The Adventurers' exploration was fraught with challenges.
Squads faced wipeouts due to relentless Zombie attacks.
Despite frequent setbacks, they grew braver with each attempt, addicted to the adventure and combat's diverse joys.
Moreover, sacrifice held value. As Adventurers collaborated to gather information, they gradually pieced together increasingly detailed maps, marking monster and resource distributions.
There was a continuous sense of progress and achievement.
They discovered over a dozen firearm types and nearly a hundred ammunition points, significantly boosting their equipment levels. Some felt emboldened, thinking they were ready.
The result was predictable: those who underestimated the danger and challenged the BOSS were swiftly taught a lesson by the Tracker.
After several crushing defeats, Adventurers realized the Tracker's flamethrower had unlimited ammo. Although there was a five to eight-second interval between shots, its fiery blast could cover over ten meters, lasting more than five seconds, with terrifying lethality.
Despite significant equipment improvements, relying solely on light weapons still posed little threat.
Finally, as the Adventurers' mental power waned, today's challenge concluded. Clearing the level seemed impossible for now.
"What a pity!"
"Still couldn't defeat it!"
"It's okay, we've made progress. With more effort, we can defeat this monster!"
"This level's only been open for a day or two. It's normal not to clear it yet. The second level's content is richer than the first. The Tidal Secret Realm is getting more fun!"
Despite repeated defeats, the Adventurers remained enthusiastic.
...
At this time, Jack awoke.
He'd been busy lately.
Today, he finally rested well, feeling energized and radiant. Glancing at the data panel, he saw it filled with dense information.
**[Adventurer "White Crane Hermit" generated 1 point of mental power!]**
**[Adventurer "White Crane Hermit" has died, soul crystal +1, mental power +1!]**
**[Adventurer "Violent Little Chicken" generated 1 point of mental power!]**
**[Adventurer "Lone Wolf" generated 1 point of mental power!...]**
Today's harvest was impressive!
Jack quickly scanned the flow.
He checked the final statistics directly.
Today, 440 Adventurers participated, yielding a soul crystal income of 2230 and a net mental power income of 4062!
The soul income and output were: one-star souls 143/261, two-star souls 18/33, three-star souls 4/14, five-star souls 1/2.
Notably, two five-star souls dropped today.
A new Adventurer, "Nanshan Ke," had a stroke of luck, becoming the first in the Raging Tide to drop a Tank soul. However, he exchanged it for contribution points and priority contract qualification, surprising Jack somewhat.
This recycling wave was effective!
Previously, only ten ordinary Zombies remained, insufficient for critical moments. Today alone, 143 Zombies were recycled, increasing the one-star soul inventory to 153, providing Miracle City with ample war resources for this stage!
In terms of income, the mental power income was 4062, net after expenses. Adventurers consumed over five hundred points.
This illustrates Miracle City's exceptionally high mental power production rate. Otherwise, with daily costs exceeding five hundred points, even dual-city territories might struggle to sustain it.
If production and recycling can't cover losses, the Lord must reform, update, or redesign the secret realm to prevent further mental power losses and depletion.
Of course, changing the secret realm is risky. Frequent changes signal defeatism, damaging the territory's reputation and potentially leading to blacklisting by various Adventurer rights organizations.
Jack felt everything was going well.
Although expenditures weren't low, mental power production was even more effective.
This small consumption could be fully covered by income, and even when Jack was passively idle, the soul recycling rate was excellent, bringing substantial benefits to the territory.
No need to fuss over minor expenses.
The territory's income flow was healthy.
Currently, a large number of souls were needed to build the army!
The territory could now build a force of several hundred combat units. Although Gloomy City had over a thousand combat units, it no longer held an overwhelming advantage. A tier 2 monster would be even better.
With a tier 2 monster, they could initially attack Gloomy City.
At the current development rate, it's just a matter of days.
Jack originally had 1459 mental power, and now with today's income, he totaled 5521 mental power!
Advancing from a tier 2 Lord to tier 3 requires only 5000 mental power, meaning he could break through anytime!
Each breakthrough activates the Sea of Inspiration, generating new Crystallizations of Inspiration and activating one.
Based on previous experiences, three crystals could be awakened at once—a tempting prospect!
However, Jack paused and temporarily decided against advancing.
Rapid advancement had little meaning. While it could enrich the secret realm's resources, the resident evil series sufficed for the Tidal Secret Realm for a long time.
Jack also had excellent crystals, like "Sekiro," awaiting activation.
Currently, materials weren't lacking.
What was missing was the core!
Instead of rushing to advance for more Crystallizations of Inspiration, it was better to strengthen the secret realm, build the territory, and expand the army, thus increasing the territory's scale income and quickly completing territorial expansion.
"Now the mental power is sufficient."
"Let's first create the third level of the Raging Tide and the story mode gameplay!"
Jack had already planned the third level and story mode of the Raging Tide in advance.
At this moment, he spent 1250 points of mental power to create the third level, then consumed another 1432 points to create two story chapters for the Raging Tide Secret Realm's story mode.
These two story chapters were based on Resident Evil 0 and Resident Evil 1. Without changing the main plot and character situations, he reduced slow-paced puzzles and increased combat content, making the experience more compact and enjoyable.
Jack abandoned Left 4 Dead's worldview and plot, opting for Resident Evil to craft the Doomsday Frenzy secret realm's story because, ultimately, Left 4 Dead is more about fun.
In contrast, Resident Evil offers higher levels of imagination, information density, plot depth, worldview construction, and character portrayal.
There's a reason this series became a classic.
Take Resident Evil 0, for example.
The main plot involves Rebecca encountering terrifying events while investigating a dismemberment case in the Arklay Mountains, eventually escaping with death row inmate Billy Coen, and thwarting the tragic villain James Marcus's revenge plan in a lab.
It reveals the t-virus's predecessor, the progenitor virus's original source.
Simultaneously, it portrays several classic characters and villains.
The final BOSS, the Leech Queen born from Marcus's obsession, is an elite two-star monster—challenging but not insurmountable in the plot.
Jack believes the Resident Evil worldview and biographical novel-like protagonist experience are unmatched by any secret realm in Black Stone Town.
This will bring unprecedented impact and freshness to Adventurers.
After finishing production, Jack left the Lord's Mansion and headed to the Secret Realm Lobby to meet the Adventurers.
"Lord!"
"Why did you just come?"
The Adventurers surrounded him like sharks smelling blood.
These guys had too many questions, and the little web administrator Nancilia knew nothing. Now that the main person was finally here, they quickly gathered to interrogate him!
"You want to know about the second level's big BOSS?"
Introducing a game encyclopedia system is necessary.
Let Adventurers unlock some information themselves, so they don't constantly bother him!
Jack generously announced, "This monster is a modified model among many Tyrant Zombies, codenamed Nemesis, also known as the Tracker."
Tyrant Zombie?
Nemesis?
Tracker?
What a wealth of information!
Black Stone Hammer King asked, "Are there other similar Zombies in Doomsday Frenzy?"
"Of course, what you see now is just the tip of the iceberg of Doomsday Frenzy!"
Everyone was stunned, hardly believing it.
He continued:
"Regarding the story and information of the End of the World Tide, I will present it in story mode. Successfully enter the third level and challenge it three times, and you can unlock the Doomsday Frenzy story mode."
According to the original plan, unlocking story mode required clearing the third level.
However, given the third level's difficulty, Jack temporarily lowered the standard and released more content early.
This revelation excited Adventurers.
Miracle City always surprises.
This is truly impressive!
The foundation of this Underground City is far stronger than imagined.
And the potential of this Lord may be greater than imagined!
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