The First to Graduate the Beginner Village!

With his gear gleaming and radiating the aura of high-tier strength, Lin Feng stepped back into the familiar streets of the Beginner Village. He was no longer the rookie who had entered this world. His level had soared to 20, and that alone was enough to let him bypass the standard graduation process.

In Apocalypse Continent, every player had to complete a series of tutorials and quests within the Beginner Village before being allowed to leave. The only alternative path? Reach Level 20.

Lin Feng had already done just that.

The moment he returned to the village, he made a beeline for the Village Chief.

"I want to leave the Beginner Village," Lin Feng said, his voice calm and direct.

The old chief gave him a once-over and instantly froze in stunned disbelief.

Even the top-spending pay-to-win players in this village were barely around Level 10 at best. Yet standing before him was someone who had already hit 20. That wasn't just unusual—it was unheard of.

And Lin Feng's appearance did little to downplay his dominance. His body radiated a distinct glow from two pieces of Crimson-Gold gear, making him look like some kind of battle-hardened war god.

The commotion didn't go unnoticed. All around the village square, players stopped what they were doing, whispers buzzing like flies.

"You've proven your strength beyond question," the chief finally said, smiling with admiration. "You are fully qualified to depart. Just tell me—which Main City do you wish to go to?"

A system prompt appeared before Lin Feng, listing the major factions of the Huaxia Region.

[Dragon Capital Faction – Current Influence: 54,000]

[Imperial City Faction – Current Influence: 52,000]

[Great Yuan Faction – Current Influence: 52,000]

...

Every player, upon leaving their Beginner Village, had to swear allegiance to one of the regional factions. These decisions would shape future Nation Wars. The Apocalypse Continent was designed for large-scale territorial conflict, and players' chosen factions determined their political and military alignment.

In his past life, Lin Feng had chosen the Dragon Capital Faction. He didn't hesitate to make the same decision again.

"Dragon Capital," he said.

The moment he confirmed, a brilliant beam of teleportation light shot down from the sky, swallowing him whole. Thunder cracked overhead as the village was bathed in a pulse of electric light.

[World Announcement: Congratulations to Player "Immortal One" from Huaxia Region, Beginner Village #1198, for graduating and stepping into the main continent!]

[Player Immortal One has achieved the world's first Beginner Village Graduation. Rewards: +100 to all stats, 100,000 gold coins, 1x Random Achievement Chest!]

The announcement rippled through the entire globe like a tidal wave.

In the few short hours since the game's servers launched, even the most elite players around the world had only reached Level 12 at best. Now, out of nowhere, a Chinese player had already hit Level 20 and left the Beginner Village?

"Yo, is Huaxia running some kind of cheat script?!"

"No way, the game's security is insane. There's no way to hack this."

"Even the U.S. Region hasn't made it out of the Beginner Village yet. What the hell is going on over there?"

"Must be some ultra-rich super-secret Chinese tycoon with unlimited resources!"

Across every forum, livestream, and Discord group, chaos erupted. The name Immortal One—Lin Feng's in-game alias—spread like wildfire.

Even back in Huaxia, the local players were left speechless. Among them was Yao Lin, still grinding mobs just outside the Beginner Village. She froze in her tracks when the announcement rang out.

She had resurrected and spent hours farming mobs, barely clawing her way to Level 9.

And yet, that guy—the one who had killed her in a single blow—was now already Level 20?

Shaking her head in awe, she silently returned to the grind.

As Lin Feng emerged from the teleportation portal, he found himself standing at the gates of Dragon Capital, the central hub of the Huaxia Region.

[Congratulations! You have entered Dragon Capital. Exploration +50]

[You have received 100,000 gold coins.]

[You have received 1x Random Achievement Chest.]

Without delay, he opened the chest.

A flash of golden light later, the reward was revealed:

[You have received: Battle Pet Talisman (Crimson-Gold Tier)!]

His eyes lit up.

[Battle Pet Talisman (Crimson-Gold Tier)]

Type: One-time Use

Effect: Use on any monster to attempt capture. 15% base chance, scales with enemy HP. At low HP, the chance can rise to 95%. Does not work on dungeon bosses.

This was a game-changer.

Battle Pet Talismans were available on the system's trade market, but the standard ones only had a 50% success rate at best.

This Crimson-Gold version? It is practically guaranteed a catch at 95%. Except for unique dungeon bosses, Lin Feng could essentially tame any monster he set his sights on.

In a world teeming with mystical beasts, some with terrifying passives and rare traits, this meant unparalleled combat support. One powerful pet could make the difference between life and death.

Lin Feng carefully stored the talisman. He would wait for the perfect target.

But while Lin Feng was getting stronger, the real world was catching on.

In a high-security global research summit, dozens of experts from the world's top scientific institutions gathered around a giant screen. All of them wore grave expressions.

Apocalypse Continent was not behaving like any ordinary game.

"Based on all the data we've collected so far," said the Director of Global Science, setting down his report, "this game might not be a game at all."

"Indeed. The powers and stats obtained in Apocalypse Continent... seem to manifest in reality after logout," another scientist added, his voice grave.

"If that's true... we may be looking at a gateway to human evolution."

"Alert the regional governments," someone ordered. "Deploy task forces immediately. Establish a global monitoring agency for this game."

"Patch me through to the royal family. We have a situation."

Panic spread like wildfire as the realization hit—Apocalypse Continent was changing the very definition of reality.

If they didn't act soon, the game wouldn't just disrupt the world.

It might reshape it forever.