Chapter 207 - The Opening Of The Grand Finale.

In his confusion, Li Ling tried to take off the headgear that was almost impossible to take off if one was still playing inside a level. The T.I.A.D. headgear had an auto-lock system that would automatically lock a person inside a level and the only way for a person to take off their headgear while still inside a level was through a hidden button on the back that was put there to ensure the safety of a player. 

Li Ling thought he would need to push that safety button, however, without actually having to use that button, the headgear came off easily as if the auto-lock system had suddenly been disabled and the only way something like that could happen was if the game shut down somehow and threw them out of the level. 

"Eh?" Li Ling muttered in confusion as he took out the headgear and looked down at it. 

There was always a light shining green on the side of the headgear if the headgear was turned on and the same light would turn red if the game was still running and the headgear hadn't been put on. However, when Li Ling looked at the light to see if it was green or red, to his surprise, there was no light coming from the side. 

Li Ling gulped as he immediately realized that his guess had been right.. The game shut itself down. 

Zhihao had already died inside the game so Li Ling, as his partner, should have also been thrown out of the level along with Zhihao. That was what was supposed to happen but what really happened was the shutdown of the game and it truly shocked and confused Li Ling who couldn't think straight anymore. 

"What's happening?" He muttered to himself as his eyebrows creased together in worry. 

Li Ling was still in the main research center of A.L.V.I. and so he was naturally not alone. There were more workers with him and they all looked to be shocked and panicked along with him. 

"Gamemaster, I think you need to see this." Someone shouted out for Li Ling and Li Ling immediately looked up from the headgear clutched in his hand. 

Li Ling's eyes widened as he saw all the screens in the place lighting up with the same thing. 

A message from the game. 

He was about to read the message out but at that same moment, there was a loud sound coming from all the speakers that were in the research center. 

[Congratulations to the top ten players!] 

[You have all earned the chance to enter the final level of T.I.A.D.] 

[Out there is a world that knows no bounds and it is waiting for you.] 

"What the hell...?!" Li Ling muttered with his eyes wide open and his mind racing with thoughts. 

[Please check your phones for your next destination.] 

[You have ten minutes to reach your next destination.]

[Failure to reach within the adhered timeline would result in elimination from the game.] 

[Your ten minutes start now!] 

[Happy gaming!] 

"What the hell? What the hell? What the hell?" Li Ling panicked a little as he immediately took out his phone and opened it. 

His phone had also been hacked by the game and as soon as he opened it, the GPS app on the phone opened up automatically. 

Shown on the map, there was a glowing blue spot on top of which there was an active timer for ten minutes. This was probably the next destination. However, it wasn't the only thing that could be seen on the GPS app. There were smaller green dots covering the place and on top of each dot, there was a single abbreviation written: 'inv' 

"Inventory," Li Ling immediately muttered as his brain tried to make sense of the situation. 

"Umm..." Liang Feng walked up to Li Ling and stretched out his hand to show his phone, "I think there is something wrong." 

"Eh?" Li Ling turned to look at the man's phone that displayed the same GPS app. 

"I'm ranked eleventh in the game..." Liang Feng muttered in confusion, "Li Ling, what's happening?" 

"Oh, shit..." Was the only thing Li Ling could say as a response as he immediately realized the situation. 

"That doesn't sound good," Tian Xifeng stood up from her comfortable chair and walked over towards Li Ling's side, "Gege, what's happening?" 

"It's Alvi. She opened the final level too soon and without permission." 

Huang Zhi Juan frowned as she stood up as well, "Didn't you say that we still had time?" 

"This system is too unpredictable," Li Ling responded as he felt a headache coming his way. 

Li Ying who was sitting beside Li Ling suddenly chuckled as she heard her brother, "Big bro, you messed up completely." 

"I did," Li Ling confessed as he scratched the back of his head and tried to come up with a solution. 

Liang Feng, "Why the hell am I getting this message if I'm not part of the top ten players?" 

Li Ling turned to Huang Zhi Juan and ordered immediately, "Go online and see the top player list." 

Huang Zhi Juan nodded as she turned on her phone but she didn't even need to search up for it. It seemed that the top players weren't the only ones who had their phones showing the GPS app. 

"That was easy," Huang Zhi Juan muttered as she turned her phone towards Li Ling and handed it to him. 

Li Ling instantly snatched it and looked at the screen that showed a list of eleven players and in front of each player's name, there was a long bar that ended on a picture that was just a box with an 'X' on top. 

"What does it mean?" Liang Feng asked with worry apparent on his face. 

Li Ling gulped as he spoke, "Alvi knows that Devilmagiclover and Bu Hui are the same people." 

"What does that have to do with this?" It was Huang Zhi Juan who questioned. 

"The mission in the final level is to hunt down the gamemaster," Li Ling answered and it didn't take long for the others to understand the deeper meaning behind his words. 

Li Ying laughed even more as she straightened her legs and stood up from her chair, "Big bro, you're dead now." 

"Wait..." Tian Xifeng muttered, "If the final level is a physical level then by the mission..." 

She didn't dare finish her sentence but everyone could fill up the blanks. 

Li Ling nodded as he confirmed it, "Someone must kill me outside the game." 

It was silent for more than a minute. 

Li Ling gulped as he felt his heart stop and fear started to paralyze him. 

"So out of all the things Alvi could choose, she chose a physical level as the grand finale? Hahaha... Big bro, you really created a monster who wants to kill its master," Li Ying commented as she chuckled dryly. 

Huang Zhi Juan frowned as she shook her head, "There must be another way." 

"That's right. There must be another way. We can try to override the system or something," Tian Xifeng suggested. 

Li Ling shook his head as he spoke up, "It's too late for that. You won't be able to use any computers or phones. All devices are locked and completely controlled by Alvi." 

Huang Zhi Juan gulped as she gritted her teeth and immediately moved towards the computers to confirm if what Li Ling said was true or not. 

"Damn it..." No matter how many buttons she pressed or how many times she tried to restart the computers, everything became unresponsive towards them. On all screens, there was only one thing being projected and it was the list of eleven players. 

"One out of the eleven is the gamemaster and when we reach the arena of the final level... The gamemaster hunt finally begins," Li Ling spoke as he stood up. 

Everyone was silent as they heard this and it almost looked like someone had already died, it was just that silent. 

Liang Feng clicked his tongue as he looked down at the timer that was ticking away, "Let's just get there first. Madam Huang, you stay behind and try to override the system. We can't waste time here. Let's get to the destination first and then we'll try to figure something out." 

Li Ling gulped as he nodded and agreed with the man, "That's right. We must move soon." 

"Ah!" Li Ying clapped her hands with her eyes glued to Huang Zhi Juan's phone, "I get what that bar is for." 

"Eh?" 

"It's the distance bar. If a player goes towards this box thingy it means the player is getting closer to the destination." Li Ying explained as she took the phone from the woman's hand and showed it to Li Ling, "This is a race, and the one who gets there first probably wins an advantage." 

"That... Make sense," Li Ling agreed as he looked down at his own phone screen, "All the players entering the final level get to see the GPS while everyone else gets to see their progress," 

Li Ying, "That sounds exactly like something Alvi would do."