The Dispute over Resource Allocation

The Milky Way Galaxy, designated as XG-7 Resource Planet.

A group of newly formed mining team members, all secondary professional gamers, sat around a campfire in their makeshift camp, while a projector screen played a summary of news.

"... Archbishop Xavier of the Church of the End and Lister, leader of the Machine-Slaying Federation Lister, reached an agreement before the ruins of the floating city in the Void Corridor, announcing the official end of the turmoil that swept the universe... and the beginning of a period of peace..."

The beautiful announcer projected on the screen was also suppressing her excitement as she delivered her report.

For most ordinary people, peace is hard-won.

Especially life forms that have just experienced a terrible World Annihilation War.

Even if they have never participated in or even directly experienced the trauma of war.

However, that oppressive environment still made all life forms with insufficient strength uneasy and fearful, unable to truly control their own destiny, and left with a sense of powerlessness that could only wait.

Fortunately, this most difficult era is over!

"We've succeeded! Our Federation is truly the biggest winner!"

A young gamer, dressed in rough overalls but with sharp eyes, slapped his thigh hard.

"That's great! We don't have to live in constant fear of being caught in the crossfire!"

"Yes!"

The female player next to me was wiping the oil stains off her engineering gloves, and the oil stains mysteriously disappeared, leaving the gloves looking brand new.

At this moment, a tired but genuine smile appeared on her face.

"As expected, the game's AI's judgment is usually accurate. Luckily, they found us a powerful backer."

The female player spoke while refreshing the new public chat.

"Holy crap??? Am I seeing things?"

"Hey guys, pinch me! The World Annihilation War... is it... over already?"

"They won? Lister is awesome!! The Machine-Slaying Federation is awesome!!"

"Has the guy we've latched onto really become the number one in the universe?!"

"This... this is way too fast! I just saved up enough money to buy a second-hand small ship, planning to salvage some wreckage at the border when the war broke out, and now the war is over?"

"Wake up, you upstairs! Isn't it good that there's no war? Do you think you can come back to life?!"

"And if you really want to fight, go to the front lines with the Scourge Legion. What's the point of hiding in the back and picking up trash!?"

Amidst the excitement of the other players, one of the older players seemed to be deep in thought.

"My backing is stronger, but the rules of this universe have also become completely real."

"We've run out of experience points, so we have to level up on our own now. We don't even know if we players will be able to compete for resources within the Federation anymore..."

The campfire crackled, and after the initial excitement, a sense of pressure from reality quietly crept in.

A safe environment means stability, but it also means that a completely new and more naked competition for resources has just begun.

The Milky Way Galaxy, the former site of the Beta Civilization field.

This site, the remnant of a massive explosion, has been completely transformed over the past three hundred years.

The aftershocks of the Big Bang disappeared, and the magnetic field radiation was eliminated.

Within the empty star field, there are newly migrated semi-mechanized planets.

The majority of the planets are discarded by the Leviathan Civilization, while some are simply creations that Kavin casually played with.

On the largest planet in the southern half of the star system.

Chen Shanqiang and six other top players who had become Hegemon, along with a few Quasi-Hegemon players, gathered at the event.

At this moment, a serious meeting of the players' senior management is underway.

Once the group truly integrates into the new universe, there will inevitably be new leaders.

These top players are now playing this role.

"The results were much better than we expected."

"Iron Wall," the former nickname and ID of the Hegemon player Li Xiang concluded in a calm tone.

"Lord Lister's prestige in the universe has reached its peak. Although it is impossible to estimate his strength compared to Xavier's, based on the current record, Lord Lister is probably still superior."

"With the support of the Crimson Covenant, the Eternal Night Royal Court, Spirit Remains Star Abyss, our Machine-Slaying Federation has established its hegemony in the universe, and it cannot be shaken in the short term."

"Now Wells has broken through to become Hegemon, bringing the total number of Hegemon to seven. This is extremely beneficial for us players!"

But we can't rely on shelter alone!

Chen Shanqiang stood at the front of the group, tapping his fingertips on the dark rock tabletop with a serious expression.

"The system has disappeared, and killing enemies no longer directly brings experience; this is a complete 'weaning'."

"This universe is vast, but its rules remain cruel; only the threat of large-scale war has been temporarily averted."

"With players gradually leaving the Scourge Legion and no longer fully committed to the Federation, Lord Lister cannot possibly look after us in every way."

The war ended, and a new era of peace arrived.

Many players have gradually left the Scourge Legion.

After all, they're not playing a game anymore; even if they have some skill, they don't dare to be reckless.

Only a minority of players dare to fight and sacrifice; most ordinary players nowadays are more focused on enjoying life in this new universe.

In particular, most of them are Class Holder, and their ranks are not low in the early stages of the Game System.

It holds an unparalleled position on more than half of the planets.

Compared to the original world where survival resources were highly concentrated, life in the slums was different.

This is truly a new world.

Without the help of the Game System, there is also the real removal of the shackles of the game.

This is naturally a good thing for the individual, but it's not so optimistic for the "player" group as a whole.

"Old Chen! There's nothing we can do about it!"

"We can't force these people to stay with the Scourge Legion!"

"I know that players have their own choices, and although we are the leaders, we have no right to interfere with their freedom."

"If this continues, I'm afraid our group identity as 'players from another universe' will disappear, and we'll lose all meaning."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression darkened.

They were actually aware of some things; it was just the inevitable trend of the times.

In today's vast universe, those who can truly remain a part of the player universe are ultimately a minority.

Over the years, more and more people have chosen to be themselves.

Especially for ordinary players, whose rank is already low, leveling up becomes difficult without the help of the Game System. Their first thought is to give up the path of Class Holder and choose to enjoy life.

The original "player" community is naturally shrinking, most obviously reflected in the daily decrease in the amount of chat messages posted by new players.

"Old Chen, what do you suggest we do?"

"We can't just give up such a valuable accumulation and switch to another camp, can we?"

The "Player" faction, operating under the name of the Scourge Legion, is a rather unique group within the Machine-Slaying Federation.

They report directly to Lister and use combat as leverage to obtain more resources from the Federation.

This faction is gradually weakening. The discussion that Chen Shanqiang started today is not a simple summary after the World Annihilation War, but more about the development ideas of their own group faction.

"I have already made an appointment with Lady Lilina to visit Merrick Castle again in the next few days to try and communicate with Lord Lister."

"The only way for us to truly preserve this 'player community faction' is to launch the 'Overlord Plan.' I will discuss this idea with Lord Lister to see if we can initiate this plan."

A few days later, at Merrick Castle.

Lister has just returned from the Divine Rise Galaxy. Although the growth of the Seed of Eternity has gotten on track, it is still in its absolute infancy.

For at least the next decade, he will spend most of his time in the vicinity of the Seed of Eternity in the Divine Rise Galaxy.

However, the players' affairs were equally important, and Lilina reminded Chen Shanqiang that he wanted to communicate with him again on behalf of the players.

Lister then set a time and hurriedly returned from the Divine Rise Galaxy.

At this moment, he listened to Chen Shanqiang finish explaining his development plan and vision for the Scourge Legion.

A thoughtful smile appeared on his face.

"The Overlord Plan?"

"Interesting..."

Upon seeing Lister's enthusiastic evaluation, Chen Shanqiang's tense expression instantly relaxed considerably.

He feared that Lister no longer paid attention to or valued the player community.

With so many Scourge Legion leaving, he was genuinely afraid that Lister would abandon the Scourge Legion during the upcoming period of peace.

As representatives of the top players in the gaming community, their desire for power is extremely strong.

There is an even stronger desire to continuously explore the universe and climb ever higher.

The resources that Lister, the current ruler of the universe, can provide are of paramount importance to them.

What Chen Shanqiang and his group of top players didn't know was that they were equally important to Lister.

After all, one of the requirements for the Fifth Advancement quest is the number of players Hegemon.

In his spare time each day, Lister would often glance at the column showing the number of players Hegemon.

Recently, another player broke through to the Hegemon, which also delighted him.

The task requirement (7/10) is still missing the last three digits.

The longer it goes on, the lower the probability for players to break through to the Hegemon.

Unexpectedly, Chen Shanqiang has come to us with this so-called "Overlord Plan," which is exactly what Lister wanted.

"Large-scale downsizing of the Scourge Legion is no problem. In peacetime, not only your Scourge Legion, but all the major legions of the Federation will be reduced in number."

"However... I'm not sure if this concentration of resources is your idea, or the idea of your entire tribe?"

When Lister inquired, he tried his best to pretend that Chen Shanqiang's group of players were an undead race, only that their undead ability had now disappeared.

Chen Shanqiang's plan is very clear: the so-called "Overlord Plan" is actually an elite plan!

The Scourge Legion does not prioritize large-scale legions; instead, it is composed of top-tier warriors, with its most powerful warriors being built by Hegemon.

Correspondingly, the Federation originally allocated all its resources to the entire "player" community to the top players.

Players who leave the legion on their own, including weaker players, will be removed.

This idea actually coincided with what he wanted.

After all, his main concern right now is the mission requirements of the 10 Hegemon.

This allocation of resources to top players is perfectly appropriate for him.

The main system had previously signed a contract with him, though it wasn't explicitly stated, but most of Lister's resources were still available to all players.

He would naturally be happy if the player community could unify such a distribution on its own.

"This is currently just our idea as leaders, but if you support it, I guarantee it can be implemented."

I cannot support you.

"I can only agree to your request; the decision within your tribe is up to you."

"If you can implement this, I can concentrate the Scourge Legion's resources, with most of them being high-level resources, such as Soul Crystals, Eye of Ashes Barriers, etc..."

Lister would not help push things forward; he would simply go with the flow and tacitly allow the matter to develop.

Otherwise, it might violate the agreement with the mastermind.

That's enough!

"I guarantee this plan will go ahead! Lister, Lord Lister, for your approval!"

"Um."

Lister nodded silently, acknowledging Chen Shanqiang's abilities.

However, the impact of this matter on players is not so optimistic.

After all, this is essentially a redistribution of resources, and a large portion of players who have already left the legion will indeed not care.

However, a large number of mid-level players remaining with the Scourge Legion might not agree.

The tranquility of the Divine Rise Galaxy carries the lingering scent of war dissipating.

Lister stood horizontally in the void, his eyes fixed on the End Fleet trailing dark contrails.

Resources from the Emerald Royal Court, except for the Mother Tree of Life which has not yet been allocated, have begun to be transported.

He had just glanced at the resource catalog; while there were many novel items, he didn't need much of it.

On the contrary, Hoffman has a considerable need for these resources.

The most outstanding feature of the Emerald Royal Court is its life energy and various powerful biological plants.

There's a lot to learn from Hoffman's dolls regarding life energy.

Now that he is only one step away from World Annihilation, Lister has not been stingy with him, giving him all the limited resources he has.

Meanwhile, Chen Shanqiang's "Overlord Plan" is exactly as Lister predicted.

The ripples of resource redistribution have an impact far exceeding Chen Shanqiang's imagination.

The player chat, which had been gradually declining, is now buzzing with activity again and is already in an uproar.

Why should all the high-level resources be allocated to those few freaks? Are we just supposed to starve?

"Exactly! We contributed to the World Annihilation War! The contribution point system is still around, right? It's fair to distribute points according to contribution!"

"It's not like everyone has left the guild! What's wrong with us hardworking players? Why should we leave voluntarily?"

"Is the name 'Scourge Legion' just for show? Before the system was around, everyone could still make a little money, but now, they're just wiping us out completely?"

"Boss Chen meant well, but this cut is too harsh. Many of our brothers, while not top-tier players, still want to improve."

"I'm currently stuck on the verge of promotion, and I'm counting on these high-level resources to get through this!"

Chen Shanqiang frowned as he looked at the scrolling messages of dissatisfaction on the public screen.

He underestimated the changing mindset of the "players".

Without the constraints and protection of the "official system," the demands for individual interests and fairness are amplified infinitely.

He attempted to publicly articulate the necessity of an elite strategy, arguing that in the face of the current competitive pressure within the universe, only by having more Overlord Tier, hegemonic forces can the status of the player base and even the Federation be stabilized, which ultimately maximizes benefits in the long run.

Unfortunately, the explanation had little effect.