"?"

"Am I seeing things?"

"My Nighttime Activity has two extra words compared to usual, is the system bugged?"

"You guys too? I think I have the same bug."

"Haha, didn't expect the system to have bugs too..."

"Are you guys fooling yourselves? Maybe I shouldn't have pointed it out?"

"Damn it, where's that idiot from earlier who wanted to change activities? Come out, I promise I won't kill you."

"Let me punch him once, please."

"Even begging requires taking a number."

"What a jinx, is there any expert who can analyze what this activity means?"

"Is Brother Lin here? Everyone, hold off on commenting for now."

Lin Ye: I don't know what the difference is between this activity and War Front either, since there's no related information. But based on the literal meaning, I have three guesses.

Lin Ye: First, after killing ten enemies, you cannot return to the Shelter. You must wait until the war ends or other conditions are met to go back.

Lin Ye: Second, the war intensity is increased. For example, First-Level Spiritual Energy Users might be thrown onto a battlefield where the enemies are at least First-Level Spiritual Energy Users, or there's even a high chance of encountering Mid-level Spiritual Energy Users.

Lin Ye: Third, Death War is a proper noun. The war we are to participate in is called the Death War.

Lin Ye: I suggest you bring all your assets, use the last hour to prepare thoroughly, and don't harbor any wishful thinking.

Lin Ye: I also need to go prepare. Everyone, see you tomorrow.

"See you tomorrow."

"See you after the war ends."

"See you post-war."

"I hope we can get through this war smoothly."

"Acquiring one defensive spiritual energy item, price negotiable."

"Holy crap, the prices for spiritual energy items in the trading area are skyrocketing, I can't afford anything now."

"Normal. It's time to go all out. Now we can only barter. I have a defensive spiritual energy item, trading for a high-power single-use spiritual energy item."

"Damn, I sold mine too cheap earlier!"

...

Lin Ye closed the Group Chat. He entered the basement of his Shelter, selected a collectible from inside, and placed it into his loot space.

He didn't hope to encounter a situation requiring the use of this collectible, but it's always wise to be prepared for any eventuality.

The name of this Nighttime Activity was Death War Front, meaning there might be things in this activity that could lead to his death.

Therefore, he had to proceed with extreme caution.

After finishing his preparations, Lin Ye sat by the bed, closing his eyes and waiting for the countdown to end. The Music Box played an intense song.

[00:00:01]

[00:00:00]

[Battlefield corresponding to combat strength assigned, teleporting...]

[Survivors can only return to the Shelter after the war ends]

[The more enemies killed, the richer the rewards received after the activity ends]

Teleportation began.

……………………………………………

Lin Ye opened his eyes. He was inside a derelict building. Surrounding him were a large number of human corpses. Before death, all these corpses had performed the same action: plunging a dagger into their own chest cavities.

Most of the corpses were old people, but there were also some young people.

This was a sacrificial ritual. The ritual had already concluded. Lin Ye being teleported here was the result of the ritual.

Outside the ring of corpses stood a group of young people dressed in tattered clothes. Leading them was a young girl who looked less than twenty years old.

"Was it you who summoned me? Isn't this a bit too barbaric? I'm not some Abyssal Evil God."

If the people outside the ritual had been cultists, Lin Ye might have already taken action.

For now, he decided to give them a chance to explain.

"Of course we know the system doesn't require blood sacrifice. But aside from our own lives, we no longer have any other bargaining chips that could move the system."

The young girl took a step forward, meeting Lin Ye's gaze across the corpses.

"Performing a blood sacrifice can move the system?"

Lin Ye didn't think the system would be interested in these corpses.

"What we offered was not blood and death, but life and free will."

Martha looked into Lin Ye's eyes and said earnestly.

"...Brief me on the current situation."

Lin Ye walked towards the window of the derelict building. The material of this building interfered with mental energy transmission.

The surrounding corpses rose from the ground once more. They followed behind Lin Ye like the most loyal servants.

"The Empire's army is fighting the enemy. Our planet has become a front-line battlefield. Right now, we just want to survive. Please, lead us in finding a way out."

Martha succinctly explained the current situation.

"But the system only sent me here to participate in the war and survive until it ends. I didn't receive any mission to protect you. Why should I protect you?"

A flood of crimson butterflies surged out from the corpses one by one. Those butterflies flew out the window and began spreading in all directions. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"What do you want? Whatever we have, we can give it to you, including ourselves."

Martha showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever and very bluntly stated their bottom line.

Which was that they had no bottom line.

"How many of you are left? Give me a copy of the information about the Empire and the Empire's enemies."

Lin Ye quite liked these people's attitude. It could save a lot of time.

"We have nearly ten thousand people hiding underground in the Holy City, but almost none of them are combat personnel. Due to the Empire's conscription, the combat personnel are almost all dead."

Martha handed a pre-prepared dossier to Lin Ye. Lin Ye scanned the documents with his mental energy and quickly gained a preliminary understanding of the situation here.

The Kartu Empire was the most powerful force in this Plane. This planet was merely an unimportant planet on the fringes of the Empire's territory. These young people were Imperial vassals living on this planet, now caught up in the war between the Empire and its enemies.

As for the Empire's enemies, Martha's dossier contained no clear description. Clearly, they lacked information in this regard.

Lin Ye didn't pay excessive attention to the information in the dossier. He preferred to believe the information he collected himself.

"Are you planning to hide in the Holy City until the war ends, or are you planning to do something?"

Lin Ye asked.

"It's up to you. We are willing to follow your command."

Martha seemed determined to leave everything to Lin Ye's decision, and the young people behind her had no objections.

"Aren't you afraid I'll treat you as experimental materials and dispose of you directly? After all, that's much easier than trying to keep you all alive."

This was the first time Lin Ye had encountered such a compliant group.

"We've already staked everything on you. Now, all we can do is believe we can win, not think about messy, chaotic things."

Martha seemed completely unfazed by Lin Ye's statement.

"I don't like gambling. But I like your courage. Your ritual, I accept it."

Lin Ye decided to accept these people's sacrificial ritual. The system only sent him here to participate in the war; it didn't tell him which faction to join.

In other words, he could decide his own faction.