Chapter 1843: Chapter 1841: New Version Launch (Rolling, Tumbling, Biting Tails)
For the players, the game has become particularly interesting recently.
Although Fang Zheng didn’t directly sweep through the entire Game World at the time, the intelligent AI variants he left behind quickly transformed the NPCs’ intelligent systems. Even though Fang Zheng himself isn’t controlling the game directly, those intelligent NPCs still automatically distribute tasks to the players.
And for the players, following the ’Azure Fleet Incident’ (as players call it), significant transformations have taken place in the Game World itself. With more players joining the Demon Beast World, the whole world has become increasingly lively, especially with the real-time event development styles, which keep players eagerly engaged.
The so-called ’real-time events’ is a term invented by the players because, after Fang Zheng controlled that world, he modified it to a certain degree to align with both the game and reality. For instance, in a team instance, where you have to defeat Illidan, once a team manages the first kill of Illidan, the factions in Outland begin to change immediately. In the past, factions or organizations threatened by Illidan would directly escape the threat, meaning future players wouldn’t be able to take on the same task to resist Illidan anymore — after all, Illidan has been imprisoned, fighting against the air isn’t viable.
Of course, this doesn’t mean subsequent players have nothing to do; they can receive other tasks from NPCs, such as eliminating Illidan’s remnants or helping tribes heavily damaged from opposing Illidan recover their vitality, among others. As for the instance itself, it will appear in a ’memory mirror’ mode, meaning later players can enter the ’memory’ to relive the entire instance and experience fighting the boss and acquiring equipment themselves.
However, the later ’memory mirror’ is merely a simple instance and doesn’t offer players any world-changing sense of achievement.
Additionally, the forces and strengths within the game have massively increased and changed. Previously, players could directly form a group and charge into Orgrimmar or Stormwind City, feeling like two hundred city guards flatten the world, but that’s no longer possible. Forget Orgrimmar; if you have the nerve to attack a crossroads, the Horde’s patrol will deal with you in a flash.
Once, a guild formed a couple of groups out of boredom and attempted to raid Stormwind City to see what impact killing the Alliance leader would have on the game. However, before they entered, they discovered over a thousand soldiers of the opponent fiercely arranged outside...
What else can they do? Run away.
As the game map expands larger, character reactions become increasingly intelligent, immersing many players entirely, feeling genuinely like they’re entering a Second World.
However, there’s still some disappointment.
It’s the departure of the Azure Fleet.
After Fang Zheng returned to the World of Love, the Azure Fleet departed the Psychic World, which left players somewhat frustrated. Although many of them obtained excellent items from the Azure Fleet faction, having such a faction end briefly didn’t fill them with satisfaction.
But precisely because of this, the reputation of the Azure Fleet faction became a ’rare presence.’ After all, since then, the Azure Fleet didn’t dispatch any more NPCs, leaving other players unable to join the faction feeling frustrated, while Azure Fleet faction players felt equally vexed—after all, they had nowhere to get tasks or exchange items!
Thunder in the Crotch was among them.
"Sigh..."
Returning to Stormwind City and observing the bustling crowd, Thunder in the Crotch sighed. Today, he was with guild players in an instance when a newcomer interrupted midway demanding equipment for Enchantment, leading to an argument with the Mage. As the captain, Thunder in the Crotch attempted to resolve the dispute but was instead rudely berated by the newcomer, accusing him of merely having luck to join the Azure Fleet faction, flashing a broken gun now that the Azure Fleet faction was gone—what was he showing off...
This angered Thunder in the Crotch enough to disband the team and quit the instance; everyone went home to clean up and rest.
Now, Thunder in the Crotch was in a funk, as the reputation of the Azure Fleet was tough to increase even for high-level grinders like him back then, only managing to reach ’Friendly,’ with ’Honored’ still far off, let alone ’Revered.’
In fact, among players, there’s a rumor saying that perhaps only those who at least achieve ’Honored’ reputation could officially join the Azure Fleet—it’s not unfounded, considering the majestic sight of the metal warships; no player would feel they could easily bow in the presence of such an aura of kingship.
What a pity...
With these thoughts, Thunder in the Crotch walked towards the Mage District and arrived at his house—in the updated game, Stormwind City became much larger, closer to a real-world city’s scale, unlike the past when it felt more like a small town. Wealthy players with faction reputation could purchase homes, and Thunder in the Crotch, due to his luck, bought a house in the Mage District, hiring a human maid. Returning after tasks and instances makes him feel much better.
Though in reality, Laozi could only rent a 20-square-meter small room, in the game, I am a true-life winner with a garden villa and maid!
Though only 20 square meters in reality...
"Ding dong."
As Thunder in the Crotch was about to enter his garden, a message alert sounded, and he saw a flashing envelope on his interface before curiously opening the message, taken out the letter.
"Hmm, esteemed Mr. Thunder in the Crotch, congratulations on passing our assessment. We are honored to invite you to join the ranks of the Azure Fleet Expedition Army, location is the Teleportation Gate at the dock of Darkmoon Faire, please... Oh my!"
Reading through the content, Thunder in the Crotch jumped up; after all the waiting, the Azure Fleet has returned! Although unclear what the Expedition Army entails, it surely promises a massive instance experience, perhaps akin to Outland!
With this thought, Thunder in the Crotch promptly summoned his mount and dashed towards Darkmoon Faire.
Meanwhile, Thunder in the Crotch observed numerous mounts soaring through the air within Stormwind City, evidently heading in the same direction—it proved there were still many former fleet alliance players around!
Thunder in the Crotch was fast, but the other players weren’t slow either. Mount speeds were virtually the same, ensuring little difference overall. Before long, hundreds of players gathered by the dock at Darkmoon Faire, and though there was nothing yet, the gathering of players was enough to excite people.
"Did you receive the notification?"
"I got it too! They mentioned an assessment, but I don’t remember going through any assessment!"
"Stop worrying about that; if they say you passed, you passed. It’s predetermined. After all, we were the old-timers who followed the Azure Fleet in this world. They’d definitely give us a break."
"What do you think this task will be? Is it like the Expedition Army in Outland? But Azeroth hasn’t been attacked. Are we being sent as cannon fodder to invade another world this time?"
"I don’t think it’s likely; the Azure Fleet doesn’t seem like that kind of force..."
While the players were discussing excitedly, suddenly, a flash of radiance appeared at the dock, and two petite figures emerged from it, landing on the ground. Upon seeing these figures, the players burst into excitement.
"Oh oh oh, Illya!!"
"Little Hei, Little Hei, my wife!!"
The figures before the players weren’t the real Illya and Little Hei, but two NPCs modeled by Fang Zheng and remotely controlled by Illya and Little Hei. The reason for choosing them was to make players feel more familiar with the characters, and indeed it worked.
"Hi, everyone! Long time no see."
Little Hei smiled and waved at the players before her, sparking yet another round of cheers. Illya also smiled shyly, then turned to take out a device and open it. A flash of metallic radiance followed, and the next moment, a gigantic, continuously rotating portal opened.
"Alright, everyone, please line up and enter in order, and allow us to check your letters~"
In the updated Demon Beast World, the collision volume setting had been added, so players couldn’t stack together as before. Upon hearing the announcement, they quickly lined up and passed Illya and Little Hei’s inspection before entering the Teleportation Gate.
Thunder in the Crotch was feeling excited at this moment. After passing Illya’s inspection, he took a deep breath and stepped into the Teleportation Gate. The next moment, Thunder in the Crotch felt the world spinning before him, and in the blink of an eye, he found himself in a magnificent, sci-fi-filled hall.
"Oh my gosh...!"
Looking at the dome over a hundred meters high along with the surrounding circular elevators and various high-tech-looking items, Thunder in the Crotch felt his legs tremble. Let’s not mention the rest; standing there and witnessing this grand hall, an inexplicable aura overwhelmed them, causing quite a few players to kneel directly.
While Thunder in the Crotch felt a little breathless, a crisp, calm voice suddenly rang out.
"Please gather here. As soon as everyone arrives, we will depart immediately," Misaka seriously gave the order.
Hearing this voice, Thunder in the Crotch and the other players turned to look, noticing another NPC wearing a black uniform and goggles standing not far from them, with "Misaka 10032" written above her head—a truly peculiar name.
Under Misaka 10032’s guidance, the first batch of players who had been teleported gathered at the below square. Gradually, players were recovering from their shock, excitedly chatting with each other or posting screenshots. Thunder in the Crotch also took this opportunity to check the GNA forum to see what was happening.
Just as Thunder in the Crotch expected, the return of the Azure Fleet immediately caused an uproar on the forum, with numerous players posting threads with all kinds of content. Some speculated whether the Azure Fleet was the main content of the version update, while others were showing off screenshots of entering the Azure Fleet.
Unexpectedly, Thunder in the Crotch found that among those boastful players, some stated that despite having been part of the Azure Fleet’s faction, they weren’t invited and were denied entry. Conversely, many new players who approached Illya and Little Hei on a whim were easily allowed entry, puzzling them over what was happening.
It would be one thing if only a few people were affected, but it was evidently abnormal with so many. Reports came indicating some players without entry qualifications argued with Little Hei or even tried to attack the two NPCs and forcibly enter, only to be sent back to the cemetery by Little Hei’s simple gesture.
This greatly shocked Thunder in the Crotch—it turned out the letter wasn’t just a formality; he truly passed the assessment!
But when did he take the assessment task?
Why does he have no recollection of it?
Of course, Thunder in the Crotch didn’t have any memories of it. In fact, this was all Fang Zheng’s doing.
As a game designer, Fang Zheng was undoubtedly aware of the toxic players that existed. He wanted players to help, not create trouble for him. Thus, before inviting players into the "New World Instance," Fang Zheng was mindful. He first organized Demon Beast World’s data comprehensively, filtering out players who killed new accounts, enjoyed doing plunder tasks and robberies, razed cities, and generally treated the game like GTA. What you do in-game is beyond his reach, but he can’t let you wreak havoc in the real world!
As for the invited players, aside from the Azure Fleet faction members, they were also chosen based on their positive in-game records without any extreme behavior, hence their invitation.
Nonetheless, Fang Zheng had no intention of quantifying the "Morality Score" and displaying it on the interface. If quantified, players would act according to it, and although it might not be their genuine desire, they might do so considering its impact, which isn’t their true intent. Therefore, Fang Zheng decided to let players regulate themselves. At least their actions will be more genuine than those dictated by numbers.
Of course, Fang Zheng wasn’t merely bringing players over; they needed to attend a series of classes for skill training to become familiar with the "new version" features, narrative background, and their tasks and objectives.
As for the rest... they were ready, only missing the final push.
While the players were eagerly gearing up for their new journey, Fang Zheng, on the other hand... encountered a small yet significant problem.
