Isn't This a Game? Why Are You All Cultivating for Real!

Chapter 131: Chapter 131: Demon Beast Attack

A week later, after finishing fifty puppets, Song Jiulai finally had the system release the announcement.

When people first heard that new slots were being released, most were skeptical, as there had been no official announcement.

But the current players had all received a related quest, so it had to be true.

And so, they waited. And waited.

Those without access flamed the official Weibo account of *Starting with a broken sect* every single day. After a week, their complaints finally yielded an announcement.

[Starting with a broken sect: Hello, everyone! We have felt your interest and passion for our game, and our humble team is incredibly grateful. With the game’s stable operation, our Sect’s affairs are flourishing. Therefore, we will be opening fifty new slots! The rush to claim them will officially begin at midnight tonight. The login window will remain open for one hour, as before. Please be ready!]

["’Specially.’ ’Fifty.’ ’Midnight.’ Every one of those words is enough to make you see black."]

[I’ve never seen a game in full release be so damn stingy, releasing only fifty slots at a time.]

[I’ve been reborn! I’m back on the day before I failed to get a slot for the Broken Sect game. In my past life, in the game, I was %...&]

[Damn it, you’re really not opening a cash shop even after launch? What’s the point of playing if I can’t pay-to-win? Am I supposed to just go in and get slaughtered like a lamb?]

[I’m begging you all, I have a terminal illness. All I want is to play Broken Sect before I die.]

[Hope your game goes under soon.]

[Hope your game goes under soon +1]

...

After this Weibo post was published, it was still met with more curses than praise.

People were no longer questioning if the game was real; instead, they thought the developers were simply out of their minds.

They only released a few dozen slots at a time, and yet the game’s popularity was still skyrocketing.

Now, the netizens who followed Han Tian’s streams every day no longer doubted the game’s reality as they had before. Instead, their first move was to follow the Weibo account and prepare to fight for tonight’s slots.

The national team also got ready.

Considering that last time, everyone at the base had failed—a total wipeout—while Tan Jie, who wasn’t even there, had ironically been the one to snag a slot.

This time, they specially selected a group of top-performing members and sent them all home on leave to try their luck. The order was to report back the instant anyone secured a slot.

Tan Jie, you see, was now a celebrity at the base.

It wasn’t that people envied him for getting noticed by the leadership. It was that his daily mission was now just to play a game; he didn’t even have to show up for his regular duties...

Life was, in a word, bliss!

Rumor had it he was living it up inside the game, too.

He had only just gotten in and already landed a hidden quest, becoming a disciple of a Major Sect’s Fifth Elder. No other player had ever gotten that kind of treatment.

Who wouldn’t be envious?

Likewise, the national team, poised for action, wasn’t the only group trying to get slots.

Players were also mobilizing their own friends and family to help them grab a slot, Mu Qiu included.

Ever since she quit her job to focus on the game, even her former colleagues had been asking about it.

Plus, the *Broken Sect* Weibo account now had two million followers—and those were genuine, active followers, not paid-for bots. Add in everyone who was interested but hadn’t followed the account, and the total number of potential players was terrifyingly massive.

Even foreigners were starting to get in on the action.

Of course, that was limited to foreigners currently inside Huaxia.

Those outside the country had no way of getting in; the system simply hadn’t opened a channel for them.

While everyone in the real world waited in tense anticipation, back in the game, Song Jiulai finished setting up the puppets and prepared to visit other Sects to do some reconnaissance.

She was now in Early-stage Foundation Establishment, strong enough to wander around.

As long as she stayed away from the Major Sects, she would be fine.

She changed her face and moved about Wang’an County, appearing as a man.

The players weren’t strong enough to see through her disguise, and even if someone was, there were few people in Wang’an County right now who were stronger than her.

She had just finished buying a pile of things when someone called out to stop her.

"Young friend, young friend, over here."

Song Jiulai turned to look and saw a Cultivator sitting by the roadside, drinking wine.

The system immediately spoke up. "That’s Zhai Xiaotian. He’s an intermediary who can smuggle people into Liu Xian City. Shuitan got in with his help."

Realizing it was Zhai Xiaotian, Song Jiulai immediately understood. She walked over and asked respectfully, "Senior, how may I help you?"

Zhai Xiaotian’s Realm was high, but Song Jiulai felt no pressure radiating from him.

But that didn’t mean Zhai Xiaotian’s strength was lower than hers. It was more likely that he had concealed it.

A Cultivator who could hide their aura was no common practitioner. And could someone who casually smuggled people into Liu Xian City possibly be an ordinary person?

Zhai Xiaotian scanned Song Jiulai from top to bottom, took a swig of wine, and his smile widened. "And where might you be off to, young friend?"

"I’m heading out to kill some demon beasts, Senior," Song Jiulai said.

"Oh?" Zhai Xiaotian laughed. "Young friend, you don’t look like you’re from Wang’an County. Have you visited before?"

Song Jiulai didn’t even blink. "I have."

Zhai Xiaotian continued, "Have you noticed that Wang’an County is different from before?"

"It certainly is different," Song Jiulai nodded. "There are many more people, and the architecture has changed completely."

Song Jiulai sighed wistfully, playing dumb while understanding perfectly well what he meant.

’This Zhai Xiaotian has most likely seen through my disguise.’

Still, Song Jiulai wasn’t particularly scared.

This Zhai Xiaotian had supposedly been in Wang’an County for many years. His origins were a mystery, but he loved to drink. The players had recently struck a deal with him using wine; in exchange, he helped them get smuggled in.

’We’re all in the same boat, so what’s there to be afraid of!’

"It’s more than just a big change. I feel that these Cultivators... they’re truly different," Zhai Xiaotian said with a cryptic smile. "Very interesting. It’s been many years since I’ve felt Wang’an County this lively. You should come and see it more often in the future, young friend."

"Of course, of course."

Song Jiulai quickly agreed, offered a few platitudes to brush him off, and then departed.

After she had gone, Zhai Xiaotian stared intently in her direction and suddenly said, "Is it her? That’s not for certain."

It was as if he were speaking to someone else. After a moment, he let out a hearty laugh. "We’ll see! We’ll just have to wait and see!"

After leaving, Song Jiulai also started chattering with her system. "This Zhai Xiaotian is pretty mysterious. To be able to smuggle people into Liu Xian City so casually, his network must be incredible."

"I’d guess so," the system replied. "But he doesn’t seem to have any malicious intent toward you."

The system was very sensitive when it came to perceiving malice.

Song Jiulai asked, "Did he figure out my identity?"

"Not necessarily," the system said. "He’s never seen you before, but your identity isn’t that hard to guess."

The only major figure in Wang’an County who hadn’t yet shown their face was the mysterious Sect Master of the Longevity Sect.

"It’s fine. We’ll stick to the plan for now..."

Song Jiulai set off toward the other Sects.

「Midnight in the real world.」

Countless people were camped out in front of their computers, having resorted to every superstition imaginable, even praying to the heavens for the blessing of securing a slot.

At that same moment, in the game’s group chat, Han Tian suddenly pinged everyone.

[Han Tian: @everyone, get in the game now! Everyone, get in the game now! A large number of First and Second-tier Demon Beasts have gathered on the outskirts of Wang’an County. Suspected demon beast assault!!!]