Chapter 187: Version Enhancement, Rule Game

Meng Yuan Chu Altar.

After simulating the development process of the small world, Qi Sheng ceased paying attention.

The future direction of the small world is clear on the forum: it will become a blessed land for players to produce Rule Energy.

Without disrupting the production of the Painful Painful Minghun, new Painful Painful Minghun will be added in the future to layout resource production.

He tallied the revenue from the recent period.

The number of contained Painful Painful Minghun reached 44.

The containment speed of Meng Yuan Chu monsters in the Colorful Mist Coast region and the Winter Snowfield region began to decline.

He considered opening a new novice village space node.

However, the containment speed of Domain Nodes began to accelerate; many Domain Nodes that early players found difficult to conquer were contained one after another recently.

Only in this recent period did three new resource nodes integrate into the Di Zhong Village space.

The exploration rate of the Player Corridor also reached 4.394%.

Real-time Shou Shou Jili production saw a sharp drop after the Evil Moon Domain in the Colorful Mist Coast was contained, but recently, with the growth of new players, it began to gradually recover; it is not far from the peak of real-time revenue, or even breaking through the peak.

After reviewing the data information, Qi Sheng's gaze shifted to the Di Zhong Mountain Range region.

The Evil Moon in the sky was covered by a layer of gauze, becoming hazy.

During this process, the Waning Moon twisted and swayed slightly.

It was like the moon reflected on a calm lake suddenly having its silence broken by a pebble; the moon reflected on the lake surface rippled, its form twisting and changing as it swayed.

What can be confirmed is that the Evil Moon is about to initiate a lunar phase change.

But the specific lunar phase cannot be determined.

Also paying attention to the Evil Moon's change was the Di Nian Evil Spirit standing on the Gao Ta platform at the Tian Yuan Node.

It and the Evil Eye looked up at the sky, their hearts expecting the moment about to arrive.

The change of lunar phases has no fixed pattern.

Even a Waning Moon could suddenly switch to the Great Evil Moon state.

Or, after the lunar phase switch ends, the Waning Moon might remain in the Waning Moon state.

Accompanying the intensifying distortion of the lunar phase, the entire Di Zhong Mountain Range region also began to distort.

New scenes and derived evil spirits are about to appear after the scene switch.

The sudden change sparked heated discussion among forum players.

Those active in the Di Zhong Mountain Range were mostly veteran players, naturally familiar with lunar phase changes, and they all guessed which stage the Evil Moon would switch to this time.

This process lasted half an hour.

The lunar phase began to enter a state of violent fluctuation; darkness spread wildly like thick ink.

The original Waning Moon became like a single eye soaked in fresh blood, constantly opening and closing, while the lunar phase switched continuously during this process.

Blood-red light poured over the earth, adding a few more degrees of dead silence to the originally desolate land.

【Boss, it should be the First Quarter Moon!】

Just then, the voice of the Guide rang in Qi Sheng's mind.

As the Guide's voice fell, countless Corrosion Cores entangled around the Di Zhong Mountain Range region wriggled rapidly, extending countless tentacles that danced toward the sky.

The earth trembled; the originally jagged edge of the Waning Moon state was gradually filled with a dark red substance, as if invisible hands were carefully repairing this Evil Moon.

The Waning Moon thus became the First Quarter Moon.

The hazy color covering its surface faded, blooming with bright and brilliant blood light.

The curved crescent moon, at this moment, looked like a sharp blade soaked in blood, hanging high in the sky.

The originally dim Di Zhong Mountain Range instantly became bright.

But this brightness was rendered in blood color, as if it were about to turn the entire world into a sea of blood.

Just as the Evil Moon completely transformed into the First Quarter Moon, the scene replacement also unfolded at this time.

Besides the scenes already existing in the Di Zhong Mountain Range, accompanied by a space Boom, the derived evil spirits born under the Waning Moon state vanished into thin air.

One by one, evil and twisted derived buildings rose from the ground at the Corrosion Cores.

These buildings were composed of stone blocks generated by Black Tide energy, with dark red patterns Mian Lao Yin on their surfaces, looking like countless twisted blood vessels.

Cracks appeared on the ground, and countless derived evil spirits manifested in the scene.

The first to appear was the derived evil spirit of the Ancient Battlefield region, the "Furnace Fire Demon".

Its body was composed of Xiong Xiong burning flames; its outline was humanoid, its head a huge dark green fireball, with dancing tongues of fire trailing from the back of its head like flame hair dancing in the wind; its arms were like two thick rock pillars, constantly dripping scalding black magma; rolling heat waves surrounded its body, resembling a moving volcano; wherever it went, the ground turned to scorched earth.

Next to appear was the Eye of the Storm.

Its form was hidden within the wild wind; only a vague outline could be seen; roaring air currents surrounded its body, with small tornadoes constantly spinning around it; its face was blocked by a dark cloud, revealing only a pair of eyes flashing with Lei Guang.

After that, the Nightmare Knight, riding a skeletal warhorse burning with black flames, with man and horse fused into one, appeared.

It wore a set of tattered black armor emitting a stench of decay; its head was covered by a huge black helmet; it held a massive black scythe in its hand, with black liquid flowing down the blade; its body continuously sucked the life force of everything around it.

Earth-Splitting Giants, Soul-Eating Demons, Spider Demon Guards, Curse Puppet...

After the scene switch, the strength of the derived evil spirits increased significantly.

After the Guide grabbed the data, it found that the average hunting level of the derived evil spirits reached level 78.

This meant the Di Zhong Mountain Range region had officially entered the Soul Game mode.

The number of derived evil spirits was greater than the Black Tide controlled by the Di Nian Evil Spirit, and their strength was even greater.

At this moment, the Di Nian Evil Spirit hovered above the Gao Ta platform, its perception view sweeping over the Di Zhong Mountain Range region, emitting a wild laugh.

After a long wait, he finally welcomed the enhancement moment.

In an instant, the Black Tide energy in heaven and earth rapidly converged toward the Gao Ta, entering the central furnace to continuously provide production energy for the Black Tide.

It was like a game switching from Easy Mode to Hard Mode.

The intensity of the Hei Chao Xie Sui controlled by Di Zhao's evil spirit also received a significant boost, including the speed of its power growth.

Switching to the waxing crescent phase of the third stage is enough to push its development speed up another level.

Without the slightest hesitation, it commanded the Hei Chao Xie Sui to rush toward the players in the Di Zhao Mountain Range region.

At this moment, the United Warband led by the God King was engaging the Hei Chao Xie Sui in the Di Zhao Mountain Range.

The sudden surge in the Hei Chao Xie Sui's intensity caught the players off guard.

More importantly, a large number of derivative evil spirits appearing after the lunar phase switch possessed stats that broke the balance.

The fighting caused players to curse and shout constantly.

Facing a war trajectory that guaranteed defeat, the God King immediately issued an order for players to stop consuming potions, reduce the waste of Shou Shou Jili, and switch to a free combat mode.

Player warbands scattered across different areas of the Di Zhao Mountain Range were also submerged by the tide of derivative evil spirits.

Amidst the curses, players in the Di Zhao Mountain Range region were successively killed, their souls returning to Beneath Di Zhao.

Before clearing out the last group of players, the Hei Chao Xie Sui controlled by Di Zhao's evil bully spoke in human tongues, mocking the remaining players in a unified tone of contempt:

"Little brother, you still need to train!"

Forum players dubbed this incident: forced offline during a game version update.

The concept that "one version brings one god" does not apply only to players.

The same logic applies to Di Zhao's evil bully.

The waning crescent can be understood as a version nerf.

The waning gibbous can be understood as version balance.

The waxing crescent can be understood as version buff.

The full moon can be understood as the version's darling.

The Great Evil Moon can be understood as the version's true god.

Di Zhao's evil bully is currently enjoying the benefits of the version buff.

Regarding this, a forum player stated: "One version brings one bully; it's impossible for every version to be a buff. Let the bully gloat for a while; when the version gets nerfed, we will surely launch a fierce retaliatory strike."

After this round of lunar phase switching, a massive number of player squads surged toward the Colorful Mist Coast region and the Winter Snowfield region, throwing themselves into the player corridor expansion project.

In the Di Zhao Mountain Range region, apart from a few large guilds, solo squads found it impossible to move an inch.

As for lone wolf players, no matter how high their skill, killing a single derivative evil spirit was incredibly difficult, even bordering on impossible.

Before absolute crushing stats, all skill is futile.

Veteran players were already accustomed to the harsh hunting environment brought about by lunar phase switching.

In their eyes, the Monster World official never considered player feelings.

The switching of lunar phases had no pattern to be found; unlike other games where event schedules and difficulty dungeon openings are announced in advance.

There was even an event calendar available for viewing.

As players, they could run rampant in the Monster World.

But in front of the dog officials, besides cursing the Eclipse Clan as idiots twice, they truly had no means of response.

The game is free, and the game pods were given by the Eclipse Clan... they held no trump cards to challenge the officials.

As for threatening the officials to quit the game.

Just looking at the ratio of tourists to normal players in every live stream, no one dared to utter such a joke that would make forum players laugh and cry.

At this moment, Qi Sheng, who was behind the scenes, was not paying attention to the forum players' heated discussion about the lunar phase switch.

After his perception perspective swept over the Di Zhao Mountain Range region, a doubt sprang up in his heart:

"Guide, what exactly is the process behind the birth of derivative evil spirits?"

【Unclear. The Hei Chao energy released by the Evil Moon automatically generates derivative evil spirits corresponding to the lunar phase's intensity. It feels like a life manufacturing machine, generating Corrosion Cores and derivative evil spirits every single moment.】

"Could it be an experimental mode for new evil spirit troop types?"

Hearing Qi Sheng's speculation, the Guide rested her chin on her hand, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face:

【That is indeed a possibility. Deploying generated troop types in the form of derivative evil spirits to different regions for combat testing; if the troop's strength and ability performance are confirmed to be qualified, they are then recorded in the troop database. However, the limited data at this stage cannot analyze a clear conclusion.】

【But I lean more towards it being a home-field generation, similar to the Shu Yan Domain created by Shu Yan, a special environment capable of bringing home-field advantages.】

【Many descending factions exhibit similar war performances. The clash between powerful descending factions begins with the collision of their respective domains, followed by the confrontation between troop types. Home-field advantage can significantly boost the combat power of one's own troops.】

【For example, aquatic creatures accustomed to fighting in liquid environments; when such descending factions engage with other factions, the optimal choice is to first transform the home field into a scene resembling an ocean, establishing home-field advantage before engaging in troop combat.】

Qi Sheng heard this and nodded.

He did not pursue this question further.

His line of sight jumped at this moment to the player corridor in the Colorful Mist Coast region.

This is the most lively area at the current stage.

Many new players from the Winter Snowfield region, upon leaving their tutorial village, generally choose the Colorful Mist Coast region as their first stop.

Secondly, exploration-focused players, the Munitions Guild, the Alchemist Guild, and other branch-style players also take the Colorful Mist Coast as their main activity area.

Including the newly discovered Doomsday Small World, which is also located in this area.

Hunting, exploration, mining, entertainment, cuisine, competition... various activities can be carried out in the Colorful Mist Coast region, which has already become the most popular area among the player community.

Regarding the expansion of the player corridor, 4.13% out of the 4.394% comes from the line connecting the Colorful Mist Coast to the Di Zhao Mountain Range.

As for the line from the Di Zhao Mountain Range to the Winter Snowfield, it is mainly being expanded by several large guilds; progress is slow, and fierce battles with Di Zhao's evil spirits occur frequently during the advance.

The frequency of mutual brawls between the two sides is extremely high.

Di Zhao's evil spirit's strategy has always been to beat a fallen dog; under normal circumstances, they do not invade players.

But as soon as they see players Xian Ru Kun Jing or encounter strong enemies, they inevitably sweep in to stab them hard from the side.

Or deliver a backstab from the rear.

And the players' combat strategy is very simple.

When they felt displeased with the Di Nian bullies, they would rush up and fight, acting on whim, fighting whenever they wanted, never considering the specific situation.

The Combat Insect Clan's strategy was even simpler.

As long as players attacked the Di Nian bullies, a three-way brawl would inevitably follow, or occasionally they would just go fight the Di Nian bullies.

Especially when the Di Nian bullies were testing new troop types, they would definitely show up and join in the testing.

Colorful Mist Coast, White Bone Ridge.

As far as the eye could see, the earth was covered thickly and tightly by a layer of ghastly white.

According to the analysis and introduction provided by the guide, this place had once been a battlefield for two descending factions.

The two factions engaged in a long struggle over the ages, wiping away the originally lush forests and creating the White Bone Ridge, piled up from countless corpses.

As time passed, the flesh and blood of the war dead had all dissipated, leaving only heaps of white bones covering the earth.

But there was no winner in the contest between these two factions.

For the vast majority of factions, war was a process of consuming their foundations.

Stockpiled resources, combat units... would all be constantly worn down in war.

Factions like the Black Tide, the Insect Clan, and the Counter-Tide Legion, which could achieve rapid growth by feeding on war, were ultimately a minority.

These two factions finally met their end after descending into the Monster World when a third faction appeared.

But the third faction failed to occupy this area either.

A sudden God-Descent crisis, a harvest by a powerful race passing by, wiped out the third faction that had reaped the benefits.

Just like in the Di Zha Mountain Range region, where the Mechanical Legion suddenly harvested spirit ore resources during a God-Descent.

Before true powerful races, weak factions were like a wild spirit plant accidentally discovered by players during exploration, plucked on a whim.

The desolate scene had no trees for cover; wild winds swept across the earth, white bones clashing against each other to produce a "clack-clack" sound, playing a deathly symphony.

The dust kicked up mixed with white bone powder, spreading through the air.

A player was walking among the white bones piled into ridges, the crisp sound of dry bones crunching underfoot.

From time to time, his body would suddenly sink, falling into the pile of white bones; when he forcefully pulled his leg out, it brought up a spray of flying white bone fragments.

The wind whistled through the gaps in the white bones, emitting a low "woo-woo" hum, sounding in the player's ears.

After walking a distance across the White Bone Ridge, Song Hao summoned his map to check his coordinates.

He corrected his direction and continued onward.

From time to time, he took a selfie screenshot, saving it in his private album on the forum to record the moments of his journey.

"Chirp-chirp!"

Just then, the Treasure-Seeking Rat, which had been lying lazily on his shoulder, suddenly raised its head, twitched its nose twice toward the front-left, and leaped down from Song Hao's shoulder.

Seeing this, Song Hao immediately realized the Treasure-Seeking Rat had found something and decisively followed.

He saw the Treasure-Seeking Rat lock onto a spot piled with white bones, digging its two front paws into the ground, kicking up clouds of white bone fragments that "rustled" down.

As the digging went deeper, the Treasure-Seeking Rat disappeared from sight; Song Hao, standing above, could only see a small tunnel leading underground.

While waiting, Song Hao's expression was full of anticipation.

He imagined the scene of obtaining a high-value treasure.

Although he was an exploration-focused player, his exploration was more of a hobby.

He had his own combat team.

It was just that recently the combat team couldn't survive in the Di Zha Mountain Range, so they temporarily disbanded before finding a suitable leveling location.

As for the Winter Snowfield region, the difficulty was too low, unsuitable for their combat team's development.

So his demand for resources was very high; he was not the same type of person as those adventurers with no desires.

What he cared about more was not the scenery along the way, but the surprise brought by treasure hunting.

Every time the Treasure-Seeking Rat reacted, it filled him with anticipation.

It was like opening a blind box; perhaps he could obtain unimaginable wealth.

Switching the view to the Treasure-Seeking Rat's perspective, he could see the rat was still digging underground.

Suddenly, the Treasure-Seeking Rat stopped moving, its eyes widening to round circles.

Immediately after, it carefully used its paws to pry open the broken bones around it, gradually revealing an object emitting a soft glow.

It was a small metal box, its surface carved with exquisite patterns; the erosion of time made it look slightly mottled.

"Son, bring it back."

Hearing this, the Treasure-Seeking Rat grabbed the box in its mouth and headed for the surface.

Leaping out of the cave, the Treasure-Seeking Rat placed the box before Song Hao, circled around it happily, making "squeak-squeak" sounds from its mouth, appearing extremely joyful.

At this moment, Song Hao also took a piece of spirit fish meat from his spatial bag and tossed it to the Treasure-Seeking Rat.

As the Treasure-Seeking Rat leaped into the air, caught the spirit fish meat, and began to feast, he bent down and picked up the metal box from the ground.

The box was not locked; one could open it with a simple reach.

Presenting itself before Song Hao's eyes was an amber-colored triangular rune, with nothing special about it.

With confusion, Song Hao activated his Analysis ability:

【Rule Scenario Portal】:

Item Description: A spatial trap crafted by members of the Shadow Law Council, randomly distributed and sent to various places in the world. The organization's members are creators who possess the power of rules; they launch a destruction plan by establishing rule-based games. All game participants will be locked to their respective races by the Shadow Law Council according to their rule abilities and will represent their races in the rule games. Failure in the game counts as elimination; the race of the eliminated participant will be destroyed by the Shadow Law Council.

Hint: After activating the rune, you will be transported to a rule game scenario.

After reading the analysis content twice, Song Hao finally understood.

This thing was just a trap; activating it would force one into a rule game.

If you are eliminated, your entire clan will be exterminated.

"There are so many perverts in the Monster World," Song Hao couldn't help but sigh.

As he spoke, he looked at the guide floating beside him:

"Brother Guide, what do you think of this perverted faction?"

【Not perverted. This set of rules can generate Rule Energy for the Yin Lu Council, just as the Ancient God Clan obtains Battle Soul Power through the arena, or players embedding their Painful Painful Minghun to satisfy target desires obtain Wish Power. This is also a method of generating Rule Energy through rule logic, but this set of rules appears quite complex; the one in the hands of the Yin Lu Council is likely garbage rules.】

"Will there be opportunities inside?"

【Unclear.】

"Then if I activate and use this spatial trap, get teleported to play a rule game, and fail, will the Yin Lu Council trace back to my clan and exterminate us?"

【What do you think?】 The guide looked at Song Hao with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot.

"Hehe, I have to try."

(End of this chapter)