The terrifying resonance lasted for a full minute.
Then, the world fell silent.
But the emotion called "unease" in the air had already fermented to its peak.
In the vast Teleportation Plaza, over a thousand chosen geniuses of Tianshu University were now deathly silent.
The air was as heavy as lead, pressing down on everyone's chest.
A meat bun fell from a boy's hand and rolled on the ground, covered in dust, but he remained completely unaware.
More people just subconsciously kept their mouths open, their expressions frozen, unable to make any sound in their throats.
This brief one-minute apocalyptic scene completely tore apart their inherent perception of this world.
"Beep, beep, beep!!"
The alarm, so sharp it tore the eardrums, brutally slashed through this dead silence.
The Personal Terminals on everyone's wrists lit up forcibly at the same time.
A blood-red pop-up window with the highest priority seized the entire screen.
[ Supreme Council of the Earth Alliance: Global Level-One Emergency Notice ]
[ Announcement Time: Earth Calendar, 2026 AD, October 28th, 7:03 AM. ]
[ Subject: Preliminary Briefing on the "Fall of Ouroboros" Incident. ]
[ Content: At 7:01 AM Earth time today, the Large-Scale Dungeon "Ouroboros' Gluttonous Feast," which had occupied the Luzon Island region for 413 days, suffered a catastrophic Forced Fusion after its internal world rules reached the critical threshold of rejection against Earth's laws. ]
[ Fusion Outcome: The "Ouroboros" Dungeon has established an irreversible physical link with Earth's reality. Within the fusion zone, Earth's original laws of physics have been completely overridden, assimilated, and annihilated. Preliminary estimates indicate that this event has resulted in the instantaneous death or presumed disappearance of approximately 3,170,000 civilians within a 100-kilometer radius of the Luzon Island central region. ]
[ Warning: This is the first super-large-scale Forced Fusion disaster caused by a failed Purification in the 34 years since the Game invaded reality. Its consequences are irreversible, and its impact is currently being assessed. All Professionals are advised to remain vigilant and await further instructions. ]
The cold text held not a single shred of emotion.
Yet every word materialized, burrowing into the minds of all who read it.
Three million one hundred seventy thousand.
The number caused everyone's heart to stop instantly.
This was no cold symbol on a statistical report.
It was three million one hundred seventy thousand living human lives.
Three million one hundred seventy thousand souls who had just woken from their dreams, still harboring expectations for a new day.
Two minutes ago, they were eating breakfast, commuting, sleeping in, and kissing their lovers.
Two minutes later, they, along with the cities they inhabited, the land beneath their feet, and the air they breathed... absolutely everything.
Had been swallowed whole by an otherworldly monster known as a "Dungeon."
Even the traces of their existence were wiped completely clean.
Attached below the notice was an image transmitted in real-time by a space-based satellite.
In the image, on the beautiful planet the human race relied upon for survival, a circular abyss with a continuously collapsing edge had appeared on that large island in Southeast Asia.
That was not the azure sea.
Nor was it emerald-green land.
Instead, it was a twisted void of churning Chaos, grotesque and bizarre.
A piercing wound inflicted upon the planet.
A terrifying scar, festering and writhing, named "Ouroboros."
In the plaza, no one could utter a sound.
In the past, Dungeons were danger, monsters, and death traps.
But they were also opportunity, experience, equipment, and wealth.
"Instances" that could be conquered.
Even if Purification failed, there would always be stronger Professionals to solve it.
Yet who could have imagined that the ultimate consequence of a failed Purification...
...was that a chunk of the world would be eaten away alive!
Lin Qingyue and her three companions stared at that "World's Scar," their hearts squeezed by an invisible hand until they could not breathe.
The blood drained from Xia Lian's face, her lips trembling uncontrollably.
Su Wan's nails dug deep into her palm, her consistently cool eyes now holding only pure horror and icy fury.
Lin Xiyue subconsciously squeezed her sister's hand, her cold palm drenched in sweat.
Lin Qingyue said nothing.
She only stared fixedly at that satellite image.
Yet another scene flashed uncontrollably through her mind.
The Blackstone Fortress, billowing black smoke.
The Silent Forest, vibrant with life.
And the ruins of Winred City, where reconstruction had just begun, bathed in the dawn light of Order.
A terrible thought slithered into her mind like a venomous snake.
What if... they failed?
What if they had failed to deconstruct the faith of the Evil God, failed to awaken the God of Machinery, failed to stop Cain's plan...
Would that beautiful fantasy world also end up devouring itself in the struggle of conflicting rules, just like "Ouroboros"?
Would the World Fragment collapse as a result?
And would some corner of Earth, because of this, be marred by such an ugly scar?
Only at this moment did she gain a new, suffocatingly heavy understanding of the word "Purification."
It was not clearing a dungeon.
It was not a victory.
It was a war that two real worlds had to win... just to survive!
Before the impact of the disaster had even faded, a new wave broke over them.
In less than half an hour, the Chinese authorities released an emergency statement through all channels, its wording as hard as steel.
[ Huaxia Supreme Combat Readiness Committee Announcement ]
[ In light of the severity of the "Fall of Ouroboros" incident, to maintain the stability of the Earth World, safeguard the survival of human civilization, and prevent similar tragedies from recurring, the Committee has conducted an urgent assessment and hereby officially launches the "Guardian Project" effective immediately. ]
[ The core content of the "Guardian Project": Huaxia will proactively provide comprehensive assistance, including intelligence, technology, materials, and personnel, to neighboring countries, especially those incapable of handling Large-Scale and Super-Scale Dungeons on their own. We will dispatch the most elite Professional squads to assist friendly nations in Purifying high-risk Dungeons, nipping the potential risks of fusion in the bud! ]
This announcement, like a thunderclap, boomed across the entire globe.
This was not international aid.
This was a declaration of war in the name of safeguarding civilization!
Yet at this very moment, this declaration seemed so natural, so inspiring.
Everyone understood that an era had ended.
The past era, where each nation merely swept its own doorstep, had been brought to a complete end with a single bite from Ouroboros.
The future battlefields would no longer be confined within national borders.
A more dangerous, more grand, and more opportunity-filled era of global war, descended along with that world-shaking hum.
The crowd on the square had mixed thoughts, their minds numb from being struck by these successive, heavyweight news pieces.
Just at this moment, the Personal Terminals of Lin Qingyue's Squad lit up once again.
This time, there was no alarm.
There was only an incredibly brief message from their mentor, Chen Jing.
[ Lin Qingyue, Lin Xiyue, Su Wan, Xia Lian, upon receipt, report to the University Strategic Command Center immediately. Highest priority. ]
The four exchanged glances, seeing an unprecedented solemnity in each other's eyes.
The new era had descended.
And their first conscription mission had also arrived.