Chapter 1 Isn't this the 18th floor?
Blue Star, 11:59 PM.
In a residential community in Xunzhou City.
Jiang Bai lay sprawled on the soft bed in a tai shape.
His fingers flew across the keyboard, his eyes fixed intently on the phone screen, his expression even more focused than during final exams.
"Tenth Anniversary! Old Wang's tenth anniversary! After midnight, I'll get thirty free Treasure Hunt Tickets, plus a thousand limited-time points! I refuse to believe I can't win that damn Glory Crystal this time!"
Time ticked away as the countdown began.
It's exactly twelve o'clock!
Jiang Bai's fingers moved like lightning as he swiftly clicked the game icon.
And then... that was it.
The spinning circle on the screen mercilessly mocked his eagerness.
The pop-up message, "Server busy, please try again later," was like a bucket of cold water poured over his burning heart.
"Damn it! It crashed again! Old Wang, can't you handle this?!"
And you old farmers, didn't you say you were quitting the game?!
The server is overloaded again!
He let out a wail, and unwilling to give up, he quit and tried again, repeating the cycle over and over.
A few minutes later, just when he was about to give up, the loading screen finally ended, and the familiar canyon background music began to play.
He let out a long sigh, his fingers trembling slightly, and precisely clicked on the event interface.
To celebrate our 10th anniversary, log in to receive 30 points and a chance to win prizes, plus 1000 limited-time points!
Claim! Confirm!
Jiang Bai grinned as he looked at the extra treasure hunt tickets and points in his backpack.
Without hesitation, he rushed into the store and spent all 1,800 limited-time points, exchanging them for 30 points-based lucky draw tickets.
Sixty draws!
A full sixty chances!
"I refuse to believe that I can't get a single crystal after so many draws!"
He muttered to himself, with a gambler's piety and madness, as he clicked on the points-based treasure hunt interface that emitted an alluring purple light.
"Single draw? No, this time I'm going to go all out, five draws in a row!"
As the fingertip touched the screen, it spun around, streaks of light flashed, and finally froze—
Honor Battle Pass 100 EXP Pack x15, Diamonds x50, Skin Fragments x5, Battle Pass Coins x30, Skin Fragments x5...
A series of consolation prizes, not even a skin.
Jiang Bai's lips twitched slightly. It's okay, it's just the beginning, just filling in the gacha pool!
He clicked the five-draw button again... and it was just another pile of junk.
The luck stat is slowly but steadily rising: 330…335…340…
His initial excitement gradually turned into anxiety, and then into numbness.
The treasure hunt tickets in his backpack were rapidly decreasing, but the golden light on the screen never shone on him.
Finally, when the light from the last five consecutive draws faded, his luck stat froze at a number that made his heart stop.
359/361.
Just two more pulls! Only two pulls left!
The Glory Crystal will be his!
But his backpack was completely empty.
Treasure tickets, points... everything that could be exchanged for chances to win prizes was used up in the frenzy just now.
A surge of heat rushed to Jiang Bai's head, and he felt his temples throbbing.
Three hundred and fifty-nine draws! A full three hundred and fifty-nine draws!
This lousy game seemed to be mocking him in the most malicious way, hanging him at the door of success, then slamming the door shut and even pinching his head in the process.
"I @#￥%...!"
A string of beautiful Chinese words, too difficult to write, rolled in his throat.
Extreme anger caused him to lose his mind.
He suddenly sat up in bed, grabbed the phone that had accompanied him through years of battles in the Rift, and with all his might, smashed it toward the window!
"Fuck your safety net!"
The phone traced a sorrowful arc in the air.
At that very moment, a sudden change occurred!
With a deafening crash, the thick tempered glass window in his room shattered as if it were made of paper!
Countless shards of glass refracted a cold luster under the moonlight, like a crystal-clear yet deadly rain.
And through that broken window, a huge car front, in a way that completely defies the laws of physics, rudely crashed in!
"This...this is the 18th floor!!!"
This was the last thought that flashed through Jiang Bai's mind, a thought filled with absurdity and despair.
He didn't even have time to make any dodging movements before the massive front of the car had already filled his entire field of vision.
"Bang—!"
A dull thud echoed in the room.
Excruciating pain!
An indescribable pain instantly swept through my entire body, as if every bone was being crushed and every cell was screaming in agony.
His consciousness, like a candle flickering in the wind, quickly faded away.
Before he completely lost consciousness, he seemed to hear the sound of a car door opening and a slightly hurried footstep approaching.
Then, a hushed voice drifted intermittently into his almost vanished hearing:
"...Hey!...Yes! The target has been successfully delivered...Okay!...Don't forget my 100 yuan commission!"
"...What? Costs have gone up and I can only give you 50?...Fine, fine! 50 will do! Remember to make the payment!"
Jiang Bai: "???"
...…
Douluo Star, Douluo Continent.
The southern border of the Heavenly Dou Empire, the Kingdom of Barak.
At this moment, on this vast land called Lima Plain, the lush green meadows stretch as far as the eye can see. A gentle breeze sweeps across the land, creating waves of grass, but also bringing with it the impending breath of death.
Two figures were running with all their might, each step kicking up mud and filled with despair.
Running ahead was a man who looked to be in his late thirties. His face, which was originally quite handsome, was now filled with exhaustion and fear.
His name was Ning Fengping. His clothes were torn in several places, his hair was disheveled, and his breathing was so heavy it sounded like he was pulling a bellows.
He held the woman's hand tightly behind him.
The woman he was pulling was named Jiang Ning, and she was a little younger than him; she was his wife.
Her once beautiful face was now as pale as paper, devoid of any color. Her disheveled hair was stuck to her forehead and cheeks with sweat, and her chapped lips trembled slightly from her rapid breathing.
Most heartbreakingly, she was holding a baby wrapped tightly in thick swaddling clothes in her arms.
Their newborn son, Jiang Bai.
Before the production losses could be recovered, and after the desperate escape, Jiang Ning's body was already on the verge of collapse, held together only by a maternal instinct.
Behind them, about a hundred meters away, a dozen dark figures were approaching at an alarming speed.
That's not human.
They have humanoid upright bodies, but are covered with thick bluish-gray fur. Their heads are ferocious wolf-shaped, with protruding fangs that gleam with a bloodthirsty cold light.
They growled, their scarlet eyes filled with a thirst for slaughter and a greedy desire for the "blood food" ahead.
Wolf Thief!
A forbidden creation born from the union of a human and a spirit beast called the Gale Wolf.
They inherited the sturdy physique and swift speed of the Gale Wolf, while also possessing a certain degree of human intelligence.
However, this abnormal existence means that they are neither accepted by the soul beast community nor tolerated by human society, and can only wander on the fringes of civilization, making a living by plundering and killing.
Ning Fengping glanced back and his heart sank to the bottom.
The wolf bandits were moving much faster than he had anticipated, and the distance was rapidly closing in.
He looked at his wife beside him again. Jiang Ning's steps were unsteady, and he was the only one dragging her forward. Her once bright eyes were now shrouded in gloom.
A profound sense of powerlessness gripped his heart.
(End of chapter)