131: Seoul, the war of the heirs!

Seoul, inside the Node Tower.

The moment she accepted the team invitation.

A blush quietly crept onto Park Soo-ah's fair, pretty face.

Lin Fei...

This name, like a pebble cast into the lake of her heart, stirred up one of the most beautiful memories in the young girl's heart.

On the day the Node Tower first appeared.

As one of the heirs to a conglomerate, she was originally interning at the bottom of the Family business, accumulating experience.

As a result, she was directly called over and forcibly required to enter the Node Tower for the trial.

The first time she entered a dungeon, she was randomly assigned to the same Free City dungeon as Lin Fei.

The task she was assigned was to obtain 10 sets of municipal protective work suits and gas masks.

But as newcomers, they only had an initial sum of 300 dollars.

Moreover, the dollars in the Free City were not the same as the dollars in reality!

That money was certainly not enough, and as a result, another teammate, Irina, wanted her to sell herself to make money.

At that moment, Park Soo-ah felt unprecedented fear and helplessness, as if the entire world were collapsing.

She had even prepared for the worst, preferring to fail the mission, lose ten years of her lifespan, and return to the Family to be looked down upon by everyone, rather than ever walk down that humiliating path.

Just when she was in despair, Lin Fei appeared before her like a light tearing through the darkness.

He was clearly just as much of a newcomer to the dungeon as she was, without even a gun on him.

Yet he stood out without hesitation, using a domineering and confident manner to save her from Irina, and even scraped together enough funds to buy her firearms and ammunition.

Lin Fei's stepping forward.

Still echoes in Park Soo-ah's mind to this day, carrying an absolute sense of warmth and strength.

If not for Lin Fei, Park Soo-ah's fate might have already headed toward a completely different, tragic ending back in that Free City dungeon.

From then on, Lin Fei's figure.

Was deeply branded in her heart, and it wasn't as simple as just being a savior.

Soon, Park Soo-ah pulled her thoughts away from the memory and returned to the cruel reality.

She took a deep breath, a flicker of complexity flashing in her eyes.

Now, she was inside the Node Tower in Seoul.

She was involuntarily being drawn into a cruel competition that the Korean media had dubbed the "War of the Heirs."

The Killing World had descended, the old order had collapsed, and the tide of a new era was surging in.

This was not just an opportunity for individuals to change their destiny.

It also brought entirely new industries and chains of interest.

Such as equipment enchanting, alloy weapons, new black-tech vehicles, and magic factories, among various other new industries.

Some of the technology dungeons in the Killing World contained technology that, once brought out, was far more advanced than the technology in this world.

For these deep-rooted conglomerates in Korea, this was a war of industrial division that could not be lost.

And this so-called "War of the Heirs."

Was a cruel game between major conglomerates to divide spheres of influence in the new era and compete for priority in emerging industries.

Doing this was also to avoid the major conglomerates falling into homogeneous warfare, engaging in price wars, and ending up with no one making any money.

With the government taking the lead, having clear industrial divisions among various conglomerates had always had precedents in Korea's economic history.

Those participating in this war were all the top conglomerates in Korea: the Samsung Lee Family, SK Group, LG Group, Hyundai Heavy Industries...

Behind every name stood vast capital and an intricate web of interests.

Park Soo-ah, as one of the younger generation members of the Park Group, was also forced to participate in this cruel trial.

The Park Group had dispatched six Family descendants this time, each of whom possessed the power to form their own team—after all, being able to recruit powerful teammates was itself a manifestation of strength.

Unfortunately, she, Park Soo-ah, because she was gentle in nature and disliked conflict, combined with her relatively low Rank, had always been the one least favored.

Of course, there was a reason for her low Rank, because she had obtained a special item during her third trial.

She needed to consume five times the experience to level up, but at the same time, every time she leveled up, she could gain 5 skill points.

Therefore, although Park Soo-ah was currently Rank 15, she had a full 75 skill points!

However, this did not mean she could learn skills above Rank 75, but it was still a considerable advantage.

One had to know that the further one went, the more experience points were needed to level up, and the total amount of experience she currently consumed to level up was equivalent to others reaching over Rank 20.

In the Park Group's group waiting area, the atmosphere was subtle and tense.

The other Park descendants mostly had arrogant expressions, clustered in their own small groups, talking in low voices, and occasionally casting glances at Park Soo-ah filled with undisguised contempt and disdain.

Park Soo-ah's father had died early, and her mother was just a commoner; although she was a top student, she was completely insignificant in front of the conglomerates.

Therefore, her status in the Family had always been low, and she was often bullied.

"Park Soo-ah, are you really going to participate in this trial?"

The one who spoke was Park Soo-ah's older brother, the eldest grandson of the Park Group, Park Jun-hyeok.

He was dressed in a priceless custom combat suit, surrounded by several fierce-looking teammates, all of whom were players above Rank 25.

"This trial is no ordinary one.

It is said that it will be broadcast live throughout; for the sake of the Park Family's reputation, I advise you to withdraw as early as possible.

Lest you get killed as soon as you land in front of hundreds of teams and make a fool of yourself."

A heavily made-up cousin beside Park Jun-hyeok, Park Hye-min, also chimed in with a coy laugh:

"That's right, Park Soo-ah, this level of competition is not something a good girl like you can handle.

You're only Rank 15 right now; you're really something, aren't you!

Everyone else is over Rank 20.

If you go in, you'll just get eliminated by someone, and you'll make us, the Park Family, lose all face."

In the past, facing such sarcasm and ridicule.

Park Soo-ah would always lower her head and silently endure it; even if she felt wronged, she wouldn't dare to show it in the slightest.

But this time, when her gaze touched that name in the team information.

An inexplicable courage exploded in her heart like a spring thunderclap!

It was just like how Lin Fei gave her the courage back then, allowing her to kill Pan and Viktor with a few shots.

She lifted her head, her eyes clear:

"Older brother, cousin Hye-min, this is my trial, and I will do my best to strive for it.

As for the Park Family's reputation, I think only cowardly retreaters would truly bring shame upon the Family."

Park Soo-ah's voice was not loud.

But everyone present was a player, and their hearing was very good.

The air seemed to freeze at this moment.

The mocking smiles on Park Jun-hyeok and Park Hye-min's faces froze instantly.

They never expected that this little girl, who was usually submissive and didn't even dare to speak loudly, would actually dare to talk back to them in public today!

"Assi-ba! What are you saying?! Are you talking back to me?!"

Park Jun-hyeok's face turned livid instantly, a flash of irritation in his eyes.

"What kind of pretty, stupid nonsense are you spouting? You've read too many webtoons, haven't you!

Do you think you're the protagonist in a comic book?" Park Hye-min also scolded.

Just then, the head of the Park Group, Park Guk-chang, who had been sitting at the head of the table with his eyes closed to rest, opened his eyes in surprise.

A trace of satisfaction flashed in his deep, restrained eyes.

His gaze toward Park Soo-ah held a bit of approval.

"Alright, Jun-hyeok, Hye-min, the trial is imminent, say less." The old man Park's voice was calm but carried unquestionable authority.

Although Park Jun-hyeok was resentful, he dared not disobey his grandfather's wishes, so he could only glare fiercely at Park Soo-ah, snort coldly, and say no more.

Park Soo-ah felt the invisible strength brought by Lin Fei, her confidence greatly increased, and she no longer paid attention to those strange gazes.

Soon, all their teams entered the Node Tower's elevator.

The grand System notification sound echoed in the minds of all participants.

【Level Nine Special Trial: Survival on the Isolated Island, about to begin!】

【Matching players, same-region matching probability is higher.】

【There are three hundred teams participating in this trial, with a maximum of three people per team.】

【All teams will be deployed to an isolated island; you need to collect all usable supplies on the island, and defeat or evade other teams.】

【Final Goal: Within the specified time, carry the most valuable supplies and successfully evacuate from the designated evacuation point.】

【Note: You cannot attack each other during the parachute process; all participants start without any equipment or items, and all supplies must be searched for on the island yourself.】

Accompanying the System notification, three hundred teams were successively teleported into the cabin of a super-large transport plane.

Park Soo-ah looked around; the plane was packed with young heirs from Korea's major conglomerates, as well as the elite teammates they had each recruited.

"Park Soo-ah, long time no see." Lin Fei greeted with a smile.

"Mm, yes, Mr. Lin."

Park Soo-ah folded her hands, her small, snow-white face shy.

Besides Lin Fei and her, Park Soo-ah's other teammate also revealed themselves at this moment.

That was a tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed white woman with a cold and glamorous face.

She was wearing a camouflage combat vest, with a fierce owl tattoo on her arm.

She was a top mercenary from the Lighthouse Country that Park Soo-ah's mother had spent a huge sum of money to hire for her through special channels—codenamed White Widow.

White Widow sized up Park Soo-ah and Lin Fei without much interaction.

The plane soon arrived over the island.

Through the porthole, one could see below a lush, vast island with complex terrain, dotted with towns, dense forests, mountains, and coastlines.

"Players, you can prepare for the parachute jump!" A prompt came from the broadcast.

White Widow spoke first: "We choose to land in the edge area, first collect basic equipment, avoid early skirmishes, and ensure survival, how about it?"

This was a safe strategy and also the choice of some teams.

However, Lin Fei had another opinion.

"No, we are going to the Military Base."

White Widow frowned, a flicker of displeasure in her azure eyes: "Military Base?

That will be the gathering place for all the strong teams; going there at the start is too risky!"

Lin Fei said: "Risk and reward coexist.

The bigger the waves, the bigger the fish."

Park Soo-ah looked at Lin Fei's calm side profile.

She remembered that in the Free City dungeon, Lin Fei was the same, creating miracles when everyone did not favor him.

"I believe in Mr. Lin's judgment."

Park Soo-ah plucked up her courage, expressing her opinion clearly in a team decision for the first time.

Her eyes as clear as a college student's: "Let's go to the Military Base!"

White Widow looked at Park Soo-ah with some surprise, seemingly not expecting this seemingly weak employer to support such a risky plan.

"Fine, whatever you say.

However, my job only covers your safety; as for that boy, I won't care about him."

White Widow was a professional mercenary after all; since the employer had already made a choice, she said no more.

Instead, she checked her parachute pack and prepared to jump at any time.

As the cabin door opened, team after team leaped from the transport plane like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

There were many teams going to the Military Base, nearly one hundred teams!

The sky was instantly occupied by dense parachutes.

Lin Fei and Park Soo-ah's trio were also the first to act.

Diving directly!

Target, the highest resource area, the Military Base.