Chapter 20: The Great Swamp Devours Man Incident

The next morning, after a quick tidying up, everyone set off again. Su Qingyue led the players toward the ancestral land of the Su family. “Since everyone arrived late yesterday afternoon, we couldn’t reach a safe place before nightfall, so we rested right where we were.”

“Today, even if we encounter some delays on the road, we’ll still reach a town before dark to resupply. You can also enjoy the scenery along the way!”

The players responded eagerly, their eyes darting around to take in the surroundings, their hearts tingling with excitement.

Indeed, the game’s landscapes were stunning—the ancient world’s scenery truly breathtaking! In the distance, mountains rose and fell, shrouded in mist; nearby, lush green grass stretched out like a carpet, dotted with unknown wildflowers that added a charming touch. Every patch of wilderness bathed in sunlight was picturesque.

Frankly, the players’ screenshot keys were being hammered to the point of wear!

“Heh heh, let’s save these for teasing those who missed the beta slots!”

“Exactly! Just imagining their faces cracks me up!”

“Isn’t the real point whether we can ask them when we log off if they’ll live stream eating dirt?”

“That’s irrelevant. The game time passes five times faster than real life. I’m not willing to log off anytime soon! Let them be!”

Lan Ling glanced around distractedly, while Flying Dragon in the Sky said calmly, “She died in the middle of the night; the resurrection countdown still has several hours left.”

“However, the game’s design states that during the newbie main quest, if you don’t stay in one place too long, you’ll respawn near the main group. So you don’t need to worry.”

Lan Ling rolled his eyes. “I’m not worried about that. I’m just wondering if what we worked so hard on yesterday will have any effect.”

Flying Dragon shrugged. “The formula is solid, but this world’s air is infused with spiritual energy. We don’t know how the final product compares to ours back in our time.”

Lan Ling nodded. “Right, we’ll only know when we put it to the test.”

“Though I hope we don’t have to use it. After all, it’s our last hope.”

“When nearly all players are dead and can’t even be resurrected in time, when the sect leader can’t win, and we’re at the end of our rope—that’s the trump card.”

Flying Dragon stretched out his hand. “Don’t be so dramatic. We just found one of the ingredients.”

He opened his palm to reveal several pale yellow, translucent crystals.

Lan Ling’s eyes lit up. “Where did you find them?”

“Down by the foot of that mountain over there. They say there’s a hot spring nearby, and these crystals can sometimes be found around it.”

Lan Ling thought for a moment before dashing over to Su Qingyue. “We’ve discovered some very important materials. Please rest here for now. The other players and I will go gather them.”

Su Qingyue nodded without question. “Alright, go ahead. Stay safe.”

Whatever Lan Ling said to the others, everyone’s faces lit up with excitement, like overenthusiastic teenagers ready to blow up their school, jumping and bounding after her.

Su Qingyue raised an eyebrow, leisurely pulling out a berry the players had given her as a snack.

“Not bad—juicy and sweet, tastes pretty good!”

System: “Host, aren’t you curious about what they’re up to?”

“I’ll find out soon enough. Besides, they’ll use whatever they make sooner or later. A little mystery keeps it interesting, doesn’t it? Makes me look forward to it!”

System: “Hiss… though I don’t quite understand you cultivators.”

When the group returned, the players were inexplicably exhilarated. The system was curious but had to hold back since Su Qingyue showed no interest.

Unlike ordinary people, the players did not feel fatigue.

As long as their hunger bar wasn’t empty, they could keep marching.

Their feet were like steel plates—strong and tireless, striding swiftly without end.

Though it was expected they’d reach the small town by evening, just after noon they could faintly see the city not far ahead.

“Woohoo! We’ve finally arrived!” the players cheered.

Seeing a city inside the game for the first time was truly thrilling. What would an ancient city look like? With such careful design, the city maps must be incredible!

They would also encounter more NPCs.

This game prided itself on being highly free and realistic. What would the other NPCs be like?

Would they be like Su Qingyue—indistinguishable from real people?

“I hope they’re lively and real, or the immersion will be terrible!”

“Don’t get your hopes up. The game company’s so poor, maybe they’re just puppets to fool us.”

“After all, our sect leader already consumed a staggering budget! With such a beautiful face, the modelers must be going crazy!”

Su Qingyue silently scoffed, “Thanks for saying I look exactly like a real person—I am one. As for the townsfolk, haha, where do you expect me to find wooden dolls to replace mortals? Even if I wanted to fake it, it’s impossible!”

Though the players were excited, Su Qingyue had to bring them down a notch.

“Though the city is within reach, there’s a sizeable swamp between us and the city from this direction.”

“It’s just a swamp! No big deal—piece of cake!”

At this moment, the players living in the city hadn’t realized how serious this problem was.

Su Qingyue hesitated but let it go.

***

After some time, the players were brimming with pride.

“Told you we’re awesome! It’s just a little swamp, totally manageable!”

“I said it was nothing! Ha!”

But starting with a scream, in an instant, half the team was wiped out.

Su Qingyue scanned the area. Using her cultivator-enhanced vision, she spotted the vanished players, their bodies half swallowed by the mud.

She could only groan and facepalm. What else could she do? Rescue them, of course, and quietly took on the task one by one.

“I warned you, the swamp easily swallows people, and yet you walked over it like it was solid ground!”

The players looked innocent. They’d never been to a swamp before; it was perfectly normal to misjudge.

One by one, Su Qingyue pulled the players out of the deep mud, like uprooting carrots.

Unfortunately, some unlucky souls struggled too fiercely and failed to make it back to the resurrection point.

After the massive swamp incident, the players were shaken and drenched, their clothes heavy with mud.

One complained, “Maybe we should just die and respawn!”

Their clothes would be replaced upon death, so it shouldn’t be a problem?

Wait—what was that cold, murderous glare?

Turning, they saw Su Qingyue’s expressionless eyes shooting daggers at them.

Cough, cough, cough—fine, it’s only a bit dirty. They’d deal with it once inside the city.

Judging by their sect leader’s look, dying and respawning now would tank their favorability meters fast! They might even get killed by other players!

Honestly, anyone who worked hard to save dozens of people would be frustrated beyond measure if those people chose to die just because their clothes were dirty.

Lesson learned: no one wants to go through all that trouble again because of one misstep.

Everyone carefully tread forward. Fortunately, the swamp wasn’t too large, and after about half an hour, they had crossed most of it.

Lan Ling wiped sweat from his brow. “Just a little more! Finally, no more worries!”

Flying Dragon relaxed as well. “Yes, victory is in sight!”

As they neared the edge of the swamp, the players’ tension eased—until suddenly—

“Ah!”

What happened?