Chapter 24: A Forced Elixir and a Cryptic Summons

The game’s realism was so profound that I momentarily forgot it was merely a digital construct.Without a second thought, I initiated the teleportation.

The moment I materialized beside Su Yingning, I acted without an ounce of hesitation, swiftly coiling my tail around her, securing her firmly within my embrace.

A deafening roar consumed my senses.

Razor-sharp debris, propelled by the shockwave, pricked my entire body with an agonizing sting.

The sensation abruptly thrust me back to my previous life, to a memory of a certain September eleventh.

On that day, madmen, intent on my demise, had piloted planes into the World Trade Center.

It was the closest I had ever come to death.

Though the explosion itself was instantaneous, with no second wave following, the shrapnel it unleashed still possessed an incredibly potent lethality.

I relentlessly activated my [Continuous Healing] and instant recovery skills, ensuring my health bar remained perpetually full, poised to face any subsequent crisis after the relentless hail of debris.

In that harrowing moment, I finally understood the ordeal Yujian Lin and others must have endured.

The very air shimmered with bullet-like shards, an inescapable deluge that offered no quarter, no path of retreat!

“Bang!”

A palm-sized stone, imbued with the final vestiges of the explosion’s power, slammed violently into my back.

-448

My health bar plummeted instantly, leaving me, a Level 11 player with a formidable 450 HP, teetering at a mere two hit points.

The game’s hyper-realistic effects caused me to violently retch a mouthful of fresh blood, which splattered across Su Yingning’s head and face.

Thankfully, that last stone had merely carried the explosion’s lingering aftershock, and we had, against all odds, weathered the sudden, devastating blast.

Releasing Su Yingning, I gasped weakly, even as I continued to deluge myself with healing spells.

After a brief moment of stunned disorientation, Su Yingning hastily produced a small, red vial of beginner-grade healing potion.

“No need, I’m fine… *cough*!” I reassured her, a flicker of relief easing my mind as I watched my health bar slowly tick upwards, only to inadvertently cough up more blood clots as I spoke.

At this stage of the game, healing potions were exceedingly rare and precious.

This particular vial had been a drop from the inventory of a red-named player, whose killing intent had been so profound it practically exploded.

Perhaps the unfortunate player had perished too swiftly to even consume the potion, or perhaps, in a moment of despair, they had simply been unwilling to part with such a valuable item.

Had they used it, they might have found refuge in the forest, dodging the deadly barrage.

Alas, their overwhelming killing intent had sealed their fate, forcing the potion to drop — a fitting retribution, in a way.

Even after a battle that claimed over two hundred and fifty lives, only this single vial of healing potion had dropped, a testament to its extreme scarcity.

Though I rarely delved into online games, Su Yingning had relentlessly pressured me into poring over numerous game guides.

Consequently, I was acutely aware of this healing potion’s immense value.

Such a potent trump card ought to be reserved for truly critical junctures, not squandered during what appeared to be a lull in the storm.

Yet, in her haste, chaos ensued.

Su Yingning, clearly not one for overthinking, unhesitatingly yanked out the stopper, cupped my chin, and, with an almost tyrannical force, poured the healing potion directly into my mouth.

“Mmm…”

Right, I was merely a pet, burdened by that accursed collar around my neck — a device capable of bending my very will.

Resistance was futile; I could only submit to this ignominious ‘forced feeding play’.

As if the humiliation of being transformed into a girl wasn’t enough, now I was being forcibly held and even force-fed by the seemingly delicate and frail Su Yingning.

My face instantly burned crimson, the heat spreading to my earlobes, and an unbearable flush enveloped my entire body.

The very dignity of being an elder brother was, in that moment, silently crumbling into dust!

‘Hmm? The potion tasted sweet, rather like strawberry juice, and a pleasant warmth spread through my stomach.

Not bad…’

‘Cough, no, that’s not the point!

Why use such a valuable potion now, Su Yingning, you spendthrift girl!’

As my health steadily regenerated, Su Yingning and I simultaneously turned our gaze towards the epicenter of the blast: the three-hundred-meter-tall hill.

The shockwave had already swept away the dust, revealing a stark truth: the once imposing hill had utterly vanished!

In its place now lay a colossal, gaping crater.

From a meter beneath the earth’s surface, countless obsidian chains emerged, intricately woven and overlapping, completely obscuring the colossal crater.

Through the minuscule gaps in these chains, distinct beams of white, pink, and gold light erupted, their three colors sharply delineated!

The brilliant luminescence surged skyward, transforming the night into a radiant, day-like expanse!

****

The three-colored lights — white, pink, and gold — ceaselessly pulsed and shifted.

At times, one color would seem to consume the others, only for another to burst forth moments later, overpowering its counterparts.

They waxed and waned, alternating in intensity, without a moment’s respite.

“Fortunate human adventurer, inheritor of War God Eli… do you wish to hear a story?”

Before Su Yingning, a prompt box materialized.

[Do you wish to listen to the mysterious voice’s story?]

[√ ×]