Chapter 112: Player Surge, Rule Node (Requesting Monthly Votes)

Colorful Mist Coast.

Sunlight poured down from the azure sky, piercing the gauze-like clouds like fine threads, gilding the sea surface with a faint golden glow.

The sand along the coastline was white as jade; behind the coast lay a forest of tall, straight trees with broad, emerald-green leaves, their branches and foliage swaying in the sea breeze.

The air, rich with energy particles, brought physical pleasure with every breath.

The scene before them left the newly entered Gillscale Tribe and Abyssal Fish Tribe players utterly Tao Zui.

In the regional voice channel:

"Hahaha, the game's realism is absolutely insane! Could this be the energy-particle-rich air the elders spoke of? So awesome!"

"I feel my whole body has been activated. Is this the peak technology of the Moon Eclipse Tribe? I must rush into the sea to experience this underwater world."

"You idiots up front, move aside! Don't block the path; it's getting crushingly crowded behind us."

"Holy crap, how did so many non-human players suddenly appear? Who knows what's going on?"

"These seem to be Gillscale Tribe and Abyssal Fish Tribe players. Their populations are relatively small, so they must have merged into our Human Territory. Looks like they just got game access; they're all newbies."

"Any brothers want to team up and dive? It's time to make money. Everyone stop wasting time blocking the road; my kids at home are crying for food."

"Huh, we seem to have merged into the Human game territory. I don't know where the Moon Eclipse Tribe's territory is, but the Humans work too. I'm going to earn their foreign exchange hard. I am the King of Brick-Moving."

……

The sudden influx of 5,000 non-human players made the Colorful Mist Coast node unbearably congested.

The roads leading to the coast were even more packed with people.

The Human players were also stunned by the scene before them, all wondering how so many non-human players could have surged forth.

At this moment, Qi Sheng, hidden behind the scenes, was also monitoring the movements of the non-human players.

Floating before him were the game analysis data of two non-human players.

【Challenger Name: Deep Sea Boss】:

Main Form: Gillscale Tribe

Racial Talent: Underwater Breathing, Water Eyes.

Water Eyes: Innate ability to capture light and identify objects in turbid waters, greatly increasing underwater visual range, capable of efficiently collecting, focusing, and converting faint underwater light.

Body Tempering Level: 0 (Inherited Painful Painful Minghun Attribute: 0)

Star Vein Inlay (Level: 1):

Slot One, Black-Armored Snake Painful Painful Minghun Lv1 (Trait: Fierce Poison)

【Challenger Name: The Ocean Is All Water】:

Main Form: Abyssal Fish Person

Racial Talent: Underwater Breathing, Deep-Sea Adaptation

Deep-Sea Adaptation: Muscle and bone structures undergo adaptive changes with diving depth, allowing free movement in deep-water high-pressure environments.

Body Tempering Level: 0 (Inherited Painful Painful Minghun Attribute: 0)

Star Vein Inlay (Level: 1):

Slot One, Eagle-Head Demon Painful Painful Minghun Lv1 (Trait: Resentful Chant)

……

Compared to Human players.

Both the Gillscale Tribe and the Abyssal Fish Tribe possess innate racial talent abilities.

These talent abilities were evolved by their ancestors under the special conditions of their homeland world.

They can grant them stronger combat capabilities in the ocean.

This is also the reason Qi Sheng selected them.

Before obtaining water-combat-type Painful Painful Minghun, the innate talents of these two tribes offer higher scalability for ocean development.

With the arrival of new non-human players, the crab swarms near the coast were the first to suffer.

Within a short time, massive quantities of crabs were listed on the trading market, forcibly driving down the price of the No-Hunting-Level Golden-Claw Crab to 2 Shou Shou Jili, causing Human players who sold crabs to earn Shou Shou Jili to curse loudly.

At this moment, Qi Sheng's gaze turned toward the Imperial Tomb Village.

5,000 Human newbie players also made their entrance at this very moment.

Unlike the Gillscale Tribe and the Abyssal Fish Tribe, the primary target for Human newbie players was the mining district of the Imperial Tomb Village.

They aimed to acquire game startup funds by mining Spirit Ore.

This recruitment consumed 10 million Shou Shou Jili, plus the 6.39 million Shou Shou Jili spent on partitioning the Imperial Tomb Village, totaling 16.39 million Shou Shou Jili in expenditure.

Adding the 5.23 million Shou Shou Jili distributed as rewards according to contribution after the Sky Fire Campaign ended, total expenditure over these two days reached 21.62 million Shou Shou Jili.

The revenue brought by the Sky Fire Campaign was basically exhausted (sum of rewards from killing Sky Fire Warriors and Energy Crystals). The remaining 2.89 million Shou Shou Jili in inventory, Qi Sheng did not intend to use further, reserving it for newbie player resurrection costs.

This portion of Shou Shou Jili was like an interest-free loan; after all, newbies exploring the world in the Player's Early Phase would inevitably die, yet be unable to pay resurrection fees.

Before recruiting new players, Qi Sheng had already noticed that most Gillscale Tribe and Abyssal Fish Tribe players were brick-moving type players.

Their arrival would inevitably produce large amounts of tradable Shou Shou Jili, obviously alleviating the severe shortage of Shou Shou Jili in the eyes of whale players.

But overall, it still could not solve the problem of insufficient Shou Shou Jili.

During this process, the Human side also needed to continuously dispense real-world foreign exchange to the two brick-moving tribes.

But from Qi Sheng's perspective, this deal was truly a huge profit for the Humans.

Using real currency to buy Shou Shou Jili was exactly what the Moon Eclipse Tribe recently wanted to do but had no channel to accomplish.

Without pondering this issue further, his gaze switched back to the non-human player perspective at the Colorful Mist Coast.

……

By the coast.

The scattered non-human players swept through like locusts.

Gnawing on trees, grabbing crabs, diving into the sea to catch fish... all sorts of bizarre behaviors can be seen here.

The intelligent alien players have already logged onto the forum, starting to browse strategy guides and search for shortcuts to growth, but the vast majority of alien players still learn game functions through free exploration.

During this period, the regional voice channel was seized by alien players.

Exclamations, curses, party invitations, newbie questions... the only common point is that both alien players were shocked by the perfect scene presentation.

No matter how they tested, they could not find any virtual flaws.

Only then did they realize that the several races who obtained qualifications early were actually eating so well.

Recalling their previous request to obtain game qualifications early being rejected by the Eclipse Race, they thanked the Welfare Officer's adoptive father for his generous help in their hearts.

This act was comparable to Prometheus stealing the fire in the mythology of the Human Race.

Bringing hope of survival to the poor them.

Calling him adoptive father and kowtowing several times was too little; a statue should be erected for him in the Fishing Port City to worship.

But this secret, the two major alien races dared not say openly in the chat channel.

With a price of 100 Earth Coins, plus the early game qualifications obtained, these benefits might disappear if the truth was exposed, and they would also be banned by the Eclipse Race and kicked out of the game.

The losses caused at that time would be huge, and it would also implicate the Welfare Officer, leaving him imprisoned.

Facing their vital interests, they all tacitly chose to keep the secret.

But what they did not know was that the Welfare Officer who brought the game qualifications did not care about the game being exposed at all, nor was there any possibility of being imprisoned by the Eclipse Race.

At this moment, at the space node of the Colorful Mist Coast, four kilometers underwater in the northwest direction.

Colorful coral clusters spread and grew on the seabed rocks; at a glance, it looked like an underwater tropical rainforest, with schools of fish of various sizes shuttling and swimming among them, constituting a magnificent ecological spectacle.

Just then, a black shadow suddenly pounced on a red fish about 30 centimeters long.

The red fish felt the threat and quickly flicked its tail to escape.

The approaching figure also suddenly accelerated its swimming speed at this moment; its elegant and agile posture seemed like the most dynamic melody in the ocean, and every movement of its limbs could easily adjust the swimming direction.

Following the red fish at an amazing speed, shuttling between the coral reefs and seaweed.

Caught you!

Accompanied by a cheer in his heart, this figure suddenly opened its mouth wide, shot forward several meters, and bit the red fish into its mouth in one bite.

While chewing, a Tao Zui expression appeared on Jiaochen's face, and a Challenger Prompt also rang in his mind:

【Challenger Prompt: Kill the Red Fruit Fish, obtain 12 Evolution Points, obtain 3 Shou Shou Jili reward.】

【Challenger Prompt: Eat Red Fruit Fish meat, obtain +9 Body Tempering Experience.】

"So delicious." The fresh and sweet taste overflowed in his mouth, and he could not stop praising it in his heart.

He finally understood what kind of taste the spiritual food spoken of by the older generation was.

After swallowing the Red Fruit Fish, Jiaochen's body twisted and switched to the Eagle-Head Demon form; instantly, a suffocating sensation came, so he decisively held his breath, activated the Perception View, and searched for underwater creatures with lower hunting levels nearby.

The Perception View quickly scanned the nearby coral sea and soon locked onto a bivalve life form.

Switching back to his original form, he passed through a patch of blue coral clusters and approached the aquatic life with a hunting level of 1 and the name "Black King Clam" in the analysis information.

Reaching his hand into the stone crevice and feeling around for a while, he touched the Black King Clam in the Perception View.

Taking it out of the stone crevice, he took a bite, used his sharp teeth to break the shell, then tore off the tender clam meat in one bite and hooked it into his mouth with his tongue.

Delicious!

After another successful hunt, Jiaochen's Eagle-Head Demon Painful Painful Minghun level reached level 2, and he obtained 12 points of Body Tempering Experience.

But since the Body Tempering level had not reached level 1, the increase in the Painful Painful Minghun level could not be inherited by the original body.

After chewing and swallowing the delicacy, Jiaochen continued to search for underwater monsters that could be hunted.

He enjoyed this process immensely; the food brought not only an extreme sensory experience to the taste buds but also clear feedback from the physical level.

Once the food went down his stomach, an indescribable wonderful feeling would instantly surge through his whole body, as if hundreds or thousands of tiny, warm lights were wandering under his skin, gently penetrating every cell, bringing unprecedented comfort and vitality.

He even felt that this ocean was his true home; he was supposed to belong here.

Three hours later.

Hunting all the way, Jiaochen's Eagle-Head Demon level reached level 3.

But he still chose to continue hunting in his main body mode, after all, the Eagle-Head Demon form was not suitable for the marine environment; switching to it would actually weaken his strength, and he would still have to surface for air from time to time.

After three hours of exploration, he discovered that there were many powerful life forms in this sea area that could easily kill him.

Unlike the feeling of being the overlord of the sea on Earth, exploring this sea area required him to be vigilant throughout, guarding against attacks that might come at any time.

This process was tense and exciting, and his heart could not stop beating faster.

Along the way, he had been attacked by sea creatures several times; fortunately, the hunting levels of the attacking monsters were not high, and he managed to escape by luck.

Continuing to explore forward, a Challenger Prompt suddenly rang in Jiaochen's mind:

【Challenger Prompt: Exploration discovered a new area "Crystal Cave" on the Colorful Mist Coast, obtain 300 points of Shou Shou Jili reward.】

"Hahaha!" Hearing the prompt reward feedback, Jiaochen excitedly clenched his fist.

He unhesitatingly spent all these 300 points on increasing his Body Tempering level.

As a professional resource-gathering player, he clearly understood that to obtain long-term benefits in a game, improving one's own strength was especially important.

The Dark Land had only been open for a little over two months; as long as one worked hard enough, grinding to death, one could completely catch up with the growth progress of the first batch of players.

And the Shou Shou Jili given by low hunting level monsters was far from comparable to that of high hunting level monsters; powerful strength would allow him to easily kill high-level monsters, earning several times, or even dozens of times the benefits of hunting low-level monsters.

He planned to use all the benefits earned in the first two months to improve his strength, and after two months, he would consider whether to start the profit mode or a partial profit mode depending on the situation.

"Big shark is coming!"

Cheering in his heart, he accelerated and pounced on a black fish that was swimming slowly.

After discovering him, the black fish suddenly flicked its tail to accelerate, advancing in an explosive manner at a speed that seemed incredible to Jiaochen.

With the analysis information activated, the introduction of the black fish appeared in his mind:

【Extreme Speed (Second Generation Meng Yuan Chu)】

Hunting Level: 6

Target Introduction: A Meng Yuan Chu monster possessing the "Extreme Speed" ability trait, capable of accelerating action efficiency by burning blood qi.

Damn it!

Seeing the four characters "Second-Generation Meng Yuan Chu," Jiaochen's eyes immediately widened.

Before exploring the game world, he had specifically gone to the forum to read a few beginner guides.

These guides all highlighted Meng Yuan Chu monsters.

They can be understood as extremely rare "treasure monsters" in the game; killing one yields millions of Human Race credit coins.

This isn't a monster; it's practically a moving opportunity for sudden wealth.

Jiaochen's eyes instantly turned red with greed. Although this Meng Yuan Chu monster's Hunting Level reached 6, he was likely no match for it.

But as long as there was a sliver of a chance, he did not want to miss it.

He feared that if he missed it, he would later regret it so much he couldn't help but slap himself hard.

This was a treasure monster in the game; even Human Race players who entered the game two months early had only captured over 20 of them.

Screw it, I'll go for it, charge at it!

Jiaochen suddenly gritted his teeth and chased after the Extreme Speed Fish, which was about to disappear from his sight.

But he soon discovered that his swimming speed, which he had boasted about on Earth and which had earned him third place in the "Wave-Breaking Race" of Fishing Port City for two consecutive terms, allowing him to chase dolphins, was nothing in front of the Extreme Speed Fish; the fish vanished from the end of his line of sight in the blink of an eye.

Unwilling to give up, Jiaochen chose to grit his teeth and persist, hoping in his heart that the Extreme Speed Fish would stop ahead.

After more than ten minutes of continuous high-speed swimming, Jiaochen was exhausted and his whole body ached and felt weak, but the Extreme Speed Fish never appeared in his line of sight.

Damn it!

Choosing not to persist further, Jiaochen forcefully punched the water, his expression filled with regret.

The opportunity for sudden wealth had slipped past him; he felt so miserable he wanted to cry.

Just as he was preparing to turn back, his gaze was drawn to a magnificent underwater crystal palace in the deep sea.

The structure of this palace did not seem built by intelligent life; it looked more like the work of nature, shimmering with brilliant colors amidst the endless waves and dark seawater.

The entire palace was constructed of crystal clear crystal; every piece emitted a five-colored radiance, weaving together like countless rainbows, so beautiful it took one's breath away.

Sunlight penetrated the sea surface, diving deep into the seabed; after being refracted and scattered by the crystal, the entire palace was shrouded in a layer of soft radiance.

Although the distance was great and only a rough outline could be seen, such a magnificent sight still made Jiaochen marvel in his heart.

The first thought that arose in his mind was that there might be hidden rewards inside the palace.

Just like the rewards given for exploring regions, they needed to be approached to be triggered.

Without hesitation, he immediately dove toward the palace on the seabed.

As he gradually approached the palace, he discovered that a large group of aquatic creatures, resembling oversized deep-sea shrimp, surrounded the entire palace.

Through the analysis feedback, he learned these were underwater life forms named Shadow-Scale Shrimp Guards.

Their body structure was very peculiar; their bodies were covered in dark blue scales, and through their translucent foreheads, one could see a glowing fleshy ball inside that pulsed like a heart. Their heads were slightly flattened, two huge compound eyes rotated independently, a pair of massive claws evolved from strong forelimbs stood before them, and a pair of transparent, thin-wing-like fins grew on their backs. When swimming, the fins swayed gently in the seawater, assisting them in moving quickly through the deep sea.

When they swam, the water flow around their bodies was guided by their unique body structure, forming streams of brilliant flowing light.

After scanning the surroundings, he found the Hunting Levels of the Shadow-Scale Shrimp Guards were generally above 25.

Realizing he was completely unable to enter the crystal palace with his current strength, Jiaochen opened the map function, recorded the coordinate numbers, and prepared to turn back.

Just then, a Challenger Notification rang out in his mind and across the entire channel:

【Challenger Notification (All Channels): Domain Node "Shuijingdian" discovered in the sea area.】

【Shuijingdian (Domain Node)】:

Domain Type: Rule

Territory Trait: Gathering

Trait Introduction: Acquire additional, continuously strengthening power by gathering collective strength.

Domain Status: Occupied (Shadow-Scale Clan)

Accompanying the Challenger Notification popping up across the entire channel.

The sea area map automatically updated; a scarlet red small marker appeared over the region where Shuijingdian was located. Opening the map allowed one to intuitively see that a Domain Node existed here.

A new Purification Mission also popped up at this time.

【Challenger Notification (All Channels): An unoccupied Domain Node discovered, triggering the global mission: Purify Shuijingdian.】

Purify Shuijing Palace (Global Mission):

Mission Requirement: Occupy the Shuijing Palace and capture the Domain Node.

Mission Reward 1: Expand the area of Di Zhong Village and gain the support of a Domain Rule Trait.

Mission Reward 2: Rewards distributed according to contribution ranking; the maximum obtainable is Body Tempering Experience +30000.

The appearance of the Purification Mission attracted the attention of all players.

This was also the first Purification Mission in the Colorful Mist Coast region; players from all regions immediately opened their maps to check the specific coordinates of the Domain Node.

Especially the guild masters of the major guilds.

The Domain Nodes in the Di Zhong Mountain Range they saw in their eyes were all hard bones to gnaw; as they grew, the Black Tide grew with them. To seize a Domain Node in the Di Zhong Mountain Range region, the major guilds needed to coordinate and launch a joint operation to have any chance.

Hearing the Challenger Notification at this moment, realizing a Domain Node had also been discovered in the Colorful Mist Coast, they immediately had the thought of changing their target.

The key point was that this was a Rule Node.

The three Domain Nodes they had captured in the Di Zhong Mountain Range were all Resource Nodes, bringing them continuous resource extraction profits.

But according to the guide's introduction, Rule Nodes are the core among Domain Nodes.

For every Rule Node captured, all players gain a permanent buff effect; this is a powerful trait that Resource Nodes cannot bestow.

Although they didn't understand what the characteristics of the "Gathering Crowd" rule node meant.

But they still developed a strong interest in the Purified Crystal Palace.

Those who shared this interest included newly arrived members of the Gillscale Clan and Abyssfish Clan.

Upon learning that the full-team mission promised substantial rewards, they all headed toward the domain node.

Today's ten-thousand-character count is complete~

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(End of Chapter)