Chapter 24: Worth Hundreds of Millions!

The Crimson Court is a massive, blood-red, inverted pyramid that serves as the nexus of the Abyss Game and the bridge connecting various instance dimensions.

The Crimson Court is divided into four zones, corresponding to four distinct levels of the Abyss. All novice players begin their exploration at the first level, the Desolate Realm. The zone corresponding to the Desolate Realm is known as the Fog Plaza.

Wu Chang stood in the midst of a dilapidated plaza as information regarding the Crimson Court automatically surfaced in his mind. The surroundings were shrouded in wisps of fog, and the sky above was obscured by dark, grey clouds—it did not look like a pleasant place.

"Congratulations to player 4444444 for entering the Crimson Court and becoming an official player. Your player permissions have been fully unlocked. You may now begin exploring the Crimson Court."

Following the electronic prompt, familiar icons such as "Friends," "Market," "Forum," "Requests," and "Map" appeared on his attribute panel.

Ding!

At the same time, a new unread message appeared in his inbox from the "State Bureau of Anomalous Phenomena." The message was an automated dispatch containing a document titled *Abyss Game Starter Guide*.

Ignoring the environment, he immediately began reading the document. The guide was packed with essential information, providing newcomers with a straightforward introduction to the Abyss Game.

The Abyss Game is divided into four levels. The first level is the Desolate Realm, where players from levels 1 to 30 operate. Every official player must enter an instance at least once a month. Without the use of special items, one can enter an instance at most once every two weeks. Instance matching is entirely random.

Physical improvements in reality are synchronized and reflected on the attribute panel; novice players can enhance their attribute points in the early stages by training their bodies in the real world.

Instances are categorized into Normal Instances and Real Instances. Normal Instances are projections created by the Crimson Court, which players can repeatedly clear to gather intelligence. Every repeatable Normal Instance has a corresponding unique Real Instance. A Real Instance is an actual dimension; every player who enters it leaves an irreversible impact. If a player fails to clear the instance, it causes pollution. If the pollution index exceeds a safe threshold, the instance loses control, causing it to connect to the real world of Blue Star. Players who discover any heavily polluted instance should notify the Bureau of Anomalous Phenomena immediately to receive a corresponding reward.

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow. If he recalled correctly, the status of the Moonlight Sanitarium was on the verge of losing control. In that case, the Moonlight Sanitarium was what they called a Real Instance. If he hadn't cleared it or had received a poor rating, it seemed some place somewhere would have been in grave trouble.

Beyond the introduction to instances, the guide provided a brief overview of the Crimson Court and the functions of the attribute panel.

The information recorded was fundamental—so basic that in a normal video game, a player would skip through it with their eyes closed. Yet, these very basics were exactly what Wu Chang needed most at this moment.

Closing the *Abyss Game Starter Guide*, he followed the instructions within and silently thought about heading to the Public Zone. As the thought crossed his mind, the fog in front of him parted to reveal a small path. Following the path, he arrived at a massive gate. Upon crossing it, a prompt flashed before his eyes: "Currently entering the Public Zone."

The Public Zone was the complete opposite of the dilapidated plaza from before. No weeds grew in the cracks of the stone floor, the eerie fog was gone, and even the overcast sky had cleared into a bright, sunny day. On the plaza paved with white stone, countless players moved about.

"Take a look, come and see! Freshly forged E-rank adventurer breastplates, fifty Decayed Silver Coins each—first come, first served!"

"F-rank vitality restorative, twenty Decayed Silver Coins per bottle! Ten percent off for three bottles, twenty percent off for five—the more you buy, the better the deal!"

"Intelligence on the safe point for the hot D-rank instance 'Death Rainforest' is currently up for heated bidding! Three hours left until the auction closes; current price: 850 Decayed Silver Coins!"

The Public Zone was like a massive market, with players shouting to sell their wares. The players were dressed in all sorts of fashions; knights in medieval plate armor walked alongside future soldiers in high-tech combat suits. A superhero in a cape and spandex crouched before a wandering martial artist’s stall, arguing until his face turned red over the purchase of a magic staff. The entire plaza possessed a surreal, chaotic beauty.

In the center of the plaza stood a clock tower, where the original clock face had been replaced by a screen displaying a time: 100 days, 5 hours, 34 minutes, and 52 seconds. The time was ticking down; it was clearly a countdown. The last time Wu Chang had watched a countdown like that was during his college entrance exams. He wondered what the countdown in the Abyss Game was for.

Beneath the clock tower was the heart of the Public Zone: the Ranking Area. Arranged like a music app, it displayed lists such as the "Top 10 Hot Instances in the Desolate Realm," "Rising Instance Potential," "Strongest Player Rankings," and "Most Valuable Bounties." The starter guide mentioned that whether one was a novice or a veteran, one could grasp the overall trends of the Abyss Game by keeping track of these lists.

The most eye-catching list was undoubtedly the "Most Valuable Bounties." For most players, other rankings were too far out of reach, but the bounties offered a chance to try one’s luck. Currently, the top spot on the bounty list was an intelligence request for a specific instance.

"Acquiring any intelligence regarding the A-rank instance 'Chant Corporation' or the 'Desolate-51642' plane. Rewards given based on the importance of the information. Three core classified pieces of intelligence regarding 'Chant Corporation' are worth 80,000 Decayed Silver Coins each. Contact: Ironclad Legion."

The bounty poster did not forget to leave a threat at the end: "This instance concerns a class-advancement item. The Ironclad Legion will voluntarily withdraw from competing in other instances for the next three months in exchange for priority access to this one. If any other organization clears this instance within these three months, it will be considered a declaration of war against the Ironclad Legion."

Wu Chang clicked his tongue, muttering that it was an arrogant declaration. The posture of the Ironclad Legion was grating, but the price they offered was indeed high. He knew that even with a perfect clear of a B-rank instance and a 300% reward multiplier, he had only earned 15,000 Decayed Silver Coins. A single piece of intelligence on the Chant Corporation was worth 80,000! According to the exchange rate he had learned, 1 Decayed Silver Coin was worth about 1,000 yuan in reality, meaning a single piece of information was worth 80 million!

He spat on the ground. "Pah! He hates pay-to-win players the most."

Just as he prepared to scroll down the list, the Most Valuable Bounty list suddenly shifted, and the Ironclad Legion’s bounty dropped to second place. The top bounty had become a missing person notice:

"Seeking the player who cleared the B-rank 'Moonlight Sanitarium' instance yesterday. This player is a novice and will be logging into the Fog Plaza soon. All players, please take note. We are currently collecting any intelligence on this player: 100,000 Decayed Silver Coins for their whereabouts and characteristics! 200,000 for their player ID! 300,000 for facilitating contact! 500,000 for intelligence on their real-world identity!"

"If the player is willing to join us, they will receive 1,000,000 Decayed Silver Coins upfront, along with excellent additional benefits. Contact: Mr. Johnson."

As soon as this bounty appeared, the entire ranking area went silent. Every player held their breath, carefully studying the information revealed by the bounty. Before anyone could recover, the list shifted again, and the Ironclad Legion’s bounty was pushed to third place.

The new bounties were much the same, with slightly lower Decayed Silver Coin rewards, but they added an A-rank item suited for the informant in the categories of facilitating contact and providing real-world intel. One after another, the major organizations posted bounties for the person who cleared "Moonlight Sanitarium," as if they had all agreed upon it. Within five minutes, the Ironclad Legion had fallen out of the top ten.

Thanks to the competitive bidding war between the major factions, the mysterious novice player—who was still just a code name, with no one even knowing if they were male or female—skyrocketed to the top of the "Most Popular Player" list, firmly occupying the first seat.

The highest bounty price for the "Moonlight Sanitarium" clear-er reached a signing bonus of two million Decayed Silver Coins. Two million Decayed Silver Coins—that was two billion!

Wu Chang walked up to a window and pointed at his reflection in the glass. "I didn't realize you were worth so much, kid."

As of now, he could be considered a billionaire. The only question remaining was which party he should choose to cash out his billion-dollar asset.