Thriller Paradise

"The scenario has been completed. Calculating the rewards.

"Obtained EXP: 5,500, Game Coins: 55,000.

"Obtained Equipment: None

"Completed/Accepted Quests: 2/2

"Completed Special/Hidden Quests: 0. Unlocked Worldbuilding: None

"Time of Terror Points Increase: 0. High Terror Points: 0%. Average Terror Points: 0%.

"Your Terror Rating is: Embodiment of Valor. Extra reward obtained, can be selected later.

"Obtained Skill Points: 323

"Additional Rewards from Skill Points Gained: EXP: 3,230, Game Coins: 32,300

"Scenario Cleared Reward: Double EXP Gained, 5,500

"Calculation complete. Please continue."

After 23 bade farewell to Feng Bujue, he was automatically teleported, but a question was implanted in Feng Bujue's mind, one that he could not help but ponder. As a set of data that had self-consciousness and a certain level of intelligence, could the Anomalies be viewed as a type of 'advanced organism' and thus receive necessary respect or at least… escape from the fate of being hunted simply due to their 'existence'?

This was a question that could not be solved through logical analysis alone. There were things in the world that could not be clearly categorized into right or wrong, yes or no. Therefore, certain questions were unanswerable, and there were only results. Feng Bujue was only a normal player; he had no power or the ability to mind things like that. The only thing he could do was merely consider it.

"You've reached to level 13. Maximum Stamina Points increased to 1,300/1,300." The system announcement pulled him back to reality.

"Brother Jue, are you alright? How come it took another few minutes for you to leave the scenario?" Wang Tanzhi's voice also came through the communicator.

"Don't worry, I didn't die," Feng Bujue replied. "See, I've reached level thirteen, haven't I?"

Wang Tanzhi gasped. "Eh? I'm just level twelve with around two thousand EXP, but I've played one more scenario than you. It's the difference between Skill Points, isn't it?"

"The difference between Skill Points is actually not that big. Even if the Skill Points I've gained in the different Team Survival Modes added up to be around three hundred to four hundred, that is merely a difference of three to four thousand EXP. The level difference is mainly due to the fact that the reward for completing the hidden quest in the previous scenario was also EXP, and other than that, I've received a good Terror Rating reward that awarded me with forty percent of my current EXP," Feng Bujue explained.

"Hmm… Brother Jue, if you keep on queuing for Solo Survival Mode and keep on getting the forty percent EXP, won't you level up extremely fast? There's a chance you might even be the one of the first players to reach the maximum level in the server!" Wang Tanzhi said.

"I've considered that as well. If I had the heart, I believe it would succeed, but at the end of the day, I'm kind of cheating when playing this game. Becoming one of the first players to reach the maximum level will make me the focus of other players. On top of that, there is no special reward to be the first to reach maximum level. For non-professional gamer like ourselves, doing that will only lead to more trouble," Feng Bujue replied.

"That might be so for the closed beta," Wang Tanzhi countered, "but the open beta will expand the maximum level to fifty, and accounts will be opened for registration. Perhaps there will be a great reward for the first player to reach maximum level then."

Feng Bujue rejected that possibility with a laugh. "Nah, there's basically no difference between the two. This kind of format will not change even after the closed beta is over. The gaming company knows that the players at the top belong mostly to gaming studios; normal players don't have the resources to even participate in this kind of competition. After all, the usable resources are completely incomparable. Just gaming time alone, it's barely a competition between casual and professional players, so while 'Fearless Champion' was the first player to reach maximum level during the closed beta, other than a server-wide announcement, there wasn't any physical reward given by the official party, right?"

What happened later also proved Feng Bujue's speculation. Dream Inc. still did not provide any physical reward to the first player to reach maximum level during the open beta. However, what they gave was exactly what the players from these gaming studios wanted, fame and popularity.

As long as it was an online game that was famous and quite difficult to master, the top layer of the player-base was mostly dominated by gaming companies. It was not until the final stages of the game's life when all the studios retreated that casual players had the chance to shine. Of course, no one was playing the game by then. What happened next would be closing registration, merging servers, and shutting servers off.

For those relatively 'simple' games, the overall structure was easier to understand. It was a competition of who was richer. Other than using the female body to do promotions and sell products, the only thing worth complimenting about these games was their graphic quality. The game itself was not worth any discussion. The place acquired by gaming studios within these types of game was relatively low; they were technically workers for the rich players, doing repetitious work in game manually. In a way, it was a form of manual cheat.

The lifespan for this type of game was relatively short. Normally, non-paying players would leave around the middle part of the game. A small number of people would persist until the later stages until they were defeated by the grind. Due to the lack of content, paying players would eventually feel bored and tired, choosing to leave in the end.

This type of online game was like mushrooms after the rain in year 2055. They were more like a form of consumables with Type A promotion, Type C content, and Type Z management. However, they did receive acknowledgement from the market because the product itself was not wrong, and people needed this kind of product. Non-paying customers approached them for novelty, and paying customers could enjoy the game while it lasted. The management was only in it for the initial haul and did not plan to support the game long term, while the blue collars at the gaming studios depended on cases like level grinding or money grinding for survival. Everyone had their own needs, and around half a year later, a new consumable would arrive on the market to replace the old one.

"I guess that's a good thing in a way. If you level up too fast, no one is going to train with me," Xiao Tan replied. "By the way, Brother Jue, the Winchester is still with me. I'll return it to you in the next scenario."

Actually, the two pistols that Xiao Tan had grabbed from the gun store were still in his inventory, but it had been more appropriate to use the Winchester inside the basketball court.

"You can hold onto it for a while. I'm going to fix some stuff and log off," Feng Bujue said.

"Huh? But it's only 2:30 am," Xiao Tan complained. He meant that it was still early. Even if they played until 4 am, that was one and a half hours in real life. Translated into the game, that would be fifteen hours of gaming time. It was more than enough to handle a long scenario.

"You said earlier that you're level twelve with two thousand EXP, yes?" Feng Bujue said. "Then, you need less than 10,000 EXP to reach level thirteen. You should go and play another two scenarios, and if possible, try to get a new title."

He paused for a second before continuing. "I… have something to think about…"

That reason did not sound that convincing, but Xiao Tan accepted it. He was familiar with Feng Bujue's personality. If he felt like telling, he would not hold back, but if he did not, he would not breathe a word even if someone tried forcing him, so he knew that pressing it would be futile. "Okay then, I'll leave the team."

"Hmm, goodbye," Feng Bujue told him. Xiao Tan bade farewell before leaving the team.

Feng Bujue opened his friend list. Of the four names, three were offline; they were Long Aomin, Passing Rain, and Laughing Soul. Wang Tanzhi's status also soon changed from 'free' to 'in-game'.

He turned to look at the 'recent players'. Other than his friends, there were also Invincible Champion, Atobe-sama, and Ming Zi, whom he had met after logging into this session. Pan Feng and Hwa Xiong were there as well, but their status was offline. Feng Bujue suspected that they were merely appearing offline, but he did not send an email to confirm that suspicion. He believed that there would not be an answer even if he did, much less expecting them to accept his friend request.

Feng Bujue was distracted by the thoughts implanted in his mind by 23 and lost the mood to play. He was in a hurry to rush to get the reward. He opened the game menu and logged out.

Going offline in sleeping mode would prompt the system to ask the players who did not want to sleep anymore, "Would you like to be woken up from your sleep?"