Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

"It seems like all these warring factions had an agreement, launching their attacks simultaneously around the same time tonight, catching the guards at the checkpoints completely off guard. Some are still putting up a fight, but they won't hold out much longer," Gong Yan quietly reported the information they had gathered, her eyes seeking Bai E for instructions, "My lord, what do you need us to do?"

"No need for now," Bai E shook his head, "The city's security forces haven't made a move yet. Acting rashly would likely result in us being targeted by both sides."

His plan was to wait and see. Considering only the "Doctor" faction they were currently following, it appeared their objective was to move forward... or more precisely, to advance to the upper levels of the city.

They showed no interest in anything on either side of the road. The troop of over a hundred vehicles and people rumbled forward openly and covertly, so much so that civilians peeking out of their windows to watch the commotion were barely harassed.

It was as if tonight's chaos had nothing to do with them...

Unfortunately, it was only here that they were not involved.

Gong Yan gripped a communicator in her hand, clearly in constant contact with other players, the ones who had been pushed out of Grey Iron City with her were now their best targets.

Right now, collecting information on the entire city was needed, and those players were helping everywhere.

"These warring factions started wreaking havoc as soon as they got to the Central City District!"

"Murdering, looting, committing all sorts of atrocities, these bastards are truly beasts!"

"These people seem insane, their every action filled with a venting rage... it's like... like there's no tomorrow."

[You have entered the territory of factional strife. From this moment on, you must choose to join one of the factions: The City Security Force or the Chaotic War Clans.]

[Will you be a law-abiding citizen upholding order, or a self-indulgent thug embracing chaos? The choice is yours.]

The sound that played out loud, along with the prompt from the information panel, rang directly in everyone's ears. Bai E knitted his brow slightly, making his decision, "Stop them!"

This was a task for the players as well as a choice for them.

[You have chosen... Order!]

[You have joined the City Security Force faction. From now on, you must do your best to reduce the chaos value that this unrest brings to the city. The wider the affected range, the more people involved, the worse the impact, the higher the chaos value. Current chaos value: 1539. Note: Be careful! If the chaos value reaches 10000, your factional strife will be deemed a "failure"!]

[The "losers" will be permanently hunted by Blackwater City. Please proceed with caution!]

While the punishment for failure was severe, the rewards for success were even more tantalizing.

"Permanent whitelist for Blackwater City," "Universal experience +20000," "Blackwater currency +1000."

It's worth noting that most players who mixed into the city didn't use the most honorable means of infiltration.

It's just that the city's census wasn't rigorous enough, otherwise, a fair number of people would be sifted out every day.

Seeing the slightly dazed expressions on the faces of a few players, Bai E knew they were assessing the newly sprung up factional strife panel prompt.

Being half a player himself, with his own panel, Bai E wasn't surprised by the players' reactions.

And without a doubt, under Bai E's command, all the players associated with Kuang Xin and others naturally joined the embrace of the Order Faction.

But there are always some players in this world who crave chaos.

Ren Fengxing, leading a force large enough to rival a warring faction, eyed the new factional strife task with eager anticipation.

They had mingled in the Lower District of Blackwater City for a considerable time to realize that mere manpower and weapons weren't enough in this locale.

The number of battle clans in the underworld was beyond counting, with schemes and conflicts among them, but at the same time, none wanted to see the rise of a new power that could replace their own.

So unless one was a dominant dragon who could subdue the local snakes, it was background and connections that were the key to establishing one's own battle clan here.

Now, if they could make a name for themselves in this large-scale mission and gain the recognition of the game's NPCs, who really didn't seem like fake characters, and thus establish their own battle clan, it would lay a solid foundation for their guild in this game.

At this thought, Ren Fengxing ordered with trembling excitement in his teeth, "All units, join the turmoil, let the revelry begin!"

[You have chosen... Chaos!]

[You have joined the Chaotic War Clans faction. From now on, you must do your best to increase the chaos value that this unrest brings to the city. The wider the affected range, the more people involved, the worse the impact, the higher the chaos value. Current chaos value: 1539. Note: Please be aware! If the chaos value is cleared to zero, it will mean your factional strife is deemed a "failure"!]

[The "losers" will be permanently hunted by Blackwater City. Please proceed with caution!]

If successful...

"Official Blackwater City battle clan accreditation," "Universal experience +20000," "Blackwater currency +1000."

Killing, setting fires, negotiating, and recruiting.

Doesn't that sound pleasing to the ear?

…

"Shall we start taking action then?" Dai Lian asked for the last time.

After all, the current situation was a bit strange.

While other districts were in complete upheaval, the "Doctor" faction that they were primarily following seemed to have no interest in the Central City District. Their procession was headed straight in one direction, inevitably raising suspicions about their true intentions.

Intuition told Dai Lian that following the "Doctor" faction might lead to more interesting events to witness.

But that was all it was.

This game never made the difficulty of any task explicitly clear; one wouldn't know if something was a pitfall until they stepped into it.

The game's storyline wasn't created for the players but merely coincided with them.

What roles different players with varying strengths could play in these coincidental events, would depend on individual on-the-spot decisions.

For now... continued following might lead to parts already out of their league.

"Then we're off!"

"Go," said Bai E, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The voices coming from the players' communicators and the screams and roars beside them during the conversations were enough for him to roughly envision the chaos the other war factions were unleashing elsewhere.

Those people had indeed gone mad.

Cast aside as pawns, they had almost no chance of survival. As the first batch of battle clans to cause trouble, no matter who won in the end, they were sure to meet a dire fate.

Having been doomed to die, they might as well indulge in one last bout of madness!

Chaos?

It's what ran in their very bones!