Absolute Death Game

The so-called "whether you can continue to serve the company" is just a more euphemistic way of saying dying in the game. But even with the nearly two-hundred thousand severance pay, plus one hundred thousand in termination fees, that's only three hundred thousand—a trifling sum for a human life, don't you think?

As Xiao Buli thought this, he observed everyone's reaction. Qin Shimoon continued to appeal to emotion and reason, but hardly anyone was seriously listening anymore. Perhaps everyone had felt that there was something not quite right with the game. Usually, they could still put on a show, but now faced with certain death, they had little mood left to pretend.

Only Wu Tao still appeared pleasantly surprised, as if genuinely enticed by the near two-hundred thousand, making one admire his acting skills.

Finally, after Qin Shimoon had said all that needed to be said, she glanced at the crowd's response (Sure enough, I expected as much. These guys aren't completely oblivious fools, I wonder how they will respond? Hehe, but it's no longer any of my concern). She thought to herself, shook her head slightly with a sigh, and then turned and left, leaving behind a deafening silence.

After a long silence in the computer room, Du Yibo suddenly spoke up, "I don't know what you all are thinking, but I definitely won't go to my death. At worst, they can transfer me to the White Tiger Group or just fire me, but I'm sure as hell not going to play that dungeon."

"Don't speak in anger, Yibo. Things haven't reached that point yet. The upper management might still change their minds," Hua Yueying tried to persuade him, but even she sounded unconvinced.

Zhang Yaoyang said, "Let's not grumble about it. Let's just wait and see. Maybe within this month our strength will improve enough, and with the sheer number of people, we might actually beat the dungeon."

Liu Xing suddenly looked up, staring into Zhang Yaoyang's eyes, "Heh, so you're still harboring illusions?" His face was unusually calm, yet his tone was resolutely firm, "Placing our hopes in the higher-ups' sudden awakening, or hitting the jackpot in the game, do you really prefer to believe in such ethereal things rather than in yourselves? At times like this, we should really..."
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A hand suddenly landed on Liu Xing's shoulder, startling him. He turned to see Xiao Buli giving him a nod, and then a shake of the head, his eyes seeming to hint at something.

Liu Xing was taken aback, his expression a mix of surprise, disbelief, and suspicion. Ultimately, however, he just snorted and said nothing more.

That afternoon, nobody felt like playing the game, including Liu Xing, who spent the afternoon watching bandits on a nearby mountain. When the evening log-off time came, Wu Tao slipped him a note. Liu Xing quietly unfolded it and saw "Meet in the restroom at 12 o'clock."

(Damn, what is this nonsense?) Liu Xing thought.

It wasn't just him who received a note; Xiao Buli got one too, although unlike Liu Xing, he was well aware of the reasons behind it.

After practicing his Professional Skills all afternoon and working an extra shift into the night, Xiao came to the restroom at exactly 12 o'clock, pretending to be logging off to relieve himself. As he entered the restroom, he heard a subdued argument.

Stepping in, he was surprised to find the entire bathroom crowded with people, not only from the Azure Dragon Group, who were already in the know—Wu Tao, Zhang Yaoyang, Bai Yunfei, Yaoyao—but tonight there were three more: Zhao Yunlong, Liu Xing, and Du Yibo.

"This is impossible! What you're saying can't be true!" Zhao Yunlong looked like he couldn't accept what he was hearing, seemingly confronted with something extremely absurd. Upon seeing Xiao Buli enter, he grasped at him like a lifeline, "Xiao, you've come at just the right time.

The team leader said that if you die in the game, you die in real life too, and to resist the company, you guys even created some kind of rebellion organization. Isn't that hilarious?"

(It seems Zhang Yaoyang has spilled everything to the three of them). Xiao Buli thought inwardly as he nodded slightly at Zhao Yunlong.

After Zhao Yunlong finished asking, Xiao Buli didn't laugh but instead nodded solemnly, which only increased Zhao Yunlong's astonishment.

"It can't be real," he murmured in a daze, backing away until a hand suddenly landed on his shoulder. Turning around, he saw Du Yibo, whose face was as grim as it was unsurprised.

Speaking in a somber tone, Du Yibo said, "What the team leader said is probably true. Although I don't know if you really die in reality if you die in the game, the abilities gained in the game can indeed be used in real life. By extension, the idea of dying in the game resulting in death in real life isn't that far-fetched."

Zhao Yunlong chuckled with a hint of skepticism, "Using game abilities in real life? Who are you trying to fool?"

"Want proof? That's easy. Let me perform a little spell for you." As he spoke, Du Yibo extended a hand, gave a slight flick, and without warning, a flame burst into existence in his palm, burning steadily like a torch, yet his hand showed no signs of burning.

"How is it, does it not have quite the flair of Kusanagi Kyo from 'The King of Fighters'?" he said with a trace of pride and a hint of bitterness on his face, "I was excited for quite a while the first time I did this." After he finished speaking, he gently clenched his fist, and the flame disappeared from his hand.

Yet this display elicited looks of admiration from those in the know, such as Xiao Buli, but Zhao Yunlong's face was filled with nothing but terror, "What about Liu Xing then?" he asked.

Liu Xing nodded slightly, then suddenly leaped up, reaching the energy-saving bulb on the ceiling in one bound. Hanging onto the bulb as if weightless, he persisted for a moment before slowly descending.

Seeing such a performance, Zhao Yunlong could no longer deny the truth and inevitably sat down on the cold bathroom floor with a thump.

"Look on the bright side, at least you are a superpower user now, although the skills of a martial general seem a bit underwhelming," Liu Xing said, squatting down and patting Zhao Yunlong on the shoulder, who gave him a smile uglier than crying.

"What about Hua Yueying and Li Chuang? Why didn't you bring the two of them?" Du Yibo suddenly asked.

"I suspect we have an inside traitor sent by the higher-ups in our group," Zhang Yaoyang said, "After a long period of analysis, it's very likely one of those two, so for secrecy, I had to temporarily keep them in the dark."

"Then why tell us all this?"

"Of course, it's to have everyone join the rebellion. The situation is clear now, the higher-ups want us to go to our deaths. They think they can buy our lives for three hundred thousand. No matter what you think, I, Zhang Yaoyang, will never accept such an outcome!"

He spoke fervently and vigorously, immediately igniting the fury in the trio.

Liu Xing spoke with a grave voice, "You're right, these bastards simply disregard human life. We cannot sit back and wait for death, but when do we take action?"

"The time has already been set, on the day we officially start the raid on the instance. However, with our current strength, rebellion won't be easy, so we need to contact the White Tiger Group. As for the Vermilion Bird Group, besides Wu Min'er whom we can trust, the rest are unknown, and considering the Vermilion Bird Group's weak power, it's not necessary to take the risk to make contact.

In the meantime, there are only two things we need to do: one is to improve our strength in the game, the other is to improve our strength in reality. Not only do we have to learn to use and master the skills from the game in real life, but we also have to think of ways to smuggle some weapons in; otherwise, we will have no power to fight back."

"Why don't we run instead?" Zhao Yunlong asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why don't we all break away from the company during the Sunday break and then never go back?"

"Don't forget our game accounts are still in the hands of the company. What if they log into the game characters and kill us all?" guessed Du Yibo.

Zhang Yaoyang, however, shook his head, "I'm not worried about that. I've already experimented with Old Bai and others. It's simply impossible for different people to log into someone else's account. No matter how many times you type in the account password, the screen will show a login error. Only the owner of the account can successfully log in. It's probably because of the nature of the game.

Although I don't know the principle behind it, I'm sure the company can't do it either."

Du Yibo wondered, "Then what's there to worry about?"

Zhang Yaoyang scoffed, "Do you think it's normal that so many people have died without causing any uproar at all?" As soon as he said this, many people's faces changed color.

Liu Xing asked, "What do you mean?"

Zhang Yaoyang took a deep breath, "No matter who is behind this company, they possess unimaginable influence. Considering the miraculous nature of this game, those of us who know the truth will absolutely not be allowed to survive. If we run away separately, the only outcome is to be hunted down one by one.

So, our only choice is to rise in rebellion, destroy the entire company's archives, and then we can ensure we are not tracked."

"Besides, we can also take some computers with us, so we can continue to improve our own strength through the game. Don't tell me you're willing to give up entering this game forever. At least, I don't want to give up such power."

Zhang Yaoyang's argument seemed completely flawless and also captured everyone's heart. After thinking for a while, the three of them nodded in agreement, "You're right, it's indeed the logical thing to do." (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote, recommend tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my biggest motivation.)