Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 49 - 45: Large-scale Player Meetup

Chapter 49: Chapter 45: Large-scale Player Meetup

Zhao Haiping arrived at the location to collect his equipment.

The staff here were just as serious as those at the entrance, as if they were truly preparing for a defensive counterstrike against demons. Their acting and professionalism greatly enhanced the atmosphere, and Zhao Haiping felt like giving them a hundred points.

There were already twenty to thirty players at the scene, queuing orderly to receive their equipment.

The on-site inspection was very strict. Not only was identity verification required before entering, but another check was also necessary when collecting the equipment to prevent unqualified individuals from sneaking in.

Soon, it was Zhao Haiping’s turn.

The staff handed him a specially shaped helmet.

Zhao Haiping carefully examined it and found that it didn’t seem much different from the VR gaming helmets he usually used. The only difference was that there were several specially shaped straps at the neck connection, which needed to be tied at different positions on the shoulders and upper body for stabilization.

Moreover, this helmet was much lighter than normal VR gaming helmets and didn’t feel too heavy or hinder flexibility.

"Is this the MR gaming helmet?"

Zhao Haiping was somewhat astonished. Logically speaking, since it was MR, it shouldn’t have the same design as a VR helmet, right? At the very least, the eyes should be exposed at the front, or there should be more cameras added, right?

Could he still see the real world clearly after putting on this thing?

"You’ll know once you put it on."

The staff couldn’t explain it to him since they were all Du Gang’s colleagues and didn’t know the principles or specific usage of the helmet either.

Their tasks here were twofold: one was to ensure that all players properly wore the helmet and started the battle according to the requirements of the Reorderer; the other was to maintain martial law, ensuring that if accidents occurred, casualties could be minimized as much as possible.

Zhao Haiping put on the helmet while the staff helped him fix the specially shaped straps at various positions on his shoulders and upper body.

Without someone else’s help, it would indeed be difficult to put on or take off this thing by himself. It would probably take seven to eight minutes to succeed.

Zhao Haiping felt a bit like an ancient general about to enter the battlefield. It was not because there were many flags, but because the process of putting on armor was quite cumbersome and he really couldn’t manage it by himself.

"All these straps are to ensure the helmet is fixed well on the body and won’t fall off easily, right? After all, in MR games, there might be a lot of vigorous movements."

After putting on the helmet, Zhao Haiping’s vision turned pitch black. While the staff helped him secure all the straps, he also made some guesses about the design of the helmet.

Actually, his guesses weren’t even close but rather completely irrelevant.

In fact, the sole purpose of these straps was to prevent players from secretly taking off their helmets during the battle.

Many players, while playing MR games, would secretly remove their helmets or glasses to confirm which elements of what they were seeing were real and which were virtual.

If it were any other MR game, it would hardly matter, but not here—removing the helmet would immediately give away the game, right?

Of course, giving away the game didn’t matter; it would simply mean that any player who uncovered the truth would, like Du Gang, leave the ranks of players and could only serve as logistical personnel afterward. But regardless, it was still a loss of vital strength.

So, this situation had to be avoided as much as possible.

Adding a few straps could fix the helmet and prevent players from removing it in reality, which was perfect.

As for protective function, it was virtually unnecessary, because the entire battle for the players was protected by the power of the Reorderer.

Once all players had properly donned their helmets, their vision gradually returned.

"Wow!"

Zhao Haiping was a bit shocked—he found that his vision wasn’t obstructed at all!

If it were in reality, wearing a helmet or glasses would always lead to seeing a small part of the helmet at the edge of the field of view, losing some vision and reducing the immersion.

But with the MR gaming helmet from "Dark Sand," he couldn’t see it at all in his field of vision.

Only by touching it with his hand could he confirm its presence.

He looked around and noticed that the appearance of the other players in his field of vision had undergone tremendous changes.

All these people had transformed into their game characters!

Assassins, soldiers, scholars, and rangers, each identity had distinct attire, highly recognizable at a glance.

Zhao Haiping looked down at himself and found that he was also wearing the armor of a soldier. Even when he moved his arms and legs, he could feel the friction of the armor plates and the hefty sensation, just like what he experienced in the game.

He touched it with his hand—the armor plates were cold and felt incredibly real.

"Is it really this miraculous?

"Indeed, this is the epoch-making MR technology. Combining VR’s consciousness implantation with real-world scenarios is truly a genuine traversal!"

Zhao Haiping was thoroughly convinced of the technical prowess of this gaming company.

Previously, there had been companies claiming to have developed MR games, but those games merely involved the players wearing glasses and superimposing some crude game images over real-world scenes, easily distinguishable between what was real and what was fake.

To call that MR might barely meet the concept of ’mixed reality,’ but compared to the MR of "Dark Sand," those were completely outclassed.

The technological prowess of the two couldn’t even be measured on the same scale!

It seemed that "Dark Sand" had utilized a breakthrough MR technology, combining 100% realistic consciousness transmission with reality to achieve an indistinguishable effect between the real and the unreal.

Not only that, Zhao Haiping’s vision also displayed prompt messages.

"In the ’Demon Invasion’ MR game mode, players can obtain any melee weapons without limit, including but not limited to long swords, spears, bows, and arrows, etc.

"When players are injured, a red bleeding effect will appear in their vision, and they will receive a certain level of injury feedback. If they sustain a fatal injury, they will automatically exit the game."

Zhao Haiping was puzzled, "Obtain any melee weapon without limit? How?"

He tried to imagine himself holding a spear, and the next moment, a standard infantry spear indeed appeared in his hands!

Thrown on the ground, it even persisted for a while before gradually vanishing.

Not only that, he could also imagine other weapons such as long swords and bows, and they would immediately appear in his hands.

One foolish player indeed drew a knife and chopped his own arm, then immediately grimaced in pain, having inflicted a wound on himself before the battle even started.

Zhao Haiping couldn’t help but twitch his lips slightly, thinking that there indeed were all sorts of odd players.

Luckily, this foolish player had exercised some restraint; the cut wasn’t deep. Had he chopped off his arm, today’s battle would have been irrelevant to him.

Players with the identities of infantry, assassins, and rangers were all selecting the weapons they were most comfortable with.

Only the players with the scholar identity seemed confused, clad in simple clothing and unsure of what to do.

Swords, spears, staffs, axes, chains, hooks, forks?

Holding these in their hands seemed off, and they didn’t know how to use them either, as the scholar instance didn’t teach this.

Hold a book?

That seemed problematic too.

Zhao Haiping checked the time; the players had arrived early, so there was still less than half an hour until the event officially started.

Just then, a scholar approached, "Are you Zhao Haiping?"

Zhao Haiping was stunned for a moment, and then said, "Chu Ge?"

Chu Ge nodded, "Yes. Zhao, you are more refined than I imagined. I thought for sure you’d be a burly strongman."

Zhao Haiping smiled, "You’re pretty much as I imagined too!"

Though both were from Tiandu City and chatted online daily, this was their first real-world meeting.

As for Huo Yun Ying, he wasn’t in Tiandu City and thus didn’t come here, probably attending the event at another location.

Soon, the venue turned into a large offline player meet-up. Taking the opportunity before the game started, everyone chatted about their gaming experiences and agreed to exchange contact details afterwards, considering it an offline meet-up.

Meng Yuan was satisfied with this.

Indeed, as the only rightful Realigner, Meng Yuan had also arrived at the venue.

This tech park was the site of the largest interface between this historical slice and the real world, meaning it would also see the heaviest enemy presence.

Although this was the main battlefield for the players, Meng Yuan had to be there in person to feel reassured.

Of course, to avoid exposing himself, he had come as a player too.

Moreover, before coming, Meng Yuan had prepared intensively. With the help of player guides and the ability to use three talents, along with his own relentless efforts, he had successfully cleared the ranger instance.

What about the assassin, infantry, and scholar instances?

Don’t ask. It’s possible, but unnecessary.

The ranger instance was the hardest for other players, but the easiest for Meng Yuan, as he could use three talents. The acting and memorizing lines posed a higher difficulty for him.

In short, he had tried his best.

There’s a saying that everyone has their specialty.

The power of a Realigner was limited; after distributing his power among the players, Meng Yuan didn’t have much for himself. He knew he wasn’t cut out for battle, lacking distinctive combat talents, so it was unnecessary for him to hoard so many resources; providing support for the players would suffice.

Of course, if the players were stuck, he could adapt and guide them.

Like now.

The scholar players clearly seemed confused, unsure of what they should do.

Including Chu Ge, four scholars gathered together, guessing how they might contribute in battle.

The unique talent of scholars was "Righteous Aura," described as "even a simple sentence can provide significant enhancements to others." But how exactly did it activate?

That was still a mystery.

Meng Yuan approached quietly and suggested, "The description of the ’Righteous Aura’ talent suggests that any appropriate words can activate it, though the extent of activation seems to be influenced by one’s conviction and the way it’s expressed.

"Maybe... recite a poem to try?"

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