Chapter 512: Throngs of People! The Demon King's Arrival!

Chapter 512: Throngs of People! The Demon King's Arrival!

"Damn, is this too many people? This Soul Core of All Souls is similar to the Ghost House adventure of the Undead Exploration, but do we need so many people to come together? With so many people, will there still be a sense of terror?"

On the long street, the dense crowd completely blocked the road, and the source of the road was not the line that had been queuing for over a mile since the opening of the Jianghai Academy, but rather the newly opened Soul Core store.

Moreover, those who arrived were not just students queuing, but also many who had come from the center of Linzhou City.

There were even television stations and newspaper reporters.

There were also obviously some outsiders with different accents mixed in the crowd.

These were not under Su Ping's responsibility, but Guan Lilili's connections were not to be taken lightly.

Moreover, Guan Lilili had not done much promotion; she had only placed a small advertisement.

However, Su Ping's influence and the allure of All Souls were indeed enormous beyond imagination.

Furthermore, for this opening, Su Ping was not thinking about making money.

The reason was simple.

"Nonsense, how can there not be many people? Su God said that the Soul Core opening has an event; as long as players enter and follow the rules, those who pass through smoothly will be rewarded with a self-selected Archon-rank resource! Not to mention, it is said that there are also hidden mysterious rewards inside, which can be exchanged within the Soul Core after completing some challenges!"

Someone responded with disdain to the astonishment of the crowd.

"A self-selected Archon-rank resource? Given after passing through? Su Ping is really generous! An Archon-rank resource would cost several hundred thousand or even millions!"

Someone sighed.

"He's not short of money, and besides, resources like these are much cheaper for high-level Beastmasters to obtain compared to buying them on the market."

"However, with so many people, the difficulty shouldn't be low, right?"

"It wasn't mentioned, but it probably won't be too difficult! Speaking of which, what's inside? All Souls has been keeping it a secret; has anyone gone in and come out?"

Someone asked expectantly in the crowd.

"Hmph, what's there to be scared of? I'm an Undead Beastmaster! I deal with these ghostly things daily; what kind of undead can frighten me? By the way, can the Soul Core be challenged repeatedly? The rules probably didn't mention that, right? Let's see how I'll make Su Ping go bankrupt!"

Someone was extremely confident,

However, as soon as his words fell, several figures hurriedly rushed out from the Soul Core.

This caused the originally lively discussion to become extremely quiet.

The reason was simple; among those figures, there was a stretcher, and lying on it was a young man who was obviously a student from the Jianghai Advanced Academy.

However, this young man no longer resembled the proud son of the Advanced Academy; he lay on the stretcher, his eyes tightly closed, his face extremely pale, and even some white foam at the corners of his mouth.

This scene made the originally lively atmosphere suddenly quiet.

The television stations and newspaper reporters who had come as a means of publicity were stunned, unsure if they should film this.

This scene made many people's hearts skip a beat.

Damn, they had only come to win rewards and join the excitement, not to risk their lives.

Was this place truly that terrifying?

Just then, another figure emerged, answering this doubt.

Compared to the young Beastmaster who had just been carried out, this person was a little older, around twenty-six or twenty-seven.

His face was also extremely pale, and his legs were a bit weak.

However, compared to the one who had been carried out, this person had made significant progress.

Immediately, several people gathered around:

"Buddy, what's the situation inside?"

The young man who had just come out waved his hand:

"There's a confidentiality agreement regarding the specific details inside, so I can only share some rules."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding crowd quieted down.

Although the person before them seemed to have entered for less than twenty minutes, and had come out with the first one to be carried out, but being able to obtain some detail information before entering was undoubtedly beneficial.

After calming down, the young man spoke:

"Actually, it's simple; it seems that passing through the seven scenes of the Soul Core and completing some hidden settings and tasks will likely result in better rewards."

He spoke as if it were a serious matter, and someone beside him asked curiously:

"Buddy, which level did you fail at?"

As soon as these words came out, the young man's face turned slightly embarrassed, and he coughed lightly:

"I failed at the first level..."

"Shh..."

Instantly, hearing the hisses from the crowd, the young man's face turned red, and even the previous paleness was suppressed, as he argued indignantly:

"You'll know when you try it yourself; that train is strangely frightening, and there are even some death judgments, not just a matter of scaring people, and I was also looking for the main quest clues, which is why I was careless."

If only summoning Companion Beasts was allowed inside...”

Then, when the people around him couldn't understand, a series of incomprehensible terms like 'Courage Irrelevant', 'Companion Beast Seal', 'Blood Train', and so on.

Unfortunately, it was clear that this explorer, who couldn't even pass the first level, was of no value or significance to anyone.

He could only look disdainfully at this guy as he quickly left the entrance of Soul Core.

"Wow, he's really putting on a good show. I didn't expect a novice who couldn't even pass the first level to be so convincing. Let's wait for the experts to come out. By the way, how many players can Soul Core accommodate at once? Won't those who enter not come out again?"

Someone was surprised.

But soon, it was proven that such thoughts were unnecessary.

The previous two, like the first wave of a flood after the gate was opened, one after another, quickly walked or crawled out,

Yet, the crowd that had entered earlier continued to move forward in an orderly manner. Every two minutes, they moved again.

It was clear that the number of people entering and exiting had no impact on the crowd's ability to re-enter.

This made several figures who had been confident in themselves start to feel nervous.

For example, having already entered the Soul Core hall, looking at the large screen inside the Soul Core hall that displayed the number of players inside, there was a girl wearing a mask and a sun hat.

Yin Yin secretly snuck in.

As the top-notch internet celebrity of the moment, Yin Yin, the school flower who was often stopped for photos on the street, still maintained her secrecy.

However, this time, Yin Yin hesitated. This thing seemed genuinely challenging.

Damn Li Shu, he didn't even leak any inside information.

But since she was here, and had even lined up early in the morning, Yin Yin, the school flower, couldn't possibly give up, no matter what.

After all, she had boldly declared in her fan group that she would definitely clear the game.

Thinking of this, looking at the slowly approaching turn, Yin Yin stepped forward and came to the counter.

Facing the front desk lady's smile, Yin Yin took her watch and simultaneously paid the half-price opening fee of two hundred and fifty yuan.

"This is your watch number plate. By wearing this watch, we can constantly monitor your safety status and position to prevent any special situations.

At the same time, the watch will introduce the rules and some task prompts after entering each area! We hope you enjoy your experience, but before entering, please sign a liability waiver and confidentiality agreement. Inside Soul Core, in most cases, video and photo recording with electronic devices are not allowed! Please let us keep your mechanical equipment, thank you for your understanding."

Hearing the last sentence, Yin Yin's expression slightly showed disappointment. If possible, she really wanted to record inside.

But being obedient, she handed over her live streaming equipment from her backpack, looked at the confidentiality agreement, and found that the confidentiality period was only seven days. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief and then pointed to the liability waiver, asking:

"Miss, why is the confidentiality agreement only for seven days? And it doesn't seem particularly strict. If the focus is on declassification, isn't this a bit too lenient?"

The front desk lady then explained:

"It's like this, ma'am. Because some of the details of our internal levels, the tasks, and the requirements are only valid for seven days. After seven days, our Soul Core will have specialized scenario designers reset the settings!

Previous discussions won't be effective and may even be misleading. This is also one of the joys of playing and exploring Soul Core!"

"I see!"

Yin Yin nodded.

Indeed, it was no wonder that Su Ping's new creation wouldn't disappoint.

Looking at Yin Yin in front of her, the front desk lady continued to remind her:

"Additionally, within seven days, you can save your progress and resume your challenge after resting! Of course, if you fail a level challenge and trigger a death ending, you won't be able to save your progress and will have to start over from the beginning.

Once you pass a level, you can press the call button, and our staff will escort you out, waiting for you to challenge the next level. But this must also be within the seven-day challenge period. Otherwise, if the settings change, your previous progress will become invalid."

Yin Yin nodded, surprised at this revelation.

No wonder.

Speaking of which, among those who had left earlier, there might have been some who had already passed the first level.

Thinking of this, Yin Yin immediately felt reinvigorated and motivated.

Looking at the train that had stopped at the elevator entrance, with its rusted body, dark bloodstains on the steps, and several stark red handprints on the few windows, Yin Yin's eyes twitched.

This first stage is obviously meant to be a transportation tool for the setting, but why is there such blatant malicious intent?

Yin Yin pursed her lips, gathered her courage, and stepped onto the Death Train, which seemed to be prepared solely for her.

...

"Tsk, the effects are pretty good! The crowd is overwhelming."

The Soul Heart Haunted Castle,

Here, was the control center of the entire Soul Heart.

The extremely Shadowy Phantom 'Red-Eyed Wraith' drifted in the castle's control center, seemingly elated by the return of its master after several days.

Su Ping lay on the couch in the control room, smiling as he tossed a few Soul Crystals to the Red-Eyed Wraith.

Bai Cang stood by, nodding, "It seems the Blood Train isn't sufficient. Most people fail right on the train."

Su Ping raised his eyebrows, "Speaking of which, what did you and the hired scenario designers set up on this Blood Train?"

Bai Cang nodded,

"Well, as the first entry point, the Blood Train doesn't have overly complex scare settings. It mainly employs ordinary scare tactics, but there are also some deadly attacks. If players trigger certain conditions, they'll be deemed dead and forcibly removed from Soul Heart.

This time, the overall plot theme is worth mentioning!"

"Plot theme?"

Su Ping mulled over these four words.

He hadn't paid attention to Soul Heart for a while, what had Bai Cang and the hired designers been up to? "That's right! For the first week, the plot theme is a safe and conventional Demon King revival! Among the currently open seven stages, a Demon King-level monster is sealed, with its limbs, head, and torso sealed in six of the scenes.

In the other scene, the Demon King's soul is sealed, but unknowingly, the seal has been lifted. The soul drifts within Soul Heart.

All humans who enter Soul Heart will become food for the Demon King's soul. Only the wisest humans may pass through the seven scenes and escape.

Additionally, there are two other endings that meet your requirements for hidden surprises in Soul Heart.

One is to find the Demon King's soul and agree to become its minion, immune to the terror effects and Shadowy Phantom mental pressure. You can deceive other players into helping the Demon King break all the seals. Once the Demon King's body is fully unsealed, all players in the scene will be declared failed.

The minion player will also receive the Demon King's reward, a self-selected Kingdom resource as you mentioned earlier.

There's another hidden ending where the Demon King's soul is resealed! The resealer will receive the same reward!"

Su Ping listened and nodded repeatedly, finding it quite interesting just from the description.

"Who's playing the Demon King's soul? And what about the sealed body parts?"

Currently, the lower-level Undead Exploration in Shadowy Phantom were naturally completely obedient.

However, the Demon King's prestige was essential.

"Rest assured, the Demon King's soul is played by a Demonic Soul, a Shadowy Phantom sponsored by Master Yin Luo Yin as a special Appointed Actor. It's a pure Undead Exploration type of Companion Beast.

As for the body parts, they're just specially crafted props without consciousness, and once the Demon King fully revives, it's an immediate full-scene forced exit..."

Listening to Bai Cang's explanation, Su Ping nodded. He knew that thing, a shadowy fog hidden in the shadows, indeed fit the description.

As for the countless details within the scene, Bai Cang couldn't explain them all, and it would take too long. However, Su Ping was curious and genuinely wanted to see if any players could truly succeed within these seven days.

But soon, Bai Cang faced a dilemma,

"There are just too many people, and many are stuck on the Blood Train. If more people come later, it might slow down. With so many people, a large portion will leave without success."

This was indeed an issue, and Su Ping frowned, but soon had an idea,

"Let's not have players stuck on the Blood Train. After all, Soul Heart's plot theme isn't linear. They can enter the Haunted Wheat Field or the Ghostly Castle first.

Go and inform them. The Blood Train as a pure transport. Players can challenge it again later. First, input them into other idle scenes, and change the destination to completely random.

This way, the number of players in each scene will be more balanced. After queuing for so long, it would be embarrassing to only serve a hundred or so people in a day. The other scenes are so vast that they should be able to accommodate several thousand people coming and going in a day."

Su Ping's words made Bai Cang's eyes light up, and he went to make the arrangements.

Leaving Su Ping alone, he watched the 'victims' on the surveillance screens.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end