PDLP Chapter 3: The Polarized Dungeon - The Kill Line
Chapter 3: The Polarized Dungeon - The Kill Line
Despite the administrator's confusion, Youxing remained completely calm.
"This is definitely a horror dungeon, the kind that can collect a huge amount of negative energy."
After working day and night for three days, Youxing not only completed the dungeon design, but also obtained a lot of content outside of the horror dungeon through the dungeon space's book forum.
for example……
"Administrator, you haven't been in China for long, have you?" You Xing asked, his eyes half-closed.
Labyrinth was taken aback. "How did you know?"
"Most of our Chinese horror dungeon administrators come from our own country's ghost stories, and they don't look like they're from China at all."
Labyrinth is a classic white-haired, big-breasted foreign ghost. His entire body has an XP effect that has a special attack effect on Chinese people. It wouldn't be surprising if you thought he was sent by other lords to cause trouble in China.
There is an old Chinese saying: "Sustainability is like draining the pond to catch all the fish."
"While it's true that you can extract a lot of negative energy by dying once, you can also collect a huge amount of negative energy by continuously suppressing the player to the limit."
Seeing the executioner's certainty, Labilins tilted his head, looking puzzled.
"Since you're so confident, then I'll submit the copy. Let's make it clear first, if neither the Judge nor the Monument of Terror approves, your soul will be mine."
"Before that, you have one day to go back and say goodbye to your human companions."
With a flick of her wrist, she tossed a bottle of all-purpose potion that would last a day into Youxing's hand.
The white demon turned and left, his eyes full of anticipation, licking his lips with a slurping sound.
Haha, they designed a completely non-scary instance in just three days.
You think you can pass the test? Do you really think I'm stupid?
That fresh, tender, and sweet soul~ Ah! I can't wait to start eating.
……
Three days have passed.
The Director's Office of the China Terror Copy Bureau.
The white demon accepted the cup of tea that symbolized approval, staring blankly at his superior, the judge of hell, before finally managing to utter a single sentence.
"It's...it's approved? My application for that newbie's dungeon, 'Kill Line,' has been approved?"
Labilins himself experienced it for a few days, and it was a completely accelerated version of the daily life of the beautiful card. The goal was simply to make money, and there was no death involved.
What's so scary about it?
How could it possibly pass the review?
The Hell Judge, the Lord of China, is notoriously strict; this dungeon is simply not up to his standards.
"I also experienced it myself, and it felt like living in the beautiful country of Ka, with a very strong sense of immersion. This doesn't meet the requirements of a horror game."
That's right! If it doesn't meet the requirements, it shouldn't be...
Wait, how did it pass?
Seeing Labyrinth nod and then shake his head, the judge took a sip of tea and stroked his beard: "Don't be in such a hurry, let me finish."
"I, the judge, am cautious in my actions both in life and in death. Even if a dungeon is not up to par, I will still take it to the Monument of Terror for review according to the instructions left by the previous God of Terror."
The judge coughed twice and continued, "The result was unexpected; the Monument of Terror gave it an S-rank rating of 'Undetermined'."
Labilins' breathing quickened, his vision blurred, his pupils contracted, and his mouth agape.
"Chief... what does 'S-rank pending' mean...?"
The judge nodded in response: "S-class or even surpassing S-class, but there is a lack of real-world data to support it."
Labilins's brain exploded upon hearing this.
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"My first reaction was the same as yours."
"But after seeing the simulation results of the Monument of Terror, I have to change my mind."
The judge took out a tablet and opened the Terror Monument calculation page.
"These were the results of the tests at the time. The Divine Stele also made calculations based on those results."
Labilins leaned closer, his head tingling with unease, as if he'd just finished eating Sichuan hotpot.
"This...this..."
The more Labilins looked at it, the more incredible it seemed.
"Ten test sheep, some only yielded 10 points of negative energy upon completing a dungeon; others went berserk and forced to quit midway, yielding tens of thousands of points of negative energy?"
"Is the difference that big?"
Most dungeons have 50 or more players per run, and collecting 10 negative energy is required to be rated as an S-rank dungeon.
If one person has 10 points of negative energy, that's a failing grade; if one person has 10,000, that's an S-grade grade.
But for thresholds like the "kill line," which have such a large gap, it's really hard to rate them.
For a moment, the two ghosts looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally the judge spoke first.
"For now, rate it D. Go back and grant the new designer access. Have him work on the dungeon these next few days, and then start a small test to verify the Terror Monument assessment."
"clear."
……
Returning to the instance space, I saw the man limping and dragging himself again, and threw him another bottle of panacea.
The man took it and gulped it down.
Within a few breaths, he was fully recovered.
It was only then that Labilins noticed the bizarre props on the floor.
A giant red-eyed rat more ferocious than a tabby cat, rotten flesh riddled with bullets, a bowl of disco, a voluntary experiment agreement, a lump of slime, and a Bible.
She quickly realized what was happening.
"You anticipated the approval would be granted and prepared the necessary tools for creating the ghost in advance?"
"These are all dungeon-generated items, which are very convenient for customizing dungeon-exclusive ghost items."
Labilins frowned even more deeply.
In the horror dungeon, you can choose to generate your own ghosts or hire ghosts that are already available on the market.
Ghosts specifically designed for dungeons are often more effective than those summoned directly.
But you're making a dungeon where no one dies, and then you customize it with ghosts and monsters to scare people...
Are you kidding me?
They've been using eerie intimidation tactics for centuries. Even if you're scared to death the first time, players will eventually become desensitized after repeated exposure.
No, I almost got the topic successfully changed.
"So, how exactly...did you pass the review?!"
The white demon glared menacingly at the human whose looks and physique both scored an 80 out of 100.
"You'll see once I've finished crafting the spooky creature and the dungeon officially begins."
Labyrinth "..."
A few more days passed.
The instance has officially begun a small-scale public test, with a total of 30 players selected, almost half the number of the usual 50.
In simpler gaming terminology: the final test before the open beta of the instance.
Labyrinth pulled a tablet from the crack in his chest and handed it to You Xing. Yang Lan's name was prominently listed on the page.
"You are now a junior designer and have the authority to assign someone to participate in the horror dungeon."
Knowing who the executioner would choose, Labilins put the other's ex-girlfriend on the shortlist in advance.
"Thanks."
"As for other people, with my current permissions, can I specify a particular industry and randomly select from within that range?"
Specific industry?
This was the first time Labilins had ever heard such a bizarre request.
"Oh, people who choose these professions will reap more negative energy than ordinary people."
The more negative energy Rabillins acquires, the more he gets.
She agreed on the spot.
As required by the executioner, 10 people were randomly selected, and the remaining 20 people, including Yang Lan, were chosen from the industries designated by the executioner.
"Finance, law, academia. And media and entertainment, right? Yeah, let's just pick them randomly."
"I'll go start the dungeon now. You'd better summon the custom-made monster quickly."
……
Meanwhile, in Huaxia Squid Capital, on the streets.
Yang Lan, dressed in trendy white clothing, was making a cross-border phone call with a radiant face.
"Hmm...right, right...I'll finish the mission quickly, then I'll go to Hong Kong to pursue a master's degree, and jumping into the Beautiful Cameron Alliance will be a piece of cake."
"...In another year or two, getting a green card will be a piece of cake."
"In short, thank you for your guidance, senior."
The person she spoke to was a senior from Sakura University who was pursuing a PhD in environmental protection and business in the United States. She was also the great philanthropist who introduced Yang Lan to this field.
Now, it's finally almost her turn to shed her Chinese identity and become a citizen of the world's most beautiful country.
Suddenly, a black energy ball appeared on Yang Lan's arm and crushed her beautiful image.
In the blink of an eye, the energy ball had engulfed the entire arm.
Yang Lan let out a shrill cry.
"No! No way! Didn't they say that once we got ashore, we wouldn't be chosen by the horror dungeons? Little Red Pig app was all a lie after all!"
"No, you can't choose me, you...no! Ahhh!"