Chapter 160: The Second Server System
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 160: The Second Server System
By clearing Main Quest 2, I obtained 8 points, one 19+ Cheat Mode, 20 Normal Mode Points, and a Safe Base-Exclusive Underground Bunker(★).
As for the Repeat Quests, I had hunted nearly 3,000 Level 1 Zombies alone over five days. The Repeat Quest had advanced to 1-6, raising the target to 3,200, and I had already filled 2,600 of that.
That gave me 2 points and 3 Normal Mode Points.
I also hunted about 600 Level 2 Zombies, clearing Repeat Quest 2-4, which yielded another 1 point and 3 Normal Mode Points.
Surprisingly, some Level 3 Zombies must have been mixed in somewhere, as Repeat Quest 3-2 was also cleared. It wasn't a huge number, but it meant I had killed sixty-something of them.
Putting aside the 2 points and 5 Normal Mode Points, I also received 3 19+ Mode Level Points.
Isn't this practically holding a knife to my throat, forcing me to level up my 19+ Mode?
I had also killed quite a few users, so the hidden Repeat Quest was already at 1-4.
A Repeat Quest that required killing a total of 400 people to move on to the next.
"Whew. You guys shouldn't do stuff like this."
Letting the rewards pile up before checking them all at once was incredibly satisfying.
My total points held stood at 21.
I had accumulated 70 Normal Mode Points.
Since I also had 3 19+ Mode Points, I could just use those separately on the 19+ Mode.
It would be nice if I could use 19+ Mode Points to level up the 19+ Cheat Mode as well... but the system was stingy.
How should I spend these points to develop Paradise this time?
As I was pondering, a new quest popped up.
["Safe Base"-Exclusive Quest 1]
– The time has come to expand the influence of the Safe Base, "Paradise." If you dismantle or dominate (at least 80% of members registered for a 5-week Paradise Membership) a "Small" or larger faction controlling an area outside the Safe Base, that area will temporarily expand into a Safe Base.
– If you dismantle or dominate (at least 70% of members registered for a 5-week Paradise Membership) a "Medium" or larger faction outside the Safe Base, the "Dong" (neighborhood) or "Gu" (district) to which that faction belongs will temporarily expand into a Safe Base.
– Dismantle or dominate 5 or more "Small" or larger factions to permanently expand the Safe Base.
– Reward: Safe Base (☆★) Enhancement Unlocked, Safe Base-Exclusive Effect Selection Ticket x1
"It's finally here."
I was wondering when this would show up, and the quest is finally here.
But even though I waited with my mouth wide open, the next quest didn't appear.
"Wait. What about Base Invincibility and Predation?"
Why wasn't the system giving me quests for the other two modes, which had reached level 10 a long time ago?
"It's finally time to go out."
I had already planned to go out and expand the Safe Base once the Zombie Rush ended.
But before that.
First, I opened the "Server System Administrator" mode.
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Server System Administrator.
The Host-Exclusive Cheat Mode was an insanely broken cheat above cheats that managed the very laws of this world.
Since its very name granted me the authority to alter the world's system at will, upgrading it from Level 1 to Level 2 cost a whopping 10 points.
That was why I had only used the single slot provided at Level 1 to bind the "Black Market Dealer" system to myself and add enhancements. I had planned to take my time with the next upgrade whenever it crossed my mind, prioritizing other cheat modes with my points first.
However, my thoughts had changed slightly during the Zombie Rush.
"The modes are too user-unfriendly."
To be precise, I felt that the grades and levels of the "modes"—which people called skills—needed to be categorized.
In the original Zombie Apocalypse game, fields like combat level, cooking level, and medical level were separate from modes. But here, the system had imported that mechanic directly, forcing everyone to start at Level 1 and gain experience through usage to level up. Because of this, there were some parts that didn't quite make sense.
When people received random modes, did those who started with higher-level modes have better performance than others?
Or did they simply start at a more advantageous position than those starting from Level 1?
Initially, I thought that if someone had a Level 4 Mode, it meant it was categorized into grades like F-rank or D-rank, making it more effective even as it leveled up.
But looking at Oh Yoon-seop, Lee Mi-sook, and Kim Ji-hee's skills after leveling them up, they all seemed quite decent once they reached Level 10, regardless of their starting level. This made me wonder if starting level even mattered.
Then what was the point of starting with a high-level mode?
Of course, starting with a high-level mode right off the bat had clear advantages.
But what I had in mind was that introducing more differentiation would allow the mode skill system to create greater distinctions among survivors and raise the ceiling of their growth.
Most importantly, this would also raise the quality of the skills I would eventually "predate" or use through the "Resident" effects.
While addressing that, I also planned to add a way for survivors to acquire modes.
A massive number of people had died during the 2nd Zombie Rush.
Although many people were still posting on the Paradise Gallery, it was safe to assume that most of those who didn't even possess a mode had died during the 2nd Zombie Rush.
By this point, it was only fair that those without any special abilities had at least one way to survive.
The zombies were growing stronger by the day due to the Blood Moon, but if the survivors remained stagnant, the only ones left standing in the end would be people like me with insanely broken modes or those who had built powerful factions.
While that was the natural flow of a zombie apocalypse and the basic rule of survival of the fittest...
...this, too, was ultimately a process to facilitate the smooth formation of my Paradise and keep things entertaining.
"If more people get opportunities to obtain good modes, and high-grade modes become more common as a result, I can just gobble them all up and live an even easier life."
That was my ultimate goal in investing a whopping 10 points to upgrade the "Server System Administrator" mode to Level 2.
While the Safe Base was a base-type cheat mode that ensured "living infrastructure" ran perfectly within the Safe Base regardless of the apocalypse...
...Base Invincibility provided me with comfort while playing a base-building style.
Having good modes meant less manual effort.
Whether it was combat, daily life, or healing.
Because I had structured my thoughts quite clearly for this update, it didn't take very long.
2-1. "Modes" will be influenced by a survivor's potential. When a Blood Moon rises, survivors will have a higher chance of awakening a "Mode." Survivors with high potential will have a higher chance of acquiring high-grade "Modes."
2-2. Existing "Mode" levels will have their experience redistributed based on Level 1.
2-3. When a "Mode" level is raised to its limit, a special power will be added. This does not apply to Cheat Modes.
There was no need to write anything particularly long.
Once the framework was set, the system would handle the fine-tuning automatically anyway.
The point was that just as the zombies grew stronger during specific times like the Blood Moon, survivors would also gain a chance to acquire new modes.
Additionally, grades would be introduced to modes, and while everyone would have to level them up from Level 1 again, their previous progress would be retroactively applied.
Upon reaching Level 10, as a reward for maxing out the skill level, a special power unique to that mode would be added.
This would motivate survivors to diligently use their skills to level them up.
And to raise their lowered levels, the Residents would work even harder to gather Resident Points and bring them to me.
That way, I wouldn't have to waste time wondering, Is this skill actually good? I could just predate or receive skills that the system had already classified as high-grade, and when needed, simply use Normal Mode Points to level them up and cheese my way through.
What are they going to do when I hit them with "Your skill tasted delicious"?
[Server System Administrator (2★)]
– The Server Host can access the Multi-Server System to create systems.
– Create system laws that apply to the entire server.
– The "Enhancement" mode is added. It scales with the level of "Server System Administrator."
The Server System Administrator reached Level 2, and a stream of system messages popped up.
[The "Mode" system is being updated.]
[Grades will be added to all "Modes." With the addition of grades, existing levels will be reset, and previously accumulated experience will be retroactively applied to match the current mode's level.]
[Influenced by the Blood Moon, the probability of awakening a mode will increase.]
["Potential Awakening" and "Random Awakening" have been added.]
This would throw people into chaos.
Survival was already tough enough, and now a new system was being added or modified.
Well, at least it wasn't as complicated as when the Black Market Dealer was introduced.
In fact, they might actually like it.
Those with mediocre modes could now live with the hope of one day "awakening."
The Zombie Rush shouldn't just be a moment of despair and disaster.
While it would be a truly grueling, hellish time for the survivors...
...it also had to be an event where new hope blossomed.
In that sense, I quite liked this second system administration entry.
"Call in all the Hunting Squads and arm them."
And while the chaos unfolded, it was time for me to go do what I had to do.