Kill The Extra - Chapter 43: The Crimson Queen [2]

Some exist with pride, others struggle with pride, some compete with pride, and there are those who fail with pride, but very few can walk away with pride.Congratulations, for as you read these lines, you have witnessed the whole lives of many great basketball players.This pronunciation was embodied when Stephen Curry, after facing defeat in 2021, claimed that no one would want to face them the following season; When Tim Duncan was convinced before the start of the 2014 Finals that they would not mess up; When Kobe Bryant promised at Old Buss's memorial to take the Lakers to the playoffs; When Nowitzki, shedding his label as a soft player, retreated to the locker room in tears at night; When Kevin Garnett let out a skyward howl after holding the championship trophy; When the 2004 Detroit Pistons won and the F4 Lakers lost…Our story begins in an era when pride still mattered.

On the surface, he is the aloof and standoffish patriot whose sole purpose is to serve the nation. On the darker side, he is an invincible, powerful and mysterious man.

In 2173, the world’s first Full-World Virtual MMORPG game ‘Astral Online’ went on sale globally, forever changing the blue planet Asteria!

With its revolutionary Digital Capture System, astonishing graphics and ability to scan yourself into the game with up to 20% beautification, countless defenders rallied to play the game.

Fifty million players logged in on launch. There were no queues or lag on launch, leaving countless critics impressed and willing to try the game. Because the game used a 6-hour play limit a day, it allowed even working adults to keep up with young students and the unemployed.

A resounding success, as more people poured onto the game servers, families and friends alike. Astra Online became a household name overnight.

One month later, the game opened its first RMT system, which made earning a living from the game easier... Thus began the Astral rush!

Professional players formed guilds and factions to increase their profits, but nobody could know this prosperity was a mere joke.

One year later, players fused with their avatars, gaining powerful abilities in the real world, which tipped the power and caused chaos.

Two years later, demons and monsters from inside the game invaded the real world.

Three years later, over 90% of humanity perished, leaving the rest to hide like rats, unable to fight back in fear.

Four years later, this world is no longer ours. The demons march on our last bastions, one by one. They exterminated us.

Zell was an average player who liked to collect beasts in the game and evolve them into humanoids, as they were primarily females.

He spent most of his life working two jobs to make ends meet.

Thanks to the excellent healthcare of his country, there were no crippling debts. There was only emptiness.

When the end came, he was powerless and alone. His only companions were his cute pets and Rika, his cherished Flame Rabbit.

She was the only beast he evolved to a humanoid form after his late start to the game.

He died saving the life of a strange girl with white wings and his pet Rika, the sad eyes of Rika and the girl’s sorrow floating through the air as he slowly passed away.

However, instead of dying, he awoke inside an empty white room with a single computer and a strange, game-like screen that allowed him to edit his IRL avatar and persona.

Who offered him this second chance?

For what reason did they help him?

Can he meet Rika again?

Zell could never know; he only knew his second life’s goal.

Survive!

The path of immortality is nigh unachievable.Furthermore, the immortal world has been completely transformed by a plague!When immortals contact infected mortals, their cultivation bases fall, or worse, they return to the heavens; thus, the immortal and mortal realms have been eternally separated.Moreover, all immortal arts may only have one practitioner; thus, the world of immortality has become a dark forest.…Although Li Fan had grand ambitions when he first transmigrated to this world, he could only be trapped in mediocrity, slowly wasting away his mundane life.Fortunately, as he was dying, he finally awakened a supreme treasure that could turn truth into lie and reality into dream, reversing time to when he first arrived!Following this, Li Fan embarked on his endless path to immortality!In his second life, Li Fan ascended through politics and ruled the world after 50 years, but after searching worldwide, he found no trace of the Immortal Dao. Only at the end of his life could he glimpse the immortal path.In the third life, despite immense efforts and carefully laid schemes, Li Fan ultimately couldn’t resist a single strike of an immortal’s sword!In the fourth life……I, Li Fan, an ordinary mortal, will harbor no regrets throughout a thousand lifetimes, all for the pursuit of immortality!