Chapter 225: A Bright Future for Everyone
For whatever reason, the first nuclear bomb went to a player who chose to give up, but the second one? Everyone was determined to fight for it!
The first one sold for four million three hundred thousand, which set the benchmark, so the second one already had an unofficial estimate floating around in everyone’s minds.
Plus, the first bomb was scooped up by Can’t Sleep. Sure, he’s just the vice president of Eastern Dragon, but in the game, nearly everything that happens is basically under his control.
What’s there to say about Eastern Dragon’s background? Even if you’re just following the trend, you’ve got to step up to the plate!
For Can’t Sleep, there wasn’t really a need to push for the second bomb—it was just a pity that the one he snagged wasn’t the only one.
If it had been the sole piece, even if he kept the “Star of Art” tucked away, just waving around the button he had would still instill a good level of intimidation among other players.
In the end, our old pal Fiery Conflict Across the Sky snagged the second nuclear bomb for five million seven hundred thousand.
Wait a minute… why are you always second!?
Just when everyone thought it was all wrapped up, Yuliya on stage clapped her hands again.
And then… here comes the third one.
“Bidding starts now!”
Some people were completely taken aback, standing up politely to ask, “Excuse me, Little Sister, how many of these do we actually have?”
Yuliya replied with a smile, “This is the last one, that’s all there is!”
Really! No more, or that would just be too much!
Since it was the final piece, quite a few folks grit their teeth and jumped in!
At the end of it all, the third nuclear bomb was won by WZC for five million nine hundred thousand.
Thus, this secret auction concluded with an impeccable finale.
The lingering details and hosting fell entirely into the hands of Qingfeng Chamber of Commerce, who were thoroughly familiar with this process.
Elia gave Yuliya a thumbs up as she approached, “Little Yuliya, you really know how to handle Outsiders, don’t you?”
“Oh, it’s just business! As long as our product is good and we don’t make mistakes, boosting our profits within reason is completely normal!”
“That’s a fair point.”
One side eager to give, the other willing to receive—everyone’s a winner!
Elia calculated that her gross profit from this auction was over forty million, and after deducting a small portion for Qingfeng Chamber, she still pocketed over thirty million gold coins.
Even though she’s royalty, she can’t let her subordinates work for free.
With such a substantial pile of money, who knows what miraculous things could happen?
There’s a saying among Outsiders: there’s nothing money can’t fix; if there is, it’s probably just not enough money!
A bit exaggerated, sure, but that’s the miracle of gold coins for you!
Meanwhile, Yuliya—she sold just the last three big bombs and directly pocketed nearly sixteen million.
Checking her mission panel, one item stood out:
[Set a Small Goal.
Mission Details:
Currency: Gold Coins. —–(0.92/1)]
So close, just 0.08 of a small goal left, which equates to eight hundred thousand.
The rewards are colorful; she can’t help but wonder what they’ll be.
After the auction wrapped up, things were quiet for a few days.
But just a day or two later, you know how it goes—some things are bound to leak out.
The big shots had initially agreed to keep mum and get rich together.
Since we were invited to this auction, it was likely we’d be invited again in the future. We’d just keep this little secret under wraps and share the goodies!
But you can’t buy gear, skills, and not use them!
Using them means people start asking questions, and just a little bragging could spill some secrets.
Before long, forums were buzzing with all sorts of details about the previous auction.
Players saw there was an actual secret auction, and suddenly felt massively imbalanced.
“I’ve got money too! Why can’t I go to that auction?”
Heck, they didn’t even know it existed beforehand!
Looking at all the revealed equipment, and even skills, their eyes turned sour with jealousy.
So what to do?
Start complaining on the official website!
“Underhanded dealings! There’s definitely some sneaky business going on!”
This was just yet another time the official team faced tons of complaints about balance issues.
“Balance issues”—meaning if others have something, they feel entitled to get one too!
They thought that once they left the Beginner’s Village and everyone hit the same main city, this sort of thing would stop. But lo and behold, things still managed to get sneaky!
Oh no, not sneaky within Huaxia Server, that’s just the tip of this iceberg.
In the grand international scheme, Huaxia Server was getting roasted all over the global forums.
All the good stuff is in your Huaxia server, and here we are just trailing behind, why is that fair!?
Forget the international drama; the folks at Huaxia Server actually knew what was going on with this internal drama.
That’s because among the participants in the secret auction, there was one bigwig—a mole from the official side.
It’s her again…
This NPC is seriously… incredible!
Of course she is! Huaxia Server is currently leagues ahead of all the other servers!
As for the issues arising internally within Huaxia Server?
Just minor stuff; at this point, they were used to being scolded.
So, the official reply from Huaxia Server was as predictable as ever.
“Regarding the fairness concerns raised by some players, we offer the following clarification:
The game ‘Otherworld’ is a vast-scale simulation game based on automated AI calculations. We’ve minimized external manual controls to let it self-regulate internally. Any special behavior is autonomously executed by NPCs, eliminating the possibility of underhanded dealings.
To the players experiencing this issue, we encourage proactive interaction with NPCs to foster good bilateral relationships; treating the NPCs as if they were real people might yield better results.”
While this announcement might seem like just passing the buck to other players, Yuliya keenly picked up on the underlying message.
By specifically mentioning the NPCs’ reality, it was clearly laying the groundwork for something more.
Who knows how many people would catch on?
Even if they don’t realize it, playing the game as intended is still fine.
People from Huaxia have a good tradition of enthusiastically responding to national calls.
“I don’t really understand this AI stuff and self-development nonsense, but if you say treating NPCs like real people is better, then consider me on board! I might just reap some rewards!”
And once this announcement hit, those wealthy players who attended the auction and scored great deals were all elated.
Does this mean any benefits we gain are rightfully ours?
Alright then, I’m done pretending! I’m revealing myself—I’m one of the auction participants!
Soon, more details about auction items began circulating, leaving others nearly in tears from their jealousy.
Those who participated in the auction flaunted their riches, while those who didn’t were left green with envy, and international players? They were feasting on Huaxia’s misfortune!
All players had a bright future ahead.
But they weren’t naïve; showing off was one thing, but the truly critical treasures needed to stay hush-hush.
For example, that nuclear bomb.
This whole wave of drama played out entirely among the players and didn’t affect the NPCs in the least; the NPCs just went about their business as usual.
