To ascend, I had no choice but to create games

Chapter 265: Chapter 174: Catastrophe of the Gods (Part 1)_2

Pingping seemed quite similar to herself; neither were fond of words, but Pingping appeared especially lucky with raffles, often receiving gifts from the squirrel managers, many being valuable items.

Playing games with these people was exceptionally relaxing, and it filled Lin Nan with anticipation for the new work environment.

The only thing she couldn’t understand was why Xu Qingling and Wang Xiaoying specifically warned her just to play the games for fun and absolutely not to take notes, or else Fang Cheng would notice and she would have to take makeup rest days.

Although she didn’t understand the reason, Lin Nan felt that the advice of the old-timers was right, so she decided not to write anything down, just to remember it all in her heart.

On Friday afternoon, they piloted their spaceship to a ten-ring planet where they planned to stay and rest for a while.

Lately, there had been numerous rumors on the forum, many of which required trading with the in-game currency.

Most of the information sellers were Information Hunters; they usually joined the Sect of the Shadows, obtained intelligence by offering tributes to the Sect, and then sold the information to other players for profit.

Because information was time-sensitive, they had to analyze it quickly upon receiving it, and formulate a plan to maximize its value, which would facilitate their acquisition of greater benefits.

Now, they were in a bar, trading with an Information Hunter.

The Information Hunter across from them clearly wanted to set a high price, but their Mukuai drastically undercut themselves, selling information valued at three thousand faith for a mere three hundred, making Xu Qingling feel that the other party was perhaps too kind.

Tian Xuan also typed to express that the other party was indeed too kind.

After receiving this intelligence, Lin Nan and Wang Xiaoying read through it together, and soon discovered that there were quite a few events happening recently.

[The most popular goods ranking has been released, and the human art book is at the forefront with an overwhelming advantage. The Freedom Alliance is thus constantly expanding its strength and beginning to recruit talent. Although they repeatedly assert that they are not pirates, the nearby Governors have already started to take precautions, and it is estimated that a military race will soon commence.]

[Believers in various places have found that prayers to the Gods are being widely answered, a phenomenon they claim is absolutely abnormal. In the past, the Gods rarely responded to their prayers, and currently, the believers are studying the related anomalies and feel that something must be wrong with these Gods.]

[Players exploring relics in the seventeenth ring have discovered active signs of Shadows nearby. However, they became active for only a few seconds before ceasing and returning to a dormant state. The specific cause is unknown.]

[A new God of Mighty Lord has emerged near the seventeenth ring, and a large number of civilizations are constructing related statues. Unfortunately, the statues’ features are unclear, or else there might be fresher intelligence available.]

[Sects everywhere have issued statements that a group of impostors claiming to be Gods has appeared recently; they are generally arrogant and possess the ability to interfere with reality. When encountering these impostors, please send them to the nearest Sect, but do not harm them; the Sect will give a certain reward.]

[Strong individuals from the first ring have all left, for reasons unknown.]

…

After reading the latest news, Lin Nan felt the game was truly spectacular.

Players were like a drop of ink, scarce, yet enough to tint the world with their color, leaving their mark.

Moreover, the game’s economic system was also impeccably established; it was said that many economists had come here to study the faith-currency system, conducting various relatively authoritative research.

After her research, Lin Nan became curious about the goods from the Freedom Alliance.

The art books they produced couldn’t be copied; they were the current trendiest reading material, and every wealthy person took pride in collecting a volume.

This was obviously the work of players, which made Lin Nan feel that there was profit to be made.

However, if they were to stock up on those goods now, the other party likely wouldn’t lack transport services, meaning the profit here wouldn’t be high; therefore, it would be better to find another blue ocean to explore.

After summarizing the information, Lin Nan asked, “Do you have any art pieces?”

“Yes,” Wang Xiaoying nodded, “We bought one, then tried to screenshot it, but no matter what, we couldn’t. The anti-piracy measures in this game are too good; we couldn’t copy it even if we wanted to.”

“What if we use haptic gloves to create copyright-free items in reality?”

“Some players have tried that, and they lost everything,” Wang Xiaoying sighed, “Right after those items were produced, they were pirated by the local NPCs, resulting in total loss.”

“How tragic!”

“Yeah, someone tested it, and items from other sources can be replicated, but items from the Freedom Alliance just can’t. It’s speculated that they’ve used some special means, but they haven’t disclosed it.”

“And what about the NPCs making bootlegs, don’t the squirrels have anything to say?”

“They beat up a bunch of people, but it’s too costly to sustain. Plus, those NPCs have different moral standards from us; they believe it’s a gift from the gods, so they bootleg shamelessly, with complete impunity.”

Lin Nan pondered this issue, then felt it must involve some game mechanics.

She didn’t think the Freedom Alliance had found a bug, but rather that they’d discovered some special profit-making mechanism and were exploiting it to make an excess profit.

So, what could it be?

While Lin Nan was pondering how this could be, she saw someone appear beside them.

The individual was a grimy Spotted Cat, caked in mud and wearing tattered clothes, appearing extremely wretched.

However, upon seeing Tian Xuan nearby, the cat’s face went pale with shock, and it rushed to Tian Xuan saying, “What is this about! Why haven’t you reincarnated and instead used an avatar! No, wait, you are the Outer God!”

As soon as it had shouted this, its voice attracted the attention of the nearby Cultists.

After verifying the Spotted Cat’s state, several believers approached.

Upon noticing the approaching Cultists, the Spotted Cat turned to flee, only to find another group of believers coming up from behind, creating an encirclement and trapping it within.

Looking at the closing Cultists, the Spotted Cat was scared out of its wits and hurriedly clung to Tian Xuan, pleading, “Outer God, I’m the Food Lord in charge of cuisine, please, you must help me! I swear I will obey your every command. I don’t want to be taken away by these believers!”

With the Cultists closing in, Lin Nan felt they must have triggered some hidden mission.

This hidden mission’s trigger point must be Tian Xuan, although she had no idea why this strange fellow called Tian Xuan the Outer God, but it might be useful.

Although she was socially anxious in reality, Lin Nan really enjoyed various puzzle and deduction games; in the virtual realm, she could easily deduce gameplay based on information, noting she’d make a good detective if she weren’t a game designer.

In-game, surrounded by all types of small animals and no people, Lin Nan could meet her social needs on the one hand, and on the other, she could unleash her deductive skills.

Recalling the information she had seen earlier, Lin Nan felt the Sect was definitely pursuing these self-proclaimed gods with ulterior motives.

These thoughts flashed through her mind like sparks, making her feel the situation was likely profitable.

Nodding slightly to Pingping, Pingping immediately knew what she meant.

At a whistle, a spaceship on standby appeared, then power armor materialized around Pingping, who charged fiercely towards the outer group of Cultists.

The opposition didn’t expect anyone to fight back.

Cultists supported by the Gods have an exalted status in this area, even the Governor has to politely salute in the presence of a Priest.

But the players didn’t care about any of that.

A group of Cultists, facing Pingping in power armor, were knocked away like bowling pins, and this lady with disabled legs, once she put on her power armor, became a completely different person; she sent the pursuing Cultists flying with her swift movements.

The rest of the team picked up the Spotted Cat and rushed to the outskirts to meet the incoming spaceship, and then quickly flew off into the distance.

At the helm of the spaceship was Xu Qingling.

Aboard the spaceship, Xu Qingling seemed to transform into another person.

This girl, as tough as any man, activated the spaceship swiftly, starting it up in milliseconds, leaving ripples behind as she carried the Food Lord off into space, fleeing into the distance.