Chapter 77: Entering the Game Once More

Because today the amount of IV fluid to be administered was rather large, and also because Yi Shou started the infusion quite late, even after the landlady and her companions had left, he was still not finished. Judging by the situation, if he managed to finish before lights out at eleven tonight, it would be considered fortunate.

Worried that he would be disturbed when the IV needed to be changed again, Yi Shou didn’t log into the game but instead turned on his computer to check on the state of “Digital Source World.” Yet, since only a day had passed, there was little change in the game forum for the Digital Monster Corporation. The content was much the same as what he had seen the day before.

The only difference was the appearance of a pinned post. The post stated that the Digital Monster Corporation was aware of the issue, but since a solution still required discussion, players were asked to wait patiently for a while.

Their response was understandable. The Digital Monster Corporation was a colossal entity; calling it a corporation almost seemed inadequate. Some even referred to it as the Digital Monster Group or the Digital Monster Commercial Empire in secret.

Such scale meant decisions could not be made carelessly. Every single decision required thorough deliberation, for even the slightest misstep could potentially ruin the entire company.

Frankly, in terms of efficiency, having a single person with absolute authority would certainly speed things up. But from a long-term perspective, collective decision-making was better, even if it meant sacrificing some efficiency.

If, for the sake of efficiency, all authority was handed to one individual, things might move faster, but what if that person's approach was wrong? The entire company could collapse in an instant.

Throughout history, debates over whether a group or a single person should make decisions have been frequent, each approach with its own merits and faults. If one person makes the decisions, efficiency is high, but it requires that person’s judgment to always be correct. But who can guarantee they will never err?

Thus, the evolution of history is inevitable. Though there are still leaders, they no longer make sole decisions; instead, everyone works together. Solutions are discussed collectively, and the leader’s power is mostly limited to making the final call when consensus cannot be reached.

This process naturally takes time; it is impossible to resolve such matters in a single day. If a solution were proposed in just one day, many would be waiting to mock the outcome.

Time passed quietly. Yi Shou did not log into the game, for reasons already mentioned. But he was not idle; he browsed the web for various things. Eventually, he chose to watch videos produced by the Digital Monster Corporation in this world—both animated series and live-action productions.

It had to be said, the Digital Monster Corporation was indeed capable. The Digital Monster animated series enjoyed tremendous popularity and buzz; Yi Shou found the plot engaging, with no major logical flaws.

He had yet to watch the live-action series, being but an ordinary person who could not multitask. Even if he could, Yi Shou would not attempt it; after all, he had not graduated from such abilities.

When the clock struck twelve-oh-nine at night, the last bottle of IV fluid was finally finished, meaning Yi Shou could go to sleep. Yet, instead of sleeping, after finishing the last segment of his video, he closed his laptop and, with the nurse’s help, went to the bathroom. Upon returning, with the nurse’s assistance, he put on his helmet and logged into the game.

The nurse, concerned for Yi Shou’s safety, was reluctant to help him don the helmet. But Yi Shou was determined, and the nurse knew that he still possessed the ability to take care of himself. Even without help, he could put on the helmet himself. In the end, the nurse assisted him.

Because Yi Shou had not logged out in the city previously, this time, upon logging in, he did not appear in the login space but directly in the small grove where he had last logged out.

Yi Shou could see—or rather, sense—that his state had returned to its peak. In fact, after the fierce battle with Goldhorn and Silverhorn, his attributes had increased somewhat, even his overall combat power had risen.

Standing where he was, Yi Shou checked the rankings. He still held first place with level thirteen. However, the second place was no longer at level twelve, but only level ten. From this, it was clear just how many accounts had been wiped out in a single day.

Yi Shou shook his head slightly and walked out of the grove. On his way to the outside of Tyrannosaurus Valley, he saw very few players. Whether it was due to the mass deletion of accounts or simply because it was already late at night, with few players online, the current situation was clear: hardly anyone was playing.

Yi Shou paid no mind to these things and plunged straight into the dungeon, beginning his challenge. After two runs, he had already reached level fourteen. At this moment, having attained level fourteen was quite remarkable.

Ordinarily, reaching level fourteen would mean he could proceed to the next dungeon. But Yi Shou glanced back at the valley; he still had one run left here. After thinking it over, he decided to finish this last attempt before moving on.

With this in mind, Yi Shou entered the dungeon once more. With his current strength, he was a force to be reckoned with. Although the officials had adjusted the mechanics so that the difficulty of the first and second runs were nearly the same, there were still differences.

The first run was always slightly harder than the second. Now, Yi Shou was on his fourth run here, and with each completion, his overall combat power improved.

So, as the dungeon’s difficulty decreased and his power increased, the challenge became easier. Yet, this time, after defeating Earth Tyrannosaurus, no message appeared announcing his completion. Instead, he received a notification that he had discovered a hidden dungeon.

[Congratulations, you have triggered the hidden dungeon of Tyrannosaurus Valley. Enjoy your adventure.]