by <unknown>
…
As the Sky Territory started their attack of words, scandalous posts about the Guild of Gods appeared rapidly, painting an image that Guild of Gods was unreasonable and immoral, that they were scared to accept the challenge, that they picked on the weak and feared the strong. As only those with a VR-Capsule could post or comment on the forums, there were few sh*t stirrers, but this time, Sky Territory had evidence and reasons—they made all the members publish posts and started the trend.
The rumors were very condescending, but Guild of Gods did not panic at all.
The way Jupiter saw it, he just had to wait for Han Xiao to appear and complete the mission. By then, Sky Territory would not be able to do anything no matter how much noise they made.
However, many days passed, and Han Xiao had yet to appear.
Jupiter started to get anxious. He asked the guards time after time but could not get any information on Han Xiao’s whereabouts.
Han Xiao could see the forums, too. He did not appear on purpose, and it was like putting Guild of Gods in a fire. As long as the Guild of Gods did not complete the mission, the mission item would only bring them trouble.
Before the start of the mission, he had already prepared the plan to force two guilds to have a gamble battle in the arena, attract public attention, and make more players know what the use of gamble battling in the arena was.
As long as someone did it first and showed the players the purpose of the gamble battle, people with potential demand would realize their need.
Guild of Gods and Sky Territory took it as an accident or coincidence; it was impossible for them to guess it was the ‘NPC’ Han Xiao who gave out the mission that was causing all this. It was completely outside their expectations.
Seeing that the rumors were becoming worse to Guild of Gods, Jupiter started to get stressed.
Finally, after another day of Han Xiao being ‘missing’, Jupiter could not take it anymore. He officially accepted the gamble battle in the forums on behalf of the Guild of Gods.
“On behalf of Guild of Gods, I accept the gamble battle with Sky Territory. Our chip is the mission item [Out of Control Ranger’s Chip], and Sky Territory shall provide an item of the same value. The location will be the in the Arena, Best of Five, winner stays, loser leaves. Win or lose, both parties shall accept the result with dignity and no longer find trouble with the other party.”
Jade Green Sky replied very shortly after.
“Sure!”
The battle between two large guilds had all the players in the sanctuary excited.
…
The fairness of the gamble battle service in the arena was guaranteed by the sanctuary officials. The betting chips were collected before the battle and were guaranteed to be given to the winner. To enjoy this fairness guarantee, one had to rent a ring.
Renting a ring incurred fees, contributing to the arena’s turnover.
The two large guilds were rich. As they wanted the other players to judge the fairness of the battle, they rented the largest ring in the center; it was very high profile.
On the day of the battle, players in the sanctuary gathered in the arena, and it soon became crowded.
“Who do you think will win?”
“Guild of Gods definitely. Sky Territory is no match for them.”
“Guild of Gods actually has the moral low ground this time.”
“Are you kidding? What’s wrong about stealing kills in a game? Don’t exaggerate the issue.”
“There’s a dealer opening a bet over there. I’m going there to bet on Guild of Gods.”
“There’s betting‽ Let’s go together!”
The scene was very noisy, almost like a live concert. The audience waited for quite some time until the competitors of both sides showed up late to the scene. When the audience saw the IDs of both sides clearly, they were all stunned.
The competitors were not just guild members—they were all pro players of both of the clubs!
Many players cheered in excitement; their passion was going through the roof.
Originally, most of the audience was just there to check it out, but when the pro players appeared, all the audiences became interested right away.
The Pro League had not started yet, so normal players had yet to see how strong pro players were. Thus, they were very thrilled.
“Temple of God really does have a strong foundation. Everyone that came is a top tier player or not far behind. Sadly, Li Ge is not here, heard he went to take part in the expedition.”
“Exactly, in comparison, Long Sky is a little bit behind. Most of them are second tier players. First tier players Sleepy Winter and Twinkle Fried Rice went to the war too… Wait a minute, is that… Am I hallucinating? God Hao Tian‽”
Hao Tian stood in the Long Sky team expressionless. The audience looked at him in disbelief and admiration.
Everywhere he passed by, the audience lowered their voices. It was like he had an unshakeable aura.
As a pillar of Long Sky, Hao Tian had been requested to attend by Jade Green Sky. His name and skills were much higher than the first-tier players, so he was the pro player that received the most attention in the scene. The contestants felt the pressure when they saw him.
The clubs that both large guilds belonged to requested their pro players to attend the battle without any agreement.
Seeing the members of the other party, Jade Green Sky and Jupiter were both covered in cold sweat. They thought at the same time, Luckily, I got the pro players here. Damn, almost got deceived by that fraud sh*t.
The hexagonal center ring was very wide and spacious. The square in the middle was the battleground, and the triangles on the sides were the waiting areas. The people of both Sky Territory and Guild of Gods waited in the waiting areas in the ring.
The audience chatted among themselves and waited with anticipation.
Some of the players were thinking of something different.
Having a gamble battle in the ring seems to be able to increase exposure… some spectating guilds thought.
If I do a Challenge, there will be chances to spar with players of all sorts of styles, and at the same time, I can profit from betting, some PVP passionate players thought.
The spectating pro players nodded too. Not only will Challenge gives exposure, one can hone one’s skills too. It’s quite a good function.
Seeing the impact and popularity of the gamble battle of the arena, many players saw its benefits and entertainment value. The reason Han Xiao had triggered the battle between the two large guilds was indeed to make the other players realize what this function could bring, then use the players’ own creativity to improve and expand on this function, fulfilling various demands.
The renting fee earned was not the most important—what was more important in Han Xiao’s eyes was to raise the players’ demand and usage for the arena. That way, the impression of a ‘main city’ would be stronger.
Chapter 275. Society |
As the star player of Long Sky, Hao Tian was a god player much stronger than the first-tier players. His PVP skills were amazing, and his level was much higher than average. With these advantages, he was the first to step into the ring. His attacks were ruthless and strong like a storm, defeating three Guild of Gods contestants in a row.
The combat ability of the Pugilist class was shown perfectly. The audience had originally expected a tight battle that would go back and forth, but it turned out to be a one-sided annihilation. The entire battle had lasted for more than five minutes!
The people were astonished.
After they stunned for a few seconds, deafening cheers and yells erupted all around.
“Impressive!” cheered the ordinary spectators.
“God Hao Tian! God Hao Tian!” yelled the passionate audience members.
“I love you, Hao Tian!” shrieked Hao Tian’s fans.
Hao Tian’s performance refreshed the audience’s knowledge of the upper limit of a player’s streng
th at the current stage, and he immediately gained a lot of new fans.
Although this was a private gamble battle, the excitement and passion from the audience almost felt like it was a pro competition.
“I won.” Hao Tian’s expression changed slightly—he had not expected to win so easily.
It was like walking down a path for a long time, and only when he turned around did he realize how much ahead he was of the people behind him. It turned out that, without noticing, he was so much stronger than normal pro players.
In the beginning, Hao Tian had just taken Han Xiao’s ‘hidden storyline’ as a lucky opportunity, and when he made it, he did not really treasure it, only taking it as a short-term opportunity. Hao Tian’s pro instinct habit made him always look far ahead to plan for his growth. Black Phantom was a Mechanic, and he was a Pugilist, so he felt he would not follow Han Xiao all the way. He had to look for a new mentor somewhere else just for his abilities.
However, at this moment, it finally occurred to him how much he benefited from this, and he began to take Han Xiao more seriously.
Black Phantom’s EXP reward would still be plenty even at max level.
Black Phantom’s mission reward really were very rich. It was not a big deal to tolerate weird missions for it. As a pro player, having strong will power, endurance, and a good pair of lungs was fundamental.
Seems like I can walk on this Black Phantom path for much longer than I thought.
The match was Best of Five, Hao Tian won three matches in a row and ended the battle, so other Long Sky contestants did not do anything except stare at Hao Tian like fans. In the Long Sky Club, Hao Tian, who had battled in the pro scene for many years, was everyone’s idol. A man of few words, always honing his skills, earning Long Sky one champion after another, he was Long Sky’s hero, and his name was tied tightly together with the words ‘Long Sky’.
Guild of Gods was obliterated, and the pro players whom they had invited were all in shock.
We are all pro players. Aren’t you showing off too much? At least leave us some face!
The contestants knew how strong Hao Tian was long ago. Not to mention his skills, the biggest problem was how ahead he was in terms of level, attributes, and abilities. They immediately thought of the fact that Hao Tian had triggered Black Phantom’s hidden storyline and were jealous.
“I wonder what kind of missions he has been getting from Black Phantom that made him level up this fast.”
The Temple of Gods contestants were jealous and envied. They wanted such treatment too, but Black Phantom did not care about them at all.
“Everyone’s level is relatively low, so the difference seems huge. When the pro league starts, everyone’s level will be much higher, and he won’t be able to beat us this easily by then. The difference will shrink sooner or later.” A Temple of Gods contestant attempted to lift his team’s spirits.
The pro players were just there to help—winning or losing was not important to them—but Jupiter was filled with rage. He almost wanted to smash Jade Green Sky’s arrogant face.
With the official guarantee, the mission item was given to Sky Territory.
The audience left the scene and continued to discuss Hao Tian’s amazing performance.
Conflicts between guilds were always a more popular topic, and Guild of Gods would only lose face temporarily for losing the gamble battle—their position was still one of the top.
Many people in the guild complained.
“If our boss Li Ge was here, Hao Tian would have thrashed.”
“Long Sky just got lucky. What are they even happy about?”
When things were settled, Han Xiao appeared the next day. Sky Territory completed the mission immediately, and seeing this, Jupiter was filled with regret.
If he had known that Han Xiao would appear that day… if he had just endured for one more day, none of this would have happened.
Of course, that was just what Jupiter thought.
As long as the conflict did not become a gamble battle, Han Xiao would not have appeared in front of them. He was very patient—he had once hidden and endured for half a year before he caught the opportunity to escape that secret Germinal base.
Han Xiao had actually prepared even dirtier backup plans. If the two large guilds had end up making an agreement privately, resulting in them not having a conflict… Han Xiao’s belief was to repeat things till he succeed. At most, he would get even more guilds involved and make the situation even more chaotic.
If even that did not work, he would simply distribute a mission that required the guilds to rent the rings. However, that was too obvious, and the Great Mechanic Han preferred to be discreet.
“What a horrible loss.” Jupiter wanted to cry.
At this time, he heard the sound of private message notification. He looked at it, and it was shockingly a call from Li Ge, so he hastily answered it.
“Boss Li Ge?”
“Hmm, I saw what happened recently. Do you have the recording of Hao Tian’s battle?”
“It was all recorded.”
“Send it to me.”
“Sure, of course.”
Upon receiving the recording, Li Ge said with satisfaction, “With the recording, I can analyze his battle style to prepare for the league. Good job.”
Hearing that, Jupiter felt much more energetic.
It did not matter how much they were at a loss—as long as the pro players benefited from it, it was one of their responsibilities.
…
The battle between the guilds showed people the effect of the ring. Many people were tempted, and guilds and players started to rent rings for Challenges or events. The functionalities of the ring started to show. Not only could the players in the arena PVP for free, but they also could join a Challenge or some events, so it became more boisterous.
Galaxy had more than game functions—it also had socializing functions, and the boisterous arena was obviously a very great place to socialize. Some player even spent all their time in the arena.
As a place with a lot of exposure, people who wanted to make a name for themselves had a demand for the ring—guilds hosted events, pro players took up Challenges to interact with normal players, and many others. Like some sports stadiums being rented out for a competition or concert, they were all getting what they needed.
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 PV
P, 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) |
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.