Chapter 28: Lunar Phase Changes

"Has any player come to help in the Blood Plain area? This Level 14 Angry Claw is down to a sliver of health. Our squad is down to just me; I can't hold on. Requesting support (Attached: Coordinates)."

"Requesting a monster finisher in the Ancient Battlefield area. Requirement: After the monster is crippled, I will deliver the final blow. Cash transfer compensation provided (priced by monster level). Preferably near my location; do not private message if too far (Attached: Coordinates)."

"Fan Zui Team recruiting powerful players. Requirement: Level 8+. Real-world combat or martial arts experience preferred. Benefits via private message."

"Let all these recruitment messages calm down for a moment. I just want to ask one thing: Are those Wang Ba scum roaming the Ancient Battlefield stealing finishers sick in the head? Can't they find a squad to grind monsters and level up? Do they just like roaming around to disgust people? Born with a mother but no..."

"Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter. Just now, a squad was wiped out while besieging a Level 13 Cursed Eye. I went over, saw it was low health, and decisively finished it off. I got Evolution Points and Shou Shou Jili for free. Thanks to that squad of brothers for their hard work earlier. Heart you."

Above the Meng Yuan Chu Altar, Qi Sheng sat cross-legged.

His consciousness flipped through various feedback given by players exploring the Monster World, gathering content that needed improvement for the next update.

With new players joining, the daily output of Shou Shou Jili revenue surged significantly.

According to the statistics from the Guide, each player contributes an average of 3 points of Shou Shou Jili per day, and the revenue continues to grow steadily as player levels rise.

The previously desolate regional voice channels have recently become unusually lively.

Every minute and second, players discuss game content or recruit teammates to explore the Monster World together.

Besides bringing more Shou Shou Jili revenue, the growth in player numbers has also brought new progress to Meng Yuan Chu's containment.

Just half an hour ago, a squad of 17 players discovered a Generation One Meng Yuan Chu monster named "Twilight Shadow" in the Ancient Battlefield.

This monster's appearance resembles a mass of black fog, possessing the ability to switch between solid and ethereal forms; in fog form, only elemental attacks can damage it.

Its hunting level is 8.

After encountering the squad of 17 players, it launched an offensive; after half an hour of bitter combat, they successfully killed it and contained it in the 10th slot of the Meng Yuan Chu Containment Wall.

The news of successful containment caused a massive wave of player attention when it refreshed in the regional channel.

This was also the first time new players saw the regional notification for a successfully contained Meng Yuan Chu.

After quickly reviewing the various types of information output by players, Qi Sheng opened his eyes.

Immediately, the surging stream of information in his mind came to a sudden halt.

After observing for these two days, he conducted a detailed summary of player feedback.

Among them, two key issues needed improvement.

First was the issue of channel communication.

In the initial setting, he divided the players' online chat modes into three channels: the Squad Chat Channel, the Regional Chat Channel, and the World Chat Channel.

The Squad Chat Channel refers to the private chat channel of the squad one is in; non-squad players cannot view or participate in the conversation.

The Regional Channel refers to major areas of the Monster World like the Di Zhong Mountain Range, rather than sub-regions within the Di Zhong Mountain Range area such as the Blood Plain, Ancient Battlefield, or Spirit Artifact Valley.

The World Chat Channel refers to the largest chat channel where all players, regardless of where they are in the Monster World, can participate in communication.

With the addition of ten thousand new players, the originally silent Regional Chat Channel was filled with various messages, causing players' posted request information to be quickly scrolled away, making it difficult to be satisfied.

For example, a player on the Blood Plain sought help from nearby players, but the massive number of players in the Ancient Battlefield kept spamming recruitment for new members, causing players on the Blood Plain to also resort to spamming to increase their request visibility.

Qi Sheng believed that the next game update could divide the chat channels more detailedly.

On top of the Squad Chat Channel, Regional Chat Channel, and World Chat Channel, a Sub-Regional Channel would be added.

This Sub-Regional Channel would be displayed directly using the place name.

For example, if a player is in the Ancient Battlefield, the Sub-Regional Chat Channel name would display as "Ancient Battlefield Chat Channel"; if a player is in Di Zhong Village, it would display as "Di Zhong Village Chat Channel," and so on.

A more refined division of chat channels could significantly improve the efficiency of players solving their needs.

The second issue was related to killing monsters and leveling up.

In the initial setting, he divided the players' monster-killing and leveling mode into two types.

The first type was: the player who delivers the final blow to the monster, i. e., the player who deals the actual killing blow, receives all hunting rewards.

The second type was: players participating in the killing of Meng Yuan Chu monsters share the rewards.

This setting now appears unfriendly to players.

He had seen players complaining in the chat channels more than once that the game's finisher setting created a large number of "Knife Stealers."

The so-called Knife Stealers refer to a group that does not want to personally fight monsters, chooses to roam around, and specifically targets monsters crippled by other players to deliver the finishing blow.

In Qi Sheng's view, competition among players is a good thing; conflict and disputes can significantly enhance players' desire for growth and their wish to obtain stronger power.

But vicious competition only destroys the players' gaming experience.

To put an end to the continued occurrence of such events, and to provide players with better feedback on killing monsters and leveling up.

He decided to change the setting where "the final blow" receives all rewards to: the player squad that deals the most damage to the monster shares the hunting kill rewards; if it is an individual player not in a squad who deals the most damage, then the individual receives all rewards.

He prepared to modify and add these two new settings during the next update.

Just as Qi Sheng was thinking about what else needed updating, a spatial vortex suddenly appeared before him; the Guide Water Ball drilled out from the vortex and hovered before him:

【Boss, there is a situation with Evil Moon's lunar phase.】

Upon hearing this, Qi Sheng immediately switched his viewpoint to the Guide Avatar outside Di Zhong Village.

His gaze shifted to the sky, where he saw the waning moon hanging high in the heavens covered by a thick layer of mist, becoming blurred and indistinct; the lunar phase appeared very unstable, with water-like ripples rising on its surface, as if undergoing some unknown change.

As time passed, the dark red substance constituting the waning moon slowly moved downward.

Suddenly, the Evil Moon erupted with blinding blood-red light.

In an instant, the black tide energy enveloping the Di Zhong Mountain Range fluctuated violently, and the earth shook accordingly.

Players exploring outside looked up at the sky one after another, not understanding what had happened.

At this moment, the players surprisedly discovered that the surrounding environment began to twist and change; like a stone thrown into a calm lake, ripples spread out, and everything within sight became blurred and distorted.

Seeing this scene, Qi Sheng immediately realized that the lunar phase of the Di Zhong Mountain Range area was switching to the Last Quarter Moon.

He decisively issued a game notification to all players.

(End of Chapter)