The barrage of intense discussion in the chat suddenly cleared out at this moment, leaving a huge empty space.
You could imagine countless people trying to type on their keyboards at this instant, but all that came out was incoherent gibberish, as if they’d lost control.
Finally, after a few seconds, some people managed to regain a shred of their sanity.
The next moment, the chat was completely flooded with a never-ending stream of new messages!
“Ahhhhhhhh, what did I just see!!?”
“Holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap holy crap!!!!!!!”
In the blink of an eye, a flood of meaningless screams in the chat was wiped clean, only to be instantly filled up again with new screams.
It was clear that no one knew what to say anymore. Even “holy crap” couldn’t express what they felt, but right now, they were so dumbstruck that it was the only thing they could say!
Finally, after nearly half a minute of mindless, repeating messages, they managed to push the livestream’s popularity to number one on the whole network.
But now, no one bothered with the usual “Congratulations to the streamer,” because even Bai Buwen himself was so overwhelmed that it looked like he was about to be taken away on a stretcher.
“I came in from the top of the popularity rankings— what on earth is going on in this stream? Anyone with chat anxiety is going to freak out, is everyone crazy??”
A clueless newcomer’s comment flashed by, only to be instantly drowned in the overwhelming flood of new messages.
“Say no more, Wanzu is amazing! They really dare to do anything!”
“Streamer, can you bring the Close-up Camera in a bit more? I want to see more clearly, I’m begging you!!!”
“Is anyone recording this stream? I missed the earlier part. I want to watch from when this kid first appeared, not missing a single detail!”
“They didn’t actually say this is really the Dragon Clan, right? He obviously looks human?”
No matter what everyone said, all eyes were focused on that small, golden-haired, golden-eyed child.
Even though they were separated by almost an entire world, before they even realized it, they all subconsciously held their breath, afraid the child would suddenly disappear.
They saw the child gazing up at the sky beneath the heavens.
The world had suddenly darkened due to the sudden arrival of Disaster, but he still shone brightly, every strand of hair seeming to be wrapped in a dreamy glow.
And he truly was the dream of the entire universe— a fantastical being that even the boldest dared not imagine.
So, when he appeared so vividly before everyone’s eyes, people were instantly enchanted, their hearts completely captivated!
“Two visual illusions still aren’t enough? The official hints are obvious enough— if you still can’t see it, are you an idiot!”
With such a massive audience, finally someone managed to speak up with forced calm, “The name ‘Dragon Rider’ was already super obvious, but because it was too obvious, no one ever thought about it…@&#%*@”
What followed was a string of garbled characters, clearly showing that his calm only lasted for a fleeting moment before he lost control again.
Luckily, someone else quickly picked up the thread.
“It’s probably a mimic form. Plenty of races have that function, right? So, does that mean we might get to see his real form!?”
“Holy crap, I want to see too! If I could see him transform with my own eyes, I’d blow up right on the spot, ahhh!”
“Maybe he hasn’t learned how yet. He obviously still looks like a cub. Streamer, don’t stand so close, you’ll scare him!”
“Is no one thinking about the Saen Clan? If the Saen Clan saw this kid…”
“So what? They call themselves the descendants of dragons and spend all day obsessively chasing after Dragon relics, but after over a thousand years, they haven’t found a single real dragon. Even if they’re members of the Universe Council, why should they even care about a character in a game?”
But this wasn’t just any ordinary game.
Its influence had already surpassed the boundary between reality and fiction, becoming the faith of countless people.
Everyone was well aware of this deep down, but at this moment, they all tacitly chose to keep silent.
Before the storm of this event swept through the real universe, this place was still their dream sanctuary.
They would never hesitate to pour out their passionate attention and their 100% genuine, intense emotions!
Still unaware that he was being watched by countless people, Beiyuan checked the speed of Yunshang Nation’s collapse, glanced at the Crystal Ore in his hand, and chose to turn and leave.
This time, Bai Buwen didn’t even need the viewers to urge him—he hurriedly followed after.
“It’s dangerous ahead, don’t go any further!” He anxiously grabbed the hem of the golden-haired child’s clothes, but as soon as the child turned to look at him, he instinctively let go.
This was really not good.
He couldn’t seem to stick to his resolve to stop the child, because as soon as the child looked at him with a hint of confusion, he was completely disarmed.
…Alright, this really was one of the cutest cubs in the entire universe.
Of course, he was also the most precious one.
So precious that there was only this one in the whole universe, and he was right in front of him.
“But the Teleportation Array is just ahead.” The golden-haired, golden-eyed child pointed out calmly, “If Yunshang Nation falls, the entire land will be doomed.”
So hiding was pointless, unless they left this map entirely and teleported somewhere else.
Now it was Bai Buwen’s turn to feel awkward.
He quickly made way, “Sorry! I know a shortcut that’ll get us there faster. Let me take you.”
This time, the golden-haired, golden-eyed child didn’t refuse.
He smiled slightly, looking very well-behaved as he nodded, “Thank you.”
Bai Buwen snapped out of that smile in a daze, thinking to himself that someone was probably already frantically taking screenshots.
The two of them headed toward the Teleportation Array together.
On the way, Beiyuan’s sharp senses caught the information carried by the wind.
He sniffed the scent of gunpowder in the air and gradually pieced together the situation on the distant battlefield in the sky—
This was an ambush no one saw coming.
[The enemy] suddenly descended within Yunshang Nation.
They were primitive and dangerous, acted in groups, and possessed both speed and strength.
The people were caught completely off guard, forced to fight back in haste, and quickly fell into dire straits.
If this were the real world, it would be an unprecedented crisis, likely with disastrous consequences.
But in the game, it became an official Raid Dungeon.
After all, when the world is in crisis, isn’t that when players get to show off their skills?
But this was a fully immersive game world— absolutely real, with 100% immersion.
At a time like this, what appeared before everyone’s eyes was a scene so real you could feel it— every sense was fully engaged in the shocking Disaster.
The world was like a bottle of water being shaken, from the sky to the earth, all in turmoil.
And the people were just tiny droplets in that bottle; when the world began to dry up, their pain was so real that no one could tell the difference between reality and illusion.
The players’ screams were so genuine— their tears and howls were all straight from the heart.
But right now, Beiyuan was still just a newly spawned NPC suffering from hunger, who hadn’t even tried flying yet.
At a time like this, even the Yan King, with his massive size and wings that could easily shield others from falling rocks, was far more useful than Beiyuan.
So his best move for now was to meet up with the Yan King first, and then decide what to do next… Yes, that was the rational plan.
But plans never keep up with changes.
Just then, a Tianjing Clan player suddenly fell from the sky, aiming to land right on Beiyuan’s head.
With the force from that height, Beiyuan figured he himself would be fine, but as for the other guy, who knew?
So, quietly, he pulled out a small rare ore, placed it on his index finger, and flicked it up with his thumb like a coin toss.
—There went his lunch, and he’d only taken one bite.
So, the Tianjing Clan player, who was bracing himself for a deadly fall, suddenly felt a powerful gust of wind surge up from below, pushing him back up!
He quickly used his last bit of HP to steady himself in midair, then finally landed on the ground, staggering.
…He survived.
The Tianjing Clan player was stunned: I actually made it? Amazing, my dude!
He quickly chugged a few bottles of Healer Potion, and the player named “Tingfeng” finally stabilized his condition.
Then, turning his head, he spotted Bai Buwen.
“Brother Bai??!” He stared, eyes wide, approaching in excitement and disbelief, “Is it really you?!”
A famous streamer like Bai Buwen was instantly recognizable in-game, so it wasn’t surprising to run into fans.
Especially with Wanzu’s recent update, people would camp out just to meet celebrities—the odds of a real encounter were high.
If it were any other time, Bai Buwen might have interacted with him or denied being himself for fun.
But now— never underestimate the terrifying insight of viewers with microscope-level vision, let alone the fact that Beiyuan hadn’t really tried to hide his actions just now.
“Ah, how should I put this…” Amid the dense barrage, a quiet message floated by, “If he really is Dragon Clan, even if he’s just a cub, I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned the tide.”
Everyone who saw it gave it a thumbs-up.
Tingfeng now noticed the childlike Beiyuan.
“…”
An NPC he’d never seen before!
The words he’d wanted to say to Bai Buwen got stuck in his throat.
After all, the NPCs in Wanzu were highly intelligent—sometimes scarily so.
And with the current Disaster event, it made everyone even more nervous.
But the instincts of a veteran player kicked in, and he took the chance to boost his favorability, “Little brother, it’s very dangerous here. You should hurry to a safe place and leave the rest to me.”
As he spoke, he struck a heroic pose, puffing out his already tattered chest.
Bai Buwen: “……”
But unlike Bai Buwen, who’d frozen up around strangers, the golden-haired boy now showed a hint of interest.
He sniffed the air almost imperceptibly, then confirmed, “You’re carrying a lot of rare ore.”
“Ah, right!” Tingfeng seemed to remember, hurriedly taking off the pack on his back to check.
Thankfully, it was sturdy—though the surface was battered, the contents were unharmed.
“I just took a Trade Guild quest to deliver rare ore to Yunshang Nation, and I’m still on it.” He explained for Bai Buwen’s benefit, too. “But I hadn’t even reached Yunshang before I got shot down. Now that I think about it, this trip was a total loss— not only did I fail the quest, but everything went wrong.”
Bai Buwen noticed Beiyuan’s gaze and took the chance to ask, “You like this stuff? Actually, I…”
He wanted to say he had plenty in storage, but remembered that all his funds were on his other account.
This new Dragon Rider character was dirt poor— he didn’t even have a single copper coin, let alone rare ore.
…Sorry, I get it now.
Time to spend money and go mining!!
—“Boom!”
Another huge boulder crashed down from the sky, slamming into the ground and kicking up a dramatic cloud of dust.
In Tingfeng’s “Holy crap!” the Teleportation Array in the distance suddenly erupted with unprecedented light, illuminating the whole dark world as bright as day.
Countless players were teleporting in.
In the area of Yunshang Nation, once dominated by the Tianjing Clan, all kinds of strange and never-before-seen races suddenly appeared— Elf, Treefolk, Flower Sprite, Slime, Werewolf, Half-Mechanical Lifeform… too many to count.
This was the largest gathering since the Wanzu update—the whole community coming together to help.
At this moment, to these desperate players, this was far more than just a game.
Beiyuan watched as a Flower Sprite player flapped her little wings and rushed forward, but she was clearly a newbie, couldn’t control her flying skill, and promptly crashed, instantly becoming a severely injured liability.
The Flower Sprite was still wailing when her Tianjing Clan friend arrived: “Why did you come here?!”
Flower Sprite: “I heard your home got wrecked, of course I came to help you get revenge!”
The Tianjing Clan player healed her while scolding: “You haven’t even learned an attack skill yet! Coming here is just asking to die!”
Flower Sprite: “Who says so? If I’d managed to fly, I’d have charged in with self-destruct, just watch!”
What they might never have in real life, here was honest and pure.
That feeling was exactly why so many, Beiyuan included, loved this world.
Bai Buwen was still worrying about whether there would be a traffic jam at the Teleportation Array, Tingfeng was struggling to stay alive with skills and potions, but Beiyuan suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“I’ll borrow these rare ores for a bit.” Under their stunned gazes, he picked up all the Crystal Ore meant for the quest and stuffed them into his mouth.
The golden-haired, golden-eyed child chewed contentedly, a smile spreading across his face as he squinted. “Not bad.”
Tingfeng: “…!?”
Bai Buwen inhaled sharply in despair, “Wait, that’s not for eating! What are you doing?!”
Beiyuan swallowed the last bite, gave a soft “Mmm,” and curved his lips. “I’m working hard to grow up.”