In the eerie and terrifying amusement park instance.
Sitting on a roller coaster with terrified players in front and headless demons behind, Fu Guan tugged at Qi Yuping's clothes amidst the screams, pleading, "I'm doing this for your own good, buddy, just give me a few more props."
Qi Yuping withdrew her arm in disdain, "It's not that bad. Even if you fail, we can't chase you down."
"You can't say that. What if he comes after you? Even if he doesn't, what about Sheh? Didn't she melt your mirror? If you don't give me more props, what if she remembers what you did and comes to kill you? You didn't see how much she protected Shi Jinzhe."
"I didn't see it, but I could hear the envy in your tone." Qi Yuping turned the head of the player in the front row who was trying to eavesdrop back. "You don't need to play dumb with me. Shi Jin has gone through so many dungeons. Hasn't he ever actively ambushed others for victory and points? If you're going to count that, which high-level player hasn't fought for profit? We've even fought each other. Only those who can't distinguish between factions and individuals would treat each other like enemies on the spot. Besides, it's a faction war in the game. If he hates me instead of the game, then he's got too much nonsense in his head."
Fu Guanzai: "You don't understand. Things are different now. You'll know once you meet him and his wife in person. They are our top bosses now."
"I'm not blind, I can see the icon that's being shown on my face."
"If you know that, why don't you give me more?"
"No, even if they were in charge now, the number of props you're asking for is far too much. I can't give them to you," Qi Yuping questioned. "I've already given you almost a hundred, and that's still not enough. How much more do you need?"
Fu Guan said, "Um... three."
"...Alright, alright, here are three more for you."
"three times."
Qi Yuping withdrew her outstretched hand. "Just send Shekh to take my dog's life."
He kicked away the ghostly hand under his feet, and as the roller coaster flipped 360 degrees and headfirst down, he suddenly saw a wisp of mist on the drop tower at the highest point of the amusement park. "Is that what you're talking about?"
Upon closer inspection, Fu Guan realized it was exactly the same as the one he had seen in the Jigsaw City instance. "That's it."
With the safety buckle released, Fu Guan leaped off the speeding roller coaster, his legs flipping over. The crimson wings from the Temperance card allowed him to regain his balance in the instant of his fall, granting him the ability to fly.
He tossed his paper airplane, a prop for flying, to Qi Yuping and urged him, "Come over here and test the prop's effects."
"..." Qi Yuping was so angry she almost laughed. So Fu Guan didn't believe in the effectiveness of his props and was even trying to exploit him. What kind of person was he?
This relationship is so superficial.
After releasing the safety buckle, Qi Yuping landed smoothly on the paper airplane and threw a glass bead far away.
The scenery before my eyes instantly became a mirror image, and black mist shot into the sky, plunging headlong into the mirror world.
Fu Guan threw out the shadowy keychain and ordered the shadow to catch the silver glass bead that had spun back into a ball, without getting close to the black mist at all.
"Seems pretty good." He waved to Qi Yuping without leaving a trace. "I need to go back and report first. You can continue with the dungeon. Goodbye."
"Get out of here."
Qi Yuping turned the paper airplane around and looked down at the expensive flying prop.
Fu Guan must be under a lot of pressure running so fast.
Names we'd never even heard of before have now become a dagger hanging over us veteran players, and it's impossible not to feel uneasy. We used to hope the system would die out, but now we find ourselves struggling to keep up with our own teammates who are also frightening.
However, these two should be more humane than the system, and hopefully they will be better than before.
The other players in the same instance got off the ghost roller coaster with snot and tears streaming down their faces. When they saw Qi Yuping returning, they asked, "Are there any other people you guys were afraid of?"
"Are those two people you're talking about really that capable? We..."
Qi Yuping: "Whether I'm powerful or not has little to do with you. Just focus on your own tasks and don't try to find out everything."
Shi Jinzhe and Shehe have different identities now, so it's not appropriate to discuss their affairs casually. If you want to gossip, don't hurt him.
The small glass beads that contained the black mist were broken by Fu Guan when he handed them over. After verifying that there were no problems, the monitoring of the black mist officially began.
Time flies, and two months have passed in the blink of an eye.
Shekh no longer needs to enter the dungeon once every two weeks. He sleeps until the afternoon every day, and sometimes when he has nothing to do, he goes into the dungeon to give the boss a death break.
Mu Bai's world was revitalized. She and Shi Jinzhe moved to a place far away from the valley. Outside was a vast highland with little lush vegetation, only some bouquets of flowers growing under the tree where they lived.
The canopy platform, open on all sides, let in dappled sunlight. Sheh swished her tail in the sun and had the system project information from the game forum onto her.
Every day, many people die in every world, and the number of posts on forums has surged.
After two months of screening through dungeons, the number of active players decreased by two-thirds; one-third had their memories erased and were sent back; and the remaining one-third died in the dungeons.
The remaining group consists of high-level players who are unwilling to give up yet, and they have added the condition that they only need to enter the dungeon four times within a year to the original conditions.
Whether it's once every few months or four times a night, it's fine. The minimum is four times a year, with no upper limit. If they like, they can go as usual or every day.
Although no one has done that yet.
Other conveniences have also been provided sporadically. Currently, the player monitoring privileges are second only to the new system, and higher than those of normal advanced players and ordinary players.
Some people have expressed reservations about this, feeling it's unfair, especially among fellow advanced players.
Shekh clicked on the post that claimed to be unfair, wanting to see what the poster had specifically said.
Why can some high-level players get valuable items directly from the system shop without needing points? I have to save up for seven or eight games to get an item worth several hundred points. I've been playing this game for three or four years, and they only get it because they joined a few years earlier than me. Is this something that requires seniority?
In survival games, who survives the longest without enduring the hardship? And what is there to endure—defeat?
[This is obviously something that has nothing to do with ordinary players like me. I just want to know who came up with the idea of increasing the contribution ranking at the end of dungeons? Is this something a human could do? High-level players definitely have more of these contributions than people like us.]
[That's right, but what does this have to do with public executions?]
[This has nothing to do with public executions. It's just that the points-based system has been changed from a uniform standard to one based on contributions, which I think is a good thing.]
The person who replied to this post is a high-level player. In his history of clearing dungeons, he failed twice because his teammates dragged him down, and he was very resentful about it.
I think it's great too. I'm not ashamed at all. I think the person who was publicly executed must have only been in the game for less than two months.
[It's obvious they're doing so well now. They get their skills by drawing them in the beginner dungeons, and they even have guides to help them level up. As long as they don't just lie in and sleep through the dungeons, even if they fail, they can still get some points from their exploration contributions. It's much better than working themselves to the bone and ending up with nothing.]
[Let me summarize: those who are publicly executed are all slackers.]
[It's like a company that pays salaries based on performance... The difference is there's no internship period, no social insurance or housing fund, and you're immediately put on the job; if you don't know how, you're doomed.]
But they gave me a house, and my little studio apartment is quite comfortable; the view from the window is of the sea.
[Who said I'm a slacker? You're the slacker! Skilled players only get a huge boost in points. In my last 10-man raid, someone took 84% of the contribution points, and I only got 3.]
I also think that if I could draw a three-character card or a two-character card, I could get more points.
Shekh asked the new system to check the data. These two people, one with a five-character name and the other with a six-character name, were both new players.
"Tell them that the highest skill level in the current beginner skill pool is five-character cards. If they envy the treatment of veteran players, remove their guides and add another dungeon where they can't use skills. If they can't clear it, all their skills and items will be taken back."
The disqualified two-character cards were all recalled by Shi Jinzhe long ago, and the three-character and four-character cards were changed to points redemption. The later batch of players who survived long enough will eventually get them.
The skill card advantage will gradually narrow the gap; individual ability is the real reason for the difference.
The system notification was issued immediately, and the discussion on the forum about this matter dropped sharply.
Shekh continued reading, and halfway through, she heard faint voices. She got up and saw a group of disheveled people coming towards her in the distance.
Players? Has Shi Jinzhe opened a new instance for this world?
Schech called the system, "What kind of copy are these people making?"
“Survival Guide.” Shi Jinzhe emerged from the pure white space and answered the system before it could respond. “The original world discovered the black mist, so we moved them here first.”
Shekh moved to the edge, lifting the semi-transparent curtain to get a better view. "What are their tasks?"
"Survive for half a month, find a special flower, beginner level, not difficult."
Shekh nodded, looking like he understood, and then asked, "What about the original mission?"
Shi Jinzhe: "It's a puzzle game, but the ghosts are bewitched by the black mist, making it more difficult than expected."
"It's ghosts again. Black mist is more likely to appear in supernatural stories."
"Fear can easily amplify emotions. The player who brought that wisp of black mist back to the original world came from a supernatural dungeon. People tend to overthink when facing ghosts and monsters. In addition, dungeons that give birth to ghosts and monsters require a lot of negative resentment, so these kinds of dungeons naturally attract black mist more."
Shekh rolled over, burying his head in his arms. "Sadness is an innate human talent, while happiness needs to be learned. The Black Mist is fond of this kind of dungeon because it allows them to absorb more pain."
Shi Jinzhe: "That makes sense, so the focus of our analysis now is on this type of copy."
Shekh: "By the way, look how carefree Bai Weishuang and the others are."
"Your dear sister is so happy she doesn't want to leave, and that's just the beginning of her carefree life."
"Ah..." Shekh positioned himself in a T-shape, his tail wrapping around Shi Jinzhe's body, sometimes loosening and sometimes tightening, clinging to him.
"You're playing me because you have nothing else to play with?"
"It's because of you that I'm so bored. I used to be able to sit still all day."
Shi Jinzhe understood her too well. She didn't even need to say anything; he said the rest himself: "It's all because I introduced her to the glamorous world that she can't stand being alone now. I understand."
Shekh disagreed, saying, "You're only impatient because you're uncultured."
"Why do you keep rubbing against me?" Shi Jinzhe grabbed the tip of her tail. "Take a good look at your tail."
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