Chapter Eleven: Teammates and Rivals

Ashes? Who is this person? And where did the sixth qualifying stamp come from?

As Rain Tomorrow stood dumbfounded, countless players from the Foundation and the other two game organizations were frantically asking about the identity of Ashes. The result of six stamps was simply too outstanding—when no player in the entire game had earned even five stamps, suddenly someone appeared with this jaw-dropping achievement. It was as if everyone else was still living in the Stone Age, while someone had already started using firearms.

It was like, when everyone was fighting tooth and nail for the title of number one, an unparalleled hero appeared out of nowhere, crushing all opposition with supreme strength and proclaiming himself as the undisputed champion, leaving second place vacant and relegating everyone else to compete only for third. Such a feeling was indescribably peculiar, causing those who had managed only two or three qualifying stamps to involuntarily envy, marvel, or even doubt.

The sixth qualifying stamp was so abrupt that nobody had any clue about it. Admittedly, part of this confusion stemmed from many players having been eliminated early.

"Boss, you're incredible! If I hadn't eaten that candy, I'd only be capable of getting three or four stamps at most."

"Can someone explain how the sixth stamp was obtained?"

"It must be fake! The guide lists five mentors including the captain, so how could there possibly be a sixth stamp?"

"Not necessarily. Maybe there's a hidden side quest—this is typical in Singularity Game."

"I don't believe it. Even if there were a hidden quest, it's too soon! Nobody's even gotten five stamps yet, and suddenly someone jumps straight to six? Believe it or not, I don't!"

"So you're suggesting there's a bug in Abnormal Paradise or someone is cheating? Dude, the beta isn't even over yet. Stop being so sarcastic."

Players were in a frenzy over Ashes' final score.

Rain Tomorrow tried several times to add Ashes as a friend, hoping to ask about the truth, but eventually gave up. Ashes had already rejected previous friend requests, so it was likely that any new attempts would meet the same fate. Meanwhile, a swarm of curious bystanders and lazy players waiting for strategies bombarded Ashes with friend requests, annoying him to the point that he disabled the feature.

"If I'd known getting first place was this easy, I wouldn't have taken shortcuts. Spending 1,200 credit points on task items feels like a waste—maybe I could have bought something better from the pharmacist!"

Ashes shook his head. When the challenge began, he merely wanted to win first place, but now that he actually had, it felt dull.

The feeling of standing above all others…

Honestly, it wasn't anything special.

If those players still arguing about the sixth stamp knew Ashes' real thoughts, they'd probably call him pretentious, or worse.

You think winning first place isn't interesting? Then don't bother!

Before you showed up, our discussions about who would win were lively and fun. Now everyone is confused, since nobody knows where the sixth stamp came from. All that's left is to debate who'll be second, but that's hardly meaningful.

A classic case of spoiling things for everyone else!

In the next few minutes, players continued their heated arguments, paying only cursory attention to the leaderboard updates. They waited one minute, then two, but saw no appearance of any five-stamp players. Instead, a surge of four-stamp holders emerged, mostly complaining about insufficient credit points, and upon seeing the lofty six-stamp achievement, joined the fray.

It wasn't until 12:34 AM real-world time that the first five-stamp player finally appeared: Thunder Duke from the game organization "Cleaners," the very leader of Rain Tomorrow's guild, Thunder Guild.

"Phew, five stamps should be secure. Looks like my decision to jump in immediately was right—waiting for strategies was unnecessary."

Thunder Duke was quite satisfied with his performance. He viewed this solo challenge as a crucial way to boost the guild's influence, so he abandoned the previous strategy of waiting for guides, entered the game at the earliest opportunity, and executed every step flawlessly, ultimately earning five stamps in a short time.

After logging out, he didn't check the public chat but immediately entered the guild's discussion group to announce the good news.

But to his surprise, several guild members who had finished their challenges early were strangely silent, with only Rain Tomorrow typing, "Congratulations, Guild Leader."

Thunder Duke: "Why is the atmosphere so weird? Did something go wrong?"

Rain Tomorrow: "Guild Leader, you should check the leaderboard…"

"Leaderboard?"

Thunder Duke, a bit surprised, exited the guild discussion and discovered that Singularity Game had set up an official leaderboard. His name was at the top for Cleaners, which pleased him greatly. But when he checked the Foundation's leaderboard, he too fell silent.

"There’s actually a sixth stamp?"

Thunder Duke was baffled. He believed he had completed every step perfectly and should not have missed any key clues, so how could he have no idea about the existence of the sixth stamp?

"Is it a bug in the game, or did I really overlook something?" His mood soured instantly—his joy at being number one was swept away by confusion. Suddenly, his brow furrowed and he slapped his thigh hard, "I thought the final boss seemed a bit odd. I must have missed a certain time window that prevented the hidden story from triggering."

The three game organizations had different assessment criteria, but the challenge mode was largely similar. To obtain the sixth qualifying stamp, speed wasn't really necessary. One simply had to catch a certain game node and get a key item from the final boss, which would trigger a hidden clue.

Thus, after Ashes figured out the crucial detail, he no longer regretted spending those 1,200 credit points. He was able to get the sixth stamp because he happened to witness the final boss's transformation. If he had followed the regular task flow, he would have missed Captain Jones's regression in his dream while seeking out the Battle Master for skill training, and would never have received the sixth qualifying stamp.

"As they say, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. If I hadn't spent those credit points decisively, I wouldn't be sitting securely in first place. Now, let's see just how much benefit this so-called first-mover advantage can bring!"

With everything clear to him, Ashes began waiting for the leaderboard updates. He was curious to see what score Drunken Cup would earn.

Want to surpass me?

Not a chance!

If I don’t show my capability, you’ll think I’m just here to fill space?

Over the next five minutes, a large number of players ended their solo challenges early. This batch was far superior to the previous ones—three stamps were the lowest, four stamps were everywhere, and even five-stamp holders were plentiful, quickly taking over the top spots in all three leaderboards.

Ashes glanced over and immediately recognized several familiar faces: Fish Scale Arm, Not an Expert, Not a Sword Immortal, and Old Vine Tree all earned five stamps. Ashes even spotted a player named Lu Renjia, who used to be a Thunder Guild member but had been eliminated by Ashes and Not a Sword Immortal teaming up. Ashes’ strongest memory of this person was that he possessed an exceptionally flashy abnormal weapon.

"Impressive. Nearly failed the second assessment in Dark Forest, but managed to force five stamps thanks to the gains from the third assessment. Looks like I really need to keep an eye on him." Compared to Rain Tomorrow, Ashes was more inclined to view Lu Renjia as a rival—not only because they belonged to the Foundation and University respectively, but also due to their one-sided battle. Ashes had taken advantage, but whether Lu Renjia would hold a grudge remained to be seen.

In any case, Ashes made a mental note of Lu Renjia’s name, then carefully checked the University leaderboard but didn’t see Drunken Cup’s name.

"This can't be right. She got two perfect ratings with me and is still taking this long?"

While Ashes puzzled over this, two members of the Not Jianghu trio were equally confused. The last member, Not a Daoist—a seasoned player—was still unaccounted for. The other two, having secured their spots, congratulated Ashes.

Not a Sword Immortal: "Ashes, you’re amazing! Your leg is getting bigger and bigger. Since we’re both from the Foundation, I’ll keep hugging your leg!"

Not an Expert: "Impressive."

Both of these renowned veterans had their own pride, but they truly admired Ashes for reaching this level. No player had earned six stamps yet; even they only realized the key after seeing Ashes’ results.

Not a Sword Immortal was more talkative, while Not an Expert was reserved, so only the former continued chatting with Ashes.

Not a Sword Immortal: "Strange! Still no news from Daoist or the beauty Drunken Cup. Ashes, do you think something happened?"

Ashes: "Unlikely. I don’t know about Not a Daoist, but Drunken Cup made it through the Life Forbidden Zone with me. She shouldn’t flop—at least five stamps are guaranteed."

Not a Sword Immortal: "So you think both might be attempting the hidden storyline?"

Ashes: "Possibly."

Not a Sword Immortal: "Wow! The second six-stamp player just appeared—White Flag. Huh, he’s with Cleaners? Looks like we have a real rival!"

Upon reading Not a Sword Immortal’s message, Ashes immediately checked the Cleaners leaderboard and found that Thunder Duke had been pushed to second place. White Flag, who had previously discovered the witch’s extended storyline in the Life Forbidden Zone, now claimed the top spot.

This made Ashes realize there were indeed many worthy opponents. Aside from White Flag, anyone who could earn five stamps was not to be underestimated. He felt that maintaining first place on Slaughter Island would be just as challenging as the Life Forbidden Zone.

As he continued browsing unfamiliar game names, the University leaderboard refreshed twice in succession.

Not a Daoist, six stamps, first place!

Drunken Cup, six stamps, second place!

Seeing this, Ashes smiled softly. Such results didn’t surprise him, but he didn’t intend to congratulate Drunken Cup. No matter what he said now, she'd only take it as sarcasm or mockery, so he simply logged off to wash up and sleep.

Besides, once they entered Slaughter Island, the two—belonging to the Foundation and University—were destined to be opponents. He couldn’t help someone else defeat his own Foundation comrades, could he?

Wait…

Don’t I have a tag called "serial apostate"?