It could be said that as players grew stronger, starting from the first player to reach level 30, there was a trend of exponential growth thereafter.
At present, the number of level 30 players in one major server region.
There are at least 10 people.
Across servers 1-9999, that amounts to one hundred thousand people.
More and more people came to know that reaching level 30 allowed one to enhance their abilities in the real world.
But they all kept their mouths shut.
Why?
Because of the gold price!
Suppose nobody talked about it, and the gold price remained at the current rate of 1 gold coin: 1 million Huaxia Coins. Then these early adopters would keep pouring real-world money into the game.
Some sold their houses, some even took out loans or borrowed from loan sharks.
Franticly purchasing gold coins in the game.
But when the number of people reaching level 30 grows, secrets are bound to leak. Especially since the rate at which level 30 players were appearing was too fast.
From the first player to reach level 30, Lu Xing, to the current 100,000 level 30 players worldwide, it only took three short days.
The authorities used big data to continuously extrapolate, and eventually came to the conclusion that it could no longer be concealed.
Better to guide than to block!
So they decided to announce it ahead of schedule.
Let all players across the nation dive fully into the game.
Of course, they also had to limit the destructive potential of level 30 players in society and prevent criminal behavior.
So after the declaration from Huaxia Nation was released.
Each region had its own plans as well.
In Linjiang City, starting from the early hours, officials were broadcasting an interview across various websites and push notifications.
The first batch of star-level players had officially appeared.
Apart from Lu Xing, who had yet to be discovered in Linjiang City, the publicly recognized number one was the Lich King of Zone 009: Laoji Fuli.
"Hello everyone, this is Linjiang City Television. Today, we are interviewing a lieutenant general of Huaxia Nation, Mr. Ji Weimin!
Mr. Ji Weimin was born in the 1930s, now 92 years old. He enlisted at the age of 12, and lived through the founding war and numerous major battles, earning merits time and time again.
Mr. Ji, what ability have you extracted so far? And what kind of impact can it have on the real world?"
Laoji Fuli looked even more like a zombie than when Suture Saint had last seen him, but he was no longer a frail old man on the verge of death.
Instead, he was like a final boss who could leap up and wipe out an entire clan.
Although his skin was aged and spotted with liver spots, his movements were extremely agile, and his fingers were jet black.
Only his eyes betrayed no malice, but rather, a kind of determination.
His teeth had also fully grown back, and he no longer spoke with a lisp, though his voice was hoarse, like howling gales.
"I extracted a passive ability called Soul Communication. I can see all souls, converse with them, and learn the cause of their deaths.
So, my power can help fight crime and greatly increase the resolution rate of criminal investigations."
These words were a warning to those who were ready to run amok while the nation was in turmoil.
While the real world was shaken, the game also experienced frantic changes.
First of all, the price of copper coins skyrocketed.
The original 1:1 sale of copper coins was met with frenzied buying, and the price shot up steadily.
The price of 1 copper coin surged from 1 Huaxia Coin to 10 Huaxia Coins, and even crept toward 20!
Because all players became aware of the crisis.
"Real-world money isn't worth as much anymore. Gold coins in the game are what really hold value. These coins can be exchanged for real abilities!"
"Buy, buy now!"
"Isn't anyone afraid? The monsters in the game will also come to the real world. Are we heading for the apocalypse?"
"That's exactly why we need to level up fast. If you don't reach level 30, you'll be sitting there defenseless when they come!"
"It's unfair! I just awakened a D-rank talent. Are those with S-rank talents going to become the new elite?"
"I used to wonder why all those big corporations and conglomerates were dumping money into the game. Turns out they were all trying to shift their assets!"
What they didn't know, however, was that the big conglomerates were even more panicked.
They could already envision just how badly the stock market would crash, and how many companies would be delisted or go bankrupt.
The surge in copper coin prices inside the game meant, for ordinary people, that a cake had turned into a cookie.
A twentyfold shrinkage.
Or for those who didn't have a cake to begin with.
But for conglomerates that wanted to invest heavily in the game and offload their real-world businesses, it meant the number of coins they could buy had shrunk, the sunset industries could no longer be sold, and no one was taking over their assets.
The losses weren't just twentyfold. They could be two hundredfold! Two thousandfold!
In that pivotal moment when Huaxia Nation made the announcement, studios and conglomerates alike crumbled like snowflakes.
Fortunately, no riots broke out in the real world.
Why?
Because everyone was inside the [Primordial Gate], playing the game!
On the surface, it seemed like an economic depression — empty streets, shops closing down left and right.
In reality, an entire nation and people were plunging into the vast, boundless world of the [Primordial Gate].
...
Inside the game.
Wang Rongxun, who had just spent over 7,000 gold coins, felt his brain flooding with blood and his eyes turning bloodshot.
How much capital would he need to buy back those coins?
If this had originally been 7 billion in gold coins he'd acquired, he would now need 1,400 billion to replace them.
The problem was, Shun Muyuan's market cap was only 1,400 billion in the first place!
What now?
Should he declare bankruptcy, or keep running the business?
If he continued operating, it would be effectively paying off debts with his own earnings.
Wouldn't that just mean he's working for the entire studio?
And more importantly, would the players in the studio even agree to keep working when everyone now knows the game is invading reality?
Wang Rongxun's heart was bleeding.
He had been utterly screwed by Plantman!
...
Fengdu Town.
Chu Fu hadn't expected Huaxia Nation to announce the game's invasion at this time.
"In the original storyline, it happens much later than this."
Chu Fu vaguely remembered it was about two months after the game launched.
But now, it was only day 45.
Half a month earlier.
Still, Chu Fu quickly seized the opportunity.
Cash out!
The gold price had spiked because of Huaxia Nation's announcement, but soon enough, people would realize that copper coin production in the game was rising daily, and the price would eventually be driven back down.
Moreover, the real world still required Huaxia Coins for transactions.
On this level, it was the full force of the nation that was managing and stabilizing things!
Fortunately, after leaving the newbie village, exchanging game currency for real money was done with the players within the five towns.
Not only that, a new old server had merged in today: server [032] Leigu Town, which combined zones 031-034.
The six towns surrounding Linjiang City now had around 220,000 players in total.
Even if each player bought just 33 silver coins, it would be enough to wipe out Chu Fu's gold reserves.
The moment she listed her gold for sale.
It was instantly cleared.
Chu Fu netted 144.2 billion Huaxia Coins.
The money to build a town was earned in just three days!
Special thanks to Mr. Wang Rongxun for his generous sponsorship.
