Chapter 71

The player ranked first on the combat power chart is named [Swallowing Sky Demon Xiao]. Surprisingly, this top-ranked ID is not among the top twenty on the level chart. The words "Order" after his name indicate that he is a member of a studio, so he is definitely not one of the two anonymous players on the level chart. Professional players under the umbrella of a large studio have no need to be low-key; their superiors would not let them remain anonymous either, as every name on the chart represents the studio's strength.

"Hmm... It seems that a single-digit level difference in this game is not much of an issue," Feng Bujue thought to himself. "The level chart is just a reference for players to see which levels the fastest levelers in the current server have reached... The truly powerful players are those on the combat power chart."

Feng Bujue scanned the entire chart. There were no anonymous players on the combat power chart, and all of the top twenty IDs had the names of their guilds listed. It seems that as an individual, it is indeed difficult to compete with those who have team resources, especially in the early stages of the game. "Combat power" is not just about a player's personal ability; it mainly consists of specialization levels, skills, and equipment. Players supported by a studio have a significant advantage in terms of equipment and the number of skills. At around level twenty, most players' specialization levels are still at D, so the gap becomes apparent.

Notably, apart from the player named Swallowing Sky Demon Xiao being in first place, other players with "Order" after their names are all ranked sixth or lower. The sixth place is currently the top-ranked player on the level chart, who is also the first player to reach the cap in the closed beta, [Fearless Hero].

The second to fifth places on the chart belong to another guild, with IDs [Shiva], [Vishnu], [Brahma], and [Yama]. These four players are from a studio called "Gods," which also seems to be quite powerful, as these four players are also among the top ten on the level chart.

After finishing the South Fan Pillar, Feng Bujue went to check the West and North pillars, which displayed the guild comprehensive strength chart and the guild combat power chart, respectively. As expected, the top two positions on both charts belonged to [Order] and [Gods]. The combat power of [Gods] is stronger, but [Order] has the edge in comprehensive strength.

The term "comprehensive strength" is quite intriguing. Since it is a different concept from combat power, it likely refers to the overall capabilities of a guild. Besides financial resources and the number of members, the strongest feature of [Order] is that they have no weaknesses.

For example, "Fearless Hero," whom Feng Bujue encountered earlier, was one of the players responsible for the combat specialization during the closed beta. For him, level, equipment, and other specializations were not important; his job was to complete the task he was assigned and provide the studio with the first-hand information and experience.

The same applies to the other specializations, each of which has its own dedicated explorer. [Order] uses this practical approach to gather valuable data, so when their main players (who joined during the open beta) enter the game, they can achieve more with less effort and avoid unnecessary detours.

[Order] has already established a nearly perfect and highly efficient system, especially in terms of game intelligence. Their understanding of the game is comprehensive and in-depth, and they can easily outshine the half-knowledgeable players who write guides on forums. Of course, they would never share their resources, even for money.

However, the [Gods] studio is not to be underestimated either. Their strength lies in the powerful individual abilities of their players. They don't care about the strategies of other studios; their approach is simple: as soon as the closed beta opens, they throw all their star players into the game and start leveling up. Since they have a full hand of Aces, it doesn't matter whether they play early or late.

Feng Bujue also reviewed the top twenty guilds on both charts. There was a lot of overlap, with seven guilds appearing on both the level and combat power charts. The remaining dozen or so guilds were unclear, but at least [Ice Emperor] was not on either chart, indicating that the credibility of these charts was not an issue.

After checking all four pillars, Feng Bujue went to the central information tower to look at the auction house. The prices were shockingly high, with some mediocre equipment selling for more than clothing.

A piece of fine equipment around level ten had a starting bid of 120,000 game coins, and the fixed price was set at 200,000. Even the starting bid was nearly 60 RMB. Feng Bujue found this amusing; for that price, one could buy a full set of cheap clothing and wear it for as long as they wanted. How long would that equipment last? By level twenty, a regular store-bought item would suffice.

At the beginning of the open beta, players were afraid that their auctioned items would be undervalued, which is understandable. One of the most frustrating moments in an online game is when you realize that an item you once discarded as trash is actually priceless.

Players who frequent the auction house often develop a mindset of buying low and selling high. They hope to encounter someone who doesn't know the market value and set a price below the actual value, allowing them to get a good deal. When selling, they set a high price, hoping that some unsuspecting buyer will fall for it.

In a world where everyone thinks this way, there are never enough fools, as everyone is trying to outsmart each other. In the end, the players who sell their items at fair prices are the ones who succeed.

In a game like Horror Park, where equipment attributes are randomly generated, it is almost impossible to have identical items. Therefore, it is difficult to hoard items and manipulate prices. Players who try to resell virtual items find it nearly impossible to buy items at a normal price and resell them for a high price.

Additionally, to prevent unscrupulous merchants from buying consumables from the system store, marking up the prices, and selling them to new players, the system prohibits the auction of store items (except for items from the Scare Box). Items of "Junk" or "Ragged" quality without special effects or attributes are also not allowed to be listed. Those who try to pick up items like "stones," "organs," or "dog poop" from the game and list them at high prices can forget it.

From any point in the central area, one can open the auction house menu to browse. Feng Bujue spent a long time looking, but almost every piece of equipment was priced unreasonably high. If he were to bundle the [Mario's Pipe Wrench], [Dance of the Jazz], and [Echo Armor] and list them for 600,000 game coins, they would likely be snapped up in less than a minute, and the buyer would be secretly gloating, thinking, "Great, I got a deal from a fool."

Thinking about this, Feng Bujue came up with a... well... brilliant plan.

He turned and headed towards the row of elevators, preparing to go to the last new area he had not yet visited—Scare Box.

Feng Bujue was currently under no pressure for equipment and had a decent amount of skill points. If he bought some fine equipment and listed it at a relatively reasonable price, he could sell it quickly for a fixed price. With hundreds of thousands of game coins in hand, buying clothing would be no problem.

...

After returning to the login space, Feng Bujue first went to the storage room to put the flashlight in his bag, then collected the reward for his fear rating. He was not in a hurry for experience, and 50,000 game coins were trivial. Collecting game coins was less useful than collecting equipment to sell.

So, the random equipment he received this time was:

【Name: Kenny's Hoodie】

【Type: Armor】

【Quality: Fine】

【Defense: Weak】

【Attributes: None】

【Special Effects: Within the limits of probability, passively becomes the main target of damage for the team (including monster attacks, accidents, natural disasters); in team survival mode (normal), allows the wearer to resurrect once after death.】

【Equipment Requirements: Male player, binds upon equipping】

【Note: Oh, God! They killed Kenny!】

This piece of armor is designed for the upper body and is separate from clothing. Armor is equipment, while clothing is more like a "skin." Both can be equipped simultaneously, but only one will be visible.

Feng Bujue understood the reference to Kenny, so even if he couldn't equip the Echo Armor yet, he would not impulsively wear this set.

Wearing it would be courting death, and giving it to someone else would be endangering their life. It was best to throw it into the auction and let strangers deal with it.

His bag currently had a capacity of 8/10, leaving room for two more items. According to his pricing, a piece of fine equipment from the Scare Box should sell for around 300 skill points. If one piece sold for 500 skill points, he wouldn't be able to buy two, so two empty slots were sufficient. He would buy the items and immediately list them for auction.

Returning to the elevator, he pressed the button for [Scare Box]. This time, something strange happened. After pressing the button, the door did not open immediately, and there was no system prompt. Two seconds later, the elevator started moving, and more strangely, it did not move in a simple up or down direction but moved in several directions in a seemingly random pattern, like a roller coaster.

After about a minute, the elevator finally stopped, and the door opened automatically, revealing an unexpected scene to Feng Bujue.