To ascend, I had no choice but to create games-Chapter 871 - 479 Intense Registration
Twenty-four hours remained until the 210th Mahjong Saint competition was to commence.
When the countdown to the competition reached the twenty-four-hour mark, a multitude of fireworks began to burst forth, their vibrant pyrotechnics converging in the sky to form a dazzling array of colors.
Witnessing this spectacle, the Mayor of Metropolis was extremely anxious.
The Mahjong Saint competition had not been held for a very long time. During the era when the Demon Lords ran rampant, this event was strictly forbidden because the Demon Lords did not allow any form of entertainment.
They were the batteries for the Demon Lords, tools for the acquisition of emotions. Any activity that could bring joy was not permitted, and competitive events like this were even less so.
That protracted epoch lasted for several centuries, so long that they even came to think of suffering as the normal state of the world, so extensive that they had all but forgotten what joy felt like.
Just when he thought this situation would persist, the Great Heavenly Lord arrived.
The Demon Lords were effortlessly vanquished, and the world’s order was restored to its original state. The long-missed Mahjong Saint competition was finally going to be held again, and the responsibility for this event had fallen upon him.
This competition was sacred. During the process, the players were to uphold absolute fairness, allowing no underhanded maneuvers.
However, before the competition, it didn’t matter much.
This was a hidden rule, also one that all participants were aware of, a subtle norm. Still, when the Great Heavenly Lord learned of this, his expression became quite interesting, as if he was asking the Mayor how such an absurd regulation could exist.
Noticing the Great Heavenly Lord was not particularly pleased, the Mayor looked at him standing by the window and cautiously asked, "Great Heavenly Lord, are you still pondering that rule?"
"Indeed," Fang Cheng nodded.
"I’ve already dispatched people to protect those individuals. If it still concerns you, I could send even more manpower to ensure their safety. How does that sound?"
"That’s not really the issue. What I’m worried about are other matters."
The situation in Dustfire was relatively stable. Most players were playing mahjong and looking forward to the commencement of the Mahjong Saint competition.
Most players knew they had no direct involvement with the competition, but that didn’t stop them from becoming part of the atmosphere and cheering for their favorite players.
He was also aware of the discussions on the forums and the strategic plays of various parties, but these were merely turbulent currents within the development of "Megalopolis," bound to emerge over the course of the game’s evolution.
Mr. Shen also conveyed to him that the regulatory body had high hopes for "Megalopolis," asserting that the frenzy of others was just the death throes of those who subsisted on the gray market. He was told not to mind such things and to proceed as he had intended.
Fang Cheng didn’t care about these affairs in the slightest.
After all, Dustfire was the flame of the most pure desires in the players’ hearts, the true embodiment of thoughts they harbored while playing the game.
Through Dustfire, Fang Cheng understood what most players desired. The chaos on the forums did not sway his foundation. He just needed to wait for the first competition to conclude and then all would be well.
What concerned him, however, were his enemies— the Xiemen Waidao.
Several such foes had formed an alliance, and the contagion of Xiemen Waidao could spread, making one man after another an adversary.
This spontaneous proliferation was particularly troubling, potentially turning every player into a potential Xiemen Waidao.
Yet in some obscure way, he did not wish to interfere with this process. He sensed that somehow, this self-replicating contagion of enemies was related to his own path of enlightenment, an incredulous notion to him.
The very reasons for his continual failures held the chance for his enlightenment— the profound mysteries of the world were such that Fang Cheng found there were still aspects of the world he had yet to fathom.
Gazing into the distance, his focus settled on Xiemen Waidao and Liuzi.
Keeping an eye on these individuals, he actually began to look forward to what they might do.
In the sewers, four individuals were huddled together, analyzing the rogue artifact left by Monkey.
After their research was complete, they felt that the thing was essentially a game bug.
It could force a duel, kill the loser outright, forcibly seize their flesh and blood, forcibly...
The existence of this artifact did not fit into the game’s environment; it seemed from its inception it was designed for slaughter.
"It could just stab someone directly, yet it chooses to play mahjong—this is seriously, so absurd," lamented Xiemen Waidao, pretending to wipe away tears that weren’t there.
"Such a terrifying thing should probably be destroyed," commented Hakurei Silver Dream with disgust. "Are the game planners sick in the head to add such a bizarre item here?"
"Don’t you know? It’s said that the game planners made this while drunk, so it’s normal for there to be some odd things," Liuzi added. "I heard that if you glitch into a small river in a certain way, you’d find a mystical space that repeatedly shows the maze screensaver from Windows 95, kind of like a back room."
"What’s Windows 95? And what’s a maze screensaver?" asked Hakurei Silver Dream with a puzzled look.
"...I’m feeling the generation gap. Am I really that old?" Liuzi sighed. "But back to the point, what should we do with this artifact? It’s useful against NPCs since it can take them out directly, but it’s somewhat useless against players."
Wu Wei touched the White Bone Mahjong Table, nodding and saying, "Indeed, this thing can’t be brought into the competition venue. After all, apart from their own skill cards, players can’t bring anything else to the competition."
