After Zhang Heng tossed the phone away, he went to find a clothing store near the street. He used the Pet Wire to open the door and grabbed a set of clothes from the rack. He changed out of his wet clothes and placed some change on the cashier. Then he found a hotel room and booked a room. After dinner, he had a good night's rest.
Perhaps it was because he was far away from Greenland, or perhaps the Ancient Seal was working, he did not have any more nightmares that night.
After regaining his strength and spirit, Zhang Heng crawled out of bed. He sat at the desk in the hotel room and started to think about his next move.
It was no accident that the 8-300 Charge crashed in the middle of its journey. However, Zhang Heng still had no idea who the culprit was. With the large-scale disclosure of personal information, the relationship between players had become increasingly tense. Although the three major guilds had issued a stern joint announcement to warn those who were tempted to cause trouble, Silver Wing's leader, Pegasus, had turned the joint announcement into a joke.
Even though Silver Wings had released a new announcement, claiming that Pegasus' account had been hacked and that all the extreme remarks before were not his original intention, that was already something that happened half a day later. The speed of this crisis public relations was too slow. Moreover, the claim that an account had been hacked was the same as a slippery hand. It was a standard answer in the public relations world, and it could be found everywhere. It was easy to imagine how many people would believe it.
Even though Zhang Heng had been dealing with the issue of his identity for the past few days, he also paid attention to the progress of the incident on the forum. However, many of the old accounts that were active on the forum had disappeared. At the same time, a large number of new accounts flooded in. Most of these new accounts were like Zhang Heng, they only browsed and did not post anything.
The number of posts and replies on the forum had plummeted. Even the gossipmongers had disappeared without a trace. Without them tirelessly digging up and spreading all kinds of rumors, the people on the forum felt like they were being blindfolded.
Now, people relied on the news to obtain information. Recently, there had been an increase in disappearances and accidental deaths, mixed with all kinds of strange weather and natural phenomena. For example, the sudden appearance of large dark clouds and lightning at Hua Yuan Residential, and the unfortunate death of a couple who were struck by lightning.
The reporter also interviewed the security guard of the residential area who was almost struck by lightning. The latter had a look of lingering fear as he vividly described how he escaped from the lightning. Then, the TV station invited a meteorologist to explain the formation of the thunderstorm clouds in a serious manner, as well as what ordinary citizens should do to protect themselves on rainy days and reduce the probability of being struck by lightning. This was the end of the news.
However, there was another version of this incident on the player forum. There was a rumor that the Thunder God Thor and another unknown god had a fierce battle here, and the result was unknown. Other than that, there was also news of the previous disappearances and accidental deaths. One after another, it was found that the deceased was also a player.
Some experienced police officers in the public security department also sniffed out something, but for some reason, the follow-up investigation came to nothing. These strange deaths and disappearances were the favorite of all kinds of spam marketing accounts, but there seemed to be a mysterious force that had been suppressing the popularity of related incidents. Seeing that the related videos and public accounts couldn't get any traffic, they turned to hype up celebrity scandals. Only the players on the forum still quietly paid attention to these news.
Now, all players had a difficult choice in front of them.
That was whether or not they should give up their current identity and life and go from the light to the dark, because no one knew whether or not their name would appear in the next news article. Doing so would undoubtedly increase their own safety, but in the eyes of many people, it was not much different from dying.
And this was no laughing matter. How should they continue to survive after losing their jobs, how should they hide in the city, and how should they explain to their loved ones?
The only good news for Zhang Heng was that the exchange rate of game points had plummeted recently. Many players were planning for the future, exchanging their game points for currency. On the one hand, they were preparing to go into hiding, and on the other hand, they wanted to save enough money for their families before they left.
According to the latest exchange rate table sent to him by Ding Si, the exchange rate of game points to RMB had fallen from 40,000 to 24,000. Han Lu, on the other hand, had already received her first batch of funds. She began to buy game points in large amounts, and she even raised the exchange rate slightly.
Zhang Heng wondered if he had been targeted by a hunter-type player this time. However, killing was not the main goal of these players. Their main goal was to earn money. If he was the target, then they were after the game items on him, especially the Grade-B game items. There was no reason for them to let him die in the vast sea.
As for personal grudges, Zhang Heng had always been playing solo, and he rarely met other players. Basically, he killed all his enemies in the dungeon. The only exception was the conflict between him and Arc of Light. If it was Arc of Light, they might have the ability to do so. However, from the previous joint announcement, it could be seen that Arc of Light was inclined to maintain the original order. This was also the best choice for them. There was no reason for them to slap themselves in the face so quickly.
So, Zhang Heng remembered what Nyarlathotep once said. Most gods did not want the master of the city under the ice to escape, and the easiest way to do so was to kill him as the vessel.
So … was this an attack from a god?
Indeed, from the fact that his location was inexplicably known, and the method the other party chose to kill him, there were too many things that couldn't be deduced with common sense. However, if it was a god who did it, it would make sense, and it was likely that more than one god was involved.
What would it feel like for an ordinary person to be targeted by a god?
The only thing left was probably endless despair. In most existing legends and poems, gods were described as extremely powerful, full of power, with endless lifespan, eternal youth, and invincible.
However, Zhang Heng had fought with gods countless times, and he had killed more than one god with his own hands. He had proved that these creatures could be killed, and they had weaknesses. Humans didn't even need to do anything to them. Most of them had already aged in the long river of time, struggling to survive in modern society.
And except for a few unpredictable existences, most of them had fixed behavior paths and personality characteristics, imprisoned by the long poems and literary works that described their heroism. This was where their power came from, but it was also where they were trapped.
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