Countless philosophers have given their answers to the needs and meaning of human existence, which can be summarized into two types: spiritual and material.
Matter is the foundation, while spirit is a higher level, metaphysical thing.
Yang Jia strongly agrees with this.
If before today, all her efforts were just for survival, now, with the foundation gained through hard work, she can already dream of "living".
Not so impatient, not so hasty, not so hasty in swallowing things whole, but with a little leisure and room to savor and try, this is life.
While there will be challenges along the way, none of them can be solved overnight; they must be addressed step by step. As long as you have a good plan, slowing down a bit now is not a bad thing.
In Yang Jia’s own words, the current state is “just right”.
That night, Yang Jia slept soundly. In his dream, he seemed to be transported back to the time when he rented a house outside the school and lived alone. Thinking about it now, even wasting time so freely seemed like a rare pleasure.
Of course life must have meaning, but sometimes, those seemingly meaningless things are like punctuation marks in a paragraph. It may not matter if they don’t exist, but because of their existence, a paragraph becomes highlighted, rhythmic, and full of emotion, rather than being plain and read to the end in one breath.
When she woke up, Yang Jia even lingered in bed for a rare moment, sinking into a state of laziness. Deep down, perhaps she preferred this lazy lifestyle. She didn't know when she would be able to finish the things she needed to do and return to a normal life. But Yang Jia felt there was nothing wrong with working towards this goal.
It was not until someone knocked on the door and informed her that the competition between several major forces was about to begin that Yang Jia cheered up and went out.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw Li Bai.
The two exchanged a smile, then walked out side by side, their arms rubbing against each other until their hands were clasped. But neither of them looked as if nothing had happened. Li Bai whispered, "We achieved great results yesterday, but other forces were also busy."
Anyone with a little bit of common sense would understand what this competition was about. In such a situation, small forces had almost no place to stand, and there was no point in persisting. The best option was to take advantage of this opportunity to sell at a good price.
Only a few people, like Fang Pingyuan and his companions, united to fight against the larger forces. After all, they were NPCs, while the other city lords were players. The biggest difference between players and NPCs was that they didn't take the gains and losses of the game too seriously. Even if they lost, they could comfort themselves by saying, "It's just a game."
So when Yang Jia took over the surrounding cities, several other major forces also incorporated the scattered cities around them.
So far, the distribution of power in the entire Chinese region has been determined. From east to west, they are Yang Jia's Nirvana Guild, the Lei family's Thunder Guild, the Li family's Dawn Guild, the Bai family's Silver Guild, the Ma family's Calla Lily Guild, the Xuan family's Forget-Me-Not Guild, the NPC Alliance's Spark Guild, and the Sheng family's Prosperity Guild.
Of course, this is just a rough distribution. After all, the terrain of the entire Chinese region is very complex.
After listening to this, Yang Jia thought for a moment and said, "They moved so quickly. Some of them joined voluntarily, but there must be some who made the choice out of necessity, right? Do you think it's possible to win these people over to our side?"
"Do you want to recruit these people?" Li Bai asked.
Yang Jia nodded. "If we merge seven cities at once, our manpower will be quite tight."
Even after these cities were connected, the vast area would still require separate management. Yang Jia had too few people to control every city. This was the disadvantage of a sudden surge in power; if it couldn't be contained, internal chaos would arise.
"It's a good idea, but unlikely," Li Bai said. The six major factions all had very mature management systems; they could simply apply them. Their emphasis on talent and their efforts in recruiting talent were no less than those of the Nirvana Guild, but there were things they could offer that the Nirvana Guild couldn't.
If it were before, Yang Jia would have been upset about it, but now he just smiled and said, "Forget it then."
…
The venue for the competition is the same place where the last competition took place.
Speaking of which, among the people from the major forces who came over, there were also several who had challenged Li Bai in the ring before. Revisiting the old place, I don't know what I felt.
After a brief opening, the actual competition began. Yang Jia sat upright in the stands, carefully observing the battle below.
In reality, it was quite difficult for Yang Jia to discern clues from the competition. After all, each faction had its own unique background, which wouldn't be easily revealed. Of course, the participants in the competition couldn't be truly elite. Furthermore, single-player combat was different from battlefield combat, or even from group monster-killing. In gaming terms, it was the difference between PVP and PVE; the requirements were completely different.
But even so, we can still see the different styles of each force.
For example, the Grand Era Guild's battles are more flamboyant, emphasizing skill and technique. The Thunder Guild uses a bold, aggressive, and brute-force approach. The Dawn Guild uses a more reserved approach, observing the right moment for a decisive strike. Originally, Yang Jia's understanding of them existed only on paper and from other people's accounts, but now he has a better understanding.
But what Yang Jia cared about the most was the Calla Lily Guild. They actually brought tamed beasts into the war!
This was far beyond Yang Jia's expectations. While most games have pet systems, "Real" is so realistic. When facing wild beasts, players can clearly feel the danger of their lives being threatened. Few people would consider how to coexist with these animals.
Furthermore, this is a holographic game. Unlike keyboard-based online games, where you can "capture" a pet using items or skills, and once successfully captivated, it confers a base level of loyalty. Capturing pets here is a process that must be mastered by the player, with no system assistance. After capturing pets, you also have to figure out how to control them, tame them, and use them, all on your own, which undoubtedly increases the difficulty.
Seeing them, Yang Jia began to understand what Zhuo Tianyang meant by the different development directions of the players. This point was actually also reflected in other guilds, but it was not as obvious, perhaps because they did not show it.
Seeing Yang Jia's face full of amazement, Li Bai explained in a low voice, "Eighty percent of the pet trade in the Chinese region is controlled by the Ma family, both Earth and alien species."
"Can alien species enter the Earth?" Yang Jia was surprised.
She had heard Li Bai say before that the ecosystems on alien planets were radically different from Earth's, and that humanity needed to intervene in these systems and achieve a new balance before they could explore new planets without worry. But in reality, this very first step had already hindered humanity, and to this day, no effective solution existed. Even many talented explorers had contracted terminal illnesses due to their inability to resist alien bacteria and viruses. To prevent bringing viruses back to Earth and causing uncontrollable consequences, they were unable to return even after death, remaining trapped in space forever.
So when Yang Jia heard that there were pets of alien species, he naturally found it difficult to understand.
Li Bai frowned slightly, "Of course it is an improved variety that can adapt to the earth and will not have any hidden dangers. But..." But these are all excuses made by merchants. As to whether this is the truth, who can tell?
It's just that each of the major families is conducting less than blatant research, just like the Li family also discovered Li Bai. They all know each other well, and as long as there is no problem, no one will pry into the secrets of other families, maintaining a natural tacit understanding.
Of course, the various drawbacks of reality are long-standing and won't be solved overnight. So the two quickly turned their attention back to the game. The game world isn't an alien planet; the beasts here, if properly tamed, pose no real threat. If deployed in a war, they could be a formidable force.
Unfortunately, the other families did not seem to be affected by this and also played their own cards, so in the end the Ma family undoubtedly took the first place.
But it's understandable if you think about it. The Ma family's domestication of wild beasts is difficult to conceal, and a little investigation would reveal it, so there's no need to hide it. Furthermore, they probably don't want to hide it. Such powerful combat power, if other forces want to purchase it, can also form a trade, which will only benefit them.
Ranked second is the Thunder Guild.
The Li family, as the first family, only ranked third. However, it was understandable that Li Bai was not in their team.
What concerned Yang Jia was that Li Ze, the Li family's chief in charge of the Dawn Guild's affairs, hadn't personally led the team, instead assigning the matter to the two vice presidents. It seemed as if he was trying to avoid Li Bai. It was a show of force, but in Yang Jia's opinion, it definitely had ulterior motives.
The following rankings are Silver Guild, Prosperous Era Guild, and Forget-Me-Not Guild.
The Spark Guild was indeed ranked last, but due to its unique nature, it still attracted the attention of all factions. Yang Jia suspected that their return would be difficult, facing various tests and attempts from various factions. This pressure would not subside until they were certain they were worthy of a place in this gaming world.
Yang Jia produced lists based on rankings and finalized the final cooperation plan. Each guild would then deliver supplies, and Nirvana would help them build their own interactive systems. Of course, each system would need to be connected to the main game system through Nirvana.
After this cooperation was reached, the major forces were not in a hurry to leave. After all, their real goal was to find a way to connect the cities.
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