Li Ang tossed two Bloodworm Crowbars to Miss Chai. He then set about organizing the gear and items in his Pet Breeding Box, burying weapons and ammunition, daggers, and hand axes that he wouldn't need for the time being in an iron box, tucking it away into a corner of the Breeding Box.
The backpack only had twenty slots. Factoring in items like the Origin of Life, White Death's stomach, Blood Tribe Corpses, Datura No. 3 reagent, and Virulent Poison—which couldn't easily be removed—space was tight, so he had no choice but to abandon some items.
Perhaps in the late game, players will be able to expand their backpack slots through in-game purchases or similar methods. Or they might use items like Mustard Seed Spaces, Universe Bags, or spatial rings to carry essential items that have to be accessed immediately in critical situations.
"My current firepower needs for light weapons are met. The weapon cultivation project of the Origin of Life still needs more time to yield results. I haven't yet found a suitable use for White Death's stomach and the remaining three Blood Clan digestive organs. The Datura No. 3 reagent is currently insufficient for laboratory analysis. Due to the rudimentary lab conditions and safety considerations, it's not feasible to further test the virus Special Effect of the 'Virulent Poison' Short Dagger. Ripple Energy continues to accumulate gradually through persistent effort. Further enhancement of my physiological functions has also stagnated, limited by my human body and a current lack of a clear development path."
Li Ang analyzed all the supernatural elements he currently controlled and realized he had hit a power bottleneck, with no clear direction for a breakthrough. This was unavoidable.
Compared to players who had joined large organizations, Lone Wolf Players were indeed unfettered and enjoyed their freedom. However, because Lone Wolves delved into too many types of script worlds, the supernatural elements they gathered were numerous but unspecialized. This made it difficult to further research any specific supernatural power system, a deficiency that became more evident after leveling up to Lv10 and above.
Massive organizations like the Special Affairs Bureau had a larger player base. As long as players reported all their supernatural elements for review by the statistics department and an audit by the think tank, they would receive an individual development plan optimized for efficiency at their current stage. The organization would buy unneeded supernatural items from players at above-market rates. In turn, players could use the organization's internal Contribution Points or Game Currency to apply for desired skills and items. This allowed players to clear out their cluttered inventories and rapidly grow stronger. Meanwhile, the organization itself could become more robust by enhancing its players, eventually forming a virtuous cycle.
According to discussion threads on the forums, all major organizations worldwide were adopting this development model. The only difference lay in the degree to which each organization exploited its players.
Official organizations like the Special Affairs Bureau were naturally fair in their pricing, deceiving neither young nor old. Sometimes, the Special Affairs Bureau even subsidized players, offering various real-world social welfare benefits. For example, they provided additional college entrance exam points for the direct family members of players who joined. This wasn't a joke; the Special Affairs Bureau's official website had a dedicated page outlining the many benefits of joining. Indeed, some players in their thirties and forties, whose children were taking college entrance exams, joined the Special Affairs Bureau just for such incentives.
In addition, some multinational corporations in Europe and America were also actively advertising, sparing no effort to recruit valuable assets. For instance, if a player above Lv15 joined a multinational corporation, they could not only sign a highly attractive employment contract but also enjoy a dozen benefits prepared by the group. This included perks like a private villa of eight hundred square meters with a swimming pool and golf course, two personal secretaries, a garage full of luxury cars, and a private helicopter—essentially, everything needed to achieve financial freedom. Whatever one asked for, the group would satisfy.
A high school player who joined the Japan Island Tycoon Group casually mentioned at a corporate banquet that he missed his childhood friend. This friend had lived next door during elementary school for several years before emigrating overseas. That very night, the tycoon group mobilized armed forces, flew his friend from Brazil to the Japan Islands on a private jet, and orchestrated a perfect "chance" meeting for them. Their attitude was so subservient, they were like the kings of bootlickers, taken to an almost mythical degree.
If official institutions had some integrity, and massive financial conglomerates still cared about their image, then some of the smaller, less reputable organizations were downright nasty.
On the Black Africa Continent, groups of local armed forces had emerged, led by players acting as Military Warlords. These local armed forces, a hybrid of warlords and gangs, were typically led by one or several high-ranking players commanding hundreds of ordinary armed personnel. They ravaged various regions to unearth low-level players hidden among the populace. Once found, these low-level players were bound tightly with Characteristic Lock Chains and sold to unidentified buyers seeking to acquire player qualifications. No one ever saw those low-level players again.
In Black Africa, such player-led local armed forces had unleashed waves of bloody conflict, brutal enough to make Western sentimentalists hold their heads and weep, sighing to the heavens. Nevertheless, international media remained calm, as everyone tacitly glossed over these incidents without paying much attention.
Beyond Africa, other regions were also restless: Eastern Europe, South America, Central Asia, Southeast Asia... Areas with already poor public security became even more chaotic and disordered. Conflicts arose daily, and ordinary people mysteriously vanished without a trace every day.
As the killing game progressed, countless players remained hidden among the general population. Players died daily from routine missions, script missions, real-world feuds, assassinations, or at the hands of organizations coveting their qualifications. However, the game itself continuously selected new players randomly from the general population. This meant the overall number of players not only maintained a dynamic balance but actually kept rising.
There would be more and more low-level players, and the presence of high-level players would become increasingly prominent.
For now, established organizations managed to remain friendly towards the player community, ensuring the safety of life and property for players (especially high-level ones).
However, as the killing game continues to advance, will this balance be maintainable? Could such an imbalance cause a huge impact on the current social structure?
Li Ang was pessimistic about the preservation of the current social structure. To him, maintaining the status quo amidst massive change was almost a fool's dream. Class, and the disputes brought about by class changes, devoured people... silently, imperceptibly... Presumably, the various organizations have also made preparations. The current harmonious facade is merely an attempt to postpone an inevitable, fierce conflict.
Thinking this, Li Ang left the Breeding Box with Miss Chai.
He had never considered joining the Special Affairs Bureau or any other organization—at least not before he finished that one crucial task. He could not join them until then.