Chapter 46: The War Is Coming

historical

Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio

At Liuli District.

On the Skeletal Throne, Cha Na looked at the mountains in the north with a gloomy expression as he slowly clenched his fists.

Never had he foreseen that Du Yan would betray him, but he was more upset by the fact that Du Yan had stolen all his Yin souls.

He was in a tight spot right now.

First of all, he had promised to offer 100,000 Yin souls to the Sea King as sacrifice. Besides, his ability was supposed to surpass the realm of the Ghost King and this batch of Yin souls was one of the keys to his breakthrough.

However, he had lost all of them now.

He recalled the news from his envoy, saying that Du Yan had sought refuge from the Rock Ghost King by offering all his Yin souls. Cha Na’s eyes turned fiery.

Both the Sea King and the Rock Ghost King were more powerful than him. The breakthrough that he was initially confident about had been hindered, and Cha Na was completely lost.

“Lord Cha Na, since it is unsafe for Liuli District to be in the middle, why don’t we move our base camp and seek shelter at the Mansion of the Dead? We can then deliberate over the issue after you break through the realm of the Ghost King.”

Cha Na was astounded by the proposal. After some contemplation, he reckoned that the idea was feasible.

Although, the Mansion of the Dead was not rich in resources like Liuli District, it was a place far from the Underworld Sea. He believed that the Sea King would not travel from Liuli District to the Mansion of the Dead to retrieve the 200,000 Yin souls from him.

The next second, Cha Na unexpectedly put on a frown, “What about the Pool of Yin Souls in Liuli District? We can’t just desert it like that!”

The Pool of Yin souls was the Yin souls’ birthplace which had been always under Du Yan’s care before this. The Yin souls that were produced internally every year were essential for Cha Na’s cultivation. Therefore, he was reluctant to abandon it.

Upon listening to that, the soulbringer heaved a sigh, “Lord Cha Na, we don’t have time to think about that now. You can only gain a voice in the Land of Beiqi after you surpass the realm of the Ghost King. Otherwise, we’ll face a terrible consequence when the Sea King comes after us to request the promised Yin souls!”

The soulbringer’s words awakened Cha Na. At last, he grit his teeth and said, “Pass down my command. Pack as many supplies as possible and we’ll leave for the Mansion of the Dead in ten days!”

....

The next day after the introduction of Sun Chasing Archer, the hidden character class, many NPCs appeared around the Mansion of the Dead.

These additional NPCs were created by Lu Wu to enrich the gameplay.

Among them, the most popular ones were the chubby chef of the dark cuisine and the old man with a goatee who taught players to brew potions out of various herbs.

The debut of the chubby chef was especially well-liked among the players as they were now able to experience tastes in the underworld like never before.

Although some players were poisoned to death by the dark cuisine after they tried to cook it with poisonous ingredients from the underworld, it was not a big deal to the gluttons.

Some players with unique palates even brought corpses of wolves and elephants to the chef. The presence of the chef was undeniably the biggest welfare for the foodies in the game.

Owing to the advent of the chubby chef, the players also gained a new hobby to search for edible ingredients, regardless of whether they were poisonous or not. Before the 12-hour game ended, they would make food with the ingredients and gobble it down.

As the game was extremely lifelike, eating in the underworld was very realistic, absolutely intriguing the players.

Players who had shrewd business acumen immediately started many cooking live streaming channels.

A foodaholic player in the forum even wrote a book called “The Record of Dark Cuisine” after he experienced innumerable deaths by tasting a plethora of poisonous menus.

It described the ingredients that could be found in the area near the Mansion of the Dead. Besides, it taught its readers ways to match the ingredients for the chubby chef to prepare delicious dishes.

The most popular NPC was none other than Lu Mo, the leader of the newbie village.

Lu Mo was the first NPC every player would meet. He would brief the players about the thrilling and fascinating underworld that was awaiting to be explored.

In short, Lu Mo simplified the underworld and made it accessible to new players.

Moreover, Lu Mo was set to carry an amicable persona. He would often engage in heartfelt conversations with the players and listen to their concerns and worries. For the players, he was perceived as a friend rather than a virtual existence. Hence, Lu Mo was undeniably the most popular NPC in the game.

....

On this day, Lu Wu received a call from Wu Guoyi, telling him that the selection, that had been going on for a month, had finally ended.

Just like what the players predicted, Battle Online, among all the other games, had earned the most number of votes.

The dark horse had surprised many people this time. However, after the public experienced the game, their astonishment turned into awe and praise.

Even Li Tianxia was unreservedly captivated after he tested the game. Subsequently, he became the vice chairman of the Avengers, one of the major forces in the game.

After the result of the selection was announced, Wu Guoyi discussed with Lu Wu over the phone, hoping that Lu Wu could start to work on the theme song of the game. According to Wu Guoyi, Lu Wu was welcomed to ask for Wu Guoyi’s help if he encountered any problems.

Consequently, Lu Wu began to deliberate over the theme song.

However, he was distressed, undecided over the singer and the production of the song.

He reached out to Bei Li expectantly, hoping that she would lend a helping hand.

However, Bei Li responded with a scoff, looking at him as though he was a fool.

“I only know how to do research. I don’t know how to sing and compose a song!”

Lu Wu, who was left with no other options, passed the problem back to Wu Guoyi.

Wu Guoyi did not mind at all and accepted the challenge immediately. In the meantime, he offered to introduce a few celebrities for auditions. As for the theme song of the game, he planned to hire a professional composers to produce it.

However, he would certainly not let Wu Guoyi bear the cost.

Now that the game was on the right track, there would be many ways to earn money. Lu Wu intended to create more outfits for the characters in the game.

The different outfits would not enhance the player’s abilities. Although they could only beautify the players’ appearances, he reckoned that there would be many players who would willingly spend money to upgrade their look. This was also the only thing that the players could buy with their credits in the game.

As the popularity of Battle Online expanded on Platform173, the people who were in charge of the other gaming platforms grew more perturbed.

With strenuous effort, they blended into the employees of Platform173 and successfully obtained Lu Wu’s contact information.

On a daily basis, Lu Wuyi received dozens of phone calls from other gaming platforms, hoping to invite him to join in cooperative advertising. They were very keen to list Battle Online on their platform.

Lu Wu declined the offers without hesitation.

Of course, Lu Wu did not reject them thoroughly. After all, he had an agreement with Wu Guoyi that Platform173 would provide a two-month exclusive advertisement for Battle Online.

Wu Guoyi had done great help to him and Lu Wu could not break his promise.

Two months later, Battle Online would have to build its own brand.