The Crimson Courtyard is a massive inverted pyramid-shaped structure entirely blood-red in color; it is the center of the Abyssal Game, the bridge connecting various dungeon planes.
The Crimson Courtyard is divided into four areas, corresponding to four different layers of the Abyss, all new players begin exploring the Abyss from the first layer, the Desolate Realm.
The area corresponding to the Desolate Realm is known as Mist Plaza.
Wu Chang stood on a dilapidated plaza, and information about the Crimson Courtyard automatically surfaced in his mind.
Around him was mist that seemed to appear and disappear. Above his head, the sky was shrouded in gray-black clouds, making this place look unwelcoming.
"Congratulations to Player number 4444444 for entering the Crimson Courtyard, becoming an official player. All your player permissions are unlocked, and you may start exploring the Crimson Courtyard."
Along with the electronic sound resonating in his ears, several familiar icons like "Friends," "Mall," "Forum," "Commission," "Map" appeared on his Attribute Panel.
Ding!
Meanwhile, a new unread message appeared in his information bar, from "Xia Country Anomaly Management Bureau."
The mode of information was automatic distribution, and the content was a document named "Abyssal Game Beginner's Guide."
He disregarded his surroundings and immediately started reading the document.
The Beginner's Guide was full of essential information, using the most direct method to educate newcomers about the Abyssal Game.
The Abyssal Game is divided into four layers, the first layer is the Desolate Realm, where players from levels 1-30 would engage.
Every official player must enter a dungeon at least once a month, and without using special Items, the fastest frequency can enter a dungeon once every half month, with dungeon matches being entirely random.
Real-life physical improvements will synchronize on the Attribute Panel; new players can enhance their Attribute Points by exercising their physique in reality.
Dungeons are mainly divided into Ordinary Dungeons and True Dungeons.
Ordinary Dungeons are projections created by the Crimson Courtyard, which can be repeatedly conquered by different players to gather intelligence.
All repeatable Ordinary Dungeons will have a corresponding unique True Dungeon.
True Dungeons are real planes; every player entering them will cause irreversible impacts on the True Dungeon.
If players fail to clear a dungeon, it will cause pollution to the True Dungeon. If the pollution index exceeds the safety value, it leads to dungeon failure, allowing the dungeon to connect with Blue Star's real world.
If players discover any heavily polluted dungeon, they should immediately inform the Anomaly Management Bureau to receive the corresponding reward.
Wu Chang raised his eyebrows, if he recalls correctly, the Moonlight Sanatorium's Status is on the verge of failure.
This means that the Moonlight Sanatorium is a so-called True Dungeon.
If he fails to clear it, receiving a poor clearance rating, it seems some place is going to face disaster.
Besides the dungeon introduction, the Beginner's Guide briefly explains the functions of the Crimson Courtyard and the Attribute Panel.
The information recorded inside is very basic, so basic that if it were an ordinary video game, players would skip it with their eyes closed.
Yet, ironically, this very basic information is precisely what Wu Chang needs the most right now.
After closing the "Abyssal Game Beginner's Guide," he followed the instructions inside and silently thought about proceeding to the Public Zone.
As soon as his thought appeared, the mist split open to reveal a path in front of him.
Following the path, a gate appeared in sight.
Crossing the gate, a line of prompts flashed in front of him.
"Currently entering the Public Zone."
The Public Zone was entirely different from the previously dilapidated plaza; the stone floor gaps no longer had weeds growing in them, the eerie thin mist was gone, and even the overcast sky turned into clear skies.
On the plaza paved with white stones, countless players mingled and walked around.
"Take a look, take a peek, freshly baked F-Level Adventurer's Chest Armor, fifty Rotten Silver Coins each, first come, first served!"
"F-Level Life Recovery Potion, twenty Rotten Silver Coins per bottle, buy three and get ten percent off, buy five and get twenty percent off, the more you buy the better the price!"
"D-Level popular dungeon 'Desperate Rainforest' safe point intel is on fire auction, only three hours left till auction ends, current bidding: 850 Rotten Silver Coins!"
The Public Zone was like a huge marketplace, players loudly hawking their wares.
Players dressed in various styles, Knights wearing medieval Plate Armor walked side by side with Future Warriors in high-tech combat suits; a Superhero draped in cape and tights squatted in front of a Jianghu Hero's stall, fervently arguing to buy a Magic Wand.
The entire plaza has a kind of chaotic artistic beauty.
In the plaza's very center, a clock tower stood; the original dial position was replaced by a screen displaying a time.
100 days 5 hours 34 minutes 52 seconds.
Time was counting down, it was apparent to be a countdown.
The last time Wu Chang watched a countdown was during the college entrance examination; he could not fathom what the countdown in the Abyssal Game was for.
Below the clock tower area, was the most core Leaderboards Zone of the Public Zone.
Arranged like a music app within the area, were lists of Desolate Realm's top 10 popular dungeons, Dungeon Potential Surge Rankings, The Strongest Player Leaderboards, Most Valuable Bounties, etc.
The Beginner's Guide mentioned that both newcomers and veterans could collect intelligence from the leaderboards to understand the overall trend of the Abyssal Game.
The leaderboard most worthy of attention was undoubtedly the Most Valuable Bounty leaderboard.
For most players, other leaderboards are too distant, but the contents on the bounty board may just have a chance to try their luck.
Currently maintaining the first place on the Most Valuable Bounty List was an intel bounty for a dungeon.
"Acquiring any intel regarding A-Level dungeon 'Hymn Company' or 'Desolate—51642' plane; remunerations shall be given based on intel importance, regarding three core confidential information of 'Hymn Company,' each valued at 80,000 Rotten Silver Coins, contact person: Iron Armor Corps."
The bounty issuer did not forget to leave a threatening line:
"This dungeon involves reincarnation Items, Iron Armor Corps will voluntarily withdraw from other dungeon competitions within three months in exchange for priority clearance rights to this dungeon. Within three months, if any other organizations clear this dungeon, it will be viewed as declaring war with Iron Armor Corps."
Wu Chang clicked his tongue, inwardly noting it was a quite domineering statement.
The Iron Armor Corps' attitude was annoying, but their offered price was indeed high.
One should know he perfectly cleared a B-Level dungeon, and with a 300% reward settlement, he only earned 15,000 Rotten Silver Coins.
A piece of intel about Hymn Company was valued at 80,000 Rotten Silver Coins!
According to the exchange rate he just learned, 1 Rotten Silver Coin is approximately equivalent to 1,000 yuan in reality, translating to a piece of intel being worth 80 million!
He spat on the ground, "Tui! He hates pay-to-win players the most."
As he prepared to continue looking down the leaderboards, the Most Valuable Bounty List suddenly scrolled, pushing the Iron Armor Corps' bounty to second place.
The first place bounty was changed to a missing person notice.
"Seeking yesterday's B-Level runaway dungeon 'Moonlight Sanatorium' clearance player, this player is a novice, expected to login into Mist Plaza soon, requesting all players to pay attention. Currently acquiring any intel of this player: ten thousand Rotten Silver Coins for the player's whereabouts and characteristics! Twenty thousand Rotten Silver Coins for the player's ID! Thirty thousand Rotten Silver Coins for completion of connection! Fifty thousand Rotten Silver Coins for real-life intel about this player!"
"If the player is willing to join us, they may directly obtain one million Rotten Silver Coins, other benefits are negotiable, contact person: Mr. Johnson."
Upon releasing this bounty, the entire leaderboard zone instantly fell silent, all players held their breath, carefully scrutinizing the intel disclosed by this bounty.
Before everyone could snap out of it, the leaderboard scrolled again, pushing Iron Armor Corps' bounty to third place.
The new bounty's content was similar, Rotten Silver Coin rewards slightly lower than the previous one, but in completing connection and providing real-life intel categories, it added one A-Level Item suitable for the informant.
Following shortly, the third bounty fragment was published, again squeezing Iron Armor Corps further back to the next position.
It was as if all major organizations had agreed to offer successive bounties on the "Moonlight Sanatorium" clearance player; within five minutes, Iron Armor Corps had dropped out of the value leaderboard's top ten.
With all major forces bidding one after another, the mysterious new player with only a code name, whether male or female yet unknown, dropped straight into the Most Popular Player Leaderboard, aggressively occupying the first place.
The highest bounty price upon the "Moonlight Sanatorium" clearance player had become two million Rotten Silver Coins joining fee.
Two million Rotten Silver Coins, that's equivalent to two billion!
Wu Chang walked up to a window, pointed at himself in the glass, "Look at you kid, unexpectedly so valuable."
Right now, he could be said to be worth over a billion, the only question left is, which family should he approach to cash out this billion asset.