Star Network forum: Rise of Humanity.
Section: "Darklands-player recruitment"
[Level Eight Gale Guild is recruiting newcomers. Generous benefits, guaranteed earnings of 200 per day. Must participate in group activities and follow guild management's arrangements.]
[Water Margin Liangshan Guild is recruiting active players. Activity checked daily; anyone falling short gets kicked.]
[Heroes Guild is recruiting skilled players. Must rank among the top 100,000 in combat power in the Human Federation region and attend every event. Guild leader gives out cash gifts regularly. Plenty of single ladies in the guild, all beautiful with sweet voices.]
After some searching, Li Zheng soon found a familiar guild name.
He opened the post, copied the administrator's account ID, then opened his chat app and selected "Add friend."
Before long, a pop-up appeared confirming that his friend request had been accepted.
Black Dawn-Little Black: Hey, looking to join our Black Dawn Guild?
Gold-Farming Gamer: Yes, our team currently has ten people... if you don't mind me asking, what benefits does the guild offer?
Black Dawn-Little Black: Judging by your ID, you're probably a Bricklayer. Our guild's management are all well-known entrepreneurs in real life. We can buy every resource you produce at high prices. All you need to do is join our regular group activities. Once we establish the guild in-game, you'll need to complete the daily guild quests every day and provide resources for the guild's development. Of course, you'll be paid for all of it.
Reading the Black Dawn administrator's reply, Li Zheng immediately grew excited.
This organization clearly had serious backing. Their future earnings were as good as guaranteed.
He hurriedly replied:
Gold-Farming Worker: We'd like to join. Our team currently has ten people, and a few more buddies will be joining later!
Black Dawn-Little Black: All right, send a screenshot of your electronic receipt for the game purchase first.
Gold-Farming Worker: Huh? We need proof of purchase too?
Blood Dawn-Little Black: Too many people have been trying to slip through lately. Several people we added only joined the group to fish for information about the game. They were actually Cloud Players who hadn't even bought it, completely wasting our time. To cut down on this, we need to verify that anyone wanting to join the guild has bought the game before letting them into the guild chat.
Gold-Farming Worker: ...
When Li Zheng failed to reply for a while, the other party sent a contemptuous emoji:
Blood Dawn-Little Black: Heh, knew you were probably another Cloud Player. You're the fifth today. Let's delete each other.
After being removed from the friend list, Li Zheng could only return to the forum and continue searching for a gaming organization.
But after another round of searching, during which he added several leaders of teams recruiting newcomers, every single one asked him to provide an electronic purchase receipt.
Li Zheng understood the requirement, but he still felt utterly helpless.
They had all downloaded the game through a pirated link. How could they possibly provide an electronic receipt for buying it?
Despite the repeated rejections, Li Zheng refused to give up and continued scouring the forum.
Eventually, he found this post:
[Star Sea Guild is recruiting active independent players.]
Recruiter: Star Sea
Content: In my previous life, my beloved betrayed me, my brothers turned against me, and the guild's management stole my wealth. Today, I have been reborn on the day "Darklands" launched. I will reclaim everything that belongs to me. Join the guild and hear my plan for revenge.
Contact: 234****
After his friend request was accepted, Li Zheng nervously asked:
Gold-Farming Gamer: Are you recruiting independent players?
Star Sea: Yep. Want to join, buddy? (laughing.jpg)
Gold-Farming Gamer: Yeah, ten people on our team want to join the guild.
Star Sea: That many? Welcome, a very warm welcome! (drooling.jpg)
Gold-Farming Gamer: May I ask what benefits the guild offers?
Star Sea: Sorry, we're just a guild of independent players. We don't have money for benefits. We're all about having fun, not competing for rankings. We're not looking specifically for expert players or big spenders, either. What I can guarantee is that every member will get a share of any profits the guild makes in the future.
Star Sea's reply left Li Zheng somewhat disappointed.
But at this stage, they really did need to join an organization to share game information and discuss its content.
After much consideration, Li Zheng decided to take his buddies into the guild and have a look first. They could leave if it didn't feel right.
Gold-Farming Gamer: We'd like to join.
Star Sea: Welcome aboard, new brothers. You can forward the group chat link to your friends. Join the chat first. (shared link: Star Sea Dance Chat Group)
Li Zheng applied to join and was accepted a second later.
He then forwarded the group link to the Hardcore Grinder Group.
He received a string of identical replies: Godfather, you really didn't let me down.
Soon, all ten players from the Hardcore Grinder Group had been approved and joined the Star Sea chat group.
The newcomers' arrival made the chat especially lively, with everyone sending memes to welcome them.
Just then, a player in the group posted a message:
Star Sea-Mighty Bull: What skill did you guys learn at level 2? I feel like Darkness Grip and Darkness Amplification are both pretty good. Which did you pick?
Star Sea-Little Dot: I recommend Darkness Amplification. Your energy bar is pretty low early on, so I wouldn't recommend taking an active skill.
A lively discussion broke out in the group about choosing a starting skill at level 2.
This left Li Zheng and the others utterly bewildered.
They could learn skills at level 2? The game didn't seem to have that feature.
Murderous Intent Awakened: Sorry to interrupt, but where do you go to learn starting skills at level 2?
Star Sea-Mighty Bull: ??? Doesn't the skill-learning quest trigger automatically at level 2? (bewildered.jpg)
Family-Sharing Godfather: Damn, what skill-learning quest? How come we never got it?
Star Sea-Mighty Bull: Impossible. It's a guaranteed main quest trigger. How else would the main storyline progress?
So Poor I Eat Dirt: Dude, since when does this game have main quests? Isn't it all about extremely free exploration and randomly triggered quests?
Leopard Head, Zero Spender: Exactly. The beginner guide clearly said quests trigger randomly. How could there be a fixed main quest?
Star Sea-Mad Shark: Guys, did you join the wrong game chat? This is a "Darklands" player group. What game are you playing? (blank stare.jpg)
Star Sea-Nighthawk: You must've joined the wrong group. How could there be no main quest? You get it automatically right at the start. (bewildered.jpg)
The string of replies left Li Zheng and the others even more confused.
They then returned to the Hardcore Grinder Group to discuss it:
Family-Sharing Godfather: Brother Zheng, I think you found the wrong group. These players aren't playing the "Darklands" released by the Eclipse Race at all. It's just a Virtual Reality game with the same name.
Faced with the question, Li Zheng was equally bewildered. He opened the forum and took another look at the Star Sea Guild's recruitment post.
After confirming that they were recruiting for the latest "Darklands" released by the Eclipse Race, he grew even more confused.
Recalling how the guild administrators he had added earlier said they needed to verify an electronic purchase receipt before allowing anyone into their groups, Li Zheng suddenly realized a possibility.
Gold-Farming Gamer: Fuck, I think we joined a Cloud Player group. They're making up virtual game content in the chat. They're not real players at all.
So Poor I Eat Dirt: Hahaha, Cloud Players are scary. They can get this into discussing a game they don't even own, talking like they've actually played it.
Family-Sharing Godfather: I'm dying laughing. Sure, we're playing a pirated copy, but at least it's the real "Darklands." That's way better than simulating game content through chat. Enough said, I'm leaving the Star Sea group first.
Murderous Intent Awakened: Hahahaha, the players in this group are hilarious. Cyber cloud-based Virtual Reality, with all the content made up in their heads. Anything they want, they've got.