128: Chapter 128 An Unusual Start

Chen Aoyun was still participating in the Game of National Destiny as a Strategist.

However, this new Game of National Destiny felt incredibly eerie from the moment it began—he did not appear on the familiar Star Chessboard, but instead descended into a bizarre and unfamiliar town alongside Zhao Hongxiu, Fan Ling, and Xiao Zhenghong, who were all Roleplayers.

He hadn't appeared on the Star Chessboard; or rather, there was no Star Chessboard at all!

In its place was a giant compass filled with outlines of figures.

This huge compass was right before Chen Aoyun's eyes, and as a Strategist, he could embed something onto the compass, just like placing pieces of heroic spirits.

The surrounding town gradually solidified from a state of illusion.

It was a town that felt awkward in every possible way.

The town incorporated elements of all civilizations from the Old Era; Western, Eastern, and even townspeople dressed as primitive African tribes walked past the four of them.

These Old Era civilization elements were not scattered; it wasn't an Eastern ancient house here and a Western windmill there.

Instead, every single building was a hodgepodge of elements from all civilizations.

Chen Aoyun could see an Eastern ancient house with flying eaves and bucket arches, yet it was supported by thick Roman columns; and atop a Gothic spire, it was densely covered with Chinese-style grey roof tiles.

It wasn't just a mix of civilizational elements; eras were also jumbled together here.

The boundaries of time were equally blurred. Ancient people in long robes and mandarin jackets were spitting as they talked into smartphones; modern elites in suits and leather shoes were whipping their horses, galloping across the bluestone road.

This scene left the four of them stunned.

After looking around, Fan Ling said in disbelief, "Have we arrived directly into the plot world? Why is this plot world so strange? Also, aren't you a Strategist? Why did you appear in the plot world too? Is this your clone?"

Chen Aoyun shook his head. "It's not a clone; it's my actual body. It's probably because this Game of National Destiny lacks a Star Chessboard that I appeared here."

Chen Aoyun had actually seen a Game of National Destiny without a Star Chessboard in the images provided by Tang Junlin.

It could only be said that this Game of National Destiny was becoming increasingly similar to the Star Chess he had seen from Tang Junlin.

After briefly explaining the situation about the lack of a chessboard but the presence of a strange compass to the other three, Chen Aoyun was just about to explore the town.

A special notification sound rang in Chen Aoyun's mind, [Ding~ Sakura Country has used a foundation item on you. The Dragon Country's foundation item 'Optimal Choice' has been forcibly activated!]

Item [Optimal Choice] effect: Selecting the optimal heroic spirits for this Game of National Destiny for you: Heroic Spirit [Ying Quliang] will appear in this stage; Heroic Spirit [Ying Si] will appear in the second stage; Heroic Spirit [King Wu of Qin] will appear in the third stage; Heroic Spirit [Ying Ji] will appear in the fourth stage; Heroic Spirit [Ying Zhu] will appear in the fifth stage; Heroic Spirit [Ying Zichu] will appear in the sixth stage; Heroic Spirit [Ying Zheng] will appear in the final stage;

"Not good!" Chen Aoyun was startled, and his heart sank suddenly. "We don't understand the situation at all, yet the heroic spirits have been forcibly selected. Even if they are the 'optimal' heroic spirits, this is definitely not a good thing!"

It was like taking an exam. Before you even understood the questions, someone had already written the answers for you. And not all the answers, just partial ones.

The answers were the optimal solutions, but if it were a high school test that could be answered using high school knowledge, and suddenly someone used university-level advanced mathematics to solve it, and only solved half of it, for the high school student taking the test, this wasn't cheating—it was the end of the world!

"The optimal solution is good, but it might not be my line of thinking. The Sakura people are ruthless. At the very start, they used their foundation item to forcibly activate my foundation item. This way of harming others is killing two birds with one stone; not only did they waste an item of mine that might have been used to turn the tide at a critical moment, but they also put me in a passive position right from the start..."

He was furious, but there was nothing he could do. This was the foundation of a powerful nation like Sakura Country.

"You look upset? What happened?" Fan Ling asked, seeing Chen Aoyun's expression changing drastically.

After he explained what the Sakura people had done, the faces of the other three also looked grim.

"Forget it. Who could have imagined that the Sakura people would have a trick to force the use of items? Although it's frustrating to have the item activated, at least it lets us know that this Game of National Destiny has a total of seven stages."

"A seven-stage Game of National Destiny!" Fan Ling whistled, feeling it was somewhat absurd.

No longer dwelling on the issue of the item, since everyone was completely clueless about the entire Game of National Destiny, the most important thing was to gather intelligence first.

"This plot world is completely different from the plot worlds I've experienced before. To be cautious, I suggest we don't split up. It won't be too late to consider splitting up once we figure out some clues," Fan Ling said.

Thinking the same thing as Chen Aoyun, the four prepared to explore the town together.

The town's style was very bizarre, but after getting used to it, it felt rather fascinating. The four walked along the main road, observing as they went.

Suddenly, a hurried cry for help came from a nearby alley.

"Stop hitting me, stop hitting me! I really don't know where the person who owes you debt is hiding; I don't even know that person at all. Help! A bully is killing me! Is there anyone who can save me?"

Chen Aoyun and the others heard the sound and walked to the entrance of the alley.

The person calling for help was a thin, scantily clad boy.

Upon seeing Chen Aoyun and his group, the boy acted as if he had seen a lifeline. He lay on the ground, looking up, and begged Chen Aoyun and his group to save him.

"It might be a clue, but in this situation, it's best to wait and see. Right now, we are completely blind and ignorant. Not only do we not know what this Game of National Destiny is about, but we also haven't found a single rule of the plot world. If we act rashly now and trigger a taboo of the rules, we'll be in trouble!"

Chen Aoyun nodded, watching the scene from afar, with no intention of stepping forward to help.

"Save me... save me... Why won't you save me? Is this world so cruel and heartless? Huff... huff..."

The beaten boy's breathing became heavy and strange. After a while, Chen Aoyun, who was not far away, suddenly noticed that the boy's mouth began to inhale crimson and black turbid air out of thin air!

"Save him! The more I look at it, the more I feel that not saving him will cause trouble!"

Realizing something was wrong, Chen Aoyun was the first to act.

After receiving 12x the experience for placing first in the last match, his Roleplayer level had reached lv11.

With a flash, he arrived at the boy's side, drove away the bully with a few casual moves, and then looked down at the boy lying on the ground.

It was already too late. The boy's eyes had turned blood-red, and after some strange contortions, his limbs turned into octopus-like tentacles, and without a word, he lunged at Chen Aoyun!

Boom—! Chen Aoyun threw a punch. With the physical fitness of a lv11 Strategist combined with a standard technique, he struck the boy, but the boy only retreated slightly.

Sensing that something was wrong, Fan Ling and the others rushed over.

Working together, the four of them put in a great deal of effort to kill the mutated boy.

A boy who seemed weak and frail had turned strong to such a degree in the blink of an eye. What exactly was going on with this Game of National Destiny?