Chapter 483 Rapid March! Heaven and h.e.l.l!
After Su Mo announced that they would now disembark and head for their new territory, the villagers on the deck did not cheer at all. Instead, they began checking their belongings one final time in a disciplined manner.
This intuitive response came about as a result of the 7 days of training.
After wartime regulations were initiated, everyone no longer functioned as individuals.
They were now collaborators in a collective, and they had only one task.
To obey orders!
At 11.55, the pa.s.sageway door on the second level of the deck slowly opened.
Thanks to the expansion in width, the narrow pa.s.sageway that could only contain one individual at first could now fit three to four individuals walking together.
In less than three minutes, once the last person had entered the pa.s.sageway, Su Mowho had been standing at the back, observing – joined them as well.
Bang!
With a violent pull, the door that connected the second level of the deck and the pa.s.sageway was slammed shut in an instant.
Despite hearing the door slam, everyone did not stop but scaled the stairs in orderly fas.h.i.+on. A brisk pace brought them to the ocean.
Being the last person in line, by the time Su Mo exited the pa.s.sageway, most of the villagers had already organized themselves into teams on the distant sh.o.r.es of the New World and were standing in disciplined ranks. They had begun to “daydream”.
Evidently, the reward for landing in the New World had been issued.
With a faint smile, Su Mo closed the pa.s.sage door that led downwards. Following the stairs, he then took an agile leap as he landed on the lifeboat that had been prepared beforehand.
As he rowed and reached the sh.o.r.es of the New World, a notification issued by the game suddenly sounded a second later.
[Record): Congratulations, player Su Mo. You have successfully landed in the “New World” that symbolizes a new life
[Record): Here, you will enjoy a completely different game environment from the wasteland, immerse yourself in a rich new culture, and partic.i.p.ate in the unprecedented Clash of Races. If you are bold enough, perhaps you can realize your dreams here and ascend to new heights in your life
(Record): It has been detected that your territory has successfully transferred to the New World. Its current coordinates are 358.252, and its distance from the player’s current position as the crow flies is 1629 kilometers
(Record): It has been detected that the number of subordinate players under you is 1405 players. All 1405 players have been automatically transferred to be under your command and will receive the same bonus in territory properties
[Record]: Congratulations, player Su Mo. Given that your territory has been successfully established, on your journey to the territory, you will receive an invincibility bonus within the range of the route (following the route predetermined by the game will result in bonuses of movement speed +500%, stamina recovery rate +100%, and you will not be seen by all other living beings). Please be aware that if you go beyond the determined range for 30 seconds or more, all bonuses will be lost and will not be awarded again in the future
[Record]: Congratulations, player Su Mo. You have been detected as the 138952271st human to land in the New World. You will automatically receive a 100 millionth level rank reward
(Record): Your rank rewards are: Dry rations (1kg)*1, drinking water (5L), random item card (normal)*1. Your rewards have been stored in your storage s.p.a.ce. Please check
(Record): It has been detected that you have successfully reached the New World. By default, the game will issue a platinum level Disaster Privilege Reward “Pioneer”
[Record]: Your privileges have been issued. Please enter your game panel to check
[Record): Enjoy gaming!
Altogether, there were ten records.
They sounded one after the other.
However, it was different from what he expected. Out of all the records, Su Mo first noticed the invincibility bonus awarded by the game. Only then did he notice his rank.
He was ranked number 130 million.
‘Who would have thought there were so many gamblers among us humans.
‘They’re not wrong, though. We’re already at Doomsday. If we don’t take a gamble, how will we ever know where our upper limits lie!’
He closed the notifications and called up the game panel to inspect his privileges.
His gaze was remote as if he had pierced through s.p.a.ce and seen every living being that resided in the New World.
Based on the timeframe, these were the early days of mankind’s first arrival in the New World.
Before setting foot on dry land, everyone had speculated about what their rank might be while they ate.
Some had guessed 3 million.
Some had guessed 5 million.
Even the boldest amongst them all, Chen Kai, had guessed 10 million.
At that time, Su Mo had not shared his own guess, but in his heart, he speculated it might be 30 million.
Now, however, even this 30 million might as well be considered zero in the face of 130 million!
Based on the data model, the number of people subsequently arriving in the New World would probably exceed…
300 million!
In fact, it might even go up to 500 million!
One-fourth of mankind had decided to not live their life like cowards in the deep reaches of the ocean. Their hearts still burned with a zealous ambition to turn the tides of their lives.
A blue light flashed.
The game panel automatically switched to the privileges panel and revealed all the attributes of the Pioneer bonus.
[Privilege]: Pioneer
[Description]: This privilege only belongs to the bold. Any human who reaches the New World will enjoy this privilege bonus for 210 days. However, 24 hours after leaving the New World, this privilege will immediately be revoked
(Special Ability]:
Phase One (day 1 to 3): Rapid March On days 1 to 3, all humans who arrive in the New World will possess the ability to rapidly advance, movement speed +500%, stamina recovery speed +200%. However, when attacked by another living being, this privilege will temporarily lose its effect, until the attack ceases
Phase Two (day 4 to 30): Locked
Phase Three (day 30 to 180): Locked
Phase Two (day 180 to 210): Locked
When Su Mo had initially negotiated the rewards with the game, he had only requested the Abundance privilege
As for the Pioneer privilege, Su Mo knew absolutely nothing about it.
At this point, when Su Mo read the description of the Rapid March ability, a trace of comprehension showed in his eyes.
For their first journey to their territory, if they followed the route predetermined by the game, they would receive a 500% movement speed bonus.
With the addition of the Rapid March ability, their movement speed would increase tenfold.
Taking into consideration that each person could walk 150 kilometers and calculating from there, even with half a day’s break, this tenfold increase would allow them to travel several thousand kilometers.
Given this, it was apparent what the game’s intentions were.
It wanted everyone to reach their territory as soon as possible. “The route mentioned is probably a pre-planned route that avoids all living beings and resources.
“The game is well prepared this time. It’s managed to grasp everyone’s mindset.”
Previously, Su Mo had thought about ways to sponge off people as their journey progressed.
Now, however, considering that they were 1,600 kilometers away from their territory, there was no need at all to consider this option!
“Shelter Leader, everyone has gathered. Do we begin our journey now?’
1,400 people.
If this were a school and they were sorted into cla.s.ses of 50, there would be 28 cla.s.ses in total.
Right now, everyone was gathered here. Under the bright moonlight and the illumination of their burning torches, all that could be seen was a sea of black.
“Yes!”
Su Mo nodded as he met the hopeful eyes of the villagers. With a smile on his face, he turned and walked toward the beach.
A second later, in front of everyone’s eyes, the colossal, 40-meter high Hope One began shrinking rapidly.
Under the villagers’ tongue-tied gaze, in less than 20 seconds, Hope One-hitherto still at a distance on the ocean-had suddenly shrunk to the size of a fis.h.i.+ng boat.
Following that, under the traction of a mysterious yellow light, it levitated into the air and drifted toward Su Mo. By the time it had floated into Su Mo’s hands, the boat had shockingly shrunk to…
The size of his palm!
“Sh*t, is this the Monkey King’s staff? How can its size grow and shrink?” “D*amn, my eyes have deteriorated. When did our Hope One gain the ability to transform!”
“This… this can’t be a magical artifact crafted by a celestial being, can it? Don’t tell me that our Shelter Leader is a cultivator of enlightenment!”
“What do you mean cultivator, our Shelter Leader is definitely a celestial being that graced us with his presence. This magical artifact…”
Uproar began breaking out among the teams.
Looking first at the empty ocean, then at Hope One now gleaming in Su Mo’s palm, everyone furiously rubbed their eyes, then confirmed what they were seeing.
Hope One had indeed shrunk!
“Shelter Leader, is this… is this really Hope One?”
Su Mo came back to stand in front of all the teams. As they watched, he placed the miniature Hope One into the leather bag on his back and nodded slightly.
“Let’s go. Even though Hope One has many restrictions now in the New World, under certain circ.u.mstances, it’s more useful than before.”
Upon hearing the word “restrictions,” Chen Shen was startled.
Even so, he was smart and did not pursue the matter further. He immediately turned and began issuing orders.
Woos.h.!.+
As the team flags were raised and the orders were disseminated down the ranks, the entire group began moving forward in a disciplined manner.
Without any baggage to impede them, everyone could traverse several dozen meters. Their traveling speed was startling.
Su Mo did not want to be given special treatment, but as the crowd urged him, he reluctantly got onto the large cart that was pulled by the foreign races.
as
“Big Brother, come in and sleep. We’ll call you if there’s anything!’
Not only was Su Chan inside the cart, but Oreo was there as well. The husky was sprawled lazily in the corner and leisurely cleaned her fur with her tongue. At the sight of Su Mo, Oreo wagged her tail and barked softly. She wanted to tell Su Mo that there was no danger here and it was safe.
Given these few safeguards, Su Mo sat at the front of the cart to observe briefly and was finally able to set his mind at ease. He lay down on the soft mattress in the cart and fell into a deep sleep.
He had exhausted his mind, so his slumber was extremely satisfying.
There were no worries, nor any responsibilities.
He slept until nine in the morning. Only then did he leisurely open his eyes.
They had been marching rapidly for 9 hours, yet everyone had still not stopped.
With the stamina recovery bonus, everyone’s stamina was maintained at 70% even up until now.
aw
After conversing with Chen Shen as they traveled, Su Mo was stunned when he became aware that the game appeared to be eager to send him—the G.o.d of Plagues—to his new territory.
Throughout their journey, they had not encountered any foreign races or even any remotely precipitous terrain at all.
The villagers had traveled through nothing but open plains throughout their entire journey. In only 9 hours, they had managed to cover a distance of…
1,000 kilometers!
Calculating based on this pace, they were traveling on foot at a speed of 110 kilometers per hour!
“Shelter Leader, we’ll rest for an hour at 12.
“We’ll be able to successfully reach the territory at 4 in the afternoon!’
After estimating the distance and reporting their ETA, both Chen Shen and Zhang Long’s faces were full of joy without a trace of the fatigue from journeying through the entire night.
However, for whatever reason, Su Mo suddenly felt uneasy as he was sitting in the cart.
In
Everything had gone too smoothly!
Even if the game was eager for everyone to reach their new territory, a route like this was overly preferential.
Unless…
“We’ll rest for 10 minutes at 12. We must reach the territory as soon as possible.
“I have a feeling we’re about to encounter a big problem!”
Once Su Mo had given the order, Chen Shen caught a glimpse of Su Mo’s serious expression and realized as well that the situation was not quite as simple as everyone had thought.
The two immediately retreated and issued the order to the rest.
By 2.40 in the afternoon, the 1,405 inhabitants of Hope Village had managed to traverse a distance of 1,600 kilometers to arrive at their territory.
However, it was at this very moment, as they stood by perimeters of their territory, that everyone—including Su Mo-sucked in a sharp breath.
Throughout their march here, they had seen plains that were verdant and flouris.h.i.+ng, like the gardens of heaven.
The basin that had been submerged by seawater for a month…
Was as barren as h.e.l.l itself!