Player Reload
Chapter 117 - 111 Narrative Cage (Part 1)

Chapter 117: Chapter 111 Narrative Cage (Part 1)

In the following few days, Li Cheng was busy searching for clues related to the power system on the forum.

Now, it has been the fourth year since the advent of the killing field, and there are still over two hundred thousand players, theoretically, the forum should have over two hundred thousand active users.

However, as the platform with the highest traffic, the forum is entangled with countless interests. Transnational corporations, major guilds, and even national governments wish to have a stake in it. This results in the forum being filled with a large number of fake accounts, AI robots, and ordinary users pretending to be players, which further increases its popularity.

Not to mention some silly players, and the Wild Laughter Troupe and Demon Scientist Alliance who abide by the saying "Do not refuse to do small evils, nor fail to do small goods" — these people spend all day posting on the forum about topics completely irrelevant to the killing field, including but not limited to,

[Just received a script task notification, next time going to a Three Kingdoms scenario world, if I give Zhuge Liang ten thousand air cannons / Palu / James / Zhenzi / a fertilizer production line / armor made with modern craftsmanship / a shaver / Death Note, can he succeed in his Northern Expedition?]

[Immediately post the third picture on your phone!]

[Folks I’m 18 years old like this, ask for a rating, no glass heart]

[Claiming to be the king of pirates of Shanghai, Lu Fei is arrested by the Shanghai police, with live scene photos]

Due to these various factors, the forum theoretically with only over two hundred thousand real users, is no less popular than the monthly active hundreds of thousands to millions on platforms like Tieba.

Here, one must thank the Whale Song Organization’s hard work. If it weren’t for their maintenance of order and regular cleaning up of spam posts, the forum would have gone to waste long ago.

"Fortunately, some truly high-quality posts are labeled as premium posts, no need to pan for gold in poop anymore."

Li Cheng, massaging his temples, clicked on a premium post titled [Study on Various Classification Methods of Power Systems in the Killing Field], which was posted over a year ago.

[The killing field is immensely vast, encompassing myriad worlds, with millions of forms of power, which are difficult to clarify. However, generally speaking, powers could still be categorized based on whether they originate from the killing field, and whether the cultivation method is active or passive.]

[Powers from the killing field include the skills obtained by players from treasure chests. These include fighting, shooting, spiritual energy, mechanical, life, and universal types.]

[These skills have standard descriptions that clearly state special effects, consumption, cooling time, etc., making them immediately comprehensible. However, their power is also greatly limited by their own quality. For instance, the Mage’s Hand skill used by a high-level player is not much different from that used by a low-level player, except for some special skills.]

[As for powers not granted by the killing field, these are gathered by players from scripted worlds. For example, ordinary people who eat a Demon Fruit from the One Piece world will still possess a series of superpowers that are not detailed in their description. Other examples include Inner Power Secret Manuals, Chakra Cultivation Scrolls, etc.]

[There is no clear hierarchy of strength between the two; the major difference lies in their systematization and expandability.]

[As for the cultivation method, this is even easier to understand. Bloodline, Hulk Bloodline, Dragon Bloodline, Self-mutilation Sacrifice, superpower, etc., are considered passive. It is impossible, or very difficult, to enhance them through subjective consciousness. Meanwhile, Inner Strength, Fighting Energy, Chakra, Original Force, Alchemy, Magic, and Magic Spells are considered active, having a complete enhancement ladder.]

[With the above information combined, one can derive a broad guiding principle — players should base themselves on power systems that are not entirely controlled by the killing field and can be actively cultivated, supplemented by skills from the killing field to strengthen themselves.]

[For example, the founder and president of the Monster Alliance, King of Trapped Beasts Lv38, bases his power on the Druid cultivation system plus Wolverine bloodline. The former allows him to cast natural spells and transform into legendary creatures, while the latter provides him with extraordinary self-healing capabilities. In battle, he can transform into a legendary creature such as a Red Dragon and rely on close combat to overpower his opponents.]

[It’s worth noting that bloodlines, cultivation systems, and killing field skill items might conflict with each other. For instance, werewolf bloodline is not compatible with Inner Strength, since the acupoints and meridians have changed. In some cases, however, they might enhance each other more than additively, for example, Hulk serum plus an external thought-processing device can maintain mental clarity during a berserk state.]

...

Li Cheng had read this extensive post of several tens of thousands of words a long time ago, and now revisiting it, he gained some new insights.

In the forum, when discussing serious matters, they often use the phrase "constructing".

Upon further reflection, it really was like this: players, like constructing buildings, choose and seek suitable materials from millions of sources of power, plan, design, and build their own systems until the edifice is completed, transcending the ordinary.

Li Cheng moved away from the computer screen, leaned back, and sighed lightly. In the previous Wasteland World, a nuclear war killed billions, and civilization evolved repeatedly—surely countless epic stories happened during that time. Yet such a world was merely a crystalline glass sphere displayed in the killing field.

Is transcendence really possible...

The air conditioner hummed softly, and faint bird chirps came from outside the window. The slight creaking sound of the chair was caused by the shifting of his weight.

[Task Type: Script Task (Solo)]

The system notification abruptly sounded, and Li Cheng opened his eyes, taking a deep breath.

[Task Name: Narrative Cage]

[Task Objective: At 12:00 AM tonight, hold a sheet of white paper, a pen, and money, and wait for teleportation]

[Next Task Objective: To be announced when receiving the next task prompt]

[Failure Penalty: Erasure]

A solo script task, huh...

Li Cheng scratched his head, muttering, "Narrative Cage, judging from this task name, seems, perhaps, probably an escape type? Paper and pen I can understand, but what’s with the money? Don’t tell me I have to draw counterfeit bills by hand."

While he complained verbally, his body honestly stood up, preparing for the upcoming task.

When the clock struck twelve, the scenery before his eyes suddenly changed.

An unfamiliar ceiling.

The sensation of gravity reminded Li Cheng that he was currently lying flat on his back, in bed.

More precisely, in a bed in a prison cell.

The cell was approximately 4 meters long and 2.5 meters wide. All four walls were covered with gray soft padding material to prevent bumps, and a tubular daylight lamp emitting white light hung from the ceiling.

The single bed Li Cheng lay on was situated in the corner of the cell, made of metal with a spring structure. The mattress felt like coir, covered with a black and white striped bedsheet.

At the foot of the bed, there was a stool and a table fixed to the room. A bit further away were a mirror, a metal sink, and a toilet.

Click, click—

Li Cheng moved his body, sat up from the bed, and discovered that he was wearing handcuffs on his hands, shackles on his feet, and his attire had already been changed into blue and white prison clothes.

What the fuck?!

He stared wide-eyed in shock, and on the chest of the prison uniform, the name [Li Cheng]was clearly written.