The Island's Starving Refugees, the Imperial Observatory's Actions

Gather intelligence before taking action.

He learned a lot of information during his previous conversations with the Longevity Being giant python.

The other party was happy for him to deal with the monster instead of the creature, so he recounted the whole story in great detail.

According to the giant python, that strange creature was the Eye of the Storm.

The reason why the Typhoon Tornado occurred was because someone threw objects into it, which agitated it.

Furthermore, the other party's location, position, and taboos were all mentioned.

What did you say?

This is a bizarre phenomenon that causes immense environmental damage, poses a significant threat to the weak within a group, but poses no threat to the strong individuals.

Its rules are either instant death or the creation of a natural tornado, with the maximum power being the highest limit of nature. The specific magnitude depends on the intensity of the stimulus.

The location of the Eye of the Storm is thousands of miles south of Wolf Snake Island.

The bizarre knows no boundaries; whoever provokes it will find their place be struck by a storm.

Following the location given by the giant python, Gao Linzhi flew south.

In less than an hour, he arrived at a stretch of sea in the south.

Sure enough, a huge vortex was spinning below.

The vortex was oval-shaped, filled with red in the center, and upon closer inspection, it looked like a large red eye.

This reminded him of an astronomical wonder: the Great Red Spot on Jupiter, formed by storms, which looked like a giant eye.

From a distance, it looks like the eye of a giant.

Suddenly, he understood why this thing's rule was: it would stir up a storm when provoked.

Wouldn't the eyeball react violently if it were stimulated?

Gao Linzhi looked around and found that there were no birds or fish around. The whirlpool was slowly rotating, and looking at it for a long time made him feel a little dizzy.

He took out his Story Instance Ticket, but the game displayed the following message:

"The anomaly's rank is too high; the dungeon ticket cannot be used."

He wasn't surprised.

This strange phenomenon is clearly caused by the integration of mysterious forces into the laws of nature, belonging to the level of a natural disaster. It's indeed difficult for it to be effective using the Anomaly Dungeon Ticket.

It's beyond the scope of game levels like Purple, Gold Tier, or even Red.

Now, dealing with the other party will be difficult.

Gao Linzhi stared at it for a while, but the strange sea eye showed no unusual movement.

The best approach is not to solve it, but to enclose it and prevent outsiders from disturbing it.

Such things are usually done by very large companies offline. For example, some active volcanoes will set up warning lines and station security teams.

To prevent someone from planting explosives that could trigger a volcanic eruption.

But here, we can't fence it off.

Because this is the ocean, strange creatures often drift ashore.

Then this lockdown would become a joke.

Gao Linzhi thought for a while but couldn't come up with a solution.

So they went back.

He immediately convened a small meeting in the Elder Council Hall.

Xu Gou, bored, Puppet Best, and several of his subordinates, including Dragon Fruit, have all come over.

He began, "Everyone, you all witnessed the natural disasters caused by the strange occurrences a few days ago."

"It was a scene of utter devastation, a complete mess."

"Players, the villagers' hard-earned wealth has vanished in an instant."

"Fortunately, the Safe Zone around the ancestral hall was upgraded in advance; otherwise, the casualties would have been much more severe."

"As for the source of this disaster, I have found it; it is the Eye of the Storm..."

Everyone listened patiently, nodding in agreement.

Actually, they are handling this matter.

We are also trying to find a solution.

So after Gao Linzhi finished explaining the situation, Wu Yi said, "We're already looking for a solution."

"The method currently being used is to exploit a game bug by moving up and down within the Safe Zone."

"We are building a 500-story building with 200 floors underground."

"There are also various suspended hot air balloon rooms available for players and villagers to use."

"Similar to floating villages, we will build aerial villages."

Gao Linzhi nodded; they were very proactive.

This is thanks to his own release.

They could reap huge profits from this, but Gao Linzhi didn't care.

"But doing this definitely has significant limitations," Gao Linzhi cautioned.

"Yes, everyone is very aware of this restriction; it's like confining everyone to a small, Safe Zone," Bored agreed.

"Neither the players nor the villagers have any intention of expanding outwards."

"If things continue like this, our economic development, resource accumulation, and role development will be no match for our enemy."

"This is just a temporary solution."

"If this continues, our village will be doomed. Any force that is confined to its own small territory will have no future."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

This is self-evident.

So many people, so many houses, all crammed into a large courtyard in a three-dimensional space.

Safety is guaranteed, but the upper limit of development has also been locked.

What about external resources?

People won't have the patience for sustainable development.

Since it will be destroyed soon anyway, we might as well dig it up cleanly while we can.

People out there don't have the patience to develop and expand their businesses.

Thinking of this, Gao Linzhi said:

"In that case, we should eliminate the threat completely."

"We must destroy that Eye of the Storm."

"Otherwise, our economy will not develop."

Players will only trade within Safe Zone and will not venture to other places to expand their trade.

"And it will also cause players to leave for other islands."

Bored, he nodded and said, "The boss is right. I've heard that someone has proposed setting up offline trading points."

"They're only using the island as a temporary transit point; they want to live offline and rebuild player gathering points."

"Simply put, the island is just a place for them to kill monsters, level up, and play games; it's not a place for them to live and accumulate wealth."

"They want to bring the game back to being a game."

Gao Linzhi frowned.

In this way, the strategic value of Wolf Snake Island would be greatly reduced.

Why did so many players come to Wolf Snake Island before?

It's because this place offers unparalleled security.

Casual players don't need to worry about being captured and killed by Company Executive Players.

The Corporate Players came here to trade rare in-game store items.

"Yes, these people aren't fools."

"They also have their own ways of coping."

"Having suffered a great loss once, they certainly won't build any more industries in the village or on the island, nor will they treat this place as a commercial center," Xu Gou sighed.

The business and company I worked so hard to build are about to go under.

Only those who have experienced it firsthand can truly understand that pain and helplessness.

"That's right, that's what I heard too," Dragon Fruit nodded. "They all say they've wasted their time and effort on this island."

"When the storm hit, everything was wiped clean; it's better to go back to offline."

"It's just that offline activities are more dangerous. If safety issues can be resolved offline, they'll go back to offline operations."

Everyone was discussing it, and they were all quite troubled.

Because this is the first time they have faced the true power of this world—a cataclysmic anomaly.

They then understood why the dynasty, despite its ability to extend its influence to every island, could not maintain strict control.

If you maintain strict control, what will you do if a natural disaster strikes?

If you can't handle natural disasters, what gives you the right to be so harsh?

Your soldiers and officials will all be wiped out by the natural disaster...

In this situation, staying in your fortress and waiting for a calmer time to launch a counterattack is the most cost-effective approach.

If a large number of soldiers are stationed on each island, they will be wiped out in the event of a natural disaster.

How can this loss be compensated?

"This situation is indeed quite difficult. If things continue like this, we're going to lose too," Wu Liao sighed.

Even with his shrewdness and the presence of a strategist working alone, he had no other means to deal with the situation at this point.

This is similar to how modern people can go to the sky and the sea, but they are helpless against earthquakes, with only two options: to endure it or to take passive measures like relocation.

As for prophecy, resolution, and annihilation, those do not exist.

"This Eye of the Storm is indeed not easy to deal with." Gao Linzhi didn't make things difficult for his people.

"I've already gone to check it out; it's surrounded by the sea, so it would be very difficult to block it off."

"If anyone provokes it, it will trigger typhoon disasters."

"It can be said with certainty that the previous disaster was the work of certain traitors within our island."

"Their goal is to disrupt the development of our island."

"The prime suspects are the veteran players from Island No. 8. They really do have a lot of tricks up their sleeves; any one of them could easily get us tied down."

"The only way to solve this problem is to find an organization that specializes in dealing with these strange creatures," Bored suddenly said.

"In this Skyfall World, the only people skilled at dealing with strange beings, in our view, are the imperial court."

"At least this dynasty has existed for many years and has continued for many generations."

"Hmm, it seems the imperial court is the most adept at dealing with strange phenomena. I'll go to the Capital Island again and take a look."

After discussing it among themselves, Gao Linzhi concluded that the only option they could come up with was "to go find the Buddha in the Western Heavens".

Clearly, this is the best strategy at present.

Gao Linzhi did not waste any time.

He changed his number again and went to the Capital Island.

He knew, of course, that the people most skilled at dealing with strange occurrences were those from the Imperial Observatory.

Of course, before coming here, he assigned this task to the underground research lab.

Let Hai Zida and the others figure out a solution.

Since it involves rules, they should have some methods, but it will take time.

Scientific research cannot be rushed.

Those who are impatient will not achieve results.

After all, they also need time and a relaxed state of mind.

Gao Linzhi now needs to find someone from the Imperial Observatory to deal with this strange phenomenon.

It now seems that only the people in the Imperial Observatory have the greatest chance of knowing how to deal with these matters.

After thinking about this, Gao Linzhi glanced around.

The launch location is different from the last time.

This time, he appeared on a main street.

As soon as it appeared, several beggars gathered around it.

"Please, sir, have mercy and give me some food."

Among the beggars were both men and women, all of them emaciated, not the professional beggars.

Gao Linzhi didn't think much of it. He then took out dozens of boxed lunches from his Game Backpack, placed them on the ground, and quickly left.

The beggars did not immediately scramble to grab the items; instead, they repeatedly kowtowed in the direction Gao Linzhi had left.

"May your family be blessed with longevity and honors, sir!"

"Take care, sir."

The beggars then began sharing their boxed meals with each other.

From this perspective, Gao Linzhi understood that these beggars belonged to the early stage—they still cared about some order and face.

He didn't think much of it.

In feudal dynasties, beggars were the most common sight.

He then began to think of ways to contact the Imperial Observatory.

You know, last time, he caused quite a scene on their turf.

Of course, he used a puppet body; his true form was never revealed.

His solution was simple: create a reason that would force the other party to take action.

For example, if you throw a treasure into the Eye of the Storm, the opponent will have to completely destroy the Eye of the Storm if they want to get it.

Just as he was thinking about it, he discovered an opportunity.

For some reason, looking around, one could see refugees and beggars everywhere, both inside and outside the city walls.

There are so many, in huge piles.

It seems a major disaster struck somewhere on the island, and these people have fled into the capital to survive.

That said, it's alright for those outside the city walls, but it's quite strange that the soldiers were allowed to enter from inside the walls.

Either the management wasn't strict from the beginning, and the gatekeepers accepted money from the refugees and let them in.

Or they have ulterior motives.

Gao Linzhi clearly noticed that they were all relatively strong young men and women.

There wasn't a single elderly, weak, sick, or disabled person among them.

This is quite strange.

Although it is true that during famine, the elderly, weak, sick and disabled find it difficult to travel.

But this is an island, and it's not very big.

Moreover, judging from the condition of these starving people, there must be at least one or two elderly leaders.

But now, there is none.

Gao Linzhi's heart skipped a beat, and he looked around.

He knew that getting the Imperial Observatory to intervene would not be easy.

That's Eye of the Storm.

He quickly noticed something unusual.

In front of a restaurant, starving people lined up in a long queue.

A group of male and female players are distributing food and water to them.

Some people even brought them bamboo tubes and running water, set up tents, and let them go inside to clean themselves.

Don't underestimate the importance of hygiene. If you only provide food and drink but don't maintain cleanliness and hygiene, it's easy for epidemics to break out and people to die.

In fact, among the starving people and refugees, those who starved to death were not the fastest to die; those who died of disease died much faster.

The other party, all looking like beggars, kept saying kind words.

The queue kept getting longer and longer.

But instead of being anxious, the player's face lit up with joy.

Gao Linzhi knew immediately that they had received a system mission.

Sure enough, he overheard the players whispering.

"Great, another hundred charity points!"

"Yes, learning that healing skill requires 20,000 charity points. If it weren't for so many starving people suddenly arriving, we wouldn't have been able to handle it."

However, their good fortune didn't last long, and soon the players who were distributing the food encountered a problem.

A group of yamen runners rushed over.

"Who gave you permission to distribute food here indiscriminately?"

"Did you obtain permission from the Military and Horse Department?"

Do you have a token?

"Yes, this is it..." a player said, pulling out a yellow card.

As a result, the constables didn't even glance at it, but simply snatched it and threw it away.

"Now you are gone."

"Get these starving people out of here immediately!"

"No grain distribution is allowed indiscriminately!"

Several players were indignant.

"How could these people do such a thing?!"

"Are they just going to stand by and watch these people starve to death without doing anything about it?"

"Even in feudal dynasties, providing relief was a basic necessity, wasn't it?"

"Yes, the feudal dynasties were able to have the legal basis for collecting taxes for three reasons: first, flood control; second, disaster relief; and third, resisting barbarians."

"They actually did this!"

"Perhaps in their eyes, these starving people aren't even human."

Gao Linzhi shook his head.

These players are definitely newbies.

Moreover, they are newcomers who have never experienced being hunted by Company Executive Players.

It now seems that the court officials don't want these vagrants and beggars to be too full.

Because once a person is full, there are some things they might not be able to do.

And these players are all very smart.

They also realized something was wrong.