Yabei Live is now one of the most popular platforms on StarNet, a true pillar of the streaming world.
“Bai Buwen,” as one of Yabei’s veteran streamers and a devoted player of Wanzu, started his stream almost exactly as the servers opened. Countless fans and passersby flooded in instantly—
“Whoa, Brother Bai is online this early today?! I thought I was seeing things.”
“Hahahaha, I knew Old Bai would stream as soon as Wanzu updated. Only Wanzu Daddy could make this pigeon not skip a stream.”
“Wanzu? Is the streamer going to play Wanzu?! New fans are losing their minds with joy, wuwuwu.”
“Damn, Zone 52’s servers exploded, I can’t even squeeze in! It says there are over thirty-two thousand people ahead of me in the queue, this is nuts!! Let’s see if Brother Bai can get in?”
“If you’re planning to start a new character with the new race, I suggest going to a new zone, those don’t lag. By the way, Brother Bai, are you going to try the new race? I see other streamers are all making new characters.”
“……”
Countless barrage comments flew across the screen, dazzling the eyes, and the ever-updating viewership was rising at an inhuman speed.
“Of course I’m playing the new race. I’ll do a Chasing Dragon Knight review for you all. I’m actually really curious about the race’s design.” Bai Buwen’s voice was that of a man in his twenties— unhurried, magnetic, and pleasant, it satisfied the ears of many voice connoisseurs.
Unlike most casual or cloud players, Bai Buwen was someone who had thoroughly researched the game.
Naturally, he could tell that Wanzu’s promotion this time was different from before— there was barely a word about the new character, as if they were hiding something too well, like they didn’t want people to discover it too quickly.
Urged on by the barrage, the stream quickly connected to the full-dive game pod.
Once Bai Buwen lay inside, viewers could freely choose whether to share the streamer’s perspective or use a god’s-eye view.
Of course, the former made for a better immersive experience.
Since this wasn’t his first time playing, Bai Buwen’s swift and decisive actions soon brought a new adventurer “Bai Buwen” to life, clad in a beginner’s rough linen outfit.
At the same time, countless other newborn data streams, just like him, surged through the sea of the internet— like shooting stars falling from the sky, logging into that vast and boundless holographic world.
……
Beiyuan hadn’t expected everything to happen so quickly.
He saw countless meteor-like streaks of light suddenly appear on the horizon, each one falling to a different place. In that instant, a primal instinct flared in his mind—
Those were the players entering the world.
It seemed that only he could see such a scene; at least, the Yan King and Greattail Catfish King beside him showed no reaction.
Beiyuan quietly watched for a while without saying anything. He turned and tore off a large leaf, wrapping up a smaller Greattail Catfish that had been blasted out of the riverbank.
Ten pieces of small rare ore for each one—for someone who had just discovered a new recipe, the more the better.
Not to mention, he’d filled up on Eggshell not long ago, but now, without realizing it, Beiyuan was a little hungry again.
As for the crystal he’d gotten from the Greattail Catfish King, he only had the one. It was probably quite precious, so for long-term plans, he decided to hold off on eating it for now.
With the fish packed up, Beiyuan easily tied it with a vine.
The Yan King had wanted to help by carrying it in his mouth, but Beiyuan was worried he’d accidentally set it on fire with a stray spark, so he decided to carry it himself.
A small child carrying a bundle nearly as big as himself looked a bit comical.
But no one present said a word about it. The Greattail Catfish King respectfully saw Beiyuan off, and even reminded him, “There’s an Exchange near the Yunshang Nation of the Tianjing Clan. You can go there to trade for Crystal Ore.”
Upon hearing this, Beiyuan, who hadn’t been in a hurry to visit other maps, immediately set Yunshang Nation as his top priority—
Exchange = Trade for Crystal Ore right away = Food
He wanted to eat!
Strangely enough, Beiyuan hadn’t been someone obsessed with food before, but now he was always thinking about eating.
In truth, biting into crystal wasn’t all that addictive or delicious. More accurately, this desire to eat felt more like an instinctive urge to store up strength.
He even had a hunch: if he accumulated enough “food,” he could “grow up,” maybe even temporarily transform into his peak form. That form made him instinctively yearn for it and feel safe.
The Yan King lowered one of his bat-like wings at just the right moment, letting Beiyuan climb up his back like a gangplank.
“Head for Yunshang Nation.” The golden-eyed boy patted his bundle, satisfied like a hamster hoarding food, and spoke decisively.
The massive crimson flame beast let out a roar, spread its wings, and changed course from heading back to Yan Flame Mountain, flying south instead.
In the forest below, two adventurers had just teleported in.
They looked up at the commotion and shouted in unison, “Holy crap!” The Ghost Clan adventurer instantly used his race’s stealth ability, screaming silently, “Yan King, damn! Why is it here? This isn’t even its Yan Flame Mountain?!”
“Isn’t that direction toward the Tianjing Clan? We’re screwed. If the Yan King goes to the Tianjing Clan’s territory, both sides will be in chaos!”
“I think I saw someone riding on Yan King’s back?”
“If you don’t need your eyes, donate them to someone who does.”
“…Fair enough. That’s impossible anyway. Let’s get out of here—Yan Flame Mountain isn’t safe. Even the Greattail Catfish can wipe the floor with me.”
“So true, run!”
Ever since the Yan King had been guarding this place, few adventurers came to Yan Flame Mountain, so this brief episode didn’t attract anyone’s attention.
Meanwhile, more and more newly logged-in Chasing Dragon Knight players were appearing all over the world.
Usually, when a new race was introduced, the first login would teleport players to that race’s homeland— their own territory.
For example, Slimes would spawn in Dahuang Marsh, Goblins in Greenwind Village, and Elves in the Eightfold Dense Forest where the Elf Mother Tree grew.
The NPCs in those places would ignore the oddity of the players’ sudden appearance, naturally treating them as newborns of their own kind, guiding them or giving them quests to kick off their adventure.
But this time, for the first time ever, all Chasing Dragon Knights were randomly spawned across different maps.
The concept of a “homeland” didn’t exist at all. There were no initial guide NPCs, nor any fellow kin to explore with. Looking around, there was only oneself.
? What’s up with the Chasing Dragon Knight? Someone’s gotta tell them what to do next, right?
Fortunately, they weren’t left bewildered for long.
Also randomly dropped into a swamp, Bai Buwen suddenly felt a strange sensation less than three minutes into exploring.
Then, like a game narrator, a voice sounded in his ear— it wasn’t any known language.
It was like seeing a string of jumbled code that no one else could decipher, but the Chasing Dragon Clan could instinctively extract the information and translate it into something they understood.
[Wanderer, the Chasing Dragon Clan bears the oldest bloodline.]
[When he is born, the Blood Summons will call you to seek him out. Gather with your kin at his side.]
The stream’s audio and the full-dive pod were synchronized, so all the viewers heard the voice as well.
At the same time, they saw Bai Buwen’s vision had left the real-world scene in front of him.
In that moment, Bai Buwen’s eyes suddenly lost focus. In a daze, it was as if he could “see through” his own skin and bones, plunging inward to glimpse the crimson rushing through his veins, to hear it surging.
Then, the viewpoint zoomed in on a single drop, as if in slow motion.
Everyone saw that drop of blood suddenly ignite, a spark instantly sweeping through the entire vessel, until roaring flames burst through pale skin, burning him up from the inside out!
This long, detailed visual illusion— from outside to within, every detail laid bare— finally snapped all the viewers awake when the red nearly seemed to burn out of their screens, as if they were fish leaping out of water, gasping for air.
“…I almost forgot to breathe just now!!”
“I could feel the immersion through the screen. Bai— Bai-ge, are you okay…?”
Then everyone saw that Bai Buwen was clearly not okay. Only those who experienced it themselves could understand how intense that moment was.
This was the Blood Summons!
Not to mention, at the end of the vision, he saw a pair of golden, inhuman eyes.
The owner of those eyes was…
Bai Buwen’s knees buckled and he half-knelt on the ground, drained.
The barrage was instantly filled with concern, mixed with—
“Several Chasing Dragon Knight streamers next door just fell to their knees too!”
“Damn, I was wrong, the new race is this intense?! I gotta try it later!”
“Bai-ge! Bai-ge, you’re trending on the front page! And the whole front page is full of big-name streamers kneeling just like you hhhhhh”
At that moment, Chasing Dragon Knights all over the world dropped to their knees. When they finally recovered, every one of them clutched their wildly pounding hearts.
“I know what I have to do now.” Bai Buwen, climbing to his feet, looked both excited and lost, but without hesitation, he turned toward a certain direction— the one his still-boiling blood was leading him to. “I have to go there, and find someone!”