After asking a few more questions, Du Gang finally nodded. "I'll report this immediately, but I can't guarantee anything. Evacuating those areas should be manageable, but giving *Dark Sands* an official endorsement will require a lot of red tape. It's unlikely to happen in the short term, at least not until we actually see demons appear in reality."
Meng Yuan nodded. "I understand. That's fine. It would be ideal to have your cooperation, but even without it, I have my own ways to deal with the demon threat. I'll wait for your good news."
Watching this so-called "Beichen," the head of game operations, vanish before him, Du Gang let out a deep sigh, his emotions complex. The explanation *Dark Sands*' official gave was far beyond what he had imagined. But in any case, this could potentially threaten civilian safety, so it was better to be cautious. He immediately exited the game and submitted an urgent report on the matter.
With less than two days left before the demons appeared in the real world, there was no time to waste. Preparations, including clearing the areas, evacuating residents, and organizing personnel, had to be completed swiftly.
…
After meeting with Du Gang, Meng Yuan returned to the Orderly Space. In truth, only the space occupied by him and Canshang was the real Orderly Space. The celestial palaces floating in the air, shrouded in mist, seen by players, were merely its mirrored projection.
Canshang was happily munching on crispy pork belly, her chubby cheeks making crunching noises as she ate. Noticing Meng Yuan's return, she paused her meal.
"So, this is the guy you said would help us keep this secret and play along with our lie? This was your plan from the beginning?"
Meng Yuan nodded. "Yes. *Dark Sands* has too many scientifically inexplicable elements. It's only a matter of time before suspicions arise. Trying to cover one lie with another will only make things harder in the long run. It's better to reveal part of the truth to a select few and have them help us maintain the secret."
Canshang looked at the players' current status. "Yes, this plan seems to be going smoothly so far. As you predicted, these players are progressing quickly. Since the trial videos were released, the number of players completing them has noticeably increased. Right now, nearly two hundred players have passed the trials and earned their roles."
She added, "Also, the number of players just one step away from success is growing fast. At this rate, by the time the demons invade, there should be around three hundred players with roles and combat abilities. Among the four roles, the warrior has the largest share, accounting for about 40%; assassins and scholars each make up over 20%, while the ranger has the fewest players."
Meng Yuan nodded, unsurprised. "Yes, that's in line with my estimates. Warriors had the first video guide available, so it makes sense that they have the most completions. Scholars and assassins, with their respective mental and acting challenges, become manageable once players have a guide and can try multiple times. Rangers require raw skill, which is tougher, but they don't need much preparation. Experienced action VR players have a good chance of clearing it with enough attempts."
He continued, "The current sample size is still small. As the player base grows, these proportions will likely shift. But for now, as long as these players can replicate the skills they demonstrated in the trials, handling the demons shouldn't be a problem."
Canshang asked, "So, what's next for us? Do we just wait for the day after tomorrow?"
Meng Yuan shook his head. "We have work to do. We need to announce a new offline MR gaming experience on the official website and draw players to the locations where demons will appear. It'd be embarrassing if we cleared and secured the areas only to have no players show up."
…
At 6:00 a.m., Zhao Haiping logged out of the game and woke up in reality. Last night had been highly productive for him. After obtaining the "Fearless Charge" unique talent, he'd gone through both the assassin and ranger trials, clearing them both.
It turned out that, with a guide, the trials were much easier. Plus, unique talents carried over to other trials. In the assassin trial, Zhao Haiping had been surrounded by the red-armored guards at the end, on the brink of failure, but with "Fearless Charge," he managed to fight his way through and kill the tyrant Yán Líng Dì. Similarly, in the ranger trial, he managed to take down Xue Tianba despite being mobbed by his lackeys.
Zhao couldn't help but wonder how powerful he'd be if he could stack three talents and use all four roles' unique abilities—*Fearless Charge, Righteous Fury, Noble Demeanor,* and *Swift Escape*…
Just thinking about it made him feel invincible! With all four talents, he'd be able to breeze through these trials effortlessly, which would make the game's "simple" difficulty finally live up to its name.
But that was just wishful thinking. Current game mechanics only allowed players to have one role. Zhao Haiping could use his warrior identity in other trials, but he couldn't obtain additional roles.
After clearing the assassin and ranger trials, Zhao wasn't too concerned about them. Clearly, neither role suited him; he'd stick with the warrior role. Tomorrow, he planned to try speed-running the warrior trial, optimizing his performance now that he'd figured out the kinks.
Since *Dark Sands*' developers hadn't released new content, there wasn't much else to do besides repeatedly playing the four trials.
Out of habit, he refreshed the *Dark Sands* official website, but this time, it didn't load the familiar trailer. Instead, a new section popped up.
Bold letters read: "*Dark Sands*: A New Mode Unlocked!"
The screen was dominated by a massive promotional poster. The background showed a real-world plaza, but instead of the usual elderly dancers or kids rollerblading, a sinister-looking Dongyi army occupied the space!
At the center was a Dongyi general mounted on horseback, clad in unique armor different from traditional ancient Chinese designs, with overlapping armor plates and bamboo embellishments painted with red lacquer. He held a cross-spear, his red mask resembling a ghost.
Surrounding him were several Dongyi soldiers in cheaper-looking leather and bamboo armor. To the edge of the poster stood a menacing Dongyi shadow warrior, cloaked in black, exuding an aura of extreme danger.
On the other side of the poster, a group of young people dressed in modern attire were walking toward them with determined expressions.