Invincibility starts when I see the BOSS health bar.

Chapter 1007 Reply

The report mentions that recently, there have been some cases across the country and even the world that seem difficult to explain using common sense:
Several villagers from a remote mountain village mysteriously disappeared on a rainy night. The search team only found some torn clothing and a few strange hairs that did not belong to any known animal.

A white-collar worker in the city claimed to have seen "floating shadows with countless eyes" in the stairwell of his apartment building on his way home late at night after working overtime. He then became mentally disoriented and was diagnosed with acute stress disorder. However, his attending physician privately noted that some of the patient's physiological indicators were abnormally inconsistent with conventional pathology.

There have been numerous cases of teenagers or young people experiencing strong déjà vu after playing games like "Seeking the Demon" or other immersive virtual reality games for extended periods. They insist that they can use the skills from the game in real life, and some have even been injured as a result. However, most of these cases are ultimately attributed to "mental disorders caused by gaming addiction" or "hallucinations caused by excessive excitement."

These events are scattered across a vast area, seemingly unrelated to each other, like randomly scattered puzzle pieces.

His gaze was fixed on a report that had just been updated a few hours earlier, which was about an old industrial park in the city’s western district.

Security guards on night patrol reported seeing “unnatural green flashes” inside the abandoned factory building, accompanied by “low, inhuman murmurs.”

After the police were notified, their initial investigation determined that the animal was most likely a wild animal. However, the report ended with a note stating that "there was a faint, inexplicable odor at the scene, similar to... the smell of rotting plants."

This location is not too far from his base.

"Since it's nearby, I'll go and confirm it myself." Fang Yu's mind raced, and he made a decision in an instant.

Whether it was a coincidence or a real clue, he couldn't let any possibility slip by. He needed to know the extent to which reality had been eroded.

With a flash, Fang Yu left the base like a ghost and disappeared into the deep night.

His speed far surpasses that of ordinary people; he stealthily leaps between skyscrapers, his movements fluid and silent.

The night wind brushed against his cheeks, carrying the murky scent unique to the city, but his keen senses tried to discern any unusual phenomenon from it.

West District, abandoned industrial park.

Overgrown with weeds, the rusty factory buildings resembled giant steel tombstones, casting distorted shadows in the pale moonlight.

The air was filled with the smell of dust and rust, but upon closer inspection, Fang Yu could indeed faintly detect a very faint, unpleasant odor, almost imperceptible and elusive.

He concealed his presence and heightened his senses to the limit, like the most cautious hunter, carefully searching every corner mentioned in the report.

The factory interior was empty and dilapidated, with only the whistling sound of the wind blowing through the broken window frames.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of dust, and apart from a few wild animal footprints and footprints left by the police during their investigation, there were no other unusual traces.

He sensed no obvious residual energy, nor did he detect any threatening presence.

An hour passed, and the search yielded nothing.

That strange, unpleasant odor seemed to have completely dissipated in the night wind, never to be detected again.

Standing on the factory roof, Fang Yu looked around at the silent night scene and couldn't help but feel a little doubtful.

"Was the information wrong? Or... was I too late and the other party had already left? Or was it just my imagination, over-interpreting a normal urban legend?"

The feeling of missing out is unpleasant, especially when you're on edge and desperately looking for a breakthrough.

But he also knew that this was the nature of investigating paranormal events; nine out of ten leads might be misleading or nonexistent.

Slightly disappointed, but not entirely disregarding his surroundings, Fang Yu quietly left the industrial park and returned to the base.

At least, it confirms that the area appears to be "clean" on the surface.

The base remained quiet.

He went straight back to his room.

With a thought, the body disintegrates, preparing to log into the game.

A few seconds later, the quiet room was empty, with only faint energy ripples remaining in the air, proving that Fang Yu had briefly stayed there.

His consciousness had already transcended some incomprehensible dimension and reconnected to the bizarre and perilous world of "Seeking the Demon".

Meanwhile, on the top floor of the Qisheng Group headquarters building on the other side of the city.

In his brightly lit private office, Qisheng was not resting.

He sat behind a large desk, with several huge high-definition monitors in front of him.

Instead of stock market charts or business reports, the screen displays various complex data streams and a PPT-based panel showing character attributes.

He was carefully reviewing the daily briefings submitted by his team, the core of which was a report on the progress of the professional gamers he had "raised" and managed in a quasi-military manner.

These people are the "ace reserve team" that Qisheng has carefully selected and cultivated with a lot of resources.

The report is detailed, listing each person's current situation, martial arts proficiency, exploration progress in their area, and most importantly, their realm advancement.

It must be said that the high-intensity training, optimized resource allocation, and brutal elimination mechanism have indeed spawned a group of players who have made rapid progress.

Several particularly outstanding individuals in the report have already begun to grasp the basics of the "Tree Realm" and have gained new insights into the application of power.

One extremely lucky player encountered a fortuitous event while completing a hidden quest chain. The report predicts that with a few more days of accumulation, he is highly likely to officially break through to the "Tree Realm" and become the first person in the team to step into the threshold of the Tree Realm.

Seeing this, Qi Shenggang's face did not show much joy; instead, his eyes became even more profound.

The progress is significant, but...

"In the end, we started too late."

He sighed softly. Compared to the earliest pioneers of the game, and especially compared to prodigies like Fang Yu who defied conventional wisdom, his team, which he had painstakingly built, still had a huge gap in overall strength.

He longed for them to grow quickly and become a usable fighting force more than anyone else, but he also understood the principle that "haste makes waste" better than anyone else.

In that bizarre and unpredictable world of "Seeking the Demon," recklessness often means death, and death means that all previous efforts are instantly wiped out.

Deleting a character and starting all over again—this punishment mechanism is far too harsh.

Therefore, no matter how anxious he was, he could only repeatedly emphasize to the training team to "take it easy and proceed steadily," preferring to go slower rather than suffer unnecessary losses.

However, behind this "steady and solid" approach lies an extremely demanding yet highly tempting reward and punishment mechanism that he has set up.

The high monetary rewards, real-world opportunities for advancement, and severe penalties or even elimination for poor performers—the underlying logic of this militarized management system is essentially to squeeze the potential of these players to the maximum extent, forcing them to grow at an unconventional pace.

What he wants is to quickly build a group of "cards" capable of fighting tough battles within a controllable risk range.

He had already witnessed the undeniable reality of extraordinary power; Fang Yu's existence was living proof. This both shocked him and instilled in him an unprecedented sense of urgency.

The rules of the world seem to be quietly changing, and he can no longer be satisfied with being an ordinary business tycoon.

He must possess sufficient power to cope with any future changes and protect everything he owns.

This time, in particular, the alarming rumors coming from the neighboring city served as a wake-up call for him.

That vague sense of crisis hung over my head like the Sword of Damocles.

What if... what if a similar incident happened not in the next city, but in his own city, right next to him? How would he cope? With mercenaries? With the existing security system? Faced with a potential force that defies common sense, these would likely be utterly ineffective.

Thinking of this, Qi Sheng felt a pang of fear.

He still has too few cards to play.

Currently, it seems that Fang Yu is still the only one who can truly be relied upon to handle extraordinary events.

This sense of vulnerability—that one's life, property, and even the safety of the city depend on another person—made him extremely uneasy.

He needs more "Fang Yu" types, or at least combat power close to Fang Yu's level.

This is also the root motivation for him to invest heavily in the game "Seeking the Demon".

The report also mentioned the movements of the Lei family.

With his father's full support, Lei's son is making quite a good showing in the game, having already gathered a group of skilled players and showing signs of becoming his own force.

"The Lei family certainly has a keen sense of smell," Qi Sheng commented, his tone unreadable, neither praising nor wary.

No secrets stay hidden forever. Rumors about the game "Seeking the Demon" potentially hiding huge secrets or even opportunities have already begun to circulate quietly within their top circle of wealthy individuals.

Many wealthy individuals of his caliber, or even slightly less so, have begun to openly or covertly invest heavily in this game, either supporting their children or hiring teams, hoping to get a share of the pie and seize the initiative.

But Qisheng wasn't too worried about these newcomers.

Their starting point, whether in terms of the precision of time and resource investment or the scientific nature of management, is far inferior to that of ours.

More importantly, the gap between them and the top players who entered the game earliest and grew up through their personal talent and opportunities is like heaven and earth.

In the game "Seeking the Demon," having wealth is often not enough in many crucial situations.

Opportunity, insight, and even some inexplicable "fate" seem to be more important than simply accumulating resources.

After finishing the report at hand, Qi Sheng rubbed his temples, a hint of exhaustion showing on his face.

He stood up, left his desk, and walked towards the private lounge area connected to the office.

There, after renovation, a high-end medical bed has been installed.

On the bed, his eldest daughter, Qimeng, lay quietly.

Her face was serene, as if she had simply fallen asleep, but the various sophisticated medical instruments connected to her body, and the stable but stagnant EEG on the screen, silently spoke of the cruelty of reality.

She has been in a vegetative state for quite some time.

Qisheng sat down on the chair by the bed and gently took his daughter's slightly cool hand.

The ruthlessness in the business world and the eager pursuit of power transformed into profound paternal love and unspeakable pain at this moment.

He stared at the curve on the screen representing her faint life force, his gaze resolute. He murmured softly, yet with unwavering conviction, as if speaking to his comatose daughter, or perhaps reaffirming his own belief:
"Meng'er, Daddy won't give up... no matter the cost. 'Seeking the Demon'... there must be hope there. You will wake up... you will!"

In the silent room, only the rhythmic ticking of the instruments echoed his vow.

……

Ouyang Mansion.

As dawn broke, dappled light and shadows shone through the gaps in the carved wooden windows, casting a mesmerizing pattern into the room.

A faint, unique scent, a blend of herbs and sandalwood, filled the air. This was Ding Hui's usual scent, and it was also a comforting one that Fang Yu was already accustomed to.

Fang Yu slowly opened his eyes.

The first thing he felt was the even and warm breathing beside him.

Slightly startled, I turned my head and saw Ding Hui's peaceful sleeping face.

She arrived at some unknown time and slept beside him, her long, black hair spread out on the pillow like brocade, with a few strands playfully sticking to her smooth forehead and cheeks.

Her breathing was steady and long, her chest rising and falling gently with each breath, and she curled up like a cat that had found a safe haven, completely letting down her guard.

Her long eyelashes, like two small fans, cast a faint shadow under her eyelids, and there seemed to be a faint, satisfied smile at the corners of her mouth.

Clearly, she was in an environment she perceived as extremely safe and unguarded.

Seeing this scene, Fang Yu was slightly touched.

These days, in order to study the body-entry formation, decipher the equipment, and analyze the Venerable Slave, Ding Hui has almost forgotten to eat and sleep. In addition, last night she helped Linghu Xiang complete the golden bone implantation. Ding Hui is probably buried in various medicinal materials, instruments and experiments all day long. Her already slightly thin face seems to have become even more pointed.

At this moment, in her deep sleep, she has shed her usual intelligence and competence, leaving only pure tranquility and fragility, making one feel an irresistible pity.

Almost instinctively, Fang Yu slowly raised his right hand, his fingertips trembling slightly, and reached towards Ding Hui's smooth and delicate face.

But just as his fingertips were about to touch Ding Hui's skin, he suddenly jolted awake, as if struck by a micro-current.

He quickly stopped and carefully lifted the covers, trying to get out of bed without causing any tremors.

Every movement was slowed down to the extreme, muscles were tense, force was controlled, and even breathing was deliberately made much lighter.

However, just as his feet touched the cold floor and he was about to stand up, he heard a noise behind him.

It was a soft, slurred call, heavy with sleepiness, like a freshly baked glutinous rice cake, sticky and sweet: "Husband... are you awake?"

Fang Yu stiffened for a moment, then relaxed, turned around, and a gentle smile naturally appeared on his face: "Mm."

(End of this chapter)