The Crimson Courtyard is a massive, inverted pyramid-shaped structure entirely blood-red, serving as the core of the Abyss Game and the bridge connecting various Instance Planes.
The Crimson Courtyard is divided into four areas, corresponding to four different layers of the Abyss. All New Players begin their exploration of the Abyss starting from the first layer, the Desolate Realm.
The area corresponding to the Desolate Realm is named the Misty Plaza.
Wu Chang stood on a dilapidated plaza, and information about the Crimson Courtyard automatically surfaced in his mind.
Surrounding him was faint, intermittent mist, and above his head, the sky was obscured by dark gray Dark Clouds, making the place look like nowhere good.
「Congratulations Player No. 4444444 for entering the Crimson Courtyard and becoming a Formal Player. All your Player privileges have been unlocked, and you may begin exploring the Crimson Courtyard.」
As the electronic prompt sounded in his ear, familiar icons such as 「Friends」, 「Shop」, 「Forum」, 「Commissions」, and 「Map」 appeared on his Attribute Panel.
Ding!
Simultaneously, a new unread message appeared in his information bar, sent by the "Xia Country Anomaly Phenomenon Administration Bureau."
The message was automatically distributed in the form of a document titled 《Abyss Game Beginner's Guide》.
He ignored his surroundings and immediately began reading the document.
The Beginner's Guide was packed with essential information, explaining the Abyss Game to Newcomers in the most direct manner.
The Abyss Game is divided into four layers; the first layer is the Desolate Realm, where Players between levels 1 and 30 operate.
Every Formal Player must enter an Instance at least once a month. Without using Special Items, the fastest one can enter an Instance is once every half a month, and Instance matching is completely random.
Improvements to the Flesh in Reality will be synchronized and reflected on the Attribute Panel. New Players can gain Attribute Points enhancements from Reality by exercising their Physique in the early stages.
Instances are broadly categorized into two types: Normal Instances and Real Instances.
Normal Instances are Projections created by the Crimson Courtyard, which can be repeatedly cleared by different Players to gather Intelligence.
Every repeatable Normal Instance has a corresponding unique Real Instance.
A Real Instance is a genuine Plane, and every time a Player enters, it causes an irreversible impact on that Real Instance.
If a Player fails to clear the Instance, it causes pollution to the Real Instance. If the pollution index exceeds the safety value, it will cause the Instance to go Out of Control, connecting that Instance to the Blue Star Reality World.
Players who discover any heavily polluted Instances should immediately report them to the Anomaly Phenomenon Administration Bureau to receive corresponding rewards.
Wu Chang raised an eyebrow; if he remembered correctly, the status of the Moonlight Sanatorium was On the Verge of Losing Control.
In that case, the Moonlight Sanatorium must be the so-called Real Instance.
If he hadn't cleared it, or if his clearance rating was poor, it seemed some place was going to suffer greatly.
Besides the introduction to Instances, the Beginner's Guide also briefly introduced the functions of the Crimson Courtyard and the Attribute Panel.
The Intelligence recorded within was so basic that in an ordinary video game, Players would skip it with their eyes closed.
Yet, precisely this most fundamental Intelligence was what Wu Chang needed most right now.
Closing the 《Abyss Game Beginner's Guide》, he followed the method taught within and silently commanded himself to go to the Public Area.
As soon as the thought appeared, the mist before him parted to the sides, revealing a small path.
Walking along the path, a Gate appeared before his eyes.
Stepping across the Gate, a line of Prompts flashed before him.
「Currently entering the Public Area.」
The Public Area was the complete opposite of the dilapidated plaza before. Weeds no longer grew between the cracks of the stone floor, the eerie Mist was gone, and even the overcast sky above had turned into clear blue skies.
Countless Players moved back and forth across the white stone-paved plaza.
"Take a look, come and see! Freshly baked F-rank Adventurer Breastplates, fifty Decayed Silver Coins each, first come, first served!"
"F-rank Health Potion, twenty Decayed Silver Coins a bottle. Buy three for a 10% discount, buy five for a 20% discount. Bulk purchases get better deals!"
"Bidding is heating up for Intelligence regarding the D-rank popular Instance 「Desperate Rainforest」 Safe Zone! Three hours left until the auction ends, current bid: 850 Decayed Silver Coins!"
The Public Area resembled a massive marketplace, with Players loudly hawking their wares and advertising their goods.
Players were dressed in various ways: Knights in medieval Plate Armor walked side-by-side with Future Warriors in high-tech combat suits; a superhero in a cape and Bodysuit squatted in front of a stall set up by a Swordsman, arguing heatedly over the purchase of a Staff.
The entire plaza possessed a beauty born from clashing aesthetics.
In the very center of the plaza stood a Clock Tower. The position where the clock face should have been was replaced by a screen displaying a time.
100 Days 5 Hours 34 Minutes 52 Seconds.
The time was decreasing; it was clearly a Countdown.
The last time Wu Chang watched a countdown like this was during the college entrance exams. He wondered what the countdown in the Abyss Game was for.
Below the Clock Tower area was the Leaderboard area, the very core of the Public Area.
The area was arranged like a music application, displaying lists such as the Top Ten Popular Instances of the Desolate Realm, the Instance Potential Surge Ranking, the Strongest Player Leaderboard, the Most Valuable Bounty Board, and so on.
The Beginner's Guide mentioned that both Newcomers and Veterans could understand the overall trend of the Abyss Game by collecting information from these leaderboards.
The most eye-catching list among them was undoubtedly the Most Valuable Bounty Board.
For the majority of Players, the other lists were too distant, but the content on the Bounty Board might offer a chance to try one's luck.
Currently, the item ranked first on the Most Valuable Bounty Board was a bounty for Instance Intelligence.
"Purchasing any Intelligence regarding the A-rank Instance 「Song of Praise Company」 or the 「Desolate—51642」 Plane. Rewards will be given based on the importance of the Intelligence. Three pieces of core classified Intelligence regarding the 「Song of Praise Company」 are each worth 80,000 Decayed Silver Coins. Contact: Ironclad Regiment."
The issuer of the bounty concluded with a threat:
"This Instance concerns a Class Change Item. The Ironclad Regiment will voluntarily withdraw from competition in other Instances for the next three months to secure priority clearance rights for this Instance. If any other Organization attempts to clear this Instance within three months, it will be considered a declaration of war against the Ironclad Regiment."
Wu Chang clicked his tongue, muttering about the domineering declaration.
The Ironclad Regiment's stance was irritating, but the price they offered was indeed high.
He knew that after a Perfect Clear of a B-rank Instance with a 300% reward settlement, he only obtained 15,000 Decayed Silver Coins.
A single piece of Intelligence about the Song of Praise Company was worth 80,000 Decayed Silver Coins!
According to the exchange rate he just learned—1 Decayed Silver Coin is approximately equivalent to 1000 Yuan in Reality—that meant one piece of Intelligence was worth 80 million!
He spat on the ground, "Tui! He hates Pay-to-Win Players the most."
Just as he was about to look further down the Most Valuable Bounty Board, the list suddenly scrolled, pushing the Ironclad Regiment's bounty down to second place.
The first-place bounty had become a missing person notice.
"Seeking the Player who cleared the B-rank Uncontrolled Instance 「Moonlight Sanatorium」 yesterday. This Player is a Newcomer and will log into the Misty Plaza soon. All Players, please take note. We are currently collecting any Intelligence about this Player: The Player's whereabouts and Characteristics are worth one hundred thousand Decayed Silver Coins! Player ID is worth two hundred thousand Decayed Silver Coins! Successfully connecting us is worth three hundred thousand Decayed Silver Coins! The Player's Reality Intelligence is worth five hundred thousand Decayed Silver Coins!"
"If this Player is willing to join us, they will immediately receive one million Decayed Silver Coins, with other benefits being excellent. Contact: Sir Johnson."
As soon as this bounty was posted, the entire Leaderboard area instantly quieted down. All Players held their breath, carefully studying the Intelligence revealed by this bounty.
Before everyone could recover, the list scrolled again, pushing the Ironclad Regiment's bounty to third place.
The content of the new bounty was largely similar, with slightly lower Decayed Silver Coin rewards than the previous one, but it added an A-rank Item suitable for the informant for the connection and Reality Intelligence tiers.
Immediately after, a third bounty was posted, pushing the Ironclad Regiment back another spot.
It was as if all the Major Factions had agreed; bounties for the Player who cleared the 「Moonlight Sanatorium」 followed one after another. Within five minutes, the Ironclad Regiment had dropped out of the top ten on the value board.
Thanks to the successive price hikes by the Major Factions, the mysterious New Player, still just a codename whose gender was unknown, instantly soared to the top spot on the Most Popular Player Leaderboard, forcefully occupying the first position.
And the highest bounty price offered for the Player who cleared the 「Moonlight Sanatorium」 had risen to a joining fee of two million Decayed Silver Coins.
Two million Decayed Silver Coins equaled two billion!
Wu Chang walked up to a Window and pointed at himself in the glass reflection, "I didn't realize you were worth this much, kid."
He could now be considered worth hundreds of millions. The only problem now was which organization he should approach to withdraw these hundreds of millions in assets.