Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 74 - 69: Start Speedrun Planning!

Chapter 74: Chapter 69: Start Speedrun Planning!

Players discussed enthusiastically.

Although some of the puzzles and storylines in this instance were deemed conclusive, the players’ discussions did not stop there.

The reason was simple, so far the strategy for this instance was at most halfway through.

No one had yet achieved a ranking of "B+" or even higher!

According to the mechanics of "Dark Sand," the current Trial Illusion was essentially a simulated exam, and players needed to achieve high scores in a perfect speed run before being selected for the ultimate challenge at the highest difficulty.

Then, everyone would have the chance to experience a multiplayer cooperative mode.

So, players eagerly shared their insights on forums, including details of the instance and their imaginative speculations, among other things.

For example, an assassin player suggested that up to now, the initial identities of "Laborer" and "Troupe Member" had evident advantages, such as the laborer’s strength, which allowed earlier engagement with thieves on the city walls; while the troupe member was directly related to the storyline involving the burning of the theater.

However, the "Small Merchant" identity didn’t seem to have any particular advantages.

Many players felt that this identity might just be a red herring or a way to choose different starting points and times, better understanding the dynamics of the instance without making every initial identity functionally distinct.

But this player believed that the small merchant might be more suitable for rallying local militias or that assassin players could also use this identity to single-handedly assassinate stray thieves.

However, since he had always followed the guide and played the usual route, he hadn’t had the chance to try it yet.

Players expressed their willingness to give it a try tonight; uncovering any new mechanics could significantly boost their completion score.

Players from different professions also shared their own experiences in clearing the instance.

It was discovered that in this instance, once the task of correcting Yang Xinyan’s identity was completed, Yang Xinyan would take it upon himself to complete the theater storyline. And the problem of the shadow servant could actually be solved in many other ways.

For instance, assassin players could lie in ambush on the path where the shadow servant went to meet Households Commander Xu to intercept him, while Ranger players could lure him away on their own, creating favorable conditions for the local militias to attack the theater.

As for the scholar players, they could influence some troupe members inside the theater with their righteous energy, rallying these people to join Yang Xinyan in summoning militias, or they could warn Gao Ze in advance to lure away the shadow servant and then use their righteous energy to gather more militias for a strong onslaught.

There was no single solution; as long as the militias rallied by players were stronger than the thieves, the instance could be cleared.

In short, players were initially bewildered before finding the proper solutions, but once they fully grasped the content of the instance, it wasn’t as difficult as they initially thought; there was quite a bit of leeway.

With continuous attempts, the optimal solution could always be found.

...

Meanwhile, at a roadside bun shop.

Du Gang brought over two steamers of buns and two bowls of soy milk, "I see you’re making good progress, seeming to be on the list of the first batch of players to clear the game.

"What do you think, did I not recommend it to you correctly? This game is fun, isn’t it?"

Sitting opposite him was a short-haired girl who appeared somewhat gallant; she casually picked up a bun, "Yeah, it’s indeed fun. I never imagined there would be such realistic games nowadays.

"But this still doesn’t compensate for the psychological wound your niece received from not getting into the police academy."

The short-haired girl was Xia Ruoling, the assassin player who was the first to successfully kill the shadow servant and get the City Defense Map, and Du Gang was her uncle.

She was quite dejected about failing the police academy exams, so Du Gang took the opportunity to introduce her to "Dark Sand," particularly recommending the assassin profession.

The intention was merely to divert her attention, but she actually made something of it in the game.

Du Gang sipped his soy milk, "Hey, you’re looking at it quite superficially, aren’t you?

"’Dark Sand’ is not just a simple game; it’s an important scientific research project.

"It can trace our DNA memories and collective subconscious, bringing many obscured and forgotten histories back into the limelight. In other words, you players are like agents traveling through history. This job can absolutely compare to archaeologists, police officers, or military personnel!"

"I actually think you not getting into the police academy might be a blessing in disguise. We don’t lack one more cop right now, but ’Dark Sand’ is definitely in need of a genius player."

Xia Ruoling clearly didn’t quite believe it, "Really?"

"Uncle, I know your job is special and you can’t say much, but I’m really curious, is the ’Dark Sand’ research project that amazing? Can it really trace real history through DNA?"

Du Gang nodded seriously, "Of course, would I lie to you?

"Anyway, with your level of knowledge, even if I explained the principles of this cutting-edge science you wouldn’t understand. Just play the game diligently and you’re sure to be on the right track. It’s only going to get more popular in the future."

Xia Ruoling asked skeptically, "You’re just saying that because you don’t understand these scientific principles yourself, which is why you can’t explain them to me, right?"

Du Gang hurriedly shook his head, "That’s not it!"

He and his colleagues from the relevant departments certainly knew the true ins and outs of the game, but they couldn’t tell anybody. Once they did, it meant that person couldn’t play the game anymore and would have to be absorbed into it, becoming a "staff member" of the game.

Xia Ruoling then ate two more small steamed buns, "Alright, I get it.

"Tonight, I’ll start with a speedrun to see if I can push the scores as high as possible.

"A 100% pain sensation ultimate trial sounds pretty interesting. In real life, there’s a chance of getting injured while catching thieves, but the game is exactly like reality, and you don’t have to worry about injuries or death. I’m quite eager to try it out."

...

It was near 10 p.m.

In the Return Order Space.

Meng Yuan was earnestly going over the players’ discussions, not forgetting to take notes.

He had cleared the stage last night, but just clearing it wasn’t enough; he had to make it onto the leaderboard.

Now, the players were rolling up their sleeves, finding a standard clearing process and then trying some unconventional ones.

So the scores on the leaderboard were bound to get higher and higher, and Meng Yuan also had to get as high a score as possible, or else he would have to resort to behind-the-scenes manipulation.

Among the player posts he collected, there were many speculations about improving scores, all waiting to be tried tonight.

"Thinking with the typical speedrun mindset, speedrunning is actually about determining the process of clearing the stage, distinguishing what can and can’t be optimized.

"For this instance, I think the death of the County Magistrate is an aspect that can be optimized. If we fight, the battle will last longer, so it’s better to directly recruit militia."

But soon, there were voices of dissent among the players.

"No, no, no, I think you’ve got it backwards. Although the County Magistrate’s death is inevitable, the more bandits we kill in this phase, the weaker their forces will be later, and the easier our mission. So we definitely have to kill as many bandits as possible in the first phase."

"Couldn’t we also recruit militia on our own? Maybe the route can be optimized? If we can recruit enough people earlier, wouldn’t we be able to attack the playhouse quicker?"

"I don’t think a fast clear necessarily means a high score, right? What’s the focus of this game? Role-playing! We definitely have to recreate the characters’ images as much as possible, make the development of the instance align more closely with reality, to get a high score, right?"

"So if I go and play Su Xianjun in the opera, and do an exceptionally good job, would that give me extra points?"

"It should, but there is a problem with playing Su Xianjun—how do we deal with the assassins on the roof?"

"Why not just tell Yang Xinyan about this intelligence, and let Yang Xinyan and Gao Ze deal with it? The game has such a high degree of freedom; if you’re willing to think, there’s always a way."

You have to say, the players really let their imaginations run wild, managing to make sense of such vague rules.

For this spirit, Meng Yuan only wanted to give them a thumbs up.

It wasn’t that he intentionally only showed the players scores like "C-" or "D+". The key issue was he didn’t know the specific scoring rules either.

After all, he was just someone who played games, not a designer, so a lot of times he had to rely on the players.

In any case, after working hard with the players for three days, Meng Yuan would be able to officially enter the historical snippets and face those real demons!