Chapter 67: Preparations Before the Closed Beta

Balancing work and rest, Ji Ming didn't work nonstop; instead, he waited until the night of the next day to return to the dungeon.

Has anything unusual happened today?

Good, increase vigilance.

Like a leader inspecting the troops, he walked around the Holy Hall and then teleported to the vicinity of the Troop Barracks.

Actually, after calming down and thinking carefully, last night's events have many suspicious points.

I've been diligently digging graves in the pit, quiet and unassuming, keeping a low profile.

Even if something were truly provoked, managing to spawn a warrior to beat me would already be exaggerated—how could it trigger a full-scale sweep?

Therefore, before entering this time, Ji Ming first placed a Breath Seal on his face, then found an empty spot to hide in.

He had been AFK for three hours, and the map showed not even a single red dot moving.

Could it be that just staying hidden is enough?

However, after he removed the talisman, he discovered that even after staying another three hours here, the Troop Barracks showed no anomaly.

It seems unrelated to whether the talisman is used; the key lies elsewhere.

Thus, for a control experiment, this time Ji Ming left the ruins, let a Violent Goblin spot him, then hid again.

Sure enough, after exactly three hours, the goblins launched an attack on their own, just like last time.

This shows.

When a player is detected by any goblin, if they remain for three full hours without leaving, the demonic aura will deem them a major threat and summon all goblins for a sweep.

Such a mechanism is surprisingly amazing.

Ji Ming's idea from yesterday was to set the Troop Barracks as a high-level dungeon for closed-beta players, luring them to rush in for rewards and experience.

Then the goblins will be constantly harassed by a horde of undead day and night, never getting peace.

Hmm, we could even add an achievement.

Stay in the Troop Barracks for two hundred minutes, and you'll be rewarded with a bottle of Rejuvenation IV!

I'd like to see how this bunch of green little punks can still scrape by in the ruins!

Having figured out his retaliatory measures, Ji Ming returned to the corpse pit he'd discovered yesterday.

As he imagined, the pit's bottom had basically been crushed by the angry goblin warriors, and some of the pit walls were smashed by their struggling claws as they tried to climb out.

A layer of ash and fragments—it can be called a heavy loss.

Ji Ming silently marked another debt against the goblins, then continued clearing the scattered remains in the Troop Barracks area.

Two days of uneventful treatment, one day of steady adventuring, and Ji Ming also set aside an evening to learn combat experience from Buluowa.

Finally, on the fourteenth day after his transmigration.

As the last corpse was sent back to the storage room, a system pop-up appeared.

【Congratulations: Main Quest Completed】

【Third Stage Quest Activated】

【Main Quest: Complete All Preparations Before the Closed Beta Launch】

【Quest Reward: One Any-Character Revival Card】

Ha, there's even a revival card?

Ji Ming had originally hesitated whether to revive a treant or a dragon, but now he can have both.

However, this preparation work……

In fact, Ji Ming already had a plan; he opened the map, revealing the portion of the dungeon centered on the warship.

To the southwest is the Armory.

Here mainly scatter low-level Violent Goblins wandering about.

Although there are also Violent Goblin Warriors, they're so few they can't even team up, let alone form a force.

Thus it's suitable as a newbie practice area for players just entering the game to adapt to the environment and explore gameplay.

To the northwest is the Training Ground.

The wild monsters here aren't much higher in level, but their composition is more complex.

Besides the already encountered Violent Goblins, Dog People, and Dog Head People.

There are also familiar faces like Slimes, Violent Beasts, and Skeleton Soldiers.

The rich variety of monsters can effectively arouse players' novelty and anticipation for the game.

And the Dog Village is also well suited as a forward base and gathering point for players to launch further exploration.

To the east is the Troop Barracks.

No need to say more—monster quality is extremely high here, and there's a three-hour expulsion mechanism.

For those high-level players wanting to challenge themselves, this is absolutely a paradise for leveling up, honing skills, and even gathering materials.

Ji Ming could even imagine videos like 'No-damage Speedrun Outpost' or 'One-life Clear Violent Goblin Warrior' becoming hot on video sites.

As for more, he's not considering it for now.

After all, aside from these three places, other areas aren't that simple in any sense.

For example, beyond the Troop Barracks lies a vast underground plain teeming with various beastmen and sub-human tribes.

Furthermore, continuing straight from the Training Ground, there's a large ancient battlefield ruin teeming with countless eerie undead.

From this arise the Commerce System, the Party System, and the Alliance System.

And even more professions and skills, PvP, PvE, and even PvPVE……

Cramming all these features into the closed beta is overly lavish—how can real-world coders struggling to write code possibly survive?

Or we could wait and see how players perform, then decide whether to open more areas later.

Once Ji Ming finishes marking out the territory, the confirmation of the closed beta site will be complete.

Next comes the early‑stage promotion work for the game. Ji Ming sat on the Clinic's bed, thought for a moment, and finally decided to draw inspiration from his peers.

He returned to reality, scrolled through the homepages of major games, and also did some research on Tieba, D Station, Weibo and the like.

It was pretty much as he imagined; after several large‑scale promotional scams, players had become highly wary of new games.

Whether domestic or foreign games, whether indie titles or big‑studio AAA, they first doubt, then doubt again, and finally doubt in a supplementary way.

Therefore, if you want to attract players, you need eye‑catching CG cutscenes, and high‑credibility live demos are indispensable.

But for Ji Ming, the live demos that rival companies can barely manage are actually the easiest; just bring a few pieces of gear and take a stroll around the barracks.

On the contrary, the promo video needs some thought: it must have a breathtaking large‑scale scene and some energizing little Easter eggs.

So, what is the most iconic and attractive creature in fantasy games?

Dragons.

—Various kinds, beautiful or ferocious, mighty great dragons.

Coincidentally, I actually have one on hand!

Returning to the storage room again, Ji Ming found that chaotic pile of dragon bones.

After another verification stage comparable to national defense, the frame that was once only the size of a pot lid instantly expanded to the size of an entire swimming pool.

Energy materialized into a bolt of lightning that flew out, assembling the dragon bones on the ground like building blocks into a single whole.

Then, just like yesterday, the rapid and miraculous flesh‑binding and scale‑armor skinning.

Ji Ming looked up, looked up, and looked up again.

Only then did he see the solemn dragon head, massive and whole, reassembled from fragmented pieces.

As the final strand of energy surged into the great dragon's body, the dragon's eyes reignited with the fire of life.

Strong claws, a sturdy tail, pale pupils, and exaggerated horns.

And a body clad in fine scales that shimmered like mithril and crystal.

Standing before Ji Ming was, unmistakably, an adult Silver Dragon.

Powerful, powerful, powerful, powerful, powerful—stronger than an archangel!

Even the faint, intermittent growl in its throat was enough to make Ji Ming feel his adrenaline soaring wildly.

Wait.

Although I don't know whether the rules apply.

But the Silver Dragon is a good‑natured old fellow who likes to befriend humans, right?

So later can I just pet the big dragon like I would a cat?

The fist hidden behind his back slowly clenched, and Ji Ming restrained the flutter in his heart.

Because the Silver Dragon's body finally moved, the wind in its throat grew louder.

Ji Ming held his breath and focused, waiting to hear the language belonging to the great dragon.

But he saw Bu Long Fei Er De's expression suddenly collapse as he yawned.

"Hello."

Then, like a dog, he lowered his body, curled his tail, and closed his eyes.

"Goodbye."

He fell asleep.

"Huh?"