Back in the preparation space, those still waiting immediately noticed that Sushang had returned lying face down. One of her hands was raised, her index finger pointing forward, and for some reason, the pose looked oddly familiar to Valerius.
"Flower of Hope~~~!"
A song seemed to echo in his ears.
Valerius walked over and crouched beside her, nudging her shoulder. "Captain, what are you do—no… Sushang, wake up."
After a few pushes, she finally reacted.
Her eyes slowly opened, and the moment she saw Valerius, she shot up with a "whoosh," leaping straight onto him and wrapping her arms tightly around him.
"There's a monster! There's a monster! Valerius, go subdue it!"
"Calm down, calm down!"
With Sushang clinging to his neck, Valerius nearly blacked out from being strangled and quickly tried to pry her off.
This scene instantly annoyed quite a few viewers in the livestream.
"Boom!"
On Mt. Aocang, a loud explosion rang out.
Xianyun turned her head and saw that a massive rock in the distance had been completely shattered by Shenhe's spear.
"…Shenhe, you… sigh."
She had no idea what to say. At this rate, maybe she really should send Shenhe to Valerius's side. Having an episode like this every day was honestly terrifying.
[Seele: What's wrong with you Xianzhou people?]
[Cocolia: Exactly, hugging and clinging like that—where's the decorum!]
[Fu Xuan: Can't you tell? That girl was scared out of her mind.]
[Natasha: There should still be boundaries between men and women.]
[Phantylia: Hehe… your anxious reactions are quite amusing.]
[Sparkle: Exactly… Bronya hasn't even said anything, right? Right right right?]
[Bronya: Uh… well… this was unavoidable.]
[Cocolia: Are you stupid? Come to me later, I'll teach you a few things.]
[Serval: Oh please, don't show off those tricks you learned from novels.]
[Jean: What's wrong with learning from novels?]
[Feixiao: Seriously? You even need consultants for this?]
[Jiaoqiu: If General is interested, I can help devise a plan to bring Valerius to Yaoqing.]
[Moze: I suggest kidnapping.]
[Feixiao: All of you, shut up.]
Inside the space, Jaina stood with her hands hooked at her chest, looking at Sushang with clear disdain. This level of fear could scare her? And what was that earlier performance? No planning at all, no adaptability whatsoever—it practically screamed "rookie."
If it were her, she could clear it effortlessly.
She glanced at her own number—four, Penacony. If nothing unexpected happened, it would be her turn soon. After all, number two was Caesar, who looked unreliable at a glance, and number three, Acheron, seemed too slow and dull to last long.
As for Huohuo, who stood nearby trembling nonstop, she probably wouldn't even need any anomalies to take her out—she'd faint on her own.
Meanwhile, Valerius finally managed to pry Sushang off and gave her a light chop on the head.
"Ow!"
The pain snapped her slightly back to her senses. "I… I'm back?"
"Yeah. You've been eliminated."
"Oh."
She responded simply, surprisingly not feeling too upset. As long as she didn't have to stay in there, she was fine with anything.
"Alright, go rest for a bit." After sending her off to the side, Valerius turned to Caesar in the crowd. "Your turn. Need to buy anything?"
"No need."
Caesar strode forward confidently. Why waste points? Those could be used for a lottery later—every bit counted.
"Alright then."
Since she wasn't afraid of death, there was nothing more to say. With a wave of his hand, Valerius sent her into the game space.
Dim yellow light illuminated the streets.
Caesar stood alone at the roadside, watching gaunt miners carrying pickaxes march toward the distance.
[Seele: The Underworld??? I have a bad feeling about this.]
[Bronya: Uh… I hope I don't turn into a monster.]
[Hook: I will! I will! Awooo~!]
[Klee: Go Hook~~~!]
[Diona: Go Hook!]
[Lucy: Are you guys serious?]
"…Should I follow them?"
Caesar hesitated as she watched the miners.
Suddenly, one of them collapsed right in front of her without warning.
"…An NPC?"
Sushang had encountered something similar before, so Caesar immediately crouched down to check. As expected, she found a note.
[The Supreme Guardian Cocolia has mutated. You must unite all forces that can be united and overthrow her rule.]
[Cocolia: ...]
That first sentence nearly made Cocolia lose her composure. So they were coming for her again?
[Serval: As expected of you.]
[Bronya: Uh…]
She felt like coughing blood. What had her mother done this time?
[Rule 1: Geomarrow crystals can be exchanged for resources. Collecting them will help you survive.]
[Rule 2: Mine geomarrow daily and submit a certain amount to the overseer, Seele, to avoid punishment.]
[Rule 3: Natasha can be trusted. You can obtain medical assistance from her.]
[Rule 4: A red-clothed girl wanders Rivet Town. She can become a powerful ally. Pay attention to whether she is wearing shoes.]
[Rule 5: Hook can be trusted, but not the Pitch-Dark Hook the Great.]
[Rule 6: Bronya commands the Silvermane Guards. All of them obey her.]
[Rule 7: Members of the Landau family patrol the Underworld regularly. If they find you outside the mining area, they will imprison you.]
[Rule 8: Interesting and engaging stories can gain the favor of the intelligence officer, especially fan-created content.]
[Rule 9: If you fail to overthrow Cocolia within one month, you will be assimilated into this world.]
After reading everything, Caesar immediately understood. Her goal was to overthrow Cocolia's rule.
Fortunately, she had learned a bit about Belobog from the livestream. The Supreme Guardian resided in the Overworld, which meant she needed to unite the Underworld forces and lead a rebellion.
"No problem. I can do this."
Encouraging herself, she picked up the fallen miner's pickaxe.
From the rules, she knew she had to submit geomarrow daily. Otherwise, she might be punished by someone named Seele. With the situation still unclear, she had no intention of risking punishment.
Without hesitation, she hoisted the pickaxe onto her shoulder and followed the miners toward the mining area.
[Seele: I… an overseer?]
[Lynx: Like the kind that patrols with a whip and beats people at the slightest mistake?]
[Gepard: Possibly.]
[Seele: That sounds great! If I don't like someone, I'll whip them!]
[Serval: What are you so happy about? Didn't you notice—you're the one who gets overthrown in the end?]
[Seele: …Wait, yeah. Why am I just an overseer?]
Something felt off. Very off.
She was a core member of Wildfire—how did she end up as an overseer? Everyone else had higher status than her. Even Hook had a proper role!
[Jing Yuan: I can already predict Miss Seele's fate.]
[Seele: What do you mean?]
[Fu Xuan: Historically, overseers usually have two endings.]
[Seele: What endings?]
[Fu Xuan: One, failure to meet deadlines—executed by superiors. Two, excessive oppression—killed in a rebellion. Pick one.]
[Seele: ...…]
So either way, she dies?
[Valerius: What are you afraid of? Your superior is Bronya. She wouldn't harm you.]
[Seele: Oh… right.]
[Sparkle: But what if this Bronya is an anomaly? She might just eat you in one bite~]
[Seele: Please stop talking.]
To Read 60+ ahead advanced Chapters, head over to P@treon
patreon.com/DarkVerse146