Chapter 9: Spoils of War
While waiting for the three buildings to be constructed, Cheng Shaofeng engaged in "Quantum Surfing" and chatted with the three players.
However, his "Quantum Surfing" was limited to the Baidu Tieba area of the Earth's internet, making it inconvenient to communicate with others in real-time.
Fortunately, the three players were constantly monitoring their Tieba private messages and posts.
The three of them formed a discussion group with the Sentinel, waiting for his appearance.
Sentinel: "You all did a great job! I just saw your operations in the background, and overall, they are commendable, especially African Thin Dog, who successfully completed the mission and even discovered the hidden items we intentionally left in the dungeon. Very perceptive."
African Thin Dog: "I told you! I said my gaming instinct is definitely the best in the bar, second only to Brother Bing. Does anyone else have any objections?"
Ghost Face Fox: "Acceptable. I find it hard to imagine that this is the face of the third-generation heir of the Pu family."
Lin Tang: "To be fair, if I think about it from the perspective of making mods, since the planners intentionally placed hidden items on the map without giving players any buffs, it's obviously a quest item. It's highly likely to help the disaster base mentioned by the NPCs. African Thin Dog should receive a reward from the base leader when he comes online."
Sentinel: "Smart! Your guess is pretty close."
Hearing this, African Thin Dog got excited: "Brother Bing, what reward? Can you give us a hint in advance?"
Sentinel: "Hmm, what reward? Your question is so good that... I don't know how to answer it at the moment."
The so-called base was just a few machines placed on a small hill. Apart from making empty promises, he really had nothing to reward African Thin Dog with.
Lin Tang: "Brother Dog, your question has left the designer at a loss for words! It's very clear that the NPCs in this game are intelligent AI with their own logic, not tool-like NPCs. The rewards are also self-generated, right, Brother Bing?"
Sentinel: "Ah, yes, yes, yes!"
Oh right, didn't I say I would give them merits earlier? Hmm... Then let's give them more.
Although Cheng Shaofeng hadn't figured out what use the players' merits would have.
Lin Tang: "What do you think?"
When it came to game logic, Lin Tang's words obviously increased.
Lin Tang: "Brother Bing, if I'm not mistaken, the merits in our 'Doomsday OL' game should calculate the players' contributions to the base, right? We earn merits by completing missions, which allows us to accept more challenging missions from the base leader and earn more merits upon completion."
"Oh right, if I were to make a merit mod myself, merits could also potentially be a threshold for purchasing limited base equipment, skills, and items. Only by reaching the corresponding merit value can players unlock the items at that stage. With this design, players will have to do things centered around the base after logging in, instead of running around aimlessly... When I create storylines, the most annoying thing is when players don't follow the intended flow."
"Since we're on this topic, Brother Bing, I think the merit system can also be tied to titles, special effects, fashion items, etc. Only those who have done enough work are qualified to spend money to buy them. This way, players won't feel like they're being ripped off. Instead, they'll be particularly motivated to earn merits and eagerly spend money on the game..."
"Ahem, Brother Bing, please excuse me. When it comes to game design, my addiction kicks in. I'm just showing off my limited knowledge in front of you."
Cheng Shaofeng was already stunned.
There are even people providing guides?
"Lin Tang, I think... what you said makes a lot of sense! When we were designing the merit system before... this was exactly what we had in mind!"
African Thin Dog: "By the way, Brother Bing, our side shows that the character is temporarily unable to log in after death. When can we log in again? I just did a combat simulation analysis with my special forces instructor on how to deal with the Ravagers. Next time we log in, the three of us will coordinate well and definitely be able to farm the Ravagers!"
Holy shit?
So hardcore?
Cheng Shaofeng felt that players, as creatures... might be even more powerful than he imagined.
"Hmm, tomorrow. I'll work overtime tonight to debug some content in the background and fix a few bugs that were discovered today."
Ghost Face Fox: "Understood. A new game is a process of constant debugging. If there's anything you need us to test, just contact us anytime, Sentinel."
Lin Tang: "Brother Bing, when is our game going to be open for public testing? Will the closed beta data be wiped?"
Sentinel: "The time for public testing... is yet to be determined, but I can tell you with certainty that the closed beta data will not be wiped. The 'Doomsday OL' we are creating has a complete world logic. The traces left by each of you will change the future direction of the game... Even I will have a hard time modifying it."
Closed beta data not being wiped!
The three of them were instantly surprised!
This meant that they were not just testers, but could also gain more benefits during testing, laying an extremely good foundation for the future public testing. They would start off much stronger than other players!
Level, equipment, resources, skills, maps... They would all have a lead!
Oh right! There was also the most important thing - merits!
African Thin Dog quickly typed a question: "Brother Bing, there's one more question... Does the leader of the disaster base have a hidden favorability system? What do I need to do to get more benefits from him?"
Favorability system?
Cheng Shaofeng scratched his head, thinking it could be added.
"African Thin Dog, living up to his name, is really perceptive! You discovered all our hidden systems. That's right! NPCs have a hidden favorability value! Players who can leave a good impression on the leader will receive more story dialogues and may even receive some hidden quests... I've said enough. Those who understand, understand. Company regulations dictate that I can't reveal too much. The rest is for you to explore on your own. I'm going to work overtime to fix bugs."
African Thin Dog: "Understood, understood, understood. Thank you for the inside information, Brother Bing!"
The Sentinel went offline.
Soon, the three of them reunited in the QQ group.
Lin Tang: "What Brother Bing said is very clear. He wants us to suck up to the NPC leader for many benefits. We must keep this hidden setting a secret. When there are more players in the future closed beta, this will be our advantage."
Ghost Face Fox: "It's an interesting setting, but I've never been a sycophant. Won't this be a bit demeaning?"
African Thin Dog: "Hey! We're sucking up to an NPC, not a real person. Can this be called being a sycophant? This is called strategic flattery!"
"That's true... Hahaha!"
"I have to say, the Sentinel is really something. He gave us so much inside information... What a genuine person!"
"Indeed... I shouldn't have always called him a handout-seeking freak before."
In the center of the four mountains, on a small hill.
The disaster base with a primitive forest style.
After exiting Quantum Surfing, the construction of the three devices was nearing completion.
The silvery-white particle flow slowly fell on the three machines, revealing their true appearances.
A silvery-white cabin over 4 meters long, a silvery-white large boiler, and a tower-like machine with 7 empty spaces.
[Clone Production Chamber], [Spoils Generator], [Attribute Conversion Tower].
Great!
Players can be revived now!
"Number Zero, how many materials are needed to create a clone?"
Number Zero: "Master, the corpse of the deceased player 'African Thin Dog' is well-preserved, and the chip inside his body is not damaged. Furthermore, the time of death is not long ago, so it can be directly recycled. By adding a small amount of other biological materials, a new clone can be created."
"In addition, the Ravager corpse at your feet can also be recycled. The biological materials have exceeded the required amount for creating clones at the current stage by 30%. The excess can be stored in the production chamber. However, you need to find a set of electronic components to create the clone."
"Alternatively, you can put the complete Ravager corpse into the [Spoils Generator] and convert it into spoils that you can use."
Cheng Shaofeng rubbed the bridge of his nose and continued exploring the useful parts of his memory.
"Biological materials... which are animal corpses, can be purchased from the hunter in Salt Well Town."
"Electronic components... In my predecessor's residence in Salt Well Town, there are still some scavenged stocks left behind. Other miscellaneous items can be sold to exchange for food and hunted animal corpses, which should be enough to revive 3 people."
"As for this Ravager... let's convert it into spoils for now!"
Cheng Shaofeng struggled to stuff the green-skinned Ravager into the large boiler.
He pressed his hand on top, using the base's energy to power the boiler.
Boom!
A peculiar red energy burst forth inside the boiler.
10 minutes later.
The spoils chamber opened, and a conveyor belt pulled out two items with a creak.
(End of chapter)
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