Project GB is an official initiative by Re:Library.

It seemed as though the system didn’t want to give players any time to think, as another world announcement suddenly rang out.

The announcement contained so much information that many players currently in combat were caught off guard, and several were instantly killed by monsters.

“Hey… no way, this is for real!?” Endless Sea finally snapped out of his daze. “We’re only in our twenties! And there’s already a monster siege coming!?”
“It should be real. It’s a world announcement, after all,” said Shiu.
“NPCs can spontaneously launch attacks?” DumbCitrus exclaimed in shock.
“No idea… this is the first time I’ve seen anything like this,” Endless Sea shook his head.
“Should we… go back to Wynwater City?” Yoyo asked timidly.

“Of course we should! We have no idea what kind of assault the Dark faction is planning. If Wynwater falls, that’s the end of it! Our mentors are all in the city! Who knows what would happen to them if something goes wrong?”

As Shiu spoke, he noticed players across the Crimson Plains hurriedly crushing their teleport scrolls, and suddenly a chilling thought struck him.

“Wait… are we going to get attacked here too?” No one had an answer for him.

Nangong and the others returned shortly after. They rushed over and asked anxiously, “What do we do now?”

“I’ll call Zane,” said Shiu, his tone laced with urgency.

***

Zane stood by the window, staring blankly at the pedestrians outside. Zina had already fallen asleep after receiving her treatment. Hearing all those at once left him unable to process everything immediately.

So his sister had been having strange dreams too, just like him. And even more unsettling, the person in her dream had actually died. Would Starry die as well? He didn’t know. And he didn’t want to know.

Three days ago… that was the day Starry disappeared. And the person Zina said she saw in her dream was Starry. What in the world was going on?¹　

**Bzzzt—Bzzzt—Bzzzt!**

The sudden vibration broke the silence. Zane quickly pulled out his phone, swiped to answer, and stepped outside the room.

“Hello?”
“Zane, get online right now! Something big’s happened!” It was Shiu’s voice.
“Something big?” Zane frowned. Shiu knew he was visiting his sister; he wouldn’t have called unless it was serious. So something really had gone wrong.

But… was it really okay to play games in a hospital ward? He hesitated for a moment, worried about disturbing others. Looking around, he noticed several other family members by the bedsides wearing gaming helmets themselves.

Well, if that was the case, then he could relax.

“Alright, I’ll log in soon,” he said, hanging up.

He grabbed a small chair, sat by the cabinet, and put on his game helmet. ‘Not a bad position. Hopefully I won’t wake up with a sore back or stiff neck. Though… will the nurses scold me for this later? Eh, whatever.’

As the images in his mind shifted and reformed, he soon found himself standing once again on the Crimson Plains.

***

After hanging up the call, Shiu kept staring at his friend list. Suddenly, the avatars of Emberveil and Stardust lit up at the same time! Yes, at the exact same moment! No delay, no order; they had logged in simultaneously!

“…”

“What’s going on?” Zane asked as he saw them running toward him.

By now, the Snowfeather Goblins had already built several watchtowers and a few basic living structures. Compared to those flimsy arrow towers they had before, these were far sturdier, many times stronger, in fact. That efficiency was insane. Were these guys reincarnated craftsmen or something?

“Take a look at this.” Endless Sea sent him a screenshot of the world announcement.

“…”

Flowerdance City had attacked the Dark Fortress? The Dark Fortress was a demonic outpost to the north of Flowerdance City and had always been a thorn in the Light faction’s side. But because of the overwhelming might of the Dark faction, no one had ever dared to make a move against it.

That was all official lore accessible from the game’s background information, yet no one had ever expected NPCs to take the initiative and launch an assault on their own.

No… that didn’t make sense. NPCs had held their positions for years; there was no way they would suddenly go on the offensive. And a forced march, no less? Hardly anyone would even know about it. It must have been a player-triggered storyline event.

Since the announcement mentioned the Shadow Overlord’s rage, that could only mean one thing, their assault had failed. Their fate was easy to imagine. And not only that, but with Flowerdance’s garrison weakened, this monster siege would likely become far more devastating.

Flowerdance City would suffer the heaviest assault, and every frontline city of the Light faction would face attacks of varying scale, even the Elf and Beastman territories would not be spared.

They had to hold their ground. If these frontlines fell, none of the remaining cities would survive either. All of them were interlinked and relied on each other’s support. If they all collapsed, the only option left would be to retreat to the central cities that only unlocked at Level 50.

They had to get back to Wynwater City right now and secure a solid position for damage output.

‘Wait, hold on… could the Shadow Overlord really respond that fast? Is he capable of attacking over a dozen cities at once? If that’s true… would this place be caught in it too?’ The thought struck him cold. Zane immediately directed Starry toward the Goblin encampment.

Yalu sat grimly at his post. When he saw Starry approaching, his expression softened slightly. “Hero, you’ve come.”

“Yeah. Is something about to happen?” Starry asked.

“The Frost Power within me warns of something foul approaching…” Yalu replied with a worried look.

So his power acted as a built-in detector now? Still, if that was true, they had to start preparing for defense. “I heard it’s because the Shadow Overlord has gone berserk.”

“What!? The Shadow Overlord himself!? We’re done for! Our camp has only been under construction for a single day, how can we possibly hold against his army!? No, even if we finish, there’s no way we could withstand that!” Yalu cried out in panic.

“What’s that guy’s deal? Is he really that strong?”

“In the Dark faction, anyone titled ‘Overlord’ commands at least an entire army. But the Shadow Overlord… he’s different. He can duplicate his subordinates with his own power!”

Duplicate, seriously?

“We should hurry and fortify the defenses…or better yet, just evacuate now!”

“Calm down!” Starry’s tone turned sharp. “At their speed, there’s no chance of escaping anyway. We might as well prepare to meet them head-on.”

“…You’re right. I panicked.”

***

“Stardust, what’s the situation?” Endless Sea asked.

“This area will be hit too. I don’t think we’ll have the strength to return to Wynwater City.”

The Snowfeather Goblins and Gray Wolves were both the result of his own efforts. Unless absolutely necessary, he didn’t want to abandon this place. But Wynwater City was critical as well, Elna and the others’ mentors were all there.

Still… if he remembered correctly, Sheen was a Level 56 Mystic-tier NPC. With her around, the city shouldn’t be in immediate danger.

He checked the time, twenty-eight minutes had already passed. There was still some time left!

Zane immediately crushed a Return Scroll to restock on potions. Who knew what kind of chaos this incoming assault would bring? He sprinted straight to the general store, only to find it already packed wall to wall with players.