Conquering OtherWorld Starts With a Game

Chapter 108.1: Earn Money Clearing Instance

Due to the tight restrictions on "beta test accounts" and the reluctance to transition to open public testing, there were currently only three and a half "tycoons" among the player community.

Qin Guan, the now popular content creator who was now earning quite a bit and could spend money in the game, accounted for the half. The other three were small business owner Brother Lahong and the two other bosses now calling for a "group purchase" in the teaming areathey had been the ones who had won the Orb of Deception auction previously.

The so-called "group purchase" referred to the boss only providing funds during the process of teaming up for instance runs, monopolizing a certain item or resource produced in the instance dungeon, or even having a complete monopoly.

The Inner Demon instance didn't drop items; the only rewards for clearing it were the enchantment chances for equipment. When these two whales wanted to make a group purchase, it meant monopolizing these rewards.

The enchantment chances obtained by hired hands couldn't be transferred, but they could help enchant other people's equipment. In other words, the boss paid the workers to carry them through the instance to gain enchantment attempts for their own equipment.

From the perspective of an ordinary player, this was truly throwing money, but from the perspective of whale players, it was being cost-effective. After all, wealthy people might be lazy or foolish, but they seldom fail to calculate. Both of them were well aware that it would be difficult for them to clear the instance without hiring powerful workers.

Yang Ying, who was now gaming semi-professionally and earned some money from playing OtherWorld, and the poor college student Tang Jia approached the two tycoons. Recognizing immediately, the eyes of the two bosses lit up and they greeted, "Sis Ying, Stuffed Gummy, are you guys willing to carry us? If a 9+2 formation doesn't work, we can do 10+1. Orange Cat and I can do separate group purchases."

This was where the relationship between bosses and workers in a game differed from reality. Paying bosses in games were usually more accommodating than the ones they were looking to hire.

Yang Ying and Tang Jia had originally come to inquire about making some money through part-time work. Upon hearing this, they had a little discussion, and Tang Jia said, "You two wait, I'll ask Qingyue's opinion."

On hearing that they could even hire Unceasing Entropy, the two bosses nodded eagerly. "Good, good, good!"

Tang Jia took off to find Unceasing Entropy and came back with her a little while later

"It's indeed difficult to handle a 9+2 formation right now, but we can try a 10+1 formation," said Unceasing Entropy. "However, I can't promise to sell you all the enchantment chances. If our teammates want to enchant their equipment themselves, their attempts won't be for sale. Are you okay with that?"

It was difficult to determine whether 2100 RMB for a total of 11 enchantment attempts was a good deal without prior market reference. Players who were willing to earn spare cash would be pleased with the opportunity to earn 2100 RMB by completing a dungeon run. However, for players who weren't interested in making money, it would seem like a loss.

Clearly, the two bosses had been prepared for some bargaining. After a brief discussion, the boss with ID "There's An Orange Cat" nodded and said, "Alright, let's do this. After completing the instance, those willing to sell enchantment attempts will receive red envelopes on the spot. Those unwilling can decline. How does that sound?"

"That works." Unceasing Entropy nodded and turned to Yang Ying. "Sis Ying, form a team. Let's take Boss Orange Cat through the instance first."

Most of Yang Ying's companions were aware of her real-life situation. Her father had left, her mother was unemployed, and her younger brother, who refused to study, had run away from home. She used to work a job that barely paid 4000 RMB a month, struggling to make ends meet. After resigning from her job, she played semi-professionally and managed to earn some money.

If the weekend event could become a stable source of income, it wouldn't just improve Yang Ying's financial situation. Zheng Qingyue and Tang Jia could also earn some extra living expenses. Their families weren't very well-off, especially Tang Jia. If it weren't for the game currency she sold, she would have had to tighten her belt in the second half of the month after buying the two helmets.

Having Yang Ying as team leader wasn't a decision made solely out of sympathy. Yang Ying, with stable online hours and her cheerful and friendly disposition, had more connections than the others. Yang Ying happily gathered her acquaintances, quickly assembling a team of willing workers.

She didn't disappoint Unceasing Entropy's expectations, inviting not only Jia Luo, who often played with them, but also brought players like Fallen Mulberry Leaves from Qin Guan's side and Study Obsessed from Brother Lahong's.

In the previous week, many people died upon entering the instance when the weekend event resumed. Having been cursed at on the forums through the week, the damned devs seemed to have had enough and made some improvementsthough the dungeon was still horrendous, at least the instance was no longer that difficult. Out of every five attempts, now at least four wouldn't be an instant wipe upon entering.

The enchantment chances obtained after clearing the instance might not necessarily result in desirable enchantments for a particular piece of equipment. After clearing the instance, Lord Yang (projection) would appear in the dungeon. By talking to Lord Yang, players chose which equipment to use their enchant chance on, and players could choose one of the three random effect options that popped out.

This should have been a point of criticism, but players didn't complain because all randomly generated enchantments were still useful attributes. It was unlike other games that gave out useless attributes that forced players to spend to reroll them.

On the first night of their collaboration, each of the two bosses funded two full completion runs, enchanted all their equipment, and agreed to continue next weekif the enchantments obtained this time weren't satisfactory or if they acquired new equipment, they would have to come back.

After successfully clearing Hal's Inner Demon instance four times, there was still a little over an hour of in-game time until dawn. Yang Ying was preparing to lead the team to try and challenge Tuttle's Inner Demon Instancethe team formed to earn money was exceptionally skilled, and disbanding such a high-caliber team with time to spare would be a waste.

Before Yang Ying could speak to her teammates about attempting the new instance, a bony claw rested on her shoulder. When she turned her head, she was met with an up-close skull right before her face.

Ou Huang had somehow approached silently and, gazing at Yang Ying firmly, said, "I would also like to buy a run."

All ten of the hired hands, including Yang Ying, were stunned.

"Boss Ou Huang needs a dungeon run?!" Jia Luo was visibly shocked.

Ou Huang didn't say anything and just stared at team leader Yang Ying.

As formidable as he might be, it was impossible for him to complete the instance solo. Instead of trying to join a party and spending time adjusting, it made more sense for him to join an existing team as the boss.

"Why waste time when there's money to be made? Let's continue!" Tang Jia waved her bony claw enthusiastically.

Yang Ying couldn't help chuckling. She added Ou Huang to the team while saying, "Exactly! Everyone, focus up. Let's not embarrass ourselves in front of Boss Ou Huang. Let's make this run flawless!"

With that said, she didn't forget to remind Tang Jia, "Don't get carried away with your earnings. Buy fewer traditional Chinese costumes, or else we'll have to hear you complain about being broke every other day in the second half of the month."

Tang Jia felt a little guilty hearing this and muttered hoarsely, "Got it, Sis Ying"

The detailed strategy for Hal's Inner Demon instance, a collaboration between the Blossoming Strokes and Unceasing Entropy, had already been posted on the forum. Besides covering the details on how to deal with the monsters, Blossoming Strokes had also provided position diagrams, movement routes, and the vulnerable spots of the monsters when attacked.

Even such a detailed guide didn't mean that all player teams could smoothly clear the instance.

The reason was simple: when ordinary players formed teams, it was impossible to exclude burdens among their friends. In a team of eleven players, there would inevitably be one or two players dragging the team down.

Unceasing Entropy had been straightforward; a 9+2 formation was risky, and even a 10+1 formation was mediocre. For ordinary players, who were already at a disadvantage compared to the first-tier players (limited player group), adding one or two underperformers meant whether the run was successful was entirely up to fate.

In contrast, for a hired team with the aim of earning money, players whose own level was insufficient to join would be declined; most online gamers had functioning brains, and entering an instance to freeload while getting paid wasn't acceptable.

While Yang Ying's team flawlessly completed the dungeon run, another team at the Hal Inner Demon Instance team formation area experienced a disastrous wipe

As Yang Ying's team emerged from the instance, several players rushed toward her.

"Sis Ying, is your team still accepting jobs? I want to purchase a run too!"

"Me too, me too!"

"It's it's almost daybreak. There's no time left." Yang Ying didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"It's alright, let's book you for next weekend. We were here first, so can you give us priority?" Players willing to spend money approached enthusiastically.

With money to be earned, Yang Ying had no reason to turn them away. She immediately exchanged WeChat numbers with these potential bosses.

"Awesome." A fixed team, which had been wiped several times, successfully completed the instance just as the event was about to end. Seeing Yang Ying's team surrounded by players eager to fork out money, this bunch stood there, watching with complex expressions.

"Should we start bringing bosses on runs starting next week?" a member asked the rest of his party with gleaming eyes.

For the Hal Inner Demon instance, the biggest fear teams had was making mistakes and losing team members. Every player would be extremely cautious to preserve their own lives to avoid being instakilled.

By maintaining a low mistake rate for about 10 minutes without losing any members, the team had to focus on attacking the two appendages protruding from the monster's chest, after which the monster would essentially be a free kill.

However, the requirement of a 10-minute time frame with little mistakes was challenging for most player teams. This game was a full immersive panoramic experience, and the pressure and tension of monster battles were entirely different from traditional PC or console games. It was a real test on the players' mental resilience.

Another team member, dissatisfied with a burden in their team who constantly died at the beginning of each battle, was exasperated. "With our current team strength, we'll just be making fools of ourselves if we invite a boss in. We at least need to avoid deaths at the start before considering that."

"Yeah. We are already struggling, and losing a member makes our damage output even more lacking. It would be good if we had one extra warrior. Why did we kick Mulberry back then?" chimed in another disgruntled teammate.

The team captain, already displeased that the warrior player, Fallen Mulberry Leaves, had been stolen away by Give Me Medicine to play with Blossoming Strokes and the others, retorted irritably, "Is there any point in bringing this up now? Back then, wasn't it you guys complaining that warriors only had burst damage and lacked sustained damage output and demanded that I replace Mulberry?"

The players of this fixed team all fell silent.