The developers still haven't forgiven the players.

"We can't afford to provoke those monsters right now, can we? Who knows how many of them there are?"

Even after obtaining information about the new monster, Dog still wanted to continue farming slug monsters to level up.

Players can certainly use a swarm tactic, but who says monsters can't be used?

Regardless of the level of organization demonstrated by the Beastmen warriors, their overall numbers are likely considerable.

At this point, he suddenly changed the subject: "But Peng Zhi, you're being a bit dishonest. If you don't bring back the leopard's carcass, what are we going to eat?"

The entire district walked out sideways, echoing, "Yeah, what are we eating?"

The commotion had not yet subsided.

Peng Zhi immediately bowed and said, "Gentlemen, if you can tolerate these two acting so recklessly here, then please allow me to retire and return to my hometown."

"Father, please calm down..."

Old Kuai, halfway through catching the joke, froze: "Wait, aren't you guys getting the order of these jokes wrong?!"

The Unification of the Realm: "What are you talking about?"

This was the first time he had spoken since joining the group voice chat, and he sounded completely bewildered, like an incompetent husband.

To cater to the traditional middle-aged audience who value unification of the world, Lao Kuai skipped the meme segment and steered the conversation back on track.

"There's something I need to tell you. Upgrading is secondary. You must first practice the blood circulation route of the Tiger Fiend Technique, master it, and make it a muscle memory."

"Is that why you were able to explode back then?" Peng Zhi didn't quite understand.

"That's right. During intense battles, activating the Tiger Fiend Technique can maximize attack power."

To bolster his persuasiveness, Lao Kuai added, "Don't let your higher rank fool you, Godfather. If it really came down to a fight, I could take you down in no time."

The players in the group voice chat all frowned.

Clearly, most players treat "Tiger Fiend Skill" as a prerequisite for leveling up, without having thoroughly mastered it. At most, they can ensure that their blood and qi circulation is correct when they are calm and focused.

Roupeng couldn't help but complain, "I really don't understand what the development team was thinking. Couldn't they just make it one-click auto-cast? Is it really necessary to be this hardcore? They don't even know how to cater to players with poor hand skills."

Campus Spring Scenery casually remarked, "Auto-casting means there's a lot of room for skillful maneuvering. It seems like the skill ceiling and floor in combat are very high. Experienced players and newbies will probably feel like they're playing completely different games."

"Oh? Such a big increase, is there no cost?" Brother Niu asked the crucial question.

Unfortunately, Lao Kuai was too caught up in the battle and didn't pay attention: "There's definitely some consumption, but I'll have to wait until I log in to find out exactly what it is."

As he spoke, his voice inexplicably took on a bitter tone.

"Stop talking, I'm hooked! I really want to play Genshin Impact. Why isn't the maintenance over yet? Let me in..."

……

It was almost 6 p.m.

In a corner of the city, in a perpetually damp underground rental room.

The fluorescent light emanating from the phone screen reflected on Su Yan's face, giving him a lifelike yet slightly dead appearance.

It is clearly visible on the phone screen that the official forum of a game is being displayed.

Su Yan has been following this game for some time now.

As a professional game booster who can make a living from it, his gaming talent is beyond doubt.

Unfortunately, the game he originally worked for was already declining in popularity. The proliferation of game boosting services exacerbated the deterioration of the game environment. In addition, the boosting services were competing for prices with each other, and on bad days, he wouldn't get any orders at all.

His quality of life has been forced downgraded from McDonald's to Wallace. If this continues, he's even considering giving up game boosting and switching to food delivery.

However, during this period of preparing to change careers, he accidentally came across a video posted by a content creator called "A Niu's Game Bureau".

With the idea of ​​giving it a try, he applied for an appointment.

I originally just thought of it as an internet joke.

The forum descriptions were so vivid and the users were so friendly that he often couldn't resist logging in to see what new tricks everyone was up to, which was a rare treat in his dreary life.

but,

All his doubts remained until the moment he received the gaming helmet.

Su Yan picked up the large bottle of iced tea placed on the bedside table and gulped down large mouthfuls of it.

The cheap pleasure that filled his mouth calmed him down a little.

According to the descriptions of users in the forum who had the word "play" in their names, he put on the gaming helmet and lay flat on the bed.

Is that all?

The shimmering white countdown, situated in the center of complete darkness, reached its end at that very moment.

Player "Fat Tiger" enters the game.

For an instant.

The musty smell that was typical of the basement rental room suddenly disappeared completely.

Instead, there was the refreshing scent of soil and grass, accompanied by a barely perceptible burnt smell, which reminded him of his childhood in his rural hometown, where his grandmother would pester him to smoke cured meat and then roast a sweet potato for him with hot wood ash.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~

He sniffed, and his eyes inexplicably became moist.

Seeing things through a layer of water mist inevitably blurs the vision.

However, the clear feedback transmitted from various parts of his body still brought him an incredibly strong sense of awe.

Is this what a fully immersive virtual reality game is like?

Is this something I can play without spending any money?

Su Yan, or rather, Fatty Tiger, raised his hand and wiped his eyes somewhat awkwardly, eager to see this world that should only exist in his imagination.

"Uh, man, I know it's hard to believe when you first encounter such an awesome game, but is it really necessary to cry on the spot like that?"

The player who struck up the conversation was lying next to him. Seeing Fat Tiger's tearful expression, he couldn't help but tease him.

The new players around them gradually woke up, and every now and then a few exclamations of shock could be heard.

Fat Tiger wiped his face haphazardly, a little embarrassed: "I was too excited."

"I understand."

This player's game name is Si Dong Quan.

He stood up, looked around, and then hopped and skipped towards a female player, waving, "Here! Over here!"

The female player's game name is Nian Dongjian. To be honest, this couple's name is a bit abstract.

Incidentally, among the fifty new players, only two are female.

This was, of course, the result of Jiang Chen's deliberate selection.

Call it big data statistics or stereotypes.

In short, female players are indeed more likely to devote their full energy to a game with exciting combat, and that's exactly what you're talking about.

Jiang Chen hoped that the players he recruited would be hardcore gamers, not just social players. Naturally, for his own benefit, he would prioritize selecting from the male player group.

Perhaps with a larger player base, we can attract more female players to enrich the game ecosystem, but that's definitely not the time now.

At this stage, the primary task for players is to strive to become stronger and then survive.