The City of Baator, player spawn point.
Over the past five years, this once-desolate wilderness had undergone a tremendous transformation, evolving into a thriving small town.
Today, the City of Baator spanned several square kilometers with a population of over five hundred. Shops, taverns, smithies, and tailor shops had sprung up across the town, with the tieflings attending diligently to their duties. Although the buildings were exceedingly crude—resembling camps pieced together from rough timber and stone—they nevertheless reminded the residents of their past life in Northwind Keep, kindling a flicker of hope within them.
At the center of the town square stood a massive stone statue—a red dragon, the master of this realm.
Yet what set this place most apart from ordinary towns was that monsters and humanoids lived side by side. One could see hobgoblin garrisons patrolling back and forth, wyverns perched lazily in the plaza, and even an ogre ordering ten-man portions of food in a tavern.
Though occasional clashes and friction were inevitable, the City of Baator maintained basic order under Mezrolash's strict supervision.
However, that hard-won order seemed poised to shatter today.
"Listen up, all of you: do not believe a single word they say."
"If anyone dares to attack, kill them on the spot."
Mezrolash led dozens of guards toward the caverns, his expression solemn as if facing a formidable enemy.
According to the master, these strangely behaving "Starfallen" were far from easy to deal with, yet they also seemed to be a force that could be harnessed.
***
A flash of white light flared before Mantou's eyes. When he came to his senses, he was standing inside a cavern. Hard rock lay beneath his feet, flickering candlelight illuminated the stone walls, and daylight shone through the distant cave entrance.
He flexed his hands and feet, then pinched his own cheek. There was zero latency and no sense of awkwardness—it felt almost identical to reality, leaving him in awe.
"Holy crap, did they really make it this realistic?"
"Watching a video doesn't do it justice. Standing here right now, my only thought is—this damn well feels like the real world."
Bursting with anticipation, Mantou stepped out of the cave. Hundreds of players had already gathered in the small plaza outside.
Above their heads floated an absurd variety of handles. His own name, "Eating Mantou," was practically normal compared to the outrageous ones around him, like "Ji Bochang," "Maggot in a Sea of Dung," "Sola Aoi Has An Empty Well," and "Universal Invincible Tyrannosaurus Warrior." Naturally, veteran gamers were well accustomed to such nonsense.
"There aren't even any starter quests?"
"Man, this sensory immersion is unreal! I gotta drag my classmates into this."
"What are we supposed to do now?"
"Search my ID for study materials! Over a thousand gigs of fully immersive video, knowledge of every variety~"
"Dammit, how did a porn peddler get in here too?"
"Get lost! I'm a man destined to become an archmage—do not corrupt my Dao heart with worldly flesh!"
"Heretic, taste my blade!"
Players chattered boisterously across the plaza, curiously sizing up everything around them. Elezerg's full immersion was peerless and unprecedented, boasting a hundred-percent realistic tactile experience that filled everyone with immense novelty.
"As per standard procedure, let's first check out—holy crap, what the hell is that!"
"Is that even allowed on stream?!"
Just as Mantou was about to open his interface, he noticed a fellow next to him with the handle "Wings of Freedom" stripping off his crude cloth garments. The moment he stood stark naked, a dazzling layer of holy light automatically obscured his lower body.
"Awesome, I'm free—!"
Completely in the buff, the man spread his arms wide, striking Rose's iconic pose at the bow of the Titanic, his holy light practically blinding the surrounding crowd.
"Dude, are you for real?"
"Don't you know this game scans your face?"
"Wait, what?!"
Mantou tossed out that well-meaning reminder and promptly walked away, leaving the fellow howling in profound regret.
*Sure enough, there are plenty of fools in this world who just tick the player agreement without reading, skip the setup screens, and jump straight into the game. In the end, they always pay the price for their recklessness.*
Mantou sighed wryly.
*Talk about prime streaming content already!*
Soon, however, the players' attention was drawn away from the "Holy Light Bro" by a column of tieflings marching into view.
"Those must be our tutorial NPCs. But based on my research, this game has a reputation system, so whatever you do, don't say anything reckless," Mantou explained in a low voice to his viewers.
A player with the handle "Langlibaitiao" called out loudly, "What are those red-skinned NPCs with horns? Demons? Can we attack them?"
"How about we hit one to see what happens?"
In an instant, dozens of tieflings whipped their heads around, glaring at him with burning rage. Had it not been for their captain's standing order, they would have minced him into ground meat right then and there.
"Never mind, bad idea, bad idea!"
"Ahaha, I was just kidding! Why so serious?"
Langlibaitiao gave an awkward, nonchalant laugh, though his heart was already screaming *what the fuck* as his interface was flooded with notifications of reputation dropping by fifty points across the board.
"See? What did I tell you? Watch your mouth. Still, this game's AI is ridiculously smart—it can even process player dialogue."
Mantou watched Langlibaitiao with a touch of schadenfreude as he continued his commentary.
He recognized the guy—a notorious death-seeking streamer in full-immersion games whose claim to fame was stealing a villager's chicken in *The Elder Scrolls 10*, which had triggered a manhunt by ten thousand players.
Sure enough, the antics weren't over.
Taking advantage of the tieflings' momentary distraction, Langlibaitiao slipped behind their formation, picked up a small stone, and hurled it at the back of the leading tiefling's head.
*Whoosh—*
The stone traced a neat arc through the air, only for Mezrolash, a paladin, to catch it behind him without even turning his head.
Yet in the next second, a second pebble struck his armor, ringing out with a crisp *clatter*.
The air practically froze. Everyone looked on in stunned disbelief.
Finally, Damakos, who had maintained his silence for a long time, asked hesitantly, "Captain... what should we do?"
Even the usually calm and collected Mezrolash momentarily lost his composure.
Mezrolash had seen all sorts of people in his life. He could even barely tolerate a degenerate dropping his trousers in the square. But he had never seen a worthless wretch risk his own life just to throw pebbles at someone for no reason at all.
"Assaulting the military... Kill him!"
He crushed the stone in his hand to dust, his voice trembling with rare, teeth-grinding fury.
Having endured Langlibaitiao's antics for far too long, the tieflings finally found their release. They drew their bows, notched arrows, and unleashed a volley straight into Langlibaitiao.
In the blink of an eye, he was turned into a pincushion.
Langlibaitiao raised an arm bristling with arrows and used his last breath to declare, "Though I die... I am still... the White Strip in the Waves!"
Having delivered his line, he breathed his last with utter satisfaction.
Yet instead of being intimidated by this strict enforcement of discipline as Mezrolash had expected, the players burst into uproarious laughter.
"Turns out there really are good NPCs in this world!"
"RIP, Langlibaitiao."
"Hell no, I'm sneaking over to his place one of these days and turning his pain threshold all the way up!"
Mantou was laughing so hard tears welled in his eyes. "Hahaha! This guy is a true entertainer! Pulling a 'borrowing arrows with thatched boats' routine and turning himself into a porcupine!"
Seeing these human-looking creatures laughing and jeering with utter disrespect, the tiefling guards bristled with indignation.
Yet Mezrolash crossed his arms, staring at the laughing crowd in thoughtful contemplation.
*It seems... these Starfallen cannot be judged by common sense.*
Chapter 67