Translator: AnubisTL
"So cool," Scar Dog murmured, watching Brother Jiang's retreating figure. He couldn't help but click his tongue. "I kind of want one of those too. The special effects are maxed out—a gentleman with a rose blooming in his wake and withering as he departs."
"Impressive, impressive, truly impressive."
"That's so gentlemanly."
Without further delay, Scar Dog strode after Brother Jiang. Without him to open a phantom gate, Brother Jiang would have to walk all the way back to the world tree—a journey that would likely take a year and a half.
This planet was many times larger than Orange Red Star.
Meanwhile, Chen Jiang and the others, having arrived beneath the world tree, hastily tidied up their affairs before settling down by a small earthen mound to grill meat and chat with their mother.
Indeed, they had little to do.
There were no global events currently underway, and thanks to Scar Dog's perpetual motion machines, virtually all tasks ran on their own, requiring no manual intervention.
For example, the Perpetual Motion Humanoid Piling Machine provided them with nearly 100,000 one-star items daily, requiring nothing more than Wang Defa continuously throwing punches.
For instance, the Perpetual Motion Energy Block Production Machine required no effort from them. All they needed to do was have the mechanical race slaves continuously perform free falls.
Similarly, the Perpetual Motion High-Speed Reproduction Machine had been running non-stop since its activation. By simply ensuring the Trash Manufacturing Machines maintained an extremely high collision frequency daily, it produced nearly a million one-star items every day.
"This is how technology transforms life," Scar Dog remarked, flipping a piece of roasting meat over the fire. "But it still can't improve the food we're eating. Brother Jiang, when are we finally going to capture a chef?"
"Tomorrow," Chen Jiang replied, sighing as he stared at the blackened meat. "I swear, I never want to eat anything you cook again in my life."
Scar Dog coughed awkwardly. "At least we have something to eat. I don't know how to cook anything else. Once we get a chef, we can finally eat like normal people."
"Here," Chen Jiang said, handing Scar Dog a piece of meat.
He casually placed a piece of charred meat, his expression earnest, before a small earthen mound. "Mom, my cooking's a bit rough. Please forgive me. Give it a try, and if you think it tastes okay, see if you can get us another global activity design token or something."
"..."
Wang Jili stared blankly at the report on his tablet, his face expressionless. He suddenly realized he had underestimated the situation. The Ten Thousand Races Arena's malfunction had indeed affected numerous planets, turning their miscellaneous goods into useless one-star items.
He had initially assumed the acquisition process would be straightforward, but it proved anything but.
Even though these miscellaneous items lacked item effects, their inherent properties remained intact. The acquisition price couldn't fall below their original value, especially now that they had become items.
Even a useless item was still an item, after all.
Given these circumstances, coupled with the manpower and resources required to deploy acquisition teams across multiple cities on each planet, transportation costs, and the obstructionist tactics of some stubborn locals, the overall expenses began to skyrocket!
By the time the calculations were done, several hundred million star coins had only secured fewer than a million one-star items.
Yes, stubborn locals.
Seeing someone willing to pay for their useless one-star items, the greedy peasants began demanding exorbitant prices, treating them like priceless treasures.
Wu Jinshen had acquired a million one-star items from Liu Deping for only tens of millions of star coins. Yet Wang Jili's current acquisition costs were already exceeding the price of directly purchasing one-star items.
Worse still, Wang Jili knew that Wu Jinshen had already supplied Jiang Cheng with a massive quantity of one-star items. Even if he managed to collect these items at such a high cost, he doubted it would leave much of an impression on Jiang Cheng.
"Halt all acquisitions," Wang Jili sighed, issuing the weary order. He leaned back in his executive chair, propped his feet on the desk, and rested a finger against his brow, his eyelids drooping as he sank into thought.
As Wang Jili closed his eyes, the office lights gradually dimmed, the curtains automatically drew shut, and soft instrumental music began to drift from the speakers embedded in the corners of the room.
At least ten million.
At least ten million one-star items are needed to earn Jiang Cheng's friendship—to make him help me the way he helped Wu Jinshen!
This backing wasn't exclusive to Wu Jinshen. With enough benefits, Jiang Cheng could become his own patron!
He needed to think.
Before long, a soft snore filled the office. Exhaustion had claimed him; he hadn't closed his eyes since returning from the Rose Club. The moment his eyelids drooped, sleep overtook him.
Three days passed in this manner.
During this time, all factions remained at peace.
Chen Jiang made no moves, nor did any external forces stir. Everything seemed to have returned to a state of calm.
Yet beneath this veneer of peace, countless undercurrents swirled.
"The next global event is a massive battlefield dungeon," Scar Dog reported, sitting on a rock. "I checked Central Control Base 1024. The event will begin in six hours."
"This dungeon's content is likely to be extremely brutal."
"It's a slaughter-type dungeon. All players will be divided into several massive battlefields. The total player count is one million, roughly 500,000 native players and 500,000 alien race players."
"Treating all races equally, without discrimination, is extremely advantageous for some races."
"For example, if 500,000 human players face 500,000 titan players, the humans would undoubtedly be at a disadvantage."
"Similarly, if 500,000 human players face 500,000 insect race players, the insect race players would also be at a disadvantage."
"After all, the insect race players' strength lies in overwhelming their enemies with sheer numbers. But when the numbers are equal, their advantage vanishes instantly, ceasing to exist."
"The battlefield is a vast plain. When the two sides of players descend onto this plain, they will be very far apart. This time can be used to unlock various buildings and some particularly powerful fortresses."
"Yes, this dungeon is quite complex. When players arrive on the plain, they will have a hoe in hand. Using this hoe to dig into the ground will yield soil resources, which can then be used to unlock various building towers."
"For example, automated machine gun fortresses, archer towers, watchtowers, laser towers, or defensive fortresses—all sorts of structures."
"It's a bit like the Red Alert game," Chen Jiang said.
"You need to continuously develop your base, unlock buildings, and send players to harass the enemy. This is a million-player battlefield, so once the fighting starts, it'll be utter chaos."
"It's a very challenging dungeon with a high mortality rate."
"That difficult?" Li Hao asked, his expression slightly odd. "I don't think we even need to bother unlocking any buildings. Just drop a Giant Super Annihilation Bomb on the enemy's head after we land, and that should pretty much end everything, right?"
"Well, for us, that's true. But for other human players, it'll be quite dangerous. After all, this dungeon only ends when one side's mortality rate reaches 95%."
"The victory condition is relatively lenient. You don't need to completely annihilate the enemy; just get their mortality rate to 95% to win. Theoretically, if you play it safe enough, you could survive until the event ends."
"Sounds good."
Chen Jiang leaned back in his rocking chair, raised an eyebrow, and grinned. "Perfect opportunity to test the turret's full firepower."
Before long, six hours had passed.
A voice suddenly boomed in the ears of all players:
[Global Announcement!]
[The global event, "Blood Battlefield," has officially begun!]
[All race players will enter the event and be assigned to a vast plain. Each plain will host two teams of race players, each consisting of 500,000 individuals.]
[The following are the event rules!]
[1: Upon entering the plain, you will receive a hoe. This tool allows you to quickly gather soil resources, which can be used to unlock various buildings.]
[2: When one side's player death count reaches 95%, the event ends, and the opposing side wins. The winning players can freely choose whether to support other battlefields with native players. Players who choose to support will be transported to other battlefields with native players, while those who decline will exit the event and return to their original location.]
[3: Killing enemies also allows you to plunder their soil resources, accelerating your building unlock progress.]
[4. Killing enemies earns Blood War Points, which can be used to upgrade the power of your constructed buildings, making them even more formidable. At the end of the event, your Blood War Points can be exchanged for items in the Blood War Shop.]
[Good luck to all participants!]
[Event Countdown: 00:00:59!]
"Hmm?" Scar Dog said, his expression slightly odd. "If I'm not mistaken, the event rules seem to state that winning players can freely choose whether to support other battlefields containing native players."
"Does this mean that once we quickly clear a battlefield, we can immediately reinforce fellow race players on other battlefields?"
"If that's the case, I have good reason to believe that during this global event, the number of human player deaths might not even reach three digits. And those few deaths would likely include players who simply died of old age on the battlefield."
At their speed, clearing a battlefield would take no more than a minute.
After that minute, they could immediately move on to support the next battlefield.
(End of the Chapter)
Translator's Corner
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