novelraw Chapter 123 : The First Casualty
Chapter 123 : The First Casualty
Chapter 123: The First Casualty
After Jiang Li left the rental apartment, he immediately rushed straight to the nearest supermarket.
Since he had already made up his mind to hide, he naturally had to minimize going out as much as possible, and would usually only use his spirit form to gather information outside.
So at this moment, Jiang Li’s shopping cart was piled full of canned food, bottled water, and compressed biscuits, along with some simple medicines and commonly used daily necessities.
While checking out, Jiang Li deliberately paid attention to the people around him. After all, he had bought so many things in one go, and he was afraid of being noticed and discovered, but fortunately no one paid attention to him.
After finishing his shopping, Jiang Li did not linger. He packed all the items into his pack.
He immediately took a taxi to a bustling mall near the seaside, and then walked on foot to the shore.
This was a secluded beach rarely visited by people, covered everywhere with reefs and overgrown seaweed. Jiang Li moved with practiced ease through the reefs and seaweed, arriving at a naturally formed sea-eroded cave.
This was a secret spot he had discovered back when he worked as a scavenger. Aside from Jiang Li, no one knew of its existence. The interior space of the cave was not large, but it was enough to shelter a person.
The cave entrance was concealed by dense shrubs, making it sufficiently hidden.
He moved the purchased supplies inside—bottled water, food, simple lighting equipment—everything was arranged neatly.
After finishing all this, Jiang Li took out a simple sleeping bag and lay down inside it.
The mental exhaustion from using his ability, combined with a whole night of fatigue, quickly sent Jiang Li into a deep sleep.
The next morning, after a night of rest, Jiang Li ate breakfast while thinking about where he should go later to search for information.
Because he feared exposing his whereabouts, Jiang Li had not even brought his phone with him. After arriving at the seaside, he had thrown his phone into the sea.
He was afraid of being monitored. Being at a disadvantage, he could not afford to take any risks. He had to be absolutely cautious.
As Jiang Li was thinking, that cold and grand prompt voice in his mind suddenly rang out.
【Player【Thunder God】has killed player【Mechanic】】
【Current surviving players: 11】
The sound repeated twice, making Jiang Li’s heart suddenly contract.
The game had only just begun. Only one day had passed, and a player had already died?
The efficiency of the three major forces was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
He now urgently needed information. He could not wait any longer. He had to act immediately.
Thinking this, Jiang Li did not even bother to finish breakfast. He took a deep breath and began to concentrate. Very quickly, Jiang Li’s consciousness began to detach from his body.
Jiang Li felt himself become light, as if he were a feather, lightly floating upward.
Jiang Li entered a soul state. Controlling his consciousness, he drifted out of the sea-eroded cave, passing through rocks and through forests.
At the fastest speed, he drifted toward the center of Zhu City.
He passed through walls and skimmed across streets. The city, rapidly moving before his eyes, turned into a virtual illusion of interwoven light and shadow.
He had to find information. He had to find a way to survive.
The moment he entered the city, he sensed that something was wrong.
On the streets, pedestrians hurried along, and vehicles were jammed.
Everyone’s faces were filled with panic and anxiety.
“Move faster! If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late!”
A man dragged a woman and rushed frantically toward the train station.
“Too late for what?”
The woman asked, panting.
“The Game of Gods!”
The man roared, “Zhu City has been chosen as a game area!”
“Zhu City is going to fall into chaos, we can’t stay here!”
“If we don’t leave now, we’ll all be dragged down by those Transcendent beings!”
The conversation entered Jiang Li’s ears, making his heart tremble.
The news of the “Game of Gods” had already spread?
Jiang Li continued to patrol the city. He discovered that the train station, bus stations, docks—every place from which one could leave Zhu City—were packed with people.
Crowds surged like the end of the world had arrived.
Seeing this, Jiang Li could not help but admire the three major organizations.
They released the news, letting ordinary people flee Zhu City.
Because the panic-driven exodus of civilians would make it easier for them to lock onto those who remained.
Those who had no choice but to stay.
Those who lacked the ability to escape.
And those who might be players.
In this way, players who wanted to hide would have nowhere to conceal themselves.
Because players were not allowed to leave Zhu City, otherwise they would be directly erased.
This was an open scheme, a naked open scheme.
Jiang Li continued drifting about. The surrounding noise was incessant. Gathering information like this was too slow, and the information obtained was also too scattered.
Jiang Li needed to find a place—a place where information flowed more freely.
Very soon, Jiang Li thought of an internet café.
He passed through building after building, and finally “drifted” into a brightly lit internet café.
Affected by the Game of Gods, there were not many people in the internet café now. Only a few scattered individuals wore headphones, immersed in the gaming world.
It seemed they were indifferent to whatever was happening outside. Indeed, those who cherished their lives were all trying to find ways to leave. Most of those who could stay were people who had already given up and resigned themselves.
Jiang Li searched the internet café. Soon, his gaze fell on a corner seat.
It was a young man. In the entire internet café, only he was not playing games.
On his computer screen was a news page. The page title was a report about recent anomalies in Zhu City.
Jiang Li moved closer and saw that the young man was searching keywords like “Transcendent abilities” and “Awakened ones”.
Soon, a large block of information appeared:
“Fierce battles in the Game of Gods in Yang City, casualties continue to rise, outcome uncertain!”
“Transcendent beings appear in Zhu City! The Game of Gods descends upon Zhu City!”
“……”
The young man scrolled the mouse, browsing through item after item of information. Soon, a passing news headline caught Jiang Li’s attention.
“Abnormal activity in Zhu City: murder case in the suburbs suspected to be related to the Game of Gods?”
Jiang Li wanted to see this news, but he found that the young man seemed uninterested in it.
He only glanced at it before skipping over it without clicking it.
Instead, he clicked on another headline and began reading news about “Awakened physique testing”.
Anxiety rose in Jiang Li’s heart.
He wanted to see that news.
He had to see that news.
But he did not know what he could do.
In his desperation, Jiang Li’s consciousness actually reached out directly to grab the mouse. He strongly “wished” that the young man would click that missing-person case news.
“Click it!”
As expected, Jiang Li grasped nothing. His hand passed straight through the mouse.
But the young man, whom Jiang Li had passed through, seemed to shiver. He blinked, and a trace of confusion flashed through his eyes.
As if possessed, his fingers exited the “Awakened physique testing” news and moved to click the headline “Abnormal activity in Zhu City: murder case in the suburbs suspected to be related to the Game of Gods?”.
The news page popped open. The young man scratched his head, his expression somewhat puzzled.
He muttered softly, “Huh, did I want to read this?”
“Whatever, since it’s already open, I’ll take a look.”
He did not think much about it and continued reading the news.
At this moment, a surge of wild joy erupted in Jiang Li’s heart.
He had not only successfully seen the news, he had also discovered a new use for his ability!
He discovered that although he could not directly touch objects, he seemed able to slightly influence conscious people.
It was just that this kind of influence was very weak, and could only provide slight guidance when the other party was unconscious, or when they were hesitating.
But this was yet another huge advantage!
As the young man began reading that report about Zhu City,
Jiang Li followed along with him, “reading” it word by word.
He needed more information. He had to seize every moment.