The Court's Bottom Line, the Players' Fury

Gao Linzhi smiled slightly:

"Everyone, that's enough. I don't have time to take command. You should choose someone more capable."

"Damn, the big boss has spoken!"

"This is a real big shot! I'm so excited to hear him speak in person for the first time!"

"This is a super strong person in reality, the kind of big shot who can change the world pattern by just one person!"

"It can be said that even Qin Shi Huang cannot compare."

"That's amazing, getting to see a big shot up close."

Many players commented.

They were indeed very excited.

Many people know about Gao Linzhi's deeds; he is a true independent expert who single-handedly broke the company's monopoly.

It was his appearance that eased the company's pursuit and exploitation of individual employees.

Before him, those independent players, if they were lucky, were recruited by some good companies, and if they were unlucky, they were simply killed and had their game privileges taken away.

Of course, there are also many people who don't like Gao Linzhi.

It could even be said that they constitute the majority in terms of quantity.

Of the hundred people, at least seventy or eighty disliked Gao Linzhi.

However, they wouldn't dare to make sarcastic remarks in such a situation, lest they offend the other party.

Nobody's stupid.

What's the point of mocking Gao Linzhi here?

They're not villains in a novel whose intelligence has been lowered; they're just ordinary people.

Mocking Gao Linzhi will only bring hatred and bring no benefit whatsoever.

Therefore, in the event channel, although there were few people praising, flattering, and fawning over Gao Linzhi, these voices were the mainstream.

A closer look at the IDs reveals that only about ten people are actually speaking.

Moreover, some of them were planted by the company.

In Gao Linzhi's view, the imperial ships should arrive soon.

The fact that the headmaster has disappeared means that nothing of great importance has happened.

Therefore, he wouldn't waste his time trying to take over the command role.

The headmaster probably came along to see the strength of the Game System.

Now, flying boats, and even Teleportation by game players, demonstrate this.

If it weren't for the sake of the Game System, the other party definitely wouldn't care about such a small matter.

With Gao Linzhi's refusal, the players began to discuss the matter.

"If the big boss isn't going to be the leader, what should we do now?"

"Yes, we 100 people need to be reorganized."

Finally, someone of influence spoke up in the game channel.

Gao Linzhi glanced at the game ID and realized that this person was none other than an acquaintance.

Empty 2086.

He not only recognized the other party, but also copied their stealth skills and techniques.

He remembered that once, when he was doing a mission to climb the rankings in sailing distance, the other party tried to steal his ranking by using the stealth skill.

This is a truly formidable opponent.

Now it seems the opponent is stronger.

While Gao Linzhi progress, other top players were also improving rapidly.

Although they can't directly spend real money, they can indirectly purchase various game items from themselves using real-world resources such as gold.

Therefore, their rate of progress is much faster than others.

Empty 2086 addressed the players, saying, "Everyone, my name is Kongkong."

"It's from server number 2086."

"You all probably know my name, so I won't go into details here."

Upon hearing this, someone immediately chimed in, "I've heard of him, isn't that Kongkong who was vying for the Grand Voyage rankings with the Canxue big shot?"

"What a pity, just a little short."

"It's said that this put a lot of pressure on the Canxue boss, forcing him to travel many more miles overnight."

"Yes, Empty 2086 is quite a well-known figure among high-level gamers."

"Aside from those guys from the older districts, after district 1000, Kongkong should be able to rank in the top twenty."

At this moment, Empty 2086 laughed and said, "Hehe, everyone, you flatter me."

"Since the Canxue boss is unwilling to take the lead, I only have one thing to say: follow me, and you'll get what you deserve."

"I will not treat everyone unfairly."

"I'm confident I can manage everyone well for this mission and I'm sure I'll get the full rewards."

"It's not just the Game System's quest rewards; there are 500 reputation points for 3 fish, and other rewards as well."

"For example, the territory of this island."

Upon hearing this, all the players immediately became happy.

Of course, some people have different opinions.

"Mr. Kongkong, since you've said that, it seems you're determined to get this leadership position."

"How can we trust you?"

"Yes, you have to give me a guarantee."

"I want to be one too! Everyone, please support me! I've been in the top five before!" someone else shouted.

The user "Riding the Wind to Beat Luo Shao" said, "Kongkong is an idiot, don't believe him."

"His tactic is to say on the first day that he's going to climb the charts, and everyone will give him face."

"The next day, he showed everyone his inventory."

"To scare people away."

"On the third day, if you don't get on the list, say you're drunk, or that you don't want to compete with the big shots."

Clearly, no one objected to Gao Linzhi taking the position.

After all, this is a recognized powerhouse; everyone knows that he has been leading by a wide margin on several consecutive leaderboards.

They didn't admire the others as much.

The rewards for this operation were quite generous, so they were naturally unwilling to trust anyone else without a reason.

"Feng Qi is right."

"Damn, my name isn't Feng Qi, I'm Riding Feng Qi." "Riding the Wind to Beat Luo Shao" said.

"Understood, Boss Feng Qi."

Someone then asked, "Why don't we let the Canxue powerhouses choose who should be the Captain?"

"Yes, Canxue, you can make the arrangements."

Gao Linzhi thought for a moment and said, "I think we should let Kongkong make the arrangements."

Empty 2086 was slightly taken aback.

He originally thought that Gao Linzhi would definitely target him.

After all, he had previously led a group to try and steal Gao Linzhi's ranking.

Moreover, behind Gao Linzhi's back, he also spoke ill of him quite a bit.

He naturally had no idea of Gao Linzhi's magnanimity.

In Gao Linzhi's eyes, anything that is useful at the moment can be used.

As for what happens in the future, we'll talk about that later.

Let us drink together from this golden cup...

Now, Gao Linzhi knows Empty 2086 best, so he naturally let him go up and arrange things.

"Alright then, thank you for your recognition, Boss Canxue. Let me make the arrangements." Kongkong naturally wouldn't refuse.

He will benefit greatly from getting this Captain.

"First, let's define our goals."

"The goal is to seize that imperial fleet."

"And there are two ways to complete this task."

"First, we'll seize it after they receive the goods."

"Another option is to eliminate them beforehand."

"If we take them down now, we'll suffer heavy losses, but their losses will be minimal."

"Moreover, during combat, they don't need to assign people to defend cargo, allowing them to focus on output, which is the main reason for our many casualties."

"If we wait until they've finished collecting the taxes before we double-cross them, we can catch them red-handed."

"Moreover, in order to protect the goods, they will inevitably have to divide their forces for defense."

"This is a huge benefit for us."

"We'll not only complete the mission, but we'll also earn an extra sum of money."

"Well said!"

"Well done!"

That's how it should be done.

Everyone cheered.

Gao Linzhi nodded.

It has to be said, this Empty 2086 is quite capable.

Most people really can't compare to him.

Clear thinking and efficient work.

No wonder they can come up with all sorts of sophisticated tactics.

Then Empty 2086 began arranging the team.

Based on everyone's abilities, teams are divided into attack, damage, tank, healer, and support roles, with 15 people in each team and a reserve team of 25 people for immediate deployment.

He then ordered everyone to remain hidden and patient for the time being.

Therefore, everyone chose to remain hidden on the airship, while Gao Linzhi activated the airship's function to conceal themselves.

The Game System also provides support in this regard.

Gao Linzhi directly asked the Game System from the cockpit to activate the stealth function of the airship.

The next moment, the enormous airship completely disappeared into the air.

Gao Linzhi compared them carefully.

He discovered that his ability to hide was still far inferior to that of the Game System.

Because the Game System is hidden, it's similar to the Heavenly Dao.

It seems to have integrated the flying boat directly into this world.

Even with Gao Linzhi's sensory abilities, he couldn't detect its presence.

The others didn't seem to notice anything.

After all, in their subconscious, the Game System is omnipotent.

Just like players can challenge other players or bosses, few people would think of challenging the game itself.

One type of person who might think of this is the whale (high spender).

Moreover, the amount of money spent on in-game purchases has reached a point that even game companies cannot ignore; they can specifically modify the game rules and drop rates for them.

Some top players just can't get certain rare items from drops, even if they're one in a billion, and they can't buy them either.

So the game GM logged in and threw him a weapon while he was fighting monsters.

This is not a joke; it actually happened.

The smaller the company, the higher the chance of this happening.

It's unlikely that this would happen to those large companies, popular games, and companies with extremely high operating costs.

After all, the losses would be too great if it were exposed.

The group hid inside the flying boat and waited.

It has to be said.

Some people are still Fortune.

Because of the methods chosen by Empty 2086, some people in the imperial court were able to survive.

They were going to go to the island and stay there for a while.

Of course, the unlucky ones are those who are rotated out.

It's obvious from a moment's thought that this operation is unlikely to leave any survivors.

Players will not allow the imperial court to discover their true intentions.

One week later.

Dozens of ships sailed along the way.

From a distance, three sentry boats could be seen sailing ahead.

Five large ships followed behind.

Further back, there were several smaller boats.

There were also boats on both the left and right sides.

Judging from the formation, it's quite well-organized.

Of course, this is referring to opponents of similar skill levels.

To the giant monster of the sea, this is a sandcastle.

No matter how beautiful or majestic it is, a single wave can destroy it.

For the players, however, this is a bit tricky.

Because they knew that a direct raid was unlikely to succeed.

The ship has a protective barrier and protective charms.

The imperial court is still very wealthy and powerful; its basic defenses are far superior to the attacks of many players.

This makes them difficult to breach.

Those who signed up were all top-tier players.

Of course, Gao Linzhi also noticed that those older servers with more than three digits of players seemed to have no players participating.

All the participants were new players from servers with a capacity of over 2,000.

Are veteran players not interested in the rewards?

Unlikely.

It's probably an invisible restriction in the Game System that prevents veteran players from participating.

This is essentially a strategy to preferentially cultivate new players in the new server.

The goal, of course, is to quickly boost player strength and thereby enhance overall power.

After all, the attributes of those three fish, even when given to veteran players, are just a drop in the ocean.

But for new players, it's a godsend.

This allows new players to snowball their success.

Soon, the players began observing the imperial fleet from mid-air.

Before long, they witnessed something that angered them.

A massacre was taking place on a large ship.

Dozens of young men were killed and then sacrificed to the sea.

"Local Divine Anomalies, please accept our offerings."

"Calm your anger and give us a way out."

An old, Daoist-looking fellow was praying there.

"Damn it, those bastards, they've pulled this trick again!"

"There's no other way; we can't alert them."

"Forget it, let's respect their fate. Although they are pitiful, if we save them, it will ruin Kongkong's plan."

Although the players were angry, they did not lose their temper.

No one here is so compassionate as to save everyone they see.

Even Gao Linzhi was unmoved when he saw this scene.

After all, there are many tragedies in this world.

Only after he Immortality will he have time to manage it.

As for now, he just needs to stick to his bottom line.

He will not slaughter the innocent to satisfy his own needs.

That's enough.

After all, he knew very well that such unscrupulous methods could not actually achieve Immortality.

Because Immortality requires mental fortitude.

This practice, which violates ethical boundaries, clashes with Gao Linzhi's own core values.

His core principle is to neither do evil nor allow others to do evil to him.

Thus, even though the imperial fleet was about to reach Osmanthus Island, they still killed dozens of people before finally arriving on the island.

What would it be like if a tax collection team from a feudal dynasty came to a village?

Naturally, chaos ensued, with chickens flying and dogs barking in disarray.

"By imperial decree, the tax on mandarin fish, levied every ten years, shall commence!"

"Each person will be charged five fish: one for a 50-year period, two for a 30-year period, and three for a 10-year period."

At this point, someone couldn't help but retort, "Aren't there six fish?"

"Click".

Those who disagreed were immediately beheaded.

"Damn it!" one player exclaimed, "I only knew the idiom 'calling a deer a horse,' but today I've finally seen the real thing!"

"Hmph, this is a compliance test. I deliberately misspoke a word to see who would stand up and refute me."

"Damn it! This damned court deserves to be rebelled against!"

"At first I thought robbery was a bad thing, but now it seems pretty good!"

Many of the players, it's fair to say, aren't exactly saints themselves.

Among them, many were murderers and robbers, and even more were swindlers and con artists.

Even so, it did not stop them from hurling insults at the imperial court.

Even bad people who do bad things want to have a legitimate reason for doing so.

Soon, several villages on the island were driven together.

They were asked to pay for mandarin fish.

These are living creatures, so naturally there can't be many in stock.

They weren't unprepared.

They built many fish ponds by the sea, where they raised Osmanthus Fish.

However, it falls far short of the imperial court's appetite.