I went berserk in the game of gods.

Chapter 152? What? Hundreds of thousands of players and viewers?
“Count me in for the mission to investigate the Red Beauty Manor,” Shen Luoyan said with a smile. “I’m quite good at investigations.”

The three sisters did not refuse.

"Don't start arguing during the investigation," Cao Yu reminded the four of them.

Then, he looked at Shen Luoyan: "Let's talk in private."

After saying that, he turned and walked to the side, and Shen Luoyan followed him.

After getting a little away from the three sisters, Cao Yu gave Shen Luoyan a suggestive look—information concealment.

Shen Luoyan understood instantly.

She guessed that Cao Yu might be planning something... Without asking too many questions, she used her superpowers to provide information shielding protection, and also helped Cao Yu change his appearance.

After completing her concealment, she rejoined the three sisters' group.

Since it involved robbing a B-level organization, and she wasn't very familiar with the three sisters, she dared not entrust her life and fortune to them.

She definitely has to come in person to investigate something like this.

Cao Yu left the station alone and moved the D-level item "Hundred Mile Soul Lock" to his item slot, searching for An Li.

Sector 002 is a world inhabited by life, roughly the same size as the Federation. While Beast Hunter City is larger than any city in the Federation, with the 50-kilometer detection range of "Hundred-Mile Soul Lock," a day should be enough to search the entire city.

After An Li leaves the instance, she will definitely come to Beast Hunting City.

After all, her goal was to collect materials on extraordinary corpses in this city.

Cao Yu wasn't worried about not being able to find her.

……

Most of the day has passed.

Cao Yu rode a sightseeing bus through most of the city, experiencing its local culture and scenery.

It must be said that, to some extent, Beast Hunting City can be considered an ancient city.

Although there is no lack of modern construction here, all of this modernization is built on the framework of the ancient city, with the positioning of auxiliary buildings.

The combination of these two elements creates the unique style of Beast Hunting City—it is imbued with a profound historical charm, yet also possesses a modern and progressive feel that makes it unforgettable.

During the sightseeing, Cao Yu had a brief chat with many people and learned that Beast Hunting City was indeed an ancient city with a history of nearly two thousand years.

However, the old Beast Hunting City wasn't this big.

Twenty years after the Evolution Game arrived in Zone 002, Prisoner became an A-level player, and Beast Hunting City, as his hometown, was able to grow and thrive.

Amidst the praise of passersby, Cao Yu learned a brief account of the players' exploits in the "Prisoner's Cage." Perhaps due to numerous adaptations, it sounded quite legendary.

By making a horizontal comparison, he has gained a basic understanding of the difficulty of becoming an A-level player.

Hard!

It took 20 years for Division 002 to produce its first A-level player.

The remaining two A-level players were promoted to A-level within 10 years after they became famous in the prison.

Cao Yu compared the life trajectories of these three people and found that the time they spent advancing from zero to B-level players was all within two years.

In other words, the difficulty of advancing to Rank A mainly lies in the advanced studies required in the Spirit Realm and Tianyan Star.

Furthermore, quite a few B-rank players have traveled from Division 002 to the "Holy Land" for further training. However, so far, only the three players in the Prison have successfully advanced to the A-rank range, making the success rate quite low.

It was clearly not difficult to go from E-level to B-level.

Even for players who value cultivation aptitude, those with low aptitude are simply unable to cultivate advanced techniques. As long as they have enough evolution points and sufficient dungeon abilities, advancing to a B-rank player is a natural progression.

However, Level A has become a bottleneck that holds up the vast majority of people.

This made Cao Yu curious: what exactly were the difficulties of going to the "holy land" for further study?
He began to think about his future.

Having followed the three paths, he will definitely have to deal with the spirit world and the Celestial Evolution Star in the future.

Soon, this thought, which could hardly be called worry, was interrupted by the results of "Hundred Mile Soul Lock"'s investigation—he could not sense An Li's location.

Half a day passed, and he used "Hundred Mile Soul Lock" to search the entire Beast Hunting City, but he still did not receive any feedback from the unseen world.

An Li... could she still be in the dungeon?

"It's been four days since we separated... If the main quest involves a D-rank dungeon where survival is the objective, it will indeed take about four days to clear without brute force..."

With An Li's current strength, as long as she doesn't strive for an A+ rating when running D-rank dungeons, she'll basically avoid any life-threatening situations...

After a brief deduction, Cao Yu concluded that there was a high probability that An Li was still in the instance.

However, his brows remained furrowed, and worry arose in his heart.

After thinking it over, he decided to wait another day.

If there is still no movement after a day, it can almost be proven that An Li is no longer in the instance, but has disappeared in the Beast Hunting City.

At that time, he will probably have to rely on Shen Luoyan's superpowers to carefully search for An Li's whereabouts.

'I hope nothing bad happens.'

Cao Yu adjusted his mood, calmed down, and took a taxi to the southern part of the city where the Purgatory Beast Hunting Grounds were located.

……

Upon arriving in the southern district of Beast Hunting City, Cao Yu noticed a significant increase in pedestrian traffic, making the once vast city feel even more crowded.

He sensed the spiritual aura emanating from the pedestrians around him and was surprised to find that most of them were players, mostly E-level and D-level, with a considerable number of C-level players as well, and he could even occasionally sense the powerful aura of B-level players.

Ordinary people have become a rare species in this urban area, and are not often seen.

Cao Yu followed the flow of people and walked a distance before seeing the entrance to the Purgatory Beast Hunting Grounds—a massive stone gate standing in the center of the South District, its height comparable to a skyscraper, giving one the feeling of a majestic mountain peak when viewed from above.

On either side of the stone gate are huge rock pillars, each with two stone carvings.

The carving on the left depicts a scene of beasts being released from prison, which looks both ferocious and oppressive.

On the right are sculptures of humans in various outfits and with different weapons, charging fearlessly forward. Just one glance evokes a wild, passionate feeling that stirs the blood, making one's blood boil – it's truly magical.

Behind the stone gate, a faint silver-blue light flowed, like a river suspended in the air.

Cao Yu saw that those who crossed the stone gate were all swallowed up by the radiance and their figures disappeared from the spot.

This is clearly a form of spatial teleportation.

The Purgatory Beast Hunting Grounds are actually located in another dimension?
Is it a prop?
Or is it an independent space created by Tianyanxing Technology?

"This is an A-level field-type item controlled by the A-level player's cage. It forms its own little world inside. This item has been here for many years."

A voice came from the side.

Cao Yu turned his head and saw that a girl with a high ponytail had appeared beside him. She looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a pretty face and half-closed eyes. Both her eyes and her temperament seemed lazy, as if she hadn't woken up yet.

The girl was holding a long sword in her hands, and her dress, a blend of ancient and modern styles, made her look somewhat unconventional.

Cao Yu ignored her and continued walking forward.

The girl followed him and continued:

"Hmph, the carvings on the gate are quite exciting. But unfortunately, it's just business in the end. What kind of hellish hunting ground is this? I think it's more like a casino."

Cao Yu continued walking forward.

The girl frowned slightly:

"You're so rude. I'm talking to you, can't you hear me? Humph... You're just rushing to be reborn, another one of those people obsessed with fame and fortune."

"..." Cao Yu turned his head to look at her: "Do we know each other?"

"You're pretty good, want to join me?" the girl invited. "You're a C-rank player, right?" Cao Yu refused, "I'm just a D-rank player, I don't deserve the 'pretty good' evaluation, you've misjudged me."

As he refused, his mind started racing... Someone who could see through his strength, was carrying a sword, and dressed in a slightly ancient style... a celestial player?
This girl has a very strong spiritual sense; I reckon her cultivation aptitude is quite high.

“I’m quite confident in my judgment,” the girl said. “Don’t rush to refuse, let me finish. I’m recruiting you for my family.”

"...Don't you think this is a bit sudden?" Cao Yu's eyes were subtle.

By the way, has he been having bad luck lately?

It hasn't been long since I met the three Xu sisters, and now this guy who seems a bit abnormal has appeared... He's been attracting some crazy people lately.

"It seems you know very little about the Hunting Grounds," the girl said. "Don't be fooled by how well this place looks. One of its purposes is to run a casino, and the other is... to select and recruit players with extremely high potential throughout the 09 node."

As she spoke, her gaze fell on Cao Yu's face, and she continued, meeting his eyes:

"I'm lucky today, I ran into you before I even entered. Due to a family mission, I need to win you over, but whether you agree or not is up to you."

"What family do you come from?" Cao Yu asked curiously.

"A large family." The girl didn't say it explicitly, but only reminded him, "If you follow me, you'll have plenty of resources."

"What's your name?" Cao Yu asked.

"Yin An," the girl asked, "how have you decided?"

"I feel like you're here to be funny," Cao Yu said, suppressing his speechlessness.

"Hmph, I'm just asking on behalf of the family. Add it or not, it's up to you."

Yin An tilted his head to one side, even adopting a haughty demeanor.

"Thank you. I'm not interested." Cao Yu treated her like a crazy passerby, ignored her, and continued walking.

Yin An followed him like a shadow.

"Why are you still following me?" Cao Yu quickened his pace.

"I'm curious about your strength," Yin An said frankly. "I can only sense that you are strong, but I don't know the specifics. You're here to participate in the beast hunting competition, right? We can register together."

"Oh? C-level players and D-level players can participate together?" Cao Yu asked.

“Yes,” Yin An said. “Anyone below Grade B can apply. However, you need to sign a death liability waiver before you can apply.”

"This competition is actually life-threatening?" Cao Yu was a little surprised.

"Hmph... The audience is mostly gamers who like to see something exciting," Yin An criticized. "The world is going to the dogs, people's hearts have lost their morals. Every single one of the viewers here is probably a psychologically twisted pervert in real life..."

Yin An and Cao Yu started talking, and Yin An explained a lot about the hunting grounds, including the competition rules.

Purgatory Hunting Grounds is a super-large A-grade venue that can accommodate hundreds of thousands of spectators watching the competition simultaneously. The competition venue is generated in real time by A-grade venues every day, with no two venues being the same.

The competition involved hunting animals.

Registered players will be teleported to the arena to begin a monster hunting competition. Each monster killed will earn 1 point.

The match lasts one hour and will be broadcast live to the public.

After the competition ends, the top three players in terms of points will receive generous rewards.

These are the rules for the daily hunting competition.

In addition, the hunting grounds will select the top three each month and the top three each year.

The longer you dominate the leaderboard, the more extravagant the rewards.

Cao Yu's heart skipped a beat after hearing this.

He asked instinctively, "How much?"

"How much?" Yin An asked back.

"How many spectators can this hunting ground accommodate?" Cao Yu swallowed hard and asked to confirm.

"Hundreds of thousands of people came to watch the game, and most of them were gamers."

Yin An noticed that Cao Yu's tone was a bit off, but didn't pay much attention to it and said:

"Normally, the daily competition doesn't have many spectators, only a few tens of thousands. But today is different; it's the monthly grand competition, with much richer rewards. So..."

She glanced at the crowded people around her and gently shook her head:

"These psychopaths have all been attracted here; the audience seats are probably going to be full."

"Hehe..." Cao Yu suddenly laughed: "It seems my luck is pretty good today too."

"What do you mean?" Yin An asked, puzzled.

"I like the hustle and bustle."

Cao Yu suppressed his excitement and casually replied.

He thought he'd only gain a small amount of reputation this time. Little did he expect... the hunting grounds would give him a huge boost!
Hundreds of thousands of viewers... mostly gamers... he could almost see a million achievement points beckoning to him.

The immortal-grade cultivation technique "Star Shift" is about to enter his pocket... At this moment, Cao Yu's heart is already filled with anticipation, and he can't wait any longer.

To leave a lasting impression on the audience, he's planning something big!
On the other hand, Yin An felt that Cao Yu was just giving him the runaround.

However, she didn't dwell on this minor issue too much.

Not every player with potential deserves her personal invitation.

She was always very confident in her intuition—from Cao Yu, she sensed an almost heart-pounding sense of crisis.

This person's strength is likely similar to hers.

To be able to get close to her at the D-level stage... one has no doubt about her background.

People from powerful backgrounds cannot be completely ignorant of the hunting grounds.

Therefore... the other party is very likely a wild, potential player, and worth recruiting.

Soon, the two followed the crowded flow of people, crossed the huge stone gate, and entered the hunting grounds. Looking up, the cloudless clear sky came into view, and they felt that the world was vast.

The cacophony of conversations spread from the massive spiral-shaped stands, reaching every corner of the hunting arena.

Although the competition has not yet started, the audience is already excited after the organizers' warm-up.

A massive projection screen appeared out of thin air directly in front of Cao Yu and Yin An.

The screen displays profiles of two favorites to win the championship.

A man named Caesar was handsome, had an extraordinary air about him, and a very friendly smile.

One of them, named Wan Ting, had her chin slightly raised, an arrogant expression, and disdainful eyes.

"Do you know these two people?" Cao Yu asked.

"If nothing unexpected happens, the top two spots in this year's rankings will be taken by these two."

Yin An said with a disdainful look in his eyes:
"Hmph, Caesar has local forces backing him, he's obviously throwing the match, the kind of person who'd do anything for profit. All that talk about a thrilling competition, about stimulating humanity's most primal hunting instincts... he's just fooling these stupid viewers."

That Wan Ting holds the daily competition points record. Look at her arrogant attitude, looking down on everyone else. It's really annoying... Ha, true masters just don't want to show their faces. She got a good deal and doesn't even know how to restrain herself... She's only at level 10 cultivation aptitude, and she's already acting all high and mighty.

"When I participate in the competition later, I'll definitely kick her. And that Caesar who fixes matches too..."

She gave a cold laugh:
"I wonder if he'll still be able to laugh after I hindered his final ranking?"

Cao Yu: "..."

From the moment Yin An started talking to him, he noticed that something was off about this girl. She would snort, laugh coldly, and belittle others at the drop of a hat... It can only be said that she lived up to the name "Yin An"—she was indeed quite gloomy.

(End of this chapter)