Why the bug I wrote became a core gameplay mechanic?!
Chapter 111: The Dreamland of the Sixteen Bronze Men!

Chapter 111: Chapter 111: The Dreamland of the Sixteen Bronze Men!

"Brothers, please look!"

"Next up, Instructor Xiao Ding will introduce to everyone the dream kingdom that the ’Sky-Defying Sixteen Bronzemen’ have built over the past two months!"

Instructor Ding said while controlling his character, strolling through a brand-new kingdom.

At that moment, he was wearing shining golden armor, obviously in a successful "possession" of a Heaven’s Guardian.

Of course, as a professional streamer, Instructor Ding couldn’t possibly live stream building houses every day for two months, which would have been a bit too monotonous.

This grand city-state was mainly built by Michelangelo and other avid fans of construction games. Instructor Ding carved out a small area within it to display his own "high-end matchbox."

Surrounding the Divine Fire High Platform was the "King’s City," full of majestic spired buildings, including palaces, commercial areas, and residential areas. The Great Canal and thoroughfares passed through the middle of the King’s City, making it look bustling and prosperous.

And like the King’s City, there were a total of four large-scale building complexes of similar size.

Apart from the King’s City, situated symmetrically across from the Divine Realm, there was a magnificent "Ancient Huaxia City," where all the buildings featured Eastern architectural styles with dougong brackets, making one feel as if they had traveled through time.

Besides that, there was the "City of All-Encompassing Wonders," built upon a mountain. At the top, there were 15 individual structures built by players, each with unique styles.

For example, Instructor Ding built a high-end matchbox, Michelangelo constructed a hollow spire, Chen Tingquan created a sturdy fortress, and Li Wenhao put together a windmill full of domestic charm.

And more frighteningly, they hollowed out the entire mountain, similar to a Dwarven capital city, using metal materials to construct an even more magnificent inner city with huge stone pillars and spiral staircases running from top to bottom, creating a mysterious atmosphere.

Another city was "Sky City."

Michelangelo used clever design and intricate structures to support a majestic city suspended in the air, its buildings made of smooth dazzling marble and resplendent golden materials, even more eye-catching than the real Divine Realm.

Around these four main towns, Michelangelo also built the Great Wall, villages, garrisons, mysterious labyrinths, and other kinds of structures, tailored to the different terrains.

All sorts of Mindlost NPCs filled the towns, creating a lively scene.

Michelangelo also built a materials distribution plaza next to the Divine Fire High Platform, where players returning from adventures in the Divine Realm could drop their materials, and Mindlost Manual Laborers would pick them up and deliver them to designated spots.

These Mindlost Manual Laborers formed long lines, interspersed with Jestering Lost Ones every few steps, making for a spectacular sight.

In every shop-like building within the towns, there were merchants; in the King’s City, there were guards clad in armor, and even in places akin to red-light districts, they thoughtfully placed scantily clad female Mindlost NPCs.

The most outrageous was the theatre in the King’s City where two Mindlost NPCs would unceasingly perform comic dialogues, while a group of Jestering Mindlost NPCs would periodically burst into laughter below.

"How about it, brothers, are we amazing or what?"

Instructor Ding showed his viewers around, feeling extremely proud.

However, the comments were not giving him any face.

"What do you mean by ’are we amazing,’ isn’t it clearly Boss Mi leading a few Manual Laborers to build all this? What else have you contributed apart from that shabby matchbox?"

"Are you and Boss Mi splitting the credit 81 to 19?"

"Hilarious, every time you live stream you’re just wandering around the map, talking about achieving that ’100% completion’ goal, and yet someone else has already snatched the victory!"

Instructor Ding turned dark: "Who said someone else snatched the victory? Brother, if you can’t speak properly, you can keep quiet!

"I did that because I saw he was working so hard that I feared he’d drop dead, so I let him have it!

"If I really went for ’not stopping the stream until reaching 100% exploration,’ I’m afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle it!"

The comments poured in: "You go for it! If you dare to start, we’ll dare to watch!"

Instructor Ding sighed, "Forget it, I won’t compete with the young folks with my old bones in my twenties, it’s pointless."

The pure gold trophy in the game ’Prometheus’ was not awarded to the first one to beat the game, but to the first one to achieve ’100% map exploration.’

So, Instructor Ding was hell-bent on running around the map every day!

Even after the stream was over, he was still stealthily running around.

In fact, when Lilith set this goal, she never intended for the players to complete it.

The so-called 100% map exploration not only included the inside and outside of the Divine Realm but even the city walls of the Divine Realm!

Under the original game mechanics, there were various powerful and dangerous monsters within the Divine Realm, and one could be killed in an instant; aiming to achieve 100% exploration was incredibly difficult.

As for outside the Divine Realm, there was no need to mention it. With Supervisors around, players simply couldn’t stray too far from the construction site, let alone venture into the wilderness.

Not to mention the various ferocious beasts that lurked in the wilderness.

And as for the walls of the Divine Realm, they were even less likely to be explored. The walls were too thick and too high; the players couldn’t climb them at all, so how could they be explored?

So, in Lilith’s view, this 100% exploration degree was simply an impossible task, just a carrot dangled to trick the donkey into biting.

Players racked their brains to explore the map for that 100% completion, but they failed again and again. When they finally discovered the truth, wouldn’t a huge wave of negative emotions instantly erupt?

However, ideals are abundant, but reality is harsh.

The game’s bug shattered all the defenses Lilith had previously conceived in an instant.

Not only could players go anywhere outside the Divine Realm, but they could even climb the high walls of the Divine Realm and take a complete tour after killing the Heaven’s Guardians!

Consequently, the competition for 100% completion became fiercer than ever!

Instructor Ding, after all, was just a streamer and had to care a bit about the show’s effect, so it wasn’t surprising that "the first to achieve 100% completion" honor was taken by someone else.

It was a netizen called "Immortal Realm’s Liver Emperor", and the name alone suggested he wasn’t an ordinary character.

After being the first in the whole network to achieve 100% completion, he received a pure gold trophy from the official last week.

This time, the trophy wasn’t shaped like a feathered fan, but more like a gleaming golden angel’s crown.

As for Instructor Ding?

He could only receive the medal and certificate like the other players.

Instructor Ding was not convinced. Why couldn’t I get the pure gold trophy and boast in front of all the viewers in the live broadcast room?

I’ll do it in the next game! I just don’t believe this!

Therefore, Instructor Ding started his broadcast early today, waiting in front of the computer for the official release of City of the Abandoned Gods.

Finally, the [Start Game] button on the game details page lit up, and Instructor Ding chose to enter the game immediately.

...

The first thing that struck his eyes was the game’s title interface.

The background of this interface seemed to be a corner of a medieval town where NPCs dressed in various outfits bustled about. However, they generally looked quite poor, fitting the medieval aesthetic perfectly.

The title interface had four standard options: "New Game," "Load Game," "Settings," and "Exit Game."

Instructor Ding quickly reviewed the game’s settings and, finding no issues, chose to start a new game directly.

Unlike Prometheus, the opening CG of City of the Abandoned Gods wasn’t complex. It consisted of only a few short sentences, and the art style was somewhat similar to sand painting.

A road stretched into the distance, where one could vaguely see a once-glorious but now dilapidated town.

"At the end of this road lies the legendary forbidden land, the City Forsaken by Gods.

"It is said to be a place of despair that fell into corruption for worshipping demons, abandoned by the gods."

The previous sand painting was instantly scattered by the wind, transforming the scene.

The close-up of the city appeared in the frame, with corpses strewn by the roadside and crows pecking at them, and a scene of blazing sun and blizzard in the sky.

"Plague, oppressive heat, severe cold, fierce winds, turmoil... this city has become a no-go zone for humans, a paradise for demons.

"One day, the gods will bring divine punishment and wipe this City Forsaken by Gods completely off the map."

Once more, the scene shifted, showing a few ragged and hungry people approaching the city gates, kneeling on the ground with withered arms raised high, begging the soldiers above to open the gates.

"Yet still, people continuously venture into the City Forsaken by Gods.

"Perhaps it’s for forbidden knowledge, or to save these sinners on behalf of God, or maybe just for a piece of moldy bread.

"In this bottomless abyss, can they find their own redemption?

"Perhaps, only you can give them the answer."