prynovel Chapter 41 The Cloud Wisdom of Cloud Players
Chapter 41 The Cloud Wisdom of Cloud Players
The real world.
The light from the VR glasses screen shone on Ah-en's bloodshot eyes. He stared at the red text in the center: "[Resurrection Cooldown Countdown: 47 hours 28 minutes 08 seconds]", and scratched his head in frustration.
I acted impulsively.
While it's certainly thrilling to help refugees perish alongside the mutated toxin, the game's 10% pain feedback left him feeling uneasy even after logging off.
What's worse is the two-day forced cooldown period; you've just been resurrected and have to wait for the cooldown again.
Fortunately, we now have forums, which are much better than chat groups. As long as a post is popular, it will stay on the homepage.
Unlike chat groups, where messages get buried under 99+ comments when there are too many people, making it difficult to show off even if you want to.
The only drawback is that this game, which emphasizes absolute immersion and realism, doesn't even have a built-in screenshot button or recording function.
To prove to the casual gamers on the forum that he wasn't exaggerating, Roasted Whole Lamb could only rely on his memory to run a few diagrams using AI drawing software.
He logged onto the game's official forum and posted a new thread: "Just perished together with the deadly toxin, saving countless NPCs from dire straits. Game experience at its peak! (Concept art attached!)"
The post included AI-generated images of acidic fog in the shipwreck area, greenish pool water, and the back view of leader Lynn in his black trench coat. Roasted Whole Lamb emphasized at the end: "The holographic images are ten times more realistic than the AI images, but the resurrection cooldown is really deadly. Brothers who come later, please don't give away your lives carelessly."
The post finally stirred up a few people in the otherwise quiet late-night forum.
What's going on? Don't these armchair gamers ever sleep? They're still posting on the forum at this hour.
The believers were immediately excited and wailed, begging the official team to release slots for the second closed beta test.
"Hey game planners, when will this new expansion end? Can't you release a few slots early?"
"I know first aid; letting me in will save a lot of NPCs from dying."
Those who expose counterfeits then resort to mockery.
"Your screenshot is so fake, there's even an extra finger. AI is AI, don't insist this is game footage. If this is a real holographic game, I'll do a handstand and have diarrhea on live stream."
"Are you fucking blind? They already said there are no screenshots or recordings in the game. This is just AI-generated content for idiots like you to see. If you don't like it, get lost!"
"You fucking blew it up?"
"You're the one who's fucking blown up, your mother's dead."
A cloud gamer with the ID "Birds Singing and Flowers Blooming" suddenly went berserk for some reason, spewing profanities on the forum and arguing with the anti-fake forum members.
Just as the two groups were getting into a heated argument, a new post, highlighted in bold and red, suddenly appeared on the homepage.
The poster is Little Snail, a veteran player from the first closed beta test and the group owner of the chat group.
The little snail had just found a safe spot to log off. In reality, he took off his glasses, got up, went to the kitchen to make something to eat, and then typed rapidly on the keyboard with one hand:
"Shut up, you anti-fake news! Frontline report: Regional Defense expansion launched! Blood Axe Mercenary Group about to attack the city!"
"Breaking news! Something terrible has happened at the front! According to NPC intelligence, Bolton has hired a large sum of money to form an external mercenary force. They're heavily armored infantry, fully plate-armored, and equipped with muskets. I'd guess they're around second-tier, while we're all newbies. We're hopeless, and they're estimated to arrive in two days."
The little snail spoke earnestly: "I'm a prospective warrior who hasn't been promoted yet. The bucket carrier and the goose are in civil engineering and chemical engineering, and Xiaoyu, that idiot, isn't even as good as his dog. We're really out of options."
The heavy armored enforcement team used the trap-laying tactic when fighting Bolton before, so the enemy is definitely not stupid this time and won't obediently walk into the shipwreck area and jump into the pit.
Are there any ways to set up traps against heavily armored targets on outdoor maps like the outskirts of Pearl Harbor? I need help urgently! If the Pearl Harbor defenses collapse, we'll have to switch maps and wander around right at the start of the game!
…………
The underground command post at Pearl Harbor.
Lynn sat on the worn-out sofa, his gaze fixed on the system's backend interface. As the forum's sole administrator, he was quietly observing the screen.
Less than ten minutes after Little Snail posted his help request, the cloud gamers who were originally arguing instantly united, bringing out countless lurking strategic veterans.
The player community is full of people who are obsessed with building infrastructure and suffer from severe fear of insufficient firepower. When dealing with high-level monsters, these people's thought processes often break through the ceiling of human imagination and the bottom line of human morality.
"A direct confrontation would be absolutely brain-dead." A player with the ID "Jinling Xiaodaibi" quickly replied: "Since the enemy won't obediently jump into the pit, then force them to! What's the essence of tower defense games? It's the funnel theory! Restrict mobility, force repositioning! Send some people to lure them in, then unleash some serious attacks on the main road, forcing them to scatter and head towards the kill zone you've set up!"
Someone immediately commented below, "Aren't you guys by the sea? You have mudflats, right? Hollow out the flat land outside Pearl Harbor, fill it with mud and quicklime, and use it as camouflage! Once heavily armored infantry get stuck, their sweat mixed with the mud will activate the quicklime, making it a ready-made sizzling hotpot! Even a god would have to take off his armor!"
"Make it even more extreme!" Da Niu typed excitedly, "Find an alleyway and ambush them. When they can't stand the heat and rush in, spray them with liquid nitrogen or some extreme cold stuff from the game! The high-temperature metal will instantly encounter extreme cold, causing it to become brittle due to thermal expansion and contraction. The joints of their armor will jam on the spot. You won't even need to use your knives; just grab a screwdriver and remove the armor without any damage!"
Lynn's eyes gradually lit up as she looked at these comments that had no moral bottom line but were perfectly logical.
The tactical skills of these armchair gamers are so despicable that it's reassuring.
Without hesitation, he used his administrator privileges to highlight the replies that mentioned "quicklime trap" and "tower defense funnel," and also gave their IDs 100 credit points.
With the tactical theory in place, the next step is to plan on the ground, and then find some cannon fodder to fill the trenches and people to implement these unethical tactics.
Lynn cleared his throat and, in the cold, official tone of a forum administrator, posted a pinned announcement at the top of the forum:
Version 03 Update: Pearl Harbor Defense Battle and Recruitment of 20 Advance Team Players!
"Pearl Harbor is facing an unprecedented threat. In order to protect the flame of the faction, Lord Lynn has lifted energy restrictions and urgently launched the recruitment of the vanguard defense force."
Note: Logging into the game this time will unlock the [Bloody Pearl Harbor Dungeon]. You will face a torrent of steel, with an extremely high mortality rate. If you cannot accept the 48-hour resurrection penalty, please do not submit your pre-registration questionnaire.
This campaign will fully introduce a dynamic terrain destruction system, ensuring that the destruction of every inch of the defensive line is irreversible. Those who perform exceptionally well will be awarded the exclusive title of "Guardian of Pearl Harbor."
This is not just a contest of data, but a battle of wills. Remember, you are the embers of civilization, the unspeakable fourth catastrophe. Registration is open for a limited time; only 20 spots remain. Only the most hardcore souls will be selected.