Chapter 111: Version Update, Alien Recruitment

[Challenger Notification (All Channels): The game is about to undergo version 1.7 update. The update contents are as follows]:

Poster: Guidance (Official)

Update Content 1: Added the novice village - Colorful Mist Coast region.

Content Introduction: After the update concludes, the Colorful Mist Coast region will be incorporated into the novice village scope; players who die in the Colorful Mist Coast region can revive directly within the Colorful Mist Coast novice village. After this update concludes, the area of Emperor Tomb Village will shrink by one-third (the total area of the novice village remains unchanged; players need to expand by containing domain nodes. After opening new region novice villages, the Emperor Tomb Village novice village area shrinks while the Colorful Mist Coast expansion area grows).

Update Content 2: Initial Soul Soul selection is fully opened.

Content Introduction: After new players enter the game, the selection changes from the initial Eagle-Headed Demon, Black-Armored Snake, and Gargoyle Soul Souls to a fully open selection of all contained Soul Souls.

Guidance Note: Fully opened Soul Souls are limited to Generation One Primordials.

Update Content 3: Added Warband team formation Cultivation Mode.

Content Introduction: Based on the existing team formation, Warband team formation Cultivation Mode is added; under this Cultivation Mode, there is no limit on the number of players, and all Warband players share hunting and kill rewards.

Guidance Note: Under Warband Cultivation Mode, Squad Cultivation Mode can still be activated to open the Squad chat channel.

Update Content 4: Added wartime data statistics.

Content Introduction: In team formation Cultivation Mode (Squad, Warband), the captain (Warband Leader) can view in real-time the output values, damage taken values, buff values, and other numerical displays of squad (Warband) members, and can switch to view members' health points and mental energy consumption percentage values.

Accompanying the update notification.

Emperor Tomb Village space trembled, its area shrinking inward at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Simultaneously, centered around the spatial teleportation array in the Colorful Mist Coast region, a transparent barrier was constructed, continuously expanding and spreading outward.

During this period, the two regions connected with each other.

Throughout this process, the Sacrificial Power Pool beneath Emperor Tomb Village churned constantly, and a massive amount of Sacrificial Power was consumed during the transformation.

Behind the scenes, Qi Sheng, through Emperor Omen, solidified his origin and manipulated the mutual fusion and docking of the two nodes.

Discovering that the development of the Emperor Tomb Mountain range region was difficult to advance under the obstruction of the Insect Black Tide and the Black Black Tide, Qi Sheng formed the idea of opening up other development channels.

The Colorful Mist Coast was an excellent development node.

It possessed abundant sea area resources, a large number of native monsters, and many sea area Primordial monsters and sea area domain nodes that could be contained.

From a development perspective, he chose to construct the Colorful Mist Coast as a novice village as well.

Doing so was also to provide new players with a better starting point.

With the campaign against the Heavenly Fire Clan, the intensity of both the Black Black Tide and the Insect Black Tide had increased significantly.

In such a scenario, new players would find it difficult to move even an inch; apart from mining to obtain starter resources, there were no other better development choices.

The transformation continued, and soon 5 million Sacrificial Power was burned to exhaustion.

During this process, the Colorful Mist Coast region became a branch node of Emperor Tomb Village and independently established a revival plaza connected to Emperor Tomb Village.

However, compared to Emperor Tomb Village, the space of the Colorful Mist Coast appeared extremely crude.

There were no functional buildings such as the Testing Tower or Guild Hall; the ground of the entire space was composed of energy, and only the Revival Plaza and the Spatial Teleportation Point functions were available.

Qi Sheng also had no immediate plans to construct functional buildings at the Colorful Mist Coast node.

In his envisioned future, Emperor Tomb Village would be the player's main city, from which multiple branch nodes would expand outward.

All important functional buildings would require players to return to Emperor Tomb Village to use.

This included the armed vehicle functional buildings that would be launched subsequently.

As for the full opening of Generation One Primordials in this update, it was to provide more assistance for the early development of new players.

The development environment for players entering the game in the future would be far inferior to that of veteran players.

For example, when the first batch of veteran players entered the game, the challenges they faced did not include the Black Black Tide or the Insect Black Tide, only low-hunting-level Cursed Soldiers under the glow of the Waning Moon.

Most importantly, the Sacrificial Power consumption for replicating Generation One Primordials was the same, so it was better to open them completely.

This gave new players more freedom of choice.

Instead of being forced at the start to conceive early-stage sect combinations centered around the three major initial Primordials.

The entire transformation process lasted over half an hour, consuming a total of 6.39 million Sacrificial Power.

The moment the transformation was completed, reviving players began to emerge at the revival point in the Colorful Mist Coast region.

The forum also launched heated discussions regarding this update content.

Official Update Post Comment Section:

Scamming Adventure: What the hell does "fully open initial Soul Souls" mean? Are you bullying us veteran players? Giving such huge benefits right at the start, I protest! I strongly demand the officials distribute 10,000 points of Sacrificial Power compensation to every player. Are you just targeting veteran players to bully? Shameless Eclipse Clan!

Berserk Chick replying to Scamming Adventure: Are you complaining just for the sake of complaining? Why don't you consider the starting environment for newbies? As soon as they step out, they Iron Face the Black Black Tide and the Insect Black Tide, two cheaters; the start is like a Souls-like Cultivation Mode, where a single small monster might kill a whole team if they aren't careful... But, I have to say "but," your idea about compensation is not wrong; I strongly agree, and I hope the compensation is changed to 30,000 points of Sacrificial Power per player, distributed via mail.

Slacking Expert: The fishing faction players are ecstatic; sea fishing will be more convenient in the future. I love the Colorful Mist Coast region so much; now that it has become a branch village of the novice village, every death saves 5 points in teleportation fees.

Throw a Tantrum at the Slightest Disagreement: The Warband Cultivation Mode updated this time is the essence. As a Berserker in the Emperor Tomb Mountain range region, every day I am either fighting evil spirits or on the way to fight the Insect Black Tide; I always have to split into several teams, and communication can only happen through the guild chat channel. The newly launched Warband Cultivation Mode is simply perfect.

God King: Positive reviews for the data statistics and Warband Cultivation Mode. Although the Eagle-Headed Demon's perception allows me to observe every player's situation in great detail, the constant increase in team numbers sometimes leads to situations I miss. This data statistic feature can help me check the status of players in different teams in real-time; whoever is slacking off is clear at a glance. This update is truly a nightmare for players who slack off.

Just as forum players were hotly discussing the update content, Qi Sheng also began a new round of recruitment plans.

The targets for this recruitment included not only human players but also alien players who had long been selected.

Fishing Port City.

This was an alien city embraced by the vast blue ocean.

Under the setting sun's afterglow, the sea breeze carried a slightly salty scent, gently brushing past the scattered fishing houses and colorful sailboats; the city's silhouette appeared exceptionally soft under the sunset, with the rosy clouds and the sparkling sea surface reflecting each other.

In the city center stood a towering lighthouse; it was not only a guiding light for navigators but also the symbol of Fishing Port City.

Beneath the lighthouse was a bustling fish market, where all kinds of seafood were dazzlingly abundant, including non-native sea life farmed by aliens.

Vendors shouted loudly, buyers carefully selected their goods, and the air was filled with the fishy smell of seafood.

Advancing along the winding coastline, multiple sea-entry piers were neatly arranged.

Many alien lives crossed the piers into the sea, beginning their day's work.

The core clans of this city were the Gill-Fish Clan and the Abyss-Fish Clan; both possessed human-like forms, so they were also known as Gill-Fish People or Abyss-Fish People.

In terms of appearance, the Gill-Fish People's skin was pale blue, close to the color of seawater, with three gill markings on each side of their cheeks; their upper bodies were exceptionally burly, while their lower limbs were relatively short.

The Abyss-Fish People similarly possessed human-like bodies, with slender figures covered in deep blue scales, and slender gill slits growing at their temples.

These gill slits opened and closed with breathing; their fingers and toes were connected by webbed membranes, which increased the contact area with water, thereby helping them paddle more effectively in the water and providing extra propulsion.

As powers that descended to Earth in the later stages, the living conditions of the Gill-Fish People and Abyss-Fish People were not good.

Although they had also joined the Earth Alliance, they received no special treatment, only accepting some technical support provided by the Eclipse Clan and a small city adjacent to the sea gifted by the human race.

The combined total population of the two clans was less than 800,000, making them two of the powers with the least voice in the Earth Alliance.

When they first descended, the Earth environment was also considered very harsh by the two major clans.

In their original homeland worlds, the air was rich in energy substances, and the sea areas possessed abundant food resources.

After descending to Earth, the taste of sea creatures was unacceptable to them.

The poor air quality even caused a trend of degeneration in their life structures.

Lacking the Eclipse Clan's ability to construct independent spaces on the moon, they could not find suitable soil for survival here.

But being able to come to Earth was already a fortune amidst misfortune.

After two generations of succession, both clans had gradually adapted to life on Earth.

However, for the new generation, the fertile sea areas and delicious sea foods described by the older generation existed only in history books; they had never experienced or tasted them.

The main income for the two major clans came from exporting sea creatures farmed in shallow waters.

But income in this aspect was becoming lower and lower; the reason was related to ocean pollution, leading to a continuous decrease in demand for marine products among various races.

In recent years, the new generation of the two major clans began to expand income in new fields.

That was the Star Net.

Since the advent of the Star Net interconnection era, the two major clans could understand the outside world through the Star Net, suffering significant cultural shock, learning how to use internet slang, and simultaneously beginning to try earning extra income through the Star Net.

Live streaming content such as beach combing, underwater adventures, and sea area farming became popular options for the new generation to earn income.

But compared to live streaming, the income brought by games was even more considerable.

They earned foreign exchange income by grinding in games and providing services to other races.

The two major clans had no currency of their own internally; the scarcity of population and land made it difficult for them to form a complete supply and demand market internally, requiring frequent import of resources from outside, so they had long established Earth Coins as their primary currency for use.

Two months ago, the official launch of the Dark Land made the two major clans realize that a new era's opportunity had appeared.

For this, the two major clans prepared in advance, planning to start snapping up quotas on the day the game was released to enter the game and develop one step ahead.

But reality dealt them a heavy blow.

First, regarding pricing: each game qualification required 100 Earth Coins to purchase, which converted to the currency of Earth's main power, the "Human Race," was 100,000 Credit Points.

Their internal pricing had to be at least 100 Earth Coins or more.

This was a price that ordinary members of the two major clans could hardly bear.

More importantly, the Eclipse Clan's first round of game qualification distribution was given only to the Top Ten Strong Clans of the Earth Alliance.

The Gill-Fish People and Abyss-Fish People did not even have the qualification to apply for the game.

This resulted in wails of despair throughout the clans.

Many new-generation clan members were waiting for the era's opportunity to arrive, but they never expected the Eclipse Clan wouldn't even distribute the basic qualification to enter the game to them; it was simply racial discrimination.

But they had no way to solve this problem.

Diplomatic communication with the Eclipse Clan was useless; the entire Eclipse Clan operated according to the requirements set by the Star Net.

In the eyes of the Star Net, the importance of the Gill-Fish People and Abyss-Fish People was far inferior to that of the Human Race and other alien powers, and the support strength was also far inferior to these races.

Wanting to wait for qualification distribution, perhaps only when the needs of other clans were satisfied would it be possible.

This made the Gill-Fish Clan people and Abyss-Fish Clan people indignant in their hearts, yet powerless.

Their clan strength was weak; they couldn't even make a loud voice when striving for interests.

At this moment, on the Star Net forum of Fishery Port City:

Howling Great Shark: Brothers, I'm selling a full set of the Berserker Gear from "Land of Sin" at thirty percent off. Private message me if you need it. I just don't get it; daily active users for this broken game are dropping lower and lower. How many qualifications for "Land of Darkness" were even distributed? How did the hype for this game plummet so severely?

Deep Blue Explorer: The top tycoons of other races are all waiting to snatch up qualifications for "Land of Darkness," so their enthusiasm for "Land of Sin" has naturally waned. In-game currency has depreciated severely recently; equipment prices generally need to be discounted by about thirty percent. The situation will only worsen; soon we'll all be surviving on sea breeze alone.

Fishery Port Speedster #1: Income is plummeting straight down. If it keeps falling like this, I'm preparing to go live-stream underwater expeditions. My whole family is waiting for me to feed them (wiping tears.jpg).

Sea Monster Hunter: I originally planned to save some money to treat my mother's illness with the Moon Eclipse Clan. At this rate, let alone saving money, I'll soon be dipping into my savings. Brothers, do you know any ways to make quick cash?

Coral Guardian: My cousin was assigned by the clan to work for the humans, managing a breeding farm. The returns aren't bad, but there are very few spots; they were secured by the Clan Elders through diplomatic efforts with the humans. I want to go too, but I'd rather go to the Moon Eclipse Clan. I heard medical care is free there, and food and drink are never a worry. So envious.

Undersea Adventure Great Sea Monster: Sigh, who asked us to be born in this era? Listening to the elders in the clan, the Gillfish people of the past possessed a vast sea area with inexhaustible resources; food was so abundant they'd take one bite and toss the rest. Look at our lives now; truly tragic.

Sea Overlord: We Abyssal Fish people are no different. The gap between the glory recorded in history books and our current predicament is too huge to accept. Now I just hope the games "Land of Sin" and "Conquest" can hold out a bit longer. Ideally, they'll last until qualifications for "Land of Darkness" are fully distributed; then we can smoothly shift our focus to "Land of Darkness."

Undersea Great Fierce Beast: It's one thing that Star Net revenue has dropped, but seafood is also hard to sell. The clan's foreign trade surplus keeps shrinking. The only consolation is that the game pods are a support project from the Moon Eclipse Clan; every clansman over fifteen can apply for one, so that expense is saved. However, expenditures for purchasing nutrient fluids, medical services, underwater city infrastructure projects, purification circulation systems, and so on are getting higher and higher. If this continues, I suspect Fishery Port City will implement a population optimization policy, urging everyone to have fewer but better children to avoid excessive resource consumption.

On the Star Net forum of Fishery Port City, the two races engaged in heated discussion regarding economic and environmental changes.

Just then, a message containing a link address popped up and was automatically pinned to the top.

Welfare Officer: I have a download link for the cracked version of "Land of Darkness" here; it can connect to the official game network. Friends who need it can download it directly: (Link Address: *****).

The guide responsible for sending the link, after completing the task, immediately turned back and returned to Emperor Tomb Village.

Meanwhile, the forum chat channel erupted into heated discussion over this link.

Undersea Great Fierce Beast: Holy crap, a cracked version link? I'm going to get rich! I'll download it right now... wait, download a Sea Shark? This link is obviously fake. I suspect it's a scam link posted by those bastards from the Strike-Breaker Clan. Everyone, absolutely do not click it.

Deep Blue Explorer: Download complete. I've experienced the game content. It's real. The game is fun; once you start, you want to keep playing (human decadently smoking.jpg).

Sea Monster Hunter: Brother who posted the link, stop messing around, okay? Can't you see everyone's mood is low? If this link could actually download "Land of Darkness," I'd definitely kneel on the ground and kowtow to you three loud times, "bang bang bang," and even call you dad.

Coral Guardian: Hahaha, if we can really download the cracked version, count me in for the kowtowing too. I'll do four.

Sea Overlord: Then I'll do five. So, is there any bored idiot willing to click the link and see what's actually inside?

Fishery Port Speedster #1: Happen to be bored anyway; I'll download and try it. I don't believe scams dare operate under the Star Net's surveillance. At the very least, there should be a transfer process involved. In this day and age, who gets scammed just by clicking a link? Those who get scammed voluntarily transfer money during subsequent interactions with the scammer. So trying it poses no risk whatsoever.

One hour later.

Fishery Port Speedster #1: Holy crap, I actually downloaded "Land of Darkness" from this link.

Berserk Little Fish replying to Fishery Port Speedster #1: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I see you're truly bored now. Posting nonsense to farm forum experience points +3. Scram.

Sea God Abyssal Fish replying to Fishery Port Speedster #1: Knowing that no screenshots or videos of "Land of Darkness" have leaked out, your next move will be to tell us you can't take screenshots or record videos, so you can't provide solid evidence, and then urge us to click the link and download it ourselves so we can join you in watching the ancient human cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants, right?

Fishery Port Speedster #1: Believe it or not, I'm just kindly reminding you all. I'm off to strive within the game. "Land of Darkness," here I come!

Coral Guardian: Forget it, I'll download and try it too. SpongeBob SquarePants is actually quite good; it was the first human cartoon introduced to us. I watched twenty episodes before, but those damn humans demanded we watch ads forcibly to continue, so I gave up. If this is a completely free full series of SpongeBob SquarePants, that wouldn't be bad.

From initial firm skepticism, to more and more clansmen speaking up.

The mindsets of the Gillfish and Abyssal Fish people in the forum chat channel wavered slightly; many, filled with doubt, clicked the link and downloaded the content.

Subsequently, they discovered the link could indeed download "Land of Darkness."

Very quickly, the 5,000 quotas distributed by Qi Sheng were snapped up.

Afterwards, various wails of regret rose and fell across the forum, everyone lamenting that they hadn't acted first to download the game qualification.

This was free "Land of Darkness"; besides saving downloaders a huge expense, it offered a channel to stand at the forefront of the times and earn profits.

Before this, such a benefit was something money couldn't buy.

But when forum users tried to find the "Welfare Officer" who distributed the qualifications, they discovered the figure had long vanished.

After learning of the situation, the forum administrators of the two races used their authority to search, only to discover, to their surprise, that there was no registration information in the forum for any Welfare Officer who had posted the link.

This meant they had completely lost the possibility of obtaining qualifications through further communication with the Welfare Officer.

The only hope lay in the prompt that popped up after clicking the link:

[Notice: This round of qualifications has been fully distributed. The next round of qualification distribution has not been opened.]

But exactly when the next round of qualifications would be distributed remained completely unknown.

This sudden windfall plunged players who failed to grab game download qualifications into despair; they wailed and wept in the chat channels, hoping their benefactor father, the Welfare Officer, would return to lend a hand to their starving, crying poor brothers.

(End of Chapter)