For such cheap maps, Zhou Ning could only say the more, the merrier.

Looking at the template section, the "Spider Sense: Zhou Ning" template he bought earlier, though he hadn't had a chance to use it, already offered him some extra benefits. It came with the title of Spider-Man, and equipping it would slightly increase his neural reaction speed. Although he didn't know exactly how much "slightly" was, Zhou Ning still replaced the Phantom Thief title with it. After all, men are always fickle.

Subsequently, Zhou Ning felt his senses sharpen considerably. He could hear the sound of raindrops outside and the "hiss" of gas burning in the stove. With a thought, he slapped the table, and the plate holding pastries on it bounced up with a "bang." All the pastries flew high into the air. Immediately after, Zhou Ning scooped up the plate, and all the pastries were caught accurately by him.

The bonus from this title seemed quite significant. Zhou Ning smiled slightly and placed the plate back on the table.

After testing, both his reaction ability and perception ability were enhanced. One truly had to say, it was worthy of Spider-Man, wasn't it?

Next, Zhou Ning looked at the experience requirements. To upgrade Elite Black Magic to Master level and equip the sword of cortes, he needed approximately 970,000 experience points. Although expensive, it was still affordable for now.

Without a word, Zhou Ning immediately upgraded Elite Black Magic to Master level.

【Your Elite Black Magic has reached Master level. You have comprehended the skill 【Faint Spiritual Vision】.】

【Your Elite Black Magic has reached Master level. You have comprehended the skill 【Weather Conversion】.】

【You have gained the Specialty 【Streamlined Casting】.】

Upgrading Elite Black Magic to Master level unlocked two new skills and one new specialty. Among them, Streamlined Casting was a rare caster specialty, but it was not of much use to him.

【Faint Spiritual Vision (Beginner): General skill. After use, it can deprive the opponent of vision. Vision range -80%, duration 20 seconds.】

【Weather Conversion (Beginner): General skill. Using self-prepared powder can influence the Weather to a certain extent. Priority is low.】

【Streamlined Casting: When casting magic, certain syllables of spells can be omitted, making casting more efficient.】

Although upgrading Elite Black Magic consumed a lot of experience, the rewards were quite good. Zhou Ning finally managed to equip the sword of cortes as he wished. Now, counting the tritons sword that could control ships and the frostmourne gathering dust in his inventory, Zhou Ning only regretted not learning the Three-Sword Style in the One Piece World... The next day, the first thing Zhou Ning did was, as usual, open for business. Although his experience and financial deficits were both huge, considering the urgency of time, Zhou Ning would only stay here for one last morning.

Compared to the hasty business of last night, today Zhou Ning truly witnessed the enthusiasm of the players in Wales County. The players here not only had plenty of money and experience, but they were also foolish—no, generous. The number of players coming for class changes and skill learning was considerable. Before long, Zhou Ning was surrounded, making him both pained and happy.

Zhou Ning simply set up an automatic vending system, occasionally dealing with fan requests for handshakes and photos, while also keeping an eye on the forums and guild channels.

Since returning from Austin Manor, Zhou Ning hadn't logged into the forums. Now, upon checking, he realized that with the release of the fourth batch of Apocalypse game helmets and the hit TV series of the same name starring him, the popularity of the Apocalypse game had soared even higher.

This was evident from the number of followers in his dedicated section: nearly 110 million... Clicking inside, there was an endless variety of fan-fiction, comics, and novels, as well as many screenshots related to him, many of which Zhou Ning himself couldn't even remember when they occurred.

110 million... Zhou Ning vaguely remembered that the peak online concurrent players in Apocalypse in his previous life was only 90 million. Currently, there were probably less than 9 million players in the game, meaning that almost all of his followers were "cloud players."

To this, Zhou Ning could only exclaim—reality was too fantastical.

The Creation of films and literary works at least had to follow logic, but reality didn't need to; reality... simply defied logic.

"Wait, the second issue of apocalypse forecast is out?"

Zhou Ning's spirits lifted. Exactly two weeks had passed since the first issue aired. Zhou Ning had thought his butterfly effect had made the show disappear. Now, seeing the update, he eagerly clicked on it.

The screen still showed the friendly, plump male host and several professional players as guests. For this issue, apocalypse forecast must have spared no expense with the professional players. Jinse, who still ranked first on the level leaderboard, became a regular guest. In addition, they not only invited Shuidi Chenxing, a true young master from a wealthy family and the owner of the Star Moon Club, but even Yanran Weile, one of the top three gods in the Chinese gaming world, was invited to the scene—furthermore, Zhou Ning saw that XB, as a teammate of Jinse and Shuidi Chenxing's fixed team and the fifth-ranked player on the level leaderboard, also participated in this program.

It started with a rather childish game of Pictionary to liven the atmosphere. Jinse embarrassingly came in last, not guessing a single one correctly. The bullet comments were densely packed with complaints. After a few minutes, the show got to the main topic.

The second issue of apocalypse forecast was approximately over an hour long. Like the previous issue, the first 20 minutes quickly reviewed the overall situation of players in the entire Apocalypse World.

"Currently, the optical computer game helmets have been released in four batches, totaling 9 million people. After more than a month of gameplay, most players have already changed classes, and the average level has reached level 18. After reaching level 30, players will experience their first advancement. It remains to be seen whether this advancement will affect the strength of professions. For example, will Warriors change their fate of being bottom-tier in output and having poor mobility; can Knights and Wandering Gunslingers continue to be strong?"

"As you can clearly see, most of the top one hundred players on the level leaderboard are professional players. Among them, Mages account for the largest proportion, with thirty-seven people. Wandering Gunslingers are second, with twenty-five people. This also proves that in the early stages of the game, ranged professions are very suitable for taking quests and leveling up."

"Currently, the fewest professions are still Knights and Shamans. Both of these professions require a certain amount of strength and luck to take up. Among over 9 million players, all Knights combined are currently less than 10,000, making them standard rare professions. Shamans are even exclusive to the Walrus People."

In terms of profession strength, all professional players, including Yanran Weile, currently recognized the Wandering Gunslinger as the strongest profession. Yanran Weile stated that Wandering Gunslingers not only have super strong output but also flexible displacement abilities, making them a big favorite in the upcoming professional competitions.

On the level leaderboard, Jinse still held a commanding lead at level 23. The second place was taken by August, a professional player from the American Gunfire Club. Shuidi Chenxing, who possessed a Devil Fruit, ranked third.

In terms of NPC popularity, Zhou Ning still maintained a significant lead, ranking first, and his advantage was becoming increasingly obvious. Second was Chris Bradenreiser; her performance in the sixth episode of the TV series was quite stunning, and of course, her physique was also a large part of the reason. Ranking third was the original protagonist, Leandro; the reason for his inclusion on the list was his incredibly eye-catching flaming greatsword and his extremely powerful strength.

"Speaking of Wayne Sterwell, ever since the game began, he has consistently occupied the C-position of the entire game. In the past half-month, he has made many new moves. He is the only NPC who has had extensive interaction with players, repeatedly appearing in player Novice Village (newbie villages) to provide guidance and benefits. In terms of strength ranking, he has also for the first time surpassed Stuart Crow, the Grand Patriarch of the Ascetic Church, ranking first. Below are his five most famous scenes."