Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 48 - 44: Offline Event Scene

Chapter 48: Chapter 44: Offline Event Scene

Seeing this promotional poster, Zhao Haiping’s eyes lit up involuntarily.

"Is a new instance opening?

"Eastern Barbarian People... could it be an instance from the Great Sheng Dynasty?"

Although Zhao Haiping’s historical knowledge was not on the level of a historian, he still had basic common sense.

The Great Sheng Dynasty was the last unified dynasty in Huaxia, and in its later period, the power of the Eastern Barbarians peaked. They traversed the seas and continually harassed the southeastern borders of the Great Sheng Dynasty, even planning large-scale invasions.

Although the war ended with a comprehensive victory for the Great Sheng Dynasty, the Eastern Barbarians indeed caused immense destruction to the southeastern coastline of the Great Sheng Dynasty.

The graphic in the poster essentially depicted a standard Eastern Barbarian army, including several standard images of Eastern Barbarian pirates.

What puzzled Zhao Haiping, though, was why the background was a modern square?

Wouldn’t an ancient battlefield set the mood better?

Moreover, the players in the poster appeared in modern casual outfits, not in the game avatars of soldiers or assassins.

Brimming with curiosity, Zhao Haiping continued to read the update explanation for the new gameplay in "Dark Sand."

"’Dark Sand’ introduces the all-new Mixed Reality (MR) game mode ’Demon Invasion’ is about to launch!

"Gameplay introduction: Demons lurking in historical slices aim to enter the real world through various means, wreaking havoc upon humanity. Veterans of combat, you are called to the borders of historical slices and the real world to thwart the demons’ invasion plots!

"Participation requirements: Players who have cleared any trial instance in ’Dark Sand’ and obtained the identity of assassin, soldier, scholar, or Ranger can participate.

"Participation location: This will be an offline event in mixed reality mode. Please click on the event map to view the specific participation locations.

"Special note: This offline event is a precursor to the new game version. After the event concludes, ’Dark Sand’ will update with a series of Great Sheng Dynasty instances and initiate a variety of new gameplay modes, including network connections. We encourage all players to participate eagerly!"

Beyond that were some detailed rules and additional remarks. Essentially, any player who had cleared any trial instance could partake in this event, and it didn’t matter if they didn’t understand the rules—just showing up at the venue would suffice.

There would be an arranged process guide for the participants on site.

Zhao Haiping was astounded.

He never could have imagined that a game could be played to such an extent, with VR no longer satisfying the demand, they had gone directly for an MR event!

So-called MR, Mixed Reality, is a technology that overlaps virtual reality with the real world.

Players still exist in the real world, but through specific MR equipment that displays virtual content in their field of vision, they can achieve a unique gaming experience.

However, currently, almost no company could master this technology.

Even though VR game technology in this world had already achieved a realism of over 50%, MR industry had hardly developed much. After all, the technology for MR is more complex than VR.

But "Dark Sand" had even figured out MR mode? And they were confident that it was as good as VR?

That was wildly ambitious!

Moreover, it was clearly stated on the official website that the MR game mode "Demon Invasion" was not a completely independent offline event; it was directly related to upcoming game-version updates.

He definitely had to participate!

Whether it was to broaden his horizons and witness what a 100% realistic MR game was like, or to get a head start on the new version, it was a must to attend this event.

Zhao Haiping checked the time and place.

The time was set for 1:30 PM the next afternoon, requiring participants to arrive 15 to 20 minutes early for equipment setup.

There were no issues with the timing; even if tomorrow wasn’t the weekend, Zhao Haiping would take time off to go.

What job could be more important than this?

Glancing again at the event location, Zhao Haiping’s smile grew even wider.

Because most of the event areas were near Tiandu City!

The nearest site was a mere over two kilometers away from him, which was incredibly close.

There was not much else to say—it was time to sign up quickly.

The event did not limit the total number of participants, but the official request was for players to sign up individually to ensure that some remote event locations wouldn’t have too few players.

Moreover, the maximum number of people allowed at each registration point was different; some had more people, others less.

Zhao Haiping guessed this might be because the venues varied in size, with larger ones able to accommodate more players, which was quite normal.

Yet, he had no idea how "Dark Sand" officials had selected these locations.

From the map, the choices seemed to have no discernible pattern.

If the purpose was to promote the game, shouldn’t this event be spread across all the major cities in the country?

He didn’t understand.

But considering the game developer of "Dark Sand" had always been known for their quirky approach, it didn’t seem necessary to probe too deeply.

After all, participating in any event would certainly be the right move.

...

At 1:30 PM the next day, Zhao Haiping arrived at the event location on time.

It was a science park, covering a large area with several office buildings inside. Although not considered a particularly prime location in Tiandu City, the land value was definitely not cheap.

And this time, the event location was within this science park.

Zhao Haiping got out of the car at the entrance to the science park and was surprised at how few people were there.

Considering today was a day off and not many were expected to be working in the park, it still seemed unusually quiet.

It should be noted that there were some small commercial areas in the science park, including a small mall, a few restaurants, and gyms, but now there was no sign of anyone.

Upon reaching the entrance to the science park, a man in his forties with a frizzy beard stopped him.

"Today we have a special event; the entire science park has been occupied. No unauthorized personnel are allowed inside."

Du Gang had already turned away many people.

He was in charge of the science park and, although it wasn’t yet clear if the matter of the Reclaimers was real, since it potentially involved the safety of the general public, strict precautions and thorough responsibility were required to prevent unauthorized access.

Zhao Haiping was somewhat astonished; he realized why there were so few people around.

It looked like the developers of "Dark Sand" had rented out the entire science park and hadn’t arranged for any spectators!

This could only mean that they were indeed financially powerful, able to do as they wished with their wealth.

"I am here for the ’Dark Sand’ offline event," he said.

While explaining, Zhao Haiping presented his ID.

Du Gang took it from him, checked the name against the registration list, and then nodded, "Are you the first player to clear the soldier instance?"

Zhao Haiping nodded, "Yes, that’s me."

Du Gang felt a mix of sentiment and envy.

Had he not known the truth behind all this, he might also have been able to participate in the event. But now, he could only work as staff.

Du Gang returned the ID and pointed towards the interior of the science park, "Go on in, follow the signs and then head over there to pick up your game equipment."

Zhao Haiping looked inside and saw that the event seemed very formal; staff members were everywhere throughout the park, more than he had anticipated, and directional signs were accurately placed.

There was even a designated area for collecting game equipment.

"This company really does throw around its money; there are actually many more staff for the event than players participating in it.

But it seems they don’t allow spectators at all—a mere offline event garners such seriousness, it’s practically like martial law, atmosphere dialed to the max.

And the staff is different from those at other companies’ events.

At other companies’ events, the staff are all smiles, with excellent service, but here they’re all serious, like they’re actually sending you to the battlefield.

They don’t seem like regular folks but more like a fully-armed military force, with such a strong presence."

Although Zhao Haiping was clear that this was just a game, a stress-free entertainment activity, under such an atmosphere, he actually felt a bit of tension as if he were about to step onto a battlefield.

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