During the early stages of the European server’s development, Lu Wu spent a ton of soul coins on various projects such as constructing Hidden Dragon Village and creating experienced players. At the moment, Lu Wu’s pockets were running dry once again.
He thought of transferring soul coins from the players to his own artifact and issuing the coins back to them only when they needed soul coins.
However, as a bank to store soul coins, he would need to become something like a full-fledged online payment system. He could have many soul coins at his disposal anytime and anywhere.
But there would be a pitfall in doing so.
After all, the greatest difference between institutions like banks or financial apps and him was that he had no way to make soul coins, while institutions like banks could rely on lending that deposited money to gain profit.
If Lu Wu turned himself into an actual banking institution, the soul coins he spent could not be restored and the leakage would only become bigger and bigger.
One day, an emergency might happen to Beiqi players, causing most players to buy items such as consumables and equipment from the shops. However, Lu Wu would have spent this money on his projects and could not possibly fork out enough soul coins to create the items in the shop that the players required.
Therefore, to be on the safe side and to guarantee Battle Online’s long-term operation, Lu Wu would certainly not make such a risky move.
However, there were still a few crucial problems that Lu Wu had not settled yet. These few crucial problems were the important turning points that he had set to accelerate the development of the European server.
To solve these problems, he required a lot of soul coins. As such, the source of these soul coins became a problem.
Although the European server players had started to create their own ways to make soul coins, its effect was insignificant as they had just started and the amount of soul coins was too little.
After a round of contemplation and discussion with Bei Li, Lu Wu set his sight on the players who had the most soul coins.
It so happened that the Lantern Festival was around the corner. So, the soul coins in the players’ pockets were ripe for the harvest!
…
Recently, the development of the ocean became a popular craze in the game. The players expanded their navy capabilities while more and more warships that had special abilities were made. A few top guilds from other games had even joined Battle Online, firing the tournament up.
On this particular day, the players noticed an upcoming event notification popping up on the top right corner when they went online.
[Lantern Festival Rampage event notification]:
A thousand thanks to the players who have been supporting our game all this time! During the Lantern Festival, we will release a special event, the Lantern Festival Rampage as a reward for your support. There are four mini-events that make up this event:
[Event One: Lantern Festival Lucky Draw]
Event Details: There will be a lucky draw wheel in the shops during the Lantern Festival. Spend five soul coins to get a chance to draw these prizes.
Rewards: 120 gift choices such as rare costumes, Level 50 weapon equipment of any quality, high quality spiritual materials, a chance of getting a free skill from the Cultivation Pavilion, 100 soul coins, 1,000 soul coins, a guild warship, and so on.
Event Period: All day February 19, 2319.
[Event Two: Lucky Tangyuan]
Event Details: During the Lantern Festival event, monsters you kill have a chance to drop ingredients for making delicious glutinous rice balls, known traditionally as tangyuan. Different ingredients could be used to make different flavors of tangyuan. The higher the quality of the tangyuan that you make, the better the rewards gained after using it.
Types of Lucky Tangyuan:
Black Sesame Tangyuan (Quality Level 1):
Required Materials: black sesame, groundnut kernel, and walnut meat.
Five Seed Tangyuan (Quality Level 2)
Required Materials: shelled-melon seed, sesame kernel, pine nut kernel, almond, and peach kernel.
Lotus Tangyuan (Quality Level 2)
Required Materials: lotus root, peanut, red bean, and red date.
Event Hint: During the Lucky Tangyuan event period, there are a total of 100 ingredients that monsters could drop. Players could try mixing and matching any ingredients on their own to create a super-high quality special flavor of tangyuan.
Event Period: All day on February 18, 2319.
[Event Three: Lantern Riddle]
Event Details: Every player who logs on to the game during the event period will receive a silk bag filled with lantern riddles. You will gain a riddle related to the location of your exclusive lantern when you open a bag. Players who solve a riddle and find their own lantern would receive soul coins as a reward. (More soul coins will be rewarded with less time spent.)
Event Hint: There is a time ranking list during this event. The first 100 players who solve the riddles within the shortest time will get special titles as a reward.
Event Period: 8pm to midnight on the night of Lantern Festival.
[Event Four: Lantern Festival Auction]
Event Details: Every player can take part in this event. This event lasts for an hour. The trial mission of a hidden character class called Devilman will be auctioned in this event.
The bidding for this event will only accept soul coins. The player with the successful bid will receive the Devilman’s Trial Scroll. If the player could not complete the trial mission within the limited time after using it, it would be considered as a failed mission. The hidden character class will then disappear.
…
It seemed like Lu Wu was giving back to the players in the Lantern Festival event this time. In fact, Lu Wu was employing a strategy widely used in many games. They all hinted at a single message to the players.
It’s time to spend money in-game!
To make sure that the plan for the European server could be launched quickly, Lu Wu was planning to grasp this profitable opportunity during the Lantern Festival.
As for the final reward of the Lantern Festival this time, the hidden character class Devilman was a Ghost General at the lowest level of the Spirit Summoning Palace. However, Lu Wu would not have given it up if he was not lacking soul coins.
Of course, he only sold the initial trial. This meant that the player would not certainly receive the character class after winning the bid. Lu Wu was doing this to let the players realize how precious the hidden and inherited character classes were.
Simultaneously, the players were having a lively discussion regarding the Lantern Festival event in the forum.
Invincible_Loneliness: “It seems like I have to get some more soul coins. Devilman definitely cannot rival my inherited character, but I can give it to my members and raise my guild’s strength!”
A_Large_Wolfdog replied to Invincible_Loneliness: “Boss… boss, please give me this Devilman. I don’t want to be a dog anymore. (puppy eyes)”
Invincible_Loneliness: “I refuse, you are a baby. This Devilman doesn’t have any healing ability and cannot compare with your White Phantom. Dog, I advise you to be kind and don’t think of the pie in the sky anymore. (poker face)”
A_Large_Wolfdog replied to Invincible_Loneliness: “Aww~ I’m very angry! (cheek blowing and disheartening.jpg)”
Crayon_Shinchan replied to A_Large_Wolfdog: “Patting the dog’s head as always. Silly dog, this is your blessing in disguise. Many people want your inheritance so badly but they could never get it.”
A_Large_Wolfdog replied to Crayon_Shinchan: “You will be dead on the day you expose your real identity. (mean eyes)”
Star_Universe (European): “I really love this game. The gaming experience is wonderful! I’m going to do a little sightseeing in the original forum. I hope to get familiar with you guys. At the same time, I want to say that the Devilman in this event is not bad XD!”
High_Ping_Warrior (European): “Why does the original server have four Lantern Festival events but the European server only has the last one? I want to protest!”
Crayon_Shinchan replied to High_Ping_Warrior: “It’s because the Lantern Festival isn’t widely celebrated in Europe. Buddy, your awareness isn’t sharp enough (smirk)!”
Reinhardt (European): “As expected, the original server is prevailing at the early stage. I’m very worried about the development of the European server. However, we will have the last laugh! :D”
…
Due to the inequality in the Lantern Festival event, many European server players who received the news flooded into the official web forum. They started to protest and wanted an official explanation.
Lu Wu really had nothing to say.
The highly proficient original server players were controlling Beiqi now. They occupied the three big regions, which were the Mansion of the Dead, Liuli District, and the Burial Grounds. They acted independently and defied the Ghost Kings. They did whatever they wanted in Beiqi. However, the European server’s players were still huddling up in a corner of the Hidden Dragon region in the Land of Cangxu. With the current strength of the European server players, they would only be beaten once they stepped out. They could not travel far at all.
This could not be blamed on Lu Wu.
…
Europe, Paris, France.
A youngster took off his virtual helmet slowly. There was a trace of bitterness on his pale face.
A little more and he would have killed the marsh crocodiles and leveled up. However, he was forced to leave the game at the crucial moment because of the twelve-hour gaming limitations. This was too difficult to bear.
His name was Li Xing and his parents were from the Dragon nation. Due to business, they settled down in France and he was born here, too.
Li Xing did not have many friends. He indulged in games and was just an antisocial kid afflicted with eighth-grader syndrome.
Usually, Li Xing was concerned about internationally launched new games. He had anticipated this so-called 100% realistic game for a long time. And finally, the European server of this game was formally launched. He immediately downloaded it and experienced it.
After that, he was totally hooked on this game and became a loyal player.
However, the twelve-hour safety gaming limitation time gave him a headache. He had been sending feedback to the official forum and protested. However, he did not receive a single reply from the officials. They were unfathomably heartless and cold.
This made Li Xing so angry that he was planning to uninstall the game on the spot. However, he downloaded it back after half an hour.
This is because he could not put himself into any other game after playing Battle Online. He could no longer be attracted to games with stiff actions and unrealistic graphics.
Battle Online was too wonderful!
At the moment, Li Xing glanced at the Jie De Corporation’s gaming pod beside him and could not help giving it a kick, “What is your damn use?”
The more he thought, the angrier Li Xing got. He took out his phone at once and made an after-sales’ call to the Jie De Corporation.
After Li Xing’s complaint, he got the same reply again.
The gaming pod was not the problem. Instead, the game was incompatible with the gaming pod. They had no way to settle this but they were working hard to discuss and settle this with the company behind Battle Online.
Li Xing flashed his mobile phone at once and checked whether the Black Sea Corporation’s gaming pod would be arriving any time soon.
[The order is being delivered and has arrived in Paris. The courier is out delivering the order…]
When Li Xing saw that the gaming pod had arrived in Paris, a trace of excitement came across his face. He had been looking forward to this new gaming pod for many days. It was delivered finally and the twelve-hour problem could be settled.
Ding-dong!
Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Li Xing was overjoyed. He thought that his express delivery had arrived. He ran to the doorway hurriedly and opened the door.
“Hello, please verify here to acknowledge receipt of your gaming pod!” the courier lowered down his cap and handed over the tablet in his hand.
Li Xing nodded his head excitedly and pressed his fingerprint on the screen.
“Do you need me to bring it in?” the courier asked.
“Yes, please do!”
This courier carried the huge gaming pod with ease and walked into the house step by step while Li Xing was looking at him with an astonished expression.
After about five minutes of installation, the man said goodbye and left.
Li Xing was very excited when he looked at the gaming pod with a black metal frame. He opened the gaming pod and scurried inside.
As expected, the Black Sea Corporation’s gaming pod was compatible with Battle Online perfectly. It was installed perfectly and successfully. This made Li Xing think of returning the other gaming pod. It did cost him some money after all.
When he entered the gaming pod and activated the game, Li Xing had a headache suddenly. A voice rang loudly:
[Congratulations! The host is bound to the Destiny’s Child system in the pan-multiverse gaming world!]
[Checking the host’s condition…]
[The host is Li Xing. Congratulations, you shall begin your journey to the top. As long as you keep completing the system missions, you will become a legendary character in Battle Online!]
[Hint #1 of the system’s regulations: Do not tell anyone about the presence of this system. Otherwise, the host will be erased!]
[Hint #2 of the system’s regulation: This system is only limited to assist the host to become a powerful individual in the game and will not help the host to interfere with reality…]
[Hint #3 of the system’s regulation…]
…
There was no gaming frame in front of him but the unfathomable sound was heard constantly. This totally confused Li Xing, following which he pushed the gaming pod open and went out of it.
He took out his phone and dialed the number for the after-sales service center after glancing at the gaming pod.
Li Xing told the reason for calling after the line was connected. However, the Black Sea Corporation’s customer service personnel asked Li Xing to wait for a moment to check his order.
After a while…”Hello, Mr. Li. We have confirmed that your gaming pod is still in delivery. It has not arrived yet. Here’s the contact number of the courier.”
Li Xing was stupefied after he hung up the phone.
This gaming pod has arrived, why is it still in delivery? What’s with this gaming pod?
[Hello, host…]
At this moment, the sound was heard again. Li Xing was taken aback.
Was the voice from my mind? The system is really living inside my body!
He had read some novels so he understood what this meant. This happiness came too suddenly and caught him off guard.
Don’t tell me that I’m the main character of this world!?
Ding-dong! At that moment, the doorbell rang again.
“Hello, your parcel has arrived! Please come out and sign for acceptance!” a shout was heard from the door.
