CHAPTER 260: CHAPTER 260: THE FIVE GREAT LEGIONS, THE WORRISOME FUTURE OF DECAPITATION OPERATION _1

Three hours later, the self-destruction module was successfully loaded. An unusual expression finally broke through the otherwise deadpan, numb faces of the penalized players.

"Damn it, this is pushing us to our deaths!!!"

"Take it off! Hurry up and take it off!"

"I want to log out! I want to log out!"

Cries of despair, shouts of anger, and other such noises filled the air.

The self-destruction module wasn’t loaded onto the players themselves but onto their legion equipment.

Wang Linchi briefly examined the attributes; needless to say, the effect was exceptionally potent.

He then promptly issued an attack order. The players could cry and howl all they wanted, but their legion equipment would carry them to their self-destruction.

They used players instead of self-destruction robots primarily due to the lower cost. Additionally, the Game System might need certain unique traits from players to counteract the Abyss. Otherwise, why would it require players at all? Given the Game System’s immense power, there was no inherent need for a group of humans to slow things down.

In the self-destruction process, some kind of power from the players was utilized. Combined with the force of the explosion itself, this resulted in heavy damage and allowed for quick resurrection. The only limitation was the players’ movement speed.

Wang Linchi scratched his head. He couldn’t really solve this issue. He couldn’t possibly use spiritual power to resurrect players and then throw them one by one. This approach was technically feasible, and the energy consumption would even be lower than if he were to self-destruct himself.

However, he wouldn’t be able to precisely control the explosion. If players ran or were manipulated into running, they would explode upon encountering an enemy. But if he threw them, they would move too quickly for him to control the detonation, possibly hitting zero Health immediately upon landing.

Forget it. Let it be a bit slower. Slow torture works too, Wang Linchi finally gave up on accelerating the self-destruction speed of the penalized players.

A single BOSS can be killed with a thousand self-destructions, and an Elite Monster’s Health bar will empty after a hundred. This intensity is truly high,

Wang Linchi assessed the situation and couldn’t help but smile. The explosions weren’t limited to a single target but affected an entire area.

However, it seems to be quite harmful to the players.

This immense damage was, in fact, generated by harnessing some kind of power from the players. According to standard data, even combining all their attributes wouldn’t yield such high damage figures.

Wang Linchi suspected that even if these players survived, they would suffer significant long-term aftereffects, such as mental illnesses from excessive overexertion or irreversible brain damage.

You really think the Game System can’t interfere with reality? If it couldn’t, where did all the Game Cabins and gaming helmets come from?

Most of the time, the Game System focuses on fighting the Abyss. Even if you hinder it, it quietly deducts your unseen contributions, thereby decreasing your item drop rate, mission trigger probability, and other weighted factors.

However, when the Game System can no longer hold its ground, it has no choice but to sacrifice those who hinder progress first, using them as a buffer.

"After this, a storm is going to erupt in the real world," Wang Linchi said.

In this emergency mission, besides the penalized players, there were also five hundred conscripted players, Wang Linchi being one of them.

Not all conscripted players could receive temporary legion authority; perhaps only the top-tier ones. Besides himself, Ye Tian should have received it as well. He wasn’t sure about the remaining three.

Therefore, the matter of penalized players being turned into cannon fodder would inevitably be exposed.

However, the Game System wouldn’t care about such things. If worst came to worst, it could simply force everyone into the game, making them confront the Abyss.

Trying to reason with the Game System? It wouldn’t bother with such concerns.

"I knew it. Only you could cause such a ruckus," Ye Tian said as he crossed the battlefield and saw Wang Linchi apparently idling.

On the surface, Wang Linchi was idling, but in reality, he was using this opportunity to continuously gather data on his game character, preparing to take it with him when he eventually left.

He had painstakingly developed this game character; if he were to leave this world, he certainly couldn’t leave it to the Game System.

"You are? The commander of the First Legion?" Wang Linchi wasn’t surprised that Ye Tian had found him. Given the commotion from his earlier barrage, anyone not blind or deaf would have noticed.

"Yeah. But what’s with your subordinates? They look like they’ve been tortured," Ye Tian asked curiously.

"These are the people who were orchestrating public opinion against me on the forums. They’ve been targeting me constantly. Now that they’re in my hands, do you think I’d let them off easy?" Wang Linchi didn’t lie; there was no need to conceal such a matter.

Ye Tian fell silent for a moment, then said, "A light punishment to serve as a strong warning should suffice. There’s no need to..."

"Don’t preach kindness to others if you haven’t experienced their suffering," Wang Linchi cut him off. "Besides, you don’t think Bearded Guest’s family hasn’t logged on these days because they’re genuinely busy, do you?

"They aren’t as thick-skinned as we are, able to disregard all this.

"Bearded Guest’s family was already at their wits’ end over their son’s illness. Yet, many people deliberately added them as friends just to hurl insults and abuse at them. Did any of them ever stop to think what might happen if the Living Dead couldn’t take it anymore?"

Wang Linchi didn’t know the Living Dead, that young man, very well. The young man was quiet, and though their interactions were brief, he didn’t seem to have any major flaws. He was just an ordinary person.

"When you do something, you bear the responsibility. It’s not a matter of a ’light punishment to serve as a strong warning’," Wang Linchi said slowly, completely rejecting Ye Tian’s suggestion.

Ye Tian didn’t try to persuade him further. Wang Linchi was the commander of the Third Legion, while he was with the First; he had no right to interfere.

So he quickly changed the subject. "Are you confident about this upcoming recapture of Wanxuan City?"

"Confident? No," Wang Linchi answered directly.

"You’re not confident, even with such an advantage?" Ye Tian watched the Third Legion’s relentless advance, astonished by Wang Linchi’s response.

His First Legion’s progress was nowhere near as fast, not even a tenth of Wang Linchi’s.

"There are four legions in total, covering the east, west, south, and north. Judging by your situation, the First through Fourth Legions are likely clearing out the four cardinal directions around Wanxuan City."

"So, who do you guess makes up the Fifth Legion, and where are they?" Wang Linchi asked.

Ye Tian instantly uttered the term: "Decapitation operation!"

"Exactly. They’re inside the city. So the key to our success this time isn’t us, but them."

"The main purpose of our four legions should be to hold back these Demonized Creatures and Abyssal Demons. We must prevent them from escaping the occupied area to minimize wider repercussions. The Fifth Legion, however, should consist entirely of conscripted players, unlike the penalized players we’re using as cannon fodder."

Wang Linchi had suspected this for a while; he just hadn’t been sure if it involved the First Legion or the Fifth. Upon Ye Tian’s arrival, he confirmed it was indeed the Fifth Legion.

After all, such units are typically either the first or the last. Since I, being in a middle legion, wasn’t assigned to it, it couldn’t be the Second or Third Legions.

Ye Tian hadn’t considered these things. He simply asked, "What if they fail?"

"Then we’ll have to lead this group of useless cannon fodder into the city."

"Otherwise, it could pose a threat to reality," Wang Linchi added, staring at the penalized players continuously advancing in the distance.

"How do you know?!" Ye Tian was genuinely shocked this time.

"The fact that the Game System can erase players allows for many inferences. For instance, you must have known about these things before I did. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have asked me what would happen if these monsters appeared in reality."

"I won’t pry into how you know this, but I can tell you we have a tough battle ahead. The Fifth Legion will almost certainly fail to complete the decapitation operation."

Wang Linchi had no idea why the Game System hadn’t enlisted him and Ye Tian. After all, in terms of combat power, they were both undoubtedly among the top players.

If they were sent, the success rate would be much higher.

"Let’s have a proper talk after this is over," Ye Tian said calmly.

Since Wang Linchi had figured out part of the truth, Ye Tian considered him very capable. At least when confronting the Abyss in the future, having such a reliable ally would be quite reassuring.

"Agreed," Wang Linchi nodded. Perhaps through Ye Tian, he could learn some inside information; after all, Ye Tian was a suspected Reincarnator.

"If you’re comfortable with it, you can transfer the legion’s authority to me. With your current approach, you’re not fully utilizing their efficiency," Ye Tian added.

Upon hearing this, Wang Linchi couldn’t help but tease, "You’re planning to seize power the moment you arrive?"

Saying this, Wang Linchi directly transferred the authority to Ye Tian. He’s the protagonist, after all; he’s bound to handle it better than I can. The Third Legion in my hands is just a burden, at best a way for me to vent some frustration.