Player 1

Chapter 19 Level 1(17)
A line of propane tanks lined up next to the ruins, one of which was affected by the explosion, began to burn, and the crowd fled in all directions, seeking cover.Then, the fire spread, and other gas tanks caught fire one after another, and the onlookers hurriedly retreated to a farther place to keep a distance from the scene of the incident.

Residents in the adjacent stacked building knew that if the fire was left unchecked, they would not be able to protect themselves, so many people had already devoted themselves to putting out the fire.They brought rubber hoses from the garden, buckets, empty cups and all the tools they could use, and quickly brought the fire under control.

I was speechless at what I saw, and the crowd murmured around me that this might be another methamphetamine accident, or that some idiot was trying to make an earth bomb.

Everything is as expected from Sorrento.

The thought jolted me out of my daze.what am i doing The Sixth Man just tried to kill me, and they probably have agents lurking around, making sure the target is dead or alive, while I stand in public like an idiot.

I squeezed through the crowd and walked quickly back to the secret hut. I didn't want to attract attention, so I didn't run, and I kept looking back to make sure I wasn't being followed.When I got back to the van, I locked the door and curled up in a corner for an indeterminate amount of time.

My sanity finally recovered slowly, and I began to realize what had just happened.Aunt Alice and her boyfriend Rick died, as did the other residents in the prefab, as well as the people in the several units below and around, and even Grandma Ji died.If I hadn't run to the secret hut, there would be one more death list.

My adrenaline was pumping and I didn't know what to do next.If you log on to "Oasis" to notify the police, they will definitely think that a psycho is talking nonsense; if you tell the media, the consequences will probably be the same.No one would believe my story unless I reported myself as Parsifal, and even that probably wouldn't help since I had no proof.The bombs of Sorrento and the "Sixth Man" may be completely slag, and there is no way to find them.

IOI is one of the largest companies in the world.It would not be wise to expose my true identity and prosecute it for murder and intimidation.Not many people, except myself, would believe that the "sixth man" is willing to kill someone on the list in order to win the game.This sounds like something out of a novel, it's crazy.

The secret hut is safe now, but it cannot stay here for long.Once the "Sixth Man" finds out that I'm alive, he'll come back and start searching, so I have to get out of this damn place.But when it comes to leaving, there are more practical issues in front of me-I have no money and the advertising revenue has not yet arrived.

But more important than talking to Edge, I must warn him, is that he's on the "sixth man" list.

Also, I needed to meet friends before I was completely overwhelmed by despair.

0015
I turned on the Oasis, put on a mask and gloves.Reappear in Luders after logging in, next to the cane tree.As soon as the sound effect was connected, I heard the deafening sound of the engine overhead.Walking out from under the tree, I looked into the sky and found that it was the fighter planes of the "Sixth Man" flying in formation. They passed by at low altitude and quickly slid towards the south. The sensors kept scanning the surface of the planet.

When I wanted to hide under the tree to avoid their sight, I suddenly remembered that the entire Ludes was a non-PVP area, and the "Sixth Man" could not attack me here.But even so, my nerves were tense.I continued to scan the sky, and found another two formations of "Sixth Man" fighter jets coming from the eastern horizon.After a while, fighter planes also appeared to the west and north, as if aliens had invaded.

Icons flashed on the screen, and Edge sent me a new message: Damn, where have you been?Call me right now!
I clicked his name on my buddy list, and Edge connected the call right away.His face almost occupied the entire video pop-up window, and he looked extremely angry.

"Did you know?" he asked.

"what?"

"The 'Sixth Men' are pouring into Ludus. There are hundreds of them, and they keep coming. They're searching the planet, looking for graveyards."

"Well, I'm in Luders. There are 'Sixth Man' fighters everywhere."

Edge showed sullen expression, "I'm going to kill I-Lock! He will kill me every time he builds a new character. If the grandson knows how to close his anus, the 'Sixth Man' will never come here."

"Yeah, his shit on the forum led to 'Sixth Man,' Sorrento himself said."

"Sorrento? Nolan Sorrento?"

I told him everything that happened a few hours ago.

"Did they blow up your house?"

"It's a prefab, actually," I said, "in a stack. They killed a lot of people, Edge, and maybe it's on the news." I took a deep breath. "I'm scared."

"It's human nature, but fortunately you were not at home at that time."

I nodded. "I never log in at home, 'Sixth Man' doesn't know that."

"where is your family?"

"That's my aunt's house. She's dead, if nothing else. We—we're not on good terms." I didn't go into details.Aunt Alice has always been mean to me, but it's not a crime to die for.My biggest guilt right now stems from Grandma Ji, who is one of the nicest people I've ever known.

I found myself sobbing and filtered my voice, Edge didn't notice it, and I took a few more deep breaths to calm myself down.

"I can't fucking believe it!" Edge yelled. "You son of a bitch, wait and see! They're going to pay for it sooner or later!"

I didn't speak, but I felt better.

"Where are you now?" Edge asked. "Help? Uh, like a place to live or something? I can give you some money."

"No, I'm fine, thanks, buddy, really."

"You're welcome, brother."

"Listen, did 'Sixth Man' email you?"

"Well, thousands of copies, I didn't even read them."

I frowned, "If only I did the same."

"You don't know that they are going to kill people! Also, they already have your address. Even if you ignore them, you will probably be killed one day."

"Uh, Edge, Sorrento says your school file is fake, and 'The Sixth Man' doesn't know where to find you. But he's probably lying too, and you should get out of the house as soon as possible and go to a safer place. "

"Don't worry, my address keeps changing, those beasts will never find me."

"That's good." I wondered what this meant. "We also have to warn Artemis, and Dato and Soto—if we can get in touch. The 'Sixth Man' is probably exhausted." All efforts are being made to find out their true identities."

"I have an idea," he said. "How about inviting them to the basement tonight? It's scheduled for midnight, a private chat session, just the five of us."

Thinking of Artemis, my mind immediately cleared up a lot, "Do you think they will all come?"

"If they know that this is a matter of life and death." He sneered, "The five tigers gather together in the face of a great enemy, such a thing does not happen every day."

I sent Artemis a message inviting her to Edge's chat room at midnight.Within minutes, she replied promising to be there.Dayto and Soto also accepted the invitation.The meeting is scheduled.

It feels good to not be alone anymore.

I entered the basement an hour early to find Edge already there.He is watching the news in front of the TV.Seeing me enter the room, he stood up without saying a word, and gave me a big hug.Although the hug is virtual, the friendship is real.After that, we sat down and watched the news together, waiting for the others to arrive.

Every channel is the news of the "Sixth Man" fleet and army arriving in Ludes. Their purpose is obvious, so now all the hunters in the oasis are rushing to Ludes.

"The matter of the tomb is revealed." I shook my head.

"Sooner or later," Edge turned off the TV, "I just didn't expect it to be so soon."

The sound of Artemis entering the basement sounded beside me, and after walking down the stairs, she waved to me.She was dressed as usual.

"Edge, she is Artemis. Artemis, this name is Ege, my best friend." I began to introduce the two sides.

"Hello." Artemis stretched out her right hand.

Edge shook. "To each other." He smiled brightly, "It's great that you can come."

"Are you kidding? How could you not come? This is the first meeting of the Five Tigers."

"Five Tigers?" I asked.

"That's right," Edge said. "That's what people call us now. We're in the top five on the scoreboard."

"Well," I said, "at least for now."

Artemis smiled slightly, and began to wander around admiring the 80s-like decoration in the basement, "Edge, I never thought there would be such a great chat room."

"Thank you." Edge was a little embarrassed.

She stopped in front of the cabinet for role-playing games. "I dare say, this is exactly like Morrow's basement. Every detail is meticulous. I want to come here often."

"You are already on the white list, and we are waiting for your visit at any time."

"Wow," she looked very pleased, "thank you! I'll be here often. You're so kind, Edge."

"Well, yes, that's what I mean."

They really hit it off.I found myself burning with jealousy.Artemis shouldn't get so close to Edge, as long as she likes me.

Dayto and Soto soon arrived.Dayto is taller and looks like a youth.Soto was a foot shorter than Dato and looked about 13 years old.Both of them are Japanese, and they are like clones, except that one is five years older.They wore traditional samurai uniforms, with long and short knives on their waists.

"Hello," the tall warrior said, "I am Daito. This is my younger brother, Soto. Thank you for your invitation. It is our honor to meet you three."

They bowed together, which frightened Edge and Artemis to return the same bow immediately.I followed suit and bowed.After introducing each other, Dayto and Soto bowed again.

"Okay," Edge wiped his sweat after we saluted, "let's get down to business. I know you've all seen the 'Sixth Man' swarming every land in Luders, by the thousands Wan. They're systematically searching the entire planet's surface. Even if they haven't found one yet, they'll soon find the graveyard—"

"They've found it," Artemis interrupted Edge, "three ten minutes ago."

We turned to look at her.

"It's not on the news," Dayto said. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Unfortunately, that's true. When I heard the news this morning, I set up a few detectors at the entrance and monitored it." She let us share the video window.The camera is shot down from the top of the tree, and the picture includes most of the hill.From this vantage point you can clearly see the skull-shaped cairns on the summit, as well as the growing number of "Sixth Men" scattered throughout the area.

Most disturbing of all, there is now a transparent energy dome covering the entire mountain.

"Son of a bitch," Edge said, "is that what I thought?"

Artemis nodded, "Block the force field, and start injecting energy as soon as the 'Sixth Man' arrives. So..."

"So from now on," Dayto said, "no other hunters will be able to enter the grave unless they can pass through the force field."

"There are two force fields," Artemis explained, "one inside the other. They each dampen the energy so that the 'sixth man' can get in and out, like an airlock." She pointed to the window. "Look, it's started. "

The "Sixth Man" formation landed from fighter planes, and they all carried equipment containers.When approaching the external force field, the external force field disappears, revealing the small internal force field.When the formation reached the periphery of the inner force field, the outer force field reappeared.Then, the small force field disappeared, and the "sixth man" entered the grave.

This new discovery silenced us for a long time.

"It's not too bad." Edge finally spoke first, "If it was in the PVP area, these bastards would have thrown laser turrets and mechanical sentries all over the ground, vaporizing everything that approached."

He is right.Ludes is a safe zone, and the "sixth man" cannot harm the hunter who is close to the grave, and can only lay down a blocking force field to stop the opponent.

"'Sixth Man' can gather so many people and move out so many tools at once, obviously it has been prepared for a long time." Artemis closed the video window.

"They can't last long," Edge said. "When other guilds find out, the hunters will try their best to attack the blockade field, incendiary bombs, rocket launchers, cluster bombs, and even tactical nuclear bombs. Things will get very serious." Disgusting, sooner or later this forest will become barren."

"Yeah, but now the 'Sixth Man' is flicking the brass keys and sending the lackeys one by one through the first door, damn it, it's like a conga."

"How could they do this?" Soto looked at his brother, "It's not fair, they don't follow the rules."

"There's no provision in the Oasis to stop this, man," Dato replied. "The Sixth Man can do whatever it wants, and it won't stop unless someone stops it."

"Totally immoral," Soto said angrily.

"You don't know anything yet," Edge added. "That's why Percy and I asked you to come over." He turned to me. "Percy, do you want to tell them?"

I nodded and turned to them.I started with the email from IOI - they got the same thing, but wisely ignored it - and then I got to the meeting with Sorrento, I described everything in detail and finally mentioned the meeting The end and the explosion.After I finished speaking, they all looked shocked.

"God," Artemis whispered, "are you kidding me? They want to kill you?"

"Yes, and it almost did. I'm just lucky."

"Now you know what the 'Sixth Man' does," Edge said. "If we're found, we're dead."

I nodded, "Everyone must be careful to protect themselves, and must not disclose real information."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and silence fell again.

"There is one more thing I don't know," Artemis broke the silence, "How did the 'Sixth Man' know to come to Ludes to find the grave?" Although she glanced at the four of us, there was no doubt in her eyes.

"I should have read the rumors about Parsifal and Edge on the hunter website." Soto said, "That's how we found them."

Dayto frowned and punched his brother on the shoulder. "Didn't I tell you to shut up before I came?" he said angrily.Soto scratched his head embarrassedly.

"What rumor?" Artemis looked at me, "I haven't read the message boards for several days."

"Someone said he knew Parsifal and Edge, and knew that they both studied in Luders." He turned to Edge and me, "My brother and I looked for a lot of places, but never thought of Luders before."

"We didn't expect that either," I said, "so we didn't keep our studies here a secret."

"I also benefited from this," Edge turned to the others, "similar to you, I deduced the location of the grave from Parsifal's actions."

Dato touched his brother with his arm, and they all bowed to me, "You were the first to find the grave, and we all owe you a favor."

"Come on, buddy, Artemis is the first one, she is a whole month earlier than me."

"Yeah, but," Artemis said, "I got stuck with the Lich for weeks, and this bastard got through it in one go." She explained how we met and how she followed To defeat the lich.

"I have to thank Edge for playing with me for so long on The Egg Fight," I said. "We've been playing it a lot for a while, and it's in this basement. How else would I have passed it once? "

"Me too." Edge held out his hand, and we fisted.

Dayto and Soto laughed. "Everything," Dayto said, "me and my brother practiced 'The Egg Fight' with me because it was in the yearbook."

(End of this chapter)