No health bar? You call this stunningly beautiful NPC sickly?

Personally, I believe that this beautiful woman has divine backing; while others might be assimilated into NPCs by this bizarre game, she definitely won't!

[That makes sense! And have you noticed how she talks about those secrets from the old era, like the Old Royal Court and the Hall of Judgment, like she's telling a story? What else could she be but a big shot?]

Forget about her identity. I just want to ask one question: This stunning beauty is not only beautiful and powerful, but also so kind and innocent. If she sheds a single tear, I will slaughter an entire city! If she frowns, I will not hesitate to become an enemy of the whole world!

[Calm down, upstairs. Before you can fight the whole world, you might have to fight the main arena first. Don't forget, there's that one who'll wipe out an entire clan just because someone glances at her.]

[Lord: I plucked the stars from the sky for her. Princess: I annihilated the elves for her. Angelic Beauty: I don't understand, but I am deeply moved.]

[Stop fantasizing! I just came from the Western Continent Forum. The Pantheon is going crazy. They've put a bounty of one million survival points for even the slightest clue about the Holy Domain Church. They probably can't understand how their idol, whom they've been praising for so long, has become someone else's lovesick fool here.]

[By the way, does anyone know where that elf lady went? Did she really go off to fight the false god all by herself?]

[I don't know, but I have a feeling we might see them again in the next dungeon. After all, isn't someone like the number one beauty the perfect template for a popular, leading lady? She's the center of attention wherever she goes.]

[Who says there aren't heartthrobs in eerie games? Isn't the number one beauty one? Coveted by her sister and favored by the gods, she's definitely the white moonlight of all eerie stories!]

[Wait, what are you guys talking about? I missed the live stream because I was working overtime. What angels? What gods? Where did these weird games get gods? Is that Number One really as amazing as you guys make it out to be?]

[Exactly! I'm a staunch materialist. Where would a god come from? Plucking stars from the sky? Why don't you just call her the creator god?]

Just then, what appeared in everyone's view was an urgent pinned post highlighted in red and bold.

[Urgent! A major incident has occurred in Haicheng! A bizarre game has encountered a critical bug, and the entire 13th Street in the East District has been assimilated by the instance!]

What's going on?! Is this for real?!

[I'm in Haicheng! I just received an emergency evacuation notice from the Anomaly Management Bureau! The sky is full of blood-red eyes!]

My cousin works for the Anomaly Management Bureau, and he said the scene is already on SS-level alert! But it's useless! The rules are rapidly corrupting reality! Several A-level players have already rushed in, but they haven't even made a ripple!

[Everyone, check out the local live streaming platforms in Haicheng! Someone's live streaming with a drone! ...What's that?! A vengeful ghost in red has emerged from the crack! S-rank!]

[Not just one! So many! My God… Haicheng is doomed.]

...

Posts on the Haicheng Forum are still being refreshed at a rate of hundreds per second, and panic is spreading rapidly in the virtual world.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the temporary recruitment point of the Holy Domain Church branch was completely different.

"Next."

Han Yue crossed his legs, looking at the long queue in front of him with a standard professional smile on his face.

Shen Die sat to the side, expressionlessly wiping a dagger. Her aura of keeping strangers at bay made the noisy surroundings quiet down.

"That's strange."

Han Yue handed over a newly signed membership agreement. After everyone left, he lowered his voice and said to Shen Die, "Was recruiting people today a little too smoothly?"

Shen Die didn't even look up. "Isn't it good if things go smoothly?"

"It's good," Han Yue said, stroking his chin with a hint of confusion in his eyes, "but something's not right. These people don't even ask about our guild's benefits or development plans before rushing to sign, as if they're afraid we won't want them."

During this time, they were busy selecting the first batch of core members and paid little attention to outside news, let alone watching any live streams of hunting games.

In his view, their newly established Sanctuary Church, apart from having a name that sounded impressive, was nothing more than a makeshift operation. He had prepared a complete set of PowerPoint presentations and scripts to paint a rosy picture for these new players, but he hadn't used any of them.

Just then, a piercing alarm sounded throughout the entire city.

Han Yue and Shen Die's phones vibrated simultaneously, displaying a scarlet emergency mobilization order.

[SS+ Alert: A large-scale instance assimilation phenomenon has occurred in the 13th block of the East District of Haicheng. All players of B- rank and above in Haicheng, please proceed to provide support immediately.]

Their expressions changed simultaneously.

Is the real world being assimilated by a copy?

This thing, which had only ever happened in forum legends, actually did happen.

…Haicheng, the 13th block, has been completely turned into a living hell.

A strange, blood-red film shrouded the sky, and within the clouds, enormous eyeballs slowly rotated, indifferently watching the chaos on the ground.

Cracks spread from the ground, and countless eerie creatures crawled out of them, roaring as they pounced on the fleeing crowd.

"Hold on! Healers! Protect the backline!"

An A-level player roared at the top of his lungs, his A-level weapon longsword flashing with light, but he could only barely repel a few B-level monsters.

More bizarre and fearless creatures surged forward.

The real world imposes too many restrictions on players. Many skills and items that are devastating in dungeons are greatly weakened here. Moreover, among the strange beings that have descended this time, there are no shortage of terrifying S-class beings.

In the neighborhood, a colossal, fleshy creature, tens of meters tall, strode across the street with heavy steps. It had no fixed form; its body was composed of countless twisted, wailing faces. With each swing of its long tentacles, it could easily raze a tall building to the ground.

The attacks from the players' magical weapons landed on it, but not even a white mark was left.

"This is S-class..."

After struggling to rescue several children from the ruins, Shen Die, along with a few newly recruited guild members, looked at the eerie figure in the distance, whose size was comparable to a mountain. Her fingers, gripping the gun, turned white from the force.

As a retired soldier, her most proficient weapon, firearms, was no different from a stick in front of this monster that was immune to normal physical damage.

The only things that can deal with the supernatural are the supernatural themselves and their artifacts. But the current situation is that hundreds of players have to face thousands of supernatural beings, including one that is almost invincible and is an S-rank.

"Sister Shen, we...we have to retreat!" A newly joined young player, pale-faced and trembling, cried out, "We can't hold on any longer! If we don't leave now, we'll all die here!"

"If you want to leave, then leave."

Shen Die gave a cold shout.

Her gaze swept over the terrified faces behind her, then looked at the ever-expanding blood-red sky in the distance. A sense of powerlessness, an unprecedented sense of powerlessness, gnawed at her heart.

"It's no use," Han Yue said, leaning against the broken wall and shaking his head with a wry smile. "We can't get out. The rules have already covered the entire block."

Just then, seemingly noticing the group of players gathered together, the S-rank flesh and blood behemoth turned around simultaneously with hundreds of faces, including the innocent people who had just been devoured, and let out a deafening shriek.

A massive mental shock swept across.

The weaker players bled from all seven orifices and collapsed to the ground dead on the spot.

Shen Die groaned, feeling a sharp pain in her brain as if she had been struck by a heavy object, and her vision blurred.

With her last bit of strength, she pushed the unconscious little girl in her arms behind her.

Is that it...? Is this the end?

In the final moments before her consciousness was about to fade, a figure uncontrollably appeared in Shen Die's mind.

That figure, with a white feather covering her face, was aloof and noble, seemingly not belonging to this world.

Sanctuary Church... Your Majesty the Goddess...

If you really exist... please save... them...

In a daze, a voice, ethereal yet somewhat divine, seemed to transcend endless time and space, gently resounding deep within her soul.

"Lost lamb, will you also pray to me?"