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

Meanwhile, on the main battlefield.

After the first batch of players activated their trump cards, the battle lines advanced with overwhelming force.

Countless players followed the mission guidance given by the system and rushed into a huge underground cavern.

In the center of the cave, there is a huge circular altar. Above the altar, a figure is bound by dozens of thick chains that emit ominous black energy and hangs in mid-air.

His body was emaciated and his breath was weak.

Around the altar, a visible, constantly fluctuating pale purple energy barrier was shrouded in.

Someone quickly checked the information and immediately showed a surprised expression.

"We've found Zhou Jian! This is Zhou Jian!"

"Charge! Save them!"

A player at the forefront, wielding a giant axe, raised it without hesitation and charged headlong into the barrier.

The impact he expected did not come.

His body passed through the barrier without any hindrance.

However, the moment he stepped into the altar's area, his forward momentum came to an abrupt halt.

He stood frozen in place, the battle axe in his hand falling to the ground with a clatter.

"Hey! What's wrong with you up front?" a player behind shouted, puzzled.

But the boy did not respond.

From everyone's perspective, he simply stood there motionless, expressionless, like a statue that had been petrified in an instant.

"What happened? Did you get disconnected?"

Another player curiously reached out and cautiously touched the pale purple barrier.

The next moment, his body trembled violently, and his arms fell limply to his sides. He stood frozen in place, completely unresponsive.

In his world, everything around him disappeared.

There were no caves, no altars, and no shouts from teammates.

He returned to his cramped rented room in the real world.

On his computer screen was an email informing him that he had just been rejected from the company's promotion list.

On my phone was a breakup message from my girlfriend, her words icy cold.

The landlord kept calling to collect rent, and outside the window was the hustle and bustle of the city, but he was trapped in place by an invisible wall, unable to move.

Regret, resentment, anger, helplessness... all negative emotions were amplified a thousandfold, turning into a tangible quagmire that gradually dragged his consciousness into the abyss.

He wanted to roar, but no sound came out.

He tried to struggle, but his limbs felt as heavy as lead.

He could only relive that most painful moment of his life, over and over again.

The second player to touch the barrier was plunged into another illusion.

In a highly anticipated e-sports competition final, he lost the championship that was within his grasp due to a minor mistake.

The disappointed backs of his teammates, the jeers of the audience, the sponsors' termination of contracts... everything turned into sharp blades, repeatedly cutting into his soul.

They are all still alive, but their consciousness is imprisoned in an eternal cycle of suffering.

"What happened up there? Did they really disconnect?"

"I don't know, I'm like a wooden doll."

As more and more players entered this place, they felt a sense of unease upon seeing the motionless "statues" around the altar.

"This is definitely some kind of mind control trap! I've encountered it before," one girl analyzed. "Faced with this kind of trap, as long as you have a strong will, you can definitely get through it!"

"Let's give it our all for team mission points!"

"That's right! This is a key figure in the main quest! Saving him will bring an amazing reward!"

"Charge! Whoever saves Zhou Jian first will have the highest contribution!"

The wages of avarice is death.

Faced with the enormous reward for completing the mission, the strangeness before them was quickly suppressed by greed.

Dozens more players, clinging to a sliver of hope, roared and charged toward the pale purple barrier.

The result was as expected.

Puff, puff, puff...

As if they had plunged headfirst into glue, the players who rushed in froze in place one after another, their eyes vacant, just like the previous ones, forming a circle of humanoid sculptures of various shapes around the altar.

Now, no one dared to make any rash moves.

"Damn it, this barrier is poisonous! It's ineffective against physical attacks; it's a mental attack!"

"What do we do? Is anyone using support runes? Can they remove this status ailment and save this guy?"

For a moment, everyone shook their heads.

However, not all players gathered around the altar.

For many players with extremely high sin values, participating in such a difficult raid is practically suicide.

When they are in a red-name state, all their attributes will be greatly reduced, and the higher their sin value, the more severe the reduction.

One of them was a man with the ID "Bloody Hand".

Level 5 Sin Value, name is extremely red, attributes reduced by a full 50%.

Forget about fighting a boss, even a random elite ghoul can easily send him back to town.

"That damn Long Xiao, he abandons us as soon as something happens!"

Frustrated, he distanced himself from the crowd. Now, as a player with a red name (indicating a high rank or negative reputation), being with others meant facing mostly disdainful looks.

He was also annoyed by it.

The man wandered aimlessly along the edge, kicking away a piece of gravel.

"This is so damn frustrating! I should have known better than to kill people indiscriminately."

Just then, from the shadows of the rock wall beside him, a monster with a jet-black body, eight spider-like limbs, and a gaping maw on its face silently pounced out.

【Netherworld Spider Demon (Elite)】

[Combat Rank: E]

Combat Power: 811

"Hold!"

Bloodhand was startled and almost instinctively swung his battle axe.

Because of the attribute reduction, his axe strike was weak, only leaving a shallow white mark on the spider demon's hard carapace.

Enraged, the spider demon shrieked and spat out a mouthful of dark green venom at him.

Bloodhand scrambled to dodge, inwardly groaning. In his current state, his chances of winning against an elite monster with a combat power of nearly a thousand were extremely slim.

Just as he was about to escape, the Netherworld Spider Demon leaped and blocked his retreat.

"Damn it, how can it be so fast!"

Even if Bloodhand didn't want to admit it, he had to admit that the spider monster was far faster than him.

His combat experience told him that escape was impossible; only a fight would suffice.

Bloodhand spat, "Damn it, let's go for it!"

He roared, took off the Source Weapon from his back, and engaged in fierce combat with the Netherworld Spider Demon.

What should have been an easy battle was turned into a life-or-death struggle by him.

Five minutes later, after paying the price of half his life, Bloodhand finally managed to kill the spider demon with his axe, panting heavily.

Bloodhand cursed and took out a mid-level life potion, injecting it into his arm.

The next second, a wisp of blood-red energy suddenly rose up, drifted out of his body, and dissipated into the air.

Bloodhand felt a long-lost sense of relaxation suddenly wash over his body.

This feeling completely stunned Bloodhand.