Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 57 - 53 A New Instance Opens

Chapter 57: Chapter 53 A New Instance Opens

Zhao Haiping took a brief look at the basic technical principles of the game "Dark Sand" as introduced in the report.

This technology was the fruit of decades of dedication from a top domestic super scientific research studio that brought together leading scientific researchers.

Initially, the studio’s goal wasn’t to make games, but to explore consciousness connection technology and attempt to trace origins through the collective human subconscious and deep memories contained within DNA, trying to track historical memories and genetic maps, among other profound contents.

In short, it was a super scientific research project that concentrated on cutting-edge technologies in science, biology, artificial intelligence, and the like.

And the ultimate result of this research was the game "Dark Sand."

The reason why this game felt so real was that it used principles similar to dreaming, where players were not only in a deep sleep state during the experience but could also achieve many dream-like effects.

For example, one might spend a long time in a dream while only a few minutes passed in reality; one automatically ignored unreasonable aspects in the dream, not realizing they were dreaming; and the subconscious could influence dreams, bringing back many forgotten memory fragments...

"Dark Sand" took advantage of these principles, which is why it was available to players only during sleep times, achieving such a perfect simulation effect.

As for why "Dark Sand" could display such detailed and authentic history, it lay in another principle utilized by the game, which was the sourcing of DNA memory inheritance and collective subconscious.

Human DNA holds the memories of ancestors, and the collective subconscious of humanity is the result of the accumulation of these ancestral memories. An innate fear of heights or darkness, for example, is a manifestation of ancestral memories embedded in our subconscious.

The technology behind "Dark Sand" could extract these memories through specific techniques and, combined with the principles of dreams, almost perfectly reproduce real historical segments—even those long-buried, unknown histories could be brought back to light!

As such, many other questions were also answered.

Like why was the game so difficult, why did many of its designs not conform to common game design rules? Why were the closed beta spots limited and without any charging channels?

Because this was never just a game to begin with, the creators’ aim was for scientific research to conquer the barriers of DNA memory and collective subconscious, in order to trace real history.

The recruited players weren’t really just players; they were testers.

The gradual unlocking of historical lines was because sourcing more distant history was increasingly difficult; naturally, it had to be done step by step.

As for why the development company of "Dark Sand" was so mysterious, why it could advertise on top news websites and social networks, why it seemed so financially powerful...

Of course, that’s all because it was a top scientific research studio built with a national effort, developing the sharpest technology that could determine human destiny, with research funds estimated in the billions. What’s an advertisement in comparison?

In essence, "Dark Sand" was actually a scientific research project, not a game.

The entertainment effect it provided to players was a very insignificant aspect.

Those players who had drawn closed beta access should play and cherish it, for having the chance to play this game was a blessing from their past lives; players who didn’t get closed beta access shouldn’t complain, but instead wait patiently.

Because complaints are useless, the game’s developers are a scientific research studio, not a gaming business—they don’t adhere to the idea that "the player is always right."

The report omitted a detailed explanation of the core principles, but some basic theories were still clearly explained.

Moreover, even though there were no pictures or data on the top scientific research studio in these reports, many experts and scholars in related fields vouched for it, with many top-level biology giants stepping forward to explain the principles and feasibility of this technology.

With that, the convincing power was actually sufficient enough.

Players everywhere marveled at how awesome domestic scientific researchers were!

It proved that technology changes the world. If it were in the past, one wouldn’t even dare to dream about such things, but with the progress of technology, it had actually become a reality!

Misunderstandings were thus cleared up.

Although there were still skeptics who found the official explanations somewhat far-fetched, no one could offer a more persuasive one, could they?

Could it really be an alien invasion? Or perhaps some supreme deity orchestrating a game amongst humans?

Wasn’t that even more impossible?

So, most players quickly accepted this explanation and looked forward to the new version with great excitement.

Just like with past updates to next-gen gaming technology, few people actually delved into the underlying principles. Getting a good grip on the game and having a great time was the real deal.

...

That evening at 10 o’clock.

Zhao Haiping couldn’t wait to enter the world of "Dark Sand" once again.

It was just that the Return Order Space had undergone some obvious changes compared to before!

The fog in the Return Order Space was dense, and soon after, effects resembling space-time turbulence appeared in Zhao Haiping’s field of vision, as if the entire Return Order Space was situated in the long river of history, like a large ship parting the mists and heading for the far shore.

The space-time turbulence extended into the horizon of his view, acting like a guide and forming a bridge of void.

Then, Zhao Haiping felt the ground beneath him tremble, and at the far end of the bridge formed by the space-time turbulence, a new platform slowly rose. On it, one could see a portal similar to those in the Trial Illusions, shimmering with flowing light.

Of course, compared to the original portals of the four identities in the Trial Illusions, the new portal was bigger and more beautiful.

More importantly, this vast platform was quite spacious and imposing, suggesting that this wasn’t the only portal for the trial instances and that more could be opened in the future.

Stepping across the bridge of void, Zhao Haiping felt as if he really was a Returner, traveling through the river of history and battling demons.

Approaching the new trial instance, his view dazzled with radiance. He vaguely felt that this place seemed even more dangerous than the previous Trial Illusions.

"It looks like this new platform represents the later historical stage of the Great Sheng Dynasty? And the portals on this platform, do they represent trial illusions of the historical slices from the latter period of the Great Sheng Dynasty?

"The name of this Trial Illusion is ’Resolution Yet Awaits the Coffin’s Seal’, and besides that, no information is provided. It seems I can only explore after entering the trial.

"Enter!"

Without thinking too much, Zhao Haiping stepped in.

After entering the trial instance, Zhao Haiping instinctively looked around.

He seemed to be standing on a high platform of a mud city wall, with a commanding view of the surrounding scenery.

"From the size of it, this should be a small county town?"

Zhao Haiping’s knowledge of history wasn’t particularly strong, but judging from the scale of this small city before him, it seemed to be a small county town from the latter period of the Great Sheng Dynasty, with the total population likely not exceeding ten thousand.

The layout of the entire county town wasn’t very complex. From his vantage point on the city wall, he could oversee it entirely and could even make out some marketplaces and residential buildings.

The city wall itself wasn’t particularly strong, just an ordinary mud wall, and it wasn’t very intact either, with a few groups of civilians seemingly making repairs in places.

However, for a small county town, this was an accomplishment, considering that many county towns of this period lacked walls entirely.

"A small county town from the later period of the Great Sheng Dynasty?

"I don’t yet know the name of this small town, but entering the instance should reveal it.

"Such places were indeed the main battlegrounds of Eastern Barbarian raiders during the later period of the Great Sheng Dynasty.

"So the objective of this Trial Illusion is most likely to resist the Eastern Barbarian raiders, is it not?

"However, based on the experience from the warrior’s trials, even combat-focused instances like this one will definitely have a lot of puzzles to solve, and simply charging in head-on won’t work."

After a brief analysis, Zhao Haiping prepared to select his talent skill.

But unlike before, when three talent skill cards would appear, a new prompt showed up instead.

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