Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 881: Chapter 880: There’s not much time left for us

The Starting Town was still bustling with people. After the initial panic, unease, and hesitation, the players finally settled down and began exploring the world before them. Players could be seen chatting and leveling up everywhere, making the entire Starting Town exceptionally lively.

But in Fang Zheng’s eyes, what he saw was only the surging undercurrent.

”How many more names are on the list today?”

Fang Zheng put down the drink in his hand and looked at Argo, who sat across from him. Although his question seemed vague, Argo quickly provided an answer.

”Twenty-seven.”

”It seems we don’t have much time left...”

Upon hearing Argo’s response, Fang Zheng frowned. Argo, on the other hand, was a little curious. She knew exactly what Fang Zheng was asking about. In fact, Fang Zheng had commissioned Argo with the task of going to the Black Iron Palace’s stone tablet every day to check the names and numbers of players who had died there. Although Argo didn’t know why Fang Zheng needed this information, she agreed to take the commission.

But now, hearing Fang Zheng’s sigh, Argo couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious.

”What do you mean not much time?”

”Time.”

Fang Zheng emphasized once again, then he looked at Argo.

”Have you not found any suitable players yet?”

”It’s not that easy, you know.”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s request, Argo rolled her eyes with irritation.

”You want players who can keep up with your level progress and are outstanding solo players, but such people aren’t easy to find. I contacted a few before, who showed interest, but as soon as they heard about your team’s size, they refused immediately...”

”That is quite understandable.”

This didn’t surprise Fang Zheng much. At present, his team only had six people, at most just a small squad. Even if those solo players wanted to join, they would prefer the large guilds with many members rather than a small team like his. After all, according to Fang Zheng’s requirements, they must be people with a certain level of skill, and such people are often quite proud, so if they want to join, they will naturally look for larger teams and guilds.

”But by the way, why did you say we don’t have much time?”

Argo casually explained, but she quickly focused on Fang Zheng’s earlier response. After all, this wasn’t just a game, and she was concerned for her own safety!

This time, however, Fang Zheng didn’t answer immediately but instead asked Argo a question in return.

”Do you remember the number you reported to me a couple of days ago?”

”Uh... I remember it increased by five people the day before yesterday, and nine people yesterday... But that doesn’t mean much, right?”

Argo thought carefully for a moment before quickly providing an answer, but in her view, this wasn’t a big problem. Because there were as many as ten thousand players trapped in the game, and so far, apart from the three hundred people who died for various reasons when the game was first released, the number of player deaths had been increasing very slowly since the second day. Especially after Fang Zheng’s ”Survival Manual” was released, the number of player deaths further decreased.

So far, there were less than five hundred names on the ”death list” of the Black Iron Palace, which Argo thought was pretty good. Although people were still dying, there wasn’t much Argo could do about it since some people were just suicidal or got into accidents... She wasn’t an Immortal.

”This already says a lot.”

Fang Zheng shook his head, then gazed intently at Argo.

”You leveled up with me, so you should know that at the current level, most players haven’t left the novice area yet. In fact, there aren’t many factors in the entire novice area that could be life-threatening to them. In other words, if they’re a bit careful, they shouldn’t die at all.”

”... Maybe someone accidentally encountered a hidden boss or stepped into a trap?”

”It’s not that simple.”

Fang Zheng sighed and took a sip of his drink.

”Although on the surface most players still seem calm, the numbers don’t lie. They are starting to get restless.”

”... Restless?”

”That’s right.”

Fang Zheng nodded, then turned his head to look at the bustling street not far away.

”From the beginning of the game until now, it’s been almost ten days, but clearing the first floor is still a long way off. Although everyone still has patience, patience is limited. You know, most players here have played online games before. No matter how strong the first floor’s Lord is, it’s the weakest. If we can’t defeat it in a short time, it will only make more people start to get restless.”

At this point, Fang Zheng looked at Argo again.

”Think about it, if it takes us two months or even longer just to fight the first floor’s Lord, then how long will it take to clear the game? There are a hundred floors! Suppose it takes us two months per floor to clear, clearing a hundred floors would take two hundred months. How many years is that?”

”... Hiss!”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s analysis, Argo gasped for breath. She hadn’t thought about it much before, but after hearing Fang Zheng’s analysis, she couldn’t help but feel anxious.

”But, but... Isn’t the reason the early stages take so long because the players can’t get good equipment, and their levels are low? Won’t it take less time to push the Lord boss later on once our levels improve and we have better equipment?”

”That’s true, but when it comes to their own lives being at stake, you can’t expect everyone to think calmly. In fact, the sharply increased number of deaths already indicates the problem. Not having defeated the first floor’s Lord up to now is making some people uneasy, some are choosing to rush into adventure leveling, while some may simply be wishing for death. It’s still manageable now, but once there are dozens of deaths, most people won’t notice. But if the time drags on too long, they will become more anxious, and by then there might be hundreds of mass deaths, which can’t be ignored. In the worst-case scenario, it could lead to mass panic.”

”...”

Hearing Fang Zheng’s explanation, Argo’s face suddenly turned pale, and her small body began to tremble slightly. Argo wasn’t stupid; she understood what Fang Zheng meant. The thought of the lives behind these numbers made her feel even more fear.

She almost instinctively grabbed Fang Zheng’s hand, like holding onto a life-saving straw, staring at him.

”So, so do you have any ideas? You should have a plan, right!”

”Of course.”

Fang Zheng nodded slightly.

”As the saying goes, a good start is half the success. Now everyone is so impatient because so far, no Lord has been taken down yet. So... I plan to challenge and eliminate the first floor’s Lord within a month!”

”So urgent?”

”It’s necessary. If the time is too short, it will make players mistakenly believe the Lord isn’t as dangerous as they thought and seek death. If the time is too long, players will think the Lord is too difficult to challenge and become desperate. A month is a very suitable time; it can’t be dragged out any longer. For this... I need more manpower. At least we’ll need to add another four people to form a team guild.”

”Ugh...!”

Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Argo gritted her teeth and quickly opened the system.

”Let me look again. I’ll see if there are any that meet your requirements... I remember there should be a few... Found them!”

While quickly browsing her records, Argo brightened up.

”I have a few people here who fit the criteria, but...”

”But?”

”They also have their own demands.”

”Oh?”