Emperor Zhao

Emperor Tomb Village, 300 meters underground.

Qi Sheng stood before the blue crystalline Containment Wall, his gaze sweeping over the three Primordial Monster Life Souls already imprisoned there. A hose extending from the Crystal Wall was connected to each of their backs, continuously extracting a kind of scarlet energy.

He closed his eyes, and scarlet flames instantly spread over his body.

His head transformed into Blazing Scarlet Flames, shifting between tangible and intangible, while three small orbs of light appeared and revolved around him.

As he switched to Emperor Zhao Form, datafied information relayed by Guide appeared in Qi Sheng's mind.

[Monster King: Emperor Zhao]:

Origin Land under control:

Emperor Tomb Village (Territory Trait: Life Reforging)

Territory expenditure to resist the Dark Tide: 1,000 Sacrificial Power/day

Vassal Servants: Nine Yin, Yan Ming, Guide, Ultra-Dimensional.

Sacrificial Power Pool remaining: 130,428.

Containment Wall Sacrificial Power output: 30/hour.

Contained Origin Primordials: Gargoyle (Petrification), Black-Armored Snake (Deadly Poison), Eagle-Headed Demon (Grudge Chant)

Although he had inherited Emperor Zhao's origin and become the new Emperor Zhao.

His strength was not great at this stage.

Over ten thousand years ago, the previous Emperor Zhao had split his power into countless Primordial Monsters, scattering them throughout the Monster World.

As the new Emperor Zhao, he had inherited only the self-fixated origin, losing the countless power traits that had been split off.

His original intention in recruiting players was to have them explore the Monster World ravaged by the Dark Tide and contain Emperor Zhao's lost primordial powers-the Primordial Monsters.

Every Primordial Monster he contained would strengthen him to some extent and grant him one of Emperor Zhao's lost power traits.

In addition, once the Primordial Monsters born from Emperor Zhao's power were imprisoned in the Containment Wall, each could produce 10 Sacrificial Power per hour.

The Gargoyle, Black-Armored Snake, and Eagle-Headed Demon-the three Primordial Monsters already contained-could produce 30 Sacrificial Power per hour, or 720 per day.

But Emperor Tomb Village spent 1,000 Sacrificial Power each day resisting the Dark Tide, so expenditure currently exceeded income.

The remaining Sacrificial Power would soon be exhausted. He needed more sources of income.

This was also one reason he had chosen to recruit players under the name of the immensely popular "Darklands," hoping to generate more Sacrificial Power through them.

His other reason for recruiting players was that he needed more Domain Nodes.

The Monster World was tens of thousands of times larger than Earth, pieced together from countless Domain Nodes, and every origin node retained a rule trait controlled by Emperor Zhao.

For example, the rule trait of Emperor Tomb Village's territory was "Life Reforging."

The players could resurrect through the power of the trait provided by Emperor Tomb Village.

There were many similar territories in the Monster World. He needed players to occupy Domain Nodes already eroded by the Terrifying Dark Tide and merge them into Emperor Tomb Village, bringing it more Territory Traits.

First, contain the Origin Primordial.

Second, reclaim Domain Nodes.

These were his two most important reasons for recruiting players.

If the plan succeeded, he would become the true god Emperor Zhao, gaining the tremendous power to face the Terrifying Dark Tide head-on.

[Boss, the first batch of players generated 32 Sacrificial Power for you in just half a day. Not bad.]

Just then, Guide, hovering beside him, suddenly spoke.

"It's still too slow. We need to recruit more players."

The 32 Sacrificial Power Guide mentioned referred to the Sacrificial Power refined from energy produced when Li Zheng and the other players killed large numbers of Cursed Soldiers. He took thirty percent of those earnings and sent it to the Sacrificial Power Pool beneath Emperor Tomb Village.

He had carefully considered this arrangement.

Taking too much would hinder the players' growth, while taking too little would fail to offset Emperor Tomb Village's daily Sacrificial Power expenditure.

Thirty percent was just right.

He switched to human form. The scarlet flames on his head went out, and the three orbs circling his body dissipated as well.

[When are you planning to start recruiting again?]

"Now!"

As Qi Sheng raised his hand, a Spatial Teleportation Array appeared beneath his feet.

After a brief distortion of space, he returned to his bedroom in the real world.

He had already devised a clear plan for recruiting more players.

In the early stages, he would use the hugely popular name of "Darklands" to attract newcomers.

The players wanted virtual reality, and he was giving them a real world.

His targets this time were still those who wanted to play "Darklands" but could not because of its steep price.

People in this group had generally played virtual reality games before and had some foundation of skill, allowing them to quickly adapt to the game environment and grow.

Compared with players who simply spent money, this group was better suited to pioneering development in the Monster World's early stages.

He still had 130,000 Sacrificial Power on hand. Creating each monster body cost 1,000 Sacrificial Power, so he could recruit at most another 130 players.

Factoring in the cost of keeping Emperor Tomb Village's defensive barrier running, he could only offer a limited number of places for now.

[Kindergarten Junior Class Passionate Chat Group (Online: 38)]

Kindergarten Principal (group owner): (news link) Latest news! The Eclipse Race behind "Darklands" has issued another one million game purchase slots to our Human Federation!

Xiao Ban-Black Ball: I don't want to hear this. There's obviously no place for me among those million slots, and the price alone scares me off (sigh.jpg).

Junior Class-Iron Hammer: I read that news. Apparently, the Human Federation's higher-ups wanted to apply for more slots to conduct experiments in the virtual environment, but the Eclipse Race refused.

Junior Class-No Naps: Sigh, that's what happens when we can't develop a virtual reality game as realistic as "Darklands."

Xiao Ban-Drunken Milk: I have a proposal. Since everyone wants to play but can't experience the game because we're short on funds, I suggest we pool our money to buy a copy of Darklands for me. I'll experience the game on everyone's behalf, carrying your passion and longing as I have fun in "Darklands."

Junior Class-Cute Kid replying to Xiao Ban-Drunken Milk: I agree with pooling money, but why are you the one having fun instead of me (angrily slams table.jpg)?

Just as the members were lamenting the exorbitant price of "Darklands," a small line of text popped up at the bottom of the chat:

[Perks Officer has passed verification and joined the chat group.]

Kindergarten Principal (group owner): Who's this? I checked the verification details, but it doesn't show who approved the request?

Junior Class-No Naps: My blind guess is that the newcomer's a porn guy with a huge stash of dirty videos and pictures, hence the name Perks Officer... On behalf of the group, I extend you a warm welcome.

Xiao Ban-Black Ball: @Perks Officer, why aren't you saying anything? Start handing out your perks. I'm ready.

As the group members kept tagging him, Qi Sheng sent his first message since joining:

Perks Officer: I have something good that you all want. Give me a moment and I'll send it over.

Xiao Ban-Drunken Milk: We all know you do, but we hope it's free. This group doesn't welcome porn sellers, only guys handing out freebies.

Perks Officer: Do you want to play Darklands?

Kindergarten Principal (group owner): Buddy, are you about to tell us you can buy legitimate access for us at a discount (spits out drink laughing.jpg)?

Perks Officer: Since fate brought us together, here's a huge perk for everyone. I've posted a link to download a cracked version of "Darklands" in the group. Download it whenever you want to play (link: *****).

At the sight of the "Darklands" download link, the lively group instantly fell silent. Then the group owner was the first to break the silence.

Kindergarten Principal (group owner): @Perks Officer, get lost! Here's your ticket out. This scam is five hundred years out of date. Anyone who falls for it is a fucking idiot.

[Notice: Group member "Perks Officer" has been removed from the chat.]

Junior Class-Cute Kid: This guy was way too impatient. Nowhere near as good as the scammer who joined a year ago. I still clearly remember how that scammer hung out with us for three months and even occasionally sent out cash gifts. Then one day, he suddenly said he had an insider channel for discounted top-ups in "Blood Maniac." I believed him and got scammed out of 800.

Kindergarten Principal: Hahaha, I remember Drunken Milk got hit the hardest. Sent over 3,000 for discounted top-ups.

Xiao Ban-Drunken Milk: The world is a treacherous place. It still hurts to think about it. That experience destroyed my innocence... The more I think about it, the angrier I get. I'm going into that link right now to collect the contents and report it to the Federal Cyber Police. Everything online requires real-name verification. Hopefully they can track down the scammer and bring them to justice.