Chapter 7: I See Through the Planner's Scheme Completely
Pu Shenqi took off his helmet.
He turned his head to glance at the starlight outside, dazed for two or three seconds, and then let out a long howl.
"Ah!!! So refreshing!!!"
"This is the kind of game I want to play!"
"What a bunch of crap Diablo III is, so weak!"
Although he had only played the game for less than 2 hours after entering and didn't fully grasp the game mechanics, that unprecedented experience instantly overshadowed all the games he had ever played.
"So this is 100% virtual reality? It's indeed awesome."
After lamenting for a moment, Pu Shenqi immediately opened the small group chat of the three of them.
Ghost Face Fox and Lin Tang, who had died before him, were already chatting.
Ghost Face Fox: "Lin Tang hasn't spoken. It seems I was the first to die."
"This game... is interesting, so interesting that I want to add an adjective to it, extremely interesting. I haven't seen such an interesting game in a long time."
"It's just that the stats of the small monsters are a bit outrageous."
"@African Thin Dog @Lin Tang, come out and chat after you die?"
"Forget it, you guys should complete the mission. I have a feeling this mission isn't a bug, but a test given by the sentinel to see if we qualify for the beta quota. If we can't complete it, we might not be able to play in the future."
"You two, good luck. I'm going to make a post in the bar!"
Immediately after, Ghost Face Fox posted in the Diablo III bar: "First try at 100% virtual reality game, the effect far exceeds expectations. What's interesting is that the designer turns out to be the bar's famous resource maximizer - Sentinel."
After a few minutes, Lin Tang also died.
Lin Tang: "Holy shit! This awesome game will shock me for a whole year!"
"Can you believe it? I was dismembered by four green-skinned monsters! The scene was very bloody. Fortunately, the pain sensation in this game isn't too terrifying!"
"This can pass the review?"
"Ptooey! Jinxer! Such a good game must pass the review!"
(Lin Tang withdrew a message.)
"I, Lin Tang, from today onwards, will devote all my energy to 'Doomsday OL'! To hell with Diablo, who cares about making mods for you!"
Ghost Face Fox: "Huh? How did you get taken down by four Ravagers? I saw you were quite at ease dodging them. Do they have other skills?"
Lin Tang: "Ah! Don't mention it. This game is different from ordinary mouse and keyboard games. People can make mistakes. Although relying on my own feelings to move is smoother, there are too many influencing factors. Do you know how terrifyingly precise this game is?"
"The change of vegetation underfoot, the friction and foot feel are all different! It's just like actually running in the wild!"
"Moreover, this game is like a survival game and has a stamina system. Towards the end, my stamina started to decrease. Then I accidentally tripped and was caught up by the green-skinned monsters... Hiss~"
"By the way, Fox, how did you die?"
Ghost Face Fox: "You had it quite rough. Dog and I found the dungeon where the NPCs were being held under the camp. There was a green-skinned monster guarding the door. To get past, we had to defeat it. Dog and I tried our best, and then I died."
"What you said about it being different from mouse and keyboard games. I felt it too. It's a bit like a high-precision motion-sensing game. One's own consciousness and intuition also affect the character's abilities. My combat awareness is still stuck in mouse and keyboard operation. Many operations weren't used before I died. What a pity."
Lin Tang: "When you died, how much health did the door guard have left?"
Ghost Face Fox: "80%"
Lin Tang: "..."
Ghost Face Fox: "..."
Speaking of this, both fell silent.
Lin Tang: "Let me see if I can still log in."
Ghost Face Fox: "Just tried. It shows the character is dead and temporarily unable to log in. Probably have to wait for the game planner to give permission. Let's wait for Dog. He should be done soon too."
While the two waited, they each went to the bar to contact Sentinel but didn't get a reply.
It wasn't until more than 40 minutes later that Dog came online.
After reading through all the chat logs, Dog collected everyone's information.
African Thin Dog: "@Ghost Face Fox @Lin Tang, I'm back!"
Ghost Face Fox: "Mission accomplished?"
African Thin Dog: "Smart!"
Ghost Face Fox: "In that situation, if you didn't die... there must have been a reversal in the underground battle. Tell us what happened after I died."
Lin Tang: "Speak quickly, can't sleep at night!"
Dog detailed what happened afterwards and his conversation with the NPC.
"In the end... I died from radiation damage. Damn! What bad luck! Otherwise, I should have perfectly completed the mission!"
Lin Tang grasped the key point: "Merit rewards? Did the NPC promise to give it to all of us or just you?"
"Should be everyone. He said the soldiers of the Calamity Base."
"That's good then. Otherwise, I got dismembered for nothing."
Ghost Face Fox: "Now... this all makes sense. This is a very classic guiding plot, not essentially different from other online games."
Dog: "Oh? How so, Fox?"
Ghost Face Fox: "This guiding plot is actually teaching us how to get started with this game through an event."
"1. The half-hour route is actually to let each of us adapt to the operation of a fully immersive virtual reality game. Think about it, wasn't the limb operation a bit uncoordinated at the beginning? It got better after running along the route for half an hour, right?"
"2. The mission target is too powerful, telling us the game's tone. This is not an ordinary pure combat game, but an open world where various plots will occur. If we encounter enemies we can't beat yet, we can also find ways to outsmart them. It also showcased the AI settings of the monsters in this game."
"3. In simple combat, it taught us to use the watch to view the map, health, and combat information. This provides the basic structure of the game."
"4. What amazes me the most is that the planner is telling us: in this game world, any items encountered, including terrain, can be interacted with! Wooden sticks and stones on the ground, even breaking a brick off the wall can be used. I can hardly imagine how expensive such a map would be."
"5. The final door guard battle, Dog and I both misunderstood. It's not that the planner designed the stats wrong, but because this is a guiding plot. The monster wasn't meant for us to brute force at this stage. Our strategy should have been like Lin Tang's, to engage! As long as we find a way to defend well, there will naturally be a force designed by the planner to intervene and help us complete this guiding plot. That's right, the skeleton Dog mentioned. I shouldn't have died by mistake."
"6. After rescuing the NPC, Dog, you did well. You found the item hidden in the guiding plot, that black box. Although you died from radiation, I'm almost certain that what you got will definitely be useful. It may affect the NPC's evaluation of you, thus obtaining hidden rewards!"
"Finally, the next time we log in, we should start entering the actual content of this game."
Dog stared at the computer screen, dumbfounded: "Fox, you saw through the planner's schemes!"
Ghost Face Fox took a sip of tea and replied with a smile: "Basic stuff. As long as it's a game, it can't escape these formulas. It's just that this game is packaged a bit deeper."
"The purpose is to increase the immersion of the players, making everyone mistakenly believe they are in a real world."
"Unfortunately, it can't deceive us veteran players. We see through the essence of this game at a glance."
Lin Tang: "Indeed, hahaha!"
The three laughed heartily in the group, feeling they had seen through the planner completely.
As they chatted, Dog said, "Let's go to the big group and chat, tell everyone about the game experience!"
"This game is so fun, it will definitely explode in popularity in the future! While we are the first to know the news, let's quickly rally a group of capable veteran players to form a team and explore together!"
(End of chapter)