56. The Children Without Food

Jiang Heyi officially completed the guild war registration, and a confirmation email was sent simultaneously to all members of the Reality-Illusion Boundary, informing them that they needed to log into the official website for secondary confirmation after waking up.

Shouldn't the login devices already have built-in recognition information? Why go to all this unnecessary trouble?

"Ah, how boring. Without Mint, we can only sit here and wait idly."

Jiang Heyi glanced sideways at Jailer Bro, who was squatting beside the nun puppet [Perilla], watching her busily maintain everyone's equipment.

That unwavering gaze looked nothing like someone who was bored; it felt as though he could stare straight at her like that for an entire day.

The name Perilla was given by Jailer Bro based on "Garlic Sprout." Not only him, but Orange Tea followed suit and named her own messenger puppet [Coriander].

Going out with a Starry Sky Gem would inevitably consume infusion materials, and whether the loot obtained could make up for the losses remained unknown, making waiting the most cost-effective option after all.

Jiang Heyi suddenly chuckled. "Right now, it feels just like hungry children with rumbling stomachs, waiting for Mom to come home and serve dinner."

The label of being the mom to everyone in the Reality-Illusion Boundary was something he would never be able to shake off now.

Prompted by a sudden thought, Jiang Heyi decided to give it a try and approached Garlic Sprout, who was floating above the guild hall.

"Garlic Sprout, is there anything in the guild that can help us pass the time?"

"Entertainment facilities?" Garlic Sprout slowly floated down, reaching out to gently tap the empty space in front of her. Amidst spreading ripples, the guild's floor plan materialized. "Currently, the guild only needs to undergo two more expansions to build a guild arena."

"Masters can spar with each other inside the arena. Once the arena is upgraded, you can also have the guild puppets serve as sparring partners."

He was tempted. Wasn't this simply the foundational infrastructure needed for PvP training?

With nothing better to do and already busy playing dress-up with his shrine maiden puppet [Red-White], Zhong Zemo immediately stood up.

"Why didn't you mention such an important facility sooner!"

Jiang Heyi covered his face with his hand. As expected, Garlic Sprout's reply was...

"Because Master didn't ask."

Unless proactively asked, the puppets would never bring it up on their own or offer suggestions.

They were just like rebellious children.

Two expansions plus accelerated construction consumed a total of 36 purple-tier materials.

For other guilds, this was already a heart-wrenchingly expensive expenditure.

As for the Reality-Illusion Boundary, well, who told them to make a massive fortune at the royal arena in Anna not too long ago?

After a flash of white light, a circular arena with an area equal to the entire guild appeared on the floor plan projected by Garlic Sprout.

With a wave of Garlic Sprout's small hand, all guild members were teleported to the center of this open-air arena.

This was the first time everyone had stepped into the guild's outdoor area, except the sky was pitch black, and the surroundings of the arena seemed untextured, as if floating in a deep, gloomy void.

"During arena spars, equipment durability will not be consumed even upon death. At the same time, masters can also choose the [Wild Gladiator] set provided free of charge by the arena for a more balanced sparring session."

"The arena area is protected by barriers on all sides. No matter how powerful the attack is, it will not cause damage to the main guild building. Here, masters can battle to their hearts' content."

After browsing the arena settings, Jiang Heyi raised a question: "Is there no balanced mode?"

Garlic Sprout's lips curled up slightly: "Only after the guild war officially begins will the arena facilities in all guilds officially unlock the balanced mode."

Understanding the implication, the members of the Reality-Illusion Boundary stopped asking further questions. Without a balanced mode, putting on uniform sets for practice was more than enough.

Not long ago, they had simply wanted to coast through for rewards, but now Jailer Bro had already started daydreaming about taking the whole team abroad to conquer foreign battlegrounds...

Could it really be that simple?

At the same time that the Reality-Illusion Boundary was seriously preparing for the guild war with a serious attitude, a group of people returned to their guild in a disheveled state, handing their battered, broken equipment over to the puppets.

The small wings on A Dream of Past Years' lower back were completely drooping. She tiredly leaned back against the chair by the round table, exhaling a long breath of turbid air. Her eyes stared blankly at the huge lighting crystal on the dome, losing their focus entirely as she wondered what she was thinking about.

As a guild leader who excelled at rallying people, since she was in such a state, the rest of the members of the [You, Me, and I under the Comedic Tree] guild were practically wearing masks of agony.

It was hard. Truly too hard.

According to Jiang Heyi's hint, the entire Comedic Tree roster successfully regrouped without taking damage after being scattered. Relying on elemental bait bought from the Wind-Pod City alchemist, they paid the price of two casualties to forcefully drive out the Slime King's true body.

Meeting the Slime King directly on their first try, their battle record was actually even better than the Reality-Illusion Boundary's.

However, that was also where the nightmare began.

Because Jiang Heyi had mentioned bullet-hell games beforehand, the Comedic Tree guild had a certain level of psychological preparation. But until the moment the bullet hell descended, they finally realized how powerless those superficial mental preparations were.

Visual pollution;

Nafiel's sanity-shattering, hearing-disrupting mad voice;

Dense, rain-like bullet hell paired with ground fire frequently igniting beneath their feet;

And the overwhelming pressure released by the Slime King.

Their first attempt lasted only 40 seconds before the Comedic Tree guild was completely wiped out.

"It's fine, it's obviously a mechanism-based boss. Most bosses like this have no real threat; as long as we deal with the mechanics properly, victory will be within our grasp."

"Keep communicating, stop screaming and yelling invalid information. As long as our communication is smooth, it won't be difficult."

"Let's go, we'll definitely clear it next run."

A Dream of Past Years still remembered what she had said during her first rallying speech.

Confident, full of vitality.

Gem infused, teleported, entered the dungeon.

The Comedic Tree guild displayed unprecedented competitive form, passing the large slime eradication phase without a single casualty.

During the bullet hell minigame phase, they also made noticeable progress.

Previously, it took 40 seconds to wipe; this time, it only took 20 seconds!

"Watch your positioning, use the chat box to confirm companions' locations, don't fall behind. The safe zones refreshed by Nafiel are very treacherous; one wrong step leads to consecutive mistakes."

"Keep it up, our strength is fine; we were just too hyped up, which made our movements a bit stiff."

"Maintain a calm mindset, don't view the Slime King as an enemy. It's just a mascot standing there spitting bubbles; think of it as a pet from your own home."

"The safe zone is very small, remember not to push each other. There's a spot for everyone."

Infuse, battle again!

The large slime was cleared without damage on the first try, and everyone in Comedic Tree felt their condition was terrifyingly good.

This time it'll definitely work!

10 seconds later, Comedic Tree turned into spectral forms, floating around the Slime King...

There it was, the regression of progression uniquely characteristic of the game's progression-pushing phase.

Clearly, their very first run had easily achieved stellar progress, and everyone felt clearing it was only a matter of time, even shouting out hopeful slogans like "next run for sure."

Yet what awaited them was run after run performing worse than the last.

The Comedic Tree guild actually had pretty good luck. Ever since the server opened, they had acquired quite a few high-value materials, which was also their source of confidence in challenging the Underground Temple.

But no matter how deep their family fortunes were, they couldn't withstand this kind of wasteful spending.

Seeing the logistics management member using their body to shield the guild warehouse, defending the guild's last remaining assets much like elderly parents pleading desperately with a hopeless, gambling-addicted child...

The hot-headed Comedic Tree guild members instantly cooled down, and the ensuing disappointment and depression needed time to wash away.

Fortunately, everyone in the guild was an elite veteran across various games, so minor setbacks were nothing to fear. After spending a little while in a daze, they recovered their indomitable challenger's spirit once more.

A Dream of Past Years' private message lit up.

Canned Starfish: "Want to compare notes on our progress?"

Canned Starfish, leader of the [Bottled Water Shinto] guild.

Although it was a PvP guild established by selecting the absolute best for the sake of the guild war, Bottled Water Shinto also had collective activities outside of sparring and training.

They were also one of the few guilds that had managed to break into the fourth-layer monastery.

"Progression regressed, and we're out of money to challenge it, so we can only hunker down and grind." A Dream of Past Years replied, laughing self-deprecatingly.

Upon learning that Comedic Tree had lasted over 40 seconds, Canned Starfish felt a surge of respect.

The Bottled Water Shinto guild had a relatively large number of members, which meant the corresponding dynamic difficulty was higher. They had suffered immensely during the gathering phase, and after eliminating the large slime, less than half of their members remained.

Entering the bullet hell phase of the full-area ritual magic was even more excruciating.

"How on earth did the people in the Reality-Illusion Boundary clear it?"

Realizing the other party still didn't know about the Reality-Illusion Boundary's unorthodox strategy, the corners of A Dream of Past Years' lips curled upward.

"It seems you don't know yet that they've already cleared the fifth layer."

Inside the Bottled Water Shinto guild at that moment, an uproar ensued.

Cries of astonishment echoed endlessly.

"Are they monsters? Are they seriously not internal staff?"

"Would internal staff make a huge spectacle operating a guild account, just begging headquarters not to investigate?" A Dream of Past Years laughed. "They're genuine players without a doubt, and from what I can tell, they're actually quite easygoing."

"Easy to get along with?"

"Not as aloof as you'd imagine. Judging solely by the two I've interacted with so far, one is very steady, and the other is a social butterfly. They're both quite interesting people."

The buzzing sound warning of insufficient game time grew increasingly piercing. A Dream of Past Years left behind a single sentence—"If you can't reach Potato, contact Jailer Bro; he's the social butterfly of the Reality-Illusion Boundary"—before logging out of the game and entering shallow sleep mode.

...

...

After waking up, Jiang Heyi logged onto the Constellation official website immediately, found the guild war application form, carefully verified the identity information page, and clicked "I Agree" in the bottom right corner.

The page refreshed, showing that out of the avatars of the 7 players in the Reality-Illusion Boundary, 5 had lit up—the others had also rushed to log online right after waking up, terrified they might forget about this matter.

Jailer Bro used his privileges as a chat group admin to let Comforter—who had applied to join the group—in, and tagged all members simultaneously.

"Remember to click confirm on the official website, remember the official website confirmation, kids!"

Sealed Comforter has not returned to this day: "No way, no way, I'm only willing to listen when Mama Mint calls us 'kids'."

Jailer Bro: "Man!"

Comforter frantically typed out a string of text: "What can I say?"

Just as Original Flavor Fries had guessed, when two socially anxious chatterboxes got together, the chat group notifications were guaranteed to hit 99+ every day, and liveliness was never in short supply.