I've Become the King of Villains in the Game

This was a matter of great significance to the entire "Hall of Valor" as well.

It wasn't just about making a name and showing off their banner when the public beta began, but it also gave the guild direct possession of a genuine transcendent military force.

Moreover, as one of the Three Major Guilds, the "Hall of Valor" had the backing of a super consortium. They could even mobilize real-world power by increasing financial investment into the game to acquire currency from other players, all for the service of the guild.

The Horseman specifically asked Floey about the issue of "Circus Contribution Points."

The answer he received was that it could be exchanged for valuables, but at a considerable cost.

One Gold Pound in exchange for one point of contribution.

Polaris and Su Keying were inwardly taken aback, that was just too expensive.

They had previously inquired about the guild's ratio for collecting gold, where one point in the real world could be exchanged for one Copper Kro in the game. That one Gold Pound was almost equivalent to ten thousand in the real world.

The cheapest of the Mysterious Objects in the merchandise catalog were priced at sixty Gold Pounds, which amounted to six hundred thousand. Let alone the Supernatural Knowledge which were priced at several hundred Gold Pounds and required an equivalent contribution.

So by that calculation, a piece of Sequence Nine Supernatural Knowledge would cost tens or even hundreds of millions?!

That was frighteningly expensive!

Even with the super consortium backing the "Hall of Valor," would they really pay such a price for a Transcendent?

If one were to ask Chen Lun this question, he would definitely provide an affirmative answer.

Because the reason for setting such a high price was to bait the consortiums.

In the early days of the server, whoever became a Transcendent first would gain an initial advantage. Hundreds of millions were nothing to a super consortium.

The price of Sequence Nine Supernatural Knowledge would surely drop over time and with updates to the game. But at this critical moment of the game's public test, no matter how expensive, it was justified.

Because it was priceless.

Ninety-nine percent of the players were still at the exploratory stage. If there was a clearly-priced Supernatural Knowledge available, the super consortiums would only complain there was too little, not that it was too expensive.

But for Polaris and Su Keying, the difficulty was too great. They were solo players, without the backing of a large guild, and they simply couldn't afford the Supernatural Knowledge laid out before them.

"— During the beta, we earned some contribution points by doing quests. We're nearly there... Let's grind some more daily missions over the next few days, gather as much as we can, and we can try selling any extra to the Horseman or Doghead Gold's backing guilds."

Polaris sent a message to Su Keying.

"— Understood."

*

*

*

Whoosh!

A dark shadow streaked across the sky.

Chen Lun spread his black wings and flew past, heading in a certain direction.

'Almost there... Flying is indeed faster.'

The Silver Staff spun in a circle, pointing in a direction, and then he stowed it away.

From Amber City to Emerald Town, it would take six or seven days by horse-drawn carriage, three or four days by train, but by flying, it only took about half a day.

However, Chen Lun was exhausted enough, having landed several times along the way to rest, each time gulping down a bottle of Thirst-quencher, otherwise, he really didn't have the Physical Strength to maintain flight.

Actually, Spirit World Shuttle would have been faster, but Chen Lun did not know the current earthly coordinates of Emerald Town, and with his current strength, Spirit World Shuttle was still too risky.

For safety's sake, he chose to fly steadfastly on his own... wings there.

During the flight over the wilderness, he passed by several villages. From a bird's-eye view, the land below was bleak, sparsely populated, with only the occasional sight of bonfires and plumes of smoke.
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Sometimes he could see sparse military troops trekking long distances, seemingly on their way somewhere for a suppression operation.

'The public test has begun, let's first make contact with the player community to see what's happening...'

Chen Lun pressed down on his flat cap, his eyelids drooping as he thought.

'I have three goals in the short term, one is to use the preparation of this period to develop myself using the player resources.

The second is to water the 'elite' I've chosen, to speed up their growth, help me sabotage the Red Apple Church's plans, and strike at their lurking live forces before the main storyline opens.

The third is to prepare for the arrival of the 'Mutual Aid Society'... yes, this could be a very important boost.'

As Chen Lun pondered, he realized he had arrived outside Emerald Town.

The familiar contours of the town appeared before him.

But it was clearly eroded by the pandemic, with military troops stationed outside the town, with soldiers covering their faces with cloth strips, guarding the bridges and The Great Gate with utmost vigilance.

Some odd charred items, emitting green smoke, were stacked together.

Next to them were white bedsheets.

Laid out neatly in a row as if waiting to be burned.

Many individuals whose expressions were starkly out of place in the environment caught Chen Lun's attention. They were laughing and joking, their eyes filled with curiosity and excitement, looking around the environment, heading towards the town's Great Gate.

"They're plague madmen! Kill them!"

A soldier shouted in alarm upon seeing the players arrive.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!

The soldiers defending the town drew their bows and shot arrows at the approaching players.

As the bowstrings trembled, the players showed shocked faces, each falling outside the town and dissipating into white light.

"..."

Chen Lun showed an expression of speechlessness.

Why were the players of this generation so foolish?

The farm in the outskirts must have been overrun by the plague by now, desolate, and even if they hadn't encountered any infected people, they should know that looking happy and carefree could easily be mistaken for having contracted the disease.

Chen Lun flew over the heads of the multitude of guards on the wall, crossing the town's enclosure, and headed straight inside.

He then landed in an inconspicuous corner, stepping onto the not-so-clean cobblestone road, returning to Emerald Town.

Inside the town, at a junction, he saw many armed "refugees" gathering, apparently preparing for some significant action.

Someone shouted,

"Anyone forming a team to farm monsters, count me in!"