Ember Wilde gazed at the Blackwater River in front of him and murmured to himself:
"In a gourmet guidebook created by a renowned Italian hunter and celebrated food connoisseur from a previous life, it mentioned that the taste of the bioluminescent dual-headed fish and the six-legged bullfrogs from the undead territory in the otherworldly creatures is quite impressive. I happened to spot these two species in the Blackwater River a few days ago, so I thought it would be a good idea to catch some as a food reserve."
"I've encountered a wild chicken over a meter tall before... it should be the 'killer chicken' mentioned in the gourmet guide. With its claws measuring several tens of centimeters, I can't confront it directly. I need to figure out a way to set up a trap and catch it."
As for what kind of trap can catch a wild chicken over a meter tall, Ember Wilde needed to ponder over it.
Most of the food Ember Wilde consumed came from the series of posts about otherworldly cuisine by that Italian hunter in the forum.
Ember Wilde didn't know the exact identity of the Italian hunter.
But what he wrote about hunting methods and culinary guides seemed genuine.
Because the flavors of the ingredients in this world were truly remarkable!
Simply roasting them was enough; no additional seasoning was necessary. They were already delicious on their own.
"Splash, splash~~~"
Ember Wilde's homemade fishing rod began to shake.
With a strong flick, he effortlessly flung the two-headed fish that had bitten the frog leg onto the shore.
He didn't have to worry about the fish getting off the hook; both heads of the two-headed fish were firmly biting the hook, providing an incredibly secure catch.
"I'll cut off the fish heads to catch the six-legged bullfrog, and I'll continue using the bullfrog legs to catch more fish... a zero-cost entrepreneurship, that's pretty nice!"
After securing the fish, Ember Wilde continued fishing.
After spending the entire morning, the sack he brought with him was almost full.
Ember Wilde felt fortunate that the skeletons didn't require food; otherwise, there wouldn't be as many wild animals left in this area for him to catch.
Apart from the undead creatures, the environment he was in was just an ordinary wilderness, except for occasional appearances of unidentified skeletal remains.
But having seen them so many times, he had become accustomed to them.
It was a test of Ember Wilde's wilderness survival skills.
Of course, it would be even better if the undead creatures didn't come out at night.
Having made a bountiful catch at the fishing spot, Ember Wilde decided to head back.
The afternoon was spent gutting and cleaning the fish.
As daylight passed, Ember Wilde secured the door with a heavy object and curled up in a corner.
At night, the chaotic sounds from outside began once again.
Fortunately, he could immerse himself in the system triggered by his consciousness, no longer enduring it as he had before.
At this moment, he was curious about the status of his online gaming platform.
"I can check the future game platform through the system and even leave messages on the game's official website. That's pretty convenient... But why are there only 1 person in the reservation count?"
Ember Wilde wasn't quite satisfied with this result.
However, as an experienced gamer, he understood why it was the case.
With zero promotion, a game name that seemed stitched together without clear introduction, and being listed last on the new game recommendation board, it was already difficult to have anyone make a reservation.
Although only one player had made a reservation for his game, Ember Wilde believed that a necessary questionnaire survey was still needed.
As a core gamer who had played for many years, Ember Wilde had encountered too many players who enjoyed causing havoc in games!
Their destructive power was like a human-shaped nuclear bomb!
Especially in games with high freedom, where they could harm friendly NPCs. A fixed playstyle had even emerged... if they couldn't solve the quests assigned by NPCs, they would eliminate the NPCs themselves!
They could obtain quest rewards by killing NPCs and looting their bodies!
Ember Wilde didn't want players summoned by himself to attempt killing him to obtain rewards.
He needed to have the ability to protect Earth before the passage between this world and Earth fully opened.
If he were to be backstabbed by a player he had summoned out of the blue, he would even be mocked by the King of the Underworld in the afterlife.
Therefore, even if there was only one player who made a reservation, a necessary questionnaire survey was still required!
Ember Wilde, as an experienced gamer, had filled out numerous questionnaire surveys.
In less than an hour, he had prepared a targeted questionnaire with specific questions and sent it to the player.
The middle-aged man, who was playing Minesweeper, quickly received the survey.
"I'm the only one who reserved the game, and they still want me to fill out a survey? This game company is quite meticulous."
The middle-aged man closed the Minesweeper game and started filling out the survey.
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1. [If an NPC assigns you a task that you temporarily cannot complete, what would you do?]
- Increase levels, skills, and equipment to reach the required proficiency for completing the task.
- Team up with other players to complete the task.
-
Attempt to kill the NPC who assigned the task.
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"A task I can't complete temporarily?"
Upon seeing the first question, the middle-aged man muttered subconsciously, "If I can't complete it, then I can't. I'm not the type of person who must clear the quest log."
After playing games for so many years, he had encountered countless instances where he was stuck on a quest.
If he agonized over every task he couldn't complete, where would be the joy in playing games?
If a task couldn't be completed at the moment, he would simply leave it in the quest log... What's the big deal?
The middle-aged man selected the first option: "Increase levels, skills, and equipment to reach the required proficiency for completing the task."
Then he continued to look at the other questions in the survey.
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2. [If you find an NPC holding equipment or items that you desire, what would you do?]
- Purchase them from the NPC using currency.
- Exchange equipment, items, or other goods with the NPC.
- Kill the NPC and forcibly seize the desired equipment or items from them.
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Without much thought, the middle-aged man directly chose the option: "Purchase them from the NPC using currency." In his mind, as a seasoned core player, buying equipment and items from NPCs using currency was a perfectly normal thing to do.
On this point, his mindset wouldn't cause any problems.
He moved on to the third question.
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3. [When you are teamed up with an NPC and encounter a highly powerful enemy, what would you do?]
- Fight together with the NPC and defeat the enemy.
- Retreat together with the NPC, quickly leaving the battlefield.
- Injure the NPC's thigh. As long as you can run faster than the NPC, the enemy won't catch up to you.
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The middle-aged man: "..."
The middle-aged man fell silent upon seeing this question.
He pondered for a moment and seemed to find a pattern in these three questions!
"This questionnaire survey is trying to determine whether players would act against the NPCs!"
The middle-aged man thought to himself and quickly skimmed through the remaining questions in the survey.
All the questions were related to NPCs, without exception!
Just as he suspected!
"I see! The game company doesn't want to recruit players during the testing phase who enjoy acting like terrorists! Those players who maliciously attack NPCs would greatly affect the effectiveness of the testing!"
The middle-aged man thought to himself and couldn't help but mutter, "If that's the case, why not simply set it so that players can't attack NPCs? Why go through the trouble of conducting this questionnaire survey? Unless... it's for that 100% realism? If the game is truly set to be 100% realistic, players should indeed be able to freely attack NPCs."