BOSS01

"Holy crap, where did I end up?" Fang Zhiyi was full of confusion. As soon as he landed, he noticed something was wrong.

Little Hei, however, was unusually cautious. Its body curled up into a tight ball.

"No, what are you doing?" Fang Zhiyi didn't understand.

"Shh, careful not to be heard." Little Hei looked extremely wary.

Fang Zhiyi rarely saw it like this and found it a bit funny. "Wait, you actually have things you're afraid of?" Suddenly he paused. Something was wrong. If even this guy who dared to take a few bites out of the Heavenly Dao was scared, could he himself be safe?

Fang Zhiyi immediately looked around. This was a square room with a rather unique decor—the walls were covered in... broken bones?

He immediately looked down to check his own body, and upon seeing it, Fang Zhiyi couldn't help but freeze.

He was a literal skeleton.

The kind without a single speck of meat left on it.

"Wait, what is the meaning of this?"

Little Hei replied in a muffled voice, "This world is very special." Its single eye darted around wildly, taking a good while to stop. "We shouldn't have been discovered."

A simple plotline was transmitted to Fang Zhiyi.

This was an online gaming world named Fallen God. On this planet, eighty percent of people enjoyed the conveniences of technology, and even online games allowed players to project their consciousness inside to experience them. As long as one purchased a nutrition cabin, they could start a new life in Fallen God.

The game Fallen God was even more special. Since its launch, it had been fully hosted by an AI named the Main Brain. Whether it was the development of the game or the changes in the world, everything was autonomously advanced by the Main Brain with only one purpose: to give players a better gaming experience.

Under such a background, many high-level NPCs also developed self-awareness. They even believed that the world they were in was real, so their behavior was much closer to reality. No longer restricted to the meaningless, repetitive dialogue of ordinary online games, NPCs could choose to act according to their own moods and thoughts. This feature alone attracted countless players.

Fang Zhiyi was a boss who had gained self-awareness. He was the final boss of the first floor of the Demon Corridor dungeon. In life, he was a Sword Saint; after death, he was corrupted by necromantic magic and resurrected with a hatred for humanity, transforming from a guardian deity of mankind into an evil skeleton.

But Fang Zhiyi encountered a team of novices. To be honest, he didn't understand why these humans liked to run into his territory in droves. To him, many humans were no different from ants, yet they always jumped around like monkeys, and shortly after being beaten to death, they would happily run back to continue fighting him.

What puzzled Fang Zhiyi even more was that he would also resurrect, so what was the point of this fighting?

He fell into deep thought.

It was not a good thing for a target attacked by players to start trying to think.

News even spread among the players that the boss of the Demon Corridor dungeon seemed to have bugged out! He only knew how to take a beating and didn't fight back! For a time, many people rushed over, and the dungeon entrance was almost packed with people.

Finally, after resurrecting who knows how many times, Fang Zhiyi scratched his head. Although what he touched was his own skull, he figured one thing out: if he couldn't understand it himself, why not ask these people?

His sudden movement terrified the little girl in front of him. Trembling, she watched the skeleton before her stand up with a sword in hand. She and her teammates were nowhere near the level required to clear this dungeon, but they had come hoping to pick up a cheap bargain.

And just when it was their turn, this boss returned to normal!

Black mist began to emanate from Fang Zhiyi's skeletal body.

"Um, let me ask you a question. Since we can't die, why do we fight?"

The players froze, looking at each other in disbelief.

"Didn't the update say that currently only town NPCs are equipped with the ability to think? Could this guy..."

"We hit the jackpot!" A player named Lin Han was somewhat excited. He reached out a hand toward Fang Zhiyi with a friendly expression. "Hello, my name is Lin Han."

Fang Zhiyi stared at his outstretched hand, shook his head after a moment, and said, "You didn't answer my question."

Lin Han felt a bit awkward, but he knew this was an opportunity, a chance to skyrocket to success. "Because in your world, we need to fight to acquire equipment. Do you understand equipment?"

Fang Zhiyi looked the few people up and down in confusion. Seeing their dilapidated scrap-metal gear, Fang Zhiyi seemed to understand. "Then why should I fight you?"

Lin Han took a deep breath. "Because this is your job."

Fang Zhiyi suddenly saw the light. He lifted his blade, and just the black mist alone began to continuously drain the group's health.

"Wait, wait!" Lin Han hadn't expected his words to make this boss get serious.

Fang Zhiyi tilted his head to look at him. "What's wrong?"

Before Lin Han had time to speak, the girl next to him started crying.

"Why are you crying?" Fang Zhiyi didn't understand. The people before him could resurrect when they died, and he could resurrect too.

Seeing him suddenly stop his attack, Lin Han said, "Because, because she thinks you are pitiful!"

Fang Zhiyi froze. "Pitiful?"

"You must be very lonely all by yourself in this gloomy place. If you are willing, you can be friends with us."

Fang Zhiyi pondered the meaning of friends. Looking at the few people in front of him, he suddenly turned around, dug out a few pieces of equipment from the treasure room behind him, and threw them over. "Take these."

From that day on, Fang Zhiyi had friends. Lin Han and the others' need was equipment, and in return, they would occasionally come to chat with Fang Zhiyi, because Fang Zhiyi could not leave this place.

However, in the guild channel of Lin Han and his group, they chatted and Lin Han complained that the boss of the Shadow Corridor was an idiot who was completely played by them. He even suggested bringing other guild members here to farm equipment and reputation.

Fang Zhiyi went easy on them whenever he saw them, which allowed Lin Han to go straight from an ordinary member to the vice guild leader, and also gradually increased their guild's strength.

But when the world updated once again, Fang Zhiyi noticed something was wrong. He watched with his own eyes as a familiar subordinate was beaten to death and never resurrected.

Confused, he touched his own body, then reached out and snapped off one of his own ribs. If it were like before, it would have restored itself in a moment, but today he waited a long time, and that piece of bone remained perfectly fine in his hand.

In other words, he wouldn't resurrect anymore?

Did that mean... death?

Although Fang Zhiyi knew he was already dead, this thought still gave him a fright.

He couldn't wait to ask his friends what exactly had happened in the outside world.