Chapter 143-2: Seventy Thousand Newbies, Noobs Pecking Each Other (2) |
Three days later.
The Challenger Notification sounded in the minds of all players.
[Challenger Notification (All Channels): Version Update for the game. This update opens a new exploration map: Rimewinter Snowfield.]
(Scene video)
Rimewinter Snowfield:
Scene introduction: At the extreme north, far from the dust of the world, an isolated new exploration scene where ice and snow are the world’s sovereigns, and cold and silence are the eternal stage.
The opening of the new exploration scene sparked heated discussion among players on the forum.
Old Daoist Qingyangzi: Wow, judging from the new background image, I like this scene. Heavy snow, polar lights over the snowfield, a brilliant starry sky. More importantly, it is another scene without Coward Butterfly. Exploration-party players are ecstatic.
Debts Have Their Debtors: Not going. Apart from the Azure Star Sea Region campaign and the Defend the Homeland campaign, I only went to the Colorful Mist Coast once. My favorite is still the dark-style Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range. I really like the gloomy and decayed environment. I will fight the Swarm and the Black Tide for another ten years. I have only one wish in this life, to take down the two bullies of the starter village.
Loves Milk Tea: Control inherited soul players are ecstatic. There are new Monsters to capture again. All my good brothers jump into the pot, out with the old and in with the new.
Captain Slacking Arrives: After watching the scene video, the Monster strength in the analytic info is all very low, and the Monster density is not high either. Going over to do a snowy field cookout, pitch a tent and make some noise is fine. Developing is out. My evaluation is that it is not as good as the Emperor’s Mound Mountain Range and the Colorful Mist Coast.
Greatsword Chop Chop Chop: Anyone want to team up to watch the snow and the aurora? Everyone bring one kind of spiritual ingredient. I will bring pots and pans. Let us go make some noise together.
The opening of the new scene attracted a large number of players to head over through the teleportation array.
Qi Sheng set the cost of each teleport to 5 points of sacrificial power.
The investment in the new scene also meant that recruitment of new players could begin.
—
Earth, Skyfeather City.
The city was composed of multiple islands floating in the sky, linked together.
The main bodies of the islands were pieced together from several enormous floating rocks. The sub-islands were arranged in a staggered yet orderly layout. The main island and the sub-islands were connected by ingenious bridges and suspended walkways, forming a sky traffic network that was intricate yet well organized.
The islands were also planted with lush vegetation, and all kinds of Earth plants could be found here.
At the very center of the main island stood a magnificent floating palace. It was the symbol of Skyfeather City and the spiritual faith of the Skyfeather people. Inlaid at the top of the palace was a blue energy orb brought from a small world. Whenever night fell, the orb emitted a soft and warm light that illuminated the entire island, like a pearl set in the firmament.
This was also the energy core that supported the floating state of the islands.
Below the islands was a boundless sea of clouds. Standing at the edge of an island and looking down, one could see the clouds surging.
When the clouds and mist dispersed, the roiling ocean could be seen.
Although the islands had never encroached upon Human territory, their flight trajectories were restricted. The Human Federation required that they be forbidden to fly over any Human city and block the sun.
So they were always moving above the ocean.
The main residents of the city were members of the Skyfeather race, a group with considerable influence within the Earth Alliance.
Their bodily structure was similar to that of Humans, with the difference that a splendid and powerful pair of wings grew from their backs.
The feathers of their wings came in three colors, gray, white, and silver, corresponding respectively to the childhood, youth, and adulthood of the Skyfeather people.
The average lifespan of members of the Skyfeather race approached 250 years, making them one of the longer-lived racial powers within the Earth Alliance.
In terms of appearance, the Skyfeather people perfectly fit Human aesthetics.
Their facial contours were generally rather delicate. Their foreheads were broad and slightly raised. Their brow bones were clear. Their eyebrows were white, distinct, and slightly upturned. The spacing between the brows was moderate, giving an impression of heroic spirit.
At this moment, on a sub-island of Skyfeather City, inside a residential building of over one hundred square meters.
Beep!
The green light on the game pod lit up. Nutrient solution drained out through the ports, and the pod cover rose.
Yu Ling bent forward and stood up.
After the soft tubes connected to his skin automatically detached and retracted, he stepped out of the game pod, took off the game suit he was wearing, and changed into the clothes laid out to the side.
Due to the wings, the clothing was designed to be relatively loose, especially with an open design at the back and shoulders to ensure the wings could spread and flap freely.
After a week straight of grinding battles and selling all his in-game materials and equipment, Yu Ling decided to have a proper meal.
He came to the sofa and sat down, raised his right arm, and a touch-enabled intelligent light-screen popped up from his watch.
Opening the takeout app, he began to place an order.
Skyfeather City’s takeout system was no different from that of the Human Federation. Orders were received and prepared by chef robots, then delivered with precision by flying robots.
In the past the Skyfeather race also had professions like chef, but after integrating into the Earth Alliance, technology iterated and updated rapidly, and a large number of formerly existing professions have already been replaced by robots.
And for this group of new-generation Skyfeather people born on Earth, they basically do not have suitable job positions.
If one asks what their meaning of existence is, a major factor is creating purchasing power and providing the driving force for economic circulation.
This was, in Yu Ling’s eyes, a society nearly solidified by class.
The only thing that allowed ordinary people to enjoy the dividends of the era was the Starnet society built by the Lunar Eclipse race, especially the virtual game world.
This was also the main source of income for the vast majority of ordinary Skyfeather people.
But compared to the smaller races in the Earth Alliance, the Skyfeather race provided technology through cooperation and collected patent fees, bringing in considerable foreign exchange income every year. The level of resident welfare was also relatively high, and they did not need to worry about survival problems.
After placing the takeout order, Yu Ling came to the computer desk in the living room and sat down.
After waking the screen, he glanced at the time in the lower right corner.
Tonight the first round of qualification issuance for Dark Land was about to begin.
The Skyfeather race had one hundred thousand qualification slots.
There were 2 hours and 56 minutes left until the time of slot issuance.
Opening the group chat software, a large number of players were discussing the topic of qualification issuance in the group.
Most were flaming the Lunar Eclipse race’s hunger marketing strategy. Only one hundred thousand were being issued in the first round, which for the Skyfeather race with a population of over seven million was undoubtedly a drop in the bucket and could not possibly meet demand.
Yu Ling also detested this deeply, joining the group chat to harshly criticize the Lunar Eclipse race.
If there were class divisions among the races of the Earth Alliance, then the Lunar Eclipse race would undoubtedly be the race standing at the very top.
Education from childhood could not avoid the Lunar Eclipse race.
Smart city systems, Starnet network, node AI cores… the Lunar Eclipse race was a guide that led the Skyfeather race toward modernization, opening a path of technological growth for them.
Like other members of the Skyfeather race, Yu Ling’s feelings toward the Lunar Eclipse race were also extremely complicated.
On one hand, the Lunar Eclipse race helped the Skyfeather race take root on Earth and provided a large amount of technical and resource support. They could be called benefactors of the Skyfeather race.
On the other hand, he felt his confidence frustrated.