Sister Pear's codename was 'Pressure'.
She and the four other members of her team were searching every corner of the small town, leaving no stone unturned.
Unfortunately, they hadn't found anything yet.
Just then...
Qin Feng leveled up to 2, and the system notification for the town's level leaderboard came through, leaving the five members of Pressure's team stunned.
"What's going on? Sister Pear, this Shadow, isn't he the guy who just went out alone?"
"Seems like it... and he leveled up to 2 so quickly?"
"The key thing is, didn't he kill a Bronze-level mini-boss?"
"We can't even kill common monsters as a team, and he can solo a Bronze boss? Are you kidding me?"
"But the system notification can't be wrong..."
"Did he team up with someone after going out?"
"No, look at the leaderboard, there's only one name on the level board—just him!"
On the Shell Town leaderboard, there was only one name, 'Shadow', standing alone.
This left the five members of Pressure's team in disbelief.
"Ah, this..."
Sister Pear, holding her longbow, was dumbfounded on the spot.
She had experienced how strong the monsters outside were in this strange game.
The five of them had teamed up and were still slaughtered by a level 1 common monster! They hadn't even managed to get the monster to half health!
But now...
The 'Shadow', whom she thought went out to die, had actually soloed a Bronze-level boss?
"This doesn't make sense!"
Sister Pear started to doubt her life.
***
Niu Gang and Guan Xiaoya had just resurrected in the middle of the town.
The system notified them that their lifespan had been halved.
Originally, they had forty to fifty years left, but now only a little over twenty remained.
This left them looking a bit grim.
Guan Xiaoya's face was a bit pale: "Niu Gang, do you think this lifespan deduction is real?"
Niu Gang shook his head vigorously: "Impossible. How could there be such a bizarre thing in this world?"
Guan Xiaoya looked complicated: "But we clearly just fell asleep, how did we end up here when we woke up? This is obviously not a dream, and if it's a game... then this game is too real."
Niu Gang was also a bit uncertain.
Just then.
The notification about Qin Feng killing the 'Nurturer' and leveling up to 2 rang in the minds of this couple!
They were instantly shocked.
"What's going on? That two-and-a-half-meter-tall giant spider was killed by someone?"
"Who is this 'Shadow'? He actually managed to kill that giant spider?"
"Impossible, that giant spider had over ten smaller spiders under it..."
Niu Gang and Guan Xiaoya both started to doubt their lives.
In front of that giant spider, they were completely powerless.
But that 'Shadow' had actually taken it down directly!
And seeing only one lonely 'Shadow' on the leaderboard, they had to suspect that Shadow had soloed the Nurturer!
This made them exclaim as if they had seen a ghost!
***
More and more players were arriving in the Land of Forsaken Gods because they had fallen asleep.
The number of players in Shell Town quickly reached five hundred.
The town square was already filled with new players in black robes.
New players were grabbing others to ask what was going on.
Unfortunately, no one could answer this question.
Most people were quite confused.
But some players realized that things were not simple.
A young man with dyed golden hair was waving and shouting in the square:"Folks, we all fell asleep and ended up in this so-called 'Land of Forsaken Gods'.
Right now, we can't leave the game. According to the notification, we gain lifespan by killing monsters, and death halves our lifespan.
Whether true or false, to be safe, let's not go out alone.
Many players have already been killed by the monsters outside and lost lifespan...
I suggest we form teams and explore together, it's safer that way.
Anyone who wants to go out with me, come register with me and list your class..."
Some listened to the golden-haired young man, while others couldn't be bothered.
***
At another exit of the town, three men and three women had already formed a team.
Leading them was a burly, robust man, strong and fierce.
His name was Wang Meng.
Wang Meng looked at the town's central square from afar, listening to the faint shouts of the golden-haired young man, but paid no attention.
He told the five people beside him, "Now with this Abandoned Gods Game, we should believe it's real rather than not. Let's treat it as a normal game, go out and explore. As long as we can kill monsters and level up, it's beneficial for us.
As for lifespan, just make sure not to die. I'm a Holy Shield Battle, and I have an invincible skill from the start that can block damage for you. Just focus on dealing damage."
Wang Meng's teammates were all hidden classes he had observed and selected.
Such a combination was definitely strong enough!
***
Meanwhile.
In Shell Town, there were also some Internet Addicted Teens who usually played ranked games together.
Now they had all entered the Abandoned Gods Game together.
"Damn, doesn't this game give us a chance to shine?"
"Charge, charge, charge!"
"We might not be the best at other things, but when it comes to games, hehe, who can beat us five brothers?"
"This Abandoned Gods Game allows a maximum of six people per team, we're still short one person?"
"Let's find a Pretty Younger Sister, aren't we just missing a healer?"
***
Not just in Shell Town.
There were now thousands of small towns, with more and more players gathering.
All were people who fell asleep at this time, and their consciousness was sent to the Land of Forsaken Gods.
Whether in Great Xia, North America, or the West...
People were entering the Abandoned Gods Game, mostly bewildered.
Some players, however, were already taking it seriously, believing it might be real.
Many strong players had already started to pull ahead of others from the very beginning.
For example...
Qin Feng now!
"Level 2 unlocked the leaderboard, gaining 1 point of reputation."
Qin Feng glanced at the system notification, not paying much attention.
Reputation was something that the more you had, the better. Later on, you could use reputation to buy high-level items from NPCs.
At this moment, Qin Feng was standing invisibly in front of the Bronze-level 'Nurturer's' corpse, ready to harvest.
First was lifespan!
Qin Feng reached out and absorbed the gray-white light orb floating above the giant spider's corpse.
[You have gained 46 days of lifespan (tradable).]
A mini-boss was worth the lifespan of over ten common monsters!
Normally, this boss would require several full teams to handle, and the lifespan would be divided among them, leaving each person with little...
But Qin Feng soloed the boss, and the rewards were naturally substantial.
Next, Qin Feng retrieved three spoils from the boss's corpse.
One of the skill books made Qin Feng's eyes light up.
"This is a jackpot!"
[Skill Book: Greedy Hand (Bronze): Assassin class skill book. After learning, you can use it on monster corpses, with a 20% chance to gain an additional loot reward. Learning requirement: Level 1]
A 20% chance didn't seem high.
But the key was...
Qin Feng could evolve this skill!