Chapter 1 December 1st

December 1st saw the official launch of Thriller Paradise V1.50 Final Edition – Infinite Worlds.

At midnight that day, the game server load reached an unprecedented peak; millions of people chose to log in to the game as soon as possible to experience the changes brought about by the new version.

But those few from Hell Frontline...didn't join in the fun.

After all, they weren't professional players and didn't need to rush to level up; besides, they had already experienced most of the new features during the "limited-time experience," so they lacked the enthusiasm.

However, Feng Bujue...still logged in on time.

Moreover, he wasn't logging in to play Thriller Paradise tonight, but instead...

[Welcome to the game login space. The following are all game projects provided by Dream Inc. Please select a game to log in to.]

This was the first time Feng Bujue had selected the "switch game project" option in the login space.

Previously, the only selectable item on the screen had always been [Thriller Paradise], but now, there was another one – [Madness Circuit].

[This game is suitable for all ages. We hope you have a pleasant experience.]

Unlike the intimidating login prompt for [Thriller Paradise] (Users aged sixteen and above are advised not to participate in this project if they suffer from heart or mental illness, or have a related medical history), the login prompt for [Madness Circuit] was quite normal.

After the voice prompt, the options "Confirm Login," "Cancel," and "Related Disclaimer" appeared on the touchscreen as usual.

Feng Bujue's habit hadn't changed either. He spent five minutes reading through the long, tedious disclaimer, which most people wouldn't even finish in twenty minutes.

Then, he chose to log in.

Instantly, a stream of thick, white data covered the top of the elevator, and like a moving "filter," slowly "scanned" the entire elevator car from top to bottom.

About a dozen seconds later, this "scan conversion" was complete.

The "style" of the entire elevator, including Jue-Ge himself, had all undergone certain changes.

If the game graphics of [Thriller Paradise] were high-quality, realistic CG, then the graphics of [Madness Circuit] were a kind of "pseudo-2D," "retro-style" 3D comic look.

[Welcome to the world of Madness Circuit. The system has detected that you have purchased another product from our company, "Thriller Paradise." Would you like to use the character appearance and nickname from Thriller Paradise?]

After the conversion was completed, this voice prompt sounded, and a dialog box appeared in front of Jue-Ge.

Feng Bujue didn't think much and chose "Yes."

[Confirmed. P.S.: Players using Thriller Paradise character names will have a special mark next to their nicknames.]

After this line of subtitles flashed, there were no more prompts.

Feng Bujue turned his head to look. The buttons next to the elevator door, such as "Conference Room" and "Storage Room," had all disappeared. Now there was only one button next to the door, and it read [dueL!]

A simple word, plus an exclamation point, didn't need too much explanation. Anyone with the soul of a duelist would be fired up when they saw this word.

"Hmm...I wonder what happens if I press it now?" Jue-Ge immediately pressed it to try.

[Please prepare for the duel first.]

The voice prompt came the moment he pressed it.

"Okay..." Feng Bujue shrugged and returned to the touchscreen.

Many people might not believe it...the operating interface of [Madness Circuit] was much more complex than that of [Thriller Paradise]; the reason was...naturally because much of the game's content was completed in the login space in front of the screen.

For example, buying things in [Thriller Paradise] required players to "run" to many places, such as NPC shops, auction houses, puzzle card exchanges, Scare Boxes, etc...the forms and content of transactions were also diverse.

In [Madness Circuit], all these things had to be done in front of the screen, in the "online store."

For another example, the "novice tutorial" of [Thriller Paradise] was in the form of a script for players to experience.

But [Madness Circuit]...didn't provide that kind of "interactive tutorial" at all. This game directly listed the rules and let you browse them yourself. If you understood, you understood. If you didn't...you'd understand after losing a few more games. Anyway, there were relevant prompts during the actual game.

In addition, the modes and settings of [Madness Circuit]...were re~ally numerous.

Even though this game had just officially started operating, it felt more mature and complete than card games that had been operating for many years.

First, let's talk about the "game experience" part. As everyone knows, it's extremely important to avoid players with vastly different strengths from meeting in random matches in this kind of game that focuses on PVP.

Dream Inc. paid great attention to this point. Therefore, [Madness Circuit] already had the "intensity zone" setting on November 25th...the day the server opened.

The current 1.0 version mainly has four zones: [Novice], [Advanced], [Strong], and [Expert]. The system will determine which intensity zone a player should be assigned to based on three values.

These three values are: the "strength level" determined by data such as win count, win rate, win points, and hidden points; the "character level" increased through experience; and the most intuitive "deck strength value."

Of course, the game also provides a [Non-differentiated] zone for players to use...

Next, let's talk about the "gameplay" part; in addition to the common 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3, there are also some modes with special rules, such as 1v2, 1v3, three-person free-for-all, three-person cycle battle, four-person cross battle, single-player survival consecutive battle, double-player survival consecutive battle, random card selection battle, mirror battle (both sides use completely identical decks), and so on; in addition, there are also many bizarre options for matchmaking, the basic ones being "random matchmaking," "friend battle," "fixed table duel," and the more unorthodox ones being "underdog challenge matchmaking," "handicap matchmaking (giving specific handicap conditions before joining the queue)," "same age group matchmaking," "gender matchmaking," "astrological sign matchmaking," and so on.

Finally, in terms of wagering on victory or defeat, it can also be defined. In addition to the general victory/defeat point duels, there are also extra "card gambling victory/defeat," "Hanzhuang bidding," and so on.

In short, even though it's a card game, [Madness Circuit] still has the quality of a "masterpiece," upholding Dream Inc.'s consistent standards and exuding an air of "seriousness" everywhere.

"Okay...let's see if that guy's here yet." After browsing in front of the screen for a while, Feng Bujue entered the [Non-differentiated Zone] and found a password-protected table named "Host and Mad Raven" in "Area Group 233."

"Heh...he's really on time." After muttering this, Jue-Ge clicked on the table name and entered a password "20551129," and then successfully logged into the table.