Chapter 118: Heated Discussions Among Players
After logging off, "Qingbai Wild Sake" immediately opened the Apocalypse Forum and logged into his account under the ID "WildWine09."
The NPC had told him to bring friends along, and of course, he couldn't just grab a few random passersby and call it a day—it had to be other players. From the way the NPC phrased it, the more, the better.
Based on past experience with the game, the more people he brought, the greater the reward was likely to be.
After five episodes of back-to-back cutscenes, Wayne Sturwell's role as the protagonist was no longer a secret—there was no hiding it now. So Qingbai Wild Sake decided that, while continuing his own gameplay, he'd recruit as many people as possible to join him, aiming to please the NPC.
After all, wealth favors the bold.
A regular on the forum, Qingbai Wild Sake noticed that ever since the open beta launched, the number of posts had skyrocketed. Some of the hottest threads even had over ten thousand replies.
Currently, the most popular thread was a "eunuch post." The original poster was born in the Byron Republic, a nation modeled after ancient Byzantium that still practiced a eunuch system in the royal court. Unfortunately, the OP had transmigrated into a local native who was just about to be castrated. No updates in hours—it was safe to assume the deed had already been done.
"…"
The attached images showed razors, cords, and hot oil. Just looking at them made Qingbai Wild Sake shiver between the legs, grateful he hadn't ended up in that situation.
After a brief moment of thought, Qingbai Wild Sake made a post of his own.
The title was shocking, but the content was still being written:
"I Got a Hidden Quest on Day One of the Beta"
It was already close to midnight. After posting, Qingbai Wild Sake ordered some takeout. By the time he got back, the thread had already exploded with replies.
"Where's the quest info?"
"Hurry up and tell us!"
"Three minutes in and still nothing. Clickbait. I'm out."
"Wait, this ID… isn't this the guy who did that solo series? Qingbai Wild Sake?"
…
"That's right, the one and only."
Now that his ID had finally been recognized, Qingbai Wild Sake felt a rush of satisfaction and started typing in earnest.
"Here's the deal: After logging into Apocalypse, I chose a random starting point. Not sure if that was lucky or not, but I ended up in Darkland City of the Bryston Kingdom."
"Classic humblebrag. Confirmed."
"Delete your character, bro. You belong in the Byron Republic."
The replies came pouring in, but Qingbai Wild Sake, a seasoned forum veteran, ignored the noise and continued typing:
"So, for those of you who haven't started the game yet, I highly recommend choosing the random start. Think of all those transmigration novels—we all know the drill. Random start is basically soul-hopping into a new life. Every player begins as an orphan, your classic protagonist setup—perfect for early-game development."
"Of course, some unlucky folks might lose their family jewels, but according to the official site, eunuchs in the Byron Republic are equivalent to civil servants. Their starting point isn't worse than anyone else's. Most players, like me, will spawn in a capital city, giving you a solid starting template and a ticket straight to the top."
"Top of what? Bro, I hope you lose your family jewels too. Just tell us about the hidden quest!"
"+1. Stop rambling!"
"Alright, alright, I'm typing." Qingbai Wild Sake continued: "My spawn point was in the western district of Darkland City. I ran into a few other players along the way, and while passing near Vick University, I just happened to run into the main character—Wayne Sturwell."
To prove he wasn't bluffing, Qingbai Wild Sake promptly uploaded an in-game screenshot.
"Updated — [Image]"
"Holy crap, you actually ran into the protagonist?"
"No wonder you got a hidden quest. I'm jealous."
"That's insane RNG!"
Seeing the post's popularity soar, Qingbai Wild Sake got even more hyped and continued:
"Back to the point—after talking with Wayne Sturwell, I received a quest from him. He said he needed help with something and told me to bring people back to see him in two days."
"As you all know, from the five promotional episodes, Wayne Sturwell was always front and center. He may look like a student, but he's crazy powerful. We still don't know which faction is backing him, but one thing's for sure—he's loaded with main story content and quests."
"So here's my theory: this quest is probably the beginning of a major main storyline. There's no way I can complete it alone. That's why I've made a tough decision—to share this opportunity with all players in or near Darkland City. If you're interested, DM me in-game. My ID is 'Qingbai Wild Sake.' I also stream. My channel number is XXX."
"Also, I'm buying in-game currency in bulk in the Darkland region. Unlimited buying at 1:25."
The moment the full post went up, it blew up across the forum. Now, not only casual players but also major guilds and professional clubs were paying close attention to the thread.
"Bro, you're a saint. I spawned near Darkland too. Count me in!"
"So jealous—I'm in another country. No way I can get there."
"Anyone near Darkland is a European sleeper agent, I swear."
It wasn't long before Qingbai Wild Sake began receiving loads of DMs, and the follower count on his stream skyrocketed.
XB was one of the people who messaged him. He was feeling a bit bitter—after logging in, he'd focused on grinding quests and saving up money rather than heading to Vick University. As a result, he had perfectly missed the entire encounter.
He was blue. Deeply blue. I was here first, damn it…
Zhou Ning also saw the thread. Everything was going exactly according to his plan.
What he hadn't expected, however, was how slick Qingbai Wild Sake would be—actually trying to rally the entire Darkland player base, effectively earning a favor from each of them.
This guy was operating on a completely different level from the naive XB.
Qingbai Wild Sake was proving himself to be a great asset. Naturally, Zhou Ning wasn't about to let him down—he was preparing to offer the players some small rewards.
As a player himself, Zhou Ning understood the nature of this crowd. Never overestimate a player's morals. Even if they think they're the protagonist, without enough incentives, they'll join the enemy camp in a heartbeat.
And when that happens, he's the one in danger.
To prepare for that, Zhou Ning had struck a deal with Sherlock, using reputation points to trade with the Sunwatchers for a batch of decommissioned firearms. It was an incredible bargain.
…
The next morning—Saturday.
John had gone out early. He said he was heading to the Darkland Patent Office to file a patent for the Yu-Gi-Oh-style cards. If all went well, he'd open a card shop near Vick University by the end of the month.
Zhou Ning was quite looking forward to that.
Next, as usual, he spent some time reading in the library before heading to the alchemy shop to instruct Jinse to spend four hours brewing basic healing potions.
By the time evening came, he'd sent Jinse off, finished his last sip of coffee, donned his half-height silk top hat, stepped out of the university gates, and caught a public carriage to the Old District.
At 8 PM, the latest Supernatural Gathering would begin in the underground market. It would be the first one since the players' arrival—likely filled with treasures.
Also, Zhou Ning's wallet was running dangerously low.
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