Chapter 163: Currency System, Real Death (Requesting Monthly Votes)

To prevent the tragedy from repeating itself.

Having obtained qualification for the Monster World game, Tong Xin, once the download finished and adaptation completed, immediately changed clothes and rushed toward the game pod.

If he fell asleep again now, he would strangle himself upon waking.

As the game pod lid pressed down, his excitement became indescribable.

"Monster World, here I come!"

Tubes automatically connected to various parts of his body; nutrient fluid gradually submerged his head, his body entered a dormant state, and his vision was engulfed by darkness, yet his emotions continued to churn.

This time, no accidents occurred.

When the darkness faded, Tong Xin found himself suspended before a towering blue crystal wall, and a prompt sounded in his mind:

[Welcome, Challenger, to Monster World. Please begin creating your initial character.]

In the name creation input field, he used his consciousness to tap the virtual keyboard and entered the five characters "Kindergarten Principal."

After confirming, a prompt announcing successful naming rang beside his ear.

Tong Xin couldn't help but clench his fist and cheer inwardly; the name he wanted most was still available.

The fact was, the player base for Monster World wasn't large; unlike Dark Land, where choosing a name often resulted in duplicates.

Just then, the massive grid-like crystal wall ahead rapidly drew closer.

Most cells on the wall were empty; only the bottom two rows, cells numbered 1 through 37, contained Primordial Monsters of various forms.

A green light above each cell indicated an available Generation One Primordial, while a red light indicated unavailable Primordials of Generation Two or higher.

How to choose? Without hesitation, Tong Xin looked at Cell Number 3; upon focusing his gaze, information about the Gargoyle floated into his mind.

[Gargoyle]:

Initial Level 1:

Primordial Ability: Petrification (Active)

Ability Description: Upon activation, enter an immobile petrified state, greatly reducing damage from any form of attack; specific effects depend on physical attributes.

Before obtaining qualification, Tong Xin had browsed numerous strategy posts on the forum.

He knew that what Monster World lacked most was melee builds, especially the Damage-Taking Gargoyle branch within melee builds.

In the words of forum players, those who played the Gargoyle build were treated like honored elders.

Choosing the Gargoyle build guaranteed access to the team's best resources, making one the core focus of cultivation in any group.

Only when Gargoyle-build players could hold their ground did other team members have space to deal continuous damage.

Before entering the game, he had also discussed matters with his brothers.

They had clarified his core growth direction.

He would replace Iron Hammer as the team's damage-taking tank, while Iron Hammer, after switching to a Star Vein combination, would pursue a melee damage-dealer build, learning something like Champion Gladiator.

Upon completing the selection, the Gargoyle squatting inside the containment cell suddenly opened its blood-glowing eyes, drawing ever closer in his vision.

Its massive body resembled a truck driving straight toward him, filled with oppressive force.

Tong Xin involuntarily tensed his body.

Boom!

[Challenger Prompt: Initial Soul Choice completed. Your Novice Village space is: Winter Snowfield]

After a surge of intense weightlessness, Tong Xin's body was enveloped in white light; when the light faded, he found himself standing in a pure white space.

Ahead stood a spatial teleportation gate, its center rotating slowly like a vortex.

The six large characters "Winter Snowfield Space" flashed before his eyes.

Looking around, player figures were everywhere nearby.

Like him, all the novices wore expressions they could hardly hide, brimming with excitement.

It could be said that those who managed to enter the game in this round of lottery were chosen ones who had emerged victorious from a competition against the entire world.

At this moment, the regional chat channel was filled with novice players shouting for veterans to hug them, lift them high, and carry them to victory.

After muting the regional voice channel, Tong Xin summoned his function panel and opened his contact list.

In the add field, he entered "Small Class Iron Hammer" and tapped confirm.

Before long, a prompt announcing the friend request had been accepted sounded.

[Challenger Prompt: Player "Small Class Iron Hammer" has accepted your friend request.]

Subsequently, Iron Hammer initiated a video call.

Upon connecting, the screen showed several heads huddled together.

Iron Hammer: "Hahaha, Principal, you're truly awesome; did you open Monster World yourself? How else could you snag qualification like this?"

Meng Wa: "This is too outrageous. Missed it the first link, got snatched and disqualified the second time, grabbed Dark Land the third time, and now you win this fourth round of qualification battle involving the entire network. Your luck is excessively good; speak, what's your relationship with the Star Net?"

Zui Nai: "Principal is undoubtedly a child of fate. Although the process was arduous, this is already how many times? I now suspect you have blood ties with the Star Net and they're giving you special access."

Listening to his brothers' teasing, a brilliant smile appeared on Tong Xin's Iron Face:

"Stop messing around. If the Star Net were really my relative, I'd ban all your accounts tomorrow. Hurry over and carry me to level up."

Iron Hammer: "Principal, don't leave the space yet; afraid you'll die explosively outside. Wait for us to arrive in the Winter Snowfield region. Today, three of us drew buffs; we'll carry you to fly then."

Principal: "Hurry up."

Ending the video connection, Tong Xin chose to follow his brothers' advice and remain in the space to wait.

Through the group chat, he had already learned in advance that this game had a "Resurrection Cooldown" setting; if he went out and died, it would be his brothers waiting for him instead.

Just then, a game prompt sounded in his mind:

[Challenger Prompt: Player "Small Class Iron Hammer" invites you to join the Kindergarten Society. Accept?]

"Accept."

[Challenger Prompt: Successfully joined the "Kindergarten" Society.]

[Challenger Prompt: Player Iron Hammer transfers the Society Master position to you. Accept?]

"Yes."

Immediately, a Society option appeared on the function panel.

Opening it revealed the names of all Kindergarten Society members, along with their Star Vein combinations and Soul Levels displayed to the right of each name.

While waiting, ripples spread across the teleportation array ahead, and figures emerged one by one from the spatial vortex.

The warrior leading the group wore Crimson Flame Battle Armor, the plating seeming to flow with molten lava.

The magic-system players following behind all wore robes of ethereal blue starlight; golden runes branded upon them occasionally flickered with faint light, while wisps of crystalline energy drifted out, lingering around their bodies like mist.

Those arriving were none other than the brothers of the Kindergarten Society.

Tong Xin glanced at his own black cloth robe, then compared it to his brothers' magnificent attire; envy was unmistakable in his eyes.

"Hahaha, Principal, you look so weak."

"Hey, that novice, haven't you seen us veteran players? Kneel down, or we'll block the door and kill you."

"Principal, believe it or not, I could crush you with just one pinky finger, hehe."

Facing his brothers' teasing, Tong Xin decisively raised his middle finger in response:

"Don't get cocky; you just entered the game a few days earlier than me. Hurry and take me to level up."

"Let's go; let the Godfather Group carry you to fly." Iron Hammer stepped forward and slung an arm around Tong Xin's neck.

Tong Xin tried to struggle, but found his strength against Iron Hammer was like an ant trying to shake a tree; even exerting all his strength, he couldn't budge him:

"Damn, your strength is huge."

"Of course; my main Soul is already level 48. Against a novice like you, I could fight ten thousand."

Just as the group joked, preparing to leave the space and head to the Winter Snowfield region for hunting, novice players nearby, also dressed in black cloth robes, swarmed forward:

"Big brother, I heard you talking about carrying people to level up; can you take me too?"

"Buddy, since you're carrying people to level up, one more won't hurt; take one more, please."

"Big brother, take me; I can pay 100 credit points per hour."

Facing the pleas of the starving novice players nearby, Iron Hammer decisively chose to ignore them.

The Principal was their good brother of many years; in previous games, he had also been the team's core. Although they teased each other usually, their bond was deep.

But novice players of other races shared no emotional foundation with them, so they simply couldn't be bothered to pay attention.

Leaving the Novice Village space, a chill struck, making Tong Xin shiver uncontrollably; he immediately switched to Gargoyle form per his brothers' instructions, instantly boosting his attributes and reducing the cold.

Presented before his eyes was a scene of heavy snowfall; heaven and earth were shrouded in a veil of pure white.

Countless snowflakes fell from the gray, hazy sky; as the cold wind howled, it whipped up countless whites, dancing wildly in the air.

Distant mountains and nearby trees were all draped in thick silver attire.

The realism of the scene made Tong Xin exclaim:

"This modeling realism is truly awesome."

"Even more awesome stuff lies ahead. The most fun part of this game isn't sightseeing, at least not for us; the most fun is this."

Speaking thus, Iron Hammer squatted slightly, muscles tensing; after gathering momentum, he suddenly kicked off the ground with both feet.

As the ground trembled lightly and snow splashed in all directions, his body shot into the air like an arrow leaving the bowstring.

After flying over ten meters, Iron Hammer landed firmly on the ground, kicking up a spray of snowflakes; bending his knees slightly to buffer the impact, he then straightened his body, standing there like an immovable mountain peak.

After showing off, Iron Hammer turned to look at Tong Xin, whose Iron Face was full of envy:

"Principal, this is the most fun part in my eyes: the superhuman experience brought by attribute amplification."

"Showing off is shameful; hurry and take me to level up."

Hearing Iron Hammer's introduction, Tong Xin couldn't help but roll his eyes, yet internally he was filled with anticipation for leveling up.

He could imagine just how joyful the attribute amplification Iron Hammer described would be.

The superhuman experience that exists only in fantasies can become reality in this game.

Braving the howling cold wind and following his brothers in a constant search, they found a lone monster at the edge of the fog-covered area on their map.

It was petite, only reaching up to Tong Xin's knees, its body covered in fine, gray, translucent fuzz, resembling an uglified version of a small wild boar.

At this moment, Tong Xin activated his analysis ability, and relevant information immediately floated into his mind:

[Gray Gu]:

Hunting Rank: 1.

Monster Analysis: A low-level monster unique to the Winter Snow Plains region, one of the most common monster types. They exist merely to maintain ecological balance; although weak, Gray Gus will enter an enraged state when their lives are threatened, launching fearless attacks.

After reading the analysis information, Tong Xin immediately became interested:

"Don't make a move yet; let me handle this one. It's no fun being just an experience accessory after finally getting into the game; let me test the combat feedback."

Hearing Tong Xin's words, the players of the Kindergarten Group exchanged glances, smiles appearing on all their faces.

A level 1 monster might seem weak, but it is not easy for initial players to subdue.

Back when they first entered the game to explore uncharted territories, they all hunted Curse Soldiers cooperatively.

At this moment, Tong Xin actively pounced on the Gray Gu, the sharp claws of his Gargoyle form smashing down on the Gray Gu's head with overwhelming force.

This strike was powerful and heavy; the Gray Gu was knocked jumping into the air, a distinct bump forming on its head, the scalp surface turning red and swollen, with edges tinged with a bluish-purple hue, like blood bruising spreading beneath the skin.

It was just an insignificant level 1 monster, but the changes on its head after being attacked made Tong Xin exclaim in awe.

The attention to detail in production had indeed reached perfection.

He could even see the detailed process of the bump forming.

After landing, the Gray Gu suddenly twisted its head to look at Tong Xin, its skin flushing red as it entered an enraged state.

Its hind legs kicked off the ground fiercely, and before Tong Xin could react, it delivered a fierce headbutt straight into his chest.

"Puh!"

As his body instantly flew backward, Tong Xin widened his eyes, opening his mouth to cough up saliva.

"Hahahaha."

Hearing the laughter coming from beside him, Tong Xin endured the pain, dispelled his petrified form, lifted his cloth robe, and looked down at his chest, only to see the area struck by the headbutt already flushed red and swollen, with blood vessels slightly protruding beneath the skin.

He reached out and pressed lightly, immediately gasping in pain as the sensation surged again, feeling like a dull knife grinding back and forth across his chest.

"This is too realistic, this haptic feedback."

Before Tong Xin could continue his lament, the enraged Gray Gu scraped the ground with its forelimbs, let out a cry, and charged again.

Tong Xin abruptly rose and decisively activated his Petrification trait.

The Soul Soul trait was branded in his mind like a memory, making its use as simple as breathing.

After the trait activated, his body surface was rapidly coated in a layer of pitch black.

His legs seemed connected to the earth, and he felt his body become abnormally heavy.

Boom!

This impact against his body allowed Tong Xin to clearly feel the pain feedback, yet his body remained as if welded to the ground, unmoving in the slightest.

Instead, the Gray Gu that had charged voluntarily was instantly rebounded, stumbling backward several steps before finally sitting down heavily on the ground.

As its head swayed slightly, its eyes became dazed.

Unlike in other games where a swirl or other symbol appears above the head after being stunned, the monster's reaction appeared utterly real in Tong Xin's eyes, without a single flaw.

Seizing the opportunity, Tong Xin dispelled his petrification, stepped forward, and smashed his claws down fiercely.

But the Gray Gu's tenacity exceeded his expectations; although it was just a level 1 mob, it made Tong Xin, who was in the midst of combat, extremely nervous.

During this process, Tong Xin, as a veteran player of other games, gradually mastered the Gray Gu's attack rhythm.

Without having seen any related guides, Tong Xin quickly mastered the correct usage of the Petrification trait, attempting to use it to disrupt the Gray Gu's damage output rhythm.

In Tong Xin's view, this ability could be understood as a parry from Dark Souls.

As long as one mastered the rhythm, one could negate a large amount of damage and find opportunities to counterattack.

Before long, the Gray Gu exhausted its stamina and lost its fighting ability, successfully killed by Tong Xin.

Ending the battle, Tong Xin collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily.

Killing this single level 1 monster had nearly exhausted all his physical strength.

The combat feedback in the Monster World was too realistic, even featuring a stamina stat setting; this fight had worn him out completely.

Just then, the dead Gray Gu was decomposed by an invisible force, turning into scarlet air currents that split into multiple streams in the air, flying separately toward the members of the Kindergarten Group in party Cultivation Mode.

One of the streams merged into Tong Xin's body, feeling like a warm torrent pouring down from the top of his head, flowing slowly down his spine, and spreading to his limbs and bones.

"Refreshing."

The members of the Kindergarten Group approached at this moment, with Iron Hammer at the front speaking playfully:

"Director, how would you rate the combat feedback?"

"Full marks, but it's truly exhausting," Tong Xin replied weakly.

The feeling of exhausted stamina at this moment was as if his body had been drained empty; every inch of muscle felt powerless, as heavy as if filled with lead, making even the motion of raising a hand seem exceptionally difficult.

He could only increase oxygen supply through heavy panting to promote further metabolism of lactic acid and alleviate the sense of fatigue.

He discovered that this game, Monster World, actually featured one hundred percent physical exhaustion feedback.

Although other games also had stamina settings, those were merely numerical bars that did not affect player activity before being depleted.

But in this game, the feedback brought by stamina consumption was no different from reality.

Secondly, there was the ten percent pain feedback; even though it was reduced by ninety percent, he could still feel the pain clearly.

He finally understood why so many players on the forum complained about the lack of melee players.

Compared to magic-type players comfortably dealing damage from the rear, melee players suffered dual torment of body and spirit.

For this playstyle, without some faith or a masochistic tendency, anyone who played it was an idiot.

After resting for quite a while, Tong Xin, having experienced combat, followed his Kindergarten brothers toward the fog-shrouded region on the map.

Before long, they found a group of white giant bears with a hunting rank of around 20 within the fog zone.

The brothers' moment to show off subsequently began.

Zui Nai stepped forward at this moment; his Harpy Head demon perception instantly enveloped the monster group, and as he raised his hand, the Star Robes on his body shimmered faintly, while ink-black fireballs, inflating like balloons, appeared in his hand.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Instantly, fifteen fireballs ascended under perception guidance, striking the giant bears with precision; the ink-black flames blazed fiercely, and amidst the bears' mournful cries, they fell.

Multiple clusters of scarlet mist appeared on the bodies of the dead giant bears, splitting in the air before flying toward the party.

One of the clusters merged with Tong Xin's body.

Immediately, prompts of consecutive Soul Soul rank increases rang out in Tong Xin's mind.

A scorching current erupted after the scarlet energy cluster merged into his body, rapidly spreading to his limbs and bones, as if every meridian and every inch of skin was revitalized under the scouring of this energy, undergoing a complete transformation.

The most intuitive change brought by the Soul Soul rank increase was the perception of the outside world.

His vision suddenly became clearer; the texture of snowflakes in the distance was visible to the naked eye, as if a hazy veil had been lifted from the world.

Secondly, his hearing and smell were also enhanced.

Finally, there was his body; it felt as if freed from the shackles of gravity, becoming light and agile.

It gave him an illusion that if he took a step at this moment, he would soar into the sky.

His body emitted a rumbling sound at this time; as qi and blood circulated, his muscles became tighter, his bones tougher, and his body seemed to harbor infinite power, ready to erupt at any moment.

"Awesome!" Tong Xin couldn't help but exclaim.

He finally understood why Iron Hammer said that the most popular playstyle in the game Monster World was Hunting and Growth.

The intuitive feeling brought by attribute enhancement even made him feel that his life form had undergone evolution.

"This attribute amplification feedback is too intense; if I log out now, I'm afraid I won't be able to accept my body in reality."

"You've found the key point; now you know why we stay in the game for long periods. The feedback from attribute amplification is just one part; later, I'll let you taste some Spiritual Food. I guarantee that once you've tried it, you won't be able to eat even a bite when you return to reality," Meng Wa explained with a grin at this moment.

"What a terrifying game; I heard ancient games had anti-addiction systems, but the settings of this game are like a mandatory addiction system... But honestly, the feeling brought by attribute improvement is so refreshing, like removing the shackles of the body and gaining freedom."

Speaking thus, Tong Xin looked at Zui Nai, who had just displayed his ability:

"Was that Ink Flame Zui Nai released? That ability looks really cool."

"Calm down, there's something even cooler!"

Meng Wa, standing nearby, chimed in, raising his hand to make a dark red longbow appear before him.

Meng Wa pretentiously reached out to grip the bow handle, lightly placing his fingers on the bowstring.

As the bowstring was slowly drawn, the bow body suddenly erupted with a cluster of scorching flames that spread along the bow limbs, instantly enveloping the entire longbow.

The flames danced on the bow body but did not burn Zui Nai's hand, rising and falling with his breath.

As the bowstring was pulled, qi and blood energy automatically gathered; Tong Xin could even see tiny red dots condensing on the bowstring.

Twang!

Whoosh!

The arrow left the string, tearing through the air with a howl as it surged forward, trailing a dazzling, scorching beam of light.

Wherever the arrow passed, it left a trail of fire, resembling a fire dragon roaring through the sky.

It struck precisely into the chest of a marked giant beast in the distance.

Boom!

The qi and blood flames exploded, turning a ten-meter radius around the giant beast into a sea of fire that engulfed it.

The qi and blood flames spread rapidly throughout the giant beast's body like a gangrene attached to the bone, until it finally collapsed amidst the flames, turning to ash.

Meng Wa, who had dyed his hair white, blew calmly on a lock of hair hanging by his temple with an indifferent expression, then turned his head to look at Tong Xin, preparing to speak.

A snowball flew over and smashed into his Iron Face.

Snap!

"Enough! I asked you to help me level up, not to watch you show off. Stop glancing at me after every damage rotation, or I'll leave the group and level up on my own."

While Tong Xin envied his brothers' showing off, he was also gnashing his teeth in frustration.

These bastards had completely turned him into a prop for their grandstanding.

"Director, you're too fragile. Without you, an old acquaintance, who would we show off to? You bring us such full emotional value; we simply must let the brothers enjoy this."

Hearing the Director's furious scolding, the players of the Kindergarten Guild couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Amidst the laughter and horseplay, the team's missing weak link was finally filled.

The Kindergarten Guild was only truly complete with its Director; although the Director was currently weak, he remained the leader of the Kindergarten Guild in their eyes.

They believed that the powerful Director would return soon.

Henceforth, the Kindergarten Guild's resources would be prioritized for the Director, aiding his rapid growth.

The Primordial Sacrifice Altar.

Qi Sheng withdrew his gaze from Tong Xin.

Prior to this, he had no impression of this player whatsoever.

But an hour ago, he had heard a faint, devout prayer echoing in his mind.

Driven by curiosity, he followed the guiding consciousness to descend.

After scanning all recorded information about Tong Xin on the Star Net, Qi Sheng found himself torn between laughter and tears.

This turned out to be one of the players he had recruited in the early stages.

Reviewing the records, Tong Xin's experiences could only be described as surreal.

When he, acting as a welfare officer, sent the link to the Kindergarten Guild, Tong Xin had kicked him out of the group chat and promptly fallen fast asleep.

At that time, he had sent links to multiple groups simultaneously; with limited slots, once they were distributed, he paid no further attention. By the time Tong Xin wanted to claim a qualification, they were all snatched up.

The second time, Tong Xin actually managed to grab a game qualification.

Qi Sheng remembered this instance.

He recalled the Guide stating that a player who had obtained a qualification never chose to activate or use it.

Qi Sheng was unclear about the specific reason and lacked the patience to wait.

He only knew that if a qualified player was inactive, and an empty slot could not create value, it naturally had to be reclaimed.

Thus, Tong Xin missed the game qualification he distributed for the second time.

The third time, he mistakenly grabbed access to the Dark Lands....

After understanding the specific reasons, Qi Sheng felt this player was quite pitiable.

At the same time, recalling that he was a core member of the Kindergarten Guild, a first-tier player squad in the game, he made an exception and issued an additional slot specifically for him.

If qualifications were truly allocated by probability, Tong Xin would have had no chance of being selected.

After this brief attention, Qi Sheng withdrew his gaze from the Kindergarten Guild.

More important matters awaited him next.

During this period, while reviewing forum information, he had summarized a large number of issues regarding player demands.

Among them was an early-existing problem that he felt it was time to address.

There had always been a voice on the forum stating that the game lacked a currency trading system connected to reality, forcing players to go offline for bank transfers every time they purchased Sacrificial Power, while also having to memorize bank card numbers and the names of trading players.

The transfer process was complicated, wasting a significant amount of time each time.

Qi Sheng had taken note of this issue.

Time accumulates; as the player base continued to grow, the time wasted on transfers would only increase, squeezing out time for development and growth.

Now that the official website for the Monster World had officially launched, connecting the Monster World to the outside world,

adding a currency trading system linked to reality would not be difficult.

It did not require Star Net approval at all; the Guide could handle this matter alone.

With the idea formed, Qi Sheng acted immediately.

Before long, the currency trading system was completed.

This system connected to the banking systems of all races within the Earth Alliance.

After testing and activating the new feature, a brand-new trading interface unfolded before Qi Sheng's eyes like a scroll.

The overall layout of the interface was concise, dominated by a dark blue color scheme, accented with bright golden lines outlining borders and dividing sections.

The upper part of the interface was the real-world amount field; tapping the small icon on the right allowed selection of the trading currency.

Earth Coins, Credit Points, Moon Coins... various currencies could all serve as trading currencies.

The specific currency chosen for the transaction was negotiated independently by both parties; the lower part of the interface was the Sacrificial Power input field, where players could edit the amount of Sacrificial Power to be traded.

This trading system charged a 1% transaction fee.

However, the fee was deducted from the party receiving the Sacrificial Power.

As for the real-world currency received by the other party, Qi Sheng had no intention of taking a cut; in his eyes, it was worthless, not even worth taking for free.

Before the transaction was completed, a lock function was set, requiring both players to confirm the trade item information again before success, preventing players from accidental touches causing financial loss.

Upon completion of the transaction, the balance in the buyer's bank card would be automatically deducted and transferred to the seller.

If the balance in the buyer's bank card was insufficient, the transaction would be cancelled directly.

After embedding the new feature into the Challenger System, it could significantly shorten the process of buying and selling Sacrificial Power, completing transactions across distances within a short time.

Secondly, on the right side of the interface, Qi Sheng had set up a Sacrificial Power consignment box.

Players wishing to sell Sacrificial Power could set their desired currency and price, then list it directly on the consignment board.

Players in need did not need to communicate; if they found the price suitable, they could pay and purchase directly.

To ensure normal trading operations, once a player listed Sacrificial Power for consignment, that portion of Sacrificial Power would be frozen until the consignment was cancelled or purchased by another player before it could be used.

After testing the operation and transfers and confirming perfect functionality, Qi Sheng began crafting the second update content.

He prepared to connect the "Live Streaming Function" content from the forum to the Monster World official website.

Every day, a large number of players started live streams on the forum.

Players who had not yet obtained game qualifications could understand the Monster World in greater detail through the live stream content.

This laid a foundation for rapid growth after obtaining qualifications and entering the game.

Connecting the live streaming function to the Monster World official website was not difficult.

In terms of settings, he marked viewers who had not obtained qualifications as Tourists; their names were a string of numbers, and while they could send danmu comments and remarks, they could not provide Sacrificial Power tips.

It was predictable that after this feature went live, a flood of Tourists offering unsolicited advice would pour into every player's live stream room, remotely educating veteran players.

Therefore, he added a permission setting for players currently live streaming, allowing them to arbitrarily ban Tourists who possessed no permissions, preventing situations where Tourists caused chaos in the live stream comment and danmu sections.

At the same time, he also added an item to the live streaming function.

A new Live Stream Popularity Leaderboard was added, positioned on the left and right sides of the forum homepage respectively, alongside the Forum Hot Posts Leaderboard.

Among them, the live stream popularity weight for Guide-Party players would receive more popularity bonus points compared to live streams of other player types.

For example, if Stream A belonged to a Guide-Party player and Stream B belonged to a Clown-Party player.

Then for every additional viewing player in Stream A's room, popularity increased by +2, whereas for every additional viewing Tourist in Stream B's Clown-Party stream, popularity increased by +1.

After all, he opened external live streaming to enhance potential players from the outside world's understanding of the Monster World, shorten the familiarization process for newbie players after entering the game, and let them learn some real stuff in advance.

After completing the settings for the two content updates, Qi Sheng released an update notification within the game.

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

Update Content 1: Currency Trading System.

Function Introduction: Players can perform Sacrificial Power consignment and Sacrificial Power purchase operations within the currency trading function; the function connects to real-world banking systems, and amounts are automatically transferred upon transaction completion.

Note: If the bank card balance is insufficient, the transaction will be automatically cancelled.

Note: Consigned Sacrificial Power will be deducted and frozen, rendering it unusable.

Note: Upon completion of a Sacrificial Power transaction, 1% of the Sacrificial Power obtained by the buyer will be deducted.

Update Content 2: Live Streaming Opened.

Function Introduction: After this update concludes, forum live stream rooms will connect to the Monster World official website; players who have not obtained game qualifications will enter live stream rooms as Tourists. Players who start live streaming will gain the permission to ban Tourists (able to ban all Tourist speech with one click). Simultaneously, the forum adds a Live Stream Popularity Leaderboard.

Comment Section:

God King: Finally here. Buying Sacrificial Power before was too exhausting; now the ones selling are basically small amounts, and every transaction required memorizing a long string of bank card numbers. Several times I memorized them wrong and had to go back online to re-memorize, only letting guild management help me sort it out. Now we can finally complete transactions within the game without going offline. I give this update a full-score positive review.

Ice Heart Jing'er: I give the update content a positive review, but why does the doggy official have another dirty trick? Why doesn't the currency trading charge a cash commission but instead deducts the buyer's Sacrificial Power? We whale players buy because we lack Sacrificial Power, yet you still deduct 1% Sacrificial Power? Doggy official, drop dead (Canteen Battle choking and shaking.jpg).

Muscle Fry Master: Do you think we have too much Sacrificial Power on us? What's the meaning of deducting Sacrificial Power? I could understand if you charged 5 cash points, but deducting Sacrificial Power is too excessive. I suggest changing this setting.

Eat My Broken Shoe Holy Light Slash Holy Light: This time the Monster World is truly fully open to the outside; even the external currency system has gone live. I feel the game is becoming more and more fun. Various convenient settings really make one feel the game is growing; every update is a step forward.

National First-Class Protected Waste: So when will you nerf the intelligence of the Earth Chant Bully? Aside from the behavior of distributing chest monsters which gets positive reviews, the other settings for the Earth Chant Bully are too excessive. Can't you change the setting where it sprays players? Every time it sprays me, my blood boils. Last time it actually let an evil spirit get in my Iron Face and say my chicken was small. I freaking want to punch the bully's head in. Who taught you to set up villains like this?

Skyline Hick: Hahaha, the post above killed me. The Earth Chant Bully's verbal abuse tactics are indeed becoming more and more brilliant. Last time, a tank player in our group argued with an evil spirit until entering a red-temperature state, getting cursed until smoke rose from his head. But there is actually a counter-method to the Bully's set of tactics: when arguing, don't curse the evil spirit, curse the Earth Chant Bully. The Earth Chant Bully will also hit red temperature and control the evil spirit to gang up on you. Mutual harm; everyone is a loser.

Holy Light Betrayed Me: You clearly haven't realized what the biggest problem with this update is. After the live streaming function opens to the outside, a huge wave of cloud players is about to enter the battlefield. Everyone prepare to get sprayed. Although they haven't played the game, they definitely understand the game better than you do. I guarantee that quite a few live stream rooms will see this sentence: "Streamer, do you even know how to play? That's not how you operate it" (Slippery.jpg).

As soon as the currency system went live, several transactions were completed quickly.

Basically, if Sacrificial Power was listed for sale, as long as the price was within the market range, it would be snatched up instantly.

After observing the trend of a few transactions, Qi Sheng paid no further attention.

Meanwhile, after the official website connected to the live streaming function, a large number of "Tourists" entered the field within a short time.

Just as the forum players had predicted, the enthusiasm of the Tourists was released in the live stream rooms, roaming through various streams. The danmu count in the vast majority of live stream rooms surged a hundredfold, and traffic continued to skyrocket.

The outside world was full of players crying out for food, those who had not obtained qualifications; they watched the live streams immersively through the game pods from the Guide's perspective.

The fully realistic scene experience was far more entertaining than personally experiencing the Monster World.

The number of tourists was surging; in every livestream room, tourists wailed, asking when their turn to get a game qualification for the Monster World would come, as they wanted to play this game.

Some tourists, filled with malice, even angrily berated the players currently livestreaming, demanding on what grounds they had obtained game qualifications and why it couldn't be them instead.

Various meaningless remarks also provoked considerable resistance from veteran players, but the sheer volume was too massive to handle even if they wanted to ban accounts.

The only thing they could do was one-click mute all "tourist" comments.

The cloud players the users had anticipated soon appeared as well.

Based on their understanding of the forums over these past few days, they acted like commanders standing on high ground; although they had never personally stepped onto the battlefield, they knew the war situation inside out through intelligence, constantly analyzing player behavior at length and offering unsolicited advice on everything.

To quote a certain livestreaming player: "Damn it, I'm just eating some spiritual food, and someone's telling me I'm eating it wrong, that I need to follow their method to make it taste better. Luckily the game doesn't require us to take a shit, otherwise even the angle at which I stick my ass out would be criticized as incorrect, making my bowel movement not smooth enough."

These cloud players quickly earned a host of nicknames on the forum.

Examples included: Theoretical Master, Cloud Battlefield God, Virtual Dreamer, Philosopher of the Comment Section, Roaming Cloud Poet, and Strategist Behind the Screen.

Scrolling through player-generated information, Qi Sheng continuously gathered player feedback to facilitate better updates for the next round.

Just then, feedback from the Guidance manifested in his mind.

Qi Sheng's vision immediately shifted, arriving deep within the dense forests of the Misty Coast.

His gaze locked onto a figure with graying hair lying on the ground.

Although advanced in age, his appearance was frozen within the game; the strength of his initialized body was no different from that of normal players.

This elderly player had chosen the Melee Combat Sect; before collapsing, he had been engaging a group of monsters alongside his team.

In the instant Qi Sheng's thought turned, the scene seemed to reverse time.

He saw the elderly player, who had been charging forward with his team, suddenly display an expression of extreme pain, slow his pace, and then abruptly collapse onto the ground.

This scene immediately drew the attention of the team players; only after approaching did they realize this elderly player appeared to have fallen into a coma.

Consciousness shifted to Earth, to the region where the elderly player was located, and the scene content rewound.

Qi Sheng saw the pale blue game pod sounding an alarm, urgently contacting a nearby medical station.

The game pod automatically opened at this moment, and the Challenger System simultaneously returned the elderly player's consciousness to his original body.

The elderly player struggled to sit up, his hands resting powerlessly on the edge of the game pod, fingertips trembling slightly as if trying to grasp something, yet unable to clench tightly.

At this moment, a severe pain surged in his chest, as if an invisible hand were tightly squeezing his heart, causing his breathing to suddenly become rapid, his complexion to turn pale, and fine beads of cold sweat to constantly seep from his forehead.

He tried to raise his hand to cover his chest, but his arm felt as heavy as if filled with lead, unable to move.

His lips parted slightly, wanting to call for help, but he could only emit a faint gasp.

The pain grew increasingly intense, as if countless knives were slicing at his heart; his vision blurred accordingly, the scenery before him gradually dimming, while a buzzing sound filled his ears, as if the entire world were drifting away from him.

Finally, his breathing ceased, his chest no longer rising and falling; the room fell into silence, with only the wind outside gently blowing the curtains, producing a faint rustling sound.

His life drew to a close at this moment, like a lamp that had burned out, quietly extinguishing.

Before the rescue team from the medical station could even arrive, this elderly player had died from a heart attack.

Seeing this scene, Qi Sheng couldn't help but frown.

This was the first instance of a player dying in reality within the Monster World.

The cause of the player's death had nothing to do with the Monster World; it was entirely due to a heart attack caused by physical aging in reality.

It was foreseeable that in the future, as the player base continued to grow, cases of death in reality would occur frequently.

Once he recruited all life on Earth into the game, with over 15 billion players, death events would happen every moment in reality.

"Guidance, can he be resurrected?"

[Yes, it can be done by consuming Sacrificial Power, but it is not recommended.]

Hearing this, Qi Sheng fell into deep thought.

Before this, he had truly never considered this issue: how to handle the accounts of players who died in reality within the Monster World.

Should they be resurrected in reality? Or should their accounts be decomposed and recycled? Or perhaps...

(End of Chapter)