I've Become the King of Villains in the Game
Chapter 68 Internal Testing?!

"Internal test!?"

Chen Lun was startled.

He suddenly realized he had missed this information.

Because in his previous life, when he first encountered "Era of Mystery," it was already the public beta version 1.0, so he had no recollection of any internal test.

Now that he thought about it, there indeed had been a three-day internal test.

For players, the flow of time between "reality" and "game" was inconsistent, achieving a 1:5 ratio. The official explanation was that it maximized sleep time, thus extending human lifespan in such an innovative way.

The three days of internal testing, converted to this world's time, amounted to two weeks.

Chen Lun casually sat down on a chair and began to ponder.

As he reminisced, he remembered more and more. It seemed that there were tens of thousands of slots for the internal test, and these were extremely valuable, even fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Because apart from a very few slots that were randomly selected from the public, most had already been reserved by big guilds, elite players, and streamers.

An internal test was an early advantage, allowing one to familiarize themselves with the game world and get ahead from the starting line. As the world's first global holographic online game at the time, "Era of Mystery" contained endless business opportunities and wealth, which big consortiums could not afford to miss.

"The first batch of internal test players will arrive tomorrow morning, then..."

Chen Lun mused.

"But Amber City can't be the 'Novice Village,' so meeting them will require a long journey and that isn't feasible with my time constraints."

After a moment of contemplation, Chen Lun dismissed the idea of seeking them out.

Tens of thousands of internal test players might seem like a lot, but spread out across the entire Sun Continent, they were like a drop in the ocean, unable to make even a small splash.

Instead of going to great lengths to replace them in some remote towns, it was better to wait for opportunities to come.

He planned on leveraging the Iron Fist Gang's intelligence advantage in the Outer City District to keep an eye out for him. If they spotted anyone who might be a player, they could report back to him in a timely manner.

...

The next morning, bright and early.

Eight o'clock sharp.

In Gem State, Fossil City, Emerald Town.

Outside a rural farm fence, dozens of figures suddenly appeared out of thin air.

"Has the game started?!"

"Am I in the game world now?"

"Damn! This is way too realistic!"

All were dressed in plain linen robes, resembling lower-class civilians. Almost every one of them wore expressions of shock and curiosity, with a few players even flopping to the ground to play with the weeds and soil.

"Wow! Not only does the soil smell like soil, the grass smells like grass... and how is this cow dung smell so authentic?! Ew!"

A male player holding a clump of what seemed like old recipe ingredients vomited a few times, yet looked thrilled.

In the corner, a few players were slightly more composed. Though equally curious about the new environment, they did not engage in any shocking performance art.

A young man sporting a 'Polaris' game ID stood quietly in place. He glanced at the successor of the old ways and those dancing players, then turned and walked toward the farm by himself.

"Hello hello! Nice to meet you, my name is Su Keying!"

A female player with wine-red hair ran up to him, calling out.

Polaris stopped walking and looked up at the top of her head.

"Did you use your real name as your game ID?"

"Ah... haha, yes, I debated over it a long time when I was lining up to enter the game and ended up using my own name."

Su Keying laughed.

Polaris turned around and continued walking inside, not intending to chat with this woman. But Su Keying followed him, behaving familiarly.

"Is there something you need?"

Polaris glanced at her.

Su Keying pouted and rolled her eyes at him.

"Can't you be less cold... We are, after all, among the first batch of internal testers, we should help each other."

"Then why don't you go replace those others?"

Polaris pointed behind him without turning his head.

Su Keying turned to look back and saw several fellows joining the old clan, vomiting in place. But they seemed to be enjoying themselves, even jumping into the farm to roll in the dirt.

She chuckled softly and turned back around.

"I think you're more reliable."

Su Keying slapped her chest and continued:

"I'm a full-time broadcaster and also run my own video channel, where I like to record content primarily focused on game narratives...

This time, I finally got a slot in the closed beta and I plan to create some initial material."

"That's great, I'll definitely watch your video,"

Polaris said indifferently.

"Hey, let's collaborate... If we run into trouble, we can help each other out. I can let you have the resources first, how about that?"

Su Keying said.

"We'll see when the time comes."

Polaris leaped from a haystack into the farm, and Su Keying quickly followed.

"You…"

She pursued relentlessly, gritting her teeth.

As they walked, they saw a farmer wearing a straw hat busy in the stable.

"Hello? Is there anything we can help you with?"

Polaris stepped forward and tentatively asked.

The farmer turned around and looked at them, his face immediately showing surprise.

How did two strangers suddenly barge into his farm?!

Just as he was about to scold them, he paused sharply, then his expression turned to realization. He pointed towards two other barns and casually said:

"There are tools over there; you can help me cut the grass in the fields, collect and pack it… or you can feed the livestock or fetch some water."

The farmer paused, tapping his head.

"Right, there's also a room whose roof has been damaged. If you can fix it, that would be even better.

Don't worry, I'll compensate you."

The next second, both Polaris and Su Keying received a mission prompt.

They exchanged glances and tacitly accepted the mission.

Polaris glanced at his panel and tentatively used the "Scout" skill on the farmer.

Name: Tom

Race: Human (Eastern Continent)

Level: 4

Life: 50/50

Profession: [Farmer LV4]

Attributes: ——

Skills: Vigorous Thrust LVMAX, ——

Combat Power: 5

[Danger Level: Medium]

[Affection: Indifferent]

[Evaluation: Even if he's a weakling, he can still stab you hard with a hay fork!]

Polaris didn't like attacking NPCs without reason; he decided to try doing the task first. Su Keying had the same idea but did not follow Polaris to fetch tools right away; instead, she walked up to the farmer and started conversing with him.

Perhaps it was because the character Su Keying created looked good, coupled with her gender, the farmer's attitude towards her was noticeably better than his attitude towards Polaris.

After chatting for a while, Su Keying noticed that slowly other players had also started coming in.

She politely excused herself and left.

The players behind them saw what they did and guessed that they could receive missions from the farmer, so they surged forward in a swarm.

Su Keying headed straight to the barn where Polaris had already come out holding two sickles.

"Here."

Polaris handed one to her, and Su Keying took it, chuckling softly.

"Heh, seeing as you're so proactive, I'll share some intelligence I've just gathered with you…"

Polaris raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued.

Su Keying lowered her voice, speaking mysteriously:

"As long as we earn enough for five Copper Kro entry tickets, we can enter Emerald Town.

There are bound to be more opportunities there than out here in the wilderness, and, I heard that the Red Apple Church in town is being reconstructed. Maybe we can join them, might just give us a chance to gain supernatural strength!"