"A serious warning to all game players: after playing, your body may no longer belong to you." In the Immortal World forum, a post published just half an hour ago rocketed to the top, suppressing all threads discussing Lin Bai. "This might be my last post. I swear on my integrity that every word I say here is absolutely true. Please read quickly; it concerns a huge conspiracy by the game company, and this post might be deleted at any moment. "My name is Song Cheng, my home address is in Sanshan City, XX Street, XX District, XX Building; my game ID is [Three Vulgarities Demon King]. If I experience an accident, lose memory for unknown reasons, or my personality drastically changes, please have the state contact my family and apprehend me. Try to find a way to save me, because by then, the one inside my body might no longer be me. "I was among the second batch of players to enter the game. Due to Lin Bai, I coincidentally joined Sky Demon Mountain, became the Sect's communicator, and received priority training. "As I dislike being restrained, I didn't accept any consortium's invitation. I just wanted to enjoy the game freely. "With the support of Sky Demon Mountain's various resources, I grinded for three months and barely reached the Hollow Realm. "But just yesterday, I encountered an NPC Body Snatching. "The moment I was subjected to Body Snatching by the NPC, I was kicked out of the game, returning to the login screen. "At that time, I didn't think anything was amiss. I assumed this was the normal procedure after a Body Snatching and planned to re-enter the game to fight the NPC for control of my game character's body. "Upon re-entering the game from the login screen, I could control my character normally. However, a group of Sky Demon Mountain seniors surrounded my character, asking about the Body Snatching. Before I could respond, I was kicked out of the game again. This time, instead of returning to the main interface, I was sent straight back to the gaming capsule. "That's when I finally realized something was wrong. I stubbornly entered the game again, only to be quickly kicked out... "After being disconnected several times, I finally discovered a horrifying truth: after the Body Snatching, my real-life body was actually being controlled by the NPC from the game. "When I entered the game, the NPC's soul occupied my body, walked out of the gaming capsule, and moved around freely... "That's right. The NPC's Body Snatching directly extended into my real-world body. "Of course, perhaps my physical body naturally rejects foreign souls, so when my consciousness returned, I easily regained control. "But I don't know if that NPC's soul is still in my body. Now I dare not enter the game anymore, fearing that the NPC might control my body to do something terrible! "As I'm typing this, my hands are shaking. I swear on my life, everything I've said is true. I hope every player who enters the game can read this post and be aware of NPC Body Snatching. "I surmise either the game company wants to replace humans with intelligent AI, or there's no game at all, and that place is a real world. "There's no such thing as a free lunch. I solemnly warn all players who enter the game: for the sake of your lives, please leave the game as soon as possible. Leave the gaming capsule. "The Justice League's [Sky Falcon], whose body Lin Bai snatched, might now be fully occupied by him. Perhaps Lin Bai already knows the truth of the game. I implore the consortiums to prepare countermeasures in advance and not be used and deceived by Lin Bai. The source of thɪs content is 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝔫𝔢𝔱 "Maybe one day, NPCs will invade our world en masse through Body Snatching. I hope everyone will be prepared..." If it were just one such post, it might have been dismissed as attention-seeking and wouldn't have caused such a commotion. However, soon after, more than ten replies described the same experience. Some even posted surveillance footage and used in-game screenshots for comparison... A group of people passionately provided examples and shared their own accounts, immediately causing an uproar on the forum. The theory that the game was a real world quickly overshadowed the game company conspiracy theory. After all, if the company truly wanted to use AI for Body Snatching, they wouldn't need such a convoluted process. "Unbelievable, the game world is actually real." "I can't believe Parallel Universes actually exist! This is mind-boggling." "The game company is the most incredible. They're instigating an invasion under the guise of a game. What kind of technology is that?" "Is it possible that behind the game company is the Righteous Door that Lin Bai referred to, located above the Three Thousand Worlds?" "I'm not sure why, but I quite method of invasion. Invading a real world by playing a game... No wonder they dared to claim 100% authenticity and 100% unscripted content. It all makes sense now. This is a huge undertaking..." "You're getting off-topic! The original poster is warning us about a counter-invasion, but you're all discussing the game's authenticity. Aren't you worried at all?" "What's there to worry about? If it's just a game, I'm not interested. But living in another world? That sounds exciting! Especially with a golden finger granting immortality and rapid upgrades, isn't that far more interesting than toiling for capitalists in this miserable reality? If I could, I'd gladly live there for the rest of my life." "To the person above, you'd still be working for a consortium there." "No! Once I'm there, with my golden finger, I'll start off above ordinary people. As long as I don't provoke major figures like Lin Bai who stir up trouble, I'll live a carefree life. It would certainly be happier than living in the real world. Maybe I could even have many wives and concubines and own vast properties..." "But there's a risk of Body Snatching!" "NPCs must have standards for Body Snatching. If I were just a loafer there, an NPC would have to be blind to choose me for Body Snatching." "Excellent point from the commenter above!" "People from our world invade other worlds through a game, and the Immortal World can counter-invade our world through Body Snatching. Don't you sense a conspiracy? What is the game company's motive for doing this? Aren't you willing to consider this? A collision of two civilizations could lead to a world-ending disaster!" "I don't want to think about it. I just want a chance to play the game." "Play a game that could cost you your life, or allow someone else to control your body? I wouldn't play this game even if you beat me to death." "This game is seriously affecting our lives! We need to unite and boycott this game!" "Yes, we should protest! We want the truth! We can't let the game company manipulate us , using us as pawns..." And so, a group of people fervently demanded explanations and the truth on the forum. Most people wanted to know: what was the game company's ultimate goal? Regarding this, the game company made no special statement about Body Snatching. They merely issued a simple bulletin: "The game company plans to issue 500,000 new accounts. Registration opens today and will close once the quota is met." The game company adopted a take-it-or-leave-it stance. However, the protesting voices on the forum instantly vanished. Everyone was exclaiming, "This is great!" and eagerly rushed to fill out registration forms. As most on the forum had anticipated, reality was harsh enough. Given a genuine chance to transmigrate to another world, why not seize it and experience it? How exhilarating! Besides, the risk of Body Snatching seemed too low. As for world-ending disasters and invasions, the government could handle those. It wasn't for ordinary people like them to worry about... The impact of the Body Snatching incidents was greater than anticipated. The official response came swiftly. However, they did not prevent the public from logging into the game. Instead, they encouraged citizens with accounts to explore the other world as much as possible and strive to develop their own influence there. If they discovered anything worth emulating from the other world's civilization, they were to contact local authorities immediately for generous rewards. If anyone experienced Body Snatching, they were to contact the authorities at once. To maintain social stability, the authorities would implement protective measures for those affected by Body Snatching... The official announcement made no mention of the game, treating the "other side" as an unknown world. It didn't use the word "invasion," but its language implicitly referred to plundering from and taking precautions against the other world's civilization. With the collision of two civilizations at stake, the authorities had to be extremely cautious. Of course, they couldn't just cut off the path—stopping people from entering the game and traveling to the other world. The game company itself was an enigma, and they couldn't stop it anyway. Moreover, even if they prevented their own citizens from logging in, what about the West's Land of Gods and Demons? If others obtained more advanced resources from that civilization, it would be a devastating blow to their own nation. This was a massive cake. Even if it was dangerous, even poisonous, the real-world authorities had to bite the bullet and try to extract the most nourishment from it. In this venture into the otherworld, everyone was a novice; no one had experience. Furthermore, a game company with technology far surpassing the real world hung over them like a Sword of Damocles. No one knew its ultimate goal. The authorities were far more anxious about the gaming capsule issue than the general public... As for forming a national team? If the authorities wished, any outstanding player could be recruited into the national team at any time. For instance, on the very day the Body Snatching news was confirmed, the leaders of the major consortiums received a notice from above, summoning them for an urgent meeting. Not every player was like Song Cheng, filled with a sense of crisis and national honor. A player named Liu Dongming, for example, was full of curiosity and a desire to investigate the Body Snatching phenomenon. Realizing an NPC from the game world had entered his body, his first reaction upon regaining control was excitement. He looked in the mirror, muttering to himself, Hey! Grand Master Da Xuan, are you still there? You were fighting me so fiercely just now, surely you didn't die? You are a Great Cheng Realm Ancestor, after all. Your Divine Soul can't be that fragile, right? His body remained still. This highlighted the difficulty of Body Snatching. Lin Bai's Divided God, by traveling almost non-stop day and night for tens of thousands of miles from the Holy Extreme Sect to the Blood Sect, was nearly comparable in this feat to an ordinary Crossing Tribulation Realm cultivator. Even so, he couldn't control Zheng Tong's body while Zheng Tong was conscious. How could a mere Great Cheng Realm Divine Soul avoid being suppressed? Besides, players can't use the Mind Reading Technique on them. Even if they can hear a player's words, they can't communicate back in reality... Did he really die? Liu Dongming muttered with a frown. After a moment's thought, he lay back in the gaming capsule. "I'll enter the game first. If you're not dead, you can make my body walk out of the gaming capsule later..." When Liu Dongming entered the game and then exited, just as he expected, his body had left the gaming capsule and was sitting at the table. When his consciousness returned to his body, the Divine Soul attempting the possession was once again repelled. Liu Dongming heaved a sigh of relief and scoffed, Divine Soul Possession really is difficult. As long as my consciousness doesn't leave my body, you'll never be in control. I wonder what that Song Cheng fellow was so scared about? Sitting at the table and pondering for a moment, Liu Dongming pulled out a piece of paper and wrote: "Grand Master Da Xuan, why don't we make a deal? You help me succeed in the game, and I'll help you understand modern society. How about it? You've seen it yourself—without my help, you can't do anything. I'll enter the game shortly. You can write your reply on this paper..." 「It takes all sorts to make a world.」 Just as there were those like Song Cheng, who warned the world, there were also collaborators like Liu Dongming, driven by personal gain. Regardless, the players' information eventually made its way back to the game world. All the natives were stunned by this news. The Descended Ones were immortal. The natives had imagined the players' world to be teeming with powerful experts, where geniuses were as common as dirt, yet they could never have predicted this outcome. Those immortal Descended Ones were merely ordinary people in their own world. This revelation was difficult for them to accept immediately. "...So they've turned our world into their playground?" the Holy Master said. "This is utterly outrageous!" "Holy Master, the world of the Descended Ones is not without its merits," said a Great Cheng Realm cultivator who had returned from a Body Snatching attempt. "Their world lacks Spiritual Energy. Though individually weak, they've developed a different path—a technological civilization. The weapons they've created are world-destroying, not much weaker than a full-powered strike from a Great Cheng Realm Ancestor, and ordinary people can operate them. If our two worlds were to go to war, we wouldn't hold much of an advantage. Moreover, we cannot use our Spells or Divine Skills there." "Ordinary people come to our world, immortal and with all their meridians unblocked. Yet when we go to their world, we can't even use Spells and Divine Skills! This is completely unfair to us!" Qu Chaoan said angrily. "Moreover, Divine Soul Possession carries immense risks for us; the losses are too great to bear," Nightfall said. "Desperation due to no hope of advancement is what drives one to choose Body Snatching. Who among us here would willingly abandon centuries of cultivation to possess an ordinary person?" "If we could annihilate the ordinary person's Divine Soul, it would be one thing. But sharing a body with them, even if we return to our world, means we could be expelled at any moment. What use is such a Body Snatching to us?" The Demon Master, having learned the truth, was extremely frustrated. "Ultimately, we are nothing more than playthings created for others." "When Lin Bai attempted Body Snatching to go over there, he probably realized they couldn't use Divine Rule, which is why he returned to our world to find a way to integrate the Descended Ones!" Qu Chaoan said. "The game company treating us as playthings is the true mastermind. After learning about our Body Snatching attempts, that company sent another 500,000 Descended Ones into our world. If these individuals mature, what awaits us is likely a world-ending catastrophe," the Holy Master sighed. "If they can send 500,000, they can send a million more. Even if we exhaust all our efforts to prevent the Descended Ones from maturing, that game company is also preparing that blasted Land of Gods and Demons. When the Descended Ones from there invade, how will we cope?" Qu Chaoan said, utterly dejected. "Lin Bai was right. This is a calamity. The Descended Ones are indeed an unavoidable, contemporary calamity! With our strength, we are completely unable to face it..." "Lin Bai has been trying to integrate the Descended Ones all along. Perhaps his method is the true way to save the world," Nightfall said, full of remorse. "We misunderstood him. We even sent him into the Heavenly Tribulation." "Integrating the Descended Ones is one thing, but why did he repeatedly attack us?" the Demon Master fumed. "He's just a young brat who offended us; couldn't we retaliate? To concede a point, couldn't he have clearly explained the danger the Descended Ones pose to us?" 「A brief silence fell.」 Qu Chaoan's expression was complicated. "Demon Master, Lin Bai has been saying it all along. He even gave us the answer: only by cultivating to the Heavenly Dao and mastering Spoken Law Follows can we completely isolate ourselves from the Descended Ones..."