Chapter 273: Chapter 273: He Did Us a Favor! The World's Third Ranked Out of Nowhere!

"Breaking the blood vessel of a god? That might be slightly exaggerated."

In the real world, deep underground in a nuclear-proof bunker, members of the Elder Council were still gathered in small groups.

During every game session, they would gather here to observe the gameplay of top players and study the content of modern games.

Of course, most of the time, they watched Lu Ce - that strongest player known as "Sin."

Watching the dialogue and battle of wits between Lu Ce and [Life], even they couldn't help but marvel. As former veteran players themselves, they knew all too well how troublesome it was to confront something as mystical as a god.

"The voice speaking with him couldn't be Life's true form, but it doesn't seem like an apostle either. Perhaps it's a fragment of a soul, or maybe the blood vessel gained sentience."

"But his face-changing act was truly fascinating. I wonder what would happen if he kept changing indefinitely."

"Presumably, the blood vessel wanted to avoid this unpredictable situation and decided to self-destruct to kill him. Still, this is quite impressive, truly remarkable."

Several voices with varying emotions praised the feat, though their tones remained relatively calm.

"A single blood vessel, impressive! Back then, you forced that guy to give up something, didn't you?"

A hoarse, rugged voice spoke up, looking toward a vigorous figure at the center of the group.

From their earlier conversations, this person was the so-called "Grand Elder."

But now, the Grand Elder remained completely unresponsive, as if in deep meditation, staring at the long-darkened video screen.

No one noticed the faint glimmer of tears beneath his voluminous robes.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Several nearby elders noticed his unusual emotional state and turned back with concern to ask.

"Nothing..."

"What do you all think of that Know-it-All fellow?"

"Him?" The others looked puzzled, unsure why the Grand Elder would bring this up. "From what the warden said at the end, he was also a former player, right?"

"Not sure, don't remember him. He seems capable enough, but back then there were many unaffiliated solo players. Could've been a top player once."

The elders chatted intermittently, their attention seemingly focused entirely on Sin, barely noticing this guy who'd been fooled from start to finish.

Only the Grand Elder's eyes trembled incessantly beneath his robes.

Everyone had forgotten...

Yes, everyone had forgotten...

"That young man... the one called 'Sin'..."

"He did us a favor!"

After a moment of silence, the Grand Elder spoke with absolute conviction.

Those around him were stunned - what kind of sudden revelation was this?

"Regardless of what becomes of him, if the opportunity arises, we must lend him our aid when needed!"

The group fell silent, but inwardly, their minds were roiling with shock.

They knew full well the weight of such words coming from the Grand Elder's mouth!

They didn't understand what had happened, but with strange unanimity, not a single voice rose in opposition or even questioning.

And the earth-shattering declarations weren't over. The Grand Elder continued:

"Additionally, in the next game session, those with lighter contamination levels may participate in the game."

"Us?... But we can't..." Someone finally spoke up, unable to believe what they were hearing.

"Yes, but now we can try." The Grand Elder nodded. "I can't guarantee my intuition is correct, but we must try."

Try at the risk of their lives!

......

After every game session concluded, the most discussed topic across global online platforms was invariably the updated player rankings.

The celebrity effect persisted - though top players seemed distant from ordinary lives, each had already amassed their own followings.

Most people didn't truly understand the games or how such varied challenges were cleared, but they could comprehend rankings!

Every ranking update became a spectator's carnival, though the players themselves often cared little about it.

Take Sun for example - even when his ranking teetered at the edge of the top ten, he still considered himself number one in the world and paid it no mind.

"Sin's still first place! He's just too stable, completely invincible - his skill level is in a tier of its own."

"Every game he enters ends with perfect clearance - never broken the streak."

"Actually there are a few others worldwide with unbroken perfect clearance streaks, but he's still number one. Plus he's got perfect challenge mode clears too - absolutely insane."

"Let's take a moment to mourn for Player Park Bu Seong..."

On major Chinese forums, discussion about Lu Ce was even more concentrated due to network effects. Even when Lu Ce went out to eat, he could hear people nearby discussing him.

Of course, all sorts of rumors and baseless claims flew about - many now speculated that "Sin" might not even be human, but some internal game entity.

Every time the game ends, the most talked-about topic on all the major online platforms around the world is pretty much the player rankings

Because this person's appearance was simply too bizarre.

No one had ever noticed them before - some had even confirmed this person never appeared in the top 10,000 rankings!

Essentially a complete "amateur" player.

Yet this time, they appeared out of nowhere, landing directly at third place on the pinnacle rankings!

World's number three!

This sudden ranking pushed down veterans who had been playing since the beginning with perfect clearances!

[No.3: Creator!]

[Ability Description: Creator!]

[Relevant Information: Creator!]

An utterly unreasonable description that left everyone completely baffled.

The image representing them was also completely blurred.

And their number of clears and perfect clears was a pathetically small digit.

- 1!