Fountain Camping

Ye Chuan appeared in Nolan Village, a settlement with distinct Western European architectural influences, just beyond which lay the wilderness. In the distance, a steady stream of players could be seen entering and exiting the church.

"You—you, you! What the hell? Why are you here?" The moment Su Qiao and the others spotted Ye Chuan, their minds went blank.

Just moments ago, he had annihilated them in the wilderness. How was this boss already waiting outside the respawn point the second they left?

Was this some kind of horror game now?

"Yoooooo, ninety-nine percent~" Ye Chuan’s ghostly flames flickered wildly in his eyes as he watched players continuously popping out of the respawn point. Without hesitation, he raised a finger and pointed.

All his avatars surged forth, charging straight into the respawn point and slaughtering everything in sight.

"Go!"

Another group of avatars was dispatched to scour the outskirts of Nolan Village for any remaining players, while the ordinary NPCs in the village were left untouched.

The difference between native NPCs and players was stark—NPCs looked like normal people, while players were far more abstract, decked out in bizarre equipment.

Each avatar carried a trace of Ye Chuan’s consciousness, allowing them to swiftly locate and eliminate every player, sending them straight back to the respawn point.

And the moment they revived, the avatars outside would slaughter them again.

A perfect assembly line for harvesting soul essence.

"Wait—what?!"

"My level!"

"Damn it!"

"Monsters invaded the town? We’re getting spawn-camped with no way out!"

Players inside the respawn point were instantly obliterated the moment they revived. Worse, combat status prevented them from logging out, trapping them in an endless cycle of revival and death.

The ground was soon littered with soul essence, all of which Ye Chuan collected without hesitation.

At first, players hurled curses at Ye Chuan, but soon their rage shifted to the game developers, with insults escalating to creative variations of "screw your ancestors." Eventually, they gave up entirely, adjusting their pain settings to zero and resigning themselves to their fate—lying flat and accepting death.

In just a short time, Ye Chuan had amassed more soul essence than he could in an entire day.

Aside from a few distant players who caught wind of the situation, nearly everyone near the village—including the members of the Skyhawk Guild—was trapped in this slaughterhouse, powerless to resist.

"Holy crap, the boss from Nask Graveyard is spawn-camping?"

"No way, since when can dungeon bosses enter safe zones?"

"Even field bosses can’t enter safe zones—the guards would wipe them out."

"Where are the guards?"

"The guards got one-shot by the boss!"

The chaos in Nolan Village instantly exploded across player forums. While there were many beginner villages, none had ever seen something this absurd.

Just days ago, players had been bragging about Nolan Village dropping legendary gear, making others green with envy. Now, they were being told the boss was spawn-killing them?

Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable.

"Serves them right. Thousands of players farming the dungeon, and now the monsters are delivering payback in person."

"You think the boss glitched out?"

"What’s going on with Nolan Village? Are the admins doing anything?"

"They are."

As the situation escalated, news of the boss spawn-camping reached the admins.

And since it was nighttime, most of them had already clocked out and gone to bed—only to be jolted awake by incessant phone calls.

"What?! The Nask Graveyard boss escaped?"

"Wait, wasn’t the entire dungeon deleted? Where did this boss and those shadowy minions come from?!"

"What do you mean the boss is immune to deletion?"

"Damn it, get the devs to nuke that boss ASAP!"

"Delete it! Delete the code!!!!!"

Meanwhile, back in the game, Ye Chuan had already stockpiled hundreds of thousands of soul essence.

"Not bad for such a short time."

"Too bad they have respawn timers. If they revived instantly, I could farm even faster."

The players in the respawn point were already numb. If they heard Ye Chuan’s thoughts, they’d probably cough up blood in frustration.

Most of them had been killed down to Level 1, stripped of all their gear, and left in utter despair.

But some solo players saw an opportunity, snatching up dropped gear during respawns. Who cared about levels? If they could snag even one high-tier item, it’d be worth it.

Just as Ye Chuan was raking in soul essence, the surroundings began to darken.

Soon, players in the respawn point received a notification:

Due to an emergency, all players were now allowed to log out even in combat.

"Miss, we can log out now!" The bald strategist from the Skyhawk Guild was currently being mauled by a demonic wolf. Though there was no pain, the sight was still gruesome.

Su Qiao, who had long since given up, coldly muttered, "Fine, log out. I’m hiring a thousand people to mass-report the devs!"

"Damn skeleton bastard! You’ve pissed me off!"

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

One by one, beams of light erupted as the spawn-camped players logged out en masse.

"Finally! I can log out!"

"I’ve been killed so many times I’m numb. Gotta admit, that hammer-wielding one hits hard."

"Can’t wait to see what compensation the devs cough up."

"..."

In no time, the once-bustling respawn point fell silent. Fewer and fewer players revived, until finally, none remained in Ye Chuan’s sight.

The players, now free, vented their frustrations, some even swearing off the game entirely.

"That’s it. I’m boycotting this game for a week. Let the devs regret this."

"Quitting! Uninstalling!"

"..."

"They… all logged out?"

Ye Chuan looked around. Not only had the players vanished, but the NPCs were also being teleported away in beams of light. The surroundings grew darker, colors fading as if washed out.

The entire world plunged into darkness, as though submerged in ink. The scenery dissolved into nothingness.

"What’s… happening?" Ye Chuan recalled all his avatars, extending his senses—only to find an endless void.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

The devs had pulled the plug.

A window popped up before Ye Chuan’s eyes:

[Adventure concluded. Retrievable items: 2,383,001.]

The next moment, Ye Chuan logged out.