CHAPTER 78: CHAPTER 78: MODIFY IT! GOLDEN RANGER!

EDITOR: DRAGON BOAT TRANSLATION

This game allows team formation?

Ren Suo chose to view the details, and the Team Contract displayed its hidden strengths and weaknesses:

"Trial Participants possessing a Team Contract, after undergoing complete healing, will not immediately shed their Filth to exit the trial. Instead, they will collapse powerless on the spot, entering ’Sub-Healthy’ status. At this time, their full Health Points will drop to zero, then slowly rise. They will exit the trial directly when their Health Points are full. Receiving additional healing will expedite this process."

"During the ’Sub-Healthy’ period, other teammates can spend 10 seconds to transfer their own body fat and physiological imbalances to the Trial Participant, allowing them to exit the ’Sub-Healthy’ status. The Trial Participant who successfully exits ’Sub-Healthy’ status will have their Health Points fixed at 90, but they will be able to move normally."

"Trial Participants with a Team Contract will have their teammates’ locations marked on the map."

"Trial Participants with a Team Contract possess an in-built communication Miracle that allows clear communication no matter the distance. Language differences are ignored (everyone hears their teammates as if they are speaking their most familiar mother tongue)."

"After passing the trial, Trial Participants with a Team Contract will receive the ’Final Priest Score’ as an individual score, which will then be divided equally among the team members. Scores for other healing and healing output are calculated individually."

"Even if Trial Participants with a Team Contract exit the trial midway, they will not leave immediately but will return to the Resting Room to watch the rest of their teammates’ trial. If the team ultimately passes the trial, those who exited during the trial will also be considered as having passed."

"Trial Participants with a Team Contract will inevitably enter the same trial ground together, but this will only be effective in the second trial. After the second trial ends, this Contract will not reappear in the Exchange List, and the team will automatically disband."

After reading, Ren Suo had only one thought: This Contract is powerful! Someone will definitely buy it!

Just think about it. If you buy a Team Contract and form a four-person team while others in the trial are alone, what an advantage that would be! Moreover, a teammate who has been completely healed can collapse first. As long as the enemy doesn’t finish them off, their teammates can revive them once the enemy is eradicated. With this, a four-person team can use their numbers to bully fewer opponents, employing many tactics: luring, pincering, surrounding... Basically, a single person trying to defeat a four-person team has an extremely slim chance. If a four-person team reaches the final circle, they’re almost guaranteed to win the trial.

In this case, the value of forming a team is significant. If, in a trial of one hundred people, the chance of winning is one percent, then forming a four-person team would directly surpass all other Lone Wolves not in a team. If all other Trial Participants are solo, then the team’s chance of Victory is 99%!

However, if he could think of forming a team, others could too. If a four-person team encounters another four-person team, it will be a battle of skill.

Setting other things aside, Ren Suo could already hear many voices exchanging words in the square:

"Mysterious Country, is there anyone from Mysterious Country forming a team!?"

"Brutal Wolf Fang Club Healer needed, looking for a few Snipers to form a team."

"Need one more, bring 1,000 Points to join the team!"

Since Ren Suo only understood the language of Mysterious Country, he naturally only listened to the shouts of the people from Mysterious Country. Without a doubt, the central orb exchange site was a must-visit for all Trial Participants, so the best way to look for a team was right here. Furthermore, all Trial Participants were strangers, not knowing each other or one another’s trial processes, so the method of forming teams was naturally a simple "take whoever comes" approach. However, to appear here, one must have passed the first trial from among a hundred people as a ’Priest Seed,’ so there was some assurance of their strength. It was unlikely to meet someone seeking vengeance on society.

Trial Participants were not fools. It was clear that although all other Blessings had been strengthened, if they were not upgraded to a certain level, they basically could not dominate other Trial Participants. However, the advantage of adding teammates was almost greater than the advantage of a max-level Blessing!

The choice was obvious.

But participating in a team meant spending all the Points earned from the last trial. According to Ren Suo’s calculations, successfully healing one patient would earn 10 Points + 10 Points for healing output, a total of 20 Points. Therefore, one thousand Points would be equivalent to successfully healing fifty Trial Participants. For Trial Participants scattered throughout the trial ground, this target was practically impossible to achieve, unless one became the Tathagata Buddha and flattened the entire trial ground with a single palm. So if Trial Participants wished to form a team, it meant giving up the chance to purchase Blessings.

Furthermore, even after passing the second trial, the ’Final Priest Score’ earned, which was the bulk of the score, would still need to be divided among teammates. If the score was again one thousand Points, splitting it four ways would yield 250 Points each. By this calculation, even if one passed the second trial, it would not be possible to afford a powerful Blessing. Of course, it was also possible that the ’Final Priest Score’ for the second trial would be over 4,000 Points. In that case, other solo Trial Participants who passed could purchase four Blessings at once. No matter what, a solo Trial Participant who passed the second trial would have a tremendous advantage in the unavoidable solo duel of the third trial against those who had formed teams in the second trial.

Just as Ren Suo was pondering, someone came over and nudged the fatty. A dialogue box appeared above their head, and Ren Suo heard a voice by his ear, "Do you want to join a team?"

When faced with the dialogue options, Ren Suo chose ’No thanks, goodbye,’ declining the offer.

Naturally, Ren Suo wouldn’t consider forming a team. Others formed teams out of a lack of confidence to pass the second trial. But what about Ren Suo? He wasn’t sure either. However, if he played a few dozen, or a few hundred rounds, surely there would be a stroke of blind luck. Upon entering the rest period, Ren Suo could save his progress; in other words, he could take the second trial an infinite number of times. If he wished, he could even redo the first trial to farm for Points, but there was no need. Even if he could heal twenty or thirty people, it would only earn him a few hundred Points. Without a thousand Points, he couldn’t purchase any other practical Blessings. Rather than getting entangled in the first trial, it would be better to find a way to clear the second.

But these small Points were not useless. In the ’Other’ category, there were some ’Minor Blessings’ worth 100 Points each.

"’Body Optimization’—most Trial Participants were in their original state, meaning poor Physical Condition and an indifference to appearance. Purchasing this Minor Blessing allowed them to transform directly into strong men and beautiful women, almost as if they were completely healed."

However, this optimization had a special note: "This optimization is eternal and fixed; even overeating will not cause bodily distortion," which made this Minor Blessing seem worth the 100 Points.

Besides that, there were ’Height Adjustment,’ ’Appearance Adjustment,’ ’Eye Color Adjustment,’ and so on... very subtle Minor Blessings that seemed rather inconsequential.

These Minor Blessings had two things in common: they were useful for the life of the Trial Participant, but useless for the trial itself.

Naturally, Ren Suo wouldn’t waste Points on these, preferring to save his loose change for after the second trial, to see if he could make a round sum or something...

The Nine Great Blessings were all very useful. Ren Suo favored main healing equipment like assault rifles and sniper rifles, but he already had ’Avalanche Lv1.’ If he focused on the Blessings of the Monarch of Wind, Rain, and Snow, it would be better to switch the sniper rifle for a single-shot rifle that could be equipped with a high-magnification scope. And the only Blessing he could afford was one.

How to choose... Huh?

Suddenly, Ren Suo noticed a small, almost transparent cross icon in the upper left corner of the Exchange Interface.

With a click, a golden silhouette appeared. It materialized before the chubby figure, yet the other people in the square seemed unable to see it; some even walked right through it.

"You’re in luck for finding the hidden gate I left in the Lord of Billion Brilliance’s Divine Kingdom," said the golden silhouette to the chubby figure, its voice somewhat eerie. "And on you... you have something I want."

"Let’s make a deal, kid."

"You’ve encountered the mortal enemy of the Lord of Billion Brilliance, the Golden Ranger."

"You can now spend Merit Points to hire the Golden Ranger to attack the Deity Exchange System."

"Each successful attack by the Golden Ranger might grant the Player 1,000–10,000 Points in the Exchange System. Each attack costs a minimum of 1 Merit Point and a maximum of 10 Merit Points. The more Merit Points consumed, the higher the success rate of the attack, and the more Points will be obtained."

Ren Suo blinked. The Golden Ranger?

DING.

The phone suddenly lit up, flashing a message:

"Sand Sculpture Yujilong: Remember to analyze the information of the Demons and Ghosts that appeared in ’Over My Dead Body,’ and compile it into Excel format. The specifications for the spreadsheet have already been sent to you on WeChat, due by Friday. Also, if the Second Team doesn’t have you working, come back to the office!"

Ren Suo had almost forgotten about this huge assignment. And to analyze information... Ren Suo recalled the very detailed Family Codex in the game. No doubt, if he handed that over, it would give the Tactical Bureau a perfect understanding of and methods for dealing with Demons and Ghosts. But he couldn’t just hand it in as it was—that wouldn’t do even if Ren Suo wanted to claim he was a genius, because much of the information came from previous save files and wasn’t in the uploaded save file... Moreover, hiding even one or two pieces of information might cause trouble later if it prevented the Tactical Bureau from predicting the emergence of Demons or made their strategies ineffective. If Ren Suo was incapable, it would be one thing, but knowing he possessed this potentially lifesaving information and not releasing it would make him feel guilty if a real Demon attack occurred.

To protect oneself wisely and aid the world... Hmm, I want both.

He had to think of a way to completely absolve himself while still delivering the Family Codex... After some thought, Ren Suo naturally turned his gaze to the Mini-World Game Console, and then to the chubby character on the screen. He came up with a ludicrous idea—or rather, believing fully in the capability of this game console, he wanted to conduct a few small tests. But... the results might be interesting.