Chapter 996: Decisions in the Game World
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 996: Decisions in the Game World
The Game World.
While various schemes and conflicts unfolded in the Main World, subtle changes were also quietly taking place within the Game World.
First, the clones I had scattered abroad had finally provided me with a complete topographical imaging of the entire Game World.
Through the final integration provided by the Ley Line Identification Art, I had successfully rendered a flawless, three-dimensional map of this world.
This included, but was not limited to, the various branches of the Infinite Group’s Terminal of Myriad Worlds scattered across the globe.
It showed the surface residential areas of the high-end Vanguard Players.
And it revealed the headquarters of the Terminal of Myriad Worlds, along with the Infinite Energy Perpetual Motion Machine constructed from three Void Rifts that pierced through the heavens and the earth.
These discoveries had already laid the foundation.
They represented my ability to flip the table on the Supreme Council at any moment!
However, my plans for the Main World had not yet reached a dominant position. Conquering the Game World too quickly would only make those Transcendent Academies more vigilant.
Furthermore, this world could not yet be directly used to repair the Main World. Flipping the table prematurely would only result in everyone suffering in the depths of misery ahead of schedule.
I admitted that this world, dominated by the Game, was decadent and corrupt, but the labor pains of overthrowing it could plunge the inhabitants into eternal perdition.
In short... the time was not yet right.
Meanwhile, in Igesuo Surface City, thanks to the efforts of the Real Protection Association, the first group of brave players had already joined this "game" within reality.
But operating a city was no simple task.
The most basic issue—the supply of game currency and staple food—was enough to stump all the resistance forces.
However, under the early layout of my plant technology, Tang En, the current branch president of the Real Protection Association, was managing. Although things weren't quite on the right track yet, the rise of plant technology gave them a glimmer of infinite hope. They saw the establishment of real-world infrastructure, the promotion of various plant-tech products and tools, food production lines, and even fresh vegetables and fruits!
These were things they had never tasted before.
They had only experienced such things within the Game World. In the reality they faced after logging out, they were left with nothing but dry, gag-inducing rations or nutrient solutions used merely to stave off hunger.
Long-term lack of solid food intake had caused the taste buds and digestive systems of the people in the Game World to weaken to a certain extent.
Consequently, when these foods were first promoted, many people suffered from upset stomachs, leading to some negative social impacts. However, the situation was quickly calmed...
It was truly a case of "fine dining being wasted on those with iron stomachs."
For Igesuo Surface City to survive in reality, they needed their own currency and a medium for transactions in real life.
If they based everything on game currency, how would that be any different from handing the city's lifeblood over to the Supreme Council?
To establish the value of a currency, one naturally needed to provide a basic anchor for the issued money.
At first, they hoped to use food as the equivalent. After all, food is the most basic requirement for human survival; stable food production would equate to the value of the currency.
But this short-sighted decision was quickly abandoned. Such a system was essentially just bartering with a different skin.
Did anything with inherent value exist in the Game World? Would it be recognized?
Gold, silver, transcendent materials, transcendent energy...
These common equivalents were somewhat inapplicable in the Game World.
Ultimately, the Real Protection Association made the final call: the newly issued "Hard Wood Coins" would be linked to the power permissions of the Power Network. They also established permission thresholds to prevent the bottomless exchange of money for power.
This approach had another benefit: the framework was confined within the Power Network, eliminating the possibility of rebellion.
The wealthier a person became, the less they would want the Power Network and the Omni-Link Main Network Tree to fall.
At the very least, when facing difficulties, power could be unified into a single rope.
Admittedly, this framework seemed a bit like "playing house" and was overly idealistic.
But from my position at the highest level, I saw it clearly: this was typical gamer thinking. Money represented ability, power, authority, and status.
The influence of game concepts on this world still exceeded my expectations.
Nevertheless, I agreed to this framework.
Someone has to be the one to test the waters for the success of this world, don't they?
From my higher perspective, I understood perfectly that the Game World was, in the end, just one world. I had no cost for trial and error, but for them, a single mistake meant eternal damnation.
Therefore, every decision they made was, in my eyes, a massive gamble. The determination required was far beyond what I could imagine.
In this Game World, it seemed there really were people willing to give everything for the survival of their world.
At this moment, I stood on the night-view balcony of the hotel at the very top of the Calamity Witch Building, fiddling with a Hard Wood Coin in my hand.
The last time I had seen a Hard Wood Coin was in that small world. But as that world became part of the Expansion Realm, the Hard Wood Coin had faded into the dust of history.
Perhaps there were still some Hard Wood Coins kept as collectibles in the Expansion Realm, but it was no longer a currency of any value.
The advantages of the Hard Wood Coin were obvious; its anti-counterfeiting capabilities were top-tier, being a unique byproduct of plant technology. Now, it had become the medium linking Igesuo Surface City to the Power Network.
The development of the Power Network and the Root Network also allowed online payments and transactions to flourish.
This wasn't a particularly large leap.
In the Game World, players had long been accustomed to this mode of payment.
One could say this payment method wasn't progress, but rather a way to lighten the burden of living in the real world.
The Hard Wood Coin Bank of Igesuo Surface City had also been established, right beneath the Calamity Witch Building.
In a place I could see just by looking down, no one dared to harbor ill intentions toward it.
A notification sound pulled me back from my observations.
Immediately after, an illusory figure manifested before me.
As Tang En’s mastery of the Great Knowledge Seed grew more mature, he usually met with me using this non-contact method whenever he came to find me.
And I, in turn, was drifting further and further away from the public eye of Igesuo Surface City.
The ones doing the heavy lifting were actually the Order Maintainers who controlled the Power Network and the mobile squads armed with extraordinary power.
The Calamity Witch had transformed more into a symbol, carved into every corner of Igesuo Surface City.
"Is there news?" I asked.
"Yes, Lady Witch. We intercepted a secret message from Monroe at the Beriounis Rift Settlement. He wishes to meet you there," Tang En reported in the briefest manner possible.
"Beriounis Rift Settlement..." I repeated the name, matching it to the map my clones had gathered for me.
It was a very interesting place.
According to the data, it was a rift that resembled a natural chasm.
One end pointed toward the Infinite Energy Perpetual Motion Machine at the Terminal of Myriad Worlds headquarters, while the other extended to the edge of the continent, reaching into the deep sea.
Theoretically, the rift created a spectacular sight of seawater backflowing into a narrow strip of sky.
However, when my fun-seeking clones had visited, they found that the place had become a waste disposal area.
Both sides of the Beriounis Rift were flanked by surface cities like Igesuo. These cities were exceptionally developed, and the waste they generated was sent here for final disposal.
In the settlement zones beneath the Beriounis Rift, one could see trash being dumped at fixed times every day.
I had originally thought the people living there were in dire straits... but as it turned out, they lived more comfortably than those in other chaotic regions or rift settlements.
They had adopted the nature of cockroaches.
They would even come to blows over the trash, which had given rise to the profession of Scavengers.
The more I recalled these images, the more they multiplied, until I forced myself to stop thinking about them.
"Are you certain Monroe wants to meet me there?" I asked.
Monroe, the spiritual leader of the Real Protection Association—he was the one largely responsible for my being summoned here.
Theoretically, since he presided over the revolution in Igesuo Surface City, it was indeed quite strange that he didn't dare show his face in this city.
Perhaps even he hadn't expected me to seize the city with such thunderous methods?
Furthermore, the branch here likely wouldn't listen to him anymore.
With the framework of the Power Network established and linked to the Hard Wood Coins, this faction had effectively defected to me entirely.
So, as the spiritual leader... would Monroe accept this?
I wasn't sure. If he was an idealist warrior fighting to overthrow this decadent world, I wouldn't mind accepting the invitation to meet him.
After all, to become the spiritual leader and president of the Real Protection Association...
Either he was a savior born of destiny, or it was all a... Heh.
But regardless, according to my understanding, isn't that how a Child of Destiny is supposed to be used?
If I met him and he wasn't a Child of Destiny, then I would have reason to suspect something else.
However, there was one more thing that bothered me... This Game World used the world's Luck as a medium for creating characters within the world.
Did the World Will truly still have the capital to interfere using Luck?
Regardless, ignoring the decadence of the Game World, based on this world's accumulation and development, it was on the verge of becoming a Large World with several world communities.
They possessed the means to utilize Luck, so Luck was held in human hands.
Under such circumstances, how could a Child of Destiny possibly be born of natural providence?
Hearing my words, Tang En spoke up quickly: "Yes. However, our means of communication with him are limited. We can only receive intermittent encrypted messages."
After all, all messages in the Game World had to pass through the Terminal of Myriad Worlds, and they didn't dare use products from the Terminal to establish contact.
"No need for all this nonsense. I'll go there personally, and things will become clear," I said.
"Huh? This... Lady Witch, you're going in person? This! This is completely unnecessary! What if this is just a trap set by that old fogey Monroe..."
"What's the rush?" I interrupted Tang En and continued, "I know there's a problem. Even if there isn't one this time, there will be eventually. Do you think I can die?"
"Lady Witch's power is transcendent! How could you possibly die!" Tang En snapped out of it. He realized that the Lady Witch before him was just one of countless clones. How could she possibly die?
At this thought, his heart settled.
"As long as you understand. That fellow Monroe is likely a problem..." I paused for a moment, then looked at Tang En again.
"Lady Witch! If you have any instructions, I will certainly carry them out!" Tang En said sensibly.
"Tell me... if I am no longer here in Igesuo Surface City on the surface, how long can you hold out?"
"What? You... oh... you plan to retreat behind the scenes?" Tang En asked tentatively after a flash of shock.
"Everyone in Igesuo Surface City knows that a Lady Witch who protects them lives in the Calamity Witch Building. I rarely appear before them anymore. Whether I'm physically here or not makes no difference in essence."
"But... without you here to hold the fort, if the Terminal of Myriad Worlds headquarters sends another Vanguard squad to raid Igesuo, those armed with the extraordinary power of the Power Network will likely suffer heavy casualties..."
"And what if they know I'm not dead... just no longer inside this Calamity Witch Building?" I continued.
The only ones currently aware of and monitoring my situation were the high-level members of the Real Protection Association branch, the Supreme Council, those wizard apprentices, and the outsiders.
The people of Igesuo Surface City would never know the truth. They would only know that I am in this building and will continue to exist here forever.
"In that case... they might be wary... no! They would be even more terrified! Once you are no longer in Igesuo Surface City, you could be anywhere in this world!" Tang En quickly understood the point.
"Yes... I'm going to meet that old fogey Monroe. If he's a problem, I will most likely 'die' there. The branch won't know the truth. You will quickly take over all my 'legacy' and continue to use my name to keep the Association under your control."
"Is... is there some deep meaning behind this maneuver?" Tang En asked cautiously after a moment's hesitation.
"Heh... with me gone in name, won't you be able to more unscrupulously and boldly monopolize everything in the Association? Afterward, you will inherit my legacy. In their eyes, you will be a version of the Calamity Witch. With the assistance of those outsiders I've turned into my clones, you shouldn't have trouble keeping your seat, right?"
"I will certainly not fail your expectations, Lady Witch!" Tang En immediately declared his stance.
"It's a test. A Real Protection Association without the Calamity Witch is what can truly be considered a pure resistance force of your world—at least on the surface."
"Then... what about the Terminal of Myriad Worlds headquarters..."
"If they send a Vanguard squad, I'll send their characters and players packing together. Then they'll know I'm not truly dead. Though, I imagine they'd be happy to let the Calamity Witch 'die' on the surface, wouldn't they?" I explained.
In reality, the Main World would certainly transmit news to the Game World. Those wizard apprentices would likely know that my main body hadn't come over, so the death of a single clone was meaningless.