Chapter 364: Mutual Aid and Clustering, The Heretical Players (Second Update)

Starfall World.

Following New Cassini, the second city Wei Shan had laid out, "Neon Harbor," was finally getting on track.

The initial test of the proxy model had left him highly satisfied.

The production models of the two cities also differed fundamentally.

The underlying tone of New Cassini was a survival predicament.

In this city, half-ruined after the Dharma-Less Clan's invasion, residents faced the reality of energy shortages and material scarcity the moment they opened their eyes each day.

The environment they inhabited forced them to endure an apocalypse survival scenario every single day.

Their challenge of the Nightmare Trial Grounds was, at its core, for survival.

To claim rewards and secure clean water and food for themselves and their families, they gritted their teeth and endured the torment within the dungeons.

This will to risk everything for survival acted like a natural suit of armor.

Since the cruelty of reality already existed, the terrifying experiences within the virtual scenes actually diminished the yield of fright values.

However, this did not mean there were no advantages.

The mechanism allowing reward exchanges ensured stable participation among the residents.

They would not easily give up on challenges and would do their utmost to confront the fears within their hearts.

The disadvantage lay in the fact that enduring purely for survival significantly diluted the purity of their fear.

It was like a group of survivors in a desert, already pushed to the limits of hunger and thirst; even if offered saltwater, they would flock to it, as it could at least temporarily alleviate their current suffering.

Thus, while the comprehensive output of fright values from New Cassini was considerable, the individual yield was relatively low.

The model of Neon Harbor was entirely different.

This city, untouched by the flames of war, was materially abundant yet spiritually barren.

The young people's craving for stimulation was carved deep into their bones.

When they entered the Nightmare Experience Halls, it was also in pursuit of more thrilling experiences.

Coming with a mindset driven by vanity and the desire for thrills, their tolerance for fear was far lower than that of the situation in New Cassini.

Without the shackles of survival pressure, their emotions were like undefended dikes; any slight disturbance within the virtual scenes could trigger towering waves.

Neon Harbor's advantage lay in the extremely high individual output of fright values; every heart-rending scream was worth the stoic endurance of multiple New Cassini residents within the scenes.

But the disadvantages were also obvious.

Their enthusiasm came quickly and left just as fast; once a certain scene lost its novelty, they would recede like a Black Tide, requiring Lex to constantly maintain its appeal with new dungeons.

Another benefit of the proxy model was the proxies themselves.

Lex was a native resident of Neon Harbor.

He knew clearly what the young people chased, what they feared, and what kind of horror could precisely pierce their nerves.

There was no need for Wei Shan to expend effort researching local culture; the proxy himself was the best calibrator for horror scenes.

This understanding of current society, born from personally experiencing the growth environment, was far more useful than him merely consulting data.

After granting scene editing permissions, it was equivalent to activating an "auto-update" Cultivation Mode.

Lex would manage the Nightmare Experience Halls better and better, bringing him even greater fright value profits.

With a proxy in place, he could completely act as an absentee landlord.

From scene construction to handling challengers, to updating the horror dungeons... everything was handled single-handedly by the proxy.

This meant content iteration at nearly zero cost.

He only needed to collect the fright values and occasionally toss out some small toys from the Monster World, and Lex would willingly expand the market for him.

The proxy model was, in itself, an experiment in decentralization.

The initial test had been a huge success.

As for which specific model to adopt in the future, there was no need to make a decision just yet.

He had plenty of time to wait and see which of the two models performed better, or perhaps keep both.

The layout of the minor worlds did not necessarily require choosing one over the other.

However, under the proxy model, there were still issues needing improvement.

Specifically, how to quickly deliver exchanged items to the proxy when they redeemed goods from the Nightmare Shop.

He could not remain in the minor world at all times.

The Monster World was his main battlefield.

This differed from the Praying Soul; players laying out apocalypse minor worlds only needed to hold a divine position within the minor world.

Even if they did nothing, even while situated in the Monster World, they could continuously receive Praying Power.

But the proxy model he had laid out was different.

He could not predict exactly when a proxy would need to redeem rewards, nor could he stay in the proxy's city at all times.

For now, he could not find a solution that allowed for complete hands-off management of this issue.

He planned to set a fixed time in the future, such as a specific day each month, for redeeming rewards.

Once the time was fixed, on that day he would teleport from the Monster World to the minor world to distribute the exchanged rewards to the proxies.

Having already spent some time in Neon Harbor, he needed to return to New Cassini as soon as possible to inspect the development there.

Regarding urban planning and resource allocation, there were still many matters requiring his personal handling.

Traveling at full speed on his vehicle, the flying skateboard, Wei Shan quickly returned to New Cassini, the city built upon ruins.

For the next two days, Wei Shan moved throughout the city.

He inspected the recovery status of various facilities and the incremental output of daily resources.

Unlike the proxy custodial model of Neon Harbor.

As the behind-the-scenes manager of this city, he felt overwhelmed by endless tasks.

Immediately upon returning, he discovered a heap of troublesome matters.

The farmlands to the east had been contaminated by radioactive dust during the Dharma-Less Clan's invasion; the topsoil had hardened into gray-black clumps, making it impossible to grow even weeds, let alone crops.

For such land, merely sprinkling spiritual soil from the Monster World was a temporary fix that did not address the root cause.

The function of spiritual soil was to accelerate growth, but any grain grown would be contaminated by radiation and utterly inedible.

For this problem, he chose to seek help from his own mall, purchasing several purification tools.

He meticulously cleaned the land, removing all energy radiation.

After confirming there were no issues, problems arose again from the Gear Gang side.

They reported that many engineering devices could not be started at all due to a lack of energy modules.

Although the energy module factory still existed, the prerequisite for resuming production was repairing the engineering facilities.

Yet without energy modules, the mechanical equipment used for repairs could not be activated.

With no other choice, Wei Shan purchased energy crystals from the mall, using mental power converted into telekinesis to shape them into the size of energy modules in an attempt to start the mechanical equipment.

The result was that the energy output was too great, instantly exploding one piece of mechanical equipment.

Wei Shan had to change his plan, consulting forum data to thoroughly understand the output efficiency of energy crystals.

He then purchased an energy carving knife from the mall, inlaid it with an Eagle-Head Demon Soul, and carved three new energy trajectories onto the energy crystals.

Only then was the problem of missing energy modules resolved.

Even more thorny was the fact that many engineering devices lacked precision parts.

No substitutes could be found anywhere within these ruins.

Wei Shan had no choice but to seek help from the Arms Merchant Society, spending money to buy player-crafted components back for installation and use.

For parts that simply could not be matched, he had to find more specialized teams of connoisseurs; they were the grandmasters of hand-crafting.

As long as sacrificial power was provided, many problems could be solved.

Many issues within this ruined city relied on his blood transfusion to keep operating.

At least until industrial capabilities were fully restored, he had to personally assist in the development.

Only when the entire city entered a state of stable operation could he extricate himself from it.

At dusk, he stood atop the half-repaired energy station, gazing at the scattered lights ignited by residents in the distance.

Those lights flickered on and off, like fragile fireflies, yet they felt heavier to him than the neon of Neon Harbor.

Lex of Neon Harbor only needed to worry about whether the nightmare scenes were scary enough, whereas here he faced tangible, rigid survival needs.

The only comforting aspect was that this city's output of fright values was twenty-eight times that of Neon Harbor.

Moreover, it was still in a period of explosive growth, so there was basically no need to worry about future fright value production.

It might be harder and more tiring, but at least there was hope for the future.

For the following two days, Wei Shan remained busy in New Cassini.

On this day, just as he finished his current work, a subordinate rushed to report.

They stated that the Iron Hand Gang in the southern district had secretly withheld portions of the food and water meant for the challengers.

Some residents who resisted had been beaten, injuring their arms.

Hearing these words, Wei Shan instantly flew into a rage.

Upon careful inquiry, he learned that similar incidents had already occurred secretly several times.

These little tricks were like foam in a Black Tide, constantly bubbling up.

The specific reasons were not hard for Wei Shan to understand.

At the time, the gang leaders still remembered his deterrent power, but the lower-level heads could no longer restrain themselves.

They had not witnessed his methods outside the nightmare scenes with their own eyes; perhaps they merely regarded him as a character who bluffed by "creating dreams," believing that the city's operation could not function without them.

After all, clearing the ruins and maintaining order were, on the surface, all actions carried out by these gang members.

To resolve this issue, Wei Shan ordered his subordinates to summon all the leaders and members of the Eight Great Gangs to the abandoned mining district in the eastern part of the city.

This time, he intended to settle the matter once and for all.

As they waited, the leaders and members of the Eight Great Gangs arrived one after another.

Wei Shan stood suspended in midair; whenever his gaze swept across a Iron Face, that person immediately lowered their head.

Once everyone had assembled, he turned his sight toward a spot not far away.

Parked there was a scrapped mining machine; its steel frame, standing over ten meters tall, was covered in rust yet radiated an oppressive aura, while the ground beneath its tracks bore deep furrows.

At that moment, Wei Shan raised his right hand and pointed remotely at the mining machine.

Instantly, a metal-grinding sound that set teeth on edge rang out.

The mining machine's hard alloy shell seemed seized by an invisible giant hand, instantly caving inward.

Sparks erupted from the creases where the steel twisted.

The colossal structure, over ten meters high, gradually shrank as Wei Shan's five fingers slowly closed together.

The tracks, drill bit, and cockpit were squeezed together as if crumpling a paper ball,

and the originally sharp metal edges were crushed into blunt, rounded arcs.

Witnessing this scene, every gang member widened their eyes in shock, with some even taking an involuntary step backward.

Wei Shan slowed the compression, allowing the grinding noise to boom in the ears of every gang member.

A minute later, Wei Shan released his hand.

The spherical metal ball, held aloft in midair, crashed heavily to the ground with a dull thud, causing the earth itself to tremble.

Having accomplished this, Wei Shan turned with a smile to Iron Face those leaders whose complexions had turned deathly pale:

"New Cassini lacks workers, but it does not lack disobedient trash."

His gaze swept over every Iron Face:

"Now think carefully: are your flesh-and-blood bodies harder, or is the mining machine harder?"

Hearing these words, the members of the various gangs felt their hearts turn hollow with fear.