Chapter 223: The Meat Grinder (IV)

Chapter 223: The Meat Grinder (IV)

In such a high-tech environment, paper had become a rarity.

Yet, the president of the Six Guilds often chose to stick to the tradition of using paper.

Receiving the document, Satan glanced through and chuckled, "A D-level hunter? Is this all the guardian of the Origin Land is capable of?"

The president calmly remarked, "He's been in the game for less than a month."

Satan fell silent.

It was Poseidon who quickly noticed something amiss.

"A D-level hunting test completed in three seconds?"

To the six of them, even an S-level hunter wasn't much of a big deal. But this three-second record was rather startling.

Satan quickly flipped to the respective page in the document, equally surprised, "Three seconds? Isn't that too short for even the scene to set up properly? Could this be a device error?"

Hearing is deceptive, but seeing is believing. The president reached out, placing a small virtual screen on the table. Soon, a figure appeared on the screen.

A man in a white T-shirt and jeans stood in the virtual hunting simulation, stretching a little.

The next second, facing him, a system-generated virtual Boss began to materialize. Almost immediately, before it could fully form, the figure lunged forward.

With a single, unadorned punch, the virtual boss was shattered into a myriad of shimmering fragments, making the virtual screen itself seem to quiver.

The entire process took less than a second.

"What on earth was that?" Satan exclaimed.

A D-level hunting test isn't particularly challenging. For the president of the Six Guilds, defeating such a virtual boss in one second is feasible. However, unlike the figure on screen, he would typically employ skills rather than just delivering a simple punch.

It should be noted that even if the D-level hunting test is straightforward, it's still a rank assessment.

The strength of the virtual boss in a D-level hunting test is equivalent to the most powerful guardian of a D-level hunting field.

If one can defeat the boss with a mere punch in such an evaluation, it implies that when confronted with a guardian, little effort would be required for their defeat.

"Do we have any previous clear videos of this player?" Satan inquired.

The president shook his head.

"Huh? Why?" Satan was perplexed.

Having controlled the game for so long, they could retrieve any player's clear footage. Why couldn't they access this player's video?

The president, in a steady tone, said, "This guardian is unique; we can't locate his player profile in our database."

"What?!"

If the database lacks a player's data, it means the player doesn't exist within the game. Under such circumstances, not to mention passing a hunting test to achieve a hunter status, they couldn't even enter the player's lobby.

Much like the vagrants within instances, they're individuals who can't obtain official player status.

"Vagrants," for the most part, function like regular players. They can enter hunting fields and instances and can even accept related tasks, just like other players.

However, since "vagrants" don't have an official player profile that can be retrieved from the database, they can't access the player lobby or receive the rewards from completing instances or hunting fields.

Once other players finish the instance tasks, the instance automatically closes.

These vagrants are then teleported out of the instance. Unable to access the player lobby, they're randomly transported to another instance to take on a new task.

This endless cycle continues. Forever fighting in perilous instances without rest, without supplies of equipment or skills, "vagrants" quickly succumb to both mental and physical exhaustion. Like jewels worn away over time, regardless of their initial strength, they weaken progressively, eventually meeting their end.

If the guardian's personal details can't be found in the database, then he is a "vagrant." But how could a "vagrant" access the player lobby and pass the hunting assessment?

Satan was stumped.

His question remained unanswered.

Without elaborating further, the president remarked, "There's a barrier between the Origin Land and the 'Three Thousand Worlds.' Guardians shouldn't be able to traverse from the Origin Land to the 'Three Thousand Worlds.' With this exception appearing, it's best to proceed with caution."

His words seemed redundant.

A guardian from the Origin Land— even without the president's caution, who would overlook that?

"So, what should we do now?" Satan inquired.

"We wait."

"Wait? Wait for what?" Satan muttered impatiently, "When the 'Rock Ghost' incident occurred, you also suggested waiting, leading to Ji Dai stealing the ghost eye, escaping to the 'Origin Land,' and even becoming a guardian. When the 'Lady' wanted to go to the 'Origin Land,' you told her to wait too..."

The president cut him off, "If you're not keen on waiting, you can go to that hunting field now and eliminate that guardian yourself."

Satan held his tongue.

Though all members of the Six Guilds' leadership, their power levels varied considerably.

While Satan possesses the demon lineage ranked fifth in the bloodline sequence, being a hybrid of human and demon inherently limited his power. Ever since the great battle, one of Satan's horns broke off, and half his wing was torn, significantly weakening him.

Over the years, he's leveraged his position to acquire advanced tools and skills.

But for the six of them, strength was beyond mere skills and tools—it's about authority, which truly empowers them.

To other players, authority might mean creating new worlds within collapsing minor realms. But at its core, "authority" primarily boosts one's power.

For instance, with the highest game authority, when the president enters an instance, he can modify its completion conditions, even its foundational settings.

Even in hunting fields devoid of standard rules, given the president's current authority, influencing a minor world would be effortless.

If Jie Fangcheng were aware, he'd instantly perceive that "authority" functions much like a divine law, shaping the very rules of existence.

Among the six, Satan held the least authority.

The demon race is unique. They don't revere any "king"; everything is determined by sheer power.

In the previous tournament, even demons sought to challenge Satan to a duel.

Satan outwardly laughed it off, but deep down, only he knew that over time, with more and more players entering "The Three-Thousand Worlds", the number of experts was also rising.

Given his current strength, he could easily defeat the average S-ranked player.

However, when it comes to a district chief from the Sixth Zone, who possesses numerous privileges, Satan couldn’t confidently claim that, being one of the heads of the six guilds, he's stronger than any player.

After that dragon died back then, they had all assumed they'd receive a great deal of privileges...

Hearing the chairman say this, Satan felt offended. Part of him felt that being referred to as "chairman" sounded dismissive, as if undermining his strength, while another part of him felt a hint of resentment.

This guardian named Jie Fangcheng might be powerful, but that's just on the level of skills and items.

After all, he just arrived in "The Three-Thousand Worlds" and doesn’t possess a shred of privilege. What's he worth?

The "chairman" is being overly cautious.

Standing beside Satan, the silent Poseidon subtly glanced at the "chairman."

The "chairman" had already picked up the files: "Since we've thoroughly investigated those five players and know what transpired in their starting area, I plan to release them."

Already holding a grudge, Satan immediately voiced a differing opinion: "If they returned from the starting area, why not just kill them? What if they harbor forbidden thoughts?"

That's pure nonsense. How could regular players remember anything about the hunting grounds they entered after having their memories erased?

Satan was merely venting at the "chairman", yet he rashly proposed to kill the five innocent players.

Surprisingly, even after his statement, the "chairman" did not object.

"Alright, I'll hand them over to you."

Only then did the demon nod in satisfaction.

The "chairman" turned to him: "Any other questions? If not, I'll take my leave."

"None."

Almost as a bright light shone beside the "chairman", Satan's communicator received a notification that the chairman had transferred the five players to his domain.

Five S-ranked hunters; this level of strength is already the pinnacle among ordinary players.

A glint of hunger even appeared in Satan's eyes.

The stronger the player, the more delectable their flesh.

Even if he did feast on flesh before, the substantial increase in player strength over the past two centuries meant that S-ranked players had become a rarity on Satan's menu.

It's not that he couldn't defeat the players; it's just that most S-ranked players typically come with their teams, and consuming one might draw the ire of many others.

Satan's desires were driven by greed, not an actual wish to stir up trouble.

And now, with five nearly depleted S-ranked hunters in his domain, Satan could hardly resist the urge to return quickly.

Just then, the voice of Poseidon reached him.

"The 'chairman's' words should not be taken lightly, but they also shouldn't be fully trusted."

"What?" Satan paused, seeking clarification.

However, Poseidon offered no explanation.

With a flash of white light, Poseidon disappeared into the forbidden territory.

"Damn it!" Satan muttered, watching the fading glow of the two departures. "What's with the pretense? They all talked big during the dragon slaying. After killing that dragon, they said they'd have 'The Three-Thousand Worlds' at their fingertips... Why the airs now?"

He cursed under his breath and then hatched a new idea.

Directly confronting the guardian in the hunting grounds wasn't wise. After all, this guardian hailed from the starting area, and Satan was still uncertain about his true strength.

There's no way he'd go in personally... but that doesn't mean others couldn't.

A malevolent smile slowly spread across the demon's face.

.

Inside the hunting grounds, when Yan Xun mentioned the presence of someone ahead, Jie Fangcheng's initial reaction was disbelief.

"Someone here?" Jie Fangcheng surveyed the vast sandy surroundings.

It must be said, the harsh environment of this mini-world was starting to make even Manager Jie feel slightly uncomfortable.

It's a three-day drive to Cangcui City from here. Only Yan Xun, with his eccentric intellect, could personally assemble a land vehicle capable of enduring such a lengthy journey within the entirety of Cangcui City.

Finding someone in such a place was clearly unusual, a fact anyone could deduce just by thinking about it.

Without hesitation, Jie Fangcheng immediately jumped off the vehicle, wanting to ensure that, if the newcomer was hostile, they wouldn't harm the robot-like Professor Zhang.

But once he descended, he realized he might have overthought things.

A gaunt figure lay sprawled in the yellow sand; not only did they appear non-threatening, they seemed on the verge of dying.

The figure was draped in an old cloak, its hood concealing their face, preventing Jie Fangcheng from getting a clear look.

Jie Fangcheng approached and nudged the figure, asking, "Hey, are you alright...?"

As he did, the face hidden beneath the hood was finally revealed to him.

A pale visage, framed by gray elven ears.

With eyes tightly shut, it was unmistakably a fallen elf.

However, what left Jie Fangcheng momentarily speechless was not her identity as a fallen elf, but the fact that he recognized this player.

—Isn't this one of the five players who entered his mini-world?

The once-gentle Jie Fangcheng impulsively slapped the individual on the forehead the very next second.