Chapter 624: The Nature of the Game Has Changed
That morning, Li Shanyan woke up at his desk, yawning like it was a marathon.
He couldn’t even remember how many consecutive overtime shifts he’d pulled. The promised holidays and compensatory leave? Never showed up. The bonus? Nowhere to be found. At this point, he had to fork out his own cash for the staff meals.
Sometimes, he wondered if he was just too nice for his own good.
Young Master Sang, that little fox, had surely picked up on his earnest nature and thought, “Perfect! He’ll never turn a blind eye to the matters of the Primordial Deities,” and so he relentlessly squeezed every last bit of effort out of him.
“…No way.”
Waking up for the ten-thousandth time, Li Shanyan told himself: “I’m going to stage a walkout today! I’m gonna make a big fuss in front of that little brat’s office!”
“…Where are you gonna make a fuss?”
But before he could even step outside, a sudden voice from the desk next to him startled Li Shanyan.
“Hey? Little friend, why are you so kind today, showing up to work early?”
Young Master Sang was sitting in front of the Communication Device, intently monitoring the situation of every deity and demon.
“Your bonus has already been transferred to your account. For the next few days, just leave this place to me. Go drink with Grand Eunuch Qin and Brother Xu for a while.”
For a moment, Li Shanyan was left dumbfounded. He rubbed his eyes and suspiciously glanced at Young Master Sang. “Is that really you, Young Master Sang? No one took over your body or something?”
“…No way.”
“That little fox of yours couldn’t possibly be this kind-hearted. Come on, spill it—what do you really want me to do?”
“If you like overtime, you can stick around and keep me company,” Young Master Sang replied lazily, continuing to focus on the monitor.
Curious, Li Shanyan leaned in to see what he was looking at.
“What’s up? Didn’t seem like anything was happening with the Primordial Deities?”
“What have they been up to lately?” Young Master Sang suddenly asked.
“As you can see, aside from Huo Longyuan who is still diligently handling administration, the others are completely immersed in online bickering,” Li Shanyan shrugged. “I have to admit, this Communication Device is way more influential than I expected. These deities and demons are just wasting their time shouting at some invisible people for hours on end.”
“But let’s face it, I don’t believe such simple sowing of discord will be of any use. A momentary high means nothing to the Primordial Deities.”
“Of course.” Young Master Sang was unfazed, casually saying, “Just relying on online opinions to stir up trouble won’t solve the issues of the Primordial Deities.”
“After all, getting upset over a few mortals doesn’t even touch their core interests.”
He suddenly turned to Li Shanyan: “Do you know what their core interests are?”
Li Shanyan hesitated for a moment and tentatively replied, “…The power of rules?”
“Exactly.”
Young Master Sang’s eyes sparkled: “That’s my goal.”
“Have you noticed what the biggest difference is now compared to when the game started?”
Li Shanyan silently scanned each Primordial Deity’s panel and eventually muttered, “Except for Huo Longyuan, their scores… are getting lower and lower.”
“Yeah.”
“With so many people needing to bicker online each day, even if they’re slaying monsters out there, the wasted points add up quickly,” he continued. “It’s not like all the Primordial Deities are workaholics like Huo Longyuan. Their scores are already pretty meager.”
“When those scores start running low and they don’t want to quit the game…”
Li Shanyan narrowed his eyes at Young Master Sang: “Are you suggesting…?”
“Loan them points.”
Young Master Sang chuckled: “—Collateralized with the power of rules, of course.”
“I’ve already launched a brand-new project in their points mall. The Primordial Deities can pledge their power of rules as collateral; one power of rules can be divided into ten million parts, each part can be exchanged for ten points.”
“This points can be immediately cashed out. With a three percent monthly interest, if they can’t pay it back after the game ends, the organizers will reclaim the corresponding power of rules.”
Li Shanyan froze for a second and then shook his head violently: “No way. The Primordial Deities value the power of rules above all else; they won’t risk losing big for a small gain. This absurd fishing scheme won’t catch anything.”
But Young Master Sang shrugged: “Not necessarily.”
“Just watch.”
Li Shanyan leaned closer, then had a bewildered look as he saw.
Ancestral Cang had already exchanged for one hundred thousand points.
“How’s that possible?!” Li Shanyan grew even more confused. “Isn’t Ancestral Cang the one who treasures the power of rules the most? Why would he voluntarily part with it?”
“Surely he wouldn’t prefer to give up the power of rules to settle scores with those online trolls?”
“Of course not.” Young Master Sang shook his head: “Actually, the thoughts of the Primordial Deities are quite easy to understand.”
“Right now, Ancestral Cang probably isn’t worried at all and is snickering privately about how I’m a fool.”
—
—
“Hahaha.”
“This Young Master Sang is really an idiot.”
Looking at the one million points that had just landed in his account, Ancestral Cang couldn’t help but show a mocking smile.
“Finally showed his fox tail. I knew you organized this game with ill intentions.”
“So you’re after our power of rules.”
“But you must be joking. The power of rules we Primordial Deities possess is innate, accompanying our original spirit.”
“Even if I place the power of rules before you, how could you take it away?”
“Seriously laughable.”
“Even if I exchange all one million points today, it wouldn’t matter. You’ll have no way to pursue the account later; these points are just a giveaway to me!”
“Such a clown, it’s hilarious.”
“Though it does solve my urgent needs.” Ancestral Cang turned his focus back to the Communication Device, where thousands of insults against him still lay quietly in his private messages.
“I definitely need these points to teach these clueless insects a lesson!”
With that, he immediately dove back into the points mall, lavishly spending the fresh one million points he’d just received.
Buying people to get hit by carriages. Buying people to have their families slaughtered by robbers while they slept.
Every malicious and satisfying service was dispatched under Ancestral Cang’s extravagant spending. The one million points disappeared quickly, but he immediately exchanged for another million.
In the office of the Void Alliance, Li Shanyan looked at all this, somewhat speechless, and turned to Young Master Sang: “His reasoning doesn’t seem completely wrong.”
“Do you have a way to reclaim their power of rules?”
Young Master Sang shrugged: “Of course not.”
“…So you’re just working for nothing?”
“I don’t have one. But don’t forget, the Primordial Deities can devour each other’s rules.”
Young Master Sang stretched and leaned back in his chair: “In fact, from the moment points became linked with the power of rules of the Primordial Deities, the nature of this game has changed.”
“Ancestral Cang genuinely thinks it’s a joke to exchange points for the power of rules.”
“But the Primordial Deity who wins this game? They may not think so.”
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