Imperial Court and Rebel Army, Gao Linzhi's Moves

Any place, any object, any life can be a vessel for the bizarre.

To be honest, Gao Linzhi believes that the fact that they only fell for it after playing for so long is entirely thanks to the game.

The game digitized their bodies, which greatly enhanced their resistance to the supernatural.

However, there is still one aspect of them that has not been digitized: consciousness and the soul.

Once this thing is digitized, they cease to be human.

Without data, it will be corrupted by the bizarre.

Even data can be corrupted.

Gao Linzhi then gave each of them a Heavenly Clear Talisman to remove the negative curses from their bodies.

Then the two of them felt a sudden clarity in their minds.

"Strange, why did I just argue with you over such a trivial matter?"

"Yeah, they even started fighting. Are we elementary school kids?"

Both of them found it extremely unbelievable.

What just happened made them seem like a bunch of fools.

"I'm sorry, brother!"

"What just happened to me? I completely forgot about our usual friendship, and all I could think about was right and wrong; I had no feelings left."

"Yes, me too. How did I become like that? It's all the weirdness's fault!"

The two quickly embraced tightly, slapping each other hard.

"Good brothers, for life!"

Gao Linzhi couldn't help but laugh.

Two actors.

In reality, the Killing Intent only amplifies its effect.

This indicates that they already had internal conflicts.

That's normal.

How many Company Executive are without conflicts?

Because the profits are too great.

It's impossible for Gao Linzhi's subordinates in those online novels to all be united and cooperative.

In reality, even seemingly united organizations can experience various conflicts, which are gradually resolved through coordination.

He ignored them, figuring they would handle the rest themselves.

And so, the struggle for Dynasty Hegemony began in full swing.

On each island, players choose different factions based on their own stance.

However, judging from the activity channels, most people still choose the imperial court.

But they soon regretted it.

"Imperial Court Faction Mission: Clear key sea routes, prevent strange creatures from invading, and provide maximum convenience for the Imperial Court to collect tributes from various islands."

"Reward: You may receive some irregular favors from the imperial court and an official position."

"Holy crap, someone wants to draw my blood, and I have to get in shape beforehand, prepare the tubes for them, and then stick the needle in myself?"

"Heh, what did you think?"

"Isn't that how the imperial court operates? The people repair the roads themselves, but they still have to transport their grain to the government offices, and they have to transport an extra 30%. Otherwise, if someone steps on the road, there won't be enough grain for them."

"They won't accept it anymore."

"It's best not to accept it."

"You think you'll be fine if you don't collect it? You're wrong. If a household hasn't received the permit, the yamen runners will come to their home to demand it, and the household head will have to stand in the cage!"

"Damn it, this is outrageous! This lousy government never gives us any benefits, doesn't help drive away monsters, and doesn't provide disaster relief. What's the point of having it?"

"That's right, so you're still joining the Rebel Army Faction?"

"That's right, the Rebel Army Faction is treated much better. Their main task is to sabotage the imperial court's routes. Once they've sabotaged them, we get 30% of the proceeds from the requisition of the relevant islands."

"What the hell? We work so hard and only get 30%? They want 70%? Isn't that like begging on your knees?"

"Heh, they have the confidence and ability to withstand the pressure from the imperial court, while we're just begging on our knees."

The group began discussing which faction they should join to maximize their chances of success.

As for "morality" and "righteousness," those concepts don't exist for the player community.

Fortunately, it's a real game.

It's not rigid.

The Game System handles joining and betraying factions very flexibly.

You can switch to another faction at any time.

However, there will be a price to pay.

The cost is determined by your contribution and reputation within that faction.

If your reputation is high, then betraying that faction will greatly reduce your reputation there.

Similarly, the more contributions you make in the past, the greater the negative impact and the greater the losses.

And this is just the beginning.

Even if a player chooses a faction, they can freely switch sides before having any actual contact with that faction.

After all, at this point, the faction files had not yet been entered into the real-world system.

They don't know you yet, so it doesn't matter which side you switch to.

Of course, once players have done a lot for this faction and gained reputation within it, they can no longer easily switch sides.

The punishment they receive could be assassination, defamation, curses, or the like.

Therefore, after seeing the different reward schemes for the two factions, many players began to switch sides and join the Rebel Army Faction.

After all, although the Rebel Army Faction did give 30%, it was a real offer.

In fact, Gao Linzhi had long anticipated that this phenomenon would occur.

For players, this choice is almost self-evident.

This also implicitly involves the choice of the Game System.

In fact, the players didn't realize that they were being misled by the Game System.

The Game System is designed to entice players to choose the Rebel Army Faction.

Because the imperial court is the enemy of the Game System.

Soon, the players were ready to embark on their faction quests.

Meanwhile, Gao Linzhi also began carrying out faction missions.

At this very moment.

Gao Linzhi was following the old lady of the Academy Mountain.

He naturally brought his Game Character online, replacing the Substitute Puppet.

After all, we'll need a lot of materials from our Game Backpack at this point.

His Game Character, carrying Game Backpack, arrived near the Capital Island.

He reunited with Miss Cheng, the headmaster, and others.

The meeting point was a mountain forest.

"We'll wait patiently here."

"After receiving signals from three directions that we are ready, we will go over and arrange the materials."

"Once everything is set up, we can adapt to the situation as needed."

"We must get everything done before the imperial court takes action."

"We need to ensure that we attract those strange entities, but also that they are under control and don't harm us."

At the same time.

The imperial court was not idle either.

Compared to ordinary feudal dynasties, extraordinary dynasties were more proactive.

Because just one or two highly active internal factions can exert tremendous power.

The Fourth Prince's Mansion.

Three players are reaching a further cooperation agreement with the Fourth Prince.

Inside the Prince's Mansion.

Light singing and graceful dancing.

The three players were overwhelmed by the dazzling array of sights and sounds, completely captivated by the decadent and extravagant lifestyle of the feudal dynasty.

It's not that modern society doesn't have these things; in fact, people use them even more often.

But in modern society, there are many things to consider, and deep down, one can't let go.

And here.

The three players had complete control over the game.

Do whatever you want.

At this moment, a secret guard from the manor came to report.

After patting himself on the shoulder, the Fourth Prince dismissed the dancers.

"Your Highness, according to our spies, members of the Daoist Academy are stirring up trouble again."

"Their operation this time is large-scale; they want to attract strange phenomena, block the shipping lanes, and prevent us from collecting offerings from various regions."

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince immediately stood up.

He frowned deeply. "They really have guts! These scoundrels, instead of staying in the gutter, they want to come out and stir up trouble!"

"He deserves to die!"

At this moment, the player stood up and asked in confusion, "I heard that the Imperial Observatory has flying ships. They've attracted strange creatures to block the sea lanes. Isn't that a waste of effort?"

"Why don't the airship just go around it from the sky?"

The Fourth Prince shook his head and said, "Gentlemen, you are unaware of something."

"This flying boat is excellent, but the journey is expensive."

"Most of the materials that the imperial court collects are cheap and in large quantities, amounting to hundreds of thousands of shi (a unit of dry measure) at a time."

"This is something that airships cannot carry; it must be transported by ship to make it cost-effective."

The three players immediately understood.

This is an analogy between oil and gold.

Gold can certainly be airlifted, but who needs to airlift crude oil?

That's not even enough to cover the fuel costs.

Therefore, if the main sea routes are blocked, oil cannot be transported.

As for the fact that they couldn't detour at sea, they understood that.

The same applies to the ocean in the real world.

Some shipping routes are essential for cargo ships to navigate.

If you don't go through there, you'll be taking a huge risk venturing into uncharted waters.

Storms, reefs, cyclones, getting lost, and pirates are all potential dangers.

"I see. It seems we have no choice but to destroy this Daoist Academy," Player 1 said.

He looked at his other two teammates.

But the two men's eyes flickered.

He then remembered that the name "Daoist Academy" sounded familiar; wasn't that where Miss Cheng was born?

So the other side was a traitor.

Sending the three of them to seize the Heaven's Heart Stone was simply to cause trouble for the imperial court.

No wonder they were so generous.

They suddenly realized what was going on.

"Oh, it seems you all know something about the Daoist Academy?"

"To be honest, Your Highness, someone from this Daoist Academy has come to contact us..."

After a brief explanation from the three, the Fourth Prince took a deep breath.

"It is common knowledge that the imperial court faces numerous difficulties because of the interference of these petty people."

"They are inherently despicable; they simply don't want to serve the court."

"These are all remnants of the previous dynasty, each one of them acting despicably, fearing nothing more than peace and quiet."

"And those common people, they should have obediently offered tribute to the imperial court."

"But they are always misled by the rebels, forgetting the imperial court's favors for a little money!"

They all deserve to die!

The Fourth Prince became very angry at this point.

The three players were secretly grumbling to themselves.

When has the imperial court ever shown any favor to the common people?

Is it either demanding or exploiting?

There has never been any so-called grace.

For ordinary people, the best way to avoid dealing with government officials is to avoid it altogether.

Therefore, they would rather endure the exploitation of their clan and wealthy relatives than deal with the government.

While the first two are ruthless, there are still ways to maneuver and escape; the latter is ruthless and devours people without spitting out their bones.

Of course, they verbally echoed his sentiments, praising his evil deeds.

After all, the other party was a prince of the imperial court, so naturally they spoke on the side of the imperial court.

They wish every commoner were utterly loyal and devoted.

But what loyalty in this world comes without a reason?

At this moment, the secret guard looked at the three of them, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.

"Speak your mind. These three gentlemen are all on our side," the Fourth Prince said impatiently.

"There are also many extraterrestrials who have joined the Daoist Academy."

"What?"

"These damned players, how dare they join the rebels?"

"Why don't they just obediently serve the court?" The Fourth Prince was furious upon hearing this.

When he noticed his three embarrassed allies beside him, he quickly added, "Oh, of course, I didn't include the three gentlemen."

"We understand that many players are indeed opportunistic and will join the rebels because they offer more," Player 1 quickly explained.

"Damn it, the imperial court can give them official status, something the rebels can't!" The Fourth Prince was furious.

His anger towards the imperial court had no deterrent effect on these players.

You have to understand that ordinary people are still afraid of the imperial court.

After all, the collection of tributes once every ten years was also a way of demonstrating the existence of the imperial court.

Many villages couldn't escape even if they wanted to, because the ancestral hall couldn't be moved.

However, if they left the ancestral hall and lived in the wild, they would almost all die within three months.

Eccentric people are not necessarily kind.

The Fourth Prince noticed something unusual about the three men's expressions and asked, "Gentlemen, what advice do you have for us?"

"Well, the reason why players join the rebels is actually quite simple," the player quickly explained, "It's because the conditions offered by the imperial court are very poor."

"These players are also deeply wary of the imperial court."

"The imperial court has always been 'kill or arrest' us players without hesitation."

"And naturally, these players would not choose to serve the imperial court."

"They all prioritize profit above all else; their acts of betraying friends for personal gain are countless."

"To get players to join the imperial court, all you need to do is offer them benefits."

"Oh, I wonder what kind of benefits the players would like?" the Fourth Prince asked patiently.

A wise person every day.

"The greatest benefit is naturally longer lifespan, followed by strength."

Finally, there's wealth and status.

"In terms of strength, that's the easiest thing to give. The imperial court should have many special skills and professions. As long as they are appropriately opened up to players, I believe many people will join the imperial court."

"No, no, that won't do. We'll give you as much money as you want, but if we give those skills and professions to the players, won't that just make them more capable of threatening the imperial court?" The Fourth Prince immediately refused.

This is a characteristic of feudal dynasties: no matter how great the benefits, if they threaten imperial power, they will not hesitate to restrict and suppress them.

Moreover, any qualified member of the royal family is highly sensitive to imperial power.

They will quickly detect even the slightest potential threat.

Right now, they know that opening up skills and classes would easily attract players, but they don't do it.

Even if the consequence is that players cause a lot of trouble by following the rebels.

At this moment, Player Two suddenly said, "Your Highness, we are willing to infiltrate the rebel army and report back to you."

"Very good. After the matter is accomplished, you will all be rewarded!" the Fourth Prince said happily.

Half a month later.

Under the guidance of the headmaster, Gao Linzhi boarded a small boat with excellent concealment and traveled to an Archipelago.

This ship is similar to a clipper ship from Europe.

It was very fast, the narrow space was very narrow, and the target was extremely small.

With the help of a magic array that concealed its aura, it avoided strange disturbances.

However, we still need to avoid those terrifying Deep Sea Giant.

In particular, one should not actively look into the deep sea.

Upon closer inspection, one can see giant hands or enormous mouths.

Moreover, it's the kind of bizarre face shape that suddenly changes.

That's the scariest thing.

Once you see it, it will appear before you immediately.

Then you will die.