Chapter 658 Fairy Dance

Among the 300,000 players in Mystic Tower, about 50,000 are purely casual players.

They may not dare or be unwilling to fight monsters, and only do some safe tasks to make money. Whether they can upgrade or not is entirely up to chance.

They hate the busyness of reality and enjoy life in a different world. Even if they live in a mysterious tower all their lives, they are willing to do so.

67-year-old Soshichi Hosoda is one of the casual players. In reality, he has no children, lives in the city and has few friends. If he wants to travel, he has to consider money. Therefore, when SAO was released, he was one of the few elderly people who was interested in virtual reality games.

Entering the mysterious tower by chance, he was also flustered and confused, but later he realized that this was really the best thing.

You can make a living by fishing in the river in the second-level safety zone every day. Occasionally, you can get a big fish and have the opportunity to improve your food.

There were no disputes. I made a few friends and played chess, cards and fishing together. My health also got better because of the pure natural environment and the change in mentality here.

Recently he had a chance to find a wife.

The other party's name is Mijin Zhuhui. She is three years younger than him. In reality, she has a son and a daughter, but she is not well received by her daughter-in-law. Seeing his son caught in a dilemma, he finally made a cruel decision and put on the helmet left by his son when he died in the mysterious tower, so as not to cause any trouble to them.

I was depressed when I first entered the game, but now I am finally becoming more cheerful.

Hearing the footsteps behind him, Mr. Hosoda turned around with a smile: "Juhui, look..."

snap——

The fishing rod suddenly fell from his hand. Hosoda was stunned for a moment. He fell from the stool and scrambled backwards with a look of horror on his face.

"Zhu-Zhuhui?!"

I saw the old lady staggering over step by step, her eyes wide open, with a ferocious expression that was not human, her lips rolled up, and her whole face was full of gray color.

Like a zombie in a movie.

Pounced forward!

"Ah - help!!" After a scream, Hosoda Soshichi left the river with the old lady in exactly the same state.

…

Level 45, Army Town.

"What's going on? You summoned the strategy team again?"

"Have you found the boss on the 55th floor?"

"Are you kidding me? We haven't even fully explored the 52nd floor. Besides, the boss on the 55th floor is probably one level stronger than Toguro Ludi. Maybe we have to pass the Dark Martial Arts Club to be able to conquer it."

"Is that a treasure or danger discovered?"

"Where is that guy You Gu? Everyone is here, but he, the convener, is not here?!"

After two months, the players in the strategy group who gathered again on the 45th floor asked each other, but none of them knew the reason why You Gu summoned the strategy group this time.

No, not only the strategy team, but also the presidents of some small guilds were summoned, naturally including intelligence chiefs like Argo.

‘Is it discussing something related to the mysterious team? Distribution of two reading ability books? ’ Argo thought to himself: ‘Although the book can be viewed by 10 people, if someone tells it to others after reading it, it will indeed cause some bugs. This is what that guy like Yu Gu would do.

But doing this is very offensive. That knowledge is indeed worth the price, even more than that... Do you want to take the lead in stopping it? No, that's not right, Argo of the Rat, intelligence dealers value neutrality, you can't have your butt tilted because of that guy Ji Xing. ’

Just as she was thinking about this, Argo saw two people walking into the door. The conference room became quiet for an instant, and she knew that her guess was wrong.

One of the two is naturally You Gu.

The other man has an ordinary appearance, short hair, and wears a shirt, trousers, tie, and a white coat, which is incompatible with the players' attire.

But the famous one is Kayaba Akihiko who created the SAO game!

Since the occurrence of supernatural phenomena, SAO has become the transmitter of this mysterious tower. Kayaba Akihiko has also become one of the initial players here, but he rarely shows up. He is only obsessed with exploring the world and conducting his own research. The only thing he does is The most important thing is to serve as the president of the Mysterious Research Society.

Why is he here?

"Everyone." Kayaba Akihiko walked to the center of the conference room and said to all the players in the strategy team: "Not long ago, a disaster occurred that may have caused heavy casualties to players and completely failed the strategy for the Mysterious Tower. The situation is urgent and must be dealt with as soon as possible. ”

"Heavy casualties?"

"disaster?!"

The players were startled, and Kayaba Akihiko nodded and confirmed: "Please contact your trusted friends and subordinates directly. We are not sure how many manpower will be needed at the moment, but the more the better, the faster the processing, and the lower the losses caused by the disaster may be. "

What the hell happened?

The players became noisy, and all kinds of questions were mixed together, until they were suppressed by Eugene's loud voice: "Do it first! Then you will know, right?"

The players looked at each other, and gradually took out the communication crystals one by one. Argo observed the gloomy expression of You Gu, secretly thinking that this guy looked like this, it must be really a big deal.

After hesitating for a while, in addition to contacting the two deputies in the guild, she also contacted Ji Xing.

"This is a meeting of the strategy team. Don't ask anything right now. Someone will explain it later."

…

In the two-story building he just bought on the 49th floor, Ji Xing put the crystal next to the bed without knowing the situation.

The voices on the other side were a little noisy, and they were all asking about the situation. It sounded like there were a lot of people, and it gradually quieted down after five minutes.

Then a gentle boy spoke: "Good afternoon, everyone. I am Kayaba Akihiko. I am sorry to tell you a piece of news. At this time yesterday, there was a disappearance and theft in the Immortal Disease Research Institute on the 46th floor.

The missing person is the military communicator Doi Wanko, and the stolen item is the 'Immortal Disease Seed' extracted from the body of an Immortal Disease patient by Professor Suiren.

After our investigation, this was a premeditated theft. Doi Wanko was likely to have been instigated by an unknown player. And the other party's purpose is probably very dangerous."

Kayaba Akihiko, Immortal Disease... Ji Xing raised his eyebrows slightly, and his expression became more serious.

Immortal Disease is one of the five major disasters discovered in the part of the Dark Continent that has been explored in the Hunter World. It is more harmful than the Chimera Ant and is a 'disease' that can exterminate humans if not controlled.

There was another commotion on the other side, but it calmed down quickly this time. Kayaba Akihiko should have made a "control" action such as pressing his hand. The voice continued: "All the players in the strategy group should know about the undead disease.

It is a dangerous virus from the 46th floor. The infected are confused and lose themselves, like the walking dead, fearless of life and death, just like the zombies in some movies, but more contagious than that. Even if they are not caught or bitten, there is a chance that they will spread through the air and become one of the undead patients.

Because of this virus, we lost dozens of top-ranked players when exploring the 46th floor, and lost more than 200 military players during the subsequent blockade. Since then, that area has been continuously attacked. Blocked, if it weren't for the Resurrection Grass, it would be listed as a 'forbidden area' for players. "

After a pause of a few seconds to let everyone digest, Kayaba Akihiko said: "And based on the research during this period, we have learned some characteristics of the Undead Disease. It is a special virus, or a special 'organism'.

We all know that a single human is a whole, and the organs, limbs, and brain all serve the same individual, but after being infected with the Undead Disease, it is torn apart from the whole into countless individuals.

Every organ and even every cell has become an independent life, able to eat itself and regenerate, achieving self-circulation, in a sense... immortality!"

Is it really possible to be immortal?

The players held their breath slightly, but it would be better to be dead than to become a zombie? Wait?

"Yes, I think everyone should understand the key. In the mysterious tower, players will return to reality after death, but infection with the undead disease does not count. If they are not completely killed by others, the undead patients will stay in the mysterious tower forever in that way. And if they are in a daze for a long time, even if they return to reality, they may become unconscious or even become a vegetative state."

Akihiko Kayaba said in a deep voice: "The undead disease is a way to completely kill the player!"

At this moment, everyone knew the seriousness of the problem. High transmission and complete killing of players are extremely dangerous in any aspect!

"Can that undead disease..."

"It is extracted to artificially cultivate the resurrection grass." Akihiko Kayaba said: "Professor Suiren was a little careless, I'm sorry."

The players looked at each other, and their faces changed slightly.

"Are they those bastards from the Smiling Coffin? This time, they must be sent out of the game!"

The Smiling Coffin is an evil guild that is keen on internal PK among players. Its members are unknown and it has committed many vicious incidents of attacking players.

"It doesn't look like what they do." At this time, You Gu said: "I think it's more like the Fairy Dance."

What do you think? Are the guys from Fairy Dance so bold?

Fairy Dance is another evil guild, but it is much less hateful than Laughing Coffin, and has basically not done any malicious things.

The people in that guild only want to "live in the mysterious tower forever and never return to reality", they don't care about the strategy, occasionally do some small things that drag their feet, and often seduce others to join them. They advocate embracing the new world, ignoring the moral laws of reality, and all enjoyment is the main thing, and they do whatever makes them happy.

Some crazy people even abandon their human identity and think that they are "fairies in the new world", which is the source of Fairy Dance.

They hide among casual players, and their levels are generally not very high, making it even harder to find them.

Just as the players were concentrating on thinking and whispering, the door of the conference room was suddenly knocked.

Everyone's eyes were focused on him. You Gu went to open the door himself. There was a soldier outside the door, holding something in both hands and saying, "General You Gu, someone just threw this developing crystal from a distance."

You Gu's expression changed: "Did you see who it was?!"

"No, the other party was hiding behind a building. When we went to look for him, he had disappeared. We are investigating whether there are any witnesses."

"Found him!" You Gu was silent for a moment, emphasized, took the crystal and turned around.

The players all heard the conversation just now.

"Is it the mastermind?"

"What does he want to do? The developing crystal?"

"Is this a provocation to us?!"

The developing crystal is also called a video crystal, which can record a maximum of about 10 minutes of images and replay them repeatedly.

Akihiko Kayaba looked at the crystal, his expression did not change much, and he just said, "Let's take a look together."

The crystal was placed in the center of the table and activated.

A figure was reflected from it.

It was a man wearing a large cloak to cover his body and a demon mask to cover his face. He stretched out his hands and his voice was obviously modified. He said: "Hello, players in the strategy group, I am the president of the Fairy Dance Guild. You can call me the 'Fairy King'."

"...Is it really the Fairy Dance?!"

"Who is this bastard?!"

It was just a video, so it naturally couldn't answer the anger and doubts of the players.

The image paused for a moment and continued: "Are you discussing the theft of the undead disease? Yes, I did it. I also personally instigated Doi Kanko to rebel. If you want to know why I could do it and why I did it..."

His voice suddenly became low and angry: "Because we were shamefully deceived and betrayed!!"

Looking around, his eyes were ferocious, as if sweeping across everyone's face, and he said with anger: "Perhaps there are many players in the strategy group who don't know. For those who know, do you dare to tell the role of the magic-sealing silk obtained from the strategy boss?!"

Magic-sealing silk?

Many people looked puzzled.

A few people's faces changed.

Asuna bit her lip and grabbed Kirito's hand, Argo sighed softly, and Yugu's expression changed drastically, wanting to close the crystal.

Their behavior was also noticed by many players. It was obvious that the problem could not be solved by closing the developing crystal at this time.

The 'Fairy King' continued to ask questions by name: "Yuuki Asuna, Yuuki Koichiro, why did you and your brother abandon your parents and stay in the mysterious tower for almost three years?

And you, Negishi Yoshiyuki, why were you so horrified and sad when your brother died in the game, and then you covered it up as forgetting the game for a while?

Yugu, you should also know what the military is doing in the real world, why don't you tell everyone everything?!

In this mysterious tower, is it true that players don't have to pay any price for death?!"

There was silence among the players.

Death... has a price?

"Oh, it's not your fault that you didn't know. If I hadn't known it by chance, I would have been deceived for my whole life. Excluding that mysterious team, from the 21st floor to the 49th floor, the total output of the Demon Sealing Silk is only about 100 strands, which will be distributed to all the people who have conquered the Boss according to their contribution.

Now the total number of players who have the Demon Sealing Silk is about 30? 40? And only when this kind of players die, the function of the Demon Sealing Silk will be revealed - to seal the demon!"

"Those players who died once in the mysterious tower will return to reality, and without exception, they will be planted with a kind of 'demon seed'. It is unknown when it will explode, turning them into monsters and monsters in this game, wreaking havoc in reality!"

What? !

Many players stood up in shock, looking at those people who sat in the chairs in silence with ugly faces.

"Is this true?"

In the past three years, who hasn't had a dead partner? If there is such a thing, wouldn't it be impossible to return to normal life after death out of the tower?

Being under supervision at any time?

No, they will die suddenly at any time? !

"As long as all the mysterious towers are conquered, everyone will be safe..." You Gu said in a low voice.

"I think You Gu should comfort you now... 'As long as all the mysterious towers are conquered, everyone will be fine', right? But a 100-story tower, do you have the confidence? Just you guys, can you save the world?!" But the 'Elf King' spoke again.

"No, instead of pinning your hopes on completing the conquer in an unknown year, it is better to rely on the magic-sealing thread. A magic-sealing thread can prevent a dead player from becoming a monster or a demon beast.

Oh~ Maybe I can't count on it. After all, people are close and distant. How can the top players who can get the magic-sealing thread use them on other unrelated people? It's all because your 'output' is not enough and you can't get it!"

His words were weird and full of irony, but no one cared at this time. Such news brought endless shock.

You Gu's face was gloomy.

The reason why the situation of the Demon Sealing Silk is not announced is that we are worried about such a thing happening. We are afraid that knowing that death is not without cost and that there will be a time bomb tied to the body after returning to reality, many players may no longer be brave and have different opinions on the Boss strategy!

"So... all of you join our Fairy Dance, let us live happily together in the mysterious tower and build our country!"

The voice of the 'Fairy King' is full of bewitching again, and he opens his arms and says: "Forget reality, forget everything, and enjoy this new world!

Hahaha~ Also, top players who have obtained the Demon Sealing Silk to protect themselves, let's play a game?

Within half a month, solve the 'Immortal Disease'. If successful, I will continue to appreciate your performance, but if you fail... all players will know about the Demon Sealing Silk, hahaha!"

Buzz——

The developing screen disappears.

There is silence among the players in the strategy group.

The players who know don't know what to say, and the players who don't know don't know what to do.

Everyone is very confused.

…

So this is what the ‘Demon Sealing Silk’ is all about. It turns out that there is also a penalty for player death, but it is only imposed when the strategy fails or at a certain point in time.

On the other side, Ji Xing took out his 40 Demon Sealing Silks and placed them on the table: “Do other players only have about 100 in total? It seems that it was upgraded to 10 per boss at the 50th floor.”

No wonder I could feel a force of rules that I had never touched before on the Demon Sealing Thread.

Is this the world saving itself?

The world has its own rules and consciousness, which Ji Xing knew a long time ago. The starlight consumed by the Seven Star Beads when invading the world is probably what is needed to hide the world consciousness when invading the world, and the reward of increasing the world star level may also be the gratitude of the world he invaded to him, the "outsider demon".

Combined with the rules that the mysterious tower is more inclined to SAO, plus the effect of the Demon Sealing Thread, Ji Xing feels that the Sword Art Online world is being rubbed by the two big guys of the Hunter World and the Yu Yu Hakusho World, while trying to find some self-help methods... and the rescue is very reluctant.

Others have made a lot of invasion marks, and you can only save one person with a Demon Sealing Thread, which is simply a drop in the bucket, weak and pitiful.

It may also be that it took too much effort to create this mysterious tower that is more conducive to the growth of sword players? Or is it something else I don't know?

No matter how you look at it, the Sword Art Online world is most likely to be destroyed when the three realms merge.

"Is this my fault?"

"Although, a self-preservation method of a world consciousness is probably very good, and it may be a supplement to my body... If I can give back by upgrading the world star, it should not be too much."

Ji Xing thought about it, and with a stroke of his hand, he put the Demon Sealing Silk back into the prop column.

5k2, a single update for a normal delivery.