Unlike the System, Su Shisan wasn’t worried. “My current goal is a C-Rank NPC, not just using C-Rank forever.”
Just as the System trusted her, she had absolute faith in herself. Su Shisan believed that by the time she faced higher-level players, her NPCs would have leveled up as well.
D-Rank NPCs have almost no specialties—maybe a bit of martial arts or some acting experience at most.
C-Rank NPCs generally have non-offensive abilities, like Face-Changing or high mental strength…
B-Rank NPCs usually have offensive skills—Fireball Technique, Throwing Knives, Electric Discharge, and so on.
As for A-Rank NPCs, they’re more well-rounded, with skills that work in many Copies, like Puppet Mastery.
Su Shisan had already seen an S-Rank NPC in the Blood Cross Copy: that free NPC named Jun Qian. But she hadn’t figured out his abilities, nor what the S-Rank standard was on the Forum.
There’s all sorts of flashy stuff, but for now, what matters most to Su Shisan is an NPC with strong mental power.
If that NPC could even boost the mental strength of other NPCs or natives in the Copy, that’d be even better.
The rest can wait—she can’t even afford the 50,000-Point C-Rank NPC yet, so it’s too early to worry about anything else.
Su Shisan shook her head and pulled up the D-level Copy requirements. Every time she finished slacking off, she’d reread the rules to avoid any oversights.
[D-level Copy Requirements:
Time: ≤24 hours
Area: ≤600 square meters
NPCs: ≤3
Players: ≤12
Lethal Rules: 2
Winning Methods: ≥2]
Compared to E-level Copies, D-level Copies have almost all restrictions loosened. Not just area and time—even the lethal rules now allow two, which is unprecedented.
Two lethal rules are great. One is always that San Value drops to zero, and the other can be flexible.
Su Shisan took out the Upgrade Card Director Liu gave her before and examined it silently.
The System floated over and asked, “Are you going to upgrade the Copy? Isn’t it a bit risky to jump straight to a C-level Copy when you haven’t even made a formal D-level one yet?”
“How will I know if I don’t try?” Su Shisan lowered her gaze, rubbing the card in her hand.
The System didn’t quite get it. “But why rush? At your current level, even if you take it slow, you’ll definitely reach C-rank, and it’ll be more stable.”
“But that would be boring.”
The girl blinked her beautiful cat-like eyes. “Besides, I found a little bug with the ‘Continuous Annihilation’ Medal on the Forum.”
The System was a little surprised. It didn’t keep track of every thread Su Shisan read, so it didn’t know what she meant. “What bug?”
“If I create a Copy above my level and achieve a full wipe, the ‘Continuous Annihilation’ Medal will jump up two levels at once.”
Su Shisan pulled up her bookmarked thread as she spoke.
“I Found a Magical Combo: ‘Continuous Annihilation’ Medal × Instance Upgrade Card”
[Flexible Dog a No.0: OP here originally had two ‘Continuous Annihilation’ Medals from E-level Copies, and got an Instance Upgrade Card in that Copy. I used it in the next Copy, and my ‘Continuous Annihilation[2]’ actually jumped straight to ‘Continuous Annihilation[4]’!]
“Isn’t that just like my situation? I think it’s worth a gamble.” Smiling, Su Shisan used the card without hesitation.
The risk was big, but so was the reward. Reaching ‘Continuous Annihilation[5]’ brought huge benefits—boosting agility, speed, strength, and even mental power.
If she took the normal route, she’d need to achieve full wipes in two D-level Copies and one C-level assessment Copy to reach ‘Continuous Annihilation[5]’.
But with the Upgrade Card, just one C-level and one D-level Copy would be enough.
Though she might miss out on some Copy-making experience, in terms of difficulty, taking on a higher-level Copy was actually easier. So Su Shisan felt the risk was worth it.
The System wouldn’t interfere with a builder’s choices. Seeing her use the Upgrade Card, it immediately changed its tune: “With your skills, Shisan, you’ll definitely succeed! I believe in you!”
With the Copy upgraded, the requirements updated as well. The screen immediately displayed the C-level Copy requirements.
[C-level Copy Requirements:
Time: ≤3 days
Area: 10,000m² ≤ x ≤ 50,000m²
NPCs: ≤5
Players: ≤24
Lethal Rules: 2
Winning Methods: ≥2]
Unlike other Copies, this one had a minimum area requirement. At least 10,000 square meters—far more than any previous Copy.
Since she’d already thought about it for two days, Su Shisan had the venue and general plot mapped out. This time, she planned to make a tourism-themed Copy—a one-day-one-night trip.
For travel, a longer duration might be better, but since it was her first time designing a C-level Copy and she lacked experience, Su Shisan preferred to stick to her usual rhythm.
A one-day Copy would be faster-paced and more in her comfort zone.
With only a day, the tourist destination couldn’t be far. Su Shisan’s setting was a trip to an amusement park.
Everyone knows amusement parks are good civilization—they’re a staple in horror films. All sorts of high-risk rides, and the haunted house is a killer. Add in a Clown, and the buffs are stacked.
NPCs were easy to pick—a tour guide, a Park Director, and a Polluter leader like a Clown. The remaining natives would be tourists and some Polluters.
Su Shisan was sure plenty of builders had used this theme, but a rules-horror amusement park probably hadn’t been done yet.
A classic theme with an unconventional plot—she believed it would be a big surprise for players.
***
As the end of the month approached, He Feixian finally finished all her tasks and returned. During this time, she’d visited five Copies and deeply felt the range among builders.
Of the five Copies, only the B-rank builder aimed for a full wipe—the rest all just wanted a draw! And those remaining four Copies were two D-level and two C-level!
In all the Copies, her role was basically the same: act as the spokesperson, introduce the background and explain the rules, and occasionally serve as the Head Judge.
That’s right—the Head Judge. Two of the five Copies were competitive types, both C-level.
So there are player-versus-player Copies, Su Shisan realized. No wonder they aimed for a draw—these Copies make it easy to get a draw, worst case half the players die, best case only one is left.
But she still couldn’t make those kinds of Copies yet. Su Shisan had asked before—player-versus-player Copies could only be made from C-level upward.
At best, she could arrange for an undercover agent, but she’d have to provide a Prop reward for the undercover herself.
“But I don’t get it—by this logic, wouldn’t you be set for life once you hit C-level?” He Feixian asked, puzzled. She didn’t think she’d ever reach C-level, so she wasn’t too regretful.
Still, just thinking about the security of never being at risk of elimination once you hit C-level made her a little envious.
“Of course not. C-level competitive Copies have to offer at least two ways for both sides to cooperate,” the System replied, seeing Su Shisan didn’t answer.
“From B-level on, it’s just one, but there must be at least one.”
In the “Horror Survival Game,” the basic requirement is that there can’t be a no-win scenario. So even in competitive Copies, there must be a way for both sides to cooperate and clear.
Su Shisan thought that was pretty good. If a Copy left no way out for anyone—not even a portion of the players—it’d just be boring.
Only when there’s a way out will players struggle desperately and truly fear being eliminated; only then will they feel a sense of accomplishment.
If they knew from the start that one side, or even everyone, had no chance, they wouldn’t be scared.
Su Shisan liked seeing them afraid—just like a cat enjoys watching a mouse struggle. If everyone was resigned, it’d be boring for her.
After hearing the System’s explanation, He Feixian thought for a moment, then frowned in frustration: “But how do you give them a way to cooperate? I can’t think of any. Boss, can you help me brainstorm?”
“Go ahead,” Su Shisan nodded.
“In the two C-level Copies I visited, one was like a popular real-life game—two sides fought over a house along five lanes, one side defending, one side attacking.” At this, He Feixian winked playfully at Su Shisan.
As someone from the entertainment industry, she cared about copyright. So, even though she knew exactly what game the Copy was copying, she didn’t say it outright. Better safe than sorry.
Su Shisan got it right away—“Plants vs. Zombies,” huh? She’d played it back in the day. At first, the name made her think it was a horror game, but once she started, she realized it wasn’t.
Still, classics are classics—even someone like her, who wasn’t into games, played several levels before stopping.
So that kind of game Copy can let both sides cooperate? She thought for a bit, then had an idea. “What’s the goal for fighting over the house? Same as the game?”
“Same—steal the homeowner’s brains.” He Feixian shrugged.
“Originally, the builder wanted me to play the homeowner—since it’s about digging out brains, even if it doesn’t hurt, it’s still creepy. But maybe… a bit of pity? Anyway, in the end, I played the neighbor, Dave.”
Su Shisan:
Though it had been years, she still remembered Dave. To her as a child, Dave was more interesting than the zombies. And her idea of interesting, of course, meant scary to normal people.
Playing a crazy old man took some acting, but it was easy money and not much work—just say a few lines to the players and introduce the stages at key moments. She wouldn’t mind doing a few more of those.
After a brief daze, Su Shisan quickly got back on track. “So what’s the plants’ mission? To protect the homeowner, or the house?”
“Is there a difference…” Before she could finish, He Feixian’s eyes lit up. She wasn’t stupid—Su Shisan’s hint made her understand instantly.
“You mean, as long as players can take over the house and become the new owner, whether the original homeowner lives or dies doesn’t affect their victory?”
Su Shisan nodded. “Maybe the house has a household registration, keys, ID, whatever. If they get those, the original owner is irrelevant.”
“I get it! That must be it! I saw a locked box at the builder’s place—inside must be the household registration!” Only now did He Feixian recall that detail she’d completely overlooked at the time.
If Su Shisan hadn’t pointed it out, she never would have realized the box was important, let alone thought to open it.
She’d thought the Copy had nothing to offer, that it was only able to eliminate so many players because of the C-level rules. Now she realized it was just her lack of insight—she hadn’t learned anything from it.