I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

Polaris said.

The others, upon hearing this, immediately focused their attention on him.

"Alright, I'll send it in the public chat."

Keying operated her panel and sent the recorded video.

Polaris clicked on the video and watched intently, and the others also opened the video to check.

A moment later.

"I think I saw a line! There was a reflection, look here!"

Doghead Gold exclaimed loudly.

"Keep it down! Who knows what other strange dangers there are around here, don't draw attention!"

The Horseman warned.

Upon Doghead Gold's reminder, they indeed noticed a momentary glint in Keying's first-person view. Between two trees, there was an extremely fine thread, nearly invisible unless looked at closely.

"It's spider silk..."

Polaris turned off the video and looked up at them.

"I had noticed it just before I died."

The others were all startled.

"So you mean to say, all around this forest there are these... spider silks?! We could be cut to death if we're not careful?!"

Doghead Gold cried out in shock.

Polaris simply nodded in silence.

"That's why we can't run, and we must pay attention to our surroundings at all times."

"Damn it! We're already short on time, and moving like this is so inefficient...!"

Doghead Gold was extremely frustrated.

Both the Horseman and Forget No Taboo looked unhappy.

"Since we can't go far, there's little point in splitting up. From now on, let's stick together, so we can look out for one another in case of danger."

Polaris analyzed calmly.

The others silently nodded in agreement.

Straight after, the group of five players moved cautiously, slowly making their way in one direction.

Their figures rippled and distorted, reflected in a lake.

Standing by the lake was a black-haired young man.

"Hmm..."

Chen Lun pondered with his chin rested on his hand.

"It seems that each time one enters 'Immortal Realm', the surrounding dangers are different. I didn't encounter such spider silks my last time here... Could it reset?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"And... Their deaths are being counted against me!"

Chen Lun looked at the prompt box with a strange smile.

[You have killed players Polaris, Su Keying, Horseman, Doghead Gold, and Forget No Taboo! You have gained 500 Experience Points and 2 Attribute Points!]

"Is it because I'm the master of the 'Immortal Realm'? So when they die inside, I can still get kill rewards..."

Chen Lun pondered.

"Players level up by farming monsters, I level up by farming players...?"

Previously, when he went to save Pompey's family, he had used the flintlock gun to kill three guild players of the Horseman, which had sparked an idea, now confirmed again.

"I had planned to try this only after the open beta, but now it seems it's true... And with 'Philip's Dreamland Adventure', I don't need to go around killing players one by one, which is both tiring and likely to attract enmity.

If I build 'Immortal Realm' as the future team's 'advanced instance', drawing players in... Their deaths here would be counted on my head, and yet they would also owe me a debt of gratitude."

Chen Lun shook his head, feeling a bit regretful.

Because when he had just sent the five players into the Immortal Realm, he felt a bit of pressure, as if due to his own Sequence, he didn't yet have complete control over the "Immortal Realm."

He intuitively felt that the number of players he could currently accommodate in the "Immortal Realm" was around ten; exceeding this number would not allow him to manipulate some switches as freely as he wished.

"So the strategy will have to change a bit for that time..."

Chen Lun planned in his mind, and after a while, he showed a smile.

"Since the number isn't large, let's go the elite route and set the price for 'Immortal Realm' tickets a bit higher. This will not only filter out a batch of the most outstanding players but will also make them cherish the opportunity to enter more..."

Chen Lun felt the plan was feasible the more he thought about it.

"Only the best players are worthy of exploring for me."

He had been harboring this thought for some time, as exploring the vast and dangerous "Immortal Realm" merely by himself was far too inefficient. He did not wish to end up like Philip, spending his entire life without seeing the end.

The player community, abundant with talented and gifted individuals, could definitely use their wits to find the right shortcuts for him and could use their advantage of resurrection to detect hidden mines for him.

Ultimately, a clear guide would be laid out before Chen Lun.

"Of course, the most important thing is that the Maggie Statue will continue to draw from their Sanity... This efficiency is countless times higher than me 'charging' the statue myself!"

Chen Lun, with a smile on his face, walked over to the lakeside statue.

He ran his finger gently over the pedestal and casually sat upon it, leaning against Maggie's fishtail, gazing at the lake.

[Current Stored Sanity Value: 28]

This was the Sanity obtained from Polaris and his group. After the cost of initiating and maintaining the "Immortal Realm" was deducted, the rest was stored.
Experience new stories on empire

"Keep up the good work, brave outsiders..."

Chen Lun's gaze stayed on the lake, through the sparkling water, landing on the five silhouettes in the Gloomy Forest.

Rustle...

Their footfalls lightly tread upon the leaves and twigs.

Polaris and the group progressed slowly but surely, without any more unexplained disappearances.

They encountered "spider silk" traps twice along the way, but fortunately, all five were vigilant enough to detect and avoid these deadly snares.

The first time it was detected, Polaris paused to study it carefully.