Chapter 38 - Warning: High-energy content ahead! ...
Gradually, students began to discover that a new high-level dungeon had been added to the simulated combat pod. Over a month later, many had dared to challenge the high-level dungeon, and posts about it were appearing more and more frequently on the forums. Naturally, they were very interested in the newly updated dungeon.
So the next day, a group of four top students from one dorm teamed up to try out dungeon number 082.
Before going, I even started a thread saying I would write a spoiler-free review.
Anyone can browse posts related to advanced dungeons, as long as they don't involve mission details or walkthroughs.
Many forum members who had already used up their weekly combat pod usage were gathered under this post out of curiosity, waiting for the original poster to return and share their experience. However, an hour passed, then two hours, and the original poster still hadn't appeared.
People kept replying to the post, asking if the original poster had disappeared or forgotten about it.
It wasn't until evening that the original poster finally appeared amidst everyone's anticipation: [I'm here. My roommates and I cried all day after finishing the dungeon. Right now, I only have one thought: I'm going to kill them all.]
[？？？]
[Is this really that exaggerated? And this is supposed to be an emotional story?]
OP: [Don't even mention it. When the story was halfway through, I thought this advanced dungeon was a bit easier than the others. Later I realized why its completion rate was so low. I've never cried so much for an NPC before...]
OP: [Our dorm has unanimously decided that we'll be running this dungeon for the next month until we meet the completion requirements.]
OP: [A suggestion for those planning to run this dungeon: enjoy the early story parts; I guess that's probably the happiest time for the "protagonist." After that night, everything changed.]
OP: [I'm not saying anything more, or I'll spoil the plot. You guys should just play it yourselves, and remember to bring tissues.]
No matter how many people commented or tagged the original poster, the original poster stopped replying, probably because they went to cry again.
This post completely piqued the curiosity of everyone on the forum.
Many people who had booked subsequent combat pods changed their minds, canceled their original plans, and chose 082 instead.
Yu Cheng secretly lurked on the forum and read many posts.
Many of those who attempted to challenge instance 082 were discovered before they could even infiltrate the dormitory, and were subsequently mobbed and beaten by members of the enemy camp. They completely missed the point of the emotional moment: [Were they watching how badly I got beaten?]
Aside from those completely unaware of the situation, quite a few of the remaining people came up with the idea of arson—thanks to the education they received during this period, the students in Fangzhou are now more cunning than the last, each one a potential criminal in reserve.
As a result, many of these people witnessed Xiaojuan's fate and returned to the forum in tears.
As more and more people played, one day Yu Cheng suddenly discovered that instance 082 had a new code name.
——"Xiao Juan".
In the story, as a main "NPC," the "protagonist's" sidekick, and the absolute core of the dungeon, Xiao Juan's death has brought tears to countless readers.
Like that original poster, many people made the decision that they must rescue her.
They ran the dungeon countless times, tried all sorts of methods, and then were shocked and despairing to discover that, ever since witnessing Brother Liao's death, Xiao Juan seemed to have been prepared to die.
She will avenge herself time and time again, rushing into the flames time and time again, dragging the villains who have wronged her down to hell.
This is the reason why the system determined that the completion rate of instance 082 was low.
It was because of this instance that the students suddenly realized that in the apocalypse, what they needed to be wary of was not only zombies, but also their compatriots who had lost their humanity and were hiding in the darkness.
When they realized this, they were inevitably disappointed, but after that disappointment, the existence of people like Xiao Juan and Brother Liao rekindled their determination to protect them.
The students built a prayer tower for Xiaojuan on the forum. The tower quickly grew to two or three hundred stories, which was a rare tall building in a student forum with a limited number of members.
...
Fu Qing paid no attention to the commotion caused on campus by the appearance of the new instance.
For her, Xiao Juan's death was more than four years ago. They had only spent a little over three months together on the run, but had been separated for four years. However, it wasn't until she stood in front of "Xiao Juan" again that Fu Qing realized that her impression of her had not been erased in the slightest by the long period of separation.
She was actually quite pleased; Xiao Juan was such a bright and vibrant girl, destined to leave a deep impression on people.
Fu Qing also considered whether it was inappropriate to import this instance and have his friend die repeatedly in front of the students.
But Xiao Juan's death was her own choice; she had completed a magnificent revenge.
The fire burned for three whole days. After it was completely burned out, Fu Qing and the rest of the camp went back again and risked their lives to clear out the wandering zombies in the vicinity. They found at least seven corpses in that small dormitory.
They were all piled up at the door, but Xiaojuan blocked them all by herself.
Those who commit crimes in life because of their strong physique will only turn into a handful of ashes after they are cremated.
Fu Qing thought to himself that if he told Xiao Juan about this, the petite girl would be very proud.
So let's let more people remember her and be proud of her.
*
After resolving Yu Cheng's psychological issues, Fu Qing returns to campus construction and the main storyline.
In the past month or so, the publicity team has also made great progress.
Their video account has been launched with great fanfare. So far, they have released a total of five videos on various platforms. Because they also have daily classes and exams to prepare for, the frequency is tentatively set at once a week.
The initial video, after careful preparation, received disappointing feedback, barely breaking a thousand views, leaving the other four somewhat disheartened.
Fortunately, the experienced Sun Wei stepped in to comfort them: "It's okay, that's how self-media is, traffic is purely a mystery."
"We can only wait patiently until some kind of mystical phenomenon strikes us. Our videos are of good quality, and we'll definitely be able to gradually build up our fanbase."
With Sun Wei's comforting words, the members of the publicity team finally cheered up again.
After reviewing the video content again and confirming that the quality was fine, they stopped paying attention to the data and focused on making videos. While ensuring the frequency of updates, they only sent one person online occasionally to reply to fans.
So they released four videos in a row. Although they failed to make a splash, their number of followers and interactions steadily increased. Finally, after the fifth video was released, things took a turn for the better.
The day after the fifth video was released, when Sun Wei, who was in charge of account operations, went online, the page actually froze for a moment.
She thought she had logged into the wrong account and used her main account instead.
Such lag can only have one reason—
That is because the backend is so full of comments, interactions, and likes that even loading takes a long time!
Sun Wei stared at the red dot next to her account avatar in the upper right corner, noting the 999+ count, and held her breath.
In just one night, their latest video garnered 200,000 views, over 10,000 likes, and more than 600 comments. The opening screen was filled with "Homepage Notification," indicating that their video had been featured on the website's homepage.
Since their previous videos were all on the same theme, it indicated that they wanted to create a series of videos. The fan conversion was very fast. In the following week, the videos remained on the hot list, and their account gained nearly 100,000 fans. This made everyone fully realize the power of the "traffic mystery" that Sun Wei had mentioned.
Their previous efforts in meticulously producing videos despite the dismal view counts paid off. The videos were of high quality, interesting, and full of creative ideas, making them treasure content creators in the eyes of their fans.
With the good news sent by the five people, Fu Qing received feedback for the first time.
Your impact on the world has deepened!
[Received 300 teaching points as a reward]
Keep up the good work!
A publicity team was established to publish articles on WeChat official accounts, encouraging students to spread the message to their parents and peers. Short video platforms were used to influence their peers, raising awareness of apocalyptic topics and helping more people understand concepts like "zombies" and "hoarding."
All these efforts combined finally yielded initial results.
This proves that Fu Qing's guess was correct. Just like "understanding of the world", the system also has a hidden value to measure the impact she has on people.
As the number of followers on the account increases in the future, the influence will continue to be attributed to Fu Qing, which is equivalent to having a stable channel to earn money through teaching points.
In addition, finally having cultivated an account with stable exposure means that she can use it to do something.
*
Fu Qing called the five members of the publicity team to his office.
In the past month or so, they have occasionally come to the principal's office to report on the situation, and they are no longer as nervous as they were the first time.
But he still feels awkward when facing Fu Qing.
It has nothing to do with the principal's attitude or ability; it's purely a matter of suppressing the principal's aura.
Of the five, only Su Huaijin, who was experienced in entering and leaving the leaders' offices, could have normal conversations with Fu Qing.
At that moment, she opened her eyes wide in surprise.
"Principal, you said you want to join us?"
Upon hearing Fu Qing's words, they were immediately filled with fear.
It felt like a group of children playing around, with an adult suddenly appearing in the middle. No one could imagine the principal fooling around with them in the video.
“It doesn’t count as joining, it’s only one term,” Fu Qing corrected her.
"I hope you can set aside one episode to include what I said in the video, and I will decide the shooting style and location."
The five of them didn't quite understand, but the principal must have her reasons for doing so.
“No problem,” Su Huaijin readily agreed. “We’re willing to cooperate. It’s just that…”
Her expression suddenly turned a little awkward.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Principal, would you like to cover your face?"
Fu Qing: "..."
I almost forgot about that.
Even before the first video was filmed, Fu Qing reminded them to cover their faces and try not to reveal their real location to avoid being approached by malicious people.
The five followed the principal's orders without question, and each of them ordered a mask online that same day.
The packages arrived, and we opened them all at once, falling into an unspoken silence in the room.
A green-headed fish, a screaming chicken, a Peppa Pig, an evil Pikachu, and a dog head emoji wearing sunglasses were all neatly arranged in the delivery box.
I'm not afraid of people being silly, I'm afraid that there isn't a single normal person in the whole group.
After that, they filmed all the videos while wearing those five hoods.
With his face completely covered, I felt a strange sense of security.
Even though they were wearing masks, it was as if they had taken them off, and they were more relaxed.
But now, sitting in front of the principal, remembering those five masks, the five of them suddenly felt a suffocating sense of dancing energetically in the classroom during break, only to find their homeroom teacher standing quietly at the door watching them turn around.
They looked at each other, and finally, the freckled boy shakily pulled a crumpled, pink Peppa Pig mask out of his pocket.
“Principal, how about you… wear this? This one seems more normal.”
Relatively speaking, it's normal.
The other four lowered their heads deeply, adopting a posture of reflection.
Fu Qing: "...Isn't there anything more presentable you could wear?"
She told them not to show their faces, but she didn't tell them to choose such a shameful way.
The only boy in the group had a sudden inspiration: "I have an Ultraman mask in my dorm, that would be perfect for me, aww..."
He was speaking when Su Huaijin covered his mouth.
—What's wrong with Ultraman?! In his heart, the principal is more like light than Tiga!
The boy shouted in his heart, but Su Huaijin muffled it all back.
Fu Qing said with a mix of helplessness and amusement, "Fine, I'll take care of the mask myself."
She then discussed the script for the new video with them.
...
Over the next two days, the five of them filmed the part before the principal appeared on stage.
On the third day, the masks ordered online arrived, and the group met at the agreed location to finish filming the remaining parts.
That night, the boy in charge of editing stayed up all night and produced the final cut.
When the finished video was posted in the group chat, everyone else was in class, and Sun Wei was the first to see it.
Nowadays, all platforms prefer short videos, as long videos are not conducive to dissemination. Sun Wei naturally wouldn't make basic mistakes, so each of their videos is kept to be around five to ten minutes long. Sun Wei watched it all in one go during her lunch break.
In the last minute, she repeatedly dragged the progress bar and watched it six or seven times.
Then, she sat in her seat for a long time.
Song Rushuang went to the restroom and returned ten minutes later to find Sun Wei still motionless. Confused, she waved her hand in front of her and asked, "What's wrong? Are you stupid? Is the video that good?"
"No, the good thing isn't the video, it's..." Sun Wei retorted reflexively, then thought for a moment, deciding not to give away any spoilers, and slumped back into her seat with a satisfied, workaholic grin on her face, "Anyway, I have a feeling that after this video is released, we're going to gain a lot more followers..."
*
"Why hasn't it been updated yet...?"
Zhao Yun slid her finger across the laptop's touchpad and clicked refresh again.
The logo of a pink video website flashed by, and after loading, the five videos on the uploader's homepage remained unchanged.
Zhao Yun was immediately disappointed and had no choice but to quit and go elsewhere to find videos to watch while eating.
Zhao Yun, a sophomore, is a heavy internet user.
Recently, she has become a fan of a new content creator, whose ID is "Dormitory Battle Royale". It seems to be a collaborative production by a group of college students. Their main series, "University Campus Apocalypse Survival", has already been updated five times. Set against the backdrop of a university campus, it simulates various scenarios of preparing for the apocalypse, which Zhao Yun, who is also a college student, finds very relatable.
She observed the comments and bullet screen messages, and found that "Tao Tao's" fans were mostly college students or recent graduates. The video's viral success was partly due to its exquisite production, but also to the abundance of talented viewers in the bullet screen, who readily offered witty and humorous remarks, creating a fantastic viewing experience.
Zhao Yun has been following them since they had just over a hundred followers, never missing a single episode. She has watched them grow to over 100,000 followers in a short period of time, and feels like she has grown up alongside them.
Her only complaint was that TaoTao's update speed was too slow!
One episode a week? That's not enough!
After searching around without finding a suitable video, and with her spicy hot pot delivery getting cold, Zhao Yun had no choice but to re-open the first episode of @DormitoryEscape.
As she watched, she burst into laughter, chopsticks in her mouth.
Zhao Yun's roommate: "..."
She peeked out from next door: "How many times have you watched this? How can you still laugh like that?"
"But it's really funny!"
In the scene, the group whose faces were not shown were seriously discussing how to escape the dormitory and find survival supplies next door.
The next second, a greenhead fish began to crawl forward.
Since the video's theme is "assuming the apocalypse will come a year from now," all of this was prepared in advance by the five people. As a result, other students from Fangzhou who make cameo appearances pass by in the background from time to time, looking at them with eyes that look at them as idiots.
Some people calmly ignored the classmate who was lying on the ground having a seizure, and simply stepped over him, creating a hilarious scene.
Zhao Yun couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Who came up with the idea of using five hoods? Genius!"
After a difficult struggle, the survival team led by Greenhead Fish finally obtained: half a bag of leftover potato chips, two buckets of instant noodles, a bag of ham sausages, and an instant noodle pot hidden in the corner of the closet to avoid inspection by the dormitory supervisor.
Post-production added gamified numerical tags to each of these resources.
For example, ham sausages, due to their high salt content, result in a satiety level of +20 and a moisture level of -5 after consumption.
Containing carbohydrates, fats, proteins, and other components, it can be used to quickly replenish energy and is a high-quality resource in a post-apocalyptic world. One stick can meet the minimum salt intake requirement for at least three days.
It's not just serious science popularization, but also some interesting descriptions—
[A forgotten, smelly sock stuffed into a pot of instant noodles—its pungent odor is off the charts! It could be used as a bioweapon to destroy a zombie's keen sense of smell, giving them an opportunity to escape.]
Even though she had already watched it twice, Zhao Yun started laughing again when she rewatched this part: "Zombies can actually smell stinky socks? Really?"
"The zombies are portrayed differently in different works. Maybe the zombies in their world have a very keen sense of smell," my roommate complained from the side.
Zhao Yun had never read any post-apocalyptic works before and was not familiar with these settings. She subconsciously had the impression that "zombies have a keen sense of smell and can be misled by other means."
But it was just an impression; she quickly put it out of her mind and continued to immerse herself in the video.
Because it incorporates a game stat system and is a story-driven series, "Dormitory Battle Royale" videos have a built-in sense of progression, like a series of short dramas.
The items you obtain in the previous video may continue to appear in many subsequent videos.
The foreshadowing in the first video may not be revealed until the fourth video.
This also gave everyone a sense of anticipation for the next episode, further increasing fan loyalty.
New viewers are often recommended by the comments to catch up on previous episodes, which in turn increases the number of views.
In the latest two videos, viewers have started taking stock of the survival team's current supplies in the comments section, calculating how many days they can survive, and even making predictions about their next move.
All of this was a detail that Sun Wei and others deliberately added to increase interaction.
The higher the level of interaction, the more recommendations the video may receive and the more likely it is to be featured on the website's homepage.
With Sun Wei, a veteran in the self-media world, on board, the publicity team did indeed avoid many pitfalls.
Su Huaijin also started brainstorming, gradually incorporating some plot points reminiscent of a wish-fulfillment novel into the latest video. While the proportion was small, many viewers found it appealing, expressing enthusiastic feedback in the comments section. Once the scenes of the villains being humiliated are released later, the viewership is expected to increase further.
At the same time, the playful and silly style keeps the videos in a lighthearted tone, making it easy to watch any episode.
After watching three videos in one go, Zhao Yun began to clean up the takeout trash, feeling somewhat emotional.
How come other people's campus life is so interesting?
Team up to shoot videos, goof around with friends...
I was just repeating the same monotonous routine of classroom, dormitory, and club, which was incredibly boring.
Sometimes she wonders if, as Tao Tao imagines in her videos, a zombie outbreak occurs a year later and the apocalypse arrives, will her stagnant life change?
Despite her thoughts, Zhao Yun felt that she would definitely be the first one to die.
She shook her head and stopped thinking about it.
While studying in the library in the afternoon, Zhao Yun's phone, which was lying to the side, suddenly vibrated and displayed a notification.
[The content creator you've been following, @DormitoryEscape, has updated!]
Is there a new video to watch?
Zhao Yun was overjoyed and immediately couldn't concentrate on studying. Looking at the time, she realized it was almost time, so she went to the cafeteria, queued up, bought a meal, and brought a cup of milk tea back to her dormitory, intending to eat while slowly studying.
By the time she returned to her dorm, the new video had been released for almost an hour, and the number of comments had increased to a considerable number.
As soon as Zhao Yun opened the video, a sentence appeared at the beginning:
[Warning: High-energy content ahead!!! This is not a drill!!!]
Zhao Yun felt a sense of anticipation.
Is F5 coming up with another hilarious new trick?
The subsequent barrage of comments confirmed her guess.
[Leaving my name before the fire starts]
[Why can't I get out of this video?]
[Ahhh, F5, I missed you guys so much!!]
[Grandma, the content creator you follow has updated!]
The barrage of comments was layered on top of each other, and it was getting thicker and thicker. The number of real-time viewers in the upper left corner kept increasing, but did not decrease, indicating that many people clicked in and watched it again and again. New viewers joined and they did not leave.
It seems that even the video that made it to the homepage in the fifth episode didn't generate this kind of buzz.
Zhao Yun's expectations were already at their peak, so she quickly opened the chopsticks and started eating while watching.
The video started by continuing the suspense from the end of the previous episode, and the overall production quality remained high. As Zhao Yun watched, she forgot the high-energy warning mentioned at the beginning and started laughing out loud.
Halfway through the video, the plot suddenly takes a turn. When the survival team goes out to stock up on supplies for the weekend, they stumble upon a seemingly abandoned "haunted house" in the suburbs and decide to use it as a reserve shelter.
They carefully photographed the interior of the haunted house, which was covered in cobwebs and had a thick layer of dust on the furniture and floors, indicating that no one had been there for a long time.
The screaming chicken seriously analyzed the possibility of turning it into a shelter.
However, in a sudden camera movement, a half-clear footprint appeared in a corner of the scene that none of the five noticed, on the corridor that should have been covered in dust.
Everything started to go wrong from this moment on.
A few viewers left comments to protect themselves, but most people were focused on watching the video.
Zhao Yun, watching from the screen, unconsciously stopped eating. Even though she knew it was fake, she couldn't help but feel nervous.
The atmosphere gradually built up. The old house had no electricity, only the beams of flashlights flickering back and forth, until the five people heard a strange noise and pushed open a door.
Someone exclaimed "Holy crap!" and the phone, which was being used to take the picture, suddenly shook violently. It was clear that the person holding the phone could no longer take pictures normally. After a moment of panic, the camera briefly froze, angled upwards, and captured a rotting face.
The comments section was silent for a second, then suddenly exploded.
[Wow! That scared me!!]
[Why wasn't there a warning about something terrifying?! I really thought it was haunted!]
[Keep watching and you'll see, he's so handsome!]
[Wow, big production!!! Did they hire actors to play the zombies? They look so realistic!]
[I'm really starting to get scared. Someone tell me this is fake, right...]
[This video has a different feel to it, zombie movie lovers will be thrilled!]
The incredibly realistic zombies roared and stumbled towards the squad in the shot. The phone shook, and the only background sounds were the five people running frantically and panting. This chase scene kept the audience on the edge of their seats.
The atmosphere was created very successfully; they almost forgot what the original theme of the video was and were only hoping that the crisis would be resolved.
The survival team kept circling inside the haunted house, trying to get rid of the zombies that suddenly appeared. They finally managed to get to an open living room, where they each found a corner to hide in.
This segment was filmed by Greenhead Fish. She was hiding behind the sofa, and the camera was half-blocked by the sofa back. You could hear her suppressed breathing up close.
The completely first-person perspective filming gives all viewers a sense of immersive fear.
They watched as the zombie entered the living room and precisely moved towards the spot where Peppa Pig was hiding.
"It can locate people by smell..."
A thought suddenly popped into Zhao Yun's mind.
In the video, the greenhead fish let out a short cry.
The audience saw the sunglasses-wearing dog tiptoe up behind the zombie, carrying a vase.
They didn't even take off their hoods at a time like this... Zhao Yun wanted to complain, but her attention was quickly drawn to the actions of the dog-headed man in sunglasses.
He raised the vase high and slammed the heavy bottom down on the zombie's head!
Even through the screen, they could hear a loud "bang" and see that the sunglasses-wearing dog had used all his strength, enough to shatter a person's skull.
Countless people burst into profanity at that moment.
The zombie's skull was crushed, leaving a noticeable dent on its head when viewed from the side.
If it were a human, they would be dead by now.
"What?!" Zhao Yun couldn't help but widen her eyes, dragged back the progress bar, paused, and took a closer look at the scene.
Yes, the zombie's head was indeed dented from being smashed.
These aren't human beings? Such agile zombies, and they're not played by people?
Or did they use some special effects?
But this is just a short video, not a movie, it can't be that serious...
Driven by curiosity and a desire to find flaws in the filming, Zhao Yun watched even more intently.
The vase was smashed, and the man in sunglasses stumbled back two steps, his chest heaving, clearly exhausted. But then, he held his breath.
The zombie with a large crater on the back of its head swayed slightly, and then, surprisingly, it stood up.
It's not dead yet!
Without hesitation, the sunglasses-wearing dog turned and ran, the beam of his flashlight swaying erratically. Drawn by the light, the zombie reached out to grab him, giving the sunglasses-wearing dog the perfect opportunity to escape.
The phone fell into the zombie's hands, and as its palm caressed it, somehow the camera function was turned on.
Next, the audience watched a thrilling yet somewhat comical chase scene.
It's thrilling because the old house isn't too small, and the survival team is finding it increasingly difficult to escape, with the distance between them and the zombies fluctuating, keeping everyone on edge.
It's comical because they're watching the chase scene from the zombies' perspective...
As a student project, "Dormitory Battle Royale" is definitely immature, but the incredibly realistic zombie greatly enhances its quality, and in certain aspects, it is even comparable to some low-budget films with crude special effects.
In the live chat, ordinary viewers were on the edge of their seats, while zombie movie enthusiasts were thrilled and even wanted to rewind and watch it again to figure out what was going on with this zombie.
Footsteps, panting, roars—a mix of various sound effects, yet not chaotic. The male editor, drawing on his past experience editing movie mashups, controlled the video's rhythm with extreme precision.
As the zombie reached out, about to touch the green-headed fish's back, the audience's emotions were on the edge of their seats—the most tense moment.
"boom!!"
All the sound effects stopped at that moment. The wind howled from the side of the zombie. The people watching from the first-person perspective were momentarily blinded. The zombie holding the phone staggered back, seemingly unable to stand, and gradually leaned against the corridor wall.
The camera pans down, like the head of a zombie hanging limply, still struggling. The camera then pans up to capture a face.
The man wore a gas mask that covered the lower half of his face, revealing sharp and indifferent eyes and brows.
Just a cold glance was enough to make the viewers in front of the screen feel as if their hearts were being gripped and they could hardly breathe.
With a swift movement, the blade flashed, and the video abruptly ended.
The screen went black, but the background music continued. The zombies' urgent screams gradually subsided and fell silent, signaling the perfect resolution of the crisis.
It took a long time for everyone to recover.
[Holy crap... was that really not a movie shot?]
[Ahhhhh, so handsome!!!]
[Turns out being handsome really is a feeling; even just showing his eyes makes my legs go weak.]
[God knows how many times I watched those two seconds; I need all of this sixth man's contact information right now!]
[I never expected to find something here that so perfectly hits my sweet spot; it feels like this has suddenly gone from a children's movie to a Hollywood blockbuster.]
[One second I'm all about Makka Pakka, the next I'm totally into @#￥&%……Sister, I'm in love!]
[See you all!]
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