Bai Liu browsed the forum through the game manager while walking, trying to familiarize himself with the game's internal structure.
The game hall was divided into three main areas: the live TV area, the game login area, and the game logout area.
Players could choose to log into a game in the login area. After logging in, their game process would be broadcast on the various small TVs in the live TV area. Players who successfully cleared a game would appear in the logout area. Those who failed would either be trapped in the game forever, completely alienated into monsters, or die outright.
Among the three areas, the most complex was the live TV area.
Its structure was almost maze-like. The decoration styles of different sections clashed with one another, forcibly inlaid together in a chaotic fashion. Bai Liu was nearly dazzled by the sight. There were countless zones with promotion spots, and tens of millions of small TVs showed the game progress of different players.
Bai Liu's small TV had previously appeared in the newcomer zone, the death comedy zone, and the single-player game zone. Those were merely three among thousands of live broadcast zones, and the types of promotion spots were even more diverse. Within a single zone, there could be dozens of different promotion positions.
However, promotion positions also had rankings.
Among all zones, the most difficult promotion position to obtain—and the one with the highest prestige—was the Central Hall King Promotion Position. Only the top ten players in the comprehensive rankings could occupy it. It was a place reserved for the true great gods of the game.
From the forum, Bai Liu learned that it had been a long time since a newcomer had entered that position. The first and second ranks were practically fixed. As long as Spades and Queen of Hearts entered a game, their small TVs would automatically take first and second place in the King Promotion Position.
For newcomers, the highest achievable promotion spot was the Central Hall Nightmare Rising Star Promotion Position. Mu Sicheng ranked fourth there all year round.
The Central Hall Core Promotion Position that Bai Liu had obtained previously was indeed impressive. However, among all promotion spots, it could only be considered an advanced-tier position. It attracted more paying viewers, but it was still one level below the true "top promotion positions" that nearly all players paid attention to and were willing to spend points to watch.
Mu Sicheng had once said it was difficult for him to enter the Central Hall Core Promotion Position because his performance was too unstable. When he played well, he would often skip the core position entirely and go straight to the Nightmare Rising Star Promotion Position. But when he performed poorly, he couldn't even reach the core position.
Just as there were top-tier zones and premium promotion spots, there were also the lowest zones and the worst promotion spots.
Bai Liu stopped at the entrance of a deserted area that resembled a garbage station.
The walls were pure white, and the small TVs weren't neatly arranged. Instead, they were crookedly piled into a massive heap like a hill. The screens displayed the pitiful struggles of players fighting desperately to survive.
Most of the TVs emitted harsh static. The display quality was poor, and some screens showed nothing but snow. It was impossible to tell whether the players inside were dead or alive.
This "TV hill" stretched endlessly, like a train without a final carriage. It extended from where Bai Liu stood at the entrance deep into a vast, empty white space.
The distorted voices of countless players echoed throughout the chaotic, sterile area. It resembled a dumping ground for abandoned futuristic electronics, like something Bai Liu had once seen on television.
The signboard at the entrance looked as if it might collapse at any moment. On it were written two large words: No Man's Land.
This game was truly cruel. A player at the highest level was treated like a king. A player at the lowest level didn't even deserve a name.
This was the only area without any promotion position. Naturally, there was no need to distinguish anyone here. Even if a small TV received "promotion," the effect would be the same—this place had no audience.
Players who fell here had almost no chance of turning things around. It was equivalent to the prison of the game.
Only those who were completely exiled and abandoned would end up here.
Bai Liu stood in this deserted, lonely no man's land and pondered a few questions. Meanwhile, the forum was in a heated discussion.
[The seven-day countdown for player Bai Liu, who entered the VIP library in his first game, is ending soon. Place your bets on what game he'll choose next!]
1L: He's seriously good. I replayed his Siren Town video three times and noticed something new each time. I really want to see him play another game!
2L: Same! I want to see him play a multiplayer game! The revenue and rewards for single-player games are much lower than multiplayer ones. Multiplayer games are more competitive and more exciting. I want to see Bai Liu go up against the bigshots!
3L: It's true that Bai Liu likes unconventional strategies, but isn't that risky in multiplayer games?
First, he can't guarantee that everyone will cooperate with his weird logic. Multiplayer games have far more variables than single-player ones.
Second, what if he runs into a killer-type player? Those players specialize in killing others to loot items and points. Bai Liu has a lot of items and points—it'd be easy for him to get robbed and killed. Robbery and murder are prohibited in the game hall, but inside the game… anything goes.
4L: I think he should stay in the single-player zone. The multiplayer area is where bigshots gather, and killing is common. It's not suitable for someone like Bai Liu who relies on strange ideas. With his F-grade panel attributes, he might get killed before even finishing the first task.
5L: Not necessarily? Didn't Bai Liu reach super A-grade status last time when his mental value dropped? He doesn't have to get crushed by bigshots, right?
6L: …I'll say this quietly. In Siren Town, he reached peak fury with a mental value of 1 and temporarily hit super A-grade. Wasn't that just luck? If his mental value drops to 0, wouldn't he just GG?
7L: Multiplayer games require balanced attributes. Bai Liu has extremely high intelligence but very low attack power. He's honestly not suited for multiplayer. Going there would just be suicide.
8L: The core of multiplayer games is competition. The rewards for first place in the comprehensive evaluation are on a completely different level from everyone else's. In multiplayer games, everyone is fighting to be first. Bai Liu doesn't have the solo advantage he had in single-player mode. Tsk tsk… at best, he'd just become some bigshot's strategist.
9L: What if a guild supports him and equips him with high-attack gear? If he uses his brain to control other players, he could still take the multiplayer route. Look at the Puppet Master ranked 199 on the leaderboard—doesn't he rely on manipulating other players to stay in the top 200?
10L: Did the person above make a mistake? As a fan of Puppet Master, I have to protest! Not everyone with a smart brain can reach the same level as Puppet Master. Bai Liu and Puppet Master are not on the same tier, okay? Please don't go too far.
First of all, Puppet Master is a core player in the Kings Guild. It's no exaggeration to say the Kings Guild practically nurtures him.
All the "puppet players" under him are carefully selected by the King's Guild. Any one of them could kill Bai Liu alone.
Also, Puppet Master's intelligence value is 93. Ninety-three!
Bai Liu only has 89! And last time, Bai Liu benefited from good timing. There weren't many big gods streaming, so he accidentally squeezed into the top 100. Now he's dropped to a comprehensive ranking of 3,000! Meanwhile, Puppet Master has been steadily ranked within the top 200!
11L: Puppet Master is insanely cautious and smart. He always hides behind his puppet players in-game. I've watched so many of his streams and still don't know what he looks like. Sometimes I can't even figure out which player he is…
12L: Speaking of that, didn't one of his puppet players die in the last game? I heard the King's Guild is recruiting a new puppet for him. Eh, this treatment is really good. Even as a puppet, you get 1,000 points and items per game. If I qualified, I'd apply too, wu wu wu.
13L: Stop dreaming. It's over. A player named Li Gou has already applied…
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Wang Shun read through the forum posts claiming that Bai Liu's promotion to the core position was just good luck and couldn't help laughing. He shook his head and closed the game manager.
It seemed everyone had forgotten that Bai Liu's luck value was 0. If Bai Liu was considered lucky, then wouldn't ordinary players with a luck value of 30 be the true favorites of the god of luck?
Still, Wang Shun agreed with part of the forum's analysis.
Bai Liu really wasn't suited for multiplayer games.
More than 80% of all players were in multiplayer mode, and the competition there was brutal. It was true that Bai Liu had displayed super A-grade physical ability in his rage state—but that required his mental value to drop to 1. A mental value of 1 was far too dangerous. A monster could kill him with a single flick.
Bai Liu's potential was undeniably high, but he was still in the development stage. He shouldn't rush into the multiplayer zone, where the mortality rate was high and the competition ruthless. Once he strengthened his panel attributes through single-player games, he could test the waters of multiplayer.
Of course, for a newcomer with such terrifying potential, there was an even faster way to grow—
Join a top-tier guild directly.