I went berserk in the game of gods.

Chapter 158 The darkness of this world is far beyond your imagination

While Cao Yu was receiving his award and being interviewed, Wang Lun, the manager of the Beast Hunting Casino, took out a communication device and secretly contacted one of the supervisors of the Purgatory Beast Hunting Grounds.

The other party's name is Bai Yu, a B-level superhuman player dispatched by Huanyu Group to work at the Beast Hunting Ground.

After receiving the message, Bai Yu immediately activated the video call function attached to the prop.

Looking at Wang Lun, who had a respectful expression on his face, he frowned and said:

"Old Wang, you should know I'm on vacation, right?"

"Manager Bai, I have something important to report..."

Wang Lun recounted the events that had occurred in the hunting grounds at breakneck speed—he emphasized Cao Yu and Yin An, and offered his speculations about their abilities.

Cao Yu is likely one of the top 50 superpowered individuals.

Yin An's aptitude for cultivation on the path to immortality is extremely likely to surpass Wan Ting's...

While listening to the report, Bai Yu used internal channels to check for clear combat video footage.

After reading it, his expression became more serious, and he made a firm decision to win over Cao Yu.

He asked Wang Lun:
"Did you report this to your old master?"

“Manager Bai, such a big matter, and it was broadcast live the whole time, there’s no way it could be kept secret.” Wang Lun reminded him, “The eighteen families have sent more than just me to work at the hunting grounds; they probably already know…”

Upon hearing this, a thoughtful look appeared in Bai Yu's eyes.

The eighteen families, also known as the "Noble Alliance," were the eighteen families that initially followed the Tianxing Royal Family in their conquest of Node 09.

After the royal family established a stable and orderly society, they divided the spatial region at node 09—that is, Tianhuan City—into 100 major regions.

Among them, the eighteen districts numbered 03 to 20 are the Central District, which were fiefdoms granted by the royal family to eighteen families.

With such a large pie as the Purgatory Beast Hunting Grounds, the eighteen families naturally wouldn't give up trying to get a share.

Bai Yu began to think of a solution.

He represents the Huanyu Group—although the group has the strongest financial resources, as an emerging capital force, it lacks a solid foundation and is not as well-established as the Tianxing Royal Family and the Eighteen Families, which have been developing for over a century.

To impress players with immense potential, simply throwing money at them isn't enough.

Some resources cannot be bought with money.

For example, internal channels recommending places for further studies at the "Three Holy Lands"... In this respect, Huanyu Group is at a disadvantage compared to the other two major forces.

Wanting to retain talent ahead of time... Bai Yu looked at Wang Lun, the traitor from the eighteen families.

He needs the other party's cooperation.

"Is the person still at the hunting grounds?" Bai Yu asked.

“He’s receiving his award right now,” Wang Lun replied. “He asked us for the second and third place prizes, but I had someone temporarily detain him under the pretext that a meeting was needed to decide. This information is currently only known to my people and those in the prison.”

“Well done. Judging from his behavior, he must be short of money.” Bai Yu grasped the key point: “I will immediately send someone to transfer the reward to him privately in the name of Huanyu Group. In the meantime, do not spread this information.”

Wang Lun looked troubled: "Manager Bai, if I do this, I might be exposed..."

"Haven't you always wanted a player retirement slot? I'll apply for it for you through the group, and I guarantee you'll get it this year!" Bai Yu said, "As long as you can help me seize this opportunity to win me over."

“…Alright.” Wang Lun reminded him, “The people in the prison have already made their move. If you want to gain the upper hand, Manager Bai, you’d better hurry.”

"Heh..." Bai Yu sneered, "Don't worry, I'll let them know first."

In addition to the three major forces of the Heavenly Star Royal Family, Huanyu Group, and the Eighteen Families, there is also a local force among the organizers of the Purgatory Beast Hunting Arena—the official Beast Hunting City, centered around the A-level player Prison Cage.

The Cage was also the original creator of the Purgatory Hunting Grounds.

However, Bai Yu completely disregarded the official power of Division 002.

What kind of company is this that dares to compete with him for talent?
"Manager Bai, what about Yin An?" Wang Lun reminded him.

“No need to consider her,” Bai Yu said. “Although I haven’t seen through her background, for a C-level Immortal player to have this kind of strength… talent and aptitude are secondary; cultivation techniques and resources are the most important.” She has powerful backers, so there’s no need to waste time on her.

"I understand……"

After finalizing the details, Wang Lun ended the prop communication, a slight smile playing on his lips, a hint of triumph in his eyes.

Bai Yu thought he was a traitor within the eighteen families.

In reality, he was bait thrown to the Huanyu Group by the eighteen families.

His job was simple—to incite hatred against the Huanyu Group.

Players like Cao Yu, who possess immense potential, grow at a very fast pace and have an extremely high probability of becoming an A-level player in the future, making them the perfect target to provoke hatred.

But you can't just force hatred; nobody's an idiot. So the logic must be sound and stand up to scrutiny.

Now, under his guidance, Bai Yu has taken the initiative to propose and execute a plan to win over Cao Yu, seizing the initiative and taking action... The time has come.

Bai Yu knew perfectly well who he would send to contact Cao Yu, and this person had long been secretly controlled by the Li Ren family under his control.

It's time to sacrifice this piece.

'Oh, in a way, I'll be sacrificed too.'

Wang Lun sighed inwardly.

For the future of the eighteen families, everything is worth it!
……

After the interview, Cao Yu went to the lounge provided by the organizers of the hunting grounds.

Although he had already decided to run away, he knew that if he ran away now, he might encounter obstacles—he was well aware of his current value in the eyes of other forces.

Therefore, he had to cooperate first, showing that he was willing to join one of the factions, so that the organizers of the hunting grounds would lower their guard.

In fact, he had no aversion to accepting investment and training from a certain power.

Who doesn't want a powerful backer?
However... as I said before, he has too many secrets, and it is not suitable for him to enter the sights of powerful forces when he is still weak.

We should at least wait until he advances to C-level player before discussing it further.

Once he reaches Rank C, his ability to protect himself will increase significantly, making him much more at ease when dealing with these powerful forces.

While waiting for the right moment to escape, Cao Yu brought up the player panel and checked his haul.

Evolution Points: 1481500

huge sum of money!

Undoubtedly a huge sum of money!
More than a million evolution points... that's just a fraction of what he needs to evolve to B-rank.

In other words, he still has one million resources left, which he can use to buy the items he needs.

He also found a way to purchase it—a platform without a return point.

'This is truly a windfall!'

Cao Yu was filled with emotion.

Of course, one can never have too many evolution points.

One million points is enough to buy several B-grade items he needs, but if he changes his target to A-grade items, it's not enough.

So... we still have to take it from the Li Ren family.

'And this too…' Cao Yu took out a metal glove from his storage space.

The next second, his player panel displayed item information:

[Tier B Item: Turning Stone into Gold]

Throughout history, people's pursuit of gold has never ceased. The mythical ability to "turn stone into gold" has made everyone eager to acquire it, and gold is undoubtedly a symbol of wealth.

However, when technological advancements made "turning lead into gold" a reality, gold actually lost its original precious value. The material world thus opened a second door for researchers.

[Effect: When equipped with this item, you can easily reconstruct matter and energy through touch.]

This is the B-grade item he obtained from the reward for being the first in the monthly competition.

He began experimenting...

……

About ten minutes later.

Cao Yu figured out the specific effects of "turning stone into gold" and recovered his depleted mental energy.

This tool is very powerful; it can reconstruct objects it touches, transforming them into another substance.

For example, turning air into metal.

Turn the ground into water.

Turn the walls into mist...

It can be used to easily reshape the surrounding terrain and create the environment of your imagination.

In addition to physical objects, it can also reconstruct energy—even spiritual energy is included.

If this item is used against a player, and the opponent doesn't have strong defensive measures, being touched by it basically means the end of the battle.

Even... when it reconstructs matter, it can trigger a fusion reaction, releasing a massive energy attack.

Simply put, it can cause nuclear-level destruction at will.

However, such high-energy techniques cannot be used directly; they must be used in conjunction with devices that confine and emit energy beforehand.

Otherwise, once it explodes, the energy impact will not distinguish between friend and foe.

'Unfortunately, I don't need it... no, not entirely.'

Cao Yu sighed softly to himself.

His superpowers are so outstanding, possessing ultimate offense and defense, that offensive items are practically useless to him... This might be a bit of an exaggeration, but the fact that they are very limited in their use cases is indeed an objective fact.

dong dong——!
At this time, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Cao Yu replied.

Through the perception of the immortal player, he knew that the person outside the door was Yin An.

Yin An pushed open the door and walked in, his expression as always giving off a listless and lethargic vibe.

Cao Yu asked, "Why haven't you run away yet?"

Yin An had previously stated that she had used a powerful move during the competition and had definitely been recognized. She didn't want to go home yet, so she needed to escape before her family dragged her back.

"Humph……"

Yin An first gave a habitual cold snort, then activated the prop to distort light and sound, blocking out outside observation, and said:
"You bastard, you've been stringing me along, taking my information for free without giving me a reply... You're such a jerk! But... being a jerk is your business, I still have to do what I'm supposed to do. I'm here this time to make one last attempt to invite you."

"You haven't given up yet..."

Cao Yu stopped paying attention to her and directly rejected her:
"To tell you the truth, I currently have no intention of joining any faction. I can earn evolution points on my own, and I'm not particularly short of items, so your investment doesn't mean much to me."

"Do you perhaps intend to stay in the hunting grounds and continue earning rewards?"

Yin An snorted coldly and warned:
"I have to remind you, the hunting grounds don't run a ticket-selling business; they're essentially a casino."

Your continued presence here will hinder the casino's profits. Furthermore, your abilities have already been demonstrated, eliminating any possibility of you colluding with the organizers to fix matches. After all, gamblers won't buy into something so obviously fake, and the casino wouldn't risk such a reputation.

If you want to stay, you must join a faction and be subject to certain constraints; otherwise… you're blocking their path to wealth, which is very dangerous… Hmph, the darkness of this world far exceeds your imagination!

Darkness has returned to the world... Cao Yu smiled slightly, offering no rebuttal.

How could he not see something so small?
What he meant by making money was actually robbing...

"And another thing," Yin An continued, "you made over a million from the hunting grounds today...don't you think that's a lot?"

"Not many?" Cao Yu asked in return.

"For a D-rank player, that's indeed a huge sum of money. However..."

Yin An reminded him:
"You can only use this method of making money once; it won't work again unless you're willing to join one of the factions behind the hunting grounds. Otherwise, no one will allow you to be so presumptuous."

A million evolution points aren't enough for you to squander at the B-level.

If you don't have other ways to make money and rely solely on running dungeons... you'll probably be stuck at the B-rank level for many years.

Is the B-level stage very expensive?

Cao met Yin An and they had a great conversation, so he took the opportunity to inquire about information.

He wasn't worried about not having enough evolution points.

Besides the Li Ren family, there is another granary in his hometown, the Federation World, called the "Three Great Families," waiting for him to visit.

Money is definitely not a problem.

However, Cao Yu did not explain to Yin An that he had a way to make money quickly.

After all... robbery is not a very honorable thing.

As a member of the Sky Patrol Hall, Yin An might have an innate aversion to this kind of behavior?
"Yeah. It costs a lot of money!"

Yin An nodded slightly and said:

"Anyone below Rank B can only be considered a low-level player. Only those who reach Rank B can be considered true high-level players."

At that time, it will be extremely difficult to improve any of the three paths, and every 1% improvement will require a large number of evolution points.

Once your evolution level reaches 70%, to advance further into Zone A, besides the cost of studying at the 'Holy Land,' there's a formidable chasm between 70% and 71%. Crossing this chasm is the only way to truly transcend the ordinary and enter sainthood. And the cost of crossing this chasm is greater than the cost of going from 51% to 70% combined.

"How much exactly?" Cao Yu asked.

Yin An recalled for a moment, then provided the data:

"You're a super player, so the advancement is the easiest, but it still costs you two or three million points. The other two major pathways could potentially cost several times or even ten times that amount."

In short, if you don't plan to join other factions and rely solely on saving money on your own, it will take a very long time.

and……"

She looked Cao Yu up and down and asked:

"You rejected me so decisively... Don't you know about talent advancement?"

"Talent advancement?" Cao Yu's curiosity was piqued. "What does that mean? Does it mean improving your cultivation talent?"

(End of this chapter)