Chapter 14: The Ruthless Player | Monsters Are Coming
Half an hour later.
[The Dinner Gang Chat Group (Online: 21)]
Vosnidia: @everyone!!! Urgent news! Huge update! This link can download the official version of Dark Land! We don't need to fight for access anymore!!!
Is This a Beaver?: Um… Sis, what's going on? You talking nonsense now?
Shrimp Heart Pig Heart: I was just about to sleep, and you scared me awake. Sis, are you losing your mind from failing to get access?
Vosnidia: @everyone, let me say it again, this link downloads the cracked version of Dark Land! Hurry up and download it so we can enter the game together. I'll notify Grandpa to download it too.
Word Duck: Looks like this is for real. If she's calling up Grandpa Iron, then our strongest war god is finally coming out of retirement. I'm downloading now.
—
When the group owner mentioned notifying 'Grandpa Iron,' everyone instantly realized this wasn't a joke.
Grandpa Iron's in-game name was "Iron Forge," real name Li Tie, the biological grandfather of group owner Li Siyu.
He was once a gene warrior in the Human Federation's Judgement Army. In his youth, he had repeatedly been deployed to suppress invading alien forces that fled to Earth.
After retiring due to injury, Li Tie developed severe PTSD. The memories of war would often resurface, blurring his distinction between reality and battlefield, making him an unstable ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.
Under a psychologist's guidance, Li Tie chose to immerse himself in virtual games to continue fighting as a warrior.
He was the Dinner Gang's top enforcer, following them from one game to another, always becoming a renowned top player in every title.
Unlike most who played for fun, Li Tie played solely to vent the aggression bottled up inside him.
So the group members understood this was no prank, and they all clicked the link to download the game.
—
Foglight City, Post-War Rehabilitation Center.
Gym.
Huff… huff… huff…
Heavy breaths echoed. A burly white-haired man was doing bench presses, the combined weight on the barbell reaching an astonishing 800 kilograms, far exceeding what an ordinary person could endure.
Clank!
The bar locked into the rack. Li Tie slowly sat up, reaching for his prosthetic and connecting it to his severed left leg.
Standing tall at two meters, he wore a tight training vest, his muscles glistening with sweat like finely sculpted works of art, radiating terrifying strength.
At that moment, Li Tie's body trembled uncontrollably.
Visions of the battlefield surged through his mind.
He wore black battle armor; in the distance stretched endless waves of mechanical armies. Accompanied by the roar of energy cannons behind him, he led his comrades to charge the alien mechanical horde.
"Kill!"
In this moment, Li Tie could no longer distinguish reality from illusion.
By the time he calmed down, the training room was a mess, his fists bloodied.
He slumped to the floor, panting heavily, his chest heaving with each breath.
Just then, the ceiling projector activated, and beams of light formed the image of a young, vibrant woman before him.
Seeing the scene in the gym, the girl's face filled with worry.
"Grandpa, your condition is getting worse."
"I'm fine." Seeing his granddaughter, Li Tie managed a rare smile. "Siyu, what is it?"
"I've found a new game that's perfect for you. The download link is in the group chat. Please download it, Grandpa."
"Alright, I'll download it now," Li Tie nodded immediately.
After closing the video call, he entered the bathroom, cleaned up, changed clothes, and returned to his bedroom to download the file as his granddaughter had instructed.
Li Tie didn't hold much expectation for virtual reality games.
Over the years, the gap between VR games and reality remained wide, with poor immersion.
To him, the stress relief of virtual environments was secondary; what mattered more was accompanying his granddaughter to fight together in-game.
One hour later.
Li Tie's mindset shifted the moment he appeared at the respawn point in Emperor's Mound.
Reaching out, he felt the breeze brush past his fingertips, a hint of surprise flashing in his usually indifferent eyes.
What shocked him even more was the sensation in his left leg, fully restored and responsive within the game.
Walking two laps around Emperor's Mound's central plaza, the realistic sensation of his left leg amazed him, making him realize that this game was completely different from anything he had experienced before.
At that moment, a system prompt sounded in his mind:
[Player Vosnidia has sent you a friend request. Accept?]
After accepting, a video chat request popped up in the corner. Li Tie clicked confirm, and a semi-transparent light screen materialized in front of him, displaying a little chicken with fiery red wings excitedly greeting him.
"Grandpa! We've already left the village and headed toward the Blood-Soaked Plains. Do you want to explore alone or join us?"
"I'll explore alone."
"Okay! I'll call you when there are group activities."
"Grandpa Iron, carry us when the time comes!"
"Grandpa Iron, long time no see…!"
Besides his granddaughter, the voices of the other Dinner Gang members greeted him through the call.
The others weren't surprised by Li Tie's choice to go solo.
In their eyes, Grandpa Iron had always been a lone-wolf player, only appearing during guild wars or large-scale PvP battles, using his overwhelming strength to lead them to victory.
Following the stone path out of Emperor's Mound, Li Tie headed east alone, conversing with Guide along the way about the game's mechanics.
Five minutes later.
Li Tie encountered his first monster since entering the game.
A foul-smelling Cursed Soldier slowly rose from the ground, raising its rusted, broken sword toward him.
Li Tie immediately switched to the Gargoyle form.
Unlike other monster forms, Gargoyle was the closest to a humanoid form, precisely why Li Tie chose it.
As the Cursed Soldier swung its broken sword, Li Tie stepped forward, catching the monster's elbow joint to block the attack. He shifted his right leg forward between the monster's legs and twisted outward, knocking the Cursed Soldier off balance and slamming it to the ground.
Li Tie's heavy punches rained down like a storm, smashing directly into the monster's skull.
Before long, the Cursed Soldier's head caved in, the flames inside extinguished.
A black energy orb emerged from the slain monster, hovered briefly in mid-air, and then flew into Li Tie, merging into his body.
A sensation of unparalleled refreshment exploded from within, like drinking ice-cold water on a scorching summer day. His once-dormant body was fully reawakened, every pore opening in response to the surge of energy.
The feeling vanished in an instant.
As the battle concluded, Li Tie frowned. He had noticed a problem.
The game's tactile, olfactory, and auditory feedback all perfectly mirrored reality, except for pain.
When his fists struck the Cursed Soldier's bones, he felt the force, but the pain feedback was heavily muted.
It frustrated Li Tie, as though something was missing from the fight.
He immediately asked the nearby Guide if there was a solution.
Upon learning that pain feedback could be adjusted, Li Tie swiftly summoned the function panel, entered system settings, and dragged the pain feedback bar from its default 10% all the way to maximum.
After finishing, a smile appeared on his face:
"Now this is more like it."
[Hardcore!]
The Guide beside him gave a thumbs-up, expressing admiration for Li Tie's decision.