According to Han Xiao’s experience, not only guilds, even some companies would rent rings to host some small events, like ‘Random Company Name Cup’ and other competitions that were not officially accepted by the E-sports Association, giving prizes to the winners to advertise for themselves. Even some pro players took part in such small competitions for the prizes.
How did he know about all that? Don’t ask. Anyway, there was a time in Han Xiao’s previous life when he was very rich, and he could even splurge on buying instant noodles in cups.
Also, the events that companies hosted might not be just PVP competitions. It could also be an art exhibition, sports event, or something else.
Mini-games always had their popularity in games. Since Galaxy was extremely realistic, other than not being able to excrete, the players could be as creative as they wanted and play other sports with their superhuman bodies, such as superhuman basketball, Pugilist soccer, Mechanic rally. These things mentioned were all real in Han Xiao’s previous life, and these casual and fun events were very popular among casual players.
Because of that, Galaxy started to have a virtual, vibrant society on its own.
The players now had only just started Galaxy, so they were still following things more or less strictly and did not have any weird events, and Han Xiao gave them a platform to do so. He guided the players to explore the entertainment possibilities of the game themselves, and there would always be someone who rented the ring that would think of something new to attract attention.
The ring was an event and show, attracting players to watch. Normal players could watch the events when they were not participating in free PVP, which would build a habit and culture.
Think of it like this, you take a stroll outside every day, and the park that you pass by always hosts all sorts of events. After a while, even if you do not take part, you will eventually be curious and guess what the event will be next time you take a stroll.
Therefore, when the arena became a common facility, it would increase the sense of belonging that the players had toward the sanctuary, as interest could be developed and cultivated.
Chapter 276 - Black Phantom's Machinery Box (1)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The benefit that Han Xiao really wanted was to have the players spread the word of how attractive the arena was as a part of a main city, leading to more people coming to the sanctuary for it, bringing in a large number of immigrants and, more importantly, customers.
The Great Mechanic Han had quite a few more ideas, such as opening official bets and creating a PVP ranking system, both of which would attract more players. However, he thought about it and decided not to do that as neither of those were easy to operate and would only be official if they were made by the game developers. If an NPC like him did it, he felt that there might be some risks and negative impacts.
Most importantly, if he could give these rewards ‘officially’, he could make these studios and actors lose all their business. Han Xiao would never do that since one of his businesses in his previous life included that.
Although he was benefiting from the players, the players benefitted from him as well, so it was a win-win. Therefore, the safest and most comfortable position for Han Xiao was to be neutral, only providing the venue and justice, letting the players explore the rest. It could also be considered ‘guiding the Inhumans to use their extra energy’.
Once the position of the main city was firm and had a high population, in Han Xiao’s plan, the next step would be the sinister real estate!
As the overseer in charge, other than the places to protect refugees, the rest of the areas in the sanctuary would all be for him to make a profit!
Suckers… ahem… large customers would, of course, be those large guilds.
“Sigh, business…”
Seeing the moving people in the square, Han Xiao stroked his chin and sighed.
…
Huang Yu was totally convinced.
He used to think the arena was a total waste of resources, but after more than ten days of observation, he gradually realized the potential benefits. Huang Yu could not understand what Han Xiao’s long-term plan was, nor did he know the concept of ‘players’, but when he was drawing the accounting reports, he noticed the fees that they charged for the Inhumans largely exceeded what they incurred for repairs. In the long term, the cost would be earned back sooner or later, and whatever else they received would be pure profit, and this was only one of the benefits.
The Inhumans were the main manpower for the construction of the sanctuary, but they were weird and difficult to manage. Huang Yu did not want the Inhumans to have too much contact with the refugees, so he drew out areas for the Inhumans to use, yet the Inhumans still looked for refugees very often. Although their motive was to help, it did result in Huang Yu’s management measures failing. After the arena was built, Inhumans actively used the arena as the center of their activities. The square and the arena naturally became ‘Inhuman Communities’, which saved him a lot of management effort, and the entire sanctuary became more organized.
This time, Huang Yu was adulating Han Xiao in the office, complimenting on how farsighted Han Xiao was, how he was wise, and any other cringeworthy compliment that he could think of. These words came out from Huang Yu’s mouth non-stop and jumped into Han Xiao’s ears, making Han Xiao feel so disgusted he had goosebumps.
After he finally chased Huang Yu away, Han Xiao started to think of the next step for the Players’ Main City plan. Most of the benefits that the arena could bring would only happen in the future, but he was not satisfied with that.
To make the sanctuary more attractive as the main city, the arena is just one factor. There is another way, to have some recurring events. Other than the festival events from the official game developers, if I want to attract the players to participate in the events, I have to show them actual real benefits…
Han Xiao knocked on the table with his fingers and pondered. Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration, and an idea came to his mind.
The morning in Karst wasteland was full of sand and fog, giving a feeling of damp and dry at the same time—it was very uncomfortable. However, the areas near the sanctuary were clean and refreshing, so the haze was blocked. The sanctuary already had a rough foundation, and it was equipped with enormous air filtration devices. The sanctuary placed importance in preventing radiation, pollution, and deterioration of the air quality.
The players were taking part in building the sanctuary. On the rebar of the protective wall, a group of players was welding. This job was tedious and dangerous, and the players stepped on the rebars wobbly.
“Be careful, don’t fall down.”
Just as this person said that, another person beside him slipped. The people looked at him as he fell while the sorry scream that person made descended further and further.
The protective wall was very tall. It was the most dangerous mission in all of the construction missions, and players died accidentally very often.
“Told you to be careful.”
On the other rebar, a player with the ID ‘Half A Cigarette When Lonely’ said resentfully, “Sh*t, those safer and easier missions with rich reward are all controlled by the large guilds. Us normal players can only do these worse missions.”
Whenever there were people, there would be conflict. There were many types of sanctuary construction missions, and the easy missions with rich reward were all divided between the large guilds. Most of the solo players could only take the leftovers. The majority of players were just playing casually and were not bothered, but there were also players who did.
Filled with contempt, Half A Cigarette When Lonely complained, “These large guilds possess the resources, so we’ve already lost on the starting line. How can we even fight them in the future?”
Someone beside laughed and said, “It’s just a game. Why so serious?”
“Playing a game means being the strongest is
the best. If not, what’s the point of playing?” Half A Cigarette When Lonely rebutted. “That’s why all of you are so weak—you don’t have any dreams.”
“If you’re so jealous, why don’t you just join a guild?”
“Humph, only the weak stay in groups; the strong play solo,” Half A Cigarette When Lonely said. Of course, he was not going to tell them the miserable experience of him getting rejected after applying to join a certain guild.
They looked down from above, and suddenly, they realized that on the sanctuary square, players that looked like the size of ants to them were gathered. This was the signature sign of Han Xiao appearing. Suddenly, announcements from other players appeared in the area channel. It seemed like Black Phantom had introduced a new function. The people who were building the protective wall put down what they were doing and went down the wall hastily. Some impatient ones even jumped down directly, died, then revived in the square, saving themselves the time it took to climb down.
Half A Cigarette When Lonely ran to the square, but it was already full of people. Han Xiao stood in a corner of the square, behind him was a large truck. Like other players, Half A Cigarette When Lonely also extended his neck and looked over curiously.
Looking at the crowd, Han Xiao coughed and said loudly, “Recently, there has been a lot of backlog that I need to get rid of. All of it is packed into boxes. If anyone wants to buy a box, I can sell it for a low price.”
The players in the square exchanged looks.
Packed into boxes, what does that mean?
Since it’s backlog, is it worth buying?
“Give me ten,” Jade Green Sky said immediately.
With the thought of ‘Black Phantom only sells high-quality products’ in mind, he was willing to be the first one to try. No matter what new function this was, they would know once they use it.
“3,000 Aquamarine Dollars for one box.”
“So expensive‽” Jade Green Sky was astounded. He braced himself and bought it, spending all the money he had. Although he was the guild leader, it did not mean that he could just bring the guild funds everywhere with him—this was all his own money.
After Han Xiao took the money, he took out ten boxes from the truck. Jade Green Sky opened nine consecutively, and his face instantly turned black. The boxes were all filled with broken parts and cheap materials. The players on the side shook their heads as they saw this.
“What backlog? This is all just trash. I wouldn’t want any even for free.”
“Only morons would buy such a thing.”
Jade Green Sky turned around and gave a vicious stare, then opened the last box without any expectations. However, as soon as he opened the box, Jade Green Sky’s eyes froze, and he stared into the thing in the box.
A retractable knife was lying in the box.
In his vision, the name of the knife was shockingly purple!
This is a piece of purple equipment!
The crowd saw his expression and were curious as well. They stood on tiptoes to look into the box, and all inhaled deeply after they saw what was in it.
The exclamation of shock expanded outward like a wave.
Up till this moment, the players had yet to see any purple equipment. This was the first one to appear before the players’ eyes!
Jade Green Sky’s chin almost hit the floor. He looked at the ten boxes before him and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity… then it occurred to him.
“Wait a minute! This function… isn’t this opening loot boxes‽”
Chapter 277 - : Black Phantom's Machinery Box (2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Isn’t this a loot box?”
This idea was contagious like a virus, and the players became interested straight away. Some gambling passionate players were already trembling in excitement and could not wait to do a ‘Ten Draws of Faith’—buying ten loot boxes at once and opening them consecutively.
Loot boxes, also known as the Sinister Path of Cashing In or Ultimate Hand Chopping Method, are a classic move for the game developers to earn money. Han Xiao, of course, was very familiar with this. Not only could it awaken the players’ inner gambler and suck them into an inescapable hole, but he could also make a profit from it.
And he had just the right resources and demand to do it; he could make it into one of the recurring events to attract players.
Every planet had their own currency, and after the three largest Universal Civilizations created regulations, to improve convenience for the communication between civilizations, they invented the general culture, general currency, and general language. The Galactic Civilizations’ unique currencies could be exchanged into the general currency. However, a planet civilization like Planet Aquamarine of course did not receive such treatment—the Aquamarine Dollars had almost zero purchasing power and could not be used in the galaxy at all. In fact, it was even too rough to use as toilet papers.
Therefore, if he wanted to go into the galaxy, he first had to turn this money into resources and make those resources into machinery. Resources had different values in different civilizations, and it could be considered a currency in the galaxy. Even in the worst case, it definitely had a much higher value than Aquamarine Dollars. In Version 2.0 [Mutation Disaster], the novice planets would come into contact with the galactic civilizations in different ways. The local currencies would then be able to be exchanged into other currencies, and the players would not have to worry about this problem. However, Han Xiao wanted to leave the novice planet in Version 1.0, so he had to consider the difference in currency, language, culture, and many other things.
All of his assets were in Aquamarine Dollars, which was as good as scrap paper outside Planet Aquamarine, so he spent all of it to buy materials and build machinery, and building machinery gave him EXP as well, which also aided in his growth.
Because of that, he had piled up a lot of useless machinery; using them as prizes for loot boxes would be a great way of waste utilization. The rarity chance of the loot boxes was completely under his control. Most of them were filled with waste parts and trash; only a few had very good items. It was impossible to incur a higher cost than profit, which meant it would definitely be profitable.
He claimed that he was getting rid of backlog and that there was no guarantee they had good things in them, but although the players knew that there was a chance their money would go to waste, they would still spend the money and bet on their future. Everyone felt lucky before they saw a pile of trash.
Even the players who did not have much money would clench their teeth and buy one to try their luck. If they did not get lucky, after some time, they would convince themselves that they would definitely get lucky the next time, and the cycle would repeat itself.
Most of the players like this kind of lucky draw event. There is a small chance of gaining huge profit with a very small cost, similar to the lottery. At the moment, there’s no lucky draw anywhere else. There are two types of lucky draws—one is the official game store, and the lucky draw in the game store has yet to happen. This type of lucky draw consists mostly of special VR items, like Dungeon Crystals, Genetic Healing Agents, health and mana potions, EXP potions, cosmetic items, and others. There is no equipment—it is a supplementary type of lucky draw.
The other type of lucky draw is between the organizations and characters. This then is the right path to gain benefits directly. For example, some organizations and groups have a contribution points system that can be used to lucky draw strong items or equipment. Some mysterious sellers have gambling games, and some organizations make the players buy off their old inventory. When the organizations and civilizations understand the players more and use them as mercenaries, only then will some characters have lucky draws. This could be considered the organizations trying new ways to motivate ‘Inhuman mercenaries’, with profit.
The players’ impression of me is most likely around the lines of ‘planet main character’, ‘Mechanic Men
tor and businessman’, ‘handsome’, and ‘important legendary NPC’. The players will be more accepting if I’m the one doing the lucky draw event. Furthermore, the first lucky draw event should be able to attract the most attention.
3,000 for one box was not cheap, but the players had some spare cash at their current level. Thus, it should not be a big issue to buy one or two. Furthermore, if they got purple equipment, they would become extremely rich. There was no purple equipment on the market at all, which meant that the seller would be able to set the price. What’s scarce is precious, so it would definitely have an outrageous price.
All the eyes were focused on the truck full of boxes. The players’ eyes were flashing with all sorts of different meanings, and when they saw Han Xiao standing to the side, all of their tiny malicious thoughts extinguished.
It was better to be honest and pay the price. No point looking for a horrible death.
In the ten boxes, nine were trash, and only one had a piece of purple equipment. It was unclear whether Jade Green Sky was lucky or the ratio was this high.
The players started to buy the loot boxes. The boxes were opened one after another; some were content, and some were upset. Other than trash, there were also other things, such as some useful materials and some green or blue equipment. Overall, the response was quite positive; however, there was not a second piece of second purple equipment.
“Could it be that the purple equipment only appears with ten consecutive draws‽” a player said, all fired up and unable to control himself.
“Not likely. I feel that the rarity chance is a little weird and cannot be looked at with common sense. Firstly, we have to understand one thing, which is whether this action of Black Phantom introducing loot boxes is part of the storyline. ‘Galaxy’ is extremely realistic, and every character seems to have an individual mind, almost like the real world. A character’s actions definitely have its unique reason or motivation. So, is this lucky draw an official function from the game developers, or is he really cleaning his warehouse?” A guy at the side pushed his glasses, and a glint of wisdom flashed in his eyes. “If he really is cleaning his warehouse, why didn’t he just throw away the backlog but sold it to us instead?”
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