Players Invade Cyberpunk

Don't just talk about resigning; she might lose her life.

Albertson paced back and forth in front of the office's floor-to-ceiling windows. Although her entire body had been modified and her skin no longer sweated, she still felt a cold sweat of fear.

She controlled her emotions, pressed the call button to summon her secretary, and sat down, spreading her legs.

"Who is in charge over there in Big Sur?"

The battle-hardened secretary immediately understood, kneeling down while speaking.

"Valerie from the anti-intelligence department. Jenkins secured this opportunity for her, saying it was a chance to redeem her past failure."

The secretary's mouth opened wide, cheeks expanded to a physiological limit impossible for humans, revealing the mechanical implants inside.

One can only say there is a plethora of options, from vibrating spheres to vacuum pumps to split rolling tongues, beyond the limits of human imagination.

As a company executive, especially in intelligence agencies, Albertson avoids using addictive drugs to influence her thinking, so she often pursues other forms of release.

"Valerie..."

While being served by her secretary to relax her body, Albertson pulled up her information from the database.

She remembered this person. Last time, it was Valerie who messed up the Watson District fire incident, even though it was on her orders.

She wanted to take the opportunity to teach Jenkins a lesson, then come out to resolve the chaos, but didn't expect the opponent's strength to be unimaginable, directly overwhelming her.

Now it seems Valerie's failure might not be due to incompetence; her credentials show she has some skills.

With the failure at Stone Ridge Mountain as a reference, Albertson's expectations for the Chaotic Blade Association have dropped to the lowest.

"Hmm... prepare the hovercraft. I'm heading to Big Sur, just in case. Dispatch two Huang Ban military teams south from the Oregon Republic. I want all these people dead there..."

Oregon is located above California, and further up is Washington State. These are independent free states that broke away after the United States split, later forming their own republics.

However, whether in the eyes of New America or Huang Ban, these free states are just fish on the chopping board. The local government's military strength is virtually zero, relying entirely on corporations. To maintain business, Huang Ban has stationed military forces in each state.

————

Stone Ridge Mountain.

Collapsed building frameworks were seen everywhere. Numerous modular construction materials had been blown apart, and wisps of smoke rose from the scorched land, hinting at the fierce battle that took place here last night.

Workers emerging from the mountain were shaken, having spent the night hiding inside without sleep, ears filled with the thunderous sounds of cannon fire and gunshots.

Afraid that the attackers who appeared from nowhere would storm the town and drag them out to be killed, they continuously prayed, regretting why they came to work outside the city, wishing to rush back to Night City to hide.

However, upon reaching the surface, they saw the captured members of the Chaotic Blade Association lined up in a long row, each one downcast, many injured.

Beside the war prisoners stood many armed mercenaries, escorting these prisoners, each standing tall and proud, extremely excited.

This was the first real battle that new players genuinely participated in with the new version. Prior to this, they only played in virtual dreams, making this the first real combat experience.

Such a grand victory; it would be false to say they weren't excited. Each one's heart rate was soaring to 120.

Tutu stood atop the water pipeline, holding the list of spoils, yelling loudly at the people below.

"Last night, the Chaotic Blade Association attacked the construction site. After a grueling night of battle."

"173 Chaotic Blade bandits killed, 434 prisoners captured, over sixty missing, with 27 remaining at large."

"Various firearms: 1741 pieces, a total of 19 tons of ammunition of various calibers, twenty-two intelligent mobile mortars, two vehicle-mounted mortars, various artillery shells, several rocket launchers..."

If converted to cash, it would likely amount to tens of millions.

The only pity is that players logging on during the day missed the bulk of the battle due to sleeping through the night, only catching the tail end when logging on and helping capture the fleeing Chaotic Blade members.

This caused many players who missed the event to beat their chests and cry.

"Damn it!!! You bastards, why couldn't you come during the day! What's with this damned planner organizing a night monster siege without prior notice?"

"I'm so stupid, really, I thought normal people only come looking for trouble during the day, not realizing they'd come at night too..."

Nearly half of the players missed this event, which in any game would be considered a major decision-making error.

It's probably going to result in a backlash where people don't even recognize the brand.

But Lin Miao can't help it; he's not really a game planner and doesn't have the power to control world settings.

When the Chaotic Blade Association decides to cause trouble wasn't for him to decide.

Moreover, he can't possibly distribute the night battle spoils to those players who missed it, as this wouldn't be fair to the players who struggled all night.

So now he either displays the traditional skill of planners—playing dead—and ignoring the players' complaints relying on the game's irreplaceability.

Or he compensates extra.

In terms of normal company operations, the former is certainly more appealing.

After all, that's how monopoly industries work; you can't find a second provider apart from me. I can raise prices or insult consumers however I want, and you'll eventually come back obediently to work for me.

But Lin Miao can't do that because he's not after player engagement or player spending.

He's after the players' enthusiasm.

After all, he's not a deity; even though he knows that Huang Ban intends to target him, he can't predict whether it'll be day or night.

[Urgent Notice: Due to the development team's oversight when uploading new version content last night, the version activity content was auto-uploaded, triggering nighttime battles without prior notice. Regarding this major error, the planning team is extremely apologetic and has beheaded two programmers as an apology (dog head) (dog head), and has prepared ample compensation content.]

[Starting today, the normal activity playtime extends from the original 12-hour + dorm comfort conversion time to 12-hour daytime + dorm time, plus an additional 4-hour free activity period at night.]

[Note: Unused night activity time can be accumulated forward at a ratio of 4:1. If you did not log in for nighttime activity today, the next day's activity time will extend by 5 hours, with a maximum accumulation limit of 12 hours, use till expired.]

[Additionally, players who did not log in during the nighttime battle at Stone Ridge Mountain last night will receive an MT-3 20% off coupon as compensation, permanently valid.]