The Only Player in 'Child of Stardust'

"What is that thing?"

Zhou Yuan was very curious about the true nature of [Anomaly 001: War]. What could possibly trigger the third war?

"A concept rooted in the human mind, a collective of ideas about war and violence," Chen Guangxi answered.

"A concept? Concepts can also turn into anomalies?" Zhou Yuan was surprised.

"Yes. And not just concepts, anything you can imagine can become an anomaly."

"Then how did the Control Bureau seal and contain [Anomaly 001]?"

"That, I don't know," Chen Guangxi shrugged.

So, the Child of Stardust Player System was also an anomaly... Zhou Yuan thought to himself and asked:

"What about the levels of anomalies?"

"The Control Bureau classifies anomalies based on their danger level and difficulty of containment, from levels 1 to 6.

Level 1 anomalies are the safest, but not completely without danger. They are just easier to contain.

Level 2 anomalies cannot be easily contained and require a certain cost, but with proper planning, zero loss is achievable.

Level 3 anomalies are deadly. Containing them usually requires a lot of effort, and the containment facilities and measures are quite complex and strict.

This haunted place here is roughly a Level 3 anomaly. You'll see how dangerous it is soon enough."

Zhou Yuan fed Guangxi a steamed bun before she could pause suspensely, and she continued explaining.

"Level 4 anomalies usually start to distort reality and can affect a city or more areas if severe.

Level 5 anomalies possess strong reality distortion abilities and can create global disasters.

Level 6 anomalies are phenomena capable of destroying the world, like [Anomaly 001: War]."

"What do you mean by reality distortion abilities?" Zhou Yuan asked out of curiosity.

Chen Guangxi began counting on her fingers, "Creating things out of thin air, making something from nothing, overturning history, having wishes come true, turning false into true, altering laws... basically, the more outrageous, the more likely."

Zhou Yuan's mind buzzed instantly.

The Child of Stardust Player System perfectly matched these conditions—it could turn items and skills from the system's fantasy-based store into reality!

Could the Player System be a Level 5 anomaly?

No... no, it should be a Level 6 anomaly!

Some items and skills, if brought into reality, definitely had the power to destroy the world!

Zhou Yuan's thoughts went wild, but he kept a calm exterior and tossed another steamed bun while asking,

"What are Aoneng Power and extraordinary persons?"

"Extraordinary persons are those who have embarked on the path of transcendence. Aoneng Power, you can think of it as superpowers. Everyone's Aoneng Power is different, some are strong, some are weak, some defy the heavens, some are bizarre."

The path of transcendence is essentially the evolution of life levels. When an ordinary person's life level increases enough to awaken Aoneng Power, they naturally awaken and step into transcendence, becoming a Level 1 extraordinary person."

But this method requires long practice, which ordinary people can't achieve. Most extraordinary persons actually awaken due to extreme emotional stimuli... Oh right, now there are examples of awakening after injecting gene-enhancing agents, but they are rare."

Additionally, certain anomalous phenomena can also cause ordinary people to awaken directly."

"During the third war, the first batch of extraordinary persons awakened due to some anomalous phenomenon.

The second batch of extraordinary persons were those who practiced martial arts, Taoism, mediumship, and missionary work for a long time... After encountering transcendence, they quickly broke through the life level barriers."

The hierarchy of extraordinary persons ranges from Level 1 to Level 9. Above Level 9 are deities. Followers of these deities gathered together to form churches."

Churches... Zhou Yuan recalled the Flesh Workshop mentioned in Li Xu Tian's diary.

"Have you heard of the Flesh Workshop?"

"Oh?" Chen Guangxi raised an eyebrow, "That's a bunch of perverts. Have you come in contact with them?"

"Killed one of their followers."

"I see." Chen Guangxi nodded and didn't ask further.

"Do you... know about an organization where all members wear red robes?" Zhou Yuan hesitated but eventually asked.

Those red-robed extraordinary persons from that night were one of the main factions searching for the Player System, so it was necessary to find out their details.

"Hmm... you mean the Red Robe Monks Association?"

Chen Guangxi's brow furrowed as she looked Zhou Yuan up and down, "How did you provoke them?"

"I didn't, I just heard some news," Zhou Yuan shook his head and made it up.

"The Red Robe Monks Association is a hidden sect of evil cultivators. Every member is a magician proficient in various evil spells. It's not a good thing to be targeted by them."

Chen Guangxi seemed to want to say more, but at that moment, a deep and resonant bell tolled from the depths of the amusement park.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Immediately afterward, several dazzling fireworks exploded in the night sky, blooming in colorful lights that almost turned the darkness into daylight.

The spectacular fireworks display seemed to be some kind of signal. Zhou Yuan instinctively felt that the atmosphere of the entire amusement park had changed, and a strange, eerie aura was rapidly spreading.

Chen Guangxi looked up, her expression particularly solemn. The golden dragon eyes reflected the fireworks, as if flames were burning within them, "When the midnight bell tolls, those monsters and ghosts will come out."

"Are there ghosts here?" Zhou Yuan was shocked.

"Quite a few."

Just then, hurried footsteps approached from afar.

"Don't worry, those are my teammates," Chen Guangxi said.

Zhou Yuan, who had been tense all over, breathed a sigh of relief. He thought the "monsters and ghosts" she mentioned had arrived.

But... why did Chen Guangxi separate from her team?

A dozen seconds later, a group arrived at the plaza. They were all stunned to see Zhou Yuan, who had appeared out of nowhere.

Chen Guangxi briefly explained to her teammates and then raised her wrist to check the time,

"Let's keep the chatter short and get moving. I'll buy you time."

The group quickly moved out in teams of three or four, heading towards the amusement facilities.

"If you want to survive, just follow them. The horror here will exceed your imagination."

Chen Guangxi slowly stood up. Her height almost matched Zhou Yuan's 1.83 meters, and her tailored suit fit perfectly, highlighting her tall and outstanding perfect figure.

[If I were you, I would turn and run. As this Dache beauty said, in three minutes, this place will turn into an extremely terrifying Ghost Domain. Among all the people here, only one "person" will remain unharmed. Can you guess if that person will be you?]

Goodbye!

Zhou Yuan turned and ran without hesitation.

Soon, he caught up with the nearest three people, who were standing in front of the "Labyrinth World." One of the frail young men glanced at him and quickly explained with fast words,

"To leave this amusement park, you have to enter the director's office. To enter the director's office, you need a key.

Playing the amusement park's attractions and passing them alive can give you key fragments. One attraction for one fragment. We still need four fragments to complete the key."

"The attractions in the park are only open from midnight to six in the morning. During this time, those who died in the amusement park will also appear.

They all turned into fierce ghosts and will kill any human they see. If you encounter them, run directly."

To buy us time to play, Chen Guangxi will distract the ghosts in the plaza."

He checked the countdown on his watch,

"We have 13 minutes and 27 seconds left, let's move."

The three of them then hurriedly entered the "Labyrinth World."

Watching the closed door, Zhou Yuan fell into deep thought.

His task was simply to survive in the amusement park for three days. Following Chen Guangxi and these Control Bureau investigators around, as long as he didn't seek death actively, this goal shouldn't be too hard to achieve. But if he did that, the task rating might only be C-level.

C-level rating rewards were too little, and the invisible pressure from all sides didn't allow him to be so lazy.

With this in mind, Zhou Yuan no longer hesitated. He resolutely pushed open the door to the "Labyrinth World" and stepped into the deep darkness.