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God’s Descent: Chapter 8
Gods’ Descent Day
As Huang Jinghui carefully explained the game rules to You Rongyi, the countdown on the black and white giant screen in the square progressed second by second, finally reaching the last hour.
The long line that had formed outside the holographic internet cafes throughout the night began to slowly loosen. Watching the dawn light spreading across the sky, Huang Jinghui stretched lazily and excitedly exclaimed:
“The server is about to open.”
At 6:45 am, the “Gods’ Descent” league system successfully loaded, and players started logging in one by one, waiting for the game to officially start at 7:00 am.
By 6:50 am, the number of logged-in players reached 1.9 billion.
By 6:58 am, the number of players logging into “Gods’ Descent” had reached 2.3 billion.
Holographic posters and banners celebrating the “Gods’ Descent” league’s achievement of surpassing 2.3 billion players floated in the city’s sky. Countdown screens were visible everywhere, and holographic net cafes on the roadside were all full, with signs saying “Holographic Pods Full, Find Another” hung up.
Unlike the surging crowds of last night’s all-night revelry, the streets bathed in sunlight this morning were deserted. Empty liquor bottles and fireworks paper littered the streets. Sanitation robots and cheap elderly sanitation workers worked silently together, cleaning up the aftermath of the New Era’s celebration.
People had left reality and entered “Gods’ Descent.”
As the countdown reached the last ten seconds, billions of “Gods’ Descent” promotional screens around the world simultaneously switched to the final ten-second countdown and displayed the number of players logging in.
【10.】
Inside the space agency, all the inspectors stared blankly at the sky, which had turned into an eerie cloud cover. On the enormous monitoring screen behind them, the orderly black fleet pierced through the atmosphere, carrying nuclear magnetic cannons capable of destroying everything, and entered the stratosphere.
They gradually blocked out the sunlight.
The first person to look up at the sky spotted these peculiar black giants and exclaimed, “What is that?”
【9.】
The community hospital where You Rongyi had been hospitalized was now very quiet. Doctor Liu, who was on rounds, frowned as he looked at the empty patient rooms. He turned to the nurse and asked, “Where are the patients?”
“Today is the opening of the ‘Gods’ Descent’ league,” the nurse replied with a helpless smile. “They’ve all gone out to participate in the league.”
Dr. Liu was about to scold, but the nurse consoled him:
“It’s a rare event like this. They won’t be able to participate in it again.” The nurse’s eyes held a touch of pity. “For these patients with brain domain disorders, they might be eliminated by more advanced holographic technology in the future.”
“Let them go.”
【8.】
Inside the United Nations’ headquarters for “Gods’ Descent” deployment, everyone gazed quietly at the countdown and the increasing number of participants. When the number finally surpassed 2.5 billion, the female negotiator closed her eyes.
“Let’s go.”
“There’s nothing more we can do.”
The countdown ticked away, and the crowd outside the game who hadn’t managed to log in yet cheered together as they counted down online: “… 7, 6, 5, 4—”
“3—!!”
You Rongyi had already reclined into the holographic pod, closing his eyes in anticipation of entry. Huang Jinghui, in the holographic pod beside him, felt a bit nervous for some reason as the countdown gradually approached its end. He whispered to You Rongyi through the pod: “You Rongyi, do you feel… a bit scared?”
A muffled chuckle emanated from within another pod nearby.
“Buddy, scared of playing a game?” someone teased with a laugh.
“It’s not that. It’s just that…” Huang Jinghui found it difficult to articulate that peculiar feeling. He hesitated in his description, “I just feel like… something bad is about to happen.”
“It’s normal to feel scared.” You Rongyi suddenly spoke, his voice soft. “Everyone is afraid of death.”
“What death…” Huang Jinghui hesitated in response.
You Rongyi’s voice was calm and distant. “In human language, ‘Duat’ means the realm of the dead.”
“We are on our way there.”
“We are heading towards death.”
Before Huang Jinghui could inquire further, he saw the light strip on his holographic pod suddenly illuminate, enveloping him in a snow-white glow. His earpiece emitted a gentle voice as if from the depths of the universe:
[The ‘Gods’ Descent’ league has begun. Players are logging in.] [Welcome to the Duat Galaxy.]The countdown of the New Era had finally reached its last second.
“Click!”
There was a resounding sound as 2.5 billion holographic pods were locked simultaneously. Eight circular metal clasps extended from the edges of the pods, gripping the edges of the eggshell-like openings of the holographic pods. The system within the pod explained in a gentle tone:
“Welcome, everyone, to the ‘Gods’ Descent’ league. Please allow me to explain that once the league begins, no player may exit until their death or until they pass the first round of the Divine Envoys’ Token Battle.”
Upon hearing this, Huang Jinghui instantly realized that something was wrong. Panicking, he frantically pounded on the pod door. “What’s happening?! The holographic pod suddenly locked, and I can’t open it!”
Someone quickly cursed, “What the hell is going on?”
“It might be a malfunction,” a calm voice came from behind. “Call the net cafe manager and have them come to unlock it.”
Someone else tried to console, “Don’t panic for now. If necessary, we can use the emergency equipment inside the pod to pry it open.”
Amid the ongoing voices of people angrily cursing and struggling, the gentle voice of the holographic pod’s system continued, giving rise to a spine-chilling sensation:
[Please refrain from attempting to forcibly open the holographic pod, either from the inside or the outside.] [If you accidentally open it, an electric current within the pod will penetrate your brain within a second, causing you to enter a state of brain death.]In the moment these words fell, Huang Jinghui heard the sound of people nearby using emergency equipment to pry open the holographic pods. As they pried, they continued to curse in disbelief:
“Deep Blue Tech is crazy! Doing such disgusting activities for game promotion!”
“Did they really think we’d believe this? Trying to fool us like children!”
“Click—”
This was the sound of the locks of the holographic pods being forcibly opened.
“Ah ah ah ah ah—!!!”
This was the excruciating scream of a person’s brain being pierced by an electric current.
After a moment of echoing wails that resounded throughout the holographic net cafe, the charred bodies fell with a heavy “thud.” In the instant following this sound, the entire net cafe fell into an unparalleled silence.
Huang Jinghui’s chest heaved violently. He clenched his fists and bit his teeth hard to prevent himself from making a sound.
The next moment, countless screams erupted, shattering the morning’s silence. At this moment, scenes like this were unfolding everywhere around the world. Two seconds later, the internet was flooded with photos of charred bodies, and human outcry of horror:
“What is Deep Blue Tech doing?”
“People are dead! Stop the league now!!”
“So many people have died!!”
On the “Gods’ Descent” data analysis sheet, the number of human logins to the game dropped by seven digits in an instant. This indicated that just in that split second, millions of people had died.
And the divine game hadn’t even started yet.
No matter how many times they had imagined this scene, when it actually arrived, all those who understood the Gods’ Descent Agreement found it unbearably cruel.
But what could humanity refuse? This was not a game ruled by humanity.
The system continued to explain in its gentle yet indifferent manner:
[By now, I believe you all understand your current situation.] [Please remain quietly within the holographic pods and listen carefully to the rules of this game league that can determine the life and death of humanity.]All around the world, holographic projection screens that were originally used to promote “Gods’ Descent” were now filled with the gentle voice of this system’s narration. This narration echoed in every corner of the world.
No longer were there colorful and vibrant game promotional scenes on the screens. Instead, there was only the waveform of an audio broadcast. Yet, at this moment, this monotonous audio broadcast waveform was more captivating than last night’s dazzling countdown displays, capturing people’s attention.
Passersby stopped in their tracks, gazing at the screens, their faces a mixture of shock and confusion. Until this moment, they still didn’t understand whether this was an elaborate show meticulously prepared by a capital company for the New Era’s opening or the prelude to a real massacre.
The pitch-black fleet pierced through the last layer of thin clouds, entering the view of everyone.
“In the sky!” someone spotted this scene and exclaimed, “Look at the sky!”
“What is that!”
It soon provided a real-life answer to humanity about what it was—
For each invaded airspace, it was a violation of sovereignty, worthy of retaliation. Most countries maintained silence regarding the invasion by these colossal beings, refraining from any military action.
However, some countries still resisted.
Country C’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Currently, the entire ministry could be described as in chaos, with holographic video phone rings and hang-up sounds everywhere, along with a crowd of people constantly relaying messages outward.
“Yes, we do have some information about these starships, but we can’t reveal their specific details due to the agreement— No! Please do not attack!!”
“No, no, you’ve misunderstood. That’s not something we developed!”
In the central area of the department, at a translucent circular conference table, stood a well-dressed woman. She appeared mature in age and held her phone to her ear, rubbing her temples with a look of deep fatigue that she couldn’t conceal. An unfamiliar language flowed from her mouth, and it seemed like she was earnestly communicating something with the person on the other end of the line.
Beside her, other operators ran over anxiously. “Director Liu, we’ve tried to negotiate with them without revealing the specifics of the ‘Gods’ Descent Agreement,’ but they still want to attack!”
“What? They want to attack?!” Liu Mingfang abruptly turned her head, her expression grave. “Did you tell them that thing can blow apart their entire country with a single shot?!”
Remote air-to-space missiles on the ground slowly rotated, aiming their barrels at the steady black behemoth in the sky. The officer beside them squinted at this object, arrogantly raised his hand and gave a downward wave. With a resounding boom, the missile was launched:
“Take down all these so-called starships for me!”
Upon making contact with the surface of the black behemoth, missiles capable of reducing anything airborne in this era to ashes were like drops of water hitting a surface. They gently touched it and then fell.
The next second, the black behemoth’s barrel emerged slowly, converging into a bright, radiant brilliance, resembling a miniature sun.
The officer looked up, staring for a moment before muttering something. Before he could issue the next command, the behemoth in the sky trembled slightly, and its barrel fired.
When the “sun” hit the ground, there was complete silence, with no sound at all.
After a dazzling burst of radiance, the officer slightly parted his lips, about to issue the command. The soldiers waiting beside him, the stack of numerous weapons, and everything on the ground were enveloped and vanished within the white light. When the brilliance dispersed, all that remained was a colossal crater with not even a trace of dust left.
Beside Liu Mingfang, the operator stared blankly at the circular gap that had just appeared on the satellite map before them — that was where the cannon had landed just now.
In just that instant, an entire nation disappeared from the map.
“Beep, beep—”
The operator’s call to the other side of the line only resulted in a busy signal. Liu Mingfang let out a slow breath, a momentary blankness on her face. She turned around, hung up the shaking operator’s call, took a deep breath, patted the operator’s shoulder, and gravely instructed, “Continue reaching out to other countries.”
“Do everything you can to stop them from attacking!”
TN:
I’ll be posting multiple chapters today since I will be away for the month. You can keep checking to see if it’s updated since I might not be able to link the “Next” icon. Alternatively you can join Discord to access direct links and be notified on new updates. You can access all the chapters posted by clicking on the corresponding label on the side.
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