#4: Huh? "Stunning like a celestial being"? "Has the potential to become a god"?
#5 (OP): ...It's like looking at the final big problem on a math exam paper. I can't understand it at all, but that doesn't stop me from thinking Xu Xi is stunning like a celestial being! He has the potential to become a god!
#6 (OP): Wait, #4, are you a mind-reading tapeworm that's become a spirit...?
#7: This survival game has been around for a year. It's not like there haven't been amazing players, but I've genuinely never seen one as ridiculously amazing as this before.
#8: But I watched his second instance. While it was impressive, it wasn't nearly as shocking as the first one. I admit his first instance was truly godly, but the second one was just ordinary.
#9: I also think his performance in the second instance was pretty ordinary. The latest instances from top players like Song Xiangpeng and Zhang Tian were more thrilling than this, honestly.
#10: You can't compare it like that. If we're talking about how thrilling an instance is, or how exquisite a player's maneuvers are, there are plenty of outstanding ones, too many to compare. What's important is Xu Xi himself. He has a sense of ease about him that other players lack.
#11: The person above hit the nail on the head. Many people wonder why Xu Xi is being hyped online when his second instance wasn't that godly. Actually, you're all overlooking one point: he simply wasn't taking it seriously.
#12: What do you mean? Master, please elaborate!
#13: Looking at the entire highway instance, compared to the other three players, didn't you notice Xu Xi's incongruity? When teammates were actively discussing, he stayed silent. When teammates were locked in a tug-of-war with the supernatural being, he remained quiet. It's less that he was ignored by his teammates and more that he simply didn't care about them, like a bystander.
#14: Yes, yes, exactly! Even when teammates actively tried to talk to him, he was very dismissive. But the few times he did speak, he successfully pulled the struggling team out of trouble. So it's not that he can't put on a spectacular show of skill, it's just that he can't be bothered to.
#15: It's actually quite obvious. If you carefully observe the attitudes of the other three players later on, you'll notice that not a single one of them questioned Xu Xi's judgments. Every top player on the leaderboards has to rack their brains and proceed with extreme caution in every instance. Only Xu Xi is relaxed and handles everything with ease. That's the real reason everyone is paying such special attention to him.
#16: I can't take it anymore. I'm going to go rewatch Xu Xi's stream VODs a few more times.
#17: Then I'll go search for instance analysis videos on the video site. To be honest, I still don't understand some of Xu Xi's maneuvers.
#18: I actually saw one content creator who analyzed it quite well. He pretty much dug out every detail worth scrutinizing, and it sounded very logical.
#19: Person above, please share the link!
#20: Share the link +1
...
Inside the player space, Xu Xi couldn't feel the passage of time. This time, he didn't passively wait for the instance to open. Instead, he actively chose to enter the next instance early.
There was no other way; it was too boring. Might as well work hard to clear instances and climb the ladder.
When the teleportation finished, Xu Xi found the location this time was still in the wilderness, though it wasn't as gloomy and oppressive as the last instance.
Surveying his surroundings, he figured he was probably on a mountainside. Looking into the distance, there were endless rolling mountain ranges. The vast vista stirred a sense of heroic grandeur within him.
This time, including him, there were five teammates.
One was a man with a fierce-looking face, a burly build, and very developed arm muscles.
The second was a young man who looked quite refined, with a gentle demeanor.
The third was a woman with a high ponytail, her expression rather cold.
The last was a short-haired girl wearing glasses, who didn't look very old.
Not long after Xu Xi started his stream, the live stream was packed with people. Dense, overlapping live stream comments completely covered the screen, forcing most viewers to manually turn them off.
In the outside world at this moment.
Ji Yang was hosting a webcast, and the video playing on his computer screen was unmistakably Xu Xi's live stream.
He had watched Xu Xi's second instance from start to finish without missing a beat. Needless to say, he had already concluded in his heart that the other was the real deal, a true master, and even...
Right now, there were also many viewers in his own stream. Lots of people liked listening to the streamer's live commentary on a player's maneuvers.
The instance had just begun, and Ji Yang's fans were actively posting comments.
[Yangyang changed players today, huh?]
[Ahhhhh it's actually Master Xu Xi!]
Some fans weren't surprised at all that the streamer would follow this newcomer player. After all, the other had practically dominated the entire internet these past few days, with his first instance even spreading to overseas platforms.
Looking at the comments, Ji Yang smiled and replied, "That's right. Today we're going to watch the very popular Master Xu Xi."
[So excited. I've never been this excited about a newcomer before, hehehe.]
[Old Ji, as per the old rules, time to share your thoughts.]
"My thoughts?" Ji Yang pondered for a moment. "Stunning like a celestial being. Has the potential to become a god."
[...Huh?]
[Hey, Ji, don't you dare plagiarize adjectives. You think we haven't seen that trending post?]
Ji Yang chuckled. "Even though it's plagiarized, I genuinely think so."
[I actually think so too. Feels like he's on a different level than other players.]
[Better not praise him too highly yet. Even Master Zhang Song died.]
The comment feed fell silent for a moment, then quickly started scrolling again, this time even more rapidly.
[What?! Is it the Zhang Song I'm thinking of?]
[Yes, it's him. That Zhang Song, ranked #1 on the leaderboard.]
[Holy crap, holy crap! When did this happen? He went through over twenty instances, practically the most veteran player!]
[Just at noon. That instance's difficulty was too hellish. All players in that instance were wiped out. Sigh.]
[How come I didn't know about this?]
[If you don't believe it, go check the trending searches. It's already a trending topic.]
The comment feed went quiet again.
"Master Zhang Song?" Ji Yang also straightened his back, his expression serious as he looked at the comments.
He hurriedly checked his follow list. Sure enough, Zhang Song's avatar had already disappeared.
This meant that player had died in an instance.
[Oh my god, I just went to look. Master Zhang Song really... How could this happen? Wuwuwu...]
[Master Zhang Song... He was the one with the most hope of climbing all 999 stone steps.]
[If even Master Zhang Song is dead, does that mean humanity can only wait for extinction?]
The leaderboard was ranked by the country based on the number of instances players had cleared, making it quite authoritative.
As the #1 on the leaderboard, Zhang Song's death also triggered a wave of pessimism among netizens.
Anyone with a clear eye could see that failing one instance pollutes one area, while successfully clearing an instance cleanses pollution. In reality, the cleansing speed couldn't keep up with the pollution speed at all.
Their only hope was the ladder climb, waiting for a player who could reach the top and end this game.
But now, even the #1 player on the leaderboard was dead.
Ji Yang also looked grim, the veins on the back of his hand gripping the mouse bulging.
He took a deep breath and spoke to the negative comments. "No, humanity definitely won't go extinct. Just like we never imagined a player would speedrun an instance in 2 minutes 48 seconds before, we can't imagine now what other miracles might happen in the future."
Looking at the composed young man on his screen, he said slowly, "Maybe a player will go even further."