At midnight on September 5th, the number of online players of Thriller Paradise easily broke through seven digits, setting a new record since the start of the game.

Millions of players had already laid down in their gaming pods before midnight and logged into the game in sleep mode (the competition could not be held in non-sleep mode servers).

Even though most of them were not S2 contestants, and the preliminaries were not broadcasted live (at least until the end of the preliminaries, all recordings were kept confidential), they were still willing to join in the fun.

As for the players who were qualified to participate in S2, there were quite a few of them ... This was because dream Inc. Had announced the start of the competition in early August, and the registration deadline was at the end of August. This half a month's time was enough for many players who had yet to meet the requirements to level up.

Without a doubt ... The game company had made a huge profit in this period of time.

The sales of game currency rose steadily; The sales of the "double experience card" soared. The monthly visitor volume of the official website had increased several times, and the income from advertising spots had also increased. As for the game ... Due to the large increase in the usage of the auction house and the number of transactions, the system had also recovered a record-high handling fee from the players.

In short, whether it was popularity or money ... They were all rushing over, and they couldn't be stopped.

It could be said that dream Inc. Had used their actions to teach many of their peers a lesson that the quality of the game itself and the strict attitude of the operators decided everything.

Compared to those second and third-rate online gaming companies that used vulgar hype all day to attract people's attention, dream Inc.'S advertising cost was actually lower because they didn't have to take the initiative to "promote" anything. Even if they wanted to hide it, the media would come to them.

........

5th of September, 00:05.

In a certain log-in space.

[Drunken sorrow, level 50]

[Raw fish slice, level 50]

Zen dream, level 50

[Death enlightenment, level 50]

[Sky-swallowing Phantom dawn, level 50]

[Please select the game mode that your team would like to join.]

[You have chosen S2 for the tournament of the best, gathering of the heroes. Please confirm.]

"Confirmed. Please select the spectator for this battle."

"Confirmed. Please set your team 's' Privacy Protection options '."

[You have chosen "maintain appearance" and "report your team name to the enemy team". Please confirm.]

"Confirmed. Your team has entered the queue. Searching for other readied teams."

"Matching complete, coordinating neural connection, generating scenario ..."

"Loading, please wait."

"When the heroes gather, who is the hero? The group of heroes will compete, and the winner will be King. "

Just like the S1 preliminary round, the S2 official preliminary round also had a unique scripted opening.

"Download Complete. Welcome to S2 'gathering of heroes'."

"A scenario introduction is provided in this mode, and there is a chance of a side or hidden mission and a special world-building appearing.

"Scenario victory reward: preliminaries Points: 3."

"The script introduction will be played soon. The game will begin immediately after the introduction."

After a series of loading messages,'order team one' was sent into the scenario and started to read the introductory cinematic and the plot introduction.

Obviously, since there was a so-called "team one," there would naturally be a "team two," and even teams three, four, five, six, seven ...

For a top-tier large gaming studio like regulation, as long as they had the heart, it would not be a problem to Form 20 to 30 teams.

Of course, they would not do that. If they were to form as many teams as they could ... Then according to their strength, the combat power of "order 10 team" might not even be as good as the first team of a second-tier studio. Even if such a team participated in the competition, there was no possibility of them advancing. If they lost badly, it would also damage the studio's image.

Therefore, regulation only formed four teams this time ...

As for their second, third, and fourth teams, let's not talk about them for the time being. Let's talk about this team's lineup ... Which is the five people mentioned above.

Zui Sheng, Meng Si, and sky-swallowing Phantom dawn had all reached level 50, and they were all in the top 20 of the individual power List.

It was obvious ... That this team was aiming for the championship. Any one of these five players would be the main force in any other team. However, in team order, they had to choose one of them to sit on the bench every match. It was terrifying just thinking about it ...

In this crucial first match, the team leader, understanding death, chose to watch the battle by himself and handed the command of the team to the vice-captain, raw fish slice.

In terms of strength, these two might not be the strongest in the team, but ... The other three in their team: One was not good at strategy and liked to trash talk, one was always smoking and drinking hot water and was extremely unreliable, and one would turn into a Chuunibyou berserk state the moment he entered the scenario ... Under such circumstances, they could only "do more work" and take on the responsibility of Captain and vice-captain.

However ... Let's just say this one thing at a time. Being the captain of team one is actually quite an easy thing. Most of the time, they just had to lead their team to "brainlessly go over" and win. Under the absolute advantage of strength, even if the other party had hundreds of strategies, they would not be able to change the outcome.

........

After talking about the order side, it was time to look at their opponent for the first round.

One had to know that the number of teams that signed up for the S2 preliminary round was extremely high. In the preliminaries, the chances of the two strongest Teams meeting were actually very low.

However ... There were no stories without coincidences. Order team one had really encountered a strong team in the first preliminary round.

This team was also a professional team belonging to a large studio, and they did not activate the privacy Protection option. As such ... The name [corpse knife First Division] was clearly displayed in the game menu of the five members of regulation.

........

"Hehe ... I thought the preliminaries would be as easy as the practice mode ..." When raw fish slice saw the name of the enemy team, he revealed a rather complicated smile."But I met a tough bone in the first round ..."

"Sigh ... I was just going to play around and win without doing anything ..." Lying drunk sighed and said,"now it seems like I have to be more serious."

"Ying 'er!" Zen dream had already taken out a bottle of wine and gulped it down."Don't be careless!" Although he said that, his expression and actions were very relaxed.

"Humph ... What tough bone ... What serious ... What careless ..." At this moment, ghost hunter sneered,"in my eyes ... There's no difference."

"Oh, oh~our Ace has entered the battle (medium)(two) mode again." Lying drunk tidied up his instant noodle hairstyle and continued.

"This has nothing to do with my mental state. I'm telling the truth." Ghost hunter said in a deep voice,"it doesn't matter if the opponent is a professional or an amateur. We only have one thing to do, and that is ... To defeat them with all our strength without mercy." He paused for a moment."Since the goal is to be the champion, then you must have the awareness of 'absolutely not losing'."

"Hehe, I really can't compare to you young people." Zen dream laughed."You're making me light up~" as he spoke, he lit a cigarette.

"It's only the cigarette in your hand that lit up ..." Raw fish slice narrowed his eyes and spat coldly.

"The main mission has been triggered."

[Killed four members of corpse knife First Division.]

Just as they were conversing, the system notification rang. This indicated that ... The "safe time" of the opening had ended.

........

At the same time, on the other side of the script.

The four members of zombie blade's First Division adhered to the studio's usual style.

They were dressed in uniform (similar to the interstellar style, but the color was alternating between green and black. The badge of zombie blade was printed on the left chest, and the pattern was an exquisitely carved skull scimitar with the words "zombie blade" on it). They had the same hairstyle (buzz cut), and even the expressions on their faces were very similar (pale and numb).

As mentioned in the previous article, before V1.10, zombie blade had always been ranked fifth on the Guild combat ranking, and they occupied the most spots in the top 20 of the player level ranking. Although the two lists had been canceled due to the merger, their strength could not be ignored.

"Oh? I can't believe I've met the strongest opponent in the first match. " The member of corpse knife named [doomsday assault] read out the mission details.

"There's nothing to be surprised about. It's just a matter of probability. " [Final assault] continued,"one of the teams will meet them, right?"historical

Those of you with a good memory would probably still remember ... These two were the two corpse knife members who had encountered brother Jue and flashes of sword in the wasteland of earth. That time, they were unfortunately tricked by brother Jue and lost The Killing Game without even seeing the enemy.

Some people might wonder why these two, who did not look that powerful, were now in the First Division of corpse saber. In fact, this was not surprising ... Because zombie blade had used the "medicinal assistance" as a cheating method, so in essence, after their players reached level 50 and above ... Their skill level was about the same.

Unless these players stopped taking potions for a period of time like zombie blade King and the current tired dream, they would become a group of cold and cruel Warriors no matter what talent they had.

Under the premise that the player's personal factors could be ignored, it was very easy to arrange a team. As long as the four elements of the character's mastery, title, equipment, and skills were used, they could create a team that could cooperate with each other and maximize each other's advantages. It could be said that ... The formation of the "corpse knife First Division" was like solving a math problem. After removing the "uncertainties of humanity," all that was left was simple calculations.

In fact, the selection of players for their team was indeed done by the A. I. The person in charge of the studio had only pulled out the information of all the level 50 game characters under zombie blade and had the A. I. Calculate the 'most efficient' combination.

"I think it's a good thing." A few seconds later, another player with the ID of [non-verbally King] said,"since we're here to win the bid, it's only a matter of time before we meet them." His tone changed slightly."Perhaps ... This meeting is a good opportunity."

At this moment, corpse knife First division's Captain,[also first king], took over the former's words and said,""I also think so." He paused for half a second."As a touchstone for the effect of the 'new medicine'... The five people in team one of order are the most suitable." (To be continued.) "If you like this work, you're welcome to come to Qidian.com to give your recommendation and monthly vote. Your support is my greatest motivation. For mobile users, please read on M.Qidian.com.)