Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Chapter 856: Chapter 814: Can’t I Have Them All?_1

The security in Chang’an city is too good.

This is a shared experience among all of the closed beta players.

But the game must start with a battle sequence, this way the players can quickly get used to the combat system of “Chang’an” and the fun of the new fight mode. Also, it would be helpful for players later when they enter the main storyline and encounter battles, so they won’t be at a loss.

Therefore, the [Tutorial level] is set outside the city.

As for what players choose to do in the tutorial, Cloud Dream did not force any specific requirements.

Whether it’s choosing to go along with the story, being seriously injured and unconscious, picked up by the Lady of Officials and thence brought into Chang’an city.

Or choose to go all out like Warehouse Bird and annihilate the opponent, and follow the progress of the merchant team.

Or even turn around on your own and run, finding your own way to Chang’an.

Or try to save the busty girl, and rush to Chang’an together…

All of these are possible.

Anyway, no matter which route the player chooses, they have to go to Chang’an city to find relatives in the end, because this is the only way to get the clue to the sister.

So, as long as the main storyline doesn’t lose control, players can indulge in their whims, Cloud Dream gives a lot of freedom to the players.

The design of the later storyline follows this logic as well —

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on Ɲονցᴑ.сο

Important plot nodes are fixed, but there are many ways to get there, and when to arrive at this node also can vary.

Even though, in Dreamscape, the sister was about to be chopped by the “Fantasy Iron Buddha”, but as long as the player didn’t push the main mission to this point, this cut wouldn’t come down.

This is all in order to let players feel free to explore and play after entering Chang’an, rather than being completely tied up by the main mission, making the play not enjoyable.

Of course, most players will naturally follow the plot development where “seriously injured and unconscious, picked up by the young Miss.”

Because that’s what the planners hoped to see.

Planners want players to see the rampant banditry outside of Chang’an and the harsh living conditions of the bottom layer citizens, then, in a very short time, to see the bustle and prosperity within Chang’an city, and the luxury of the upper nobles.

Under this striking contrast, there’s a sense of the looming threats under the prosperous surface of the Kaiyuan era of the Tang Dynasty.

So wait a bit more, Shuihua is about to see some new XPs, although this is not what the developers intended —

The three-piece set of the upper nobility of the Tang Dynasty demand more than supply: Kunlun Slaves, Silla Maidservants, Bodhisattva Barbarian.

Well… whether the black people from India, Southeast Asia, and Arabia will hit some players’ XP, that’s up for debate…

Of course, considering that “Chang’an” is released globally, it can be said —

The possibility is great!

…

Ten minutes later, they arrived in Chang’an City.

Shuihua couldn’t help but lift the side curtain of the carriage to see the grand tower gate of Mingde Gate.

She quickly discovered: there were five entrances to Mingde Gate, but now only the two at both ends, four in total, were open. People entering the city took the two gates on the left, people leaving the city walked through those on the right.

“Why isn’t the gate in the middle open?” Shuihua found it strange and immediately thought of a possibility: “Is it only for Li Longji?”

“!!!” The owner of the carriage — Second Miss Chen, who had been sitting cheek-to-cheek with Shuihua in a completely unassuming manner, also peered out through the sidelights.

But when she heard what Shuihua said, she immediately jumped up, pulling her back with one hand and covering her mouth with the other.

“The name of the holy man, how can you shout it out in public!”

“Uh-huh…” Shuihua nodded vigorously, indicating that she understood.

As soon as the Second Miss let go of her hand, she did not lower it. Instead, she held it up and kept watching Shuihua’s mouth vigilantly, ready to cover it up at any time.

But Shuihua had already learned her lesson, she quietly passed through the city gate and once again witnessed the spectacular scene that appeared in the trailer — Zhuque Street.

The wide street was bustling with pedestrians, some walking, some riding horses, some in sedan chairs, and some in horse carriages… There’s incessant traffic. The walled city of the marketplace was not continuous, now and then there would be several rich mansions whose gates open directly onto the street.

And these exquisite and luxurious residences were often the homes of princes and nobles, because it is regulated in the Tang Dynasty that only officials of the third rank and above, or men of outstanding virtue and literature in the city, could open their doors to the street.

Shuihua was still coveting these mansions when the carriage took a few leisurely turns and, surprisingly, also stopped in front of a luxurious mansion that opened to the street.

Second Miss asked Shuihua before getting off the carriage: “Is the matter of seeking relatives urgent? Can you wait a few days and let me take up the responsibilities of the landlord?”

Faced with this girl’s eager eyes, Shuihua hesitated for a moment and then agreed with a nod.

After all, she’s on break, she has plenty of time right now.

Then she was led by the Second Miss into Chen Mansion. Along the way, all the servants and maids bowed and paid their respect, calling her “Second Lady”.

Second Miss Chen just waved her hand and continued rushing through with Shuihua.

Meanwhile, Shuihua was taking in the scenery as they moved along: the spacious courtyard, the exquisite garden, the well-tended flowers and trees, the decorative verandas, the hurrying housekeepers, and various artifacts and decorations scattered around, including vases, antiques, lanterns, ornaments, furniture, and calligraphy paintings- every kind of item was present.

This was nothing like the scenery she saw on the main road previously, and it was a world away from the bandit-infested wilderness!

But before Shuihua had a chance to take in all the sights, Second Lady Chen had already pulled her into a small pavilion and made her sit down. Soon, she was served tea by a round-faced, kindly, and cute Silla maidservant.

Second Lady Chen seemed quite accustomed to this kind of service, but Shuihua was clearly not used to it. She awkwardly handled the teacup and continuously thanked the servant.

This Silla maidservant obviously had not anticipated that a noble guest would express gratitude toward her. Overwhelmed and touched, she looked at Shuihua with a newfound affection.

“???” Shuihua, being clever, immediately noticed this change.

However, she was a bit confused: ‘What’s going on? Did that raise her favorability towards me? Miss, you don’t have to court me yourself!! I’m not interested in you!’

——Her mind has been warped from surfing the internet too much. Her knowledge was quite complex, and after entering the game, her thoughts have completely derailed. Her mind was filled with “XP collections”, thinking of everyone as potential targets for courting…

Just then, Second Miss Chen took a sip of her tea to wet her throat and then began pulling on Shuihua’s sleeve, begging, “Tell me some stories from your adventures in Jianghu!”

Her eyes were filled with anticipation and excitement, as if she was ready to abandon her home at any moment to set off on an adventure.

“What?” Shuihua was dumbfounded for the umpteenth time.

‘I’ve never been part of Jianghu… If you’d said at the start that you wanted to hear stories, I wouldn’t have come with you.’

‘Wait!’ Shuihua looked at the young girl’s eager expression and then had another thought. ‘Can this be your way of courting? Are we going to elope and set off on an adventure in Jianghu?’

She was fully thrown off course…

*

While Shuihua was trying her best to recall TV drama plots to tell stories to Second Miss Chen, Warehouse Bird was still fighting fiercely.

Soon he realised that this mission was much harder than he had initially thought—

His original strategy was to eliminate one enemy quickly and then aid the other NPCs, rinse and repeat … this should build up momentum and eventually turn the tide with their numerical advantage.

However, after successfully killing an enemy with minimal losses a few times, he immediately drew the concentrated fire of three archers and was instantly killed.

Afterwards, he tried to take cover behind boards and kill the archers first…

But after killing the archers, he was surrounded by other bandits…

Well, it was a process of dying, trying, and restarting over and over again, persevering with unwavering resolve.

Until finally, an hour later—

He managed to perform a spectacular, unbroken series of sixteen kills!

Using the boards as shields, he always managed to appear behind the most suitable opponent, carrying out kidney strikes, liver exploitations, and throat cuts on the bandits.

Every single arrow was dodged with his impeccable footwork. All opponents who tried to stop him were swiftly slain with minimal effort.

By cleverly using the crowd as a shield, he disappeared from the vision of the archers only to unexpectedly appear behind them and took two down before picking up a longbow to pick off the last archer without suspense.

He fired another arrow, dropping a bandit who had turned his back. Followed by a leap from the top of the coach, lands on a bandit who was chasing the groom with his sword making an accurate land on his head, sending him to the afterlife instantly.

In the end, only the bandit leader was still standing.

This was the only opponent he couldn’t use the boards against. The leader was clearly much better at fighting than the other bandits, requiring quick reactions and on-the-spot adjustments.

However, Warehouse Bird wasn’t interested in a flawless win and after dying four more times he defeated the leader using a strategy of trading blows.

This incredibly impressive combo kill was not only wildly satisfying for all the viewers, but also for the NPCs within the game.

The busty country girl in particular worshipped Warehouse Bird with her gaze, as if she was about to throw herself at him at any given second.

But Warehouse Bird didn’t even give her a glance.

He didn’t even bother looking at her, let alone the emerging achievement trophy—he only had eyes for the slain bandit leader.

What was coming next— was the most important part, looting the body!

…

…

Yi and Yelang also made the same choice as Warehouse Bird, opting to save the busty country girl. However, their ability to use cover was much worse, and they were still a long way from success.

This was particularly true when they discovered through the comments that Shuihua and Victoria, both seriously injured, had been saved by a lively, cute, and beautiful young noble lady. This news noticeably shook their resolve.

“So, saving a busty country girl means missing out on the noble young lady, and to encounter the young lady we must give up the country girl?”

“Does it mean we can only choose between a busty country girl and a flat-chested young noble lady?”

“Why can’t we have both?”