Since I was team leader, I guided the cloud toward Do Pas Frontier. It began descending diagonally, smooth and silent.
As we neared the frontier, I started seeing other players dropping in the same area—at least twenty-five of them, some already close to the ground.
Ruyi panicked.
"They'll kill us in the air like this! We were late, Roxa—quick, move in another direction!"
I stayed calm.
"Ruyi, don't panic. Look—they haven't touched the ground yet. Even if they land first, they still have to loot. They won't fight immediately. Remember, loot and weapons are hidden. They're not scattered openly. Players have to search carefully—look for symbols on the ground or walls, then click to extract the item."
I had seen it in the videos: weapons and attachments weren't scattered openly across the ground. They were concealed inside the environment—buried in soil, embedded in walls, tucked beneath rocks. Only faint dull symbols marked their locations. Players had to spot the symbols and click them to extract the item.
If a player dropped loot, it turned back into a symbol and vanished until someone else found the symbol. When a player died, all their items merged into a unique symbol embedded in the forehead of their skeleton. The body remained behind as a grim marker, loot locked inside until claimed.
Just as I was thinking about the skeleton detail, Ruyi spoke again, voice small and shaky.
"But you forgot—we also have to search for the loot. So follow my advice and let's go somewhere else. I don't want to die right after landing again. I haven't won a single match yet. It's so hard…"
Tears welled in her eyes as she said the last words.
I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
"There, there. Don't worry. We will win. And you don't have to search blindly. See that spot over there? Go there—you'll find a gun and two healing pills. I'll head to that place. Meet me at that building over there, after you're done. If you run into danger, call me. Now go."
Ruyi stared at me like I had spoken in a foreign tongue.
"Roxa… it's okay if you're comforting me. But it's not okay to make up things just to make me feel better."
I looked at her in confusion.
"Huh? What have I make up?"
She blinked.
"Well… you just said I'll find good loot there. We're still at least a hundred meters above that spot. How can you possibly know? You're clearly just saying anything. Loot doesn't have hidden patterns you can learn by playing more games. Loot can be anywhere."
I understood her doubt. I shook my head gently.
"I'm telling the truth. There really is loot there. I'm going to this place. You can follow me, but you won't find good loot. Or you can go there and get what I said. Now off you go."
I focused my thoughts and separated my cloud from hers. Mine began descending smoothly toward the spot I had pointed out.
Ruyi hesitated for a moment. After some thought, she decided to follow my words—even if she doubted them. She didn't believe I could spot loot symbols from a hundred meters up. Those symbols were tiny, carefully hidden. But she also didn't want to hurt her new friend. So she guided her cloud downward, aiming for the place I had suggested. At worst, she figured she might find a pan.
I descended at a quiet corner of Do Pas Frontier.
The moment my cloud touched the ground, it dissolved into mist and my feet met solid earth.
Gunshots cracked in the distance—sharp, scattered echoes rolling across the rugged terrain.
The frontier was complex: a sprawling military outpost carved into rocky hills. Underground basements twisted beneath the surface, hidden rooms waited behind false walls, and traps lay in wait everywhere. Players had to defend against both the environment and each other.
And now, someone had found a gun. That meant they would start hunting anyone still unarmed.
I began walking toward a nearby rock—about seventy meters away. Even from here, I could see the dull, faint symbol etched into its surface.
How could I see so far? Cultivation didn't work here—I am just a mortal in the game, without essence flow or enhanced body. But my senses and reactions remained. My mind still processed details with cultivator clarity. I had also practiced the Mortal Foundation Scripture's Law of Observing Eyes for so long that spotting distant patterns came naturally. It wasn't supernatural sight; it was trained focus, sharp observation.
I had told Ruyi the truth. I really had seen the symbols from above.
Now I walked toward the rock at a calm pace. No rush. Other players were sprinting, frantic to grab the first weapon they could find. But I already knew where it was hidden. There was no need to hurry.
The wind carried more distant gunfire and the occasional shout. The frontier was waking up.
Just as I neared the rock, a player in a devil outfit stepped out from behind a wall corner.
He laughed widely, voice dripping with arrogance.
"So lady, tell me—how do you wanna die?"