private message.

"Is this layer blocking private messages?"

Remembering the mechanism he had encountered before, Zhong Zemo sent a message to Jiang Heyi to confirm that he had not been blocked.

The message popped up as soon as I closed the notification bar.

"Finally, a reply."

Zhong Zemo sighed, about to complain that she was only focused on speeding again, but he was stunned when he saw the reply.

There is only one dot in the information bar.

It's not a period; it's more like some kind of stubborn, indelible stain, firmly imprinted on the computer screen. What kind of abstract character is this?
Before Zhong Zemo could even ask Jiang Heyi, the edges of the stain turned a blood-red color.

The semi-transparent chat bar gradually became transparent, and the characters that had already been typed shook violently, as if they had been given life by some strange force, eager to jump out of the text bar.

The hole sent from the bed turned into a bloody hole, from which a steady stream of blood gushed out, splattering all over Zhong Zemo.

The surreal shock left him stunned, unable to react for a moment.

As if a pair of giant hands were crumpling up scrap paper, Zhong Zemo's chat box became distorted, broken, and wrinkled.

Just before disappearing, the fleeing characters finally pieced together a few large, blood-red words.

"leave here."

"The road ahead is a dead end."

Jiang Heyi reacted the fastest, taking out the Sutter Heart Stone and pressing it directly against Zhong Zemo's forehead.

"I'm not a zombie, are you putting up some kind of talisman?"

"Okay, this reaction shows that your consciousness is still normal." Jiang Heyi breathed a sigh of relief.

French Fries' attention was completely focused on what was happening right in front of her, so she quickly asked, "What happened?"

Jiang Heyi guessed, "It's not certain yet, but I feel... it's like another strange kind of mental magic."

"Have we been infected?"

“Probably everyone,” Jiang Heyi said. “The dividing line is when we realize that we’re no longer in bed.”

The jailer squinted, peering through the gaps in the cicada pupa to observe his surroundings.

"Sounds like Black Cat 2.0? Then where is its attack? It throws us into an illusion and does nothing, such a gentle mechanism?"

Orange Tea twitched the little pig's nose, trying hard to sniff the surrounding scents—pigs are extremely sensitive to changes in smell.

"I didn't sense anything unusual, everything is normal... Speaking of which, how do we know if we're in a hallucination or a dream, and how do we verify it?"

This has stumped everyone.

When it comes to comparing a fully-fledged master of spiritual magic and a great lich, it's really hard to say who's more shameless, given the boundary between reality and illusion.

"Don't you guys find this strange?" Fries' calm mind was still working. "Suppose we've already been hit by the enemy's mental magic, and everything we're seeing now is an illusion, then why would it design a scene like 'a dead end'? Isn't this a sign that we've already fallen into its trap?"

"The dream that the black cat created when she hunted us was designed to prevent us from realizing the difference between dreams and reality. After all, in actual combat, all she relied on was the strength of her doll-like body."

Jiang Heyi couldn't understand this either.

Or is this master of mental magic declaring war on the boundary between reality and illusion in this way, showing off his skills that cannot be broken even if discovered?
Although he didn't know if it would be useful, he decided to check the team's situation first.

"French fries, what did we eat last night?"

French Fries immediately replied, "Potato meal. Tonight I even made you do 50 burpees. You were exhausted and had to rest for 10 minutes before you could finish the next set."

The crowd clicked their tongues in disapproval.

Jiang Heyi couldn't help but lower his head.

There's no need to go into such detail!
"Squid, report the game information from outside the arena."

"Off-field..." Zhong Zemo immediately understood, and he mocked himself, "I'm a fool who has no taste in choosing a wife, and I've been tormented for two and a half years. I've wasted my game time and discarded the physical cards I've collected for so long and the rare minifigures with huge appreciation potential..."

"Ugh... I'm such an idiot."

Wow, I just asked you to report some off-field news, there's no need to reopen old wounds, that's too harsh on you. I'm sure everything is normal.

"The four original bodies".

"I shared with you last night that I made black chicken and ginseng soup for my mom, using the good stuff that my dad, the prison guard, gave me."

"Brother jailer, please thank your uncle for me."

"No problem, I'll get you some more if you like."

Jiang Heyi continued to call out names: "Orange tea?"

"Why are you calling me by my full name? Is there something wrong with you?" the French fry expert immediately cut into.

"The gift I bought for you with my dividends is a commercial single-cylinder engine..."

The fries stopped questioning: "Okay, pass."

"So, Tea Master, it's your turn."

Orange Tea immediately chimed in: "Last night I shared in the chat group my experience of being arrested at school and asked to take a photo with someone, and I even joked that I felt like a mascot."

"Oh, the shop had a lucky draw yesterday, and I won a 50 yuan voucher."

Sigh, why wasn't I the winner? I also want 50, and then I'll go crazy on Thursday.

"Hey jailer, it's your turn."

"Outside of the game? Oh, I booked some erotic fan art of Gorcalon yesterday, the poses were..."

"Alright, you're one of a kind in terms of defying the heavens. You pass."

When fighting the black cat, Jiang Heyi noticed that the dream she created could not break through the "reality" of the game level.

It's estimated that the developers of Proof of the Stars were afraid that mechanisms like "illusions," "dreams," and "psychic magic" would actually cause some people to have a blurred sense of reality and illusion.

This is a relatively reliable anchor, capable of monitoring everyone's mental state at any time, and identifying any anthropomorphic monsters that may be lurking within the team.

"Is it my turn?"

Jiang Heyi was taken aback, then laughed awkwardly.

“Oh yes, oh yes, and you too, Alna.”

"As the guild leader, you're really incompetent. There are seven people in the team, and you didn't even ask Alna," Fries chimed in with a complaint.

"It's Alna who accompanied us through all these floors of the Clarity Walker; without her..."

The jailer hesitated, staring at Jiang Heyi, but his mouth still moved.

"Without her, getting through the 9th floor wouldn't have been so easy."

The tetra-primate looked blankly at him.

Level 9…

What was the 9th floor again?

Oh, I remembered it!

"The monster in the quilt is incredibly powerful. It can constantly transform into countless individuals and single-handedly slaughter... slaughter... the people of the Church of Eternal Night."

Zhong Zemo laughed and said, "Why are you stuttering? We've only been fighting on the 9th floor for a short time, how can you be so forgetful?"

"Speaking of which, the bed is really hard to beat. I remember her most powerful incarnation was a big black rat, right?" he continued. "Destroying her was no easy task. Her weakness was actually her kidneys. It was only with Alna's help that she was defeated."

"Sigh, it's all Jiang Heyi's fault, it's all Jiang Heyi's fault. Did you play poorly this time?" The jailer immediately chimed in, "Alna, if you want to complain, just complain to him. We fully support you."

"..."

"..."

"Oh, we forgot, you're not a talkative person."

"Look, you say Jiang Heyi's fighting was problematic, but you yourself have problems too. You can't even remember your teammate's personality."

"So... what exactly are we supposed to do now?" Jiang Heyi raised his head and looked around at the six people around him.

Having reverted to their original forms, they stood blankly beneath the blue sky and white clouds.

"Shouldn't it be... going home?" Alna reminded her with a smile.

(End of this chapter)