Crisis of the New City?
Translator: Mr Voltaire
Editor: Chlocolatte
All of a sudden, more than one month had passed.
Currently, it had been about one and a half months since Ling Chen had entered the East Ocean Continent.
The first day Ling Chen had entered the East Ocean Continent, he had sent waves throughout the entire world, causing his name to resound like thunder. Presently, essentially every player knew of the name ‘Ling Tian’, and players were all looking forward to the exciting battle that would occur between Ling Tian and Eve, if they ever met.
However, after that day, all the excitement had strangely died down. This was because after that day, not a single person received any information about Ling Chen. It was as if he had disappeared from the world. Logically, because of the ruckus he had caused on the first day, he should have continued his rampage, completely throwing the East Ocean Continent into chaos… after all, everyone knew that the relationship between Chinese players and Japanese players wasn’t very pleasant.
However, what followed was an incredibly long period of peace. It was incredibly strange. Now, there was no one who could even confirm that Ling Tian was still in the East Ocena Continent. The humiliated Japanese players, in order to reclaim their honour, clamoured for Ling Tian to be killed and sent back to China. They used meticulous planning and organising to search for him, but couldn’t even find a shadow, and could only give up. Now, the likelihood that Ling Tian was still in the East Ocean Continent was just a faint possibility.
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Forgotten Continent, North of the Fairy Forest
Ever since her plan to build the new city started, Yun Meng Xin had remained at that place. As one of the few people who knew of this plan, as well as one of the biggest investors, Li Xiao Xue also went there every day for half an hour, even during the times when she was extremely busy. This was because she knew just what it would mean to be able to build their own city, and what it would bring her and her family. At the same time, she kept her promise to Yun Meng Xin, and kept this plan a secret from even those closest to her.
Construction in the virtual world was completely different to the real world. In the real world, constructing a city would take years, sometimes more than 10 years. However, in the game world, as long as one had enough money, workers and resources, anything could be quickly built. With the scale of the new city and the number of Dwarves, it would only take 3 to 4 months, or even shorter.
Looking over this area, this vast, grassy area was now filled with foundations for many of the structures. Many roads were already under construction, and some buildings were in their early stages. The Dwarves worked hard, and all of them were drenched in sweat. However, not a single one of them rested, because although they felt tired, all of them had expressions of excitement and contentment. It was as if this wasn’t labour, but the greatest joy they could experience.
“Using $7 billion to construct a city, especially one of this size, would be taken as a joke by anyone. However, it’s happening right before my eyes,” Li Xiao Xue sighed in amazement as she walked over to where Yun Meng Xin was standing.
The land was free, as it belonged to the Fairy Clan. As for the workers… these Dwarves were the Forgotten Continent’s best Blacksmiths and Craftsmen, and there were nearly 30,000 of them. Not only were they exceptionally talented, but they worked much harder than normal workers. This was because they were building their new home; a home that was like paradise. Normal workers used their strength and skills, whereas the dwarves were using all of their passion. The difference in productivity was like the heavens and the earth. At the same time, they also saved the astronomical cost of labour. As for materials, a portion of it could be collected from the Fairy Forest, and the Dwarves were quite skilled at logging and excavating. Things that couldn’t be collected were bought from the Azure Dragon City.
After seeing the city plan for the first time, Li Xiao Xue’s only reaction was one of shock. She was so shocked that she almost couldn’t speak. The uniqueness, creativity and technology were simply incomparable. This was especially true for the Central District. She couldn’t help but stare, unable to look away.
Despite hearing from Yun Meng Xin of the Dwarves’ unrivalled talent and wisdom in construction and engineering, the city plan still caused her indescribable shock. From this, she finally witnessed the might of the Dwarves… the Dwarf Clan had been hiding away for 10,000 years. Their talent and passion had been suppressed all of this time, so it was impossible to tell just what sort of unbelievable things they would create when they let out everything they had.
Yun Meng Xin smiled, saying, “The $7 billion I requested at the start was just a safe estimate. Realistically, it’ll be closer to $5 billion.”
“I imagine that if this happened in the real world, it would be listed as one of the 10 Wonders of the world,” Li Xiao Xue said as she laughed. After seeing that city plan, she knew that she had underestimated the results of constructing this new city. Although she was helping Yun Meng Xin, she clearly knew that she would be one of their greatest beneficiaries. There were only a few people who could provide $7 billion, but only she was given this opportunity.
“The speed of construction is already at its maximum. With our Dwarf friends’ passion, it’s impossible to go even faster. As such, the time it’ll take to construct the city might be even shorter than we anticipated. Despite this, I hope that the time will be as short as possible, because as each day passes, the chances of being discovered will increase… even if a single player comes here, this place will be exposed. I don’t even dare to think of the consequences if that happened,” Yun Meng Xin said. Although her voice was calm, it had hidden a lot of worry. What she had just said was the greatest obstacle to constructing the city.
“Don’t worry,” Li Xiao Xue looked at Yun Meng Xin. At this place, Yun Meng Xin was not wearing her veil. Even as a woman, looking at Yun Meng Xin’s face caused Li Xiao Xue to feel a bit dizzy, and a sense of admiration and envy welled up within her. There was probably no man in this world who could resist her looks. She continued, “This place is far, far away from the Azure Dragon City, and if players wanted to get here, half of the places they would have to pass through would be territories of LV50 to LV70 monsters. Unless they’re an expert like Ling tian, it’ll be impossible for them to come here.”
Yun Meng Xin smiled and nodded her head, but then softly shook her head, “What I’m worried about are those rare ‘super experts’. Right now, the average player level is less than LV40, so it’s quite safe here. However, after players hit LV40, they can completely change their equipment, allowing them to become much stronger. The places they can go will also increase. When that time comes, the danger will increase… I hope that I’m just worrying unnecessarily.”
“There are less than 10 people in China who would have the strength to come here. Moreover, the Forgotten Continent is so big; what are the chances of them coming here? Don’t worry, Meng Xin,” Li Xiao Xue smiled as she comforted Yun Meng Xin. She looked at the time, saying, “It’s getting late, and I have many things to take care of. Meng Xin, I’ll leave this place to you. If you need anything, remember to let me know.”
“I will, goodbye Xiao Xue.”
Yun Meng Xin watched as Li Xiao Xue left. Just as she disappeared, Cai’Er’s frantic shouts came from afar. She was furiously flapping her little wings as she hurriedly flew over.
“Big sister Yun! There are humans! There are humans over there!!”
“!!” Yun Meng Xin’s eyes widened. This place was the Fairy Clan’s territory, and the Fairies had the right to not let anyone else enter. In order for the construction of the city to go smoothly, the Fairy Clan set up a Fairy Barrier around this area. This barrier could last 2 months, and could prevent all humans and beasts from entering.
However, this didn’t include players.
That meant that the humans that Cai’Er saw… could only be players!!
Yun Meng Xin’s heart fell into chaos. She never thought that the thing she feared most, something that was incredibly unlikely, would happen so quickly!
What were the consequences of being discovered by players? The news of them constructing a city here would immediately spread! Even if they killed that person, they wouldn’t be able to remedy the situation. After all, players could revive an infinite number of times. As such, if the big bosses of the guilds and corporations heard about this, they would do their utmost to destroy this city so they could have the chance to build their own city. Out of all of the guilds, the Yan Huang Alliance would be the first to do
this. Although players would find it difficult to travel from the Azure Dragon City to this place, as long as a single player could make it to here and purchase Teleport Scrolls from a nearby town… they could mass transport more and more players.
According to the game’s rules, Fairies and Dwarves could not interfere in the disputes and fights between players. This included the destruction of cities… because this city was constructed with a City Creation Token, and was made in a player’s name. How could Yun Meng Xin, a single woman, defend a city?
She had to think of something so that this secret would not be divulged.
“Cai’Er, how many of them are there?” Yun Meng Xin hurriedly asked.
“Two of them,” Cai’Er felt how anxious Yun Meng Xin was feeling. She heard her dad say that they couldn’t allow anyone to find out about this matter, otherwise there would be dire consequences. As such, she began to worry as well.
“Where are they? Take me there immediately.”
“Over there… ah… they’ve already come over.”
Without Yun Meng Xin needing to move, and amidst Cai’Er’s surprised cry, two people appeared in her vision. They were walking side by side, and had similar builds. One was dressed completely in white, and the other was dressed completely in black… the way that their clothes matched was particularly striking. The two people slowly walked over, and when they saw the city under construction, their eyes were filled with shock and disbelief.
Anyone with eyes would be completely dumbfounded.
Yun Meng Xin gently bit her lips… no doubt, these two people were definitely players. Above their heads hung their names…
Winter Of That Year and Hundred Miles Of Ice.