Chapter 20 A Performance that Can Be Called Perfect

Zhao Haiping clicked the "Agree" option without hesitation.

Duh, of course he would agree. How could he miss such a great opportunity to show off, sanctioned by the game itself?

Cough cough, oops, spoke too soon. What showing off? This was clearly a case of initiating discussions about game strategies with other players—it was all part of normal player-to-player interaction.

It wasn't about fishing for player adoration at all.

But on another note, the game was quite considerate. It even took into account that some players might be low-key and might not want to share their gameplay videos with others.

The developers left the choice to the players, who could freely decide whether or not to post their videos.

However, Zhao Haiping thought the developers might be overthinking it. In an average game, maybe, but in a game as tough as this, the sense of achievement from beating it was too great. If someone could resist bragging about it, they must have been a saint in a past life.

The moment Zhao Haiping clicked agree, the video appeared on the official website of "Dark Sand."

Then, he opened his chat app, ready to share the good news with Chu Ge.

...

Meanwhile.

At the postgraduate dormitory of Tiandu University's History Department.

Chu Ge woke up on time and took off his gaming helmet.

After washing up, he walked towards the cafeteria for breakfast while checking the game forum of "Dark Sand" as usual.

After a quick browse, he noticed that the number of complaint posts about "Dark Sand" seemed to have increased again.

"This game is too hard! Frustratingly difficult!"

"Exactly, I've been stuck on the assassin instance for days, and I just can't beat it!"

"It's the same with the foot soldier instance. It's so tough! I barely got through the first stage, and the second stage wants me dead!"

"This isn't a game; it's a special forces recruitment program, right?"

"I think even special forces would struggle with this difficulty. It's simply not playable!"

"Is it possible the game's neural link technology collects players' negative emotions, and the more we suffer, the happier the developers get? Otherwise, why design such a sadistic game?"

"I'm sure if they don't lower the difficulty soon, the game will be dead within two weeks!"

"Yeah, I agree. The difficulty probably deters 99% of players. The craziest part is that so far, no one has even managed to beat the beginner instance!"

"Let me put it this way, the game feels real, but it's not fun at all! A game like this can't last long!"

Obviously, three to four days of suffering had indeed pushed most of the beta testers to a threshold.

They were nearly at their breaking point.

Of course, there were also many people who didn't get the beta access and were just spectating. Out of envy, they threw a few critical remarks as well—it was only natural.

Chu Ge certainly didn't agree with these views, as for him, this was the most fun game ever!

The realism and the high degree of freedom made the game endlessly enjoyable once you really got into it.

Unfortunately, just talking about it couldn't make other players see how fun the game was.

Like many challenging action games, when you really got into them, they were super fun and addictive. But if someone asked why the game was fun, it was really hard to explain.

Just then, Chu Ge's phone buzzed. He had received a message from Zhao Haiping.

It was straightforward, just three words.

"I passed!!!"

Even through the phone screen, Chu Ge could feel Zhao Haiping's excitement.

Chu Ge's eyes lit up, and he immediately replied, "Congratulations!

"How did you do it?"

Zhao Haiping: "Basically, just as you predicted, I went northeast towards the North Mountain route and quickly encountered the reinforcements from Great Chu. The entire process is now uploaded on the official website."

Chu Ge promptly replied, "OK, I'll go watch it now!"

For Zhao Haiping's victory, Chu Ge was genuinely elated.

After all, the two of them were partners, not competitors, and Zhao Haiping's successful clearance couldn't have happened without Chu Ge's help.

Players are such a community; they generally don't keep good tricks to themselves but share them selflessly, helping each other.

Moreover, Chu Ge was well aware that Zhao Haiping's successful first clearance was crucial!

So many players were complaining about the difficulty of the game, feeling that there was nothing enjoyable in the instance.

Was it because the game's mechanics were not rich or fun?

Actually, no.

It was because those players simply hadn't found the right way to clear it.

If they kept timidly hiding at the back in the "Foot Soldier Trial" instance, then they would just be getting chopped by the Beidi barbarians—where's the fun in that?

So, a legendary player's successful clearance video was indeed needed now to show players how the game should be played!

Chu Ge opened the "Dark Sand" official website and discovered that there was indeed a new section added, simply titled "Outstanding Player Clearance Videos"!

The video's description didn't contain much—just phrases like "first clearance" and "Foot Soldier Trial", but even that was enough to capture attention!

Chu Ge immediately clicked to view it.

...

The video's clarity was extremely high, almost identical to the in-game quality.

In other words, it was indistinguishable from reality, nearly on par with films that pay extreme attention to prop details.

The content of three stages was perfectly edited together, pulling the camera back when needed, focusing on close-ups when appropriate, capturing every facial expression and slashing movement—everything was portrayed as realistically as the actual movies.

Appropriate detail where necessary, never dwelling too long on any scene that should be omitted, yet never being vague on scenes that required emphasis.

Right from the beginning, Zhao Haiping astonished everyone with his excellent archery skills. As the barbarians stormed the walls, he was unstoppable, his outstanding performance even amazed General Geng Zhong.

In the second stage, Zhao Haiping decisively persuaded the general to dig wells and kill horses, ultimately turning the tide at the last moment.

In the third stage, Zhao Haiping rode alone into vast snow storms to bring reinforcements, eventually driving away the Beidi barbarians, allowing General Geng Zhong and the remaining soldiers of Great Chu to safely retreat.

Chu Ge was actually well aware of the general plot because he had been strategizing throughout Zhao Haiping's entire clearance process.

But seeing the clearance video now, Chu Ge was still profoundly shocked.

So awesome!

This level of play was from an ordinary player?

It's like watching speedrun videos from great players in many action games, always shocking because it feels like you're not even playing the same game.

Could this area even be maneuvered like that?

This terrifying enemy seemed utterly powerless in front of the master?

That's absurd!

Especially as the game progressed, Zhao Haiping's moves became even more extreme; dealing with three or four barbarians up close at the end of the second stage seemed like a piece of cake.

And the combat scenes in this clearance video were different from those in movies.

In movies, the fight scenes are usually one of two extremes: either overly simple and childish, making them seem slapdash, or too ornate and visually appealing to feel real.

But real melee combat is somewhere in between these two extremes, yet entirely different.

There are no fancy moves, and unlike games, there's no balance to speak of; every soldier uses the simplest, most direct killing techniques, which might not seem clever but on a real battlefield, they show how fragile life really is.

Many films and dramas also try to make melee combat more realistic, but no matter how much they check their facts, it's hard to achieve.

The reason is simple; the actors just can't portray that state!

These veterans, who had seen countless battles and were accustomed to death, every attack carried countless subtle details—a peace-time person couldn't perform that.

Maybe some masterful actors could master it without guidance, but 99% of those forming the entire battlefield were just extras; no matter how much they tried, they couldn't execute that quality, it's better to muddle through focusing on drama or leave everything to the martial arts director to design a set of flashy fight moves—just be 'cool', and that's it.

But this "Dark Sand" game video portrayed melee combat with incredible realism.

Every NPC seemed as if they were alive, truly fighting for their lives!

And in such a state, they presented a performance that could truly be called perfect for all players and viewers!