Chapter 25: The Ten-Colored Tome and the Mission to Save the World

After the group of players left, the Sun River Plateau settled into stillness. Deep beneath the tranquil blue surface of the lake, there was an open-air cave whose waters never seeped in—a most peculiar sight.

Inside that cave, the atmosphere had gradually transformed into something resembling a gentle, almost matchmaking-like replay. Below, eleven black pillars carved with unknown beasts and one white dragon pillar listened quietly to the two contenders above, who were busy trading insults. Atop the lone white pillar sat Contestant One, waiting anxiously, her patience waning as she heard the same twelve words repeated over and over.

"You've come, you've come, come in! Come in!..." The crisp, cheerful voice resounded, though it was somewhat monotonous—this was Contestant Two.

"Enough already! You've been chanting for half an hour. Are you giving me a reward or not?" Hua Tian snapped. The cave fell silent for a moment, but soon enough the same words echoed again. Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Hua Tian lay down and turned her attention to the game system, seeking to understand features she had yet to discover.

Suddenly, a message rang in her mind: "Dangerous creature detected. Danger. Will has appeared. Selected!"

Startled by the voice in her head, Hua Tian sprang up into a defensive stance and glanced around. At last, it wasn’t the same old greeting—she’d heard the word 'danger.' She quickly scanned her surroundings, but after a while, nothing seemed amiss.

She stood atop the white jade pillar, looking in every direction, increasingly puzzled. Then, behind her and above, a dazzling ten-colored light appeared, growing larger and brighter until even Hua Tian, looking the other way, noticed and whipped around, both startled and delighted.

In the sky, a blueprint materialized. She recalled: the last time she had received a blueprint, it had no color. Such a reaction—could this one surpass the Void grade? But wasn’t Void the highest? Or could it be a hidden level? If the game had such a secret, that would be interesting.

She gauged the height—not too high—but no matter how she jumped, she couldn’t reach it. Was this another test? Determined, Hua Tian stretched her arms upward, swung her torso in circles to warm up, and prepared to try again.

But just then, the ten-colored light slowly descended, drifting right before her eyes. So much for all her preparation—the reward seemed to have changed its mind.

She stepped forward, trying to lift the object from below, but it wouldn’t budge. Unconvinced, Hua Tian tried from every angle, even sitting atop it. It was as immovable as a mountain; she felt that even if she brought the whole mountain down on it, it wouldn’t yield. This must be something extraordinary!

After exhausting countless strategies to retrieve it, she still had no luck. At that moment, a transparent figure appeared beside the cave wall. Her words echoed with clarity and authority, impossible to ignore: "You have arrived!"

Hua Tian, having exerted herself, thought she heard another player’s voice and searched for the source, but saw no one. At first, she assumed her teammates had brought the captain, but then she remembered the path was blocked—how could they have come in? The realization hit her like a thunderbolt: who had been speaking just now? She scanned her surroundings anxiously.

The longer she waited, the more sweat soaked her back, terror trickling down her body in chilling rivulets. The cave’s silence was oppressive—she could even hear the drops of sweat falling from her own skin.

After a while, a shadow slowly materialized before her eyes—a transparent person. Suddenly, Hua Tian clutched at its hand, and to her astonishment, the ten-colored book was effortlessly lifted. Off guard, Hua Tian realized too late and tumbled from the high pillar to the island below, clutching the book tightly to her chest for safety.

With a thud, she landed. "Ow! That hurts—but thank goodness, the reward is intact." She patted her sore backside, relieved to see her prize unharmed.

The transparent figure spoke without emotion: "This is a treasure map. Once activated, you have seven days to find it. If you fail, fate decrees you are unworthy to possess or use it. After seven days, it will become a second treasure map, its colors fading from ten to nine, and so on... until it disappears."

Doing a quick calculation, Hua Tian said, "So after seventy days, no matter what, the map will be gone, right?"

"No. Once you leave, the countdown begins. If you never find all the items, then yes, about seventy days is your limit. If you find one of them, the timer stops. When the hunt resumes, the map will guide you—showing you what to do and how to search."

"I see. And what’s the reward?" Hua Tian asked with curiosity.

"Ten items that can save the world..."

"Ha! Save the world? Save who? Where?" She watched as the figure abruptly vanished and called out, "Don’t go! Come back! How do I get out of here?..." (The rest of her curses are omitted.)

"I haven’t left. I can still hear you."

Startled, Hua Tian realized she’d been cursing for nearly an hour, and her unseen companion had listened the whole time. With no way to apologize, she tried desperately to flatter her.

"Your beauty would make all girls jealous." "A gentle woman is gold, a pretty woman is a diamond, a clever woman is a treasure, a cute woman is a masterpiece—you are the greatest treasure in the world, filled with gold, diamonds, and masterpieces!" "As time flows, your heart remains vibrantly young—an elegant woman is always youthful, radiant, and never out of place. Your style defies trends—it’s the secret language of your soul, obeying only your inner voice." "Your charm grows each day, never fading." "Forgive me, beautiful one, I was wrong, please..."

"You really are something. Fine. I’ll give you this—use it well, and it will save you a lot of time." The figure reappeared in her original spot, glanced toward the white pillar, and tossed a peculiar object into Hua Tian’s backpack.

Upon hearing this, Hua Tian's mind suddenly went black.

Night was falling, the sky in the distance shifting from black to white and back again. When she awoke, she found herself standing beside a collapsed pavilion, turning in a circle to discover the others were nowhere to be seen.

"Where did everyone go? Did they leave so quickly?"

The treasure map in her hand vibrated, and in a flash, its radiant light streamed into her mind. Words appeared before her eyes:

World-saving quest: Find the Will of Illusory Waves, Lead the Waves
Conditions: Find it within seven days; if you fail, the Will and its Guide will vanish forever. You’ll receive automatic reminders when nearby.
Time: Seven days
Reward: Will of Illusory Waves, Lead the Waves

That was it—no further hints. Annoyed, she cursed under her breath. Suddenly, an additional line appeared after the conditions: "Northern edge of the Zhongyan Plains." Then it vanished again.

Despair washed over her, leaving her lost and without direction. She glanced at the map—she was in the northeast corner of the Sun River Plateau, and the northernmost part of the Zhongyan Plains was still a hundred kilometers away.

At that moment, her sprite piped up: "All your zombies have perished. Please check and replenish them."

Hua Tian’s face filled with suspicion. "My zombie army is gone—could Han City have fallen?"

She decided to confirm her suspicions, opened her friend list, and sent a message to Captain Han: "How’s Han City?" Immediately, she received a "message failed" notification.

Unable to make sense of it, Hua Tian resolved to continue her quest—she couldn’t quit just because of this. What she didn’t know was that her zombie army had been slaughtered by her own so-called allies—those deceitful players. The zombies had been turned into equipment, which other players now frantically purchased with team points. Eventually, those same false friends would be hunted down one by one by Captain Han.