The Monster is Coming

Chapter 363 Mutual Assistance and Teamwork, Unorthodox Players (Second Update)
The World of Fallen Stars.

Following New Cassini, Wei Shan's second city project, "Neon Port," is on track.

He was very satisfied with the initial testing of the agent model.

The two cities also have fundamentally different production models.

The underlying theme of the new Cassini is the existential dilemma.

This city, which was partially destroyed after the invasion of the End-of-Day Tribe, faces the reality of energy shortages and scarcity of resources every day when its residents open their eyes.

Their environment made them experience a doomsday survival every day.

Their challenge of the Nightmare Trials is essentially for survival.

In order to obtain the rewards and ensure that they and their families have clean water and food, they gritted their teeth and endured the hardships in the dungeon.

This will to risk everything for survival is like a natural armor.

The harsh reality already exists, so the horror experience in virtual scenarios actually reduces the output of fright points.

However, it is not without its advantages.

The mechanism of redeeming rewards keeps residents' participation stable.

They will not give up on challenges easily and will try their best to confront their inner fears.

The disadvantage is that forcing oneself to endure in order to survive greatly diminishes the purity of fear.

Like a group of survivors in the desert who are thirsty to the extreme, they would flock to even salt water if they could drink it, as it could at least temporarily relieve their current suffering.

Therefore, the overall output of fright value produced by the new Cassini is considerable, but the output of individual units is relatively low.

The model of Neon Port is completely different.

This city, untouched by war, is materially wealthy but spiritually impoverished.

Young people's thirst for excitement is ingrained in their very being.

They entered the Nightmare Experience Center in pursuit of more thrilling experiences.

Driven by vanity and a desire for excitement, they are far less tolerant of fear than those in the New Cassini scenario.

Without the shackles of survival pressure, their emotions are like an undefended dam; any slight disturbance in the virtual world can trigger a raging storm.

Neon Harbor's advantage lies in its extremely high individual output of fright value; each heart-wrenching scream is equivalent to the restraint of multiple residents in New Cassini within the scene.

However, the disadvantages are also obvious.

Their enthusiasm comes and goes quickly; once a scene loses its novelty, it recedes like the tide, requiring Lex Luthor to constantly introduce new content to maintain its appeal.

Another advantage of the agent model is the agent himself.

Lex is a native of Neon Harbor.

He knew exactly what young people chased, what they feared, and what kind of terror could precisely pierce their nerves.

There's no need for Wei Shan to expend energy researching the local culture; the agent himself is the best calibrator for horror scenarios.

This kind of understanding of contemporary society and the personal growth environment he experienced is far more useful than researching information.

Granting scene editing permissions is equivalent to enabling the "automatic update" mode.

Lex will run the Nightmare Experience Hall better and better, bringing him more scare points.

With an agent, he can completely wash his hands of the business.

From scene setup to dealing with challengers to updating horror dungeons... everything is handled by the agent.

This means content iteration at virtually zero cost.

All he needs to do is collect scare points and occasionally throw out some monster-themed toys to get Lex to willingly expand the market for him.

The agent model is essentially an experiment in decentralization.

Initial tests were a great success.

As for which specific model to take in the future, no decision needs to be made at this time.

He has plenty of time to wait and see which of the two modes is better, or to keep both modes.

The layout of the small world doesn't necessarily require choosing one of two options.

However, there are also issues that need improvement under the agent model.

That is, when an agent redeems items from the Nightmare Shop, how can the redeemed items be quickly sent to the agent?

He can't stay in his little world all the time.

The monster world is his main battlefield.

This is different from praying for souls. Players who set up small worlds in the apocalypse only need to hold a divine position in those small worlds.

Even if they do nothing, even in a monster world, they can still continuously receive the power of prayer.

However, the agent model he implemented was different.

He couldn't predict exactly when the agent would need to redeem the reward, nor could he stay in the agent's city at any time.

There is currently no solution to this problem that can be completely abandoned.

He plans to set a specific date for redeeming the rewards, such as a certain day of each month.

Once the time is fixed, he will be teleported from the monster world to the small world on that day to distribute the exchange rewards to the agents.

He has been in Neon Port for some time now, and he will return to New Cassini as soon as possible to check on the development there.

There are many other matters he needs to handle regarding urban planning and resource allocation.

Using his flying skateboard at full speed, Wei Shan quickly returned to the city of New Cassini, which was built on ruins.

For the next two days, Wei Shan wandered around the city.

Check the recovery status of various facilities and the daily increase in resource output.

Unlike the agent custody model of Neon Port.

As the behind-the-scenes manager of the city, he felt he had an endless stream of tasks to handle.

I just got back and discovered a bunch of troubles.

The farmland to the east was contaminated by radioactive dust during the invasion of the End-Dharma Clan. The topsoil hardened into gray-black lumps, making it impossible to grow crops or even weeds.

Simply sprinkling the magical soil of the monster world on this type of land is only a temporary solution.

The purpose of the sacred soil is to accelerate growth, but the grains grown from it are contaminated by radiation and are completely inedible.

He turned to his own store for help and bought some purification items.

The land was thoroughly cleaned to remove all energy radiation.

After confirming that there were no problems, another problem arose from the gear assembly team.

This indicates that many engineering devices cannot start at all due to the lack of energy modules.

Although the energy module factory is still in operation, continued production depends on the restoration of the engineering facilities.

However, without an energy module, the mechanical equipment used for repairs cannot be started.

Having no other choice, Wei Shan had to buy energy crystals from the mall and use his mental power to shape them into energy modules to try and start the mechanical equipment.

As a result, the energy output was too large, and it instantly exploded a piece of mechanical equipment.

Wei Shan had no choice but to change his plan and consult forum materials to learn more about the efficiency of energy crystal output.

Then purchase the Energy Carving Knife from the store, embed the Eagle-Headed Demon Soul, and carve three new energy tracks onto the Energy Crystal.

This solved the problem of the missing energy module.

Even more challenging is the fact that many engineering devices lack precision parts.

There is no substitute for this ruin.

Wei Shan had no choice but to seek help from the arms dealers' guild, spending money to buy back the parts made by the players and install them.

If you encounter parts that simply don't fit, you'll need to find a more professional team of meticulous craftsmen; they are expert hand-crafting masters.

Many problems can be solved by simply giving sacrificial power.

Many of the problems in this ruined city depend on him for support.

He must personally assist in the development until industrial capacity is fully restored.

Only when the entire city is completely in a stable state can he extricate himself from it.

As evening fell, he stood atop the half-repaired energy station, gazing at the scattered lights lit by residents in the distance.

The lights flickered on and off, like fragile fireflies, yet they felt heavier to him than the neon lights of Neon Harbor.

Lex in Neon Harbor only needs to worry about whether the nightmare scenes are scary enough, but what he faces here is the very real need for survival.

The only consolation is that this city's fear value output is 28 times that of Neon Port.

Furthermore, it is still in a period of explosive growth, so there is basically no need to worry about the subsequent production of fright points.

It may be tough and tiring, but at least there's hope for the future.

For the next two days, Wei Shan remained busy in New Cassini.

That day, I had just finished my work when a subordinate rushed in to report something.

This indicates that the Iron Hands gang in the South District secretly withheld some of the food and water that should have been distributed to the challengers.

Some residents resisted and were even beaten, injuring their arms.

Upon hearing these words, Wei Shan immediately became furious.

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that several similar incidents had already occurred in secret.

These little actions are like bubbles in the tide, constantly emerging.

The specific reasons are not hard for Wei Shan to understand.

The gang leader at the time still remembered his intimidation, but the lower-ranking members had long been unable to contain themselves.

They hadn't witnessed his methods outside of the nightmare scenarios firsthand, and perhaps they just thought of him as someone who intimidated people by "creating dreams," believing that the city couldn't function without him.

After all, it was these gang members who were openly responsible for clearing the rubble and maintaining order.

To solve this problem, Wei Shan ordered his subordinates to summon all the leaders and henchmen of the eight major gangs to the abandoned mining area in the eastern part of the city.

This time, he's going to solve this problem completely.

While waiting, the leaders and members of the eight major gangs arrived one after another.

Wei Shan stood in mid-air, and every time his gaze swept over a face, the person would lower their head.

Once all the members had arrived, his gaze turned to a spot not far away.

There is a decommissioned mining machine here. Its steel body, which is more than ten meters tall, is covered with rust, but it exudes a sense of oppression. The ground where the tracks have rolled still has deep gullies.

At this moment, Wei Shan raised his right hand and pointed at the mining machine.

Immediately, a sickening metallic scraping sound rang out.

The mining machine's hard alloy shell seemed to be gripped by an invisible giant hand, instantly denting inward.

Sparks burst forth from the twisted folds of the steel.

The enormous creature, over ten meters tall, shrank as Wei Shan slowly closed his five fingers.

The tracks, drill bit, and cab were squeezed together like a crumpled ball of paper.
The originally sharp metal edges were also ground into blunt, rounded curves.

Upon seeing this, all the gang members stared wide-eyed, and some even instinctively took a step back.

Wei Shan slowed down the compression, letting the sound of metal scraping against metal echo in the ears of every gang member.

One minute later, Wei Shan released his grip.

The round metal sphere, which had been suspended in mid-air, crashed to the ground with a dull thud, causing the ground to tremble.

Having done all this, Wei Shan smiled and turned to look at the pale-faced leaders:
"New Cassini is short of people to do the work, but it is not short of disobedient good-for-nothings."

His gaze swept across every face:

"Now think about it carefully, is your flesh and blood harder, or is the mining machine harder?"

Hearing these words, the members of the various gangs felt a chill run down their spines. They knew that all the weapons they wielded were no different from toys in the face of this terrifying humanoid being.

They were told to die, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't harm them.

“From today onwards, I don’t want to hear about anyone secretly withholding resources. Apart from the portion you’re given for your work, if you want extra resources, you’ll have to challenge the Nightmare Trial scenario. If I find out again that anyone is secretly making trouble, you… including your supervisor, should start writing your will in advance.”

Wei Shan's voice wasn't loud, but it struck hard into the hearts of the members of various gangs.

“Remember, whether I am in New Cassini or not, you must all abide by my rules, or I will come back to settle accounts.”

"Remember this scene before anyone tries it next time."

After speaking, Wei Shan swung the metal ball.

Instantly, telekinesis transformed into a sharp blade, instantly slicing the metal sphere into hundreds of steel pieces.

"Now, get back to work."

Wei Shan waved his hand, as if shooing away something insignificant:

"Don't make me repeat myself a second time."

After saying that, Wei Shan turned around and flew into the sky, leaving a group of gang members frozen in place.

Only after Wei Shan's figure completely disappeared did anyone dare to breathe heavily.

The sunlight was still blinding, but the flattened and cut-up piece of scrap metal was like a silent warning, making everyone feel uneasy.

The current leader of the Wild Wolf Gang turned around at this moment, his expression ferocious as he swept his gaze over his subordinates:
"Send everything back. Don't make things difficult for me. I don't want to die because of this."

Upon hearing these words, the leaders of the other gangs also began to speak.

They demanded that all the resources previously secretly seized be returned, and that similar incidents never happen again.

Wei Shan's purpose in choosing joint liability was precisely to ensure that the leaders and bosses of various gangs could manage their subordinates effectively.

This demonstration was also meant to warn them that if it happened again, the consequences would be severe.

Because their actions have affected their own fear value gains.

The trust that was painstakingly built was lost due to gang members secretly skimming from it, and rebuilding trust will be a long process.

For New Cassini to achieve stability, sufficient resources alone are not enough.

These people need to know who really calls the shots in this city.

……

After ending the deterrence, Wei Shan returned to the energy city in the city and resumed his busy work.

His feeling was that the whole city was full of exclamation marks, and he needed to go there to trigger and complete them.

This is just a city.

With its current capabilities, it's difficult to develop multiple cities simultaneously.

Only by quickly establishing a "mutual aid group" can this problem be completely solved.

It's much easier for everyone to get rich together than for each other to fight alone in our own little world.

Having clarified his thoughts, Wei Shan brought up the forum interface.

Shortly after, a post appeared on the player forum:

[Inviting fellow villagers: The business of scares in the miniature world is highly profitable]:
Posted by: Invincible Summoner.

Contents:

Fellow villagers, possessing both beauty, strength, and wisdom, I have paved the way for the Summoning Flow.

There was a lot of discussion about frightened spirits recently, but the problem lies in how fright points are obtained.

I've seen many forum experts try various methods, but none of them have been able to find a way to consistently generate fear points.

But today, I officially announce that I have found this path.

The inspiration came from a group of top guilds working together to create a small, post-apocalyptic world where they could harvest the power of prayers.

At that time, I was thinking, could I use a similar method to harvest fright points in the small world?

After asking for directions, I locked onto the Meteorite World.

The investigation revealed that this world, which had been invaded six months prior, was ideal for generating fear points.

Enough with the chit-chat, let's get straight to the point.

I have now captured two cities in the Starfall world, using the agent mode and the survival pressure mode respectively.

Among them, New Cassini steadily generates scare points through survival pressure, while Neon Port reaps the rewards through thrilling experiences.

After testing, both methods were found to be feasible.

In particular, the agent mode allows the natives of the small world to operate the horror industry independently, so we can earn scare points without lifting a finger.

The combined daily shock value turnover from both sides has exceeded 1.3 points when converted into sacrificial power, generating nearly 40 sacrificial power per month, and this figure continues to grow.

But I can't handle all the events by myself.

In particular, by using Nightmare Souls to weave new terrifying scenarios, updates cannot stop, and there must be a very high output.

There are still ten or a hundred more cities to be planned for the future...

Now we are recruiting a group of like-minded brothers to go to the small world together to collect fear points and become the strongest summoner.

……

The post went viral after it was published.

A large number of players flooded the post with comments.

Among them were many unexpected and insightful remarks from Wei Shan, and some of his fellow villagers even had ideas that could be described as bizarre.

One of the comments gave Wei Shan goosebumps.

The player who posted this comment had a brilliant idea, providing an alternative path to gain fear points.

What he said was so bizarre that Wei Shan dared not even think about it.

As a player, he is not afraid of death, but he is also unable to resist this kind of fear.

Hidden in the Sea of ​​Books:

After reading the post, I was puzzled. Why does the poster always try to create terrifying scenarios? The definition of obtaining fright value has never been about being scared. This soul needs fright, and fright can be understood as panic, terror, fear, etc.

So why keep focusing on horror content?

Non-horror scenes can also generate scare points, and can even generate more scare points than horror scenes.

Here's a reference example for you.

Imagine you are a challenger to a nightmare scenario, and you have entered the illusion I have woven.

What lies before you is a tiny, enclosed room of only ten square meters. You are about to face eight large, muscular gay men, each two meters tall and with dark skin. For the next hour, you will be completely helpless.

Imagine eight muscular men slowly approaching you, giving you a knowing smile.

During this time, the muscular men will take turns reciting cheesy pickup lines to you in deep, resonant voices: things like, "My muscles are tougher than your will to survive."

I guarantee you'll be more terrified than if you were in a horror scene, and the fear level you generate will be several times higher.

This fear was accompanied by a strong sense of helplessness.

It was a kind of terror more terrifying than death.

So when you're creating your dream scenarios, don't be too rigid. Don't get stuck in horror content. I suggest you come up with some creative ideas.

……

This comment, while startling Wei Shan, also opened up new avenues of thought for him.

He suddenly understood why the local bullies always called them "beast players".

These fellow villagers can be really weird sometimes.

To be their opponent, you not only have to engage in physical confrontation, but also endure psychological torment.

Sooner or later he will go insane; one can imagine the mental pollution the bully experiences every day.

Shortly after the post, Wei Shan's chat group was flooded with players who wanted to follow the summoning strategy and hoped to work together to build a small world.

However, Wei Shan doesn't choose just any player.

He decided to prioritize recruiting a group of capable players in the group chat.

Only when a large number of powerful players band together can the small world continue to operate smoothly.

Eventually, it developed into a small, post-apocalyptic world, continuously generating resources and benefits for them.

The rise of summoner-based strategies is just around the corner.

……

The hot topic of summoning builds on the forum has also sparked discussions among pet-focused players about their future development.

The pet-based strategy, which revolves around controlling life spirits, has the advantage of not requiring early planning or spending a lot of effort to discover special resource production channels.

Aside from players themselves, all living beings can be captured and kept as pets.

Even the Reverse Tide God of the Reverse Tide Legion, theoretically, as long as his strength is weaker than the player's, and he is in a dying and powerless state, he has a chance to be captured and controlled as a pet.

The investment in arresting them is minimal, and there is no need for a training process.

The intensity at which it was caught is the intensity thereafter.

The only drawback is that the targets captured by the pet-based strategy have very low growth potential.

As players rapidly improve their strength, those who rely on pets must constantly change the type of pet they use to enhance their pets' power.

The most popular pet back then was the highly adaptable Book Warrior.

However, most players are around level 100. While the level of Shuyan Warriors has increased in the past two years, it is no longer enough to meet the needs of players.

Players who prefer a more controlled playstyle need pets that can significantly boost their combat power.

Acquiring Book Warriors is not easy; it requires camping near Book Domains, which is time-consuming and laborious in the early stages.

Successfully capturing them did not lead to a surge in combat power.

This is completely different from the situation where players were generally level 30-50, but the captured Shuyan warriors had a combat power of 80+.

At that time, the power of a single Book Warrior was enough to take on a player team of a thousand people.

Therefore, the cost-effectiveness of Book Warriors is decreasing as the faction develops.

The summoning build that was hotly discussed on the forum has made players who rely on pet-based builds feel threatened.

Both are minion-based combat systems, and the once-glorious pet-based strategy seems to be about to be overtaken by the rapidly rising summoning-based strategy.

In an effort to resolve this predicament, players in the less popular pet-based game section began to discuss it.

I think it's time to find a new and powerful way to acquire pets, so that the pet-based meta can rise again.

But finding a reliable way to acquire powerful pets is not so easy.

Some time ago, a lucky team did manage to find a way to capture soul beasts.

Soul beasts possess the ability to devour and evolve, and these pets have extremely high potential, equivalent to growth-type pets.

But this channel had long been cut off by the Soul Return Clan.

This has caused the price of Soul Beasts in the current market to triple in a short period of time, and no player is willing to sell the Soul Beasts they purchased.

The battlefield between the Soul Returners and the Reverse Tide Legion is extremely intense.

It's not that no players have tried to capture them on the battlefield, but the intensity of the battlefield is too high, and even collisions at the edge of the battlefield are unbearable for players.

They generally don't survive more than a few seconds before being swallowed by the terrifying spatial rift.

Capturing soul beasts relies heavily on luck and cannot be a reliable source of pets.

Just as pet-based players were debating this issue but couldn't find a suitable direction, one player came up with an idea.

The target is the Artifact Race, a faction that has almost no popularity on the forums but is well-known to veteran players.

(End of this chapter)