Chapter 127 : A Global Sensation! Lord Favorability Is Important!
Chapter 127: A Global Sensation! Lord Favorability Is Important!
Special Task Force Headquarters.
Another thirty hours had passed.
Investigator Wang Yue had no choice but to log off and rest.
Although, at the beginning, he had entered the game with a mission in mind,
at this very moment, he had been completely captivated by this mysterious and strange world.
The Special Task Force had even considered allowing Wang Yue to play the game while being infused with nutrient solution to extend his online time and gain greater advantages, but in practice, the effect would be negligible.
The body inside the game was not a perpetual motion machine either—if one didn’t log off for three to five days, even if the real-world body didn’t collapse, the in-game character would enter a state of extreme fatigue, resulting in a slew of attribute-reducing Buff Enhancements.
After finishing his meal,
Wang Yue immediately began his report.
“I’ve successfully reached Level 7 and mastered the second skill, Shadowstep. I now qualify to enter the Wo Niu Mountain region, and I’m working hard to catch up with the latest storyline and progress.”
Team Leader Zhou and Academician Xia sat across from him.
Three other Special Task Force members were stationed nearby to take notes.
Academician Xia suddenly interrupted and asked, “What does it feel like to master a skill in the game?”
Wang Yue said, “It’s hard to describe accurately. Every time I master a brand new skill, my brain gets flooded with lots of related information. Besides that, my body also builds the corresponding muscle memory, so I can perform it naturally—it really feels like I’ve grasped its principles and can use it proficiently!”
Team Leader Zhou immediately asked, “Can you write out the movements and principles behind those skills and techniques?”
Wang Yue shook his head and said, “No, most of this information and sensation can only be understood intuitively. It’s impossible to describe it using our existing language. And after leaving the game, it’s as if this knowledge has been sealed away.”
Team Leader Zhou frowned deeply.
“According to what you’re saying, the martial arts and magic in this game aren’t as simple as one-click activation like in regular computer games. It seems they genuinely implant the corresponding knowledge and abilities into the player’s mind and body.”
He looked toward the elderly man in the lab coat. “Academician Xia, what do you think?”
Academician Xia said, “If Twisted Three Kingdoms truly is a game, then this kind of method that instantly implants vast amounts of information—and even insights, experience, and muscle memory—is absolutely a technology that could overturn the world… It would mean people would no longer need to spend decades learning. An era where everyone possesses the knowledge of an academician and the skills of a special forces soldier might truly come.”
What kind of world would human society become then?
Team Leader Zhou and the others present couldn’t help but feel a sense of awe.
Human society and technological progress had reached a point where numerous constraints existed.
Among them, perhaps the most critical one was the limitation of learning ability!
Every person had to start from zero, re-learning the accumulated knowledge of their predecessors. But human lifespans were limited. As the pool of knowledge and learning grew, this process became increasingly slow, arduous, and burdensome.
Team Leader Zhou said hesitantly, “What if this isn’t actually a game?”
Academician Xia responded, “Tsk tsk, then that would be even scarier. It would mean there exists a technology not only capable of enabling people to instantly comprehend and absorb knowledge and skills, but possibly also replicating those martial arts and magic from within the game in the real world, in some form.”
Too insane!
Everyone gasped.
Wang Yue went on to briefly summarize his experiences from the past two days.
He concluded, “The latest batch of 450 recruited Players has already descended. It’s been less than ten days since the second test started, yet the number of Players has already multiplied several times. According to the most mainstream theory, the number of Player slots is tied to the territory’s population and land area, so this is probably just the beginning.”
“We’ve already won the Lord War and are currently reclaiming territory and refugees that were under Foreign Tribes’ control. It’s expected that in the next two days, the territory will undergo a large-scale expansion.”
“I believe we should quickly arrange for more official or military personnel to reserve game access.”
“……”
Team Leader Zhou nodded. “We’re already working on that. Your current priority is to level up as quickly as possible!”
Academician Xia added, “I suspect the subtle changes happening to the Player’s body are not only related to their in-game duration, but also very likely tied to their level or attribute growth.”
Wang Yue: “Understood!”
Team Leader Zhou said, “I’ll give you the latest dossier on the newly recruited Players. Not only do you need to make contact with and win over top-tier Players in the game, you also need to swiftly cultivate a group of subordinates from among the new Players—have them work for our Special Task Force without even realizing it.”
Wang Yue asked, “Why not try to directly invite these Players to join the Special Task Force?”
Zhou Team Leader: “No. The secrets of Twisted Three Kingdoms are top-level classified. If not absolutely necessary, the truth must never leak out. Otherwise—leaving aside how much damage it could cause to social stability—do you think the players would still play the game like they do now?”
That was true.
The nature of it would completely change.
It might even anger the creator behind the scenes.
There was no way to evaluate whether excessive interference in the game’s development would lead to unpredictable consequences!
Zhou Team Leader continued, “Since the creator behind the scenes wants to make a game facing the entire globe, then let’s treat it as just that—a game. Moreover, we’ll mobilize all our publicity resources and behind-the-scenes channels to clear away all suspicions for him, make everyone else believe this is just a game. That way we can maintain stability and also facilitate the investigation.”
Perhaps.
One day in the future.
The truth would inevitably come out.
At the very least, this would give Daxia more time to prepare!
The appearance of this mysterious game brought both peril and fortune. It might pose risks, but it would undoubtedly be filled with opportunities as well!
What was troublesome now was that the game had already become a sensation overseas. In the latest batch of players, there were already twenty to thirty foreign players. Thus, the official authorities and relevant departments had to take action as soon as possible.
Not long after.
Zhou Team Leader received a piece of news.
A player using the ID “Arthur King” had posted a large number of review videos and articles about Twisted Three Kingdoms on the most well-known international video platform and personal social accounts. These were now spreading rapidly and causing a sensation.
This Arthur King was a massive online influencer with nearly ten million followers.
Everything he said or did drew significant attention.
Especially given how explosive the content was!
Zhou Team Leader quickly read through Arthur King’s videos and posts personally.
In them, he had compiled some evaluations and comments from the Twisted Three Kingdoms forum. They included a variety of strategy guides released by Black-Eyed Rui Ge, as well as plot theories shared by Chimera Wraith and others. There were also many other players’ contributions and creative works.
“……”
“Dear brothers and sisters!”
“With excitement and joy, I announce to you all:”
“I’ve found a game worth dedicating the rest of my life to!”
“First, thanks to the development team of Twisted Three Kingdoms. I’m truly honored to be one of the Internal Test Players!”
“This game has been in internal testing for some time now. However, since the players were mostly based in Daxia, there hasn’t been much firsthand intel until recently.”
“In fact, this game already exploded in Daxia long ago. Whether it’s the Twisted Three Kingdoms section of the Starsea Forum or Chinese internet communities in general, they’re filled with tons of gameplay shares and creative content.”
“What I’ve reposted and shared is just a small portion.”
“If you’re interested in this historically significant masterpiece, I strongly recommend heading to the forum to gather information and join the discussions. You’ll find that even if you don’t have access to the game yet, there’s still great joy to be had as an offline player!”
“I’ve noticed that many of my friends still doubt the quality of this game.”
“That’s an entirely unnecessary and harmful arrogance!”
“As an Internal Test Player, I swear to God—and I can vouch with my years of credibility—that any praise for this game is not exaggerated. Its realism and engagement go far beyond all the rumors!”
“From now on, I will drop all the other games I’ve been streaming.”
“I’ll devote all my energy to the adventure in Twisted Three Kingdoms.”
“……”
“The past twenty-four hours have been unforgettable!”
“This was my first day as a Calamity Legion soldier!”
“Our batch of newbies was lucky enough to encounter a Large-Scale Quest. Not only did we witness a massive and fantastical battlefield, with visual effects ten times better than Hollywood, but we also raked in a huge amount of experience points during the mission!”
“I’ve already leveled up straight to Level 4, and Level 5 is just around the corner!”
“……”
“I recommend everyone read ‘Records of the Three Kingdoms’, ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, or watch relevant films, animations, and games!”
“The background of Twisted Three Kingdoms is based on the famous Three Kingdoms era of Daxia. It’s a period filled with passion and heroism, where countless legendary figures rose and made history.”
“As for the actual game settings.”
“Daxia’s ‘Chimera Wraith’ and ‘Black-Eyed Rui Ge’ and others have already done detailed research and explanations. You can check out the posts I’ve shared. They’re far more professional than I am, so I won’t go into detail here!”
“……”
“Twisted Three Kingdoms has only been in internal testing for half a month, yet it has already gone through several major story events and battles, each one brimming with discussion points. The world is constantly evolving—no one knows what will happen tomorrow—and that has completely shattered the traditional gaming model.”
“Even though the game progresses rapidly, don’t worry about lack of content!”
“The game is still in its early stage. The number of legendary heroes and great figures from the Three Kingdoms era that have appeared is still small.”
“The roguelike mechanism in Twisted Three Kingdoms allows the devs to turn any period, any location, and any battle from the hundreds of years surrounding the Three Kingdoms into massive, standalone maps.”
“I’d say this—”
“There’s an endless supply of content!”
“The game’s scale will far surpass the sum of all large-scale MMOs of the past!”
“However, dear friends, if you think this game’s potential ends there, you couldn’t be more wrong!”
“Based on what our comrades in Daxia—especially Chimera Wraith and Chenxi—have uncovered, Twisted Three Kingdoms holds an even grander hidden worldview beyond the core Three Kingdoms setting. You can always look forward to this epic masterpiece!”
“……”
“There’s simply too much in Twisted Three Kingdoms!”
“I could talk about it for three days and nights!”
“Once again, I urge everyone to visit the section forum.”
“All the guides and intel you want are basically there!”
“Here, I’ll briefly talk about two newly discovered buildings!”
“These two buildings are called Enlightenment Tower and Stars Teleportation Station!”
“The role of the Enlightenment Tower is to serve as a DIY skills facility. In the future, every player will be able to develop new abilities based on the skills provided in their territory, customizing them with their own creativity and needs. This will greatly enhance gameplay diversity and give every player a chance to become truly unique!”
“With just this one building alone—”
“This alone can bring about an unbelievable and immense boost to gameplay and enjoyment!”
“Of course, what I really want to emphasize is the Stars Teleportation Station!”
“The function of this teleportation station differs from ordinary Blessing Points. If Blessing Points are limited to teleportation within the Abyssal Plane, then the Stars Teleportation Station possesses the ability to send the teleported target beyond their current plane!”
“According to major intel we’ve received!”
“The Lord may return to the City of the Stars in eight days!”
“Not long ago, Lord announced that he could bring along 4 to 6 players at most!”
“What does that mean? It means we will have an opportunity to come into contact with the secrets of the Stars in advance. We players might be able to use this chance to uncover the tip of the iceberg of the hidden worldview!”
“No one can resist this!”
“No one isn’t looking forward to it!”
“However, unfortunately, the Lord hasn’t revealed the selection criteria!”
“Most of us believe the selection is related to the favorability with hidden NPCs. The Lord will most likely choose players he has the highest favorability with to participate in this special event.”
“I will now try my best to increase Lord’s favorability!”
“Hopefully, I can be selected and go along to broaden my horizons!”
“Everyone, wish me luck!”
“……”
Arthur King had shared a massive amount of content, including many reposts, images, and texts. With content this explosive and backed by his fame, it was impossible for it not to draw attention and cause a sensation!
It had already topped YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms.
Users from various countries were flooding the comments.
“Feels like I’m hearing a fairytale!”
“A game like this could only exist in a dream!”
“There’s no way current technology could create something like this!”
“If this game is real, it can only be part of Daxia’s conspiracy, with the purpose of harvesting people’s privacy—maybe even something more sinister. Everyone, don’t sign up!”
“I’m from the Island Nation. I’ve loved Three Kingdoms history since I was young and have long been following this game. Recently, I’ve been addicted to the section forum every day, can’t pull myself away. I hope the game enters open beta soon—these internal test spots are way too hard to get.”
“……”
Some were skeptical.
Some spouted conspiracy theories.
Of course, there were also those who were supportive and hopeful.
Regardless of motivation, with Arthur King’s promotion and more and more photos being revealed, there was no doubt now that this game had gone viral worldwide.
Zhou Team Leader had a major headache.
Because once the game went global, it would be extremely difficult to keep the secrets within it hidden. The relevant departments had to act quickly to patch the unreasonable aspects of the game before certain organizations discovered anything suspicious.
If they could stall, even for a while, it would be worth it.
Anything to buy Daxia more time.
Even if one day it became impossible to keep the secret—
At worst, they would unite with other governments to suppress the truth.
After all, no one wanted society or faith to collapse because of this.
That said, despite Arthur King's overly long and rambling post, it did contain a few genuinely valuable insights that hadn’t been seen before.
For example, the Enlightenment Tower.
And the Stars Teleportation Station.
Especially the appearance of the Stars Teleportation Station.
It had undoubtedly sparked Zhou Team Leader’s deep interest.
If the world of Twisted Three Kingdoms was not merely a game, then could the Land of the Stars, which existed outside of the game’s main stage, possibly conceal the true secrets behind it?
Lord Hang Yu was planning to bring 4 to 6 followers upon returning to the Stars.
Could this be a hint or clue meant for humanity?
Zhou Team Leader had no choice but to take it seriously.
That follower slot had to be obtained. Wasn’t it just about increasing the Lord’s favorability? With Wang Yue backed by national-level resources, what level of favorability couldn’t be achieved?