Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 91 - 86 Upgraded!

Chapter 91: Chapter 86 Upgraded!

The demonic fog was swept clean, leaving the entire historical slice bright and clear.

The players were still savoring the previous battle, feeling somewhat unsatisfied.

"What do you call a war with thousands of players on the same screen, full of passion?"

"What do you call a 100% real virtual reality game?"

It wouldn’t even be wrong to say it surpasses 100% reality, since you can’t see such magnificent scenes of demons and Regulators using their ultimate moves against each other in real life!

But just as the players were still immersed in the joy of victory, the fog began to spread again, signaling that today’s fun was over and they were about to wake up in the real world.

"Hey? It’s over just like that?"

"No way, I haven’t had enough fun yet!"

"See you all on the forum!"

The players hastily said their goodbyes and then disappeared one after another.

In the vast historical slice, only Meng Yuan and Shenshang were left.

Shenshang clapped her tiny hands in congratulations to Meng Yuan.

"A resounding victory!

"Though we planned carefully and our accumulated strength was naturally stronger than the demons in this historical slice, this victory is still quite valuable.

"The most important thing is, having the players fight with demons, compared to the Regulators fighting alone, indeed has a great advantage.

"Moreover, it’s surprising how quickly these players adapted to the battlefield!

"Of course, as a bona fide Regulator, your final performance wasn’t bad either.

"Although eliminating the true form of the demon exposed with immense righteous energy is something anyone with hands could do, but... at least you have hands."

Meng Yuan’s mouth twitched slightly, "What kind of comment is that, ’anyone with hands could do’? If it weren’t for my clever strategy to mobilize the players, repel the demon’s assault, and infuriate the demon into concentrating its power, how would there have been a chance for the fatal blow at the end?

"I am a player who’s good at using my brain, not like those past Regulators who only knew brute force, okay?

"Anyway, we’ve finally reclaimed the first historical slice, what’s next?"

Shenshang replied, "Of course, use it to enhance the Regulators’ strength."

Her tiny body floated up, suspended in mid-air, her hair strands sticking up as if brewing an extremely powerful force!

Soon after, numerous streams of black energy rose from the ground, the walls, and various buildings.

These were the demonic powers infused by the demons when they tampered with the historical slice or the distorted righteous energy within the original historical slice.

While reversing and correcting the entire historical slice, these forces were naturally absorbed and transformed into the Regulators’ strength.

The black energy rose and seemed to be purified in mid-air, gradually turning into white, immense righteous energy, merging into Shenshang’s body.

Then, she visibly grew a little taller.

Meng Yuan was silent for a moment before remarking, "Is that it?"

Shenshang glared, nearly leaping to hit Meng Yuan’s knees, "What do you mean ’is that it’? This is just a small historical slice, not some grand demon’s lair...

"And besides, the increase in strength this time is actually quite significant!"

As she spoke, she placed her small hand on Meng Yuan’s forehead.

Instantly, a vast amount of information was transmitted into Meng Yuan’s mind!

As a Regulator, the powers he wielded indeed had a substantial increase.

In the Return Order Talent Skill Library, the skills of the "Xin" level were unlocked, higher than those of the "Ren" level.

The historical line was also unlocked; originally, he could only go to the late periods of the Great Sheng Dynasty, but now he could access all of the Great Sheng Dynasty’s historical slices.

Part of the talent skills from the original Return Order Talent Skill Library could now be given to players as permanent skills.

The exclusive talent skills for the identities of soldier, assassin, scholar, and Ranger were upgraded.

The players’ original weapons, armor, and other equipment were upgraded.

The current historical slice could be freely modified to create fortresses and outposts to defend against demonic invasions.

Of course, the specific information was much more complex, but through the power of the Regulators, these details could be instantly transmitted into Meng Yuan’s mind without any discrepancy.

"OK, the Chief Operating Officer has work to do!"

Meng Yuan sorted through his new Regulator abilities and commenced drafting—oh no, that is, seriously planning and writing the new update announcement on the official website.

...

Meanwhile, as the players woke up one by one in the real world, the discussion on the "Dark Sand" official forum quickly heated up!

"Last night’s Return Order Expedition was too thrilling!"

"Yeah, I thought this game was mainly single-player before, but I didn’t expect this kind of war with thousands of players on the same screen to be so much fun!"

"The moment my blade went up and then down, the enemy was defeated in total disarray—it was so thrilling! I just wish it hadn’t ended so soon."

"Really? I clearly saw you ’clock out’ twice in quick succession."

"Cut that out! Don’t slander me, just wait and watch the video later!"

"The final scene was such an epic moment; just by looking at other games’ CG, they can only dream of competing! And it seems like it triggered a storyline? Any pros out there can analyze and shed some light on the mystery behind the Persuasion Bro’s identity?"

"If you ask me, it’s the guys at the top of the leaderboard who are the real deal. Passing the ultimate trial with 100% pain sensation on their first try? I thought we wouldn’t get to see the Return Order Expedition’s gameplay until tomorrow at least. I wonder if there’s any difference between the ultimate trial and the regular basic instances."

"Didn’t they say you could edit the ultimate trial’s footage into a video? When can we watch that?"

"Now that we’ve successfully recaptured this historical slice, does that mean we can go in and start farming?"

"Damn it! Why wasn’t I summoned? Is it because I haven’t cleared the basic Trial Illusion yet?"

"Any pros out there willing to put up a battle report? So those of us who couldn’t participate can get a sense of what happened last night?"

Players who couldn’t join the event were green with regret.

If only they had known the event would be this exciting, they would’ve fought with every last breath to clear the "The Trial Isn’t Over Until the Coffin is Sealed" instance!

Now, not only did they miss out on large group instances like the Return Order Expedition, but with an upcoming update, they might also lose their closed beta access.

This is too much to bear!

Need to hurry up and clear it!

After all, Dark Sand’s officials had already withdrawn closed beta access from a batch of players before, and those who didn’t work hard simply couldn’t stay in the game long term.

At first, the players who lost their access were cursing and couldn’t accept it, but it was futile as the officials completely ignored them while other players who didn’t have access were cheering.

So up to now, players have accepted this inhuman setting; in order not to lose their access, they can only constantly push themselves.

Soon after, battle reports and replay posts from last night appeared on the forums; many players also shared their experiences in the Return Order Expedition’s nation-war gameplay.

Especially Chu Ge, who summarized the details of last night’s battle in detail, thanked all the players for their support and cooperation, and also hoped that the next time a similar nation-war event comes around, everyone could be more disciplined and cohesive, like a truly well-trained army.

Less individual heroism, more collectivism.

Fan Cun and other players who acted recklessly and brought trouble upon themselves also expressed willingness to accept the criticism. However, they also mentioned that whether or not to rush in headlong next time would depend on the situation.

In any case, the players who participated in the event discussed it with great enthusiasm, while those who didn’t join, or didn’t even qualify, watched with itching hearts.

The video, where is it?

I’m dying to know what exactly happened!

It seemed as though the officials heard the players’ calls because soon after, last night’s Return Order Expedition video footage and the new version announcement were both posted on the official website!

However, the footage for the ultimate trial instance "The Trial Isn’t Over Until the Coffin is Sealed" had not been updated yet and was still in the state of "Editing in Progress, Please Look Forward to It."

Obviously, the ultimate trial was of a higher caliber and required meticulous editing.

Players who were already anxious from forum discussions couldn’t wait any longer and hurriedly clicked on the Return Order Expedition’s footage to watch.

...

In the dorm room of Chu Ge from the History Department of Tiandu University.

Li Hongyun clicked open the Return Order Expedition activity footage, staring in awe, his face full of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

The event footage was nothing like ordinary game footage or CG; it was like a meticulously shot blockbuster!

With the help of Dark Sand’s nearly 100% realistic physics engine, every detail of the battle was perfectly captured.

Take these soldier players, for instance, their actions when drawing bows, lifting shields differed, the effect when attacking enemies, and the real yet brutal war scenes were all perfectly portrayed!

Of course, because the brigands were possessed by demons, there wasn’t too much bloodshed, and when swords cut into them, they emitted black smoke instead. It seemed the editing specifically avoided overly gory scenes.

But regardless, the tension and excitement of a large-scale battlefield were perfectly conveyed!

Moreover, this video was practically a documentary showcasing the players, with its duration spanning over four hours. It not only included footage of main players like Chu Ge, Huo Yun Ying, and Fan Cun, but also gave screen time to other players who performed notably—all without exception.

The numerous cameras captured the epic battle between players and demons in great detail, featuring several sweeping aerial shots that were more grandiose than live-action and more realistic than CG!

As for the final showdown between Return Order Beichen and the demonic power, it pushed the entire war to its climax, making viewers’ blood boil with excitement!

Li Hongyun watched with a somewhat dumbfounded expression: "This is too thrilling!

"Such footage is on par with movies—no, it’s even more exciting than movies! After all, movie plots are written by screenwriters, while this battle was fought by the players themselves, making it completely unpredictable!

"Dark Sand is really lowering the bar for other VR games and even movies!

"Damn, I’m so jealous of how you were commanding like a ’Trash-talking King’ on top of the city walls! This video even gave you so much screentime; you totally stole the show!"

Chu Ge chuckled: "It was all thanks to the players’ cooperation. My command was just the icing on the cake."

Li Hongyun sighed: "So when you’re called fat, you heave a sigh, huh? When will I ever get to play this game?"

Chu Ge replied: "Didn’t you see the announcement on Dark Sand’s official website? This time they’ve doubled the number of slots for the official closed beta, up to 40,000. And they’re not just drawing randomly this time. First, they will select 100,000 people for testing, and only those who pass will get the closed beta access."

Li Hongyun’s eyes lit up with joy: "Really? Then I have a chance!"

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