The Earth is Online

“First, the ‘grab the sixth’ mode is opened. The top three players/teams to clear the sixth floor will get a clue about the seventh floor.”

“Second, as of 6:00 on June 10th, any region that hasn’t cleared the black tower’s fifth floor will be forced to attack the tower. All players in the region (apart from those playing games) will enter the tower attack game. Players who don’t enter the tower attack game, if there is still no one who has pa.s.sed the fifth floor after exiting from the instance then they will be forced to attack the tower.”

“Third, the 5.0 version is expected to open the intercommunication mode. Players should explore this on their own.”

The first three rules were broadcasted three times in a row.

“Ding dong! 3.96 million players have successfully loaded the game...”

“20,000 players have successfully loaded the game...”

“Game saving...”

“The player data is loading...”

“Save is successful...”

“Loaded successfully...”

“’Grab the sixth’ mode has been updated...”

“Ding dong! On June 7th, 2018, the black tower version 4.5 is officially launched. Players are welcome to enter the game.”

“Please try to attack the tower!”

Shanghai, Nanjing Road.

A strong man looked at the black tower and scratched his head. He turned around and asked, “Doctor, what does this mean? The ‘grab the sixth’ mode wants us to hurry and attack the sixth floor? We haven’t cleared the fifth floor yet. How can we clear the sixth floor?”

Beijing.

The ‘grab the sixth’ mode was different from Tang Mo’s imagination.

“It is simply preemptively attacking the sixth floor?”

Beijing had a large number of strong players and most of them had a wait and see att.i.tude towards the black tower. Suddenly, there was the ‘grab the sixth’ mode. This was obviously urging players to attack the tower. Tang Mo thought for a moment before looking at Fu Wenduo. “The fifth floor isn’t important. The really important thing is the sixth floor. A clue about clearing the seventh floor, this temptation is bigger than all the rare props.”

There weren’t many new rules with the black tower 4.5 version update but the amount of information was enormous.

Mu Huixue smiled and said, “The black tower update is over so I will go first.”

Tang Mo’s group didn’t stop her from leaving.

The woman in black disappeared between the modern buildings.

Mu Huixue wasn’t an enemy or a friend. She was strong but Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo couldn’t possible team up with her. It would greatly increase the difficulty of the fifth floor. Thus, it was good that she chose to leave at this time.

For a moment, only four people were left in the building.

Chen Shanshan looked grim. “The forced tower attack in three days isn’t so important. The ‘grab the sixth’ and version 5.0 parts of this update... Brother Tang, Major Fu, these two points are very important. This is the first time that the black tower has mentioned the next update.”

Fu Wensheng wondered, “What is the intercommunication mode?”

Tang Mo replied, “In a literal sense, it should be some type of intercommunication. For example, players and black tower bosses, black tower bosses and the underground people or there is the last possibility... communication between player and player.” He paused before continuing to a.n.a.lyze. “At present, even players in the city can’t communicate with each other using phones. If we want to contact Tian Xuan then we have to go to the 80th school to meet them. Luo Fengcheng had to send Jack and Shanshan here when he wanted to send a message. After the earth went online, all remote communications were completely broken.”

In front of the two children, Tang Mo didn’t conceal that he and Fu Wenduo had the turkey egg. “Unless there is a prop like the one that Fu Wenduo and I have, the more than 3 million players can’t freely communicate with each other.”

Chen Shanshan interjected. “There should be 3.96 million players and 20,000 returnees at the moment.

Fu Wensheng remembered that half a month ago when the version 4.0 updated, there were more than 300,000 returnees. He exclaimed, “How can they only have 20,000 left?”

Chen Shanshan told him, “Most returnees should’ve become official players. There are also some returnees who died.”

Tang Mo frowned and repeatedly pondered the contents of this black tower update.

“Grab the sixth mode, intercommunication mode...”

“Intercommunication mode...”

Fu Wenduo spoke in a low voice. “So far, players in the 10 regions haven’t been able to communicate.”

Tang Mo looked at him.

Fu Wenduo explained, “The a.s.sembly instance makes is to that players in the area can meet. If you attack the tower then you might encounter any players in the China area. For example, you attacked the black tower’s second floor and you met Xiao Sheng when you were in Shanghai and he was in Nanjing.”

Tang Mo immediately understood what he meant. “You mean that after the version 5.0 update, players from different regions can enter the same game? Players in China might team up with players in Europe to attack the tower?”

Fu Wenduo nodded before shaking his head. “It is just my guess.”

Still, this guess was very reasonable.

In any case, all of this was just speculations before the arrival of the black tower’s 5.0 version update.

Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo decided to enter the tower attack game immediately after the new version had been updated. He and Fu Wenduo looked at each other and nodded in unison. They were currently at the intersection of the Dongcheng and Chaoyang Districts. To open the tower game, they must walk to the black tower in the Forbidden City.

The four of them went downstairs. Tang Mo’s body clung to the wall as he carefully poked out his head and looked around. “There is no one.”

Fu Wenduo lowered his head and gazed at his brother. “Are you okay going alone?”

Fu Wensheng nodded. “No problem, I can go.”

Fu Wenduo looked deeply at him. “Go ahead.”

The next second, the little boy shot out at a very fast speed. He kept close to the shadows of the road to avoid being seen by others. Not long after, he disappeared around the corner into the Chaoyang District.

Fu Wensheng was going to the 80th school.

It wasn’t too far or too close to the school. Last night, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo unanimously decided that Fu Wensheng wouldn’t partic.i.p.ate in this tower attack game while Chen Shanshan would partic.i.p.ate. Chen Shanshan’s strength wasn’t high and she had only cleared the black tower’s second floor. In other words, she didn’t have a high sense of ‘existence’ to the black tower. Her addition wouldn’t increase the difficulty of their tower attack too much.

Besides, her brain might allow Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo to win the game faster.

They only had three days.

Fu Wensheng had once spent time in the Tian Xuan organization. Now that Fu Wenduo was absent, hiding there was the best choice. Xiao Fu himself said that he hoped Ruan w.a.n.gshu wouldn’t accept him. Just now, Fu Wenduo said to him, “If we don’t clear the fifth floor in three days then immediately enter a safe instance game. Don’t rush to clear it and wait for our news.”

Yes, this was a loophole left by the black tower 4.5 version.

Players who were partic.i.p.ating in a game wouldn’t be forced to attack the tower immediately. They would only be forced after clearing the game. Fu Wensheng’s current strength made it dangerous for him to attack the fourth floor. Thus, if Fu Wenduo hadn’t cleared the fifth floor of the black tower in three days then Xiao Fu could just find a simple instance and delay the time as much as possible.

Fu Wensheng ran to an intersection and found a shop to hide in. He looked around warily, determined there was no danger and soon arrived at the 80th High School.

The child was walking to the door when he suddenly stopped and pulled out a silver pistol, aiming and shooting without hesitation.

The female doctor in the white coat reacted quickly to dodge the bullet. She emerged from behind the door and shouted with dissatisfaction, “Hey, what is this bear child doing? I came to pick you up yet you actually tried to hit me.”

Fu Wensheng’s body relaxed when he saw the person hiding was Li Miaomiao but his expression wasn’t good.

“...You came to pick me up?”

What happened? The decision to seek refuge at the Tian Xuan organization was only made last night and no one told him. Now Li Miaomiao came to pick him up....

Li Miaomiao saw through the child’s mind and shrugged. “The leader said that with your strength, you won’t be able to attack the tower. Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo must be hurrying to attack the fifth floor. If they succeed then we won’t have to work hard to challenge the fifth floor. It would be good to wait for them to clear the instance. They are going to the tower then they naturally have to find a place to leave you. However, Leader didn’t expect you to come alone.” Li Miaomiao looked behind Fu Wensheng and didn’t see anyone else. “How can your brother feel so rea.s.sured to let you come here alone?”

Xiao Fu protested. “Why can’t I come alone? Nothing happened!” He was particularly confident in his strength.

Li Miaomiao let out a deep laugh. Fu Wensheng complained loudly and Li Miaomiao laughed harder. One big and small person entered the 80th High School together.

On the other side, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo had arrived at the Forbidden City.

One hour ago, the black tower updated to the new version and there might still be players who hadn’t left. Still, they didn’t think too much and headed straight to the black tower.

After the Eve’s Game, almost all senior players in Beijing knew Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo. As soon as they thought about it, they understood that these two must be running to the black tower to do something. They wanted to avoid the strength of the duo. Now that Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo wanted to attack the tower, they welcomed it.

Tang Mo looked at Fu Wenduo and Fu Wenduo nodded.

Tang Mo took a deep breath and walked to the black tower, his voice calmly stating, “Confirm, enter the tower attack game.”

At the same time, Fu Wenduo and Chen Shanshan said together, “Confirm, enter the tower attack game.”

In an instant, cheerful music rang in the minds of the three people. The black tower’s clear voice accompanied this music.

“Ding dong! The fifth floor of the black tower (normal mode) is officially opened. The multiplayer game is loading...”

“Sandbox is being generated...”

“Sandbox loading complete...”

“Welcome to the River of Fantasy!”

A blinding white light filled Tang Mo’s eyes and he reflexively squinted. The white light became lighter and there was the gentle sound of water. The sound of this water was familiar. Tang Mo felt like he had heard it before and he heard it often. Once the white light completely dissipated, he responded extremely quickly and looked around. His head hadn’t fully turned when he stiffened.

Tang Mo noticed the heavy weight in his hand and slowly lowered his head. Then, “...”

He noticed there was someone beside him and immediately looked at the other person. The moment he saw the other person, he reflexively looked down. Then once again, “...”

Fu Wenduo, “...”

The two men pulled up their chained pants with blank expressions and walked out of the dilapidated bathroom together.

This was a long corridor. The floor of the corridor was made up of pieces of long, wet, yellow wood. The end of the corridor was the toilets they had just been in. Tang Mo looked at Fu Wenduo and found he was wearing a white blue uniform. Tang Mo raised his arm and found he was wearing his original clothes. He hadn’t changed.

“Where’s Shanshan?”

Fu Wenduo seemed very accustomed to wearing such uniforms. He fixed his cuffs and said, “We just came out of the men’s room. I listened and there was no one in the female toilets. Shanshan wasn’t inside.”

Tang Mo asked, “What is with this clothing?”

He just finished speaking when the black tower’s prompt was heard.

“Ding dong! Players Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo have entered the customs department of the Underground Kingdom and temporarily replaced the customs officials Mr. A and Mr. B, becoming staff members of the department.”

“Friendly reminder: Players Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo are very good at camouflage. In the eyes of everyone else, they are Mr. A and Mr. B. It is only in their eyes that they can see their true ident.i.ties.”

It turned out that the moment they entered the game, he and Fu Wenduo replaced the two underground people in the so-called ‘customs department’. So the actions that the two underground people were doing at the time of the switch, they ended up doing.

...The two men were in the toilet at the time.

Tang Mo realized this and his expression became darker.

He gently coughed and said, “We have to find Shanshan first.”

The two men walked along the corridor.

Halfway through, the sound of hasty footsteps was heard from the corner. Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo didn’t act differently. They continued to move forward like they were really employees of the customs department. Soon, the owner of the footsteps appeared.

A dwarf in a blue white uniform rushed up with huge feet.

“d.a.m.n it, what are you two doing? Slacking off? There is another group of monsters going through customs. What the h.e.l.l are you doing? Aren’t you going to work?”

As he spoke, the dwarf grabbed Fu Wenduo and Tang Mo’s arms, pulling them forward. Tang Mo was surprised to find that this dwarf was really powerful and he couldn’t break free from the grip.

Tang Mo asked with his eyes: What is the customs department of the Underground Kingdom?

Have you heard of the River of Fantasy?

I’ve never heard of it. Fu Wenduo looked composed. He ignored that he was being dragged by the dwarf and seemed to be leisurely.

Tang Mo thought about it. The customs department, the underground people and black tower monsters had to go through customs, the place they went through customs was the River of Fantasy...

A name suddenly flashed in Tang Mo’s heart. He looked at Fu Wenduo with astonishment and found that Fu Wenduo also realized.

At this point, the trio left the hallway.

A moist wind blew and a large pink river came into view. They were now in an old-fas.h.i.+oned wooden building in the middle of the river, with water in all directions. This water was the pink river that was the junction of the Underground Kingdom and the Monster World!

The dwarf sniffed the wind and muttered, “Ah, it is the smell of meat. It is a really nice day today. The river is so blue.”

Tang Mo grabbed the keyword. “Blue?”

Perhaps it was due to his good mood but the dwarf slowed down and looked at them strangely. “Mr. B, the river isn’t blue in your eyes? Let me see, is it the orange of the best banana wine or a dirty black like your hair? The colour of the River of Fantasy is different in everyone’s eyes. What you think of it in your heart is the colour it will be.”

Tang Mo turned to look at Fu Wenduo with surprise.

Fu Wenduo, “...”

Sixth month ago, Tang Mo was forced to attack the first floor of the black tower. Before he entered the tower attack game, he contacted Fu Wenduo and asked for his help by telling Tang Mo what he encountered on the first floor. At that time, Fu Wenduo told him in a cold voice.

‘The dividing line between humans and monsters is clear. In the middle of their world, there is a pink river.’

A pink river...

A pink river.

He had this preconception and was misled by Fu Wenduo so he subconsciously thought the river was pink. Then Fu Wenduo saw a pink...

Fu Wenduo explained in a low voice, “The boatman in charge of the ferry said it was a pink river.” Thus, he would see a pink river.

Tang Mo said, “...Okay.”

Fu Wenduo stared at him.

Tang Mo looked up at him.

Then he couldn’t help his lips curling upwards.

Fu Wenduo, “...”

“What are you doing? Are you still not hurrying to work?”

In the middle of the river, a dilapidated wooden house stood motionless in the waters of the river. Extending from the house on both sides were long wooden suspension bridges. One led to the Underground Kingdom and the other led to the Monster World.

On the wooden suspension bridge on the Underground Kingdom side, a short-haired girl held a huge lollipop and walked along the suspension bridge with a blank expression. There were many black tower monsters around her but they didn’t think this human girl was strange. It was because in their eyes, they saw their companion, not a human.

“I haven’t seen Lord Grecia’s excellent performance in a long time. I really miss him. Is the circus really bankrupt and he won’t perform again?” A black tower monster with a rabbit head and wearing a dress was red-eyed and wiped her tears with a handkerchief.

Her companion was a skinny hamster sitting on her shoulder. “I also miss Lord Grecia, who is the most handsome gentleman in the Underground Kingdom.”

Chen Shanshan followed silently. She seemed to be looking down at the ground but her ears were p.r.i.c.ked as she collected information.

Everything was too sudden for her. She couldn’t find Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo and the mission was unknown. She was suddenly thrown into this place among monsters. If it was Fu Wensheng then he might be pale with fright and reveal himself.

Chen Shanshan quietly followed the monster army to the centre of the suspension bridge.

Chen Shanshan didn’t notice that at the end of the monster army, there were two werewolf monsters on the suspension bridge.

“Haha David, this is so funny. You have such ugly ears and your body is smelly. This is the smell of a beast!”

The brown-haired man was angrily, “Pete, shut up! You are also a wolf!”

The two teammates mocked each other. If they weren’t in the monster army then it seemed like they would directly fight each other. The moment their feet touched the suspension bridge, a cold voice filled the ears of five people.

“Ding dong! Releasing the side mission: find the stolen goods smuggled by monsters/ protect the loot you are smuggling.”

“Since the Underground Kingdom set up the customs department on the River of Fantasy, the underground people and monsters travelling between the two places have to pay tax, making the king fat. This is a big fortune! The little monsters like to go to the Underground Kingdom to buy Santa’s lollipop while the big monsters think... make money!”

“The slogan of the black tower monsters is: We don’t pay taxes, we don’t pay taxes, we don’t pay taxes!”

“The important words are repeated three times.”

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