Where Did the Art Style Go?

The first week of the final closed Closed Beta for the game "Jianghu" has ended. On the highly anticipated forums, numerous posts appear every second, only to be quickly pushed down by new ones. However, as the old posts were replaced, one particular post suddenly appeared on the homepage, naturally attracting the attention of many players.

[A completely new version you didn't know about.]

"Hello everyone, I'm Mei Wenhua. My followers probably already know what I'm going to say, but I still have to say it again: the art style of this game is just a little off!"

"First of all, I'm a newbie who just got an activation code in this Closed Beta, so please be gentle if there's anything wrong with my answer."

"And then there's the game--"

"Isn't this supposed to be a martial arts game? Why am I stuck on screws after logging in?!"

"This crappy game has no monsters and no quests. The whole village is full of Blacksmith Shop. Although they pay a lot and teach internal skills, what's with dragging me to blacksmithing as soon as I log in?"

"And the air! Didn't the players from the previous tests say the scenery was picturesque and the air was fresh? Why does my place smell like coal smoke and Heavy Metal particles? After playing for half an hour, my character's nostrils are full of black ash, and even the clouds in the sky are blackened by the smoke. If it weren't for all the NPCs wearing ancient costumes, I would have thought I was playing a Cyberpunk game!"

[Picture]

[Picture]

[Picture]

"And that guy called Five Kills! He said some Hidden NPC gives you internal energy as a reward for completing a quest, is that what he calls giving away internal energy? This is a quest to learn internal energy! Can someone with a dick tell me when this stupid quest is going to end? I'm working all day, screwing in screws, and then I have to screw in screws again when I log into the game at night, is that it?"

[First Floor: A clueless player, these days it seems like everyone's showing off, human or ghost. Have you even logged into the game? You start with a picture and make up all the details, huh?]

[Second Floor: Exactly! I'm a third-time tester. After working for months, I barely have enough money to learn the basics at a martial arts school. I can't even beat a bandit. How can there be a quest that gives you internal energy as soon as it opens?!]

[Third floor: Same as above, I'm a test player, and right now I'm just running defenses along the coastline, I haven't even seen a trace of internal power yet!]

[Fourth floor: Um, the original poster seems to have player verification, not just a casual player.]

[Fifth Floor: Holy crap! Is there really Cyberpunk Beginner Village?]

[Sixth Floor: The legendary foreign server?]

[Seventh Floor: Requesting address...]

Various types of casual gamers left comments under the post, some questioning whether it was fake, others saying it was a hacked account. However, thanks to the forum's "player verification" accounts, the comments gradually began to focus on discussing where this so-called Cyberpunk village actually was.

Logically, even if it was added as part of the activation code distribution, there should be at least two hundred players in the new Beginner Village. However, this unique village is rarely mentioned on the forum, and the player who posted about it has never replied.

However, some casual gamers who follow game streamers suddenly noticed that some streamers had suddenly stopped broadcasting. Ordinary people just assumed they had skipped the stream, but after seeing this post, some quick-thinking people quickly began to suspect that the streamer had also been pulled away to do some rehearsals.

However, due to the lack of videos and player leaks, all of this was gradually submerged in the information overload of forums, becoming Urban Legend remembered only by a few, until the last week before the final test ended, when players began attacking the island where the Japanese Pirates were stationed...

On the coastline, in the camp of the "Southern Jianghu Alliance" formed by players, a group of players sat around a table, discussing strategy plans.

The Japanese Pirates' headquarters was discovered three days ago by a fisherman who went out to sea to fish. It is conservatively estimated that there are at least two or three thousand people on the island. Although this number is a bit far-fetched, considering that this is a game, everyone did not have too many doubts. Instead, they immediately began to form a strategy team to try to take the island before the Closed Beta ended.

"You said the Japanese Pirates were all local merchants and bandits in disguise? Why are there so many samurai on the island?!" A man dressed in cloth roared with extreme anger. Behind him, a group of ragged players either looked dejected or full of resentment, clearly having suffered heavy losses in the first wave of battle.

"Nonsense, if it weren't for these samurai swords, who would want to take on this tough nut? Those who still have Wooden Sword should be careful; if they use that thing, the spoils will become scrap metal."

The player next to him rolled his eyes, while the player who had suffered the loss earlier sneered:

"The Big Locust Tree Village disappeared after this Closed Beta. There aren't any Wooden Sword left; they were all used up long ago. Speaking of which, do you guys think that village where they make screws might be the Big Locust Tree Village?"

"You actually believe in Screw Village? I've told you it's a joke, and you believed it just because of Closed Beta account and a few pictures? What if I posted something about an alien village now, would you believe it too?"

That's how it is among players; whenever they're discussing serious matters, the conversation inexplicably veers off-topic. The player was trying to steer the conversation back on track, but before they could even speak, a lookout player started spamming the public chat while simultaneously shouting through a megaphone:

"The Japanese Pirates are here! The Japanese Pirates have landed! This time they are all real Japanese Pirates! They are all Japanese officers with swords!"

"How about this, sir..." Several guild leaders were amused by the player, but they immediately realized that the enemy was planning a counterattack. They abandoned their banter, picked up their weapons, and began calling on the players to prepare for battle.

Although they are all top players from major guilds, in reality, the game "Jianghu" has only been in closed Closed Beta for less than half a year. The players are significantly behind the original players in terms of both financial resources and strength. Even with the assistance of system functions, they are only at the level of Jianghu nobodies, not even comparable to those Street Performance who break stones on their chests.

Fighting bandits and outlaws is one thing, but when you encounter someone who has actually practiced martial arts, even Japanese Pirates who has practiced swordsmanship, you will naturally be suppressed. Moreover, players have to consider not destroying the loot, and the Japanese swords in the game are quite powerful. As a result, even a three-on-one fight may not be enough to hold them off. You need a five-person team to reliably defeat a small elite Japanese Pirates.

The problem is that the current elite Japanese Pirates are in groups!

Player casualties continued to rise. Faced with a 24-hour resurrection cooldown, the Fourth Natural Disaster could not unleash its true power until it had enough numbers to form waves. Within 20 minutes of the Japanese Pirates landing, the player army had already been routed.

"Where do you see elite monsters ganging up to harass players? Is the AI design in this game toxic?" A player who had learned some light footwork complained a couple of times, when a flash of light appeared in his peripheral vision. Just as he closed his eyes and waited for death, a sonic wave suddenly exploded in mid-air, slamming him to the ground. Each crisp drumbeat seemed to trigger an earthquake, while the deep bass sound was like a flood, making it hard to breathe.

The stirring guitar sounds, mixed with a slightly discordant zither note, surged in like turbulent currents in the ocean, tearing at the listener's spirit.

The notes from different instruments bombarded and collided with each other, even suppressing the tides on the coastline, which dared not approach.

"What is this thing?"

"Death Metal, I guess?"

"Well, based on my experience, the next step is..."

"Ah--" A hoarse yet shrill voice pierced through the sound wall constructed by the instruments and broke through all defenses. In the midst of that soul-stirring song, six enormous figures fell from the sky like shooting stars.

"Isn't this art style a little off?!"