30: Chapter 30 A Shocking Secret!

The flawless, professional smile on Hill's face didn't change in the slightest after hearing this question.

She bowed slightly, her deep blue eyes gazing calmly at Chen Yu, her voice precise and elegant like a pre-set program.

“Honored supreme member, the Newbie Protection Mode is the Source Realm's basic guidance and protective measure for new Adventurers.”

“When the countdown ends, you will officially integrate into the Source Realm family and will be able to engage in deeper interactions with other Adventurers.”

Chen Yu frowned.

She had said everything and yet nothing at all.

It was all official rhetoric, sounding just like an FAQ on a game's official website.

He stared into Hill's emotionless eyes, pondered for a moment, and switched to a more direct way of asking.

“Do these so-called 'deeper interactions' include... free attacks between players?”

“If I am killed by another Adventurer in the game, what happens?”

“Will I... die in reality?”

This question was the core concern for him, Director Li Guoan, and the entire Pay-to-Win project team!

This time, the smile on Hill's face finally faded a bit.

Her expression became serious, and even the dense spiritual energy around them seemed to stagnate for a moment.

“First, the Source Realm does not encourage meaningless malicious killing. Within major main cities and safe zones, any proactive attack will be severely punished.”

“Secondly, regarding 'death'...”

Hill paused, her deep blue eyes seemingly piercing through the data to look directly into the depths of Chen Yu's soul.

“Your game character is deeply bound to the Civilization Providence behind you.”

“If you 'fall' in the game, you personally might not perish in the real world...”

Chen Yu felt a sense of relief.

As long as he wouldn't die, it was fine!

But Hill's next words caused the blood in his body to turn cold instantly.

“...But your 'fall' will be judged by the system as a major defeat for your civilization.”

“As punishment, the civilization behind you will suffer a massive, unpredictable catastrophe.”

“The consequences may far exceed the value of your individual life.”

Boom!

Chen Yu's head buzzed as if struck hard by an invisible heavy hammer.

He wouldn't die personally... but Huaxia would suffer a disaster?

What kind of bullshit setting is this!

He had originally thought the worst-case scenario was his own death in reality.

But now the system was telling him that his personal death would actually implicate the entire huaxia civilization!

What would that be?

Thousands of people losing their lives because of it?

A disaster sweeping across the entire country?

Or... even more unimaginable consequences?

His life was truly bound to the fate of a nation and over a billion people in a way he couldn't comprehend!

He wasn't just a pioneer of a new era.

He could also be... a destroyer.

At this moment, he felt the invisible burden on his shoulders suddenly become a thousand times heavier.

“I... absolutely cannot die,” Chen Yu murmured to himself subconsciously.

Not even once!

Hill watched him quietly, seemingly waiting for him to digest this information that was enough to overturn everything.

A moment later, she spoke again, her voice regaining a hint of softness, as if offering a trivial comfort.

“As a supreme member, you possess basic Information Masking Privileges.”

“The system will hide some of your key information from non-friendly units by default; you can also customize settings in the system menu.”

“Meanwhile, based on your previous question, the system has unlocked a preview of the new PVP functions for you.”

“When the protection period ends, the Ladder Arenas in all major main cities will open to you simultaneously.”

“Through Ladder Duels, you can obtain rich rewards and glory, which is also an important way to rapidly increase your strength and prestige.”

Ladder Matching?

Chen Yu's heart stirred; this was another piece of key information.

This meant that PVP wasn't entirely chaotic slaughtering in the wild; there was also an official, regulated system.

He took a deep breath to calm himself down.

He opened the system menu, and sure enough, several brand-new options had appeared on the personal information settings page.

[Hide your race information from non-friendly units? (supreme member Exclusive)]

[Hide your class information from non-friendly units? (supreme member Exclusive)]

[Hide your level information from non-friendly units?]

Without hesitation, Chen Yu checked 'Yes' for the first two options.

As for his level... he glanced at his level of 4, then thought about those level 90+ monsters on the rankings, feeling that hiding it or not didn't seem to make much difference, so he simply left it alone.

After doing all this, the sense of urgency in his heart grew even stronger.

Thirty days!

He had less than thirty days to adapt to these cruel rules and to frantically improve himself!

“Thank you.”

Chen Yu thanked Hill and turned to leave this Supreme Tower that was as luxurious as a temple.

Stepping out of the white jade gates, the warm afternoon sunlight spilled over him, and the bustling, noisy streets were filled with the sounds of people, brimming with the atmosphere of everyday life.

He looked up toward the east of the city, dismissing the idea of doing the quest immediately.

In case there were other places like the 'Supreme Tower', he couldn't afford to miss them again!

He walked along the main road, passing blacksmith shops, potion shops, cloth armor shops... all sorts of shops were a feast for the eyes, with hawking and bargaining sounds never-ending.

The architectural style here was vastly different from Earth, filled with rugged fantasy colors.

Following the principle of 'since I'm already here', Chen Yu entered every shop and bought some miscellaneous items.

Although he didn't know if they were useful, these things were truly cheap; he'd take them back for Elder Qian and the others to study.

Soon, a vast building teeming with people appeared before his eyes—the Auction House.

Walking into the Auction House, a giant trading light screen floated in mid-air, scrolling with information on various items.

Chen Yu scanned it and found that most were equipment and materials, with prices ranging from a few copper coins to over a hundred gold coins.

“Since I'm already here!”

He bought some more metal materials.

Total cost: 2 gold coins.

...

Looking at the dozen or so slots taken up in his backpack, he nodded with satisfaction and then opened the quest panel again.

[Main Quest: Trial of the Garrison Army]

[Quest Content: Head to the East City Training Ground to conduct a combat exercise with the Garrison Army and show them your combat skills.]

[Quest Location: East City Training Ground (Click to navigate)]

East City Training Ground...

Chen Yu looked at the location on the map; it was still quite a distance from here.

He was just about to start walking when he suddenly slapped his forehead.

“Am I stupid?”

“Don't I have an auto-pathing function?”

He remembered the supreme member privileges Hill had introduced.

With a hint of curiosity, he focused his consciousness on the 'Click to navigate' button for the quest location and gave it a light tap.

[System Notification: Supreme Navigation function activated. Estimating 3 seconds to summon your exclusive mount.]

[3...]

[2...]

[1...]

The moment the countdown ended, Chen Yu felt his crotch sink as if something had appeared out of thin air, lifting him up.

He looked down, and his entire body froze.

There was no majestic Pegasus like he'd imagined, nor was there any sword-flying from novels.

Beneath him was a... pure white, red-eyed... rabbit, as large as a small calf?

This giant rabbit was using its three-lobed mouth to slowly chew on a bright red carrot that had appeared from nowhere.

A large bell emitting a golden glow was even hanging from its neck!

“...”

Chen Yu's expression was quite a sight for a moment.

A billion-dollar Supreme Membership, an exclusive mount... and it's this?

Before he could recover from this massive contrast, the giant rabbit finished its carrot and its hind legs suddenly kicked off the ground!

Whoosh—!

Chen Yu felt a massive surge of acceleration, nearly throwing him off.

The scenery before him receded rapidly, and the sound of wind whistled in his ears.

This seemingly harmless rabbit was now carrying him toward the east of the city at a speed that completely defied its appearance, jumping and bounding along.

On the streets, countless Adventurers watched dumbfounded as a white phantom flashed past them.

Leaving behind a string of 'ding-ling-ling~ ling-ling~' bell sounds.