Chapter Fifty-Five: The Onset of Turmoil

"Brother, is that game any fun? What class did you pick? Why were you crying just now—were you really trampled and humiliated? Come on, tell me all about it so I can have a good laugh!"

Inside Guo Lang’s room, he wore an expression of utter despair. His face was stiff and motionless; the effects of the royal bloodline serum had far exceeded his expectations. Two hours had already passed, yet he still couldn’t move, his whole body feeling as if pricked by needles—especially his nerves, which hurt so badly that his body couldn’t muster any reaction at all. There were no bulging veins or tensed muscles; he simply lacked the strength for any of that.

Yet the worst torment was having to endure Xiaoting’s mental assailment. Guo Lang’s eyes were unfocused; cold sweat and tears ran down his cheeks and mingled together, making him look truly wretched. But Xiaoting seemed quite used to her brother’s pitiful state by now; gone was her initial panic as she continued her endless chatter for another full hour.

“Xiaoting... I’m exhausted. Can you let me rest for a bit? I’ll let you use my computer, all right?” After the third hour had passed, Guo Lang finally regained enough strength to speak, using all his effort to negotiate with this little demon. Their parents had been gone for three hours—could you believe it? And she’d managed to torment him without pause the entire time. Truly, children are inexhaustible!

“Oh, why didn’t you say so earlier?” Xiaoting grinned. “What’s the password, Comrade Big Head?”

“Lovedingwanyu!” Guo Lang muttered, deeply embarrassed. He had no words for that password—it was truly pathetic. Had he always been such a hopeless nerd? Think about it: at the Teachers’ University, the male-to-female ratio was three to seven, and in his history class, he and one other guy were the only males. Yet, in such a favorable environment, he’d managed to stay single for years, secretly pining for the class beauty, Ding Wanyu, from a corner. How ridiculous!

Sure enough, upon hearing the password, Xiaoting recoiled in disgust, her face full of scorn. Why did he have no dignity as an elder brother? Clearly, he had brought it upon himself.

“Comrade Big Head, time passes and you’re still standing still. What’s the point of you going to a teachers’ college?” Xiaoting pouted, her chubby cheeks and world-weary tone making Guo Lang’s eyelid twitch.

“Please, ancestor, now that you have the password, could you kindly disappear?” Guo Lang pleaded.

“Forget it, I can’t be bothered with you!” Victorious, Xiaoting strutted out of his room like a little rooster, her sights set on the study’s computer.

“Whew!” Finally, when Xiaoting left, Guo Lang let out a long sigh of relief—it felt more exhausting than a battle. He closed his eyes and called out silently, “Intelligent analysis, show me my current attributes!”

Follower: Guo Lang. Rank: Not yet assigned. Strength: 19. Agility: 25. Mental Power: 30. Physical abilities have reached second-stage saturation. Upon job assignment, there is a high chance for a single attribute to break through the peak of 50 and reach the Silver stage.

Mental power has the highest bonus? Guo Lang pondered. He was using the Shadow Whisperer family bloodline from the Night Royalty serum—the representative bloodline of the Night’s Enigma class, which had produced legendary figures such as the Avenger: Maiev Shadowwhisper, and the Time Assassin: Ekko Shadowwhisper!

There were many classes among the various races, but the future prospects of any given class were always uncertain. Which class was strongest? Opinions varied. Of course, there were those who claimed there were no useless classes, only useless people. While this wasn’t wrong, everyone knew the truth; such words were for show. When it came time to choose for oneself, people were always cautious. So what was the standard?

There were many criteria, since most people were biased toward their own class, and each class had its supporters. However, one point was universally acknowledged: any class that had produced a legendary figure was bound to be outstanding, because someone had already proven that this path could lead one closest to the divine.

So the royal bloodline was not only strong in attribute bonuses; the classes it could choose from also had immense potential. Guo Lang had yet to decide between the Avenger and Time Assassin. He chose the Enigma class for a simple reason: he lacked the talent for more straightforward roles, so he had to take a more unconventional path.

Although he hadn’t transferred classes yet, his basic attributes were already at high Bronze level. As long as he didn’t encounter any of the six who would return as Silvers, he was confident he could take on anyone else!

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While Guo Lang slept, just after 1 p.m., the first family in the Luminous District reported a missing person. Because of the family’s special status, the report received immediate attention. Within half an hour, the Public Security Bureau received thousands more calls. Only then did the upper levels realize something serious was happening.

Led by the Luminous District, authorities immediately sealed off all information and quickly shut down every gaming experience center to prevent the situation from escalating. They also used business records to track private purchases of gaming pods, reaching out proactively to families. With a population in the tens of millions, C City alone had nearly 100,000 gaming pods; the gravity of the incident was undeniable. The news prompted immediate high-level meetings and was reported without delay to the Central Asian Region’s highest administrative center.

Around this time, the Central Asian authorities received intelligence from Northern Europe and other Southern regions, confirming that this event was worldwide and the largest terrorist incident since the founding of the Federation. Upon realizing the severity, the Federation’s Chief Secretary-General decisively called for a World Conference, summoning each region’s top administrators and military marshals.

Meanwhile, in C City, the disappearance of nearly 100,000 people could not wait for the World Conference to end. Tens of thousands of family members flocked to district government offices, and even before the city’s senior meeting concluded, the city’s armed forces had been deployed—first to control the crowds, then to seal every gaming experience center in C City.

The entire city descended into chaos. Yet, just then, in a gaming center in Caiyun District where Guo Lang resided, a second ray of brilliant light flashed. One gaming pod, already marked off with police tape, suddenly emitted golden light, sending the forensic staff nearby scurrying away in surprise.

No one was foolish enough to approach such a bizarre situation. The forensics team was well-educated and highly cautious during their work.

One team leader immediately called for backup from the police and instructed everyone to withdraw to a safe distance, fearing the device might be rigged to explode.

On the phone, the police were equally serious, urging them to evacuate the center and disperse the surrounding public, instructing them to wait for the detection team to arrive.

The team leader was a capable-looking woman in uniform with a clean, makeup-free face. Her skin, perhaps roughened by work, was not particularly fair, but her features were refined. Her bearing in uniform exuded a valiant, heroic spirit. After contacting the police, she quickly gestured for her team to retreat. But as everyone was following her orders—

The gaming pod’s door suddenly opened!

“Damn it, what kind of useless teleportation is this? Makes me dizzier than a roller coaster!” A voice roared irritably, making everyone’s ears buzz and causing the nearby pods to shake.

“Who’s there?” the team leader responded instantly, her face alert as she stepped back. They weren’t armed police and carried no guns—this was just a closure operation, after all, with only a few cooperating officers outside. Faced with this bizarre situation, the leader was extremely cautious.

“Well, isn’t this the darling daughter of our great Judge Wu?” A figure slowly emerged from the pod. Once they saw who it was, almost everyone instinctively took a few steps back.

The man who stepped out gave off an overwhelming sense of pressure. For one thing, his height alone—easily over two meters—was a visual shock in Central Asia. He wore a simple white tank top, exposing solid, well-defined muscles, each group clearly outlined. Sweat beaded on his chest, reflecting the lights of the gaming center with a metallic sheen. With each breath, his presence radiated a dangerous aura.

“Who are you?” the team leader mustered her courage and demanded. Outwardly, she seemed calm, but if one looked closely, her fingers were nervously rubbing together; her body was tense. She avoided the man’s gaze, her bravado already wavering.

The man grinned, baring sharp white teeth; his pupils shifted from black to a beastly orange-gold. With an undisguised, hungry stare, he laughed, “You don’t recognize me, cousin?”

The female leader’s pupils contracted sharply, her face full of disbelief. “You... you’re Sun Biao!”