Monsters Are Coming
Chapter 43 Discovering the Source

Chapter 43: Chapter 43 Discovering the Source

Qi Sheng sat cross-legged on the altar, with multiple split screens floating in front of him, live broadcasting the intense battle scenes of players in the Dark Cave.

After two consecutive days of attacks, players successfully advanced to the third underground level.

The number of Iron Shell Bugs here visibly increased, and there were plenty of controlled Earth Cave Clan beings wandering around, significantly increasing the intensity of combat.

While the frequency of player deaths increased, the output profits also rose.

To the players’ delight, the quality of the Spiritual Ore on the third underground level was much higher than that of the first level they had previously explored.

The main Spiritual Ore of the first level was Level 1 Energy Stone, whereas the ore mined from the third-level rock walls was mostly Level 2 Elemental Energy Stone, each one providing more than 10 points of sacrificial power feedback when offered to Emperor Zhao.

The only downside is the increased difficulty of mining.

The rock walls of the third level are hard, and it’s tough to break them open with just ordinary mining tools, requiring the purchase of more advanced tools from the store.

Consumption in battle, resurrection costs, equipment replacement, monster-killing outputs... After the task of Purifying the Dark Cave was released, Qi Sheng’s profits significantly increased.

The daily extraction of sacrificial power can recruit 60 players.

The total daily income flowing into the Sacrificial Pool is around 200,000, but besides his share of the sacrificial power, he does not touch the portion belonging to players unless under special circumstances.

Before launching the player recruitment plan, he had carefully considered whether to use players’ sacrificial power.

Fundamentally, the sacrificial power balance visible to players is just a string of numbers; sacrificial power isn’t stored on the players directly. When they use sacrificial power, it is drawn from the Sacrificial Pool beneath Imperial Tomb Village, transformed into corresponding energy or items, and then sent to the players.

Thus, all sacrificial power earned by players is in his hands.

However, this portion of sacrificial power is something players could retrieve at any time, spent in the store, upping Star Vein, or increasing Body Refining Level.

Excessive spending could lead to a situation where he has shifted a lot of sacrificial power, leading to no stock left for expenditures.

The sacrificial pool he controls is like a bank, with sacrificial power akin to real money.

Players depositing and spending sacrificial power differs in that he can’t earn profit through a lending-out option, hence he cannot leverage it; he has to replenish whatever amount is spent.

To avoid the problem of excessive depletion of sacrificial power reserves, he chooses not to touch the portion of sacrificial power belonging to players under normal circumstances, using only the portion of sacrificial power that belongs to him after his cut.

[Boss, they’re fighting again!]

Guidance’s voice interrupted Qi Sheng’s thoughts.

Looking up at one of the screens in front of him, he saw hundreds of players encountering a group of Earth Cave Clan lives leading the Iron Shell Bugs, the battle igniting instantly.

Players switched into Monster Form and engaged in a head-on confrontation with the Iron Shell Bugs.

Over these days, Qi Sheng noticed that players used tactics reasonably in small-scale battles, but they became disorganized on larger scales, confronting head-on like brutes, and it was utterly chaotic, everyone fighting their own targets.

The small regional voice channel was even more chaotic.

"Bro playing with fire, can you stop throwing Fireballs randomly? If you have bad eyesight, you can give them away, but if you hit me again, don’t blame me for retaliating!"

"The brother in front is fierce, rushing into the Iron Shell Bug swarm to start a Taunt, but couldn’t hold it for 3 seconds before turning into black smoke, that’s pure suicide, hahaha."

"Don’t push me, I’m low on health and need to go back to heal, please stop pushing, if I go further I’ll really die!"

"Hahaha, I’ve picked up three pieces of Iron Shell Insect Essence, even if I die this round, it’s worth it."

...

The chaotic scene inevitably led to some accidental injuries.

In real life, players would respond with humility and politeness even if they just brushed past each other, but in the unrestrained world of the game, players’ true natures are fully unleashed. Those who hold grudges may curse on the spot, and those with enmities may engage in direct physical confrontations.

Moreover, after killing monsters, players directly gain sacrificial power and evolution points, but shell essence dropped by the Iron Shell Bug needs to be picked up to be acquired.

Faced with benefits fallen on the ground, players wouldn’t ask about ownership but would decisively pick them up.

With various conflicts intensifying, players fight not only with the Iron Shell Bug but also engage in physical confrontations with other players.

However, amidst these minor frictions, the main targets of the players’ opposition are still the Iron Shell Bugs and the life of the Earth Cave Clan.

The fierce battle continues, with the Iron Shell Bugs, under the control of Earth Cave Clan Warriors, also fighting fiercely and fearlessly, with casualties on both sides increasing continuously.

The advantage of the players lies in the rapid follow-up of reinforcements; players in the back quickly fill in the gaps left by those who died in front and continue fighting.

From a macro perspective, the formation of players pushing underground appears as a long queue. Although there are several branching paths in the middle three layers of the underground that divert players in different directions, those in the first two layers are essentially queuing to enter the battle.

These queued players either chat on forums, watch live broadcasts of intense fighting at the forefront, or pass the time by mining with pickaxes while waiting for their turn to charge.

The rapid follow-up of reinforcements gives the players a very steady rhythm in their push underground.

Die in batches, replenish in batches, gradually eroding the life of the Iron Shell Bugs and the Earth Cave Clan.

The players’ ability to infinitely resurrect has limited impact when facing Evil Spirit Warriors who overpower them completely, but is almost unsolvable in the face of Iron Shell Bugs who are equally matched.

With the current trend of advancement, taking down the Dark Cave is just a matter of time.

The battle in the screen lasted less than 20 minutes before it ended, with the deaths of 692 players clearing the way forward.

Ahead lies another branching path, where players split at this junction to continue forward.

An additional split-screen display appeared in front of Qi Sheng.

[Big Boss, First Generation Origin found!]

Hearing this Guidance, Qi Sheng turned to look at a monitor on his right.

The monster in the display, similar to a taunt but was bound by specially made chains, was imprisoned in the cave. Its form resembled a large-scale axolotl, dragging a big tail, with a round head and a layer of shiny mucus covering its body. At this moment, it stared fiercely at the players, showing off two rows of sharp teeth.

Information analysis was swiftly fed into Qi Sheng’s mind.

[Energy Absorption (First Generation Origin)]:

Hunting Level: 12

Special Ability: Energy Absorption

Trait Analysis: Can automatically filter the energy particles in the air through breathing, replenishing spiritual power and qi-blood consumption.

Guidance Note: The specific replenishment effect depends on the energy particle concentration in the location, for example, areas with stronger Moon Phases have higher concentrations of energy particles in the air, hence faster recovery rate of spiritual power and qi-blood through breathing.

Containment Guidance: Killing the Primordial Monster automatically completes the containment, and all participants share a hefty reward.

...

Seeing it was a Primordial Monster, Qi Sheng suddenly felt energized.