Chapter 3: Newbie Difficulty?

【Grind Emperor Player Chat Group (Online: 10)】

Family Shared Godfather: Why hasn't Godfather returned yet? Could he be immersed in the plot of "Calabash Brothers Saving Grandpa" and unable to extricate himself?

So Poor I Eat Dirt (Admin): He might be calling the police, trying to recover the 20 yuan of huge savings stolen from his bank account. The livestream fees settle the day after tomorrow; this is Brother Li's meal money for tomorrow. (Funny. jpg)

Fun Without Paying: Godfather has fallen. Please welcome the next Godfather to battle.

Killing Intent Stirred: Stop talking. Kick the Welfare Member out first. Which admin added him? Send a red packet to the brothers in the group to apologize.

……

Just as the group members were having a heated discussion about the "Game Brick-Moving Party" never returning, the main character returned.

Game Brick-Moving Party: Brothers, hurry and download the game. The Welfare Member really gives out benefits. I downloaded the cracked version of "Dark Lands" from the link he sent. It's so awesome. The modeling has 100% fidelity. Although I haven't experienced the game plot yet, the realism is absolutely no exaggeration. It's amazing.

So Poor I Eat Dirt replied to Game Brick-Moving Party: You seem to want to add another victim?

Family Shared Godfather replied to Game Brick-Moving Party: Brother Li, I trust you so much, yet you want to trick me into downloading "Calabash Brothers" (Wiping tears. jpg)

Fun Without Paying replied to Game Brick-Moving Party: Brother Li, you usually care so much for the brothers. How did you learn bad habits from Eat Dirt and start scamming cute group members? I won't watch this "Calabash Brothers."

Facing the group members' doubts, Li Zheng, sitting at the computer desk, tapped furiously on the keyboard and typed a line of text:

Game Brick-Moving Party: We've played games together for so many years; don't you know my character? I guarantee with my character that there is absolutely no fraud. Hurry and download to experience the game content together. I say again, this link can truly download the genuine version of "Dark Lands."

So Poor I Eat Dirt (Admin): I suspect the one online now isn't Brother Li, but the Welfare Member who hacked the account via the link... Here, verify with a code: What do we do if a bug appears in the game?

Game Brick-Moving Party: There are no bugs; they are all features.

So Poor I Eat Dirt (Admin): Verification complete. This really is Brother Li. Brothers, I'm charging in first. If I get scammed, I accept it.

Killing Intent Stirred: Unbelievable, but the code verification succeeded. I believe this is Brother Li. Brothers, I'm charging in too.

Family Shared Godfather: Godfather, I will continue to follow in your footsteps.

Game Brick-Moving Party: Everyone, don't rush. Let's discuss the starting class selection first and form a suitable early-game team.

……

【Challenger "Night Flowing Cloud" enters the game. Creating the initial monster body consumes 1000 Shou Shou Jili. Remaining Shou Shou Jili: 139278.】

【Challenger "Wang Mao Xuan" enters the game. Creating the initial monster body consumes 1000 Shou Shou Jili. Remaining Shou Shou Jili: 138278...】

Notifications of players entering the game rang consecutively in Qi Sheng's mind.

Gazing at the now silent chat interface, Qi Sheng clicked "Exit Group Chat," and an option prompt immediately popped up on the screen:

【User: Welfare Member, confirm exit from Grind Emperor Player Chat Group?】

Qi Sheng reached out and clicked "Yes," and the group chat interface on the computer desktop vanished.

The recruitment of the first batch of players was complete.

To recruit this group of players, he specially created a fake link.

The players thought they had downloaded the real "Dark Lands," but in fact, there was no game behind the link at all; it was a soul-conveying space formation that could extract the players' consciousness and send them to the Monster World, where they would complete life reshaping and possess a perfectly adapted monster body.

But the players in the group obviously did not discover this problem and thought they had downloaded a free cracked version of "Dark Lands."

What can be confirmed is that after they experience the game content, they will be eternally grateful to him in the chat group.

They might even worship him as the new Godfather.

But Qi Sheng's goal had already been achieved. He was too lazy to read the subsequent flattering words; what he cared more about was the revenue the players created for him.

Beneath Di Zhao Village was still continuously suffering energy destruction from the terrifying Black Tide. Every day, a large amount of Shou Shou Jili was required to maintain the defensive barriers of Beneath Di Zhao Village. If the players could not generate revenue for him, the remaining Shou Shou Jili energy would be exhausted very soon.

Just then, a pale blue water sphere suddenly jumped out beside him.

【Boss, are the recruits this time members of your former hometown's clan?】

"Before I transmigrated to the Monster World, I was one of them, but this world underwent certain changes during the time I was away, and many alien factions appeared." Qi Sheng nodded and replied.

The water sphere floating beside him was named Guidance. Its ability was very special; it could turn scanned things into digital information for display.

The new player guides accompanying the players were all its avatars.

In the hundreds of years since he transmigrated to the Monster World, having inherited the primordial power of Beneath Di Zhao, the Guidance that once followed Beneath Di Zhao also became one of his four devoted servants.

For the Challenger System (Player Recruitment System) he established, the data information processing part was all handled by Guidance.

【They have entered the Monster World. Do you need to go take a look?】

Qi Sheng nodded. With a wave of his hand, a light curtain appeared before him, displaying the players who had entered the game for the first time.

……

"What's the difference between this game and reality? Even the modeling of the gravel on the ground is considered perfect."

"After watching 'Calabash Brothers' for so many years, I finally downloaded the genuine game. The Welfare Member in the group is my new Godfather from now on."

"It's so real. No wonder it's a super virtual reality game built by the Moon Eclipsed Clan over ten years. It's simply perfect."

A flash of Bai Guang, and ten figures appeared in the central square of Beneath Di Zhao Village.

Among the ten players, two had floating eagle-headed demon avatars behind them, two had gargoyle avatars behind them, and the remaining six chose the black-armored snake initial form.

"Brothers, let's leave the newbie village. While the server just opened, let's level up quickly. In the future, we'll get rich off this game. This is the game with the most paying players at this stage. We must cherish the early development time." Seeing Li Zheng spoke up at this moment.

"Brother Li, why are there only us few people in the newbie village? Where are the other players? Didn't they say they sold one million copies in ten minutes? Logically, the game should be packed with people."

The player speaking looked very young, with the game name "So Poor I Eat Dirt" floating above his head, and an eagle-headed demon avatar floating behind him.

Before Seeing Li Zheng could answer, the youth with "Killing Intent Stirred" floating above his head nearby spoke calmly:

"Nonsense. We must have entered a separate channel. Otherwise, if millions of players surged in simultaneously, this newbie village would have been crushed."

"True."

"Let's leave the village first. Leveling up early is the most important."

"Listen to Brother Li. You're the most professional at playing games."

Along the road paved with bluestone, the ten-person team passed through the energy barrier and entered the black mist.

Immediately, an indescribable sense of fear surged in their hearts. They could vaguely hear the sounds of bones breaking, wailing... various complex sounds interwoven in their minds, even producing a strong sense of dizziness.

Just as Seeing Li Zheng and others were on the verge of losing their consciousness, the black mist ahead dissipated, and their vision suddenly opened up.

【Emperor's Tomb Mountain Range】

A line of golden text floated before his eyes, then quickly vanished.

What met his gaze was a Colorful World of crimson; beneath the vast sky, a dark red waning moon tilted toward the horizon, clouds dyed red by the afterglow, churning with flashes of Lei Guang within.

At the end of the horizon, volcanoes still spewing flames could be seen; the air was thick with the scent of sulfur and scorched earth, and rolling heat waves swept in from afar.

The near-collapse world scene before them left the entire team stunned.

"Hiss, so shocking. It feels like the erupting volcano will drown us in the next second," Chi Tu remarked at this moment.

"Calm down. Scenes outside the newbie village look terrifying, but there surely won't be any powerful monsters; they will give us a process to adapt and grow." While Li Zheng felt shocked, he offered what he considered a reasonable analysis.

As his words fell, a thunderclap tore the sky apart, and pitch-black cracks instantly spread across the entire heavens.

A massive crimson beast tore through the clouds, revealing its ferocious form.

Its immense body was covered in crimson scales, like burning flames; each scale contained overwhelming power and boundless majesty, and its opened eyes were like two rubies, deep and sharp.

A deafening beast roar resounded through the clouds, shaking the very air.

The edges of the monster's broad and powerful wings were inlaid with golden patterns; when they flapped, they raised a hurricane that blew the trees below askew, sending dust flying.

Even from far away, Li Zheng and the others were affected, forced backward by the gale.

The beast's speed as it dove downward suddenly increased, like a crimson lightning bolt slicing across the horizon, carrying an aura of total destruction as it plummeted toward an unknown target below.

In that moment, time seemed to freeze; all things were silent, with only that crimson figure as the sole focal point between heaven and earth.

Just as its body was about to touch the ground, a massive heat wave accompanied by a deafening boom swept outward.

Boom!

The earth trembled violently, and a mushroom cloud rose in the distant sky.

Moments later, everything returned to silence, yet Li Zheng and the others stood frozen in place, their inner shock beyond words.

After a long while, Chi Tu turned to look at the dazed Li Zheng:

"Is this the 'no danger' newbie scene you spoke of?"

Li Zheng swallowed, then continued his analysis:

"Is it possible this is just an opening cinematic display, similar to a CG scene, and won't pose any real threat to us? After all, we are newcomers; there should be a gradual difficulty progression for adaptation..."

Before he could finish, the beast's roar, accompanied by gale-force winds, surged forward; the terrifying sound waves exploded, making everyone's eardrums sting.

"Don't panic. It's just the opening intensity experience; it won't affect the low-difficulty newbie mode that follows."

Li Zheng wiped the blood from his nose and stubbornly analyzed.

【I like this guy's personality; he's all about self-deception.】

The Water Ball, following beside Li Zheng, gave a thumbs-up at this moment.

Li Zheng:...

(End of this chapter)