Rafam Continent, Australia War Zone, Border City No. 4

On the city wall, a group of players guarding this border city are gathering idly to chat.

A man named Qingyi Dahai starts speaking:

"Our Qingyi Pavilion is on guard for one more day today, and tomorrow it should be the turn of Famous Clan."

Qingyi Xiaosong next to him says:

"Yeah!"

"Finally, it's ending."

"I've been on guard for two days, and my equipment is about to get moldy, sigh."

The people around him hear this and also express their thoughts:

"Exactly."

"The experience and contribution from guarding the city now are practically useless, just wasting time."

"So, do any of you have plans after city guarding ends tomorrow?"

"Grinding on the battlefield!"

"Our clan members have already made an appointment to grind on the battlefield for the next three days without doing anything else."

"The Demon Race Battlefield is much more cost-effective in terms of experience and equipment attributes compared to running dungeons or doing quests."

"Another three days of grinding, and I'll be able to level up."

And this point of his is also unanimously agreed upon by everyone.

Currently in the game, the focus of various war zones is almost entirely on grinding the battlefield (Great Rift Valley).

Whether it's the endless Demon Race or the experience or equipment dropped by killing them, all are richer than most dungeon drops right now.

But battlefield grinding isn't the only option.

Someone says:

"I heard our president organized three groups of a hundred people each, preparing to start grinding [Giant Dragon's Nest] tomorrow."

"Has anyone been selected?"

At this moment, the priest named Qingyi Xiaosong speaks:

"Eh, I'm in the second group, haha~"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately shows envious eyes and says:

"Wow, seriously!"

"It's rumored that those who enter the [Giant Dragon's Nest] dungeon are guaranteed at least one piece of epic equipment."

"If you're lucky, you might get a few more Dragon Armor pieces; you'll strike it rich."

"Yeah, exactly!"

"Right now in the market, any Dragon Armor piece is worth over 5000 gold coins, and they're still in short supply."

Listening to their comments, Qingyi Xiaosong grins and says:

"You said it."

"This time, our group leader said."

"Entering the dungeon this time not only guarantees each person an epic piece but also an extra reward of 500 gold."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces instantly show a look of yearning.

However, everyone present also has a sense of self-awareness:

"Too bad my equipment isn't good."

"Otherwise, participating a few more times would get me a full set of epic gear."

"Exactly."

"But this dungeon is also very hard."

"If we went, we probably wouldn't even clear it."

"Exactly!"

"Many times when someone organized to go, the first boss wasn't killed, and the whole party wiped out."

"For us to grind this dungeon, the average level must be at least Lv60."

"Not just us."

"A lot of elite wild teams in various war zones also can't grind it."

At this moment, someone suddenly recalls something:

"By the way, I suddenly remembered something."

"Did you all check the forum today?"

Everyone is taken aback:

"Not yet."

"Is there more big news?"

"Or some scandal in another war zone."

Qingyi Xiaosong looks at the speaker, Qingyi Dahai, and says in suspicion:

"Are you talking about Feng Hua's matter?"

Qingyi Dahai nods repeatedly and says:

"That's right."

"You guys didn't notice we've not seen Feng Hua for several days now?"

Everyone suddenly feels this way after hearing Qingyi Dahai, and a male mage named Qingyi Tiange says:

"I was just talking to my roommate about this yesterday."

"I mentioned Feng Hua's power ranking on the world board hasn't moved for days."

"This is something that's never happened before."

"Everyone's speculating whether Feng Hua has retired from the game."

Qingyi Dahai immediately nods and says:

"Exactly."

"This is all over the forum now."

"Many people are doubting whether Feng Hua has retired."

"There's an anonymous post on the forum, wonder if you've seen it."

"The poster claims to be Feng Hua's friend."

"In his screenshot, you can see that Feng Hua hasn't 'logged in' for many days."

"Too bad this post was later deleted."

"It's heard someone screenshotted it and posted it on the forum only to have it quickly deleted by admin, not allowing it to be posted."

Upon hearing this, everyone looks at each other in disbelief:

"Retired from the game?"

"Probably not."

"Seriously? It sounds so unbelievable."

For them, to reach Feng Hua's level, how could he willingly retire from the game?

That's the world number one, the super top-tier account countless people dream of!!

With Feng Hua's current fame and power, almost nobody present can believe in the idea of his retirement.

Qingyi Dahai also says:

"But for now, most people think Feng Hua must be delayed by some real-life issues."

"Such a thing as retiring from the game, no one would believe it could happen!"

Someone seemed to remember something:

"No wonder we haven't seen Feng Hua on the battlefield when we encounter the Creation Mercenary Corps lately."

"Turns out Feng Hua hasn't been 'online' for days."

Just then, Qingyi Xiaosong suddenly interrupted everyone's conversation:

"Alright, enough."

"Let's stop discussing this matter."

Qingyi Xiaosong suddenly warned everyone with a serious expression:

"I'm telling you, you can talk about this privately."

"But you absolutely can't say anything online, got it."

Everyone was taken aback by the words:

"Why?"

Qingyi Xiaosong, looking proud, said:

"This was specially instructed by the leader during yesterday's second team meeting."

"We mustn't let this matter blow up."

"You should know Feng Hua's importance to our battle zone."

"The reason why the United States has been so quiet lately is largely because we have Feng Hua here."

"Now if they find out Feng Hua is 'not here', do you think they'd let this opportunity slip to cause us trouble?"

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone seemed to realize something, and their faces immediately became serious.

At this moment, a player suddenly exclaimed:

"Look, what's that!"

Outside the Border City, the Teleportation Array suddenly surged with a dense crowd of players.

Everyone was shocked:

"Why are there so many people?"

Since this is the necessary path to Russell Port and the Land of Extreme Cold, no one paid attention at first.

But as the crowd grew larger and ominously approached, everyone's expression changed drastically:

"Damn, they're here to seize the city!"

"Shit, call for reinforcements!"

"Sound the alarm, sound the alarm!!"

In an instant, the whole Border City erupted with alarm sirens.

......

Meanwhile, Lin Yi's room was silent.

Upon learning that Lin Yi was in Nine Nether Continent, everyone fell into a complex shock, momentarily speechless.

Faced with each other, the room was so silent it was filled only with their breathing.

After a long while, Zhang Xinying was the first to snap back and pose her question to Dongfang Jing:

"So... if he gets killed over there, will he be resurrected?"

"Or will he return to the game (Rafam Continent)?"

Dongfang Jing helplessly shook her head and said:

"You probably have to ask him yourself."

Just then, Guo Shaojie was startled by the ringing on his tablet:

"Oh gosh."

The sudden urgent ringing pulled everyone back from their shocked state.

Nine Nether Continent, this mysterious land, had always been mentioned only by Aifula and Jade Qilin.

They never expected.

That Lin Yi would one day personally descend into that Otherworld.

Humans have an inherent longing for the unknown.

It's no wonder that upon hearing this news, everyone would be filled with complex emotions.

Presumably, they all want to follow Lin Yi to this Otherworld Continent and 'broaden their horizons'.

Guo Shaojie opened the tablet curiously, muttering:

"Who's messaging me at this time."

However, upon reading the content, Guo Shaojie was suddenly shocked:

"Holy crap! Something's happened in the game."

Ouyang Hao quickly asked:

"What shocked you so much."

"What major event could there be now."

Guo Shaojie, visibly stunned, said:

"The Japanese have launched a city seizing war against Australia's War Zone 4."

"Seize the city?!"

Everyone's faces changed upon hearing this:

"Seizing the city at this time?"

"The Japanese must be out of their minds, causing trouble for no reason."

"Alright, stop talking, quickly get online."

Everyone promptly turned their gaze to Dongfang Jing.

Dongfang Jing, in a bad mood, said:

"Why are you looking at me? Let's go!" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

After everyone left the room, Zhang Xinying, the last to leave, said to Jade Qilin:

"Ian, don't go anywhere, just stay here."

"If you notice anything unusual, immediately inform us, got it?"

Having experienced the earlier instrument incident, Jade Qilin nodded, indicating:

"I'll be stationed here starting now."

Jiang Jiaying chimed in:

"I'll be helping with the watch too, you can rest assured, Xinying."

After confirming there's no mistake, Zhang Xinying returned to the room to get online.

At this moment, Heaven-Gifted Ouyang Hao and Red Eyes Wang Sijie called out to the ascending Dongfang Jing:

"Jing, what about us?"

"Should we keep waiting for Feng or go back to help?"

Dongfang Jing hesitated on the stairs for a moment and then said:

"You better go back first, let Aifula stay there."

"Otherwise, waiting aimlessly isn't a solution."

Ouyang Hao and Wang Sijie exchanged glances, expressing understanding.

As soon as they logged in, they appeared by the lake in the sunny Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts and then initiated the Return to City...

And during the process, deep in the cave within Valley of Ten Thousand Beasts, the Golden Behemoth resting on the ground suddenly raised its head towards the lake.

It scratched its head dumbly.

Turning to see Lin Yi seated, resting with his eyes closed, it hesitated and dared not make a sound.

Then it pretended as if nothing happened and continued resting on the ground.