Chen Nian was leveling up in the wilderness.
A day passed in the blink of an eye, and he finally reached level 50.
His leveling speed wasn't the fastest—many mages who farmed monsters in large numbers were quicker—but Chen Nian didn't mind. He could take on monsters several levels above his own.
He returned home, slept, and restored his body to peak condition.
The next morning.
"Time to go."
Tonight would be the guild's first offline meetup.
Chen Nian changed into conservative attire, donned a mask, and boarded the flight to Lucheng.
Just as the plane lifted off the runway, a notification suddenly appeared before his eyes.
[Announcement: The highest-level player in this region has surpassed "Level 70." The World Boss has spawned. Defeating the World Boss will unlock the "Cataclysm Summon" feature.]
[Time Limit: 1 day]
The world boss had appeared!
Chen Nian was slightly surprised—he hadn't expected the fastest-leveling player in the Linhai City region to have already surpassed Level 70!
Seemed he'd been slacking off for too long.
If the world boss wasn't defeated within the time limit, the "Catastrophe Summon" feature would remain locked. This would severely weaken Linhai City's players, depriving them of another avenue for advancement.
More critically, failure to defeat it on time would hasten the arrival of the "Blood Moon Calamity"!
That was the true threat—deadly enough to destroy Linhai City and claim millions of lives....
Gazing through the airplane window at the receding cityscape below, Chen Nian murmured.
"Leveling up this fast... I hope you manage to take down the world boss before I return."
If they failed, Chen Nian would have to return personally to handle it—a real hassle...
"The world boss has appeared!"
"Holy shit, it really is the world boss... Never expected it to trigger like this!"
"Top-tier players are already level 70? Damn, that's fast! I'm only level 10!"
"Shut up, I haven't even gotten my talent card yet!"
Everyone in Linhai City received this message simultaneously, instantly causing an uproar.
Especially the official enforcement forces!
"Quick! Deploy every available drone to locate the world boss!"
"Issue a recruitment order! Gather high-level players to prepare for the world boss raid. Must kill it within one day!"
True players of Calamity were panicking.
Take Li Yunwei, for instance.
"Captain Li, what's wrong? You look troubled," his colleague inquired.
"If we fail to kill the world boss within a day, the Blood Moon Calamity will arrive early..."
"What?!"
Li Yunwei's expression turned grim. "If the Blood Moon Calamity strikes prematurely, players at our current level and gear simply won't stand a chance! The likely outcome is our annihilation."
"How could this happen...."
His colleague staggered back two steps, face drained of color.
He never imagined the consequences could be this dire!
"We can only hope the high-level players step up. The safety of the entire city rests on their shoulders...."
Within half an hour, the world boss's location was pinpointed.
"In the wilderness south of Linhai City! A massive pitch-black sphere has appeared in the space there—nothing else is visible."
"The feed?!"
When the projection appeared, everyone was stunned.
Indeed, a colossal black sphere loomed over the wilderness!
"That's the world boss's barrier. Only by entering it can we gain the right to challenge it," Li Yunwei declared gravely.
"Quickly! Transport the assembled volunteers to the target location and commence the assault immediately!"
"Everyone, move out!".....
The emergency mobilization in Linhai City commenced, but Chen Nian was nowhere to be seen.
That very afternoon, he had already arrived in Lucheng.
His phone was blowing up with calls from all sorts of people, including one from Li Yunwei.
Chen Nian returned the call.
"Chen Nian, where are you? The world boss has appeared, and we're urgently recruiting volunteers to take it down!" Li Yunwei's tone was urgent; in her eyes, Chen Nian was also a formidable player.
"Sorry, Sister Li, I just left the city and can't make it back."
——Beep beep beep.
Li Yunwei hung up immediately, wasting no more time.
Chen Nian shrugged, muttering to himself, "A mere world boss? Shouldn't need my help unless those guys are just leveling-up slackers."
Soon, night fell over Luzhou City.
The streets bustled with neon lights and revelry.
Dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, mask covering his face, Chen Nian boarded a massive cruise ship.
This three-story luxury ocean liner had been entirely chartered for the night!
The one who chartered it was none other than Xiaoqi.
The ship's reception hall served as the gathering point for the offline meetup.
"Hello, please present your exclusive QR code."
As he stepped onto the deck, a steward requested Chen Nian show his QR code for identity verification—a code only group members possessed, barring others from entry.
"Verification successful. Please proceed!"
Chen Nian pulled his cap down and stepped aboard.
His first offline gathering felt surprisingly nerve-wracking. Though these were his own people, they were all heavyweights.
The central hall shimmered with opulence. Crystal chandeliers flooded the space with light, while gold-threaded carpets on the floor exuded extravagance.
One by one, they entered the hall.
Among them were businessmen in sharp suits, fashionably dressed young aristocrats, young students, and older gentlemen.
Chen Nian knew full well that any one of these gathered individuals could shake the entire world with a mere stamp of their foot!
Their identities were noble and illustrious—billionaires, business tycoons, scions and heiresses of prominent families...
What was even more terrifying was that each possessed extraordinary power.
Yet upon boarding the cruise ship, they seemed transformed, shedding all pretension.
"Holy shit, you're Big Goose? Hahaha, never imagined you'd look like a goose!"
"You claim to be Mengmeng? Holy fuck, you're not exactly a cute little girl, are you?"
"My daughter's name is Mengmeng."
"And you, Nan Mo, you said you were eighteen? Your belly's as big as a soccer ball!"
"A man is forever young at heart, got it?"
"Moli, your photo looked like a high school girl. Sis, did you fast-track your development for twenty years?"
"You actually believed that photo scam? I was in an online romance with Yun'er, only to find out it was some old guy using a voice changer!"
"Brother Zhan Yun, you could be my dad, not just my brother... A fifty-year-old berserker? Holy shit!"
Photo scams... Men posing as women... Women posing as men...
Voice changers... Exposed in the light...
All sorts of situations unfolded here when netizens met in person.
Just as everyone was joking around, the speakers suddenly crackled to life, filling the air with a soft, adorable voice.
"Welcome, everyone, to Lu City."
"Quiet... quiet... everyone, shut the hell up!"
Instantly, the crowd fell silent, all eyes fixed on the central stage.
A young girl stepped forward.