Lord of the Myriad Worlds

Chapter 191: The Expansion Pack

Seeing Li Wei make his choice so decisively, the old man showed no surprise. His face still wore that warm, genial smile — yet Li Wei couldn't shake the feeling that the old fellow was mildly displeased. Not angry, just... mildly displeased. After all, there was no bad blood between them.

Maybe he thought the slot was limited and giving it to Li Wei was a waste.

Or perhaps Night Owl had already decided to give him the slot, and this old man simply disagreed but kept his objections to himself.

Honestly, Night Owl was truly remarkable. Even back during the Rookie King settlement, she had already hinted at all of this in her words.

So now the old man's inexplicable hostility made perfect sense — it all came down to interests.

"Are you certain?" the old man asked again, still not quite at ease.

"Certain!" Li Wei nodded. There was nothing to hesitate over.

"Very well. You can head back and wait for the notification. Now, what would you like to purchase? As a matter of procedure, since you're the Rookie King and a newly promoted Three-Star Lord, any supplies you buy from the Ministry of Internal Affairs come with a complimentary One-Star Resource Card. In theory, you only need to purchase one more — that should be enough to handle most missions."

Even as he spoke, the old man produced a One-Star Resource Card from thin air and handed it over.

Wow. The Ministry of Internal Affairs really did take care of its own — that alone saved Li Wei a hundred Standard Gold Coins.The old man said nothing more. He swept a hand through the air in front of Li Wei, and instantly a catalog of several hundred items materialized — ranging from one-star to three-star, from weapons and equipment to various semi-processed materials, magical artifacts, and even tamed beasts. A complete selection.

"There are no four-star or higher items here. I'll also give you a piece of advice: for the Pioneering Mission ahead, it's best not to bring four-star weapons or equipment. It's not forbidden, but it tends to invite certain minor complications. Of course, if you're supremely confident in your own strength and fear nothing, that's entirely your call."

"Thank you for the guidance, sir. Would it be possible to learn about this Pioneering Mission now, or do I have to wait until the time comes?"

Li Wei asked — he needed to know the details before choosing which supplies to buy.

"Of course. There's nothing secret about it. The relevant materials are in the next room. Any Ministry of Internal Affairs member who meets the criteria may enter and review them freely. Once you've had a look, you can come back and make targeted purchases."

Wait — the expansion pack for the mission storyline was being released four months early?

Li Wei was genuinely surprised. He thanked the old man and left, walking just a few steps before entering an adjacent room that looked equally unremarkable from the outside. Inside, however, the space was far larger than expected — easily enough to hold fifty people.

Several people were already there, talking among themselves. Three of them were familiar faces: Hathaway, Little John, and Clyde — Leon's strategist.

When they noticed Li Wei, their expressions were each subtly different. Little John's was cool and distant: 'I don't know you, and you'd do well not to know me.' Clyde's was curious, with an inexplicable fighting spirit burning beneath the surface — practically daring Li Wei to come at him. And Hathaway's was tinged with quiet melancholy. Li Wei could almost read a poem in her gaze — moonlight on the sea, tears in a pearl; warm sun on jade fields, smoke rising from the stone. What was felt then can only be recalled now, yet even then it was already slipping away.

Yes. That was all in the past.

She was, in the truest sense, his ex.

None of the three spoke. Only Clyde gave Li Wei a slight nod.

"So you're the Rookie King, Li Wei? The legendary figure who quietly disappeared for a whole month after the mission ended — ha! A pleasure. I'm a Three-Star Tactical Officer from the Tactics Department, codename Grasshopper. I was sent here to deliver the expansion pack for your Pioneering Mission. It's all over there — you can review it as many times as you like. And if there's anything you don't understand, well, figure it out yourself."

A young man standing beside the other three laughed as he said this, then hurried off.

Once he was gone, Hathaway asked, "Li Wei, how are your injuries? Are you feeling better?"

"More or less. I'm in rehabilitation training right now — should be back to peak condition in about another month." Li Wei answered honestly. There was nothing to hide.

"What a shame. You missed the last round of Title Tasks half a month ago. I had a feeling that Dog Butcher title of yours might have been upgradeable to a codename," Clyde remarked.

"So you've really decided to join this Pioneering Mission?" Hathaway asked again.

"Yes. I have no reason to back out, and I don't want to wait another ten years. Though — are the four of us going to end up competing against each other again?" Li Wei asked with a half-joking tone. He was genuinely curious why Hathaway was here. Had she failed too many Four-Star Lord missions and been demoted?

"We won't. The Ministry of Internal Affairs received four Pioneering Cards — that means four separate branch storylines, each separated by three hundred to five hundred kilometers in a straight line. Running into each other would be nearly impossible. Think of it this way: a Pioneering Mission is essentially an enhanced version of the Rookie Mission, though many rules have changed. There's no Rookie King title, but there is a Pioneer Rankings board. Twenty pioneering teams compete, and breaking into the top five comes with substantial rewards."

"There's also a hidden leaderboard — a competition between the five major departments. I won't say more about that, but I'm sure you understand."

Li Wei nodded. He understood perfectly.

For individual players, the Pioneer Rankings naturally mattered most. But for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Logistics Department, the Tactics Department, and the other major departments, what they were competing for was the overall team ranking.

Clyde gestured toward a nearby seat. "Li Wei, your injuries aren't fully healed — sit down. We've already watched the expansion pack once. We'll watch it again with you. Oh, and one more thing: the four of us are the confirmed holders of the four Pioneering Cards. Once you've seen it, feel free to share your thoughts with us. In a certain sense, we're actually on the same side."

"Alright!"

Li Wei nodded and sat down. Hathaway walked over and manipulated something — and in the next moment, a massive image materialized across the entire far wall.

The image showed a view from outer space.

A planet resembling Earth was the focal point — blue oceans visible on its surface, though the ground-level details were indistinct. But from the dense clusters of enormous spacecraft and space stations orbiting it, this was clearly a world of highly advanced technology.

In the upper right corner of the image, a massive meteorite — shimmering with a mysterious, otherworldly glow — was hurtling toward the planet.

Then it ended.

That was all the image showed.

Hathaway looked at Li Wei. "Night Owl must have explained the Magic Source Out of Control to you — and how it can escalate into a cross-dimensional collapse. This planet's world is one of the unlucky casualties of exactly that."

As she spoke, a second image silently appeared. It showed what looked like missiles — but clearly far more sophisticated — streaking through space, preparing to intercept the out-of-control magical meteorite.

That must have been where the disaster began. They thought it was an ordinary meteorite, never imagining it contained a catastrophically uncontrolled magical source within. Would things have turned out better if it had struck during the age of the dinosaurs instead?

Or perhaps, Li Wei mused, the reason Earth currently appeared normal was precisely because it had struck during the dinosaur era.

While Li Wei's mind wandered through these speculations, Hathaway continued: "This magical meteorite was a type of ultra-limit magical containment vessel. If it had simply crashed into the planet without rupturing, the world would have suffered only physical damage and could have survived. Unfortunately, they detonated it. The uncontrolled magical source energy was released and fused with high-energy matter, ultimately annihilating every trace of technology and weaponry on the planet — and rewriting its physical laws at the particle level."

"Even so, a great many living beings survived the magical radiation. Trees suddenly grew thousands of meters tall. Ants swelled to the size of tanks. Beasts breathed fire. Many humans discovered they had suddenly developed abilities — what they called powers, or sometimes called spiritual awakening..."

"Some people became impervious to blades and bullets. Others gained monstrous strength. Some grew horns, or found their bodies covered in scales. Some sprouted claws. Some could leap like spiders. Others transformed into something resembling giant octopuses. And the lucky ones stumbled upon magical artifacts, or other bizarre and inexplicable objects."

"And so a new era began. They slaughtered each other, fought over resources, battled the mutated insects and beasts for living space, and built survivor camps of all shapes and sizes..."

"But we all know, of course, that they — or rather, it — are all Magic Zombies. Every last one of them is a casualty of this cross-dimensional magical source collapse.

"We cannot save them. We can only conduct a form of salvage-and-plunder. That, in essence, is the core operating principle of the All-Heavens Lord Alliance."

"As for our Pioneering Mission itself — it's not particularly complicated. In fact, it's remarkably simple. So simple it's barely changed in hundreds of years."

"Nothing like the Rookie Mission, where the rules were constantly being rewritten."

"Specifically: this Pioneering Mission runs for three years with no mid-term settlements. If a member dies, the main base will send a replacement at the end of the month — there's no shortage of candidates."

"At the start, there are only five players. One of them is the Seed Player, who holds the Pioneering Card — but it doesn't actually grant any buffs. The only thing it guarantees is that no two Seed Players will appear in the same branch storyline. Going forward, only the Seed Player who becomes the Head of Household of the scavenging family — and remains Head of Household continuously, steering the pioneer camp's development all the way to the end of three years — will be considered the winner."

"Along the way, you'll face at least one Magic Zombie siege event. If you're unlucky, you might face a dozen. The native Ability User factions may also launch attacks against us."

"Furthermore, aside from the Seed Player, the Pioneering Mission in principle won't assign inexperienced newcomers or players below three-star rank. Any other player who makes an outstanding contribution to the pioneer camp's development, seizes the position of Head of Household, holds it for a substantial period, and whose final Pioneering Points exceed the Seed Player's at the end of the mission — that player will become the true Lord of the pioneer camp."

"In other words, all five players are competitors. Whoever wins claims the territory as their own."

"Additionally, for the first six months, conditions are generally relatively safe. After six months, as the camp gradually levels up and the scavenging family's population grows, newly arriving players will have goals other than claiming the final lordship. Some come for Title Tasks, some to plunder resources, some simply to earn Gold Coins."

"These players typically have a six-month time limit. However, if they perform exceptionally well and show outstanding potential, the main base may decide on the spot to extend their mission period — and grant them eligibility to compete for the pioneer territory."

"One more thing: once the mission has been running for about a year, if the pioneer camp unlocks the Two-Star Tavern building, it can recruit Mercenaries from the main base. That rule is no different from the Rookie Mission."

"And finally: among the five initial players in each branch storyline, the Seed Player's position is fixed — but the other four will be completely reshuffled and assigned at random. Cheating arrangements like designated bodyguard slots or attack-dog slots are strictly forbidden."

"They'll play the roles of a family. Outright killing each other openly is prohibited, but for the most part, they'll need to use the rules cleverly, leverage their own abilities, scheme and maneuver against each other — Plot Kills, alliances, all manner of legitimate tactics to suppress their rivals."

"Because all five initial players share the same ultimate goal — claiming the pioneer territory — their competitive relationship is clear from the very start. So before the mission begins, all participating players sign a contract agreeing to abide by these rules. The competition exists to select the best pioneer lord, not to encourage mutual slaughter."

"In short, that's the general picture. The rules of the Pioneering Mission have barely changed in hundreds of years."

After listening to Hathaway's explanation, Li Wei had a solid grasp of the situation. It really was just an enhanced version of the Rookie Mission.

Still, he had a question.

"Does that world have gods too? Why does it still require playing out a storyline and pretending to be a family? Wouldn't it be simpler to just drop a hundred players in and run a battle royale?"

"No gods. But given how uncanny Magic Zombies can be, you have no idea whether they might detect inconsistencies in your behavior and speech."

"And even setting that aside — think about it for a moment. In a hundred-player battle royale, how many people would die in a single run?"

"If you die and there's no teammate to recover your body, your three hard-earned Profession Cards are gone for good. You'd be permanently dead. That goes against the most fundamental principle of Humanistic Care."

Hathaway let out a cold laugh. "Granted, there are those exceptional individuals who can laugh their way to the finish line completely alone. But think about it — if you were thrown into a mission like this, would you rather go in solo, or have four companions at your side? Yes, you'd be scheming against each other in the shadows, but on the surface you'd have to support one another, with basic rules guaranteeing your minimum returns."

"That kind of true battle royale isn't unheard of. The All-Heavens Lord Alliance isn't the only organization in the heavens. Apparently, in Chaotic Killing Battlefields at five-star difficulty and above, you sometimes encounter terrifying individuals who were selected through a brutal culling process — one person who can take on three of us at once. They're a nightmare to deal with."

"But how can you be certain you'd be that one-in-ten-thousand genius, rather than just another pile of nameless bones beneath someone else's feet?"

"At minimum, under these rules, a single session can yield at least ten pioneer territories. But in a hundred-player battle royale, you might end up with just one. Do you really think the higher-ups haven't run those numbers?"