The forum posts were full of mixed opinions.
Some supported Bai Lixin’s approach, while others questioned him.
There were those who support the Shentian Guild, and others who criticized it for bullying.
Supporters from both sides were equally vocal.
Bai Lixin didn’t think that killing a chicken to scare the monkeys once could turn the tide. The current tug-of-war of public option on the forum was within his expectations.
The days when he disappeared during the “Dare Challenge Game” had subjected him to much scrutiny. Now, being able to elevate his position to a state of subtle confrontation with the Shentian Guild was the result of multifaceted efforts.
His performance in the copy.
There was also Sun Ning and others who were guiding public opinion outside.
From the current performance, Sun Ning had already done her best.
After briefly skimming through a few other posts, Bai Lixin shut down the computer, left the dormitory, and went to the headquarters of the Core Fire Guild.
The others had already received the news, even earlier than Bai Lixin.
As soon as he saw Bai Lixin walk in, Xia Chi immediately rushed over and embraced Bai Lixin, distress written in his big watery eyes, “Brother, you’re finally back. I was really worried when I watched the live broadcast. I almost died of panic when I saw you were still in prison on the third day.”
“I wanted to message you as soon as you left the copy, but Zhou Guang didn’t let us disturb you. Brother, you must be tired this time, right? It’s been a day since you left the copy before contacting us.”
Bai Lixin’s hand that was about to comfort Xia Chi paused.
He hesitated, looked at Xia Chi’s foolish yet clear eyes, and then confirmed that he had misunderstood.
His hand returned to pat Xia Chi’s back, “I’m fine now, don’t worry.”
Bai Lixin nodded to Zhou Guang and the others sitting in the conference room before taking his seat.
There were no outsiders in the conference room. Except for Zhou Guang’s group of four, there was also Sun Ning.
After chatting for a while to liven up the atmosphere, Sun Ning got straight to the point, “God Xin, did you read the forum content?”
Bai Lixin: “I read some before coming down.”
Sun Ning: “Are you satisfied?”
Bai Lixin: “Not bad, thank you.”
Sun Ning: “We rise and fall together, it’s what I should do. This is just the beginning, trust me, we can do better.”
She suddenly took out a laptop from her backpack, deftly opened it, and her fingers tapped quickly on the keyboard, “I’ve prepared several plans based on what may happen next. You can take a look.”
When Sun Ning took action, you knew whether she could deliver or not.
The ordinary gathering suddenly turned into a planning meeting led by CEO Sun Ning.
Everyone was stunned.
Zhou Guang pushed up his glasses, “President Sun, may I ask, what is your profession in the real world?”
Sun Ning: “CEO of a listed company.”
Everyone: “…”
Zhou Guang looked at the young Sun Ning with some surprise, “You’re so young and already a CEO of a listed company. President Sun truly has a bright future. No wonder you’re so outstanding.”
Sun Ning shrugged indifferently, “There’s nothing to boast about. Being a CEO at such a young age isn’t because I’m outstanding, it’s because my dad is the chairman of the company. My brother and I were both working for my dad.”
Everyone: “…”
Jaw-dropping.jpg.
You could obviously rely on your family, but instead you took on the task of laying bricks.
The big boss was actually among them?!
Sun Ning rolled up her sleeves and regained her composure, “Shall I continue?”
“Wait, Sun Ning.” Bai Lixin interrupted Sun Ning, “Everyone must be tired these days. Let’s discuss the plan next time, give everyone a buffer time. Let’s not talk about work temporarily today, let’s talk about something else.”
Sun Ning hesitated for two seconds, then cooperatively closed the computer and put it into her backpack, “Sorry, I was too impatient.”
“I was too impulsive, I was only thinking about avenging my brother, and I brought some personal emotions into it. It was me who was abrupt.”
Li Cancan sat beside Sun Ning, tilted her head and looked at Sun Ning curiously, “Sun Ning, how old were you when you entered the game lobby?”
Sun Ning reminisced for several seconds before replying, “I was twenty-four when I was sucked in here, three years after graduating from college. My brother is two years older than me, and we both came in together. According to the time dimension here in the game lobby, I’ve spent almost ten years in the game world.”
“Twenty-four.” Li Cancan’s smile was gentle, “That’s about the same age as me when I came in, so we’ll be the same age when we leave.”
A tinge of regret flashed in her eyes as she spoke, “But once we leave here, we’ll lose the memories of this place. Otherwise, I would definitely come find you to hang out.”
Sun Ning immediately responded, “Sure, I’d welcome you to come find me.”
“My company’s headquarters is in City B, and the company is called the Sun Xuanyuan Group. If you still remember after leaving here, you must come find me!”
Xia Chi looked at Sun Ning curiously, “Sister Ning, what do CEOs usually do in their spare time? Is it like those TV dramas with all sorts of mysterious business battles and high-end evening banquets?”
“Don’t watch those TV dramas blindly.” Sun Ning rubbed her forehead, “I’m busy all day long. Just after solving one plan, the next one comes in. I also wonder why those CEOs in TV dramas are so leisurely. They finish their business over a cup of afternoon tea or at a cocktail party. I just want to retire.”
“Don’t talk about me anymore, my life is so boring.” Sun Ning waved her hand impatiently and ended the topic decisively, obviously not wanting to reminisce about that time.
Everyone exchanged glances, and finally, all eyes fell on Bai Lixin.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward. ‘Why don’t you say something?’
Bai Lixin: “???”
‘Why me?’
Adjusting his demeanor, Bai Lixin brought up a more natural topic, “Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since we sat down and gathered at the café on the first floor.”
Liang Xi sighed, “Ever since our popularity increased, life has become somewhat restricted. Going back to the first-floor café now would attract attention, it’s hard to return to the leisurely state we had at the beginning.”
Xia Chi chuckled and poked his temple, “If you guys want something from the first-floor café, it’s not a problem. Although it’s not convenient for us to go there, we still have delivery service.”
“Brother Zhou Guang likes lattes, I like cappuccinos, Sister Cancan likes pearl milk tea, Brother Liang Xi likes iced coffee…” Xia Chi tapped his temple while looking at Sun Ning, “Sun Ning, what about you?”
Sun Ning was stunned for a moment, then blurted out, “Mocha, thank you.”
After speaking, she was stunned again, and looked at Li Cancan beside her in confusion, “There is a delivery service in the game lobby?”
Li Cancan also looked puzzled, “I don’t know.”
Xia Chi said excitedly, “Don’t underestimate the observational skills of contemporary quasi-college students; it’s our superpower. As far as I know, this ability will gradually degrade as we spend more time in society.”
Everyone: “…”
Unable to refute!
A few minutes later, the drinks were delivered. The packaging had the familiar logo of the first-floor café.
As they received the drinks, they seemed to be transported back to the time when they first sat in the first-floor café.
Perhaps these familiar drinks served as a buffer, the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became warm.
This time, everyone didn’t focus on the relentless days of fighting but instead talked about their recent experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Time flew by like sand slipping through their fingers, and over two hours passed unnoticed. However, no one felt tired; on the contrary, they became more enthusiastic as they chatted.
Sun Ning was also influenced by this atmosphere, and even her calm expression showed a rare hint of liveliness.
It felt strange.
It was like taking a comfortable warm bath after working tirelessly for three days and nights, instantly sweeping away the worries and depression.
She had never had such a novel experience.
After entering the game lobby with her brother, they used their proficient experience in personnel management to establish the guild, and then worked hard to climb up for more data. Otherwise, the Raging Flames Guild wouldn’t have risen to the second place in such a short time.
She wasn’t working, but she also hadn’t had a truly relaxing day.
But now it was different.
In this short time, everyone around seemed completely disconnected from the horror game, and even she couldn’t help but be infected by them, joining in this relaxed atmosphere.
It wasn’t until a sudden system prompt rang out above their heads that they stopped, reluctantly returning to a calm state of preparing for the upcoming challenge.
[Ding! Dear players, the game lobby will start a new round of expansion pack updates in ten minutes.]
[This update will last for three hours. Players in the game lobby will temporarily lose consciousness in these three hours. Players engaged in the dangerous entertainment project are advised to return to a safe environment immediately.]
[The main contents of this expansion pack update are: 1. Addition of a brand new large-scale challenge copy to enhance the game’s playability. 2. Bug fixes for several copies on record.]
[The ten-minute countdown will start soon and the update will start after the countdown ends.]
After the system announcement, Bai Lixin noticed a new red countdown bar added to his taskbar.
For a moment, everyone exchanged glances.
Xia Chi asked, “What exactly is the new large-scale challenge copy?”
Sun Ning: “It should be a large copy capable of accommodating many people.”
Xia Chi: “I can guess that, but how ‘large’ is this exactly? A thousand people?”
Zhou Guang: “I’m not sure. As far as I know, the copy with the highest number of participants currently known has a limit of five hundred people. This ‘large-scale’ should be higher than that, but the exact number is unknown.”
Xia Chi nibbled his finger, looking somewhat anxious, “Why do I feel that the timing of this official event a bit strange? It’s too coincidental for the update to come right after Brother provoked the Shentian Guild in the copy.”
The last system update was during the “Nation Wide Battle Event.”
The horror game occasionally underwent system updates, but not this frequently.
This update did seem quite peculiar.
Everyone’s eyes were filled with worry, and they all looked at Bai Lixin, silently seeking his opinion.
There wasn’t much anxiety on Bai Lixin’s face, “When in someone else’s territory, one must adapt. Everything is unknown until after the update ends, so let’s wait and see.”
Everyone nodded in unison. Zhou Guang said, “Shall we wait for the update here?”
Bai Lixin: “Yeah, I don’t have anything else to do right now.”
Xia Chi: “Then I’ll stay here too.”
Li Cancan: “There are still nine minutes left. Where did we leave off just now?”
Liang Xi raised his hand: “I was talking about the time when I saved a little monster from between the rocks in the copy last time. Let me continue…”
Sun Ning was bewildered as she looked at these people who had started chatting again.
Who are these people? Why are they so calm?
Her gaze swept across the faces of these people one by one, finally landing on Bai Li Xin’s face.
Calm, relaxed, casual.
He seemed indifferent to everything.
She suddenly understood where these people’s calmness came from.
She had been learning management skills since she was a child, and winning over confidants was deeply ingrained in her heart.
For a group to thrive, it cannot do without the spirit and backbone of the group.
Bai Lixin was the soul of this group.
Everyone couldn’t help but be attracted to and influenced by him, trusting and getting close to him from the bottom of their hearts.
This was not just some management skill that could be learned from books, but the charm of a person’s personality itself.
Many people said that Bai Lixin is the mascot president who didn’t have to take care of things in the Core Fire Guild, but without Bai Lixin, the “Core Fire Guild” might not even exist.
Bai Lixin is the meaning of the Core Fire Guild’s existence.
The power that is drawn together because of Bai Lixin is stubborn and strong, almost impossible to shake.
Sun Ning felt a bit envious in her heart, and also gradually adjusted her tense emotions.
The ten-minute countdown passed unnoticed, and as the ten minute countdown ended, the entire game lobby instantly plunged into darkness.
Strong pulses washed over the game lobby again and again, not leaving any corner untouched.
It was unknown how long had passed, and the unconscious people gradually woke up under the piercing system prompts.
[Ding! The game expansion pack update is over.]
[The final content of this update is as below.]
[Update 1: This update has cleaned up useless plugins in the game lobby, fixed copy bugs, and eliminated viruses.]
[Update 2: This time, a new large-scale composite copy, [City of Metal and Steel], has been added. The rewards in the copy are abundant, and all players are welcome to participate enthusiastically. This copy challenges the largest number of players for the first time, with a maximum capacity of 10,000 people. Currently, the [City of Metal and Steel] is in the testing phase, and players participating in the trial will receive generous rewards. This copy is not restricted by floors, and players from any floor have the opportunity to participate randomly.]
[Finally, I wish all players a happy gaming experience, goodbye.]
Xia Chi exclaimed: “10,000 people? Is the system crazy?”
Zhou Guang: “And there is no floor-restriction, which means newbies might enter this copy, and those old monsters from the 900th floor might also enter this copy.”
Li Cancan: “But 10,000 people, that’s too many, how big is this copy after all? Should we participate, or wait and see?”
Sun Ning frowned slightly: “But there’s another problem.”
Li Cancan: “What problem?”
Sun Ning: “The number of people.”
“Most of the players in this game are either alone or in small groups, so even if I have been in the horror game for a long time, I don’t know how many people have been involved in this game.”
“That Nation Wide Battle Event should have brought out almost all the players, and there were almost a million people.”
“It looks like a lot, but after the event, everyone still acts solo or in small groups as before. The time for participating in copies is also random. It’s not easy to gather 10,000 players, but the system has created such a useless copy.”
“Moreover, with a maximum of 10,000 people and no floor restrictions, what is the survival probability of this copy?”
“It’s like… “ Sun Ning’s brow furrowed even more, “it’s like it’s forcibly reducing the number of people.”
Everyone’s faces changed slightly, and Liang Xi blurted out: “Are you saying the system wants to trap players in this copy and kill them?”
Sun Ning: “There is too little information about this copy, only the name of the copy. The level and difficulty of the copy are unknown, everything is unknown.”
Bai Lixin: “I’m going in.”
Sun Ning frowned again: “But this is clearly a trap.”
Bai Li Xin: “It’s precisely because it’s a trap that I want to go in. This way, I can stop the system’s conspiracy. Instead of watching helplessly from the outside, I’d rather get involved and do something.”
Sun Ning looked at Bai Lixin with a complex expression, then glanced at everyone else one by one.
Just from their gradually serious expressions, she already knew their decision.
Sun Ning suggested, “If you’re going, at least leave someone behind to guard the base camp.”
Zhou Guang volunteered, “I’ll stay.”
Sun Ning looked at Li Cancan beside her and asked, “Are you going too?”
Li Cancan nodded, “Yes, I want to go.”
She paused for a moment, “It’s not to help God Xin, but because I want to go myself. Just like God Xin said, I don’t want to watch helplessly from the outside. I’ve cleared many copies to get to where I am today, and along the way, I’ve seen too much helplessness and tragedy.”
She placed her hand over her chest, “My heart tells me I have to go.”
Sun Ning fell silent, and sighed, “Then Zhou Guang and I will take care of the outside. If you guys go in, make sure to give it your all.”
…
After returning to the dormitory, Bai Lixin opened the forum, where the posts were indeed flooded with the recent system update.
The forum didn’t allow mentioning content about copies, so players used the code “10,000 people” to refer to this large-scale copy.
Secret: [10,000 people! This is too exaggerated, who wants to go first?]
I am the big brother: [I’m not going, I’m absolutely not going. It’s too scary, not a hundred people, not a thousand people, but ten thousand people. I haven’t even met ten thousand people in my life, social anxiety is forcing me to quit.]
IALE: [But the system says the rewards are very generous.]
Xingxing: [Generous rewards require life in exchange. A copy with no restrictions is full of hooliganism. The weak become cannon fodder, what if that cannon fodder is me?]
Two old tigers: [But have you ever thought that we might not even have the right to choose whether to participate in this copy or not? As long as we click to enter a copy, the system can just wait until enough people are gathered and then send us into this one together.]
Madman: [Pack us up and send us in together? How about just not clicking “enter copy” these days? At this point, it’s depends on who can keep calm and wait it out.]
Hahaha: [That makes sense, anyway, I have a lot of points, so I’ll wait and see for now.]
Bai Lixin’s pupils reflected the jumping blue light on the screen.
If something goes wrong, there must be a monster. It seemed that players generally had a negative view of this copy, with most of them adopting a wait-and-see attitude.
[Escape Sister,] Bai Lixin called out to the escape system in his mind, [If I enter a copy now, will I enter this ten-thousand-player copy in testing?]
The escape system made two crackling sounds like electric currents: [Yes, Master Bai Lixin. Because this is a brand new copy issued by the main brain, all players need to cooperate with the testing of this copy first. Players who click “enter copy” will enter this copy by default until ten thousand people are gathered.]
Bai Lixin asked, [Can you see the current number of players participating in the copy from the backend?]
Escape system: [I can still do that, please wait, Master Bai Lixin.]
[Master Bai Lixin, currently there are 249 players who have pre-selected this copy, but most of them are unfamiliar with the game settings and accidentally clicked on it.]
It paused for a moment, then added, [Even if it’s accidental, they’re not allowed to cancel.]
[Because it’s a brand new copy, players need time to adapt. We suggest you observe for a while and enter when the number of players is close to enough.]
Bai Lixin: [The required number of people to open the copy is 10,000, but now there are only 249 people. How long will it take to get 10,000 people? If the number of players is not enough all the time, does that mean we can’t carry out normal copy runs?]
He pressed “enter copy,” and the escape system watched helplessly as the selected number changed from “249” to “250,” [It’s not 249 anymore, Master Bai Lixin, now you are 250 players.]
Bai Lixin: ???
‘That is not a nice thing to say.’
…
Bai Lixin was like a prophet, foreseeing what would happen next.
In the next three days, the 10,000 player copy barely gathered over a thousand people.
The game couldn’t proceed at all.
At this time, the system released an urgent message.
[The pre-selection time for the 10,000 player copy, [Dark Steel City], will be three days. If the number of players is not enough after three days, players will be randomly selected from the game lobby for the game.]
[As of now, the pre-selection time for [Dark Steel City] copy has reached three days, and the number of pre-selected players is less than 10,000. Players who have not joined will be randomly selected. Please be prepared.]
[Random player selection starts.]
[Random player selection ends.]
[Wishing all lucky players a pleasant gaming experience.]
Before the “lucky” players’ eyes went dark, they all began to curse the system in their hearts.
The forum posts were full of mixed opinions.
Some supported Bai Lixin’s approach, while others questioned him.
There were those who support the Shentian Guild, and others who criticized it for bullying.
Supporters from both sides were equally vocal.
Bai Lixin didn’t think that killing a chicken to scare the monkeys once could turn the tide. The current tug-of-war of public option on the forum was within his expectations.
The days when he disappeared during the “Dare Challenge Game” had subjected him to much scrutiny. Now, being able to elevate his position to a state of subtle confrontation with the Shentian Guild was the result of multifaceted efforts.
His performance in the copy.
There was also Sun Ning and others who were guiding public opinion outside.
From the current performance, Sun Ning had already done her best.
After briefly skimming through a few other posts, Bai Lixin shut down the computer, left the dormitory, and went to the headquarters of the Core Fire Guild.
The others had already received the news, even earlier than Bai Lixin.
As soon as he saw Bai Lixin walk in, Xia Chi immediately rushed over and embraced Bai Lixin, distress written in his big watery eyes, “Brother, you’re finally back. I was really worried when I watched the live broadcast. I almost died of panic when I saw you were still in prison on the third day.”
“I wanted to message you as soon as you left the copy, but Zhou Guang didn’t let us disturb you. Brother, you must be tired this time, right? It’s been a day since you left the copy before contacting us.”
Bai Lixin’s hand that was about to comfort Xia Chi paused.
He hesitated, looked at Xia Chi’s foolish yet clear eyes, and then confirmed that he had misunderstood.
His hand returned to pat Xia Chi’s back, “I’m fine now, don’t worry.”
Bai Lixin nodded to Zhou Guang and the others sitting in the conference room before taking his seat.
There were no outsiders in the conference room. Except for Zhou Guang’s group of four, there was also Sun Ning.
After chatting for a while to liven up the atmosphere, Sun Ning got straight to the point, “God Xin, did you read the forum content?”
Bai Lixin: “I read some before coming down.”
Sun Ning: “Are you satisfied?”
Bai Lixin: “Not bad, thank you.”
Sun Ning: “We rise and fall together, it’s what I should do. This is just the beginning, trust me, we can do better.”
She suddenly took out a laptop from her backpack, deftly opened it, and her fingers tapped quickly on the keyboard, “I’ve prepared several plans based on what may happen next. You can take a look.”
When Sun Ning took action, you knew whether she could deliver or not.
The ordinary gathering suddenly turned into a planning meeting led by CEO Sun Ning.
Everyone was stunned.
Zhou Guang pushed up his glasses, “President Sun, may I ask, what is your profession in the real world?”
Sun Ning: “CEO of a listed company.”
Everyone: “…”
Zhou Guang looked at the young Sun Ning with some surprise, “You’re so young and already a CEO of a listed company. President Sun truly has a bright future. No wonder you’re so outstanding.”
Sun Ning shrugged indifferently, “There’s nothing to boast about. Being a CEO at such a young age isn’t because I’m outstanding, it’s because my dad is the chairman of the company. My brother and I were both working for my dad.”
Everyone: “…”
Jaw-dropping.jpg.
You could obviously rely on your family, but instead you took on the task of laying bricks.
The big boss was actually among them?!
Sun Ning rolled up her sleeves and regained her composure, “Shall I continue?”
“Wait, Sun Ning.” Bai Lixin interrupted Sun Ning, “Everyone must be tired these days. Let’s discuss the plan next time, give everyone a buffer time. Let’s not talk about work temporarily today, let’s talk about something else.”
Sun Ning hesitated for two seconds, then cooperatively closed the computer and put it into her backpack, “Sorry, I was too impatient.”
“I was too impulsive, I was only thinking about avenging my brother, and I brought some personal emotions into it. It was me who was abrupt.”
Li Cancan sat beside Sun Ning, tilted her head and looked at Sun Ning curiously, “Sun Ning, how old were you when you entered the game lobby?”
Sun Ning reminisced for several seconds before replying, “I was twenty-four when I was sucked in here, three years after graduating from college. My brother is two years older than me, and we both came in together. According to the time dimension here in the game lobby, I’ve spent almost ten years in the game world.”
“Twenty-four.” Li Cancan’s smile was gentle, “That’s about the same age as me when I came in, so we’ll be the same age when we leave.”
A tinge of regret flashed in her eyes as she spoke, “But once we leave here, we’ll lose the memories of this place. Otherwise, I would definitely come find you to hang out.”
Sun Ning immediately responded, “Sure, I’d welcome you to come find me.”
“My company’s headquarters is in City B, and the company is called the Sun Xuanyuan Group. If you still remember after leaving here, you must come find me!”
Xia Chi looked at Sun Ning curiously, “Sister Ning, what do CEOs usually do in their spare time? Is it like those TV dramas with all sorts of mysterious business battles and high-end evening banquets?”
“Don’t watch those TV dramas blindly.” Sun Ning rubbed her forehead, “I’m busy all day long. Just after solving one plan, the next one comes in. I also wonder why those CEOs in TV dramas are so leisurely. They finish their business over a cup of afternoon tea or at a cocktail party. I just want to retire.”
“Don’t talk about me anymore, my life is so boring.” Sun Ning waved her hand impatiently and ended the topic decisively, obviously not wanting to reminisce about that time.
Everyone exchanged glances, and finally, all eyes fell on Bai Lixin.
The atmosphere became a bit awkward. ‘Why don’t you say something?’
Bai Lixin: “???”
‘Why me?’
Adjusting his demeanor, Bai Lixin brought up a more natural topic, “Speaking of which, it’s been a long time since we sat down and gathered at the café on the first floor.”
Liang Xi sighed, “Ever since our popularity increased, life has become somewhat restricted. Going back to the first-floor café now would attract attention, it’s hard to return to the leisurely state we had at the beginning.”
Xia Chi chuckled and poked his temple, “If you guys want something from the first-floor café, it’s not a problem. Although it’s not convenient for us to go there, we still have delivery service.”
“Brother Zhou Guang likes lattes, I like cappuccinos, Sister Cancan likes pearl milk tea, Brother Liang Xi likes iced coffee…” Xia Chi tapped his temple while looking at Sun Ning, “Sun Ning, what about you?”
Sun Ning was stunned for a moment, then blurted out, “Mocha, thank you.”
After speaking, she was stunned again, and looked at Li Cancan beside her in confusion, “There is a delivery service in the game lobby?”
Li Cancan also looked puzzled, “I don’t know.”
Xia Chi said excitedly, “Don’t underestimate the observational skills of contemporary quasi-college students; it’s our superpower. As far as I know, this ability will gradually degrade as we spend more time in society.”
Everyone: “…”
Unable to refute!
A few minutes later, the drinks were delivered. The packaging had the familiar logo of the first-floor café.
As they received the drinks, they seemed to be transported back to the time when they first sat in the first-floor café.
Perhaps these familiar drinks served as a buffer, the atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became warm.
This time, everyone didn’t focus on the relentless days of fighting but instead talked about their recent experiences, thoughts, and feelings. Time flew by like sand slipping through their fingers, and over two hours passed unnoticed. However, no one felt tired; on the contrary, they became more enthusiastic as they chatted.
Sun Ning was also influenced by this atmosphere, and even her calm expression showed a rare hint of liveliness.
It felt strange.
It was like taking a comfortable warm bath after working tirelessly for three days and nights, instantly sweeping away the worries and depression.
She had never had such a novel experience.
After entering the game lobby with her brother, they used their proficient experience in personnel management to establish the guild, and then worked hard to climb up for more data. Otherwise, the Raging Flames Guild wouldn’t have risen to the second place in such a short time.
She wasn’t working, but she also hadn’t had a truly relaxing day.
But now it was different.
In this short time, everyone around seemed completely disconnected from the horror game, and even she couldn’t help but be infected by them, joining in this relaxed atmosphere.
It wasn’t until a sudden system prompt rang out above their heads that they stopped, reluctantly returning to a calm state of preparing for the upcoming challenge.
[Ding! Dear players, the game lobby will start a new round of expansion pack updates in ten minutes.]
[This update will last for three hours. Players in the game lobby will temporarily lose consciousness in these three hours. Players engaged in the dangerous entertainment project are advised to return to a safe environment immediately.]
[The main contents of this expansion pack update are: 1. Addition of a brand new large-scale challenge copy to enhance the game’s playability. 2. Bug fixes for several copies on record.]
[The ten-minute countdown will start soon and the update will start after the countdown ends.]
After the system announcement, Bai Lixin noticed a new red countdown bar added to his taskbar.
For a moment, everyone exchanged glances.
Xia Chi asked, “What exactly is the new large-scale challenge copy?”
Sun Ning: “It should be a large copy capable of accommodating many people.”
Xia Chi: “I can guess that, but how ‘large’ is this exactly? A thousand people?”
Zhou Guang: “I’m not sure. As far as I know, the copy with the highest number of participants currently known has a limit of five hundred people. This ‘large-scale’ should be higher than that, but the exact number is unknown.”
Xia Chi nibbled his finger, looking somewhat anxious, “Why do I feel that the timing of this official event a bit strange? It’s too coincidental for the update to come right after Brother provoked the Shentian Guild in the copy.”
The last system update was during the “Nation Wide Battle Event.”
The horror game occasionally underwent system updates, but not this frequently.
This update did seem quite peculiar.
Everyone’s eyes were filled with worry, and they all looked at Bai Lixin, silently seeking his opinion.
There wasn’t much anxiety on Bai Lixin’s face, “When in someone else’s territory, one must adapt. Everything is unknown until after the update ends, so let’s wait and see.”
Everyone nodded in unison. Zhou Guang said, “Shall we wait for the update here?”
Bai Lixin: “Yeah, I don’t have anything else to do right now.”
Xia Chi: “Then I’ll stay here too.”
Li Cancan: “There are still nine minutes left. Where did we leave off just now?”
Liang Xi raised his hand: “I was talking about the time when I saved a little monster from between the rocks in the copy last time. Let me continue…”
Sun Ning was bewildered as she looked at these people who had started chatting again.
Who are these people? Why are they so calm?
Her gaze swept across the faces of these people one by one, finally landing on Bai Li Xin’s face.
Calm, relaxed, casual.
He seemed indifferent to everything.
She suddenly understood where these people’s calmness came from.
She had been learning management skills since she was a child, and winning over confidants was deeply ingrained in her heart.
For a group to thrive, it cannot do without the spirit and backbone of the group.
Bai Lixin was the soul of this group.
Everyone couldn’t help but be attracted to and influenced by him, trusting and getting close to him from the bottom of their hearts.
This was not just some management skill that could be learned from books, but the charm of a person’s personality itself.
Many people said that Bai Lixin is the mascot president who didn’t have to take care of things in the Core Fire Guild, but without Bai Lixin, the “Core Fire Guild” might not even exist.
Bai Lixin is the meaning of the Core Fire Guild’s existence.
The power that is drawn together because of Bai Lixin is stubborn and strong, almost impossible to shake.
Sun Ning felt a bit envious in her heart, and also gradually adjusted her tense emotions.
The ten-minute countdown passed unnoticed, and as the ten minute countdown ended, the entire game lobby instantly plunged into darkness.
Strong pulses washed over the game lobby again and again, not leaving any corner untouched.
It was unknown how long had passed, and the unconscious people gradually woke up under the piercing system prompts.
[Ding! The game expansion pack update is over.]
[The final content of this update is as below.]
[Update 1: This update has cleaned up useless plugins in the game lobby, fixed copy bugs, and eliminated viruses.]
[Update 2: This time, a new large-scale composite copy, [City of Metal and Steel], has been added. The rewards in the copy are abundant, and all players are welcome to participate enthusiastically. This copy challenges the largest number of players for the first time, with a maximum capacity of 10,000 people. Currently, the [City of Metal and Steel] is in the testing phase, and players participating in the trial will receive generous rewards. This copy is not restricted by floors, and players from any floor have the opportunity to participate randomly.]
[Finally, I wish all players a happy gaming experience, goodbye.]
Xia Chi exclaimed: “10,000 people? Is the system crazy?”
Zhou Guang: “And there is no floor-restriction, which means newbies might enter this copy, and those old monsters from the 900th floor might also enter this copy.”
Li Cancan: “But 10,000 people, that’s too many, how big is this copy after all? Should we participate, or wait and see?”
Sun Ning frowned slightly: “But there’s another problem.”
Li Cancan: “What problem?”
Sun Ning: “The number of people.”
“Most of the players in this game are either alone or in small groups, so even if I have been in the horror game for a long time, I don’t know how many people have been involved in this game.”
“That Nation Wide Battle Event should have brought out almost all the players, and there were almost a million people.”
“It looks like a lot, but after the event, everyone still acts solo or in small groups as before. The time for participating in copies is also random. It’s not easy to gather 10,000 players, but the system has created such a useless copy.”
“Moreover, with a maximum of 10,000 people and no floor restrictions, what is the survival probability of this copy?”
“It’s like… “ Sun Ning’s brow furrowed even more, “it’s like it’s forcibly reducing the number of people.”
Everyone’s faces changed slightly, and Liang Xi blurted out: “Are you saying the system wants to trap players in this copy and kill them?”
Sun Ning: “There is too little information about this copy, only the name of the copy. The level and difficulty of the copy are unknown, everything is unknown.”
Bai Lixin: “I’m going in.”
Sun Ning frowned again: “But this is clearly a trap.”
Bai Li Xin: “It’s precisely because it’s a trap that I want to go in. This way, I can stop the system’s conspiracy. Instead of watching helplessly from the outside, I’d rather get involved and do something.”
Sun Ning looked at Bai Lixin with a complex expression, then glanced at everyone else one by one.
Just from their gradually serious expressions, she already knew their decision.
Sun Ning suggested, “If you’re going, at least leave someone behind to guard the base camp.”
Zhou Guang volunteered, “I’ll stay.”
Sun Ning looked at Li Cancan beside her and asked, “Are you going too?”
Li Cancan nodded, “Yes, I want to go.”
She paused for a moment, “It’s not to help God Xin, but because I want to go myself. Just like God Xin said, I don’t want to watch helplessly from the outside. I’ve cleared many copies to get to where I am today, and along the way, I’ve seen too much helplessness and tragedy.”
She placed her hand over her chest, “My heart tells me I have to go.”
Sun Ning fell silent, and sighed, “Then Zhou Guang and I will take care of the outside. If you guys go in, make sure to give it your all.”
…
After returning to the dormitory, Bai Lixin opened the forum, where the posts were indeed flooded with the recent system update.
The forum didn’t allow mentioning content about copies, so players used the code “10,000 people” to refer to this large-scale copy.
Secret: [10,000 people! This is too exaggerated, who wants to go first?]
I am the big brother: [I’m not going, I’m absolutely not going. It’s too scary, not a hundred people, not a thousand people, but ten thousand people. I haven’t even met ten thousand people in my life, social anxiety is forcing me to quit.]
IALE: [But the system says the rewards are very generous.]
Xingxing: [Generous rewards require life in exchange. A copy with no restrictions is full of hooliganism. The weak become cannon fodder, what if that cannon fodder is me?]
Two old tigers: [But have you ever thought that we might not even have the right to choose whether to participate in this copy or not? As long as we click to enter a copy, the system can just wait until enough people are gathered and then send us into this one together.]
Madman: [Pack us up and send us in together? How about just not clicking “enter copy” these days? At this point, it’s depends on who can keep calm and wait it out.]
Hahaha: [That makes sense, anyway, I have a lot of points, so I’ll wait and see for now.]
Bai Lixin’s pupils reflected the jumping blue light on the screen.
If something goes wrong, there must be a monster. It seemed that players generally had a negative view of this copy, with most of them adopting a wait-and-see attitude.
[Escape Sister,] Bai Lixin called out to the escape system in his mind, [If I enter a copy now, will I enter this ten-thousand-player copy in testing?]
The escape system made two crackling sounds like electric currents: [Yes, Master Bai Lixin. Because this is a brand new copy issued by the main brain, all players need to cooperate with the testing of this copy first. Players who click “enter copy” will enter this copy by default until ten thousand people are gathered.]
Bai Lixin asked, [Can you see the current number of players participating in the copy from the backend?]
Escape system: [I can still do that, please wait, Master Bai Lixin.]
[Master Bai Lixin, currently there are 249 players who have pre-selected this copy, but most of them are unfamiliar with the game settings and accidentally clicked on it.]
It paused for a moment, then added, [Even if it’s accidental, they’re not allowed to cancel.]
[Because it’s a brand new copy, players need time to adapt. We suggest you observe for a while and enter when the number of players is close to enough.]
Bai Lixin: [The required number of people to open the copy is 10,000, but now there are only 249 people. How long will it take to get 10,000 people? If the number of players is not enough all the time, does that mean we can’t carry out normal copy runs?]
He pressed “enter copy,” and the escape system watched helplessly as the selected number changed from “249” to “250,” [It’s not 249 anymore, Master Bai Lixin, now you are 250 players.]
Bai Lixin: ???
‘That is not a nice thing to say.’
…
Bai Lixin was like a prophet, foreseeing what would happen next.
In the next three days, the 10,000 player copy barely gathered over a thousand people.
The game couldn’t proceed at all.
At this time, the system released an urgent message.
[The pre-selection time for the 10,000 player copy, [Dark Steel City], will be three days. If the number of players is not enough after three days, players will be randomly selected from the game lobby for the game.]
[As of now, the pre-selection time for [Dark Steel City] copy has reached three days, and the number of pre-selected players is less than 10,000. Players who have not joined will be randomly selected. Please be prepared.]
[Random player selection starts.]
[Random player selection ends.]
[Wishing all lucky players a pleasant gaming experience.]
Before the “lucky” players’ eyes went dark, they all began to curse the system in their hearts.
