Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors-Chapter 568 - 284 New Subordinate Identity: Common Man_2

"One, a batch of new talent skills has been unlocked in the Return Order Talent Skill Library, including the ’Ding,’ ’Wu,’ and ’Ji’ skill levels.

"Two, a part of the talent skills will be unlocked as permanent talents, which do not occupy the original talent skill slots.

"Three, a new instance ’Jin Lai Yu Zhou Ping’ has been unlocked.

"The demons related to the historical slices of the Qi Dynasty and Great Sheng Dynasty have been completely eradicated. Order Restorers can now bypass the layers of obstacles and head straight to the peak period of the Liang Dynasty, with Emperor Taizong of Liang as the anchor point.

"However, because the demons entrenched in the Liang Dynasty hindered at a critical moment by using another historical slice to block the power of the Order Restorers, they will need to consecutively break through two historical slices, so the overall difficulty of the current instance will increase.

"After clearing the current historical slice, they will be directed straight to the historical line of the Liang Dynasty, with Emperor Taizong as the anchor point.

"For specific gameplay, players can explore on their own."

...

Once the update announcement was released, players immediately began heated discussions.

"Will the episodes be updated as interactive videos? Interactive videos?"

"Is it like those interactive videos similar to text adventure games, where you can choose options and then watch different story developments?"

"That makes sense! This instance is really suitable for interactive videos, since there are so many identities, complex plots, and each storyline is relatively independent—there isn’t a strictly enforced main storyline."

"It does sound interesting; no wonder it’s only available on the website—they probably need a mouse and keyboard or a remote to operate."

"With Dark Sand’s technical level, I bet these interactive videos will be much finer than the typical ones, right? All starring top players in a large interactive video extravaganza... just the thought of it is exciting!"

"Some equipment has been updated, huh? Mazha Blades, big axes, hook spears, and new types of armor and horse jackets... Alright, time to start grinding for new gear again."

"The commerce within the Order Restorers’ fortress is even more prosperous? Does that mean there will be more delicious food?"

"I’m saying, since the brothel culture is so prevalent during the Qi Dynasty, can’t we get a few brothels in the Order Restorers’ fortress so I can listen to some music?"

"Are you really just looking to listen to music? I don’t even want to expose you!"

"This round of skill unlocks is outrageous; they’ve just unlocked three skill levels in a go! Jumped straight to ’Ding’ level!"

"It seems that defeating Xingtian really was a great victory. Such a powerful demon brought immense wealth, way beyond those lesser demons we dealt with before."

"Yeah, when it was the Great Sheng Dynasty, Feilian got away, but this time, although Feilian also slipped away, it was forced to leave behind a large amount of Demonic Qi. This time, we’ve pretty much devoured the power of 1.5 big demons, which is three to four times what we had estimated before."

"Another batch of beta testers is off to suffer in the basic trials."

"I’m a bit worried. Can they really keep up with the progress? After coming in, first suffer in the four basic instance trials, and then there are three Great Sheng instances, two Qi instances, and two affiliated identity trials... there’s enough content to keep them busy for months."

"What’s there to worry about? There’s plenty of demons to handle. Have you forgotten how Li Hongyun managed to achieve the first clearance not long after he started playing the game? You just can’t imagine what the real pros are capable of."

"Right, for most people, the game is just for fun, but only the truly top-tier players can dominate."

"The Liang Dynasty instance should be the one with Emperor Taizhong, right? With those records from history, it’s really hard to imagine how players are going to reenact it..."

"But shouldn’t we pay more attention to this new affiliated identity? This is something we can play with right away, not having to wait for the new version seven days later. And what exactly is this ’Pifu’ identity?"

This new affiliated identity took players by surprise.

Because although the previous two affiliated identities were special, they all followed a traceable logic.

For instance, "Cavalry," which was an absolutely critical type of troop during the age of cold weapons; the game had to figure out a way to arrange for horses for the players, as without them, many battles would be impossible to fight.

As for "Divine Machine," it allowed crafting of weapons, firearms, and enhanced the precision and safety of devices like guns, cannons, and trebuchets—an identity that made quite a bit of sense.

But "Pifu"—

What is it?

The concept of Pifu has existed since ancient times, and it roughly means the following.

The first meaning, also its original one, refers to the ordinary people.

Like in the phrases "The army can have its commander taken away, but a man cannot be stripped of his will" or "Punishment should not avoid the nobles, and merit should not overlook the commoners."

The "Pifu" in these phrases all mean ordinary people.

The second meaning refers to someone who is brave but without strategy and carries a certain derogatory nuance.

As in "the courage of a common man, the benevolence of a woman" or "a furious man who would bash his head against the ground"—which implies a sense of impotent rage.

The third meaning points to people who are mediocre or even used as a pejorative term to insult someone. Phrases like "marketplace riffraff" or "old riffraff" belong to this category.

No matter how you look at it, the term "Pifu" isn’t exactly a compliment.

It is often used derogatorily, and even when used neutrally, it just refers to extraordinarily ordinary people.

Of course, if we stretch the meaning, there can be some positive uses.

Such as: "The rise and fall of a nation are the responsibility of every individual."

But then the question arises, how exactly should a Pifu be tested?