Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

Back at his apartment, Lin Yu checked his find.

First and foremost, of course, is that diamond-grade equipment.

[King's Skull]

Category: Decoration

Grade: Diamond

Durability: 1000/1000

Effect: Spirit +50

Undead Catastrophe (Pseudo): The King's Skull can convert the player's mana into Soulfire, reviving all undead within a 10-kilometer radius of the player (up to 50 meters underground), making them fight for the player (the revived undead are 1/10 of their original strength, and more Soulfire can be injected to increase their strength, with a maximum of Diamond level).

Fire of the Dead: The King's Skull can absorb souls and convert them into Soul Fire (0/1000000).

Soulfire can be used to restore equipment durability.

Royal Guard: Consumes Soulfire to summon 1 to 100 [Undead Royal Guard], including two Platinum-level undead and ten Gold-level undead.

Description: With this, you can cosplay as a devoted son anytime.

The effects weren't numerous, but that didn't diminish its power. Aside from the significant boost to its base attributes, the Undead Catastrophe skill alone allowed Lin Yu to acquire a large number of cannon fodder or create powerful artificial henchmen in any world.

More importantly, this piece of equipment is a decoration, so Lin Yu can carry it at any time (up to three decorations can be equipped) without having to remove other equipment.

Next up is the diamond-level skill card [Death Resistance]. Needless to say, it's like a resurrection armor + a legendary weapon, the effect is amazing, it's definitely a skill you should always carry around.

Fortunately, although this tower defense game doesn't drop equipment, it still gives experience as usual. Therefore, after killing a large number of monsters, Lin Yu's experience pool had already exploded. As long as he buys some upgrade cards, he can level up to level 20 at any time, which will free up an extra skill card slot.

Next is the title "Undead Slayer," which increases damage against undead by 20%, which is pretty good, and you can switch it with the Demon Hunter title at any time.

Finally, there's the diamond-grade material, [King's Soulfire].

This material is also very useful. Lin Yu discovered that it can replenish the soul fire of the King's Skull, making it like a portable power bank. Lin Yu just tried it out, and the material was still very vigorous after replenishing the soul fire of the King's Skull. He estimated that it could be used more than ten times without any problem.

In short, they are all good things.

After reviewing the results, the next step was to do other things.

"Didn't that big glowing ball say that with my level two access, I could choose to stay or go to that so-called 'Black Mist World' after completing the tower defense game? Why isn't that showing up now?"

Lin Yu sat on the sofa, lost in thought.

Lin Yu's apartment has now undergone several upgrades, with significant improvements in both space and facilities.

"Does that mean we have to wait until after the seven-day break to be given the choice?"

Lin Yu stroked his chin, pondering this.

That's not impossible.

In short, Lin Yu doesn't have any good solutions right now. He can't contact other players with level 2 privileges to confirm the situation, and he can't contact the administrator with the big glowing orb.

Therefore, we can only wait.

……

The seven-day break passed quickly.

Lin Yu spent most of his time cultivating, and the two months he had in the Time Chamber were used up immediately.

The 500% comprehension bonus from the Taoist study and the pure dragon energy provided by the dragon vein allowed him to cultivate at an astonishing level.

The shadow clones weren't idle either, so during this time, Lin Yu's strength made significant progress.

During this period, he sold several batches of [Pure Spirit Spring] through Phantom's channels, earning a considerable amount of game currency and further enriching his pockets.

Jinling continued to maintain its enviable "sleep to get stronger" mode, sleeping soundly next to the statue of the True Lord, but its aura became deeper and deeper every day.

Lin Yu occasionally fed it some dragon essence, which the little guy accepted without hesitation, absorbing it even faster than Lin Yu cultivated himself. The golden feathers on its body became more and more dazzling, accompanied by the faint sound of wind and thunder.

However, for some reason, although its aura grew stronger day by day, its strength remained stuck at the peak of the Gold level, unable to break through.

Lin Yu couldn't figure it out, and there was nothing he could do but try to provide it with a good environment and more nutrition. Maybe it would break through while it was sleeping.

In short, it's all about resting and waiting for the next round of the game. Lin Yu has gotten used to this kind of life.

However, all this tranquility was shattered in the evening as the seventh day of rest was about to end.

Lin Yu had just finished his cultivation in the Time Chamber and returned to his apartment. He was about to check the progress of the dragon vein sacrifice when a system notification suddenly sounded in his mind:

[Regional Announcement: External command intervention detected.]

[Announcement: Community 9002 has officially launched a "Community Merger Challenge" against Community 9527 using the community item – "Merger Notice"!]

The challenge rules are as follows:

1. Challenge format: Team-based competitive game mode.

2. Participants: All players from both sides' communities are required to participate.

3. Victory/Defeat Determination: At the end of the game, the winner will be determined by the total score ranking of the players in both communities. The player with the higher total score will win.

4. Challenge Rewards/Penalties:

Winning side: Successfully merges with the opposing side's community. All public facilities of the losing side's community will be incorporated into the winning side's community. The damage to the winning side's community will be repaired. All players in the winning side's community will receive a large amount of game currency and other rewards.

The losing side: The community is merged, loses its independent number and all public facilities, and all players will be forcibly stripped of their current apartments and randomly assigned to other vacant communities (apartments and gate levels will be upgraded again) to participate in the relocation game.

[Game loading time: 30 minutes.]

Players, please prepare yourselves.

The announcement was repeated three times, like three heavy hammer blows, striking the hearts of every player in the 9527 community who had reached the required level.

For a few seconds, the entire community's public communication channel fell silent, then erupted into a frenzy, like a pot of boiling oil.

"A merger challenge?! What's that?"

"9002 residential complex? Who are they? What gives them the right to merge with us?"

"It seems to be the same neighborhood that entered the world of Seeking Immortality with us before!"

"Lost your apartment? Randomly assigned? Are you kidding me! I finally upgraded my apartment to level 3!"

"Oh no, I heard the relocation game is super difficult."

"Damn it! Why?! What did we do to deserve this?!"

……

Panic, anger, confusion... all sorts of emotions rolled wildly in the channel's information stream.

Lin Yu was also startled, and his brows furrowed tightly.

Instead of the level 2 access option he was waiting for, he encountered this unexpected crisis.

"Merge the residential area..." Lin Yu muttered to himself.

He thought for a moment, then contacted Xuancheng to inquire about the situation.

Xuan Cheng quickly replied to him: "According to the information I obtained from contacting the people in their community in the Seeking Immortals World, it should be that the 9002 community is too severely damaged, so they did this in order to restore the community's damage level."

"How strong is the 9002 community?" Lin Yu continued to ask.

There's no point in explaining the reasons now, since the war has already started. We can't just let them win because they have their own difficulties; that's impossible.

"Very strong." Xuan Cheng: "The overall strength of the 9002 community is much higher than ours. Their community has four Platinum-level combatants, one of whom was strong enough to kill a peak Platinum-level NPC in the last Immortal Seeking World. Our community... only has two Platinum-level combatants, and in terms of combat strength, we can't compare to their community's strongest."

Hearing this, Lin Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Platinum level is fine.

As long as the opponent is not above the diamond level, Lin Yu is 100% confident that he can defeat them.

Even those who have just entered the Diamond rank are not incapable of fighting.

While Lin Yu and Xuan Cheng were chatting, several guild leaders who never showed up on weekdays began to speak in the community's public channel, trying to stabilize the situation.

A user with the ID "Iron Wall" shouted: "Brothers and sisters of 9527, don't panic! The enemy is strong, but we are not without the strength to fight back. If we unite, we may not lose!"

Another player with the ID "Dark Night Blade" also spoke up: "Panic won't solve the problem. The most urgent thing is to unite our forces, analyze the rules of the game, and find a way to win."

All players of Silver rank and above, please send private messages to me and Iron Barrier. We need to establish a temporary command channel as soon as possible.

These two are the platinum-level players in the 9527 community that Xuancheng mentioned, and they are also the leaders of the two largest guilds in the community, [Iron Will] and [Blood Kill Alliance].

At the same time, the leaders of other guilds, large and small, in the 9527 community also came forward.

The guild leader of the [Blazing Sun Fist Alliance], whose ID was [Melting Core], who had previously clashed with Lin Yu, also spoke up: "Damn it! That bastard 9002 wants to take over our territory? Did he even ask our fists first! Brothers of the Blazing Sun Fist Alliance, grab your weapons! Get ready to fuck them!"

Xuancheng also showed his face on the public channel, demonstrating the determination of the Heroes' Gathering to fight against foreign enemies.

With the encouragement of the "strong" players, the panic among the players in the 9527 community lessened considerably, and a sense of righteous indignation and shared hatred for the enemy began to rise.

After all, this concerns everyone's vital interests, and no one wants to lose their hard-earned apartment and be exiled to an unknown and harsh environment.

Lin Yu looked at the information on the channel and pondered silently.

Two platinum-level and dozens of gold-level, just as Xuan Cheng said, if you don't count himself, his strength is indeed a bit weak when facing the 9002 community.

Of course, Lin Yu couldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be other Voldemort-like "Old Six" like himself in the neighborhood.

This is not impossible.

"Demon Hunter," Xuan Cheng messaged privately at that moment, "Your strength should be around Platinum level by now, right? Dark Rose is recruiting strong individuals from the neighborhood, do you want to join?"

Lin Yu hesitated for a moment before replying, "Let's see how things go. I have reservations about the efficiency of this kind of temporary command."

He has more faith in his own judgment and abilities.

Moreover, if the other party's community doesn't have a diamond-level rating, then these things aren't really a problem.

"I understand." Xuan Cheng didn't press the matter. "Our Heroes' Gathering will also do our best. This time, we probably need to put aside all prejudices and unite against a common enemy."

Xuan Cheng's words were pointed, and Lin Yu understood what he meant.

The conflict between himself and the Blazing Sun Fist Alliance was no secret.

Lin Yu didn't have much of an opinion on this. As long as those guys didn't cause him trouble, he wouldn't take the initiative to attack, at least not in this game.

After ending the call, Lin Yu took a deep breath.

This is truly unexpected.

He quickly checked his own condition; his equipment, items, skills... all his trump cards were in optimal condition.

He checked the remaining dragon essence and spiritual spring water again to ensure that the supplies were sufficient.

Time ticked by, and only five minutes remained before loading.

In the community channel, a temporary command seemed to have been initially established. [Dark Night Blade] issued its first all-player announcement: "According to preliminary statistics, our team has four Platinum-level players, about 32 Gold-level players, and over 100 Silver-level players."

Once in the game, all players should prioritize self-preservation, find teammates, and try to avoid direct confrontation with high-level enemy forces.

We will do our best to restrain the stronger members of the opposing force. We urge everyone... to fight for the community!

Lin Yu raised an eyebrow upon seeing this message.

Four Platinum levels?

Could it be that Xuan Cheng reported himself, and Dark Night Blade included him in the count?

There's still one vacancy.

Could there really be a hidden master in this neighborhood?

Or rather... is it lying to motivate people?

Lin Yu was puzzled.

However, it must be said that this news is indeed very encouraging. After hearing the news, the players in the chat channel were greatly encouraged.

Because shortly after the system notification, someone had already explained the strength of the 9002 community in the channel, and now the news about [Dark Night Blade] can be said to have balanced the strength of the two communities, which has reassured many players.

……

[Time's up! Game loading...]

[Game Mode: Team Battle - Resource Competition]

[Map: Shattered Floating Island Cluster]

[Loading complete! We wish all players... a pleasant gaming experience!]

The white light engulfed everything.

A feeling of weightlessness followed, then the feeling of being firmly planted on the ground.

Lin Yu opened his eyes and found himself standing on the edge of an island suspended in the void.

The island is small, about 100 meters in diameter, with rough rocks on the ground and some ferns that emit a faint glow.

Looking around, there are countless islands of different sizes, all floating silently in the deep, star-studded darkness, separated from each other by thick vines, broken stone bridges, or simply nothing at all.

A faint aura of energy permeated the air.

Welcome to the "Resource Conquest" battlefield!

The rules for this game are as follows:

1. Faction: Players are automatically assigned to the faction of their respective sub-region (9527 / 9002).

2. Objective: Compete for the [Energy Crystals] scattered throughout the floating islands. Bring the [Energy Crystals] back to the [Energy Furnace] in the center of your faction's floating island to earn points.

3. Points Rules:

Submit a small energy crystal: 1 point

Submit a medium-sized energy crystal: 10 points

Submit a large energy crystal: 100 points

Kill an enemy player: Gain the opponent's current base score (1 point for Iron, 2 points for Bronze, 5 points for Silver, 10 points for Gold, 50 points for Platinum, and 200 points for Diamond), and plunder half of the energy crystals they are carrying (if any).

4. Special Mechanisms:

Floating Island Changes: Every so often, the location of the floating islands will change randomly, and the island connection channels may change or disappear.

Void Storm: A void storm will erupt in a random area. Staying in it will cause you to continuously suffer true damage and be randomly teleported.

5. Victory condition: After 72 hours of game time, the community with the higher total score wins.

6. Individual Rewards/Penalties: In addition to the results of community mergers, individual scores will affect the final game currency settlement and additional rewards.

The player who is killed will have their level forcibly reduced by 1 level, and will die after their level is reset to zero.

[Our faction's initial island coordinates have been marked. The Energy Furnace is located in the center of the island.]

[Game Start!]

Lin Yu quickly scanned the rules on the system panel, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"No wonder...no wonder you dared to make a move."

Lin Yu muttered to himself, suddenly realizing what was happening.

The reason is simple: the scoring rules stipulate that killing a Diamond-level target grants 200 points.

Lin Yu didn't believe the system would display this rule for no reason.

This means that there are definitely diamond-level characters in the current game.

Since there are no NPC enemies in this game, it means that this diamond level can only be achieved by players.

So who could he be?

Lin Yu believes it's highly likely to be players from community 9002, since they initiated the merger challenge, which is probably their biggest source of confidence in starting this challenge.

In short, the difficulty of this game has definitely increased.

After all, diamond-level players and diamond-level NPCs are completely different concepts. Lin Yu is confident in killing diamond-level NPC monsters, but that doesn't mean he's confident in killing diamond-level players.

It's important to understand that players' skills and abilities are far superior to those of monsters.

Of course, Lin Yu wasn't the only one to discover this; other players in the 9527 community also did.

Within a minute of the game starting, the community chat channel was flooded with messages of panic and disbelief.

"200 points for killing a Diamond-level opponent?! Are you kidding me! What does this rule mean?"

"Could there be a diamond-level player in apartment 9002? That's impossible!"

"It's over...it's completely over. We could still fight at Platinum, but Diamond...how are we going to compete?"

"Dark Night Guild Master! Iron Guild Master! Is this real?"

……

Panic spread rapidly like a plague, dealing a fatal blow to the morale that had just been boosted.

Diamond level is an unattainable goal for the vast majority of players.

If the opponent truly has a diamond-level player, the outcome of the battle is almost certain.

In the channel, [Nightblade] and [Iron Wall] were silent for a few seconds; clearly, this discovery had also exceeded their expectations.

Finally, [Dark Night Blade] spoke up again, his tone much more serious: "Everyone, calm down! The existence of rules does not mean that the other side necessarily has a diamond-level player! Perhaps this is just an upper limit rule set by the system."

Even assuming the opponent truly has a Diamond-level weapon, we're not without a chance! In resource battles, points are key, not just kills! Collecting crystals and avoiding direct confrontation remains our primary strategy!

[Iron Barrier] also said in a deep voice, "That's right! Don't panic! Stick to the original plan, prioritize finding the energy crystals, operate in small groups, and support each other! If you discover any powerful enemy, immediately report their coordinates and information in the channel! We'll figure out a way to deal with them!"

That being said, that heavy pressure has already enveloped the hearts of every player in the 9527 community.

The shadow of a diamond is simply too large.

Lin Yu stood on the edge of the initial floating island, his Heavenly Eye fully activated, scanning the surrounding environment.

His expression was somewhat solemn, unlike the others who were panicked.

"Diamond level... Looks like we've really met a tough opponent this time," Lin Yu muttered to himself.

He wasn't in a hurry to leave the starting island to collect crystals, and that wasn't important.

He needs to observe the situation first, especially to confirm whether that "diamond-level" exists and its general capabilities.

Soon, players reported finding energy crystals in the channel, and also encountered players from the 9002 community, resulting in sporadic conflicts.

On the leaderboard, the total points of the two communities began to fluctuate slowly. Community 9002, with its overall strength advantage, saw its points increase significantly faster in the early stages.

Lin Yu remained inactive.

He noticed that, apart from [Dark Night Blade] and [Iron Wall] who seemed to be in charge and coordinating the command, the other two platinum-level players—whose IDs were [Wind Swordsman] and [Moon Shadow]—were different.

The two have already led their team out, actively collecting crystals and engaging in combat with enemy gold-level players, steadily earning points for the 9527 community.

"Four Platinum... It seems Dark Night Blade wasn't lying before. Besides me and the two known guild leaders, there are indeed hidden Platinum-level members." Lin Yu thought to himself.

"I just don't know if these two who suddenly appeared have just broken through or have been hiding their strength all along."

This was somewhat unexpected for Lin Yu.

This also led him to reassess the 9002 community.

Judging from the current situation, it is clear that the information Xuan Cheng gave earlier was inaccurate, since he didn't even know the specific strength of his own neighborhood.

Not to mention the situation in other communities.

Therefore, regardless of whether the 9002 community has any diamond-level units or not, it certainly has more than four platinum-level units.

About half an hour had passed.

During this period, the floating islands underwent a transformation, and the connection channels between Lin Yu's initial island and several neighboring islands changed.

Just then, a hurried and terrified cry for help suddenly rang out in the temporary combat channel, from a member of the squad with the ID [Wind Swordsman].

「求救！求救！坐标（734, 1289）！遭遇9002小区主力！是……是【熔岩巨兽】！他太强了！逐风者队长被缠住了！我们损失惨重！重複，坐标（734, 1289），急需支援！」

【Lava Behemoth】, the strongest creature in the 9002 neighborhood mentioned by Xuan Cheng, the guy who is said to be able to kill a Platinum-level peak NPC in the world of Seeking Immortality.

The channel instantly erupted in chaos.

"The lava behemoth has made its move!"

"The swordsman is in danger!"

"Go and provide support immediately!"

[Darkblade] immediately ordered: "All squads near the coordinates, move towards this area immediately! Harass from a distance, don't engage in direct combat! Steel, we have to go!"

[Iron Barrier] responded: "Understood! Moonshadow, are you able to extricate yourself from your side?"

【Moonshadow】replied quickly: "I'm on my way, but it will take time! I'm quite far away!"

The situation is extremely critical.

If the [Wind Swordsman] is killed, not only will a Platinum-level combatant be lost, but the opponent will also gain 50 points. This disparity will have a devastating impact on morale.

Subsequently, Lin Yu also joined the effort.

Of course, he wasn't there to join the fun and rescue the Wind Sword Master; there was no need for him there.