Chapter Sixty-One: Face-to-Face Combat (Part Two)

"Oh?" Guo Lang couldn't help but laugh. "Then what do you think people like us should be doing?"

"We are the ones chosen by the gods!" Sun Biao's face lit up with excitement, seeing that Guo Lang was actually listening to him. "We are the future masters of the world. Those people who once stood above us are nothing but ants in our eyes now." He paused, and since Guo Lang didn't refute him, continued his persuasion: "You might think my methods are cruel, but you also came out of that game. You should know that those ordinary people are merely nourishment prepared for our evolution. How many have you killed to make it this far? Do you really think there is any essential difference between the people of these two dimensions? Do you still believe that was just a game, that those people you met were only NPCs? Why deceive yourself by putting on this police uniform? Do you really think you can return to your old life? You shouldn't stand with them. We are the same kind!"

Trying to show off your rhetoric with these skills? Guo Lang sneered. If you haven't read much, no one will look down on you, but trying to flaunt your intelligence is your own mistake. Facing this arrogant, self-absorbed youth, Guo Lang found it all rather amusing.

"Let me correct you on a few basics, classmate!" Guo Lang raised a finger. "First, you murdered your own cousin and toyed with your aunt because that's your own hidden desire. It just means you're a beast at heart—in the past, you simply lacked the means to act on it. Don't lump us together with you. When you returned, did your AI tell you which number returnee you were? How many came before you? Did you see any of them causing as much trouble as you? Second, let me make it clear—there really is a difference between people from our dimension and others. Don’t put yourself on such a pedestal. These game pods are open to anyone; just because you’ve used one doesn’t mean others can’t. Anyone who enters can become a chosen one. You killed a hundred and thirty-one innocents today. Any one of them could have entered a pod and come back no worse than you. You just got a little luckier than most—so stop being so arrogant!"

"And finally!" Guo Lang glanced at the time, smiling. "As for your claim that we are the masters of the world—how should I put this? The game has only just begun; it’s a game for everyone. You’re a newbie in bronze rank and already calling yourself the master? That’s bold. Why do you think the gods chose this dimension? Did your AI not tell you about the advantages of bodies from our dimension? Do you really think you can kill people here with impunity?"

Attention! Attention! All followers of all factions and camps, take note! As Guo Lang spoke, an electronic alert sounded in his ear.

Follower Sun Biao, number 3324203 under the War God faction, has been determined to have slaughtered potential followers of the main dimension without justification. This was not a self-defense act. All players of all camps are hereby notified: upon encountering this individual, execute him on the spot. The gods jointly offer a bounty of 30,000 energy points! His current coordinates have been sent to your AIs—move quickly to eliminate him!

At last, it had come! Guo Lang smiled, looking at the now distraught Sun Biao opposite him, and mocked, "Oh, our future master, chosen by the gods? Already got a bounty on your head so soon—definitely has the makings of a protagonist!" With that, he stretched, his joints cracking, and the violet light in his eyes grew brighter. "If you can survive me, that is!"

"To hell with the gods!" Sun Biao in the distance clenched his fists so tightly his veins bulged, and the blood vessels in his eyes became starkly visible; his voice, now twisted with emotion, became an inhuman shriek. Bang!

He stepped forward, and the tiles around him began to crack, radiating outward from where he stood. The next moment, the entire floor collapsed. With such force, Guo Lang and Sun Biao crashed down from the thirteenth floor, smashing through each level until they reached the underground parking garage. With an earth-shaking bang, Guo Lang landed lightly, but Sun Biao crashed heavily to the ground, leaving a three-meter-deep crater from the impact.

Berserk mode! With just a glance, Guo Lang saw what was happening. Among the warrior classes of the beast folk, one of the most popular was the berserker. They could awaken ancient beast blood within them, entering a berserk state—with many side effects, such as losing control over their strength, feeling no pain or blood loss, and even losing all sense of reason.

But the benefits were greater: their physical stats nearly doubled at bronze rank—not just strength but agility and mental power too. In battle, their minds would automatically filter out distractions, the enhanced mind turning the brain into a super-processor, blocking out anything unrelated to the fight. This focus greatly increased their effectiveness in battle, making the class a nightmare in the early stages.

This was going to be tricky, Guo Lang frowned. He really should have finished him off quickly at the start. Why waste time arguing? I really am too soft.

A savage beast’s roar shook the entire garage. Sun Biao’s orange-yellow eyes had turned blood-red; his whole form was now terrifying and monstrous. Once his scarlet eyes locked onto Guo Lang, he shot forward like a cannonball, moving so fast that even with Guo Lang’s attributes, he could barely make out an afterimage.

But Guo Lang didn’t panic. He calmly took his stance. Although he had just complained, that didn’t mean things were out of his control. In his past life, hadn’t he spent twenty years at bronze rank, facing all kinds of challenges? With his experience, he had escaped from silver-ranked experts sixty-four times using only bronze-level stats. No matter how berserk his opponent was, Sun Biao was still just a bronze. Guo Lang had never lost to someone of the same level.

Facing this near-supersonic speed, Guo Lang sneered and closed his eyes. In the instant the opponent was about to crash into him—no, in the instant he actually did—Guo Lang slipped by like a snake, his body twisting with uncanny agility as he brushed past, and with a flick of his dagger, sliced open an artery in Sun Biao’s left leg.

But Sun Biao seemed unfazed, stopping abruptly less than a meter away. With that kind of explosive force, even someone with top-tier bronze agility couldn’t have decelerated so suddenly. But Guo Lang knew the reason: Savage Charge! The signature skill of berserkers—a technique from beast warrior ancient combat arts. Players called it a “skill”—many things that defied common sense were possible with skills. That was the charm of class secrets.

To be honest, this early game berserker skill was seriously overpowered. When it first appeared, it made berserkers unbeatable at bronze rank; most opponents at the same level were smashed to bloody pulp on contact. First, the berserker’s stats doubled after going berserk, and then the charge skill was just absurd—because it wasn’t a simple collision. Unlike dodging a bullet, you couldn’t avoid it in advance; it was a lock-on skill. That alone made it notorious and allowed berserkers to dominate the early game.

It wasn’t until later, when a high-agility assassin named Natalie from the Northern Europe zone invented the “serpent step,” that things changed. Because you couldn’t track the berserker’s speed with your eyes, you had to rely on body sense—reacting at the exact moment of impact, using high agility and bodily control to slip past at the smallest possible angle. The opponent’s inertia prevented them from responding in time, and you could even counterattack. This technique, also called the “quick slip,” became essential for all high-agility classes. Having spent twenty years at bronze rank, how could Guo Lang not have mastered this life-saving technique?

Bang! After the fourth charge, Sun Biao was covered in nearly ten wounds, each one a sliced artery—Guo Lang’s trademark. At this point, Sun Biao looked like a man drenched in blood.

"How... did you do that?" Sun Biao’s voice was hoarse. Though the berserk state caused him to lose reason, being drained of so much blood had dropped his stamina to nearly zero and naturally ended his berserk state. This was one of its weaknesses—if you didn’t gain an advantage quickly, you’d soon be exhausted.

"Surprised, are you?" Guo Lang grinned. "You’ve used that skill to kill other players in your dimension, haven’t you? And so you think you’re something special? The world’s much bigger than you imagine. Don’t get cocky just because of a little success. Those without respect don’t last long!"

"Don’t kill me!" Sun Biao finally showed weakness, his face streaked with blood and tears, a pitiful mess.

"How pathetic!" Guo Lang strode over slowly. "If you’re going to play tough, at least see it through to the end. If you lose, don’t lose your dignity as well. And you call yourself a master of the world?" He shook his head, flickered forward, and, giving Sun Biao no chance to speak, slit his throat with a single stroke. The blood from the two-meter-tall brute gushed out like a fountain. Breathing in the thick scent of blood, Guo Lang sighed softly. "A man must have his limits. And you think I’d let you go just because you beg? Your head is worth 30,000 energy points—if someone else snatched the kill, who would I blame?" With that, Guo Lang turned to a corner and smiled. "Am I right, young lady?"

"Oh my, what a tease! I was just passing by out of curiosity, how could I stoop to kill-stealing?" From the corner walked out a girl dressed in pink, covered in little bear prints—a cosplay outfit. The odd combination of her looks and taste made Guo Lang’s pupils contract sharply—he recognized her at once: in his past life, one of the three epic Blood Elf legends, the Celestial Twin Fairy Warlock—Jiang Liuying!