"So, what do you mean when you say that Experience Points are more important than equipment and items?" Li Ang was driving down a narrow street, casually asking Liu Wu Dai.

"..."

Liu Wu Dai hesitated for a moment before replying, "Before the Shengnan King's Dream, players exceeding Lv20 had gradually started to appear around the world. Based on the data I've gathered so far, after Lv20, the Killing Field Game System undergoes significant changes, such as the full expansion of the Game Store, the unlocking of Team Mode, and new themes appearing in Scripted Missions."

Li Ang raised his eyebrows. "Team Mode and new themes?"

"Yeah," Liu Wu Dai nodded. "Before Level 20, players couldn't form fixed teams; teammates were randomly assigned. After Level 20, players can buy special items from the Store to invite other Lv20 players, who are not currently in a mission cooldown period, to join them in Scripted Missions. Upon completing the mission, both parties share its cooldown time. Additionally, players above Lv20 can spend more Game Currency to purchase Invitation Tickets, provided the level difference between the two players does not exceed five. Furthermore, if a guild or permanent team is established, these special items are not required; teams can be formed directly."

"This feature seems quite nice." Li Ang's eyes lit up. "Large secret organizations would be pleased, and it's beneficial for Lone Wolf Players too."

"Exactly," Liu Wu Dai nodded. "Previously, only the 'SOS Signal' series of Store items could be used for outside help, but these items had such low refresh rates that large secret organizations would buy them at high prices as soon as they appeared. And it's not as stable as Team Mode."

Li Ang frowned and thought for a while. "What about the new themes?"

"World Merging," Liu Wu Dai said. "According to current data, after Level 20, there's a certain probability that Scripted Missions based on real-world literary and artistic works will appear: movies, TV series, video games, novels... Even in a scripted world, you could meet players from other alternate realities."

"Players from other worlds?"

"Yeah," Liu Wu Dai said calmly. "Other worlds also have players. They obtain their player status in the same way we do: by being randomly chosen or by killing other players to inherit their qualifications. Magical Girls, High-intelligence Dinosaurs, Rainbow Ponies, malevolent spirits, Mechanical Beings, Variant Aliens—all might be players. Similarly, Scripted Bosses too. If they can kill a player during a Scripted Mission, they will obtain player qualifications during the settlement process at the end of the mission."

When saying the word "malevolent spirits," Liu Wu Dai's glance instinctively flickered towards Li Ang. Although neither had spoken of it, the humanoid armor that had appeared beside Li Ang in the Mirage Dragon Mist World was very likely Chai Cuiqiao from the previous Solitary Cold Temple mission.

So, he took a malevolent spirit home? Liu Wu Dai thought to himself. It does seem like something he would do.

"If we're going to worlds where other players exist to carry out missions," Li Ang knitted his brows, "then Earth in reality..."

"Could also become a 'Scripted Mission location' for players from other worlds," Liu Wu Dai picked up the thread. "This is a hypothesis by the think tank of the Special Affairs Bureau, which hasn't been confirmed by reliable evidence yet. However, if this conjecture holds true, the difficulty of maintaining security in every region of the real world will significantly increase. Conventional forces would very likely be incapable of defending against an invasion of players from other worlds—just as other worlds are unable to defend against our invasion. In this scenario, player qualifications, along with the resources of individuals, organizations, and nations, would escalate to become resources at the level of races and civilizations. Time is becoming increasingly pressing."

Liu Wu Dai paused for a moment, then continued, "For all players, it's crucial to find ways to quickly level up to Lv20. This is also the main reason why I decided to get involved in this risky business."

"..."

Li Ang looked at Liu Wu Dai and said seriously, "This information is very valuable. Thanks."

"No need," Liu Wu Dai stated calmly. "This isn't exactly top-secret. After some time, once the Special Affairs Bureau or the Global Occult Coalition are ready, they will probably disclose this information as well."

After Liu Wu Dai finished speaking, the atmosphere in the car fell silent again. Two headlights lit up the road ahead, the vehicle moving in isolation, as if the only sound left in the world was its engine.

Could the real world possibly become a battlefield... Li Ang thought to himself, an unsettling irritation rising within him. He still very much liked the peaceful life he had now; even if it was just a façade of calm, it was better than complete chaos. It seems I need to speed up my leveling.

What about me becoming a player? Miss Chai's timid voice echoed in Li Ang's mind, an image of her looking down, fiddling with her fingers, surfacing as well. If I become a player, I should be able to offer more help, right? Double the qualifications, double the strength.

Let's forget about it, Li Ang retorted internally. The equipment and items I have are already rich with potential; I don't need your help. Besides, you're just a good-for-nothing lazybones. As a player, you'd just be slacking off—working sporadically like 'fishing for three days and drying nets for two'—only thinking about eating, drinking, and having fun, without any dedication to honing your abilities.

Miss Chai's mental projection immediately glared as she shot back, How can you slander someone out of thin air like that...

Slander? What innocence? Li Ang countered. Just two days ago, I saw you staying up late, secretly using my Alipay account to top up money for skins in that mobile game of yours.

Miss Chai's imagined face turned red, veins bulging on her forehead as she argued, Topping up isn't stealing... Topping up! How can something a spirit like me does be called stealing?

What followed were her incomprehensible mental rants, something like, Those damn devs must have secretly nerfed the gacha rates! and Just one more top-up, I'll definitely get a good drop this time! As she 'spoke', her mental image seemed to curl up and roll on the floor.

Since Miss Chai was an unregistered entity and used Li Ang's Alipay, and because the Qinge Armor lacked a fingerprint sensor, she had taken it upon herself to create a paper model of Li Ang's face. When Li Ang was at class during the day, she would use this paper face to unlock Alipay for her mobile game top-ups.

One day, when Li Ang returned from school, he saw a figure wearing his paper mask sitting on the couch, picking its feet and cackling eerily while swiping on a phone, shouting, "It dropped! It dropped!"

The sight startled him so much that he almost drew his sword to cut the thing down.

This good-for-nothing is useless for serious matters but has certainly mastered a full range of crooked tricks and cunning ploys, Li Ang sighed internally, completely oblivious to the saying "the creation reflects its master."

As the vehicle drove on, the road ahead suddenly ended. A dark forest, lashed by a torrential downpour, loomed ominously before them.

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