He still managed to notice.
Chen Qing gave the other party a serious look. Judging from his impression, this guy should be a powerful figure. People who can become powerful figures in the sphere of influence in Central China are usually not simple. But he still didn't expect the other party to react to this problem so quickly.
Indeed, the Underworld can intercept those Reincarnator!
If this information were leaked, Chen Qing felt that he might become the first target of all guilds, especially those wandering players.
The reason is simple: because reincarnation is difficult to control, Reincarnator are not completely controlled. But if reincarnation were controlled, it would be a completely different story. The state of all Reincarnator being controlled is probably something that any official organization or guild would want.
"Is it inconvenient for Mr. Chen Qing to answer?" Zhang Zhengyuan asked with a smile.
Looking at the old man, Chen Qing felt a slight sense of apprehension, but still smiled and replied, "There's nothing inconvenient about it; it's true."
Lu Ming's wife is one of the Reincarnator, and she is still being suppressed in the Underworld of Liuzhou!
"That makes things easier," the other party laughed. "Your data has been fully submitted to the Federation Parliament. All five districts are aware of your existence, and it's because of your value that the five districts are considering increasing their investment in this game project again."
"Those Westerners aren't so easily fooled. They won't act until they see results. The best way to get them to put in real money is through on-site inspections, which will also shut up those who accuse us in Central China of running fake projects."
"Oh?" Chen Qing laughed. "You mean, among this group of five hundred people, there are foreigners?"
"Only in this way can we continue the project's development." Zhang Zhengyuan laughed, "The world you designed has too vast a scope. After it becomes intelligent, the energy required is almost more than the total energy required by all other virtual worlds combined. My Central China Region has been the Federation's number one in energy output for many years, but why are we still struggling financially? Your project is the biggest reason."
"More and more young lawmakers are now protesting the project's spending, and I'm getting old. If we older generations are gone, the project is very likely to be shut down."
"What will happen if it's shut down?" Chen Qing asked curiously.
"I don't know," Zhang Zhengyuan shook his head. "Electricity is the key to sustaining digital life, but no one knows whether digital life will disappear after the shutdown. However, your world will definitely stop. As for whether you'll still exist after the restart, that's not very clear. I think you probably don't want to take that risk, right?"
"That's interesting. Are you threatening me?"
"This isn't a threat, but rather an explanation of the situation." Zhang Zhengyuan looked at Chen Qing seriously. "This is the truth, I'm not exaggerating. Once you come into contact with the Federation, you'll understand this too. The capacity of each region is becoming increasingly strained; the population is growing, but resources are dwindling. Developing new virtual zones is the only solution. The world you designed is very tempting to us, but if there were no hope, the Federation certainly wouldn't expend so much energy to maintain you, would it?"
Chen Qing paused for a moment upon hearing this, then looked up and asked, "What do you want me to do?"
"Of the five hundred people, we plan to give three hundred to outsiders. As for the remaining three hundred, I hope you can make arrangements regarding their families and potential within the cycle of reincarnation, and try to suppress them as much as possible."
"Okay," Chen Qing nodded.
Zhang Zhengyuan smiled. He liked people like this who were reasonable and readily agreed to anything that suited their interests, unlike some politicians who were hesitant and indecisive.
What can you offer?
"Our external influence over internal affairs is limited. Our only role is to activate certain regions through external power. We can provide you with the latest intelligence on which regions are currently undeveloped. If you require development, we will do our utmost to assist you."
"Oh?" Chen Qing stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and instantly understood the principle. He was also a programmer by training. Although he couldn't comprehend the exaggerated engineering of digital life, he could still make some theoretical deductions. The world he was in was too vast. To run it all, the energy required would be enormous. The current version was still in the Second Tier, which had already forced the Central China Region to cooperate with other regions of the Federation. This meant that due to energy constraints, there were still many undeveloped areas in the game world.
If that's the case, there's a lot of room for maneuver. After all, if all game versions have been thoroughly explored by early players, it's very difficult to turn the tide, even with things like the Divine Path Style.
But if there are still many undeveloped areas, then the situation is different.
"Alright!" Chen Qing finally nodded. "You can arrange for those five hundred people to come in at any time, and I can also classify and plan them according to your wishes at any time. If you want your people to receive special treatment, I can arrange that too."
"As expected of a reasonable person." Zhang Zhengyuan smiled immediately, "Then let's move on to the second question."
"Please speak," Chen Qing said, her tone becoming more polite.
The other party certainly had the capability to negotiate with him; after all, cutting off the power was a rather drastic measure.
"We need a ruler of the Underworld like you!"
Chen Qing: "."
--
"A civil official advancing to the Underworld?"
At Chen Qing's behest, the news quickly reached the Shen Family family members.
Upon hearing this, Shen Shiyi was the first to jump up. He had always assumed that the future ruler of the Underworld would be from the Shen Family; he had even found suitable positions for Shen Shi'er and Shen Shisan. And now they were telling him they were going to implement a civil service promotion system? Was this a case of discarding someone after they'd served their purpose?
After making a few noises, Shen Laosan and Shen Lao'er each hit him on the head, and he squatted on the ground, not daring to say a word.
Shen Lao'er didn't even bother to glance at his foolish younger brother and continued chatting with Tian Heng about the current policy.
"You haven't received any prior warning?" Tian Heng asked tentatively.
"No," Shen Laosan glanced at Tian Heng with a half-smile. He had always felt that Tian Heng seemed somewhat unwilling, even somewhat dishonest, and now it seemed that this was indeed the case. This so-called most conservative Duke was actually very ambitious.
"But I think this policy is acceptable." Shen Laosan said, "My Shen Family's base is in Jiangnan. We fully supported our lord back then, and in return, he entrusted the Underworld of Jiangnan to us. Now that we've crossed over from Jiangnan, it would be unreasonable to try to expand further."
" Jiangnan?" Tian Heng nodded. "But according to the Lord, the Lord of the Underworld changes every ten years, which doesn't mean that the Jiangnan Underworld will still Shen Family in the future."
"I do know about the ten-year rotation system," Shen Lao'er suddenly said.
Upon hearing this, not only was Tian Heng stunned, but everyone in the Shen Family also looked over in surprise.
"Oh," seeing the looks in his younger brothers' eyes, Second Master Shen nodded and said, "I haven't told you."
"Why didn't Second Brother tell us about something so important?" Shen Shiyi jumped up in anger again.
"Because it's not really necessary," Second Master Shen said calmly. "The Lord of the Underworld accumulates Power of Merit and Virtue quickly, but he's too busy to cultivate. Ten years as the Lord of the Underworld is enough to accumulate a vast amount of Power of Merit and Virtue for himself. After further cultivation, he becomes an important senior ghost god in the Underworld, with a lifespan of over ten thousand years. Moreover, he can leave the Underworld and explore more ancient times with the Lord. What's wrong with that?"
"Forehead"
"Do you all want to be City God for the rest of your lives?" Second Master Shen looked at the crowd with amusement. "Haven't you felt that you don't have enough time to cultivate after being in this position for so long? Haven't you ever thought that if you continue in this position, you won't even have the chance to cultivate anymore, and you'll just be gone?"
"Forehead"
Only then did everyone realize that, indeed, other gods, such as the Battle God and the God of the West Sea, were also busy, but they were far less busy than the Lord of the Underworld. The cycle of reincarnation in the Underworld was extremely important, especially the judgment of evildoers and the decree on the reincarnation of those with profound virtue. Only after the Lord of the Underworld made a personal judgment could the reincarnation or suppression take place.
With the population increasing, such a workload was simply overwhelming. In contrast, the Battle God Xu Hu had ample time to digest his own Power of Faith.
Over time, the gap will likely widen further.
"But if that happens, won't the Underworld have nothing to do with my Shen Family anymore?" Shen Shiyi was still unwilling.
"Such an important position, do you really think it can be controlled by one family or one clan forever?" Second Master Shen looked at the other person with amusement. "What are you thinking?"
Even the most benevolent emperor wouldn't allow such a thing to happen, let alone that cunning Chen Qing.
"However, the Shen Family still holds a significant advantage in Jiangnan." Master Shen San seemed to accept this statement quickly, saying, "Civil officials are now recruited from academies, and the Shen Family has many descendants with the talent of sorcerers. In the past three years, more and more descendants have adapted to Neo-Confucianism. Our family's foundation is still there. If we want to develop in the Underworld in the future, the Shen Family family has a great chance."
"This..." Shen Shiyi still seemed somewhat unwilling, but thinking about it, it made sense. When it came to studying, the Shen Family's children were never afraid of anyone, not to mention their profound knowledge of techniques. How many families in Jiangnan could rival the Shen Family? If they were to be fully trained, it wouldn't be a problem for the Shen Family Underworld monopolize the Jiangnan Underworld, let alone control half of it. With this in mind, Shen Shiyi's unwilling mood improved a lot.
Tian Heng frowned deeply. His Tian Household had little foundation in magical arts, and because he himself pursued a military career, only a few in the family were willing to study. Even in the past three years, the Tian Household members in Jiangnan preferred the West Sea Army or the Fighter Army. It seemed difficult to cultivate any sorcerers to compete for the Underworld.
It seems the Tian Household really has nothing to do with this anymore.
Whether it was spread intentionally or not, this news spread throughout Jiangnan in just two days, causing a huge sensation!