Chapter 1 Isn’t this the 18th floor?
Earth, 11:59 PM.
In a certain residential neighborhood.
Jiang Bai was sprawled out on his soft, large bed in the shape of the character ’Tai’.
His fingertips were flying as he stared intensely at his phone screen, his expression three times more focused than during a final exam.
"Tenth anniversary! Old Wang’s tenth anniversary! After twelve o’clock, I’ll get thirty free Point Draw Vouchers plus a thousand limited-time vouchers! I don’t believe I won’t get that damn Glory Crystal this time!"
Time ticked away as the countdown proceeded.
Twelve midnight sharp!
Jiang Bai’s fingers moved like lightning as he tapped the game icon.
And then... there was no ’and then’.
The spinning circle on the screen heartlessly mocked his eagerness.
The pop-up [Server Busy, please try again later] was like a bucket of cold water poured over his burning heart.
"Damn it! The server crashed again! Old Wang, can you get it together?"
And you old farmers, didn’t you say you were quitting the game?!
How is the server overcrowded again!!!
He wailed, refusing to give up as he exited and re-entered the game repeatedly.
A few minutes later, just as he was about to give up, the loading screen finally passed, and the familiar background music of the Gorge played.
He let out a long breath, and with a slight tremble in his finger, he precisely tapped on the event interface.
Tenth Anniversary Celebration: Log in to receive 30 Point Draw Vouchers and 1,000 limited-time vouchers!
Claim! Confirm!
Seeing the extra vouchers and points in his inventory, Jiang Bai grinned widely.
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately rushed into the store, went all-in with all 1,800 limited-time vouchers, and exchanged them for another 30 Point Draw Vouchers.
Sixty draws!
A full sixty chances!
"I don’t believe it. With this many draws, I can’t pull a single crystal!"
He murmured to himself with a gambler’s piety and madness as he opened the Point Draw interface that radiated an enticing purple light.
"Single draw? No, I’m going to be extravagant this time. Five-draws!"
His finger fell, the screen spun, and rays of light flashed until they finally settled—
Honor Battle Pass 100 EXP Pack x15, Diamond x50, Skin Shards x5, Battle Pass Coins x30, Skin Shards x5...
A string of consolation prizes; not even a single skin.
Jiang Bai’s mouth twitched. It was fine; it was just the beginning, just building up the pity!
He clicked the five-draw again... more junk.
The luck value rose slowly but surely: 330... 335... 340...
His mood shifted from initial excitement to gradual anxiety, and finally to numbness.
The vouchers in his inventory rapidly decreased, yet the golden light on the screen never favored him.
Finally, as the light from the last five-draw faded, the number of his luck value settled on a figure that made his heart stop.
359/361.
Just two draws away! Only two draws!
The Glory Crystal would have been in his pocket!
But his inventory was already empty.
Vouchers, points... everything that could be converted into a draw chance had been exhausted in his earlier madness.
A surge of blood rushed to his head, and Jiang Bai felt his temples throbbing.
Three hundred and fifty-nine draws! A full three hundred and fifty-nine draws!
This broken game seemed to be mocking him with the utmost malice, dangling him at the doorstep of success before heartlessly slamming the door shut, catching his head in the process.
"I @#￥%...!"
A string of unprintable, beautiful words rolled in his throat.
Extreme anger made him lose his mind.
He sat up abruptly from the bed, grabbed the phone that had accompanied him through years of battle in the Gorge, and threw it with all his might toward the window!
"To hell with your pity system!"
The phone traced a sorrowful and indignant arc through the air.
At that very moment, a freak accident occurred!
Only a deafening "CRASH—!!!" was heard as the heavy tempered glass window of his room shattered like paper!
Countless glass shards reflected a cold luster under the moonlight, like a crystalline and lethal rain.
And through that broken window, a massive truck front crashed in, defying all laws of physics!
"This... this is the damn eighteenth floor!!!"
This was the last absurd and desperate thought that flashed through Jiang Bai’s mind.
He didn’t even have time to make a move to dodge before that massive truck front occupied his entire field of vision.
BOOM—!
The dull sound of impact echoed in the room.
Pain!
An indescribable, sharp pain instantly swept through his body, as if every bone had been crushed and every cell was screaming.
His consciousness was like a candle in the wind, rapidly fading away.
Before completely losing perception, he seemed to hear the sound of a car door opening and a hurried set of footsteps approaching.
Then, a hushed phone conversation drifted into his nearly vanished hearing in fragments:
"...Hello! ...Yes! The target has been successfully delivered... Mm! ...Good... Don’t forget my 100-Dollar commission!"
"...What? Costs rose so you can only give 50? ...Fine, fine! 50 is fine! Remember to send the payment!"
Jiang Bai: "???"
...
Douluo Star, Douluo Continent.
Southern border of the Heaven Dou Empire, Balak Kingdom.
At this moment, on this vast land known as the Lima Plain, the emerald green meadows stretched as far as the eye could see. As the breeze swept past, it kicked up waves of grass and brought with it the panting of approaching death.
Two figures were running with all their might, every step sending mud flying, every step filled with despair.
Running in front was a man who looked to be thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old. His face could originally be called handsome, but now it was filled with exhaustion and terror.
His name was Ning Fengping. His clothes were torn in several places, his hair was disheveled, and his breathing was as heavy as a bellows.
He tightly gripped the hand of the woman behind him.
The woman he was pulling was named Jiang Ning, slightly younger than him, and she was his wife.
Her originally delicate face was now as pale as paper, devoid of color. Her messy hair was stuck to her forehead and cheeks by sweat, and her dry lips trembled slightly due to her rapid breathing.
Most heartbreaking of all, she was tightly clutching an infant wrapped in a thick swaddle in her arms.
Their son, Jiang Bai, who had just been born not long ago.
Having not yet recovered from the exhaustion of childbirth and then experiencing a life-or-death flight, Jiang Ning’s body had long since reached its breaking point, supported only by a maternal instinct.
And behind them, about a hundred meters away, over a dozen dark shadows were approaching at an alarming speed.
Those were not humans.
They had humanoid upright bodies but were covered in thick, bluish-gray fur. Their heads were hideous wolf shapes with protruding fangs that glinted with a bloodthirsty cold light.
They growled, their crimson eyes filled with a thirst for slaughter and greed for the "blood food" ahead.
Wolftaken!
Forbidden creatures born from the union of humans and a type of Spirit Beast called the Storm Devil Wolf.
They inherited the robust physique and swift speed of the Storm Devil Wolf, while also possessing a certain degree of human intelligence.
However, this deformed existence meant they were neither accepted by Spirit Beast groups nor tolerated by human society. They could only wander the fringes of civilization, living off of plunder and slaughter.
Ning Fengping glanced back, and his heart instantly sank to the bottom.
The speed of the Wolftaken far exceeded his estimates; the distance was closing rapidly.
He looked at his wife beside him. Jiang Ning’s steps were already unsteady, and she was relying entirely on him dragging her forward. Her once bright eyes were now clouded with a layer of gloom.
A deep sense of powerlessness gripped his heart.