To ascend, I had no choice but to create games-Chapter 842 - 465: Only Filter, Do Not Change

A new Chapter brought new discussions and revealed to the players that their world had gotten even bigger.

After the initial chaos, players discovered that "Please Come In, Guest" had become a misnomer.

Who still remembered this was supposed to be a shop simulator?

Players now focused their attention on different small worlds, realizing they could actually enter them to explore, though dying was highly likely.

Each small world was random, and the damage they suffered was unpredictable; when players entered other worlds through portals, there was a tiny chance they’d find another world, but a higher chance they’d be sucked into some dark space and begin playing a game of hide and seek with unknown creatures, haha.

Players jokingly referred to such places as Dark Spaces, contrasting them with completely empty White Spaces, Red Rooms filled with dark red blood, and boundless Green Spaces.

These spaces were surprisingly large and each seemed meaningless. However, at that moment, the game system would considerately prompt the player, telling them, "Walk in the direction of twelve o’clock for ten years, and you will see a new exit."

Seeing such a sarcastically strong prompt, players felt Fang Cheng Studio’s hints were somewhat polite, though scarce.

In such cases, if one had special items, it was manageable; without them, one could only hope their account would be discovered by another player who happened to have spare items.

In this situation, hiring NPCs was the best option.

Some NPCs, under the call of the New Celestial Honor, were willing to risk their lives for players; some of them, due to the invasion of shadows, became immortal, making them the best explorers of different small worlds. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

To distinguish these people from ordinary NPCs, they were given a special name: "Hero Units."

Different Hero Units had different characteristics; for instance, the hardworking Werewolf Soldiers who always wore gas masks and never took them off.

Although not particularly talented, their endurance was formidable; they could stay mentally stable even when trapped in a confined space for decades, making them the most popular hero units here.

The always-jovial Half-Goat People were a special kind of Hero Unit. Despite their poor base attributes and a propensity to fall into depression without fine wine and food,

once they became particularly depressed, another immortal Half-Goat Person would immediately appear beside the despondent Half-Goat Person, and they would dance and sing together, quickly uplifting their spirits.

At such a moment, one could take the opportunity to throw a Master Ball (fine wine) at the newly appeared Half-Goat Person, who was highly likely to stay and become a player’s Hero Unit.

With some effort, players could rapidly amass an army of Half-Goat People and expedite exploration by catering to their needs.

Additionally, some Hero Units could form teams, gaining special skills, constantly improving their levels during exploration, and obtaining more loot. This loot could be handed over to players for research, thereby producing more effects and perpetuating a positive cycle.

Players’ roles shifted from passively waiting for customers as shopkeepers to actively managing their Hero Units.

They needed to gear up their Hero Units appropriately, researching and producing materials based on the surrounding terrain and the situation in the small worlds. The player’s influence expanded from a small shop to these worlds, requiring numerous personnel for exploration by mid-stage and potentially vast war-scale explorations by the end-stage.

War-strategy loving players were thrilled at the thought of potentially becoming saviors of the entire world.

They began forming alliances; like-minded friends advanced toward the same region, and different types of players discussed whether their research findings could be interchangeable, enriching the game with exploratory and mysterious dimensions.

However, this mysteriousness also provided players with opportunities for exploration. Although initially the regions available for exploration were extremely limited, it was precisely this possibility that made players insatiable.

If not interested in war strategies, "Please Come In, Guest" did not force social interaction. Some harmless small worlds would be opened, allowing players to continue previous gameplay and supply their products to front-line players.

The game’s landscape and gameplay had undergone significant changes, showing that Fang Cheng Studio’s mid-game shift wasn’t unacceptable.

As long as the game was fun, changing gameplay a few times didn’t really matter.

Sitting in Xiemen Waidao’s base, Fang Cheng watched player feedback, feeling quite satisfied with their response to the game.

"I haven’t slept for three days; now I only wish for a brain that has never played this game. This game is too addictive."

"There’s always something to do every second. Every time I just want to log in to harvest some crops, then I find out my employed NPCs have sold quite a few items, so I need to restock. While restocking, I see a new order and decide to fulfill it. During that, I realize I can optimize my production line, so I go and do that. In the process of optimization, I decide to first study my supply chain before starting, and then I go study it. By the time I finally finish harvesting my crops, I find out it’s already morning."