The Developers Are Basically My Real Dad!

The dust kicked up by the troop convoy gradually settled, leaving Ruan Wenbo and his ninety-nine "subordinates" behind. He looked at the crowd before him. The ten veterans were manageable, at least—they had been through one battle. But the ninety newcomers were completely out of their depth. Some were curiously touching the mud walls of the trenches, while others were trying to strike up conversations with people nearby. The scene was a mess for a while.

Commanding a group of Players?

A bead of cold sweat formed on Ruan Wenbo's forehead. This was practically the most impossible task in the world. Players were notorious for being unruly and undisciplined. Getting them to obey another Player's command was no easier than teaching an Ogryn advanced mathematics.

Just as he was panicking inside and wondering how to open in a way that would cow the crowd, a pale blue virtual screen automatically popped up before his eyes.

[Main Quest Triggered]

[Quest Objective: Lead the other 99 Players and hold the current position for at least one day (24 hours).]

[Failure Penalty: None]

[Quest Progress: 10/86400]

At the same time, a stir of delighted surprise rose from the crowd.

Ruthless Assassin hurried over to Ruan Wenbo, excitement written all over his face. "Boss! Boss! My system panel says I triggered a main quest! It says, [Hold the position for at least one day under the leadership of the newly appointed Company Commander, Dr. Ruan]!"

The moment he finished speaking, the other Players chimed in as well, saying they had received the same quest prompt.

A warm surge flooded Ruan Wenbo's heart. He practically wanted to kneel on the spot and kowtow to the game developers.

Developers, you really are my real dad!

If Bit had been standing in front of him right then, Ruan Wenbo probably would have rushed over without hesitation, hugged him, and planted two hard kisses on him. With the system quest backing him up, all he had to do was throw his weight around a little, and the difficulty of commanding them would instantly drop from hell mode to the beginner tutorial!

The system prompt also snapped Ruan Wenbo out of it. This was no time for sentiment. He quickly calmed down and brought up his personal panel, wanting to see exactly what changes the Second Closed Beta had made compared to last time.

The UI still followed a minimalist style, without any flashy decorations. Ruan Wenbo immediately spotted the differences from before.

[Game Nickname: Dr. Ruan]

[Position: Acting Company Commander of 102nd Regiment 13th Company, Pedetia Planetary Army]

[Faction Merit: Ordinary (3/1000)]

[Legend Rating: Unknown (0)]

[Skills: Master Chainsword (x/x) (Temporary), Basic Shooting (13/100), Basic Combat (7/100)]

[Physical Data: Skull Strength - 10.3/10.5 (Current Stage/Maximum), Thoracic Resistance - 10.1/10.5 (Current Stage/Maximum), Liver Function - 9.6/10.5 (Current Stage/Maximum)...]

Rather than trying to puzzle it out on his own, Ruan Wenbo experimentally clicked each line with his mind. Sure enough, the dear developers had thoughtfully added detailed notes to every attribute.

[Game Nickname] needed no explanation. It was simply his in-game ID.

[Position] could be understood as authority.

The explanation for [Faction Merit] was the most important: it was both the "experience points" required to raise one's position and the "currency" circulated within the faction. Raising one's position unlocked the authority to exchange for more and better equipment and supplies, while exchanging for those things required spending merit. Notably, merit was not consumed after it accumulated to the limit and raised one's position. There were only two ways to spend merit: exchanging for items in the panel shop, and having it wiped to zero upon death.

This required Players to plan carefully and find a balance between "saving merit to raise authority" and "spending merit on equipment to ensure survival." After all, if someone died, no matter how much merit they had saved, it would all amount to nothing.

At the end of the notes, the developers had specially added a line of small text: Unless your Sir is willing to approve a newcomer taking over the merit assets of a deceased person.

Ruan Wenbo's heart suddenly skipped a beat. Although the developers had already shown a supportive attitude during the First Closed Beta conversation, seeing it written directly into the game notes still exceeded his expectations.

Only then did he realize just how much authority and influence over other Players his position as "Acting Company Commander" represented! If he wanted, whether the Faction Merit the other Players had painstakingly accumulated could be inherited after they died was entirely up to him!

Now it seemed that even without the system quest helping him, as long as he had any brains at all, he could use this power well to unite the other Players around himself and defend the position together.

As for [Legend Rating], the notes were vague. They only said that it represented a Player's reputation within the Imperium, while its specific function was unknown. Ruan Wenbo did not pay much attention to it. For a mere acting company commander on some remote planet, it was far too distant a concern.

The [Skills] section was easy enough to understand as well. Ruan Wenbo paid special attention to his "Master Chainsword." The notes showed that its unquantifiable (x/x) state was entirely due to the special effect carried by the Chainsword named [Xenos Must Die], and had nothing to do with his own muscle memory or combat skills.

Finally, the [Physical Data] was even more interesting. The notes stated that "maximum strength" referred to a character's base attributes after dying and respawning. This value could be permanently increased through a series of methods, such as genetic modification surgery, intense physical training, and even Warp energy corruption, but was extremely difficult to lower. "Current stage strength," meanwhile, referred to the character's present physical condition. This value was much easier to lower. Ordinary factors such as fatigue, injuries, hunger, and illness could all cause temporary reductions.

Seeing this, Ruan Wenbo's thoughts drifted. Going by this setup, Warp monstrosities like Primarchs probably just need to shake their bodies and roar, "Power, I command you to come forth!" for their stat caps to shoot up like they'd activated Kaio-ken... Except Guilliman.

While Ruan Wenbo was studying the panel, a loud voice suddenly rang out from among the new Players, carrying a hint of confusion and relief. "Eh? Look, why does this main quest have 'none' as the failure penalty? Is this game really that forgiving? I thought failing would deduct merit or just delete our accounts."

The moment those words came out, they immediately drew the attention of the other new Players. They brought up their own quest panels and found that it was indeed true.

"Seriously, there's no penalty for failure."

"Then what are we afraid of? At worst, we just can't hold the line. It's not like we lose anything."

"Haha, these developers are pretty humane."

The atmosphere instantly relaxed. Some Players even wore expressions of sudden realization, as though the pressure of the quest had drastically diminished.

However, just then, a faint voice rose from the crowd. It was not loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears. "Tell me... is there a chance that this so-called 'no penalty' is because the system doesn't need to set an additional penalty at all?"

The voice paused, then continued. "If the position falls, it usually means our entire defending force gets wiped out. All of us will die, and death itself is the greatest punishment—our merit gets wiped to zero. At the same time, our acting Company Commander will be stripped of his position for failing the quest. By then, he naturally won't be able to approve us inheriting anyone's merit. Isn't that the harshest punishment of all?"

Those words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over the Players who had been enthusiastically discussing things just moments ago. The noisy atmosphere abruptly froze.

Everyone fell silent. The more they considered it, the more they realized every word made perfect sense. Yeah, if they were all dead, what punishment would they need? Death in this game was not just a countdown before respawning. It meant their assets were truly wiped clean.

A few seconds later, an even more fervent response erupted from the new Players, but this time, it was headed in a completely different direction.

"Holy shit, that boss's analysis makes sense!"

"Company Commander! Boss Dr. Ruan! Stop standing there and start commanding us!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! We're all newbies. How are we even supposed to play this game? Hurry up and teach us!"

"Company Commander, please give the order! We promise we'll follow your command!"

The new Players immediately began eagerly declaring their support. Their gazes toward Ruan Wenbo were filled with expectation and trust, as though he were the only sun capable of leading them out of the beginner village.

That speech also woke Ruan Wenbo up. He shot an approving glance toward the source of the voice and silently committed that Player's ID to memory—[JK].

Hmm, JK... A male Chinese Player using a female name. Nothing unusual there. But this person had a clear head. He was talent worth paying attention to.