MDT Chapter 178 Part 1 (Patreon)

Chapter 178 Part 1: The Third-Person Self

My name is Biaozi.

You might not know me, but you've definitely heard of the Stellar.

That's right—I'm the captain of Sentinel Team One. Pretty impressive, right?

I'm supposed to be powerful.

But right now, I'm stuck contemplating the most pathetic question of my life.

The nutrient solution is keeping my body alive. Theoretically, if I just... stay here, lie perfectly still for the next forty or fifty years, I could probably survive. Sure, the space is cramped as hell, and what kind of life would that be?

But at least I'd be breathing.

"…"

Biaozi's face was a mask of misery, his mind uncontrollably filled with wild thoughts. He knew that just lying here was not a realistic option.

Minutes passed.

He slowly moved his body, flipping over and getting up from the rooftop, his gaze gradually hardening. The monsters in extreme difficulty were only a little stronger than in normal difficulty; it was just that failing really meant death, it was just…

Biaozi, who had just mustered his courage, lay back down again, his face full of despair.

He didn't mind putting his life on the line.

But shouldn't he at least be able to clear normal difficulty before risking his life on extreme? He had failed normal eight consecutive times!

After taking a few deep breaths, he mustered his courage again, his mind beginning to recall the "mind control technique" Li Shiji had taught him. Just treat this as a normal difficulty map. After eight consecutive failures, it was time for a ninth success!

Nine is the ultimate number!

Biaozi's eyes gradually grew cold. He looked down at the monster that had just walked to the edge of the roof below him. Without any hesitation, he leaped down, plunging his dagger into the monster's throat and clamping his hand over its mouth, not letting it make a sound.

For some reason.

He suddenly felt his body become light and ethereal, and he had a slight sense of detachment.

It was as if he were controlling this world from a third-person perspective, entering a state of extreme calm and indifference. Then, his body as light as a swallow, he moved with quick, small steps along the wall in the night.

At this moment—

All the emotions he'd felt just moments before were thrown to the back of his mind. It was like playing a single-player game, controlling his body from a strange third-person and first-person perspective, his movements calm and thoughtless as he executed one standard action after another.

His eyes were filled with pure killing intent.

Not a trace of any other emotion.

Half an hour later.

[Congratulations on being the first member of the Stellar to clear the 'Dragon's Fortress' map on extreme difficulty.] 

[Pioneers are always worthy of praise.] 

[You have received an additional 1.0 increase to your comprehensive physical fitness.]

In the white space, Biaozi stood trembling. Although the wounds on his body had all disappeared, the piercing pain lingered. But seeing the panel before him, he couldn't help but grin.

He, the great Biaozi!

Such a badass, he hadn't even passed the normal difficulty, but he had passed the extreme!

After exiting the combat training virtual space.

Biaozi had just climbed out of the training capsule when he saw the members of Team One gathered around, their eyes red. He was slightly stunned and subconsciously asked, "What are you guys doing?"

"Brother Biao!"

Shanmaozi's eyes were red as he said word by word, "Your courage to face death and seek a breakthrough has inspired us all. All members of Team One have successfully cleared the extreme difficulty 'Biohazard' map."

"Your actions showed us the way."

"If you convince yourself it's impossible, then it becomes impossible."

"But when you're truly stuck, when there's nowhere left to run—that's when you risk everything and fight for a breakthrough!"

Zhang Qi looked at Biaozi with admiration, his voice firm. "Brother Biao, you're the most ruthless person I've ever seen. If someone like you doesn't succeed, it would be against the laws of nature."

Biaozi, who had just come to his senses, silently climbed out of the training capsule. He stood there, lit a cigarette, and after taking a deep drag, he looked at everyone and said word by word:

"It seems you've all realized."

"That's right!"

"I wanted to use my actions to tell you what it means to face death and seek a breakthrough. Only by cutting off all your retreats can you welcome a new hope!"

"I'm very gratified that you could realize this and put it into action."

"On the Stellar, only our Team One has cleared the extreme difficulty 'Biohazard.' This symbolizes the strength of our team!"

"You can all continue to reflect here. I'm going to find Li Shiji."

Biaozi coughed lightly, then strode out of the refrigerator, preparing to talk to Li Shiji about the mental state he'd just been in. He certainly wouldn't admit to his team members that he had accidentally clicked the wrong button and had been forced to clear it.

If he were given the choice again, he definitely wouldn't do it again.

Such a good opportunity to build his prestige, he naturally wouldn't miss it. To face death and seek a breakthrough, tsk, those words sounded so good. He had actually thought so at the beginning.

Maybe he hadn't accidentally clicked the wrong button; maybe it was his subconscious telling him to face death and seek a breakthrough.

As expected of me, the great Biaozi, you're so amazing.

But just as he was about to walk out of the refrigerator, he stopped, turned to look at Zhang Yi and Zhang Er, and frowned with confusion.

"You two passed, too?"

"You two aren't... forgetful? You didn't forget the techniques I taught you, did you?"

"Ah?"

Zhang Er scratched the back of his head and said in a small voice, "I forgot. I forgot as soon as I went in. But after I killed the monster at the top of the elevator, I found that I could climb to the rooftop along the steel cable in the elevator shaft, so I climbed up."

"I didn't see any zombies along the way."

"I didn't forget."

Zhang Yi's face was serious. "I strictly followed your process, Brother Biao. The moment the game started, I left the elevator, went to the seventh floor, found a fire axe, and went to the fire escape to kill my way up. I killed my way to the rooftop, and then I cleared it."

"Did you go downstairs to get the armor, flamethrower, and stimulants?"

"What armor?"

"…"

Biaozi stood there, his expressionless face looking at the two bewildered men before him. After a long silence, he stuffed the cigarette in his hand into a nearby cola can and turned to walk out of the refrigerator.

"It's nothing, it's time to eat."

"You two hurry up and eat, don't let the kids go hungry."

His footsteps couldn't help but quicken. These damn talented freaks were really damn annoying!

The monster at the top of the elevator was clearly an instant-kill scenario. If you didn't leave the elevator immediately, it was certain death!

How could Zhang Er have killed that monster?

He is insane!

How did he kill it?

He had clearly stabbed it many times and couldn't break its defense. He thought it was a high-level zombie, ignoring his attacks. But from the looks of it, he had used too little force?

Well then.

Brute force creates miracles. Makes sense.

……

"So you're saying…" Li Shiji looked thoughtfully at Biaozi. "After failing the normal difficulty 'Dragon's Fortress' eight times in a row, you dazedly selected the extreme difficulty, entered an extremely calm state, almost like a third-person perspective, and managed to clear it by a fluke?"

"Yeah." Biaozi's face was serious. "Just like you taught me, deceiving your own brain to unlock your potential."

"I never taught you that." Li Shiji pondered for a long time before speaking. "I know a little about that state. Many people call it 'flow.' When you're completely immersed in something, your brain will serve that task with all its might."

"In that process, your self-awareness weakens."

"And you lose track of time."

"When flow reaches its peak, you can experience a detachment of perspective, controlling yourself almost from a third-person view. It's common among writers and in competitive fields."

"Like gaming."

"Before the apocalypse, if you were playing a game, under the right conditions, you might enter a state similar to being in the zone. Your body would subconsciously perform many standard actions, and you'd feel extremely confident, like you could take on ten people."

"But this state is nearly impossible to trigger on command. It requires the perfect storm of conditions."

"Look, you failed eight times, but from what you're telling me, you were getting closer each attempt. Same problem every time—the monster would cry out before you could finish it, then you'd get overwhelmed."

"Extreme difficulty monsters are tougher, sure."

"But they're still within your capability range. The real challenge was executing perfect silent kills while knowing that one mistake meant actual death."

"When you hit that flow state, you stopped thinking about consequences. You forgot that dying meant dying. Your mind just... became the task. That total commitment made it possible."

"In flow, people transcend their normal limits."

"You crazy bastard." Li Shiji looked at Biaozi with a mixture of admiration and concern. "If you hadn't slipped into flow, or if you'd made one wrong move while in it, I'd be planning your memorial service right now."

"Speaking of which—"

"We've had a wedding on this train, but no funerals yet. Keep pulling stunts like this and I don't think we'll have to wait much longer."

"My hands won't stop shaking." Biaozi sat heavily, his eyes haunted as he fumbled with a cigarette. "Damn, I nearly died. But... yeah, the result speaks for itself. I bet if I went back to normal difficulty Dragon's Fortress now, I could clear it easily."

"That's for sure."

Perhaps Biaozi's original intention wasn't so.

But the final result was.

All members of Sentinel Team One had cleared the extreme difficulty "Biohazard" map, a first on the entire Stellar.

In truth, extreme difficulty wasn't that much harder than normal.

As long as you could pass normal, with a little more seriousness and caution, you could pass extreme.

It was just that death in extreme difficulty was real, which created immense psychological pressure.

Once you overcame that pressure, clearing an extreme difficulty map was a piece of cake.

The result was excellent.

Of course.

Biaozi and his men were relaxed now, but Teams Two and Three were feeling the pressure.

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