Chapter 28: Lunar Phase Shift | Monsters Are Coming
"Anyone near Blood-Soaked Plains, please help! This level 14 Rageclaw only has a sliver of HP left. My entire team's dead except me, I can't hold on much longer, requesting backup (attached: coordinates)."
"Looking for players near Ancient Battlefield to finish off monsters for me, I'll handle the last hit for full rewards. Cash compensation provided (payment based on monster level). Preferably nearby, don't DM if you're too far (attached: coordinates)."
"Dinner Gang recruiting strong players! Requirements: level 8+, preferably with real-life combat or martial arts experience. DM for benefits."
"Can we stop spamming recruitment for a second? I just want to ask, are the idiots running around stealing last-hits in Ancient Battlefield brain-dead? Can't they join a team and grind like normal people? Absolute trash…"
"Hahaha! I'm dying. Just now, a team got wiped fighting a level 13 Cursed Eye. I found the low-HP monster, finished it off, and got free evolution points and sacrificial power. Thanks for the hard work, boys. Much love."
—
At the Primordial Altar, Qi Sheng sat cross-legged.
His consciousness sifted through countless player reports from their exploration of Monster World, gathering feedback for the next update.
With the influx of new players, his daily sacrificial power income had soared dramatically.
According to the Guide's stats, each player was now contributing an average of 3 sacrificial power per day, and steadily increasing as players leveled up.
The once-deserted regional voice channel had become lively and bustling.
Every moment, players were discussing game content or recruiting teammates for their adventures in Monster World.
Besides the surge in sacrificial power, the growing playerbase also brought new breakthroughs in Primordial containment.
Just half an hour ago, a 17-player squad discovered a First-Generation Primordial Monster, Duskhaze, in the Ancient Battlefield.
This monster resembled a mass of black mist, able to switch between solid and mist forms. In mist form, only elemental attacks could damage it.
Its hunt level was 8.
The squad engaged it aggressively and, after half an hour of hard-fought battle, successfully killed and contained it, adding it to the 10th slot of the Primordial Containment Wall.
When the successful containment message appeared in the regional chat, it drew huge attention.
For many new players, this was their first time seeing a containment system notification.
After quickly reviewing the various player reports, Qi Sheng opened his eyes.
The flood of information in his mind abruptly stopped.
From these past two days of observation, he had compiled a detailed summary of player feedback.
Two key issues stood out that needed improvement.
The first issue was related to chat channels.
Originally, he had designed the game's chat system with three channels:
Team chat: private to each party.
Regional chat: covering large zones like the Emperor's Mound Mountain Range.
World chat: open to all players across Monster World.
However, with ten thousand new players, the regional chat had become so flooded with all kinds of messages that players' requests for help were getting buried almost instantly.
For example, players in Blood-Soaked Plains requesting nearby assistance were drowned out by constant recruitment spam from players in Ancient Battlefield, forcing players to spam their own messages for visibility.
Qi Sheng decided the next update would refine the chat system by adding local area channels, categorized directly by zone names.
For example, if a player was in Ancient Battlefield, the local chat would display as Ancient Battlefield Chat. If in Emperor's Mound Village, it would be Emperor's Mound Village Chat, and so on.
This more granular system would significantly improve communication efficiency for players.
The second issue involved monster hunting rewards.
Originally, monster kill rewards were split into two systems. The player who landed the final blow received full hunt rewards. For Primordial Monsters, rewards were shared among all participants.
However, this last-hit system had unintentionally fostered a toxic 'kill stealer' culture.
These 'kill stealers' roamed around, avoiding fights but hunting for weakened monsters to swoop in and claim the last hit.
While Qi Sheng believed competition was healthy, conflict and rivalry fueled players' desire for strength, malicious competition undermined the player experience.
To eliminate this problem and improve leveling satisfaction, he decided to change the system.
The player or party that dealt the most total damage would receive full hunt rewards.
If a solo player dealt the highest damage, they would receive all rewards.
These two major changes were slated for the next game update.
As Qi Sheng pondered any remaining issues for the patch, a spatial vortex suddenly appeared before him. The Guide's water sphere emerged from the vortex, hovering in front of him.
[Boss, there's a situation with the Evil Moon's Lunar phase.]
Qi Sheng immediately switched his view to his Guide clone stationed outside Emperor's Mound Village.
Looking up at the sky, he saw the crimson crescent moon shrouded in thick mist, growing blurry and unstable. Its surface rippled like water, as if undergoing some unknown transformation.
Gradually, the dark red matter composing the crescent moon began slowly shifting downward.
Suddenly, the Evil Moon erupted with a blinding blood-red light.
In an instant, the Black Tide energy blanketing Emperor's Mound Mountain Range fluctuated violently. The ground trembled beneath it.
Players exploring outside all looked up at the sky in confusion, unsure of what was happening.
Then they noticed the world around them beginning to distort, as if a stone had been thrown into a still lake, sending ripples across the environment, everything in sight warped and twisted.
Seeing this, Qi Sheng instantly realized that the Emperor's Mound region was entering a Waning Moon phase.
He immediately issued a game-wide system announcement to all players.