It must be said, the players’ initiative was indeed so rapid as to leave one speechless. Although they were doing all sorts of rough and tiring work, for the players, this was a game. So when performing things in reality that they would never want to do even if beaten, they did so with extraordinary energy. In the fully holographic game “Da Qin”, with a realism reaching 100%, each was spirited and high-spirited, every one of them wearing the look, “I add bricks and tiles to Da Qin, I am honored.”
Under the players’ highly motivated and vigorous spirit, many of the Liyang locals also picked up tools and, following the “divine generals,” worked hard for their homeland.
And the previously mentioned player, who seemed to have a social genius and strong organizational skills, indeed had some real ability. According to him and his fellow players, he had just finished an internship at a construction site, so the task he received now coincidentally matched his professional skills.
In just two days, through the efforts of Liyang villagers and tireless players, the long-neglected city wall was half repaired. Seeing this scene via the system’s screen, Li Xi could not help but shake her head in admiration—ancient people… were truly so simple and honest.
[Host, according to players’ real-world time, they have now been online for twelve hours. Should I send a system anti-addiction notice?]
Hearing this, Li Xi, still bent over the silk painting, slightly raised her eyelids, “They’re excited right now. Sending an anti-addiction notice suddenly—what use would it have other than urging them offline? They’re adults anyway. No need for that ‘play hard to get’ trick everyone knows; you might just lose the gains.”
She continued, “Besides, didn’t you also tell me before, as a high-tech product medium, when entering the game, the players’ bodies in the real world automatically rest and their minds can recuperate? Long hours online will not harm them but rather benefit them.”
[Right… our Da Qin is really special.] The system was immediately persuaded by Li Xi.
Then it could not help but ask, [By the way, host, what have you been writing for so long?]
“Thinking about the next plan.”
Li Xi lifted her hand.
According to her plan, developing the economy was certainly the first priority. As the saying goes, the economic base determines the superstructure. Only by laying a solid economic foundation could one further consider politics and culture.
At present, she had assigned the players the task of making fertilizer, while the Liyang Magistrate had opened the villagers’ minds to the idea of repairing houses, making it a daily task.
But according to her, rather than repairing old wooden or thatched houses, it would be better to simply build new houses. And the main material for new houses was—bricks.
She intended to have someone build brick kilns and produce bricks.
At the same time, by introducing cement, the two would complement each other, ensuring that Liyang would be renewed and present a completely new scene.
However, it seemed that none of the dozen or so players could do this yet. Moreover, she had already assigned them the fertilizer task, which would occupy them for some time.
Recalling how, during their free time repairing the city wall, these players had gathered together to achieve the proverbial “three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang,” quietly discussing how to make fertilizer in pre-Qin times, finally all putting on polite but awkward smiles, suggesting, “Or maybe we can search online for fertilizer formulas and related papers after logging off,” then resumed the manual labor. Li Xi could not help but think she might need to summon more players.
Or perhaps she didn’t need to trouble herself at all, just gathering the nation’s skilled craftsmen would suffice. But a major advantage of using players was that they were immortal; if a kiln-making accident occurred, no lives would be lost.
Thinking this, Li Xi spoke to the system, “How about it, have the first batch of invited players brought your program any energy you need?”
[Yes!] The system’s voice was excited, responding loudly, [That little streamer, the engineering student, and your beautiful ‘face-lover’ girl—these three have provided enough energy to summon 200 more people!]
Hearing this, Li Xi seemed to suddenly recall something. “By the way, I never asked in detail—how is your system energy actually calculated from the players?”
The system did not answer immediately as usual, pausing for a moment with static electricity as if organizing its words, then replied, [This is… not easy to explain.]
[System energy comes from Da Qin’s position in the players’ hearts. Like faith in gods, each person’s devotion varies, and so does system energy. The specific calculation mechanism is too complex to explain; even I don’t fully understand QWQ.]
The streamer “Squid Eating Cats” believed Da Qin’s meticulous production and 100% holographic realism meant an extraordinary future. Since he entered the game early, he hoped to reap the benefits. So, in his eyes, Da Qin was a golden treasure, naturally generating system energy.
The engineering student felt satisfaction from applying his professional knowledge in-game, and this emotion was also recorded as system energy.
As for the girl who almost drooled over Li Xi… let’s just say, in front of a “face-lover,” a beautiful face causes a massive critical hit.
“In other words,” Li Xi summarized, “you need popularity?”
The system considered, [Yes, but it must be genuine popularity from the players.]
Li Xi pinched her chin, her eyes darkening, “Then it’s marketing. As long as the publicity is overwhelming and the game appears frequently in the public eye, eventually some indecisive ‘herd’ players will like it.”
Moreover, other games’ massive publicity was often false. Ours was real, with countless benefits embedded.
The system again praised her, [Host, you’re so smart! Why hasn’t anyone thought of such a brilliant idea before?]
Li Xi helplessly said, “Go work.”
[Yes, host! No problem, host!]
That day, all major online forums and news searches on Blue Star were flooded by an unheard-of game.
#Absolutely realistic, 100% holographic world, every blade of grass, every scene, perfectly reproducing the Warring States period#
#Starting gear, idle anytime, leveling up insanely fast#
#Large-scale construction game Da Qin arrives! Beta test awaits!#
#I, Qin Shi Huang, earn money#
As the saying goes, excess is as bad as deficiency. Overnight, forums, search engines, trending topics were all flooded by this unknown “wild” game, naturally drawing widespread displeasure.
Whether people were researching information, loyal old gamers, or young fans in the entertainment world, all were irritated by this brazen marketing. Soon, the entire internet was filled with complaints:
#Publicity is fine, but can game companies be realistic? Disgusting#
#Garbage marketing accounts lying about holographic tech, won’t the data center explode?#
#Lying, lying, you stole my brother/sister’s trending search, stupid game crawl#
Amid these complaints, the system’s attempt at full-scale marketing quickly succeeded, albeit as negative publicity, even going viral.
At this point, Li Xi was unaware of the system’s operation of writing “I am a marketing genius” on its face. After the system started marketing, her moist peach-blossom eyes shifted, finally resting on the two characters she had brushed onto the silk—
—Salt and Iron.
These were the greatest uses for both civilian life and military matters. The former also being the most effective way to quickly generate funds when finances were tight.
In economics, compared to other things, she was more interested in salt, a daily necessity.
—If edible salt is restricted for ten days, even tying up chickens is less tiring.
Unfortunately, Qin was inland; she could not use seawater for salt, nor sell crude salt purified at no cost.
Hence, she envied nearby Qi. Among the Seven Warring States, Qi was the richest and coastal, enjoying extremely favorable geography in many aspects.
She felt a moment of melancholy, but quickly turned her thoughts back. After all,
—the Six Kingdoms in the future would all belong to Ying Zheng.
Xianyang Palace.
The first moment Ying Zheng returned to Xianyang, he intended to visit his mother, Zhao Ji.
However, on the way to Ganquan Palace, from the direction he approached, a familiar figure appeared.
Seeing Ying Zheng, who had clearly gone to Liyang but now suddenly returned to the palace, Lü Buwei was taken aback.
After realizing, he quickly raised his hand and bowed to the black-clad youth, “Minister Lü Buwei greets Your Majesty.”
The young king’s narrow, beautiful phoenix eyes slightly raised, glanced at the darkening sky, and a trace of irony passed through his gaze.
Then Ying Zheng let out a half-smile, “Coming to report state affairs to your mother again? Uncle is diligent and patriotic, truly devoted to the state.”
Though the boy king seemed to praise him, Lü Buwei felt a chill in his heart.
He respectfully replied, “Your Majesty overpraises; I am fearful.”
“Oh?” Ying Zheng asked, as if puzzled, “Why fearful? Having a minister like you is a blessing for Da Qin, isn’t it?”
Seeing the middle-aged man silent, he smiled again, “Enough. The sky grows late; Uncle should return home. If Mother knew I was so unmindful of you, she would surely scold me.”
Hearing this, Lü Buwei hurriedly said, “I take my leave.”
Looking up for a moment, seeing the young king who had initially radiated sovereign majesty now hiding a subtle yet chilling shadow, Lü Buwei silently made a decision.
He thought it was time for a change.
The king’s wings were gradually strong, already showing the might of a hero. He and Zhao Ji… absolutely could not continue as before.