【Killed four members of the "Corn Kernel" team.】

The main quest's content was concise and to the point.

Since the captain of the opposing team did not choose privacy protection, their team name was made clear in the main quests of the Hell Frontline members.

Correspondingly, the main quest that the opposing team received was 【Kill four members of the enemy team】, which did not include the team name of the Hell Frontline team.

"Ah... I really can't see it." Xiao Tan, after opening the game menu, noticed the first thing... was that the team column in this mode was different from ordinary killing games.

The official website's rules post had also stated in advance: in this mode, players opening the game menu could only see the nicknames, levels, and survival status of their teammates, while the enemy's information was not displayed.

Compared to the killing game setting where you could "see the enemy's ID and real-time survival status from the beginning," this new rule in the S2 team battle undoubtedly added many uncertainties to the competition.

You must know... the skills in Thriller Paradise are ever-changing, and anything can happen before an opponent's corpse turns into white light and dissipates. Therefore... finishing blows have become a very important habit in this mode.

"Of course you can't see it..." Hua Jian chimed in.

"I'm talking about you..." Xiao Ling squinted at Xiao Tan and said, "Haven't you looked closely at the posts on the official website yet?"

"That... I've looked at them." Xiao Tan replied somewhat lacking in confidence.

"I said 'looked closely'." Xiao Ling raised her hand and made air quotes.

"Alright... I just read through the pinned posts on the official website, I didn't memorize all the details..." Xiao Tan immediately replied in an apologetic tone.

Actually... he didn't need to be like this, because his behavior was very "normal." The vast majority of players don't bother to memorize all the rules, settings, and other information in detail. In fact, not many people even "read through" them; many just focus on the content they're interested in and skim over the rest.

Unfortunately... Xiao Tan wasn't in a "normal" team, and his teammates were definitely not among the "vast majority of players."

These members of Hell Frontline were the type who would completely and thoroughly memorize the competition rules in advance. To the point where Xiao Tan's behavior, which seemed fine to outsiders, seemed like "slacking off."

"Forget it, just catch up after this match." Xiao Ling said, looking up at Xiao Tan with a smile, and even reaching out to ruffle the latter's hair.

This scene looked like she was training a pet...

"Mm, mm." And Xiao Tan happily and smilingly accepted the other party's behavior.

"These two guys... they're openly showing affection..." Feng Bujue, who was spectating from the sidelines, couldn't help but complain, "And it's a human-pet relationship..."

Of course, everything Feng Bujue said could not be heard by the other players in the script. At this time, Brother Jue did not possess a "physical body," simply put... the system didn't generate a body for him. So he was now always in a "first-person" perspective, the same as when watching the opening CG; he could see, he could hear, and he could complain (only he could hear himself), but he couldn't exert any influence on the people or things in the script.

"Speaking of which... this 【Spectator】 perspective feels similar to the 'dead observer perspective' in CS (i.e. *Counter-Strike*, a shooting game series developed by Valve)." Feng Bujue then muttered, "But the dead observer perspective in CS can have multiple observation modes, while this spectator perspective can only switch back and forth behind one's own teammates."

Although Brother Jue felt that this kind of restriction was a bit inconvenient, he could also understand the official's intentions...

Obviously, "full-view" switching and teleportation were not technically difficult at all. The people who formulated the competition rules would limit the freedom of the spectator perspective for a reason...

In a game like CS, where "a single map's area is less than an acre, and the map only has a maximum of 32 crudely textured character models," it's fine to let observers fly around and watch as they please. But in a game like Thriller Paradise, where character details are realistic, there are many NPCs, and the maps are also huge, allowing spectators to watch everywhere without restrictions... they could do all sorts of shady things. To prevent this situation, fixing the observer perspective to a high, over-the-shoulder view similar to "third-person shooting" was undoubtedly a good choice.

"Right." On the other side, right after Xiao Ling and Xiao Tan finished speaking, Hua Jian made a suggestion to her teammates, "Let's use the resurrection effect of the 【Rod of Asclepius】 first."

Her legendary weapon's Effect Three—Immortal Power, could be used once in each script, and had no "duration" limit, so at the beginning of the script, they could consider using it on someone.

"Hmm..." Xiao Ling pursed her lips, thoughtfully replying, "Generally speaking, effects like 'having an extra life in advance' should be used on the strongest person, so..."

As she said this, her gaze had already shifted to Ruo Yu, and Xiao Tan and Hua Jian also looked at the latter in unison. It seemed... everyone had a consensus on who was the strongest in the team.

"Okay, let's use it then." Ruo Yu didn't refuse either.

With Feng Bujue not present, Ruo Yu had to act as the team leader. She was a person with a strong sense of responsibility, and when burdened with the word "leader," both her strategy-making and her actual actions would be influenced by this "responsibility," somewhat tying her hands. But with the guarantee of "resurrection," she could play more freely and confidently.

Thus, Hua Jian quickly applied the "Immortal Power" effect to Ruo Yu. After completing it, the group began to discuss the next battle strategy...

Since Brother Jue wasn't here, the job of analyzing the script fell to Xiao Ling.

"Hmm... currently, I don't see any misleading words or hidden hints in the script introduction..." About two minutes later, Xiao Ling put her hand to her lips in thought, while saying to her teammates, "Story-wise... everyone understands it, it's not a very complicated story. But I think the more important things to pay attention to are mainly the following..." She analyzed the problem in a very organized manner, "First, the 'three birds' and the 'three eyes' must be key in this script. Cracking their true meaning will bring significant help to the players; second, the curse of that 'King' is a major suspense left in the introduction. Unlocking it will definitely yield considerable benefits; third, judging from the CG, there is magic, siege beasts, black technology, and so on in this script world. So the 'human army' here must be very strong, at least stronger than the ancient armies in our real world. Based on this... the 'Goddess' side is probably ridiculously strong. Based on my experience... with this kind of setting, it's extremely difficult to directly 'borrow power' from the 'Goddess' side, and you can easily get burned. Besides... as the relatively stronger side, we don't really need to rely on the power of the NPCs. Therefore, I suggest... it's best not to make related attempts."

"Eh? How did we become the relatively stronger side?" Xiao Tan asked, puzzled.

"Idiot." Xiao Ling knocked him on the head, "You're still a top fifty player in the Pinnacle Melee S1, comparing you to casual players whose strength is at the average, you're worth 1.5 people, right?" She then pointed to Ruo Yu, "My cousin's strength is even stronger than yours, and now she has 'two lives', it's not a problem to count her as 3.5 people, right?"

Hua Jian added, "So calculated, our combat strength is at least 7:4 compared to them."

"Hey, hey..." Xiao Tan muttered, "We haven't even seen the enemy team members yet, is it appropriate to define them as 'casual players whose strength is at the average'..."

"Do you think a team called 'Corn Kernel,' and that didn't even bother with privacy protection, would be a professional team?" Xiao Ling asked.

"Uh..." Xiao Tan couldn't refute.

…………

At the same time, more than ten kilometers away, at another part of the Bai Country ruins.

The captain of the Corn Kernel team, 【Elementary School Dog】, was also consulting their team's strategist, 【Flow Three Maple】, for strategies.

The other two members standing on the side were named 【Most Lonely When I Miss You】 and 【Mighty, Domineering】 respectively.

Let's briefly introduce these four...

First is 【Elementary School Dog】. Although the nickname this person used isn't very elegant, if you think about it carefully... this is probably a name that only old beta players could register.

From his attitude towards naming, it's not difficult to see... this is mostly a person who thinks highly of himself, is good at feigning weakness, and likes to use the way of playing the fool to achieve the effect of showing off.

In fact, he really is such a person...

【Elementary School Dog】 is a personal professional player, and his strength is indeed not bad, it can be said to be "above blue-collar, but not a star." But it is precisely this positioning of strength that makes his professional path very awkward...

Staying in a first-tier game studio, he can only do blue-collar work; going to a second-tier studio, although he becomes a main force, he can't become an ace; going to a third-tier studio... he can become an ace, but that kind of small company itself is very unstable, many disband after opening for a month or two without making much money. And the income may not be more than that of a first-tier studio's blue-collar players, and he can't make a name for himself.

All in all, 【Elementary School Dog】 belongs to the "chicken head, phoenix tail" level of people. He is usually very confident and has a sense of superiority when facing ordinary players, and can also feel the gap in strength when facing top experts, and quickly feels a sense of powerlessness in his heart...

In terms of appearance, Dog Bro is very simple, which is quite in line with his "playing the fool" personality - unadorned appearance, refreshing short hair, and a well-proportioned figure. He is wearing a very practical commando uniform, with many pockets, easy to move in, and good heat and cold resistance.

For this competition, Dog Bro found three non-professional players that he thought were quite strong to form a team (the spectator is his friend, a purely casual player, who was found to make up the numbers), and the set goal is not very ambitious - the top 100 in the preliminary round.

He is also very clear that a higher goal is probably unattainable with this team configuration, and whether they can enter the top 100 in the preliminary round depends on some luck.

Let's look at the second person, 【Flow Three Maple】.

This is a teammate that 【Elementary School Dog】 is very optimistic about, and the first teammate he invited.

【Flow Three Maple】 is also an old player who created an account during the beta test. Although he is not a professional, he is a rare "literary and martial arts" player. He feels somewhat similar in style to Pikachu... oh no... to 【Autumn Wind Se】, except that Pika... uh... Autumn Wind Se is stronger than him in all aspects.

In terms of appearance, Flow Three Maple's style is completely opposite to Dog Bro, and he appears quite gorgeous. He adjusted his appearance in the game to be "very" handsome, with shoulder-length hair, a slender figure, and wearing a very figure-hugging black and gold suit.

Next is the third person... 【Most Lonely When I Miss You】.

Some people must remember this nickname. That's right, he is one of the high school student couples that Feng Bujue and Wang Tanzhi met when they first queued for team survival mode. The girl who was with him at the time was called 【Most Lonely When I Think of You】.

Undoubtedly, he is also a beta player. In terms of strength... he is very strong now.

Why say "now"? Because a little over a month ago, he broke up with his girlfriend...

That... was a rainy day.

At the train station after school, that 【Most Lonely When I Think of You】 classmate, broke up with Lonely Bro on the grounds that "my parents said that this would delay my studies."

When that word "break up" was said, a thunderclap suddenly rose in the sky.

Something seemed to shatter in Lonely Bro's chest...

At that moment, on the electronic billboard across the street, the melody of *All Out of Love* suddenly sounded - "i'm all out of love~what am i without you~i can't be too late~to say that i was so wrong~"

Okay, the actual situation may not have been so dramatic... but in his memory it seems like this.

In short, his girlfriend never spoke to him again afterwards, even if they occasionally brushed shoulders at school, she turned a blind eye to him. Even the game account... was deleted.

In a sense, from that time on, Lonely Bro's nickname became an irony, and... it was also well-deserved...

But... breaking up is a double-edged sword. Lonely Bro, who was frustrated in love, immediately devoted all his energy to the game world. He used the time he originally spent eating, shopping, and watching movies on playing games; he spent the money he originally spent eating, shopping, and watching movies in the game; he put all the thoughts he originally put on his girlfriend into the game...

Lonely Bro shifted his attention through the game, gradually smoothed out the pain in his heart, and unknowingly... became a very strong player.

He has known 【Elementary School Dog】 for some time, and Dog Bro choosing him as a teammate also reflects his ability from the side.

Finally, let's look at the fourth person—【Mighty, Domineering】.

This is the only non-beta player on the "Corn Kernel" team. He hasn't been in Thriller Paradise for very long. When Pinnacle Melee S1 entered the final stage, this person had just joined the game. From that "丶" in his name, you can see... it was already a bit difficult for players who applied for an account at that time to think of a nickname that hadn't been used before without characters (after the v1.10 version update, the official relaxed the nickname limit. Now, *Thriller Paradise* players can use names with a maximum of eighteen characters, which can also include one or two special characters).

As for Mighty Bro's appearance... he is indeed very mighty, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face and forehead... in movies of the 1980s and 1990s, he must be a positive character. Betrayal is something that those bald people with small eyes would do. Even if those with thick eyebrows are in the enemy camp, they are mostly underground members.

In terms of strength, Mighty Bro is also quite strong. As a casual player, being able to rush from level one to level forty-two in just over two months, in addition to being "rich and having free time," his own ability cannot be ignored.

Of course, this is also related to the current game environment... after all, it has been open for so long, and there are already various leveling guides on the forums; and the "team leveling" business of various studios can also allow newcomers to easily improve their level and equipment.

Take another player, 【Weary Dream Return】, i.e. the former 【Corpse Blade as King】, as an example. He leveled all the way from level one to level thirty-four, spending less than a month in total (see Chapter 582), and now he is rushing towards fifty... So, in this version, the difficulty of leveling is much smaller than in the initial "pioneering era."

As long as you make full use of your daily game time, read more guides, prepare double experience cards, and your own strength is not too bad... even a casual player will definitely be able to level to forty in two months.

The above are the four members of the Corn Kernel team. As for the team's overall strength... it is indeed stronger than the team formed by "casual players whose strength is at the average." But if they really encounter a professional team, they basically have no chance to fight.

As for the reason why they didn't enable the privacy protection function... there are mainly two points. The first is the nature of the captain, 【Elementary School Dog】. A person who likes to "play the fool" also really wants to show himself, but their way and means of expressing themselves are not as flamboyant as "forcefully showing off," nor as profound as "invisibly showing off." But in any case, Dog Bro would definitely not want to be anonymous. Besides... he also has his own little calculations in mind... it would be best if he could make his "personal" name in S2, and then he could go to a first-tier studio to mix as a main force, so as to get rid of the current awkward situation. If he covers up his "appearance" and "team name," how will he be remembered?

The second... is that their strategist, 【Flow Three Maple】, really didn't think so deeply about this "privacy protection function" issue. That's why I said this guy isn't as good as Pikachu... by the time he realized the problem, the preliminary round had been played for more than a dozen rounds. At that time, their team information had basically been studied by everyone, and it was too late to hide it.

"Okay, it's settled then."

Five minutes after the script started, the five members of the Corn Kernel team had already formulated a strategy.

Their tactical thinking was actually the same as the Hell Frontline team's...

But the thought process was very different...

Their thinking is: nothing can be deduced from the script introduction, so let's not worry about the plot; the other side doesn't even show the team name, they're probably an unknown team, so it's very likely they're casual players... we have a professional-level player sitting here, who can be worth two people, so our combat strength is at least 5:4 compared to them; so we don't need to borrow power either, let's quickly destroy them, it's more beneficial to us.

That's probably... the process...

And such a strategy undoubtedly opened the prelude to a tragedy.