Chapter 32: Official Information Disclosed by Liu Bo

Equipped with his brand-new gear, Lin Yi felt a sudden urge to enter the valley right then and there to test his skills against a corpse fiend.

Currently, his most powerful attack was the Level 8 Blazing Sun Blade Technique. At this level, it provided a fivefold increase in damage, allowing him to unleash golden blade energy two meters in length. According to Gu Cheng-hu, Lin Yi’s mastery of the technique had far surpassed that of everyone in Gutan Village, even eclipsing Gu Cheng-hu’s own. If he were to face the Level 7 corpse fiend he had encountered a week ago while wielding his silver-patterned long blade, he could likely take it down in a single strike. A Level 8 corpse fiend might require two, but with his current 35 points of Vitality, he had enough energy to swing twice. As for a Level 9, he would probably have to whittle its health down slowly and sustain minor injuries before finishing it off with the Blazing Sun technique.

It was no exaggeration to say that Lin Yi’s combat prowess was worlds apart from what it had been a week or two ago; he could now hold his own against a Level 9 fiend and easily slay a Level 8. All of this was thanks to his newly acquired purple-grade talent: [Born Swordsman]. The importance of a high-quality talent went without saying.

However, the Level 8 Blazing Sun Blade Technique seemed to have hit a bottleneck. Lin Yi noticed that even with the [Born Swordsman] talent, his proficiency growth had begun to slow significantly. It appeared that even this talent had its limits.

After logging out of the Apocalypse world, Lin Yi checked his phone and saw a message from Liu Bo regarding a dinner gathering. Seeing that it was already dark outside, he promptly replied and hailed a taxi. An hour later, the two were well-fed and tipsy at a high-end barbecue restaurant.

"...Brother Yi, you know, on the very first day, the instructors took us to the military camp. They didn't just soak us in medicinal wine to improve our physiques; they also taught us military combat techniques and how to handle firearms. On top of that, once headquarters learned I had descended in the 'Youlong Village' in Apocalypse, they specifically found a high-level player from that village to guide my development. In short, I'm busy on both ends every day, and I only get four hours of sleep."

Lin Yi asked, "Xiao Bo, does that mean you’ve gained a lot during this time?"

Liu Bo finished his beer and let out a few hiccups, replying drunkenly, "More than a lot, Brother Yi! Let me tell you, I’m practically a mini-superhuman in reality now. Even if I were to fight a tiger with my bare hands, I reckon I could kill it in three punches."

Lin Yi smiled and curiously asked about Liu Bo’s specific training experience in the capital. Logically, such matters were strictly confidential, but Liu Bo didn't care. Since his father had passed away, Lin Yi had been the best older brother to him, practically family. He remembered how, whenever his father beat him for poor grades, Lin Yi would always step in to mediate and take him out for skewers at night; he had always viewed Brother Yi as the best person in the world. Since he had only signed a piece of paper for the confidentiality agreement, it didn't hold much weight for him. If Brother Yi asked, there was nothing he couldn't share.

"There were about thirty of us in our batch, all new players selected from across the country. The instructors said we were the fifth batch, which means the government has held four previous training sessions. Oh, and I heard from Zhao Shuan, who brought me to the capital, that Captain Zhang here in Linhe City is a high-level player from the second batch..."

"The government has discovered about 150 novice villages so far. Some are quite close, while others are very far. My Youlong Village is a long way from my dad’s Dayu Village..."

After summarizing his experiences in the capital, Liu Bo couldn't help but ask, "By the way, Brother Yi, did you manage to get an activation code? If not, I can try to get you one from our city. I heard our team currently has two unused ones..."

Lin Yi smiled, his tone half-truthful, "No need. After you left, I asked around about the Apocalypse game and got lucky—I spent a large sum to buy an activation code."

Lin Yi felt that his status as a player would eventually be exposed, so he decided it was better to reveal it to Liu Bo sooner rather than later. He knew Liu Bo would listen to him and wouldn't leak the information.

Hearing that Lin Yi had also entered the Apocalypse world, Liu Bo was instantly excited. "Really? I didn't expect you to move so fast, Brother Yi! During training, I heard people on the dark web were selling activation codes, but the price was astronomical."

Lin Yi nodded as if that were indeed the case. "The price was indeed high. I had to empty my life savings to buy it. At first, I was worried the seller was a scammer, but thankfully, the code was real. By the way, Xiao Bo, I landed in Gutan Village in the Apocalypse continent. Have you heard of it?"

Liu Bo thought for a moment. "Gutan Village? I haven't heard of it. It seems the official records don't have information on that village yet."

Lin Yi realized that there were no government agents in Gutan Village yet. According to Liu Bo, official personnel were tasked not only with their own development but also with socializing to memorize the appearances of other players in their village, so they could be identified and recruited in reality. This was how the government had managed to assemble a large number of Apocalypse players in such a short time and establish the superhuman agencies now covering the country. However, the lack of officials in Gutan Village didn't mean they wouldn't arrive later. As the government’s operations expanded, Lin Yi expected more and more players to be recruited.

After chatting for a while, Liu Bo asked curiously, "Brother Yi, what level are you now?"

"Level 3." Lin Yi didn't hide this; he was indeed Level 3, though his combat power was likely on par with a Level 8 or 9.

"Level 3, that’s pretty fast. It was so tough in the capital that I’m only Level 5. You truly are a veteran gamer, Brother Yi! By the way, I have a document the instructors gave us; I'll send it to you later. The information on it should be very useful for you."

They ate until around ten o’clock that night. Lin Yi, having gained much, took a taxi to drop Liu Bo off at home before returning to his own apartment. After a quick wash, he opened the encrypted file Liu Bo had sent on his computer.

The file was extensive, containing all the monsters the government had discovered so far. Monsters outside Gutan Village, such as the Terror Pig, Heart-Eating Wolf, and Mirage Crow, were all listed. From Level 1 to Level 10, there were nearly two hundred different species. Unfortunately, it only covered monsters and contained no information on Ghost Spirits.

The latter half of the file provided detailed strategies on how players could level up, allocate attribute points, and enhance their combat power.

"...Based on our current data, all players gain five attribute points per level. Bottlenecks appear at Level 5 and Level 7. Level 5 is a Vitality bottleneck, while Level 7 is the bottleneck for awakening a physical talent. Comparatively, the Level 7 bottleneck is more critical; one must pause to accumulate attribute points to obtain a physical talent..."

"...According to current research, as long as one breaks through Level 7, they will at least obtain a white-grade physical talent. For reference, Captain Hu Feng of Xiangnan City, due to special circumstances and a unique point allocation method, saw his Agility attribute exceed 50 points at Level 7, which granted him a speed-related green-grade physical talent."

"...We have determined that as long as any of the four major attributes exceeds 50 points, one should be able to obtain a physical talent of green grade or higher. Therefore, focusing on a single attribute is not an invalid strategy."

"...Analyzing the impact of the four attributes on the character: beyond the system’s basic descriptions, we discovered through extensive data that adding to Physique increases Health. Basically, 1 point of Physique equals 10 points of Health, though this varies between individual players..."

"...Adding to Strength, Physique, or Agility all increase Vitality, with Strength providing the largest increase..."

"...From a game design perspective, the four attributes should be balanced. Some players think Endurance isn't worth investing in, but our research shows that Endurance not only increases Stamina and its recovery rate, but also provides resistance to extreme environments like heat and cold. Furthermore, when encountering certain Ghost Spirits, Endurance improves resistance to negative emotions..."

Reading this, Lin Yi couldn't help but marvel at the government's data-gathering capabilities. He had previously thought Endurance was unimportant, but this document clearly shifted his perspective.

Continuing down, the file discussed external martial arts. "External martial arts are a vital way for players to increase combat power. However, proficiency is extremely difficult to gain. Fortunately, we have found that practicing these arts in reality also increases proficiency..."

"...We currently suggest that players focus on mastering one external art to boost combat power quickly; learning too many will only scatter your focus..."

"In summary, a player's combat power currently consists of level-based attributes, equipment, external martial arts, and combat awareness. Beyond leveling up, one can seek out rare treasures in the Apocalypse world to increase attributes. This is especially important before Level 7... Finally, regarding combat awareness, we suggest players spar frequently with others, either in Apocalypse or reality; only through frequent combat can one sharpen their awareness..."

Lin Yi finished the material with a sense of lingering interest; he had gained a great deal. The depth of the government's research was impressive. Unfortunately, the document contained zero information about the "Professional" level beyond Level 10, suggesting that such intel was considered highly classified. He wondered if Liu Bo knew anything about it and resolved to ask him next time.

Additionally, Lin Yi felt his most urgent task was to figure out how to raise his talent level and unlock another talent slot. Today, he had drawn an incredibly powerful blue-grade talent:

[Earth Sprite]: A rare blue-grade talent. As a child of the earth, you possess the ability to listen to the earth's voice and receive its protection. As long as you stand on the ground, you can perceive the emotions of plants within a one-kilometer radius, allowing them to serve as your eyes and ears. Furthermore, standing on the ground grants a permanent +20 Strength and +20 Physique bonus.

Undoubtedly, if he could equip this talent, not only would his attributes skyrocket to match a Level 9 player, but he would also never be ambushed in the wild again, as any creature approaching him would be sensed through the plants.

Alas, as powerful as [Earth Sprite] was, Lin Yi couldn't bring himself to sacrifice [Born Swordsman] to lock it in. After all, when comparing blue-grade and purple-grade talents, anyone with sense knew what to choose. For now, [Born Swordsman] was simply a better fit.