Chapter 213 : The Special Investigation Bureau’s Arrangements and Lone Boat’s New Weapon!
Chapter 213: The Special Investigation Bureau’s Arrangements and Lone Boat’s New Weapon!
The Special Investigation Bureau.
“Director Zhou, according to the latest information, most of the invited players have confirmed their attendance, including the core members of the three major legions: War God Hall, Wings of Freedom, and Divine Feather Palace.”
Feng Ying came before Zhou Zhengming and reported, “Academician Xia’s team arrived in the Magic Capital ahead of schedule and has already completed all relevant preparations.”
Zhou Zhengming nodded slightly.
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
This offline event had two primary objectives.
First, under the official banner, they would gather players in the real world, examine veteran players' physical conditions, collect important data, and better study and understand the effects the game was having on the human body.
Second, they would continue pretending to be the development team in public, releasing more smokescreens to buy time while also using the opportunity to build good relationships with these veteran players and conduct some united-front work.
Besides that, the Special Investigation Bureau also wanted to use this event to test the attitude of the true creators behind *This Twisted Three Kingdoms Game Is Brutally*.
If the other party showed little reaction to this offline gathering, it would indicate that the people behind the game did not particularly care about the real world.
Or rather, they did not care about the small actions and schemes of humanity on Earth.
In that case, as long as the game continued operating and developing, they likely would not take any initiative to alter the current situation.
Zhou Zhengming instructed, “The latest recruitment wave for *This Twisted Three Kingdoms Game Is Brutally* has already begun. This time there are as many as 11,500 slots available. Our Special Investigation Bureau must seize this opportunity to recruit more talent!”
“Yes, sir!”
“How is the progress of the New Wan City Special Research Team?”
Feng Ying immediately produced a thick stack of documents.
After briefly reviewing them, Zhou Zhengming appeared quite satisfied.
These contained the preliminary intelligence collected by Undying Dragon Soul and other players regarding New Wan City, including information on population, factions, military forces, history, geography, economics, culture, customs, and skills.
Every time the territory expanded into a new region, countless opportunities emerged.
And these opportunities were hidden within such information.
The Special Investigation Bureau had established a dedicated research group specifically to analyze them.
“New Wan has a large population and tremendous development potential. In the future, it will likely become one of the territory’s most important cities. Right now, however, every industry is still in its infancy, making it highly valuable for investment.”
Feng Ying paused before continuing.
“Furthermore, judging from current signs, the Lord will likely push for faction restructuring and military reorganization in New Wan next. During this process, a large number of elites and talented individuals will flow into the territory and become part of the territorial armies.”
“The influence of the major Wan City families will inevitably decline with the arrival of the Lord Era. They will certainly seek alternative paths forward, and joining player legions would be an excellent option.”
“We can use this opportunity to recruit talent.”
Regardless of the era.
Regardless of the location.
Talent was always the most valuable resource.
New Wan’s population approached four hundred thousand.
There would certainly be individuals with extraordinary aptitude among them.
Such people cultivated faster and possessed superior growth potential.
If discovered and properly nurtured, they could play critical roles for both the territory and player legions in the future.
Of course, talent did not necessarily mean combat ability.
Some excelled at management.
Some specialized in strategy.
Others were skilled merchants.
Some were experts in production.
As long as they could contribute to team development, they were worth discovering and cultivating.
Zhou Zhengming nodded.
“Not just the major families. As far as I know, New Wan also has organizations such as the Extreme Yin Sect. The Extreme Yin Sect alone possesses no fewer than a hundred Tier-Three elites. Their Extreme Yin secret arts are extremely valuable, and they also have important figures like Jia Xu behind them.”
Feng Ying said, “I think we should try recruiting one or two Extreme Yin Sect elders into Undying Dragon Soul, or arrange for some of our Special Investigation Bureau players to join the Extreme Yin Sect.”
Regardless of the method—
Speed was paramount.
The Special Investigation Bureau’s in-game faction, Undying Dragon Soul, was developing rapidly under Wang Yue’s leadership.
Wang Yue had already become a first-tier player.
This gave the official faction considerable room to operate within the game.
Zhou Zhengming asked again,
“How is overseas public opinion developing?”
Feng Ying answered,
“The popularity of *This Twisted Three Kingdoms Game Is Brutally* overseas continues to grow rapidly. It has likely already attracted the attention of government agencies in White Eagle, Sakura, Heavenly India, and the Europa Alliance. There are even signs that the Ragnarok Legion founded by King Arthur is backed by international financial conglomerates.”
The speed at which the game had exploded in popularity was astonishing.
It was no longer merely popular domestically.
It was rapidly sweeping across the world.
During this period, overseas translations of *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* and *Records of the Three Kingdoms* had sold out repeatedly.
Television dramas and movies based on the Three Kingdoms had quietly climbed the popularity rankings in numerous countries.
From the perspective of cultural export,
this was undoubtedly an unprecedented success.
*This Twisted Three Kingdoms Game Is Brutally* had already become a global cultural phenomenon.
Many black gamers and blonde, blue-eyed foreigners had become fans of the Five Tiger Generals, Wolong, and Fengchu.
Discussions about Strange Three Kingdoms lore and Three Kingdoms history could frequently be seen across social media and Q&A platforms.
Short-video and long-video platforms were flooded with Strange Three Kingdoms analysis and fan-created content.
Zhou Zhengming frowned slightly.
The number of overseas players continued increasing.
Sooner or later, the various supernatural phenomena would be discovered.
Paper could never completely cover fire.
More and more forces would inevitably join the competition.
It was necessary to use this offline event to reveal a small amount of information to the major legions.
On one hand, it would strengthen their confidence and expectations toward the game.
On the other hand, it would encourage them to develop themselves even more aggressively.
Although the major legions competed with Undying Dragon Soul,
they were still fundamentally on the same side.
They were completely different from organizations like Ragnarok.
Perhaps—
In the near future—
The balance of power in the Abyssal Three Kingdoms World would directly mirror the geopolitical landscape of the real world.
And the fiercest international conflicts and competitions of the future might be fought on the stage of this “virtual” world.
Perhaps before *This Twisted Three Kingdoms Game Is Brutally* completely reshaped humanity,
its influence would already overturn the global order.
The impact and transformation it brought would exceed any world war or industrial revolution in history.
Feng Ying continued,
“There is one more matter worthy of our attention.”
Zhou Zhengming replied,
“You must be referring to the Star Lord threat beyond Wo Niu Mountain.”
“Yes. Half an hour ago, we received the latest intelligence. A stronghold called Huangmei Hamlet in the northernmost part of Wo Niu Mountain has already been occupied by a foreign-race lord.”
“What?”
That was no small matter.
Anything capable of threatening the territory was not a small matter.
According to the game’s setting,
if the territory were conquered or the Lord died,
all player data would be deleted,
and the game would enter an indefinite shutdown state.
If this were truly just a game,
that would be one thing.
The problem was—
This was not a game.
Zhou Zhengming had no idea what such an outcome would mean for humanity.
Perhaps humanity would permanently lose an opportunity for evolution and ascension.
Or perhaps a catastrophic game-failure punishment would descend.
Regardless,
such a thing could never be allowed to happen.
They had to support the Lord in overcoming every potential threat.
“What actions has the Lord taken?”
“The Lord has already stationed Zhou Cang and Wen Pin in Sanxiang Ancient City. In addition, he recruited a thousand members of the Calamity Army through a quest. It appears he intends to retake Huangmei Hamlet.”
Zhou Cang and Wen Pin—
Were the territory’s two most important military generals.
The fact that the Lord had deployed both of them to Wo Niu Mountain proved he was not underestimating the enemy.
Zhou Zhengming said,
“Huangmei Hamlet itself possesses little defensive value. I suspect the Lord’s attack is primarily intended as a probe. Have our people closely monitor developments and remain prepared to respond at any moment.”
“Yes, sir!”
…………
At this moment—
Luoshui Main City.
Not long after Lone Boat logged in,
he learned of the new mission.
【Mission Name: Attack Huangmei Hamlet!】
【Mission Description: Huangmei Hamlet in the Wo Niu Mountain region has been occupied by a foreign-race force. The Lord has decided to dispatch the Azure Dragon Guard to probe the enemy’s strength. As members of the Calamity Army, you are expected to participate and contribute.】
【Mission Objective: Kill as many foreign-race followers as possible or recapture Huangmei Hamlet.】
【Participation Method: Report to Sanxiang Ancient City as soon as possible.】
【Mission Capacity: 1000/1000!】
【Mission Rewards: 1,000–50,000 Essence Points, 1,000–50,000 Contribution Points, and a chance to obtain random equipment or items.】
【...】
The mission had appeared rather suddenly.
And there were only a thousand slots available.
As a result, many major players who had not yet logged in missed the opportunity.
By the time Lone Boat saw it—
The mission was already full.
This left him somewhat disappointed.
However, the rewards were not particularly generous.
The foreign-race force occupying Huangmei Hamlet was probably neither very large nor especially powerful.
Furthermore,
his real-world body was currently traveling on business.
Participating in a large-scale team operation would be inconvenient.
Forget it.
This was only a probing engagement.
The real battle was probably still ahead.
Rather than dwelling on a single mission,
he should focus on strengthening himself and preparing for future large-scale conflicts.
Thus, Lone Boat headed to the warehouse and withdrew the materials he had stored there.
These included eighteen Advanced Corrupted Gems, forty Enhancement Gems of various types, twenty-five Forging Essence Crystals, and two Forging Spirit Crystals obtained from New Wan mission rewards.
Every one of them had been acquired through recent operations.
Lone Boat then checked his Contribution Point balance.
He currently possessed 230,000 Contribution Points.
At current market prices,
that amount was worth well over ten million yuan.
The materials themselves were worth a comparable amount.
Lone Boat thought,
“With this many materials and Contribution Points, it should be enough. Hopefully everything goes smoothly today.”
After leaving the warehouse,
he headed to Luoshui Main City’s First Artifact Forging Workshop.
There were now several forging workshops in the city,
with more than ten resident artifact forgers.
The First Artifact Forging Workshop was the oldest and currently possessed the best service and strongest forging capabilities.
When Lone Boat entered,
the place was already packed.
Not only were players lining up for forging services,
many territorial NPCs were also strengthening their equipment.
“Lone Boat!”
“It’s Boss Lone Boat!”
“Make way for the boss!”
Although Lone Boat was usually quiet and low-profile,
his strength ranked among the very best within the Calamity Army.
As a result,
he enjoyed considerable fame.
“Xiaozhou! You’re here to forge equipment too!”
A hearty voice rang out.
A bald, muscular man clad in luxurious armor and carrying a ferocious giant hammer appeared.
It was none other than the famous legion commander Ye Li Meng.
Lone Boat said,
“Thanks for arranging the vehicle to pick me up, Boss Ye. I’m currently riding in it anyway. Since I have free time, I figured I might as well improve my equipment.”
“Hahaha! I already arrived in the Magic Capital. Tonight we’ll have a proper gathering!”
Ye Li Meng thought very highly of Lone Boat.
After all,
Lone Boat and Mad Blade Old Wang were the two strongest members of War God Hall.
They would undoubtedly become the pillars of the legion.
Lone Boat glanced around the forging workshop.
He frowned slightly.
“Chief Yan Ling isn’t here?”
Yan Ling, Luoshui City’s chief artifact forger, was the territory’s best forger and also one of the first Advanced Artifact Forging Art masters to reach Tier Three.
Yet she was nowhere to be seen.
Ye Li Meng replied,
“Yan Ling took leave.”
“She took leave?”
That was genuinely surprising.
Yan Ling was famously obsessed with work.
This was precisely the period when demand for forging services was skyrocketing.
How could she possibly choose this moment to take leave?
Ye Li Meng continued,
“She seems to have encountered some difficulties in her forging research. So she returned to Sacred Azure City to seek help from the dean of the Forging Academy. She probably won’t be back until tomorrow.”
Lone Boat sighed.
“That’s unfortunate. I guess I’ll come back tomorrow.”
“Don’t!”
Lone Boat saw a ratman only about 1.4 meters tall step forward.
Covered in gray fur, possessing four eyes and four ears, he looked exceptionally clever and crafty.
This person was none other than the Two-Faced Rat Clan artifact forger Pick.
Behind him stood a horned stone giant over two meters tall.
This was Yamu of the Flame-Horn Stone Clan.
“Yamu and I can provide the same service. After all, we’re both veteran artifact forgers of Luoshui City!”
Pick did not want to lose a major customer.
Territorial employees earned income from two sources.
One portion came from workshop performance bonuses.
The other came from commissions based on personal work.
Overall,
commissions formed the majority of their earnings.
Lone Boat looked skeptical.
“Can you really handle it?”
Pick was not offended.
He explained,
“Individually, we may be slightly inferior to Chief Yan Ling, but together we’re no worse than she is.”
Ye Li Meng laughed.
“Pick is already a Tier-Three Intermediate Artifact Forger capable of forging Tier-Three equipment. Yamu is a Tier-Two Advanced Artifact Forger capable of creating Blue-quality equipment. Together, forging a Tier-Three Blue-quality weapon shouldn’t be a problem. Personally, I think you should give them a chance.”
Both Pick and Yamu looked gratefully at Ye Li Meng.
They had both originated from the lower classes of Sacred Azure City.
Luoshui City had given them the opportunity to Defy Heaven and Change One’s Fate.
Naturally,
they cherished their jobs and hoped to contribute even more to the territory.
The territory possessed more artifact forgers than just Yan Ling.
Recently,
under the Lord’s promotion,
they had experienced tremendous growth.
Although their abilities still lagged slightly behind Yan Ling’s,
working together allowed them to compete with her.
Ye Li Meng estimated
that within a few days,
as more and more players reached Tier Three,
the Lord would directly promote them into Tier-Three Advanced Artifact Forgers just like Yan Ling.
At that point,
they would either manage other forging workshops in Luoshui City or be dispatched to places such as New Wan City as chief artifact forgers.
At present,
their lack of fame was simply due to a lack of opportunities.
As the leader of a legion,
Ye Li Meng naturally wanted to establish good relationships with these NPCs.
Future special forging requests would become much easier with such connections.
After a moment of hesitation,
Lone Boat finally agreed.
He took out his sword.
【Crimson Bloodscar Sword +8】, Tier-Two Equipment, Green Superior Grade. Attack +125, Agility +20, Strength +10, Attack Speed +20. Comes with the skill Crimson Curse. Durability 50/50.
“What a fine weapon!”
Pick and Yamu repeatedly praised it.
Although it was an excellent weapon,
it was no longer suitable for Lone Boat.
He required a higher-tier weapon to fully unleash his strength.
Lone Boat then presented all the gems, forging materials, and Forging Essence Crystals he had prepared.
Pick and Yamu’s eyes immediately lit up.
Why did they love serving customers like this?
The reason was simple.
Such customers were wealthy and possessed abundant resources.
That gave artifact forgers far more room to work with while greatly reducing difficulty.
The two did not begin immediately.
This forging session was extremely important.
It could influence their careers.
Lone Boat enjoyed enormous fame within the Calamity Army.
If they successfully forged a powerful weapon for him,
it would become a living advertisement.
Their reputations would instantly spread.
After extensive discussion,
they finalized a plan.
Pick explained,
“The key to this enhancement lies in the use of gem materials. Gems can be used not only to improve or evolve equipment quality, but also to grant entirely new abilities.”
“The gems brought by Sir Lone Boat are exceptionally diverse. Gems such as Thousand-Legged Demonic Dragon Gems and Three-Headed Evil Dragon Gems are extremely valuable. However, we do not recommend using them on this weapon.”
Yamu nodded.
“Exactly.”
Lone Boat asked,
“Why?”
Pick explained,
“This Bloodscar Sword possesses excellent curse-related properties. If you wish to further strengthen those characteristics, you need gems with similar attributes. Only then can you maximize the probability of obtaining additional skills.”
Yamu nodded.
“That’s right.”
“What happens if other gems are used?”
Pick answered,
“The weapon’s entire nature could change. It might not necessarily become worse, but the uncertainty would be enormous.”
Yamu nodded again.
Equipment forging was clearly far more complicated than it appeared.
Different materials produced completely different outcomes.
Because players currently possessed very limited data,
they often had to rely on luck.
The advice of artifact forgers was therefore invaluable.
After understanding the situation better,
Lone Boat accepted their proposal.
Pick smiled.
“Then let’s begin.”
After making preparations,
they first used Corrupted Gems to strengthen the weapon.
Corrupted Gems were extremely common.
Almost every Abyssal Corrupted monster dropped them.
The difference lay only in quality.
Such gems generally possessed no special properties.
They were used purely to improve or evolve equipment quality without altering the weapon’s characteristics.
Among Lone Boat’s Corrupted Gems,
three Advanced Blue Gems had dropped from Demon Zhang Xiu.
The Bloodscar Sword required only two before successfully evolving.
【Crimson Bloodscar Sword +3】, Tier-Two Equipment, Blue Lower Grade. Attack +130, Agility +24, Strength +12, Attack Speed +20. Comes with Crimson Curse. Durability 50/50.
Although the quality had risen from Green to Blue,
the immediate stat increases seemed modest.
However,
the enhancement level dropped from +8 to +3.
This alone demonstrated the magnitude of the improvement.
Blue-quality equipment vastly outperformed Green-quality equipment at equivalent enhancement levels.
Quality evolution succeeded.
The two artifact forgers then worked together on a tier breakthrough.
This consumed a Forging Spirit Crystal from New Wan mission rewards.
A material far more valuable than ordinary Forging Essence Crystals.
Only a handful existed among all players.
Its effect was immediate.
The breakthrough succeeded on the first attempt.
【Crimson Bloodscar Sword】, Tier-Three Equipment, Blue Lower Grade. Attack +148, Agility +50, Strength +27, Attack Speed +30. Comes with Crimson Curse. Durability 70/70.
Although the enhancement level disappeared completely—
Dropping from +3 to +0—
Its attributes had increased dramatically.
The weapon had transformed from a Tier-Two Green Superior Grade weapon into a Tier-Three Blue Lower Grade weapon.
The improvement was astonishing.
Because Lone Boat possessed sufficient high-end materials,
these first two steps had not been difficult.
The real challenge came next.
Pick and Yamu worked together.
They performed eight consecutive quality enhancements.
These consumed three Evil Infant Left Eye Gems, four Evil Infant Right Eye Gems, and four Death Curse Gems.
【Death Curse Bloodscar Sword】, Tier-Three Equipment, Blue Intermediate Grade. Attack +182, Agility +70, Strength +38, Attack Speed +50. Normal damage against cursed targets +20%. Critical damage against cursed targets +100%. Comes with skills: Crimson Curse, Evil Infant Curse, Death Curse Slash. Durability 70/70.
The moment the weapon’s final attributes were revealed—
The entire workshop erupted into cheers.
Even Ye Li Meng stared in disbelief.
“A three-skill weapon? Holy crap! This is insane!”
The new weapon had not only reached Tier-Three Blue Intermediate Grade quality.
Its attributes had skyrocketed.
It had also gained three equipment skills simultaneously.
Such equipment—
Had never been seen before.
All three skills were curse-based.
Crimson Curse remained largely unchanged.
It had a chance to trigger whenever damage was dealt,
causing a bleeding-type curse that continuously drained health.
Crimson Curse could stack.
The more stacks accumulated,
the stronger the bleeding became.
Without specific countermeasures,
the victim could bleed continuously until death.
Evil Infant Curse triggered whenever damage was inflicted.
It placed an Evil Infant Curse upon the target.
The curse reduced damage negation and various attributes.
Evil Infant Curse could also stack.
However,
it possessed a maximum duration.
Once the curse expired,
it transformed into a mental attack and inflicted damage.
Finally,
there was Death Curse Slash.
Its effect closely resembled Cao Ang’s Death Curse Slash.
Lone Boat could activate it against any target marked by his curses.
Once triggered,
the skill absorbed all curse power from the target and converted it into an unavoidable slash possessing extremely high damage, complete defense penetration, unlimited range, and guaranteed accuracy.
The more curse stacks the target carried,
the stronger Death Curse Slash became.
All nearby players were stunned.
Lone Boat was already ranked among the top ten—or even top five—players in the Calamity Army.
Now he possessed such a terrifying curse-killing weapon.
Who could confidently claim they could defeat him?
Anyone injured by this sword
would likely suffer both Crimson Curse and Evil Infant Curse.
Even if they survived the battle,
the curses would be a nightmare.
Even if they escaped,
Lone Boat could simply unleash a guaranteed-hit Death Curse Slash.
No matter how far they fled,
another strike would still find them.
Terrifying.
Truly terrifying.
Lone Boat himself was overjoyed.
Even he had not expected such excellent results.
Finally,
he spent all his remaining Contribution Points to strengthen the sword to +3.
The enhancement costs for Tier-Three Blue equipment were simply too expensive.
Even Lone Boat could only raise it this far for now.
If he wanted to learn new skills from the Skill Tower or comprehend new skills in the Dao Comprehension Tower,
he would probably need to borrow Contribution Points from Ye Li Meng.
Not enough.
There were never enough Contribution Points.
He wore eleven pieces of equipment.
One weapon alone had completely drained his savings.
Lone Boat was already eager to participate in more missions.
He wanted to fight and die for the territory again—
And test the power of his new weapon.
Pick and Yamu were equally pleased.
The fame of the Death Curse Bloodscar Sword would certainly spread.
For quite some time,
it would become their signature masterpiece.
Although it could not compare to Yan Ling’s Yellow Heaven Demonic Dragon Set,
it was more than enough to establish their reputations.
Lone Boat was only the beginning.
The number of Tier-Three elites within the Calamity Army was rapidly increasing.
Demand for equipment breakthroughs and upgrades would soon explode.
Like Lone Boat,
all these elite players would experience dramatic increases in strength through equipment enhancement.
And it was not only the Calamity Army.
Following the successful annexation of New Wan,
the number of Tier-Three natives had also increased substantially.
Many native citizens possessed similar equipment needs.
It could be said—
Their rise to prominence was just around the corner.
The scene of Lone Boat successfully forging such a powerful weapon naturally caused an enormous sensation among the surrounding players.
Whether gem materials or forging materials,
all came from high-level monsters, rare monsters, or major quests.
Players had to dare to challenge bosses and participate in large-scale missions.
Only then could they forge truly top-tier equipment.
Not long afterward,
Lone Boat logged out.
He boarded a plane and arrived in the Magic Capital.
The moment he landed,
he was escorted into a dedicated vehicle and successfully arrived at the venue of the offline exchange event.
The authorities had no intention of being low-key.
The event was being held at a five-star hotel in one of the busiest districts of the Magic Capital.
Media reporters carrying cameras and equipment had already gathered there and were covering the unprecedented event.
Meanwhile,
the forums were flooded with livestream threads.
After all,
for a gaming event,
this was completely unprecedented.
Its scale rivaled the lavish annual meetings of major corporations and high-level industry summits.
For Cloud Players,
whether it was the mysteries of the game itself or gossip about the beta-testing elites,
everything was fascinating and worth discussing.