The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

[Mission Background: Our comrade is enduring endless torment deep within the enemy's dungeon. His life is being drained away bit by bit, and even death is a luxury. Warriors, take up your weapons, break through the darkness, and let the hypocritical creatures of the Netherworld feel our wrath!]

[Mission Objective: Rescue your trapped comrade – Zhou Jian!]

[Task Rewards:]

[1. The top three players in terms of task contribution will receive 10000, 5000, and 3000 contribution points respectively.]

[2. All players who participate in the mission and make valid contributions will share a reward pool of one billion Source Crystals based on their contribution level!]

[3. During the mission, the Netherworld Space teleportation channel will be open for free, and the cost of Source Crystals for resurrection after death will be reduced by 50%.]

The moment the announcement appeared, the entire Wasteland Era seemed to be put on pause.

After a full three seconds of deathly silence, there was a complete uproar, like a volcanic eruption!

"Holy crap?!"

"Ten...ten billion! Source Crystals?! Am I seeing things? Did I add too many decimal places?!"

"This is insane! The official team has absolutely gone mad! Have they used up all their server resources?!"

"It should be noted that there are currently 50 million players in Wasteland Era. If the 1 billion Source Crystals are divided equally, each person will receive 20 Crystals."

"Who do you think you are, to presume to share the rewards with me?"

"Only children make choices. I'm a proper adult now, so I want it all!"

"Don't stop me! I'm fucking dying in the Netherworld today! Anyone who dares to steal my monster will have to face me!"

The players who were hesitating about the "pet-catching service" that costs 1000 Source Crystals just a second ago suddenly became incredibly excited after hearing the mission announcement.

You don't need to light them; they'll catch fire on their own.

Amidst the frenzied clamor, someone quickly discovered the blind spot.

"Wait a minute, look at the reward order! That 'contribution points' is ranked before the 1 billion source crystals?!"

"What the heck are contribution points? Is it a new currency? Is it worth more than source crystals?"

"Hiss... Look at the mission background description again..."

A player with the ID "Genius" posted a message in the public channel that sent a chill down the spines of everyone who was blinded by the huge prize money.

"What does it mean that 'even death has become a luxury'?"

"Don't we players have unlimited resurrections? Dying just costs us some Source Crystals, how can we not die?"

"Besides, doesn't Wasteland Era have no NPCs? Could Zhou Jian be one of our own?"

"Holy crap! You mean... some of our people have been captured, and imprisoned in a way we can't understand, without even the option of suicide to return to the respawn point?!"

"It's just a monster, how could it have a brain like that?"

"Um...it seems there really is..."

This speculation left all the players speechless.

For these "fourth calamities" who regard death as the norm, their greatest source of confidence is their infinite resurrection.

But now, some people have been deprived of this right.

This is no longer a simple game task; it touches upon the most fundamental fears of all players.

But soon after, an indescribable rage rose from the depths of every player's heart.

No one cared who Zhou Jian was, but they were afraid it would be their turn.

"If I pretend not to know now, I'm afraid that when it's my turn, no one will be there to support me."

"Damn it, these monsters have no sportsmanship at all! Can't they take a joke?"

"You're bullying our brothers, huh? Fine! Today I'll show you the power of natural disaster!"

"Let's go! Let's unleash the Netherworld's might! Let's wipe out those sons of bitches!"

"Shall we do it?"

"What do you mean 'slice'? It's just slicing! I used to be a chef, so with my skills, I can slice it into something amazing!"

"I'm a surgeon; no one knows organs better than me."

"Keep bragging. Do you think you know as much as I do? I've been a professional pig butcher for thirty years, and the pigs I've slaughtered could circle the entire planet two and a half times!"

"Post the coordinates! My greatsword is already upgraded to +8, I just need a boss to sacrifice!"

Almost at the same moment when the crowd was in a frenzy, the light on dozens of teleportation arrays scattered throughout the players' main city suddenly changed.

The previously stable spatial fluctuations became violent, and the scene inside the portal changed from a familiar leveling spot in the wild to a dark world filled with decay and death.

The system notification sounded again.

[A one-way random teleportation portal to the 'Wither' area is now open.]

There is absolutely no need for any mobilization.

Countless figures transformed into streaks of white light and rushed into the teleportation array.

The scene was a hundred times more spectacular than when the general store was upgraded last time.

......

A dark, underground world.

A necromancer centurion under the Wither's command was idly driving away several underground creatures that were trying to approach the defense zone.

Its life has been so monotonous for years.

Patrol, stand guard, and eliminate threats.

It smiled and looked at its companion beside it: "How boring. Days just pass by like this, it feels like life is being wasted."

"Exactly, compared to living such a dull and mundane life every day, I still prefer the days of fighting for territory back then, those days of living on the edge, not knowing if I would see the sun rise tomorrow."

"Haha, maybe this is the fighting gene that's deeply buried in our bones."

"Who can argue with that?"

Sudden.

An unusual fluctuation emanated from the space.

Before they could react, a huge spatial portal suddenly opened up in the open space in front of it.

Immediately afterwards, one after another, "players" wielding various weapons and equipped with all sorts of dazzling light effects poured out of the room like dumplings!

A dozen or so per second.

Ten seconds, hundreds.

"???"

"Holy crap! What's going on?"

The two men who were speaking were stunned on the spot.

Half a minute later, this once empty underground area was packed with tens of thousands of players, and the crowd was still pouring in.

All the players were stunned for a moment by the sight before them the moment they appeared.

But the next second, when they saw the lone undead centurion standing in the crowd, everyone's eyes turned red.

"BOSS!"

"Strange! Strange! Kill him!"

"Charge! For the Source Crystal!"

The undead centurion's stiff head slowly turned, and two flames of soul energy flickered violently in his empty eye sockets.

What did it see?

A group of soldiers with varying combat strengths, the strongest of whom were only a few thousand "ants".

But their numbers...

So many that even its prized undead computing cores crashed.

"Enemy...enemy attack?"

"I was just saying that, don't mess with me like that."

An absurd idea popped into its mind.

The next moment, an overwhelming burst of skill light completely engulfed it.

On a watchtower further away, the black-robed figure on lookout duty stared blankly at the area that had suddenly been filled with countless "points of light".

Before it could even raise the alarm horn, it had already fallen into a complete daze.

"quick......"

Its lips trembled, but it couldn't utter a complete syllable.

"Quickly! Go and report back...quickly go and report back to Lord Withered!"