Chapter 8: True Lifespan, The Ultimate Temptation!

Faced with the temptation of increased longevity, how many people could truly resist?

In just over a hundred years, even with the advanced technology of the real world extending lifespans to one hundred and fifty, many people are fanatically obsessed with their own longevity. To live even one more day is a luxury.

Now, this magical game can actually grant longevity, and many of the items, equipment, and more within the game can affect one's physical body in reality. This brings a heart-stirring impact, crashing against the deepest vulnerabilities of the human heart like the surging tides of a vast ocean.

Scraping for reputation, contending for the destiny of feudal lords, founding nations, and cultivating to seize destiny—these things deeply fascinate people.

Struggle~ Struggle~ Struggle!!

The countless struggles of players, cruel wars, tragic battles, various overt and covert schemes, infighting, and mutual deception... one can only imagine the incomparable cruelty that follows.

Madness is madness, but the cruelty of reality must still be faced. Furthermore, every country in the world is doing its utmost to control the madness of the populace, announcing the secrets of "Myth World" step by step, gradually keeping the situation under control.

However, the madness within the game world is difficult to suppress. Many players are frantically completing quests, charging into battle like men possessed, wave after wave, causing countless casualties. It is extremely difficult to control, which is one of the reasons why Lin Mu does not want players to be the main force for his territory's development.

Currently, many ordinary people in the real world do not know the secrets involved; only some powerful clans, noble families, and high-ranking officials are aware.

Some middle-tier individuals also have a vague understanding, but it has caused them to attach great importance to it, immediately withdrawing from other virtual games, leading to a monopoly in the virtual game market on Earth.

In his past life, Lin Mu only knew part of the secrets. Perhaps there are many secrets that the higher-ups have not disclosed, which makes his heart feel heavy.

Regardless, his cheat-like start puts him ahead of countless players. As long as he stays one step ahead, he will remain ahead. As long as he doesn't make any major errors in principle, there shouldn't be any big problems.

Lin Mu also has an extreme desire for the increase in longevity. Beyond longevity, power, rare treasures, and the like are also directions to pursue.

Death—if this thing is unavoidable, one can only face it calmly. But if there is even a glimmer of hope, it will be infinitely magnified, leading to an extreme desire. This is human nature, regardless of right or wrong.

When Lin Mu first learned this news, he was also deeply shocked, as if a fierce tiger had leaped from his heart, leaving him speechless. Looking at others through himself, one can imagine the madness of the rest.

To hold the power of the world in one's hand upon waking, and to sleep on the knees of beauties while drunk! Who doesn't want it? Who doesn't seek it!

Lin Mu certainly won't go to the battle network to announce this information. If the country's layout is interrupted and exposed, the consequences would be very serious. After all, while many of the country's methods cannot be perfectly humane, cannot keep everyone informed, and cannot satisfy everyone, many of their actions are noble and have a huge impact on the overall stability of society. They are responsible for the entire public.

Perhaps many people loudly advocate for so-called human rights, morality, personal freedom, and the right to know, but that is all nonsense. If you lose a stable environment, how can you talk about human rights and humanity? Go talk about humanity to people in war-torn countries; when they can't even fill their stomachs and their lives aren't guaranteed, so-called human rights are like floating clouds.

Lin Mu is not a saint; he cannot perform earth-shattering feats, and that does not fit his low-key style of doing things.

The existence of the state has its reasons; let the state handle many things.

Lin Mu will continue to hide among the common folk to observe the overall situation, acting in accordance with the trend, hoping to gain the greatest harvest within the game.

Now, Lin Mu can treat things with a calm heart. After all, it is still early, still early! Lin Mu thought to himself.

Now that his territory has a Fate Merchant, the development potential of his territory has increased. Lin Mu cannot put the mystery of this into words; he can only try his best to utilize and explore it.

"Yuan Zhi, are you permanently stationed in my territory? Or will you move on to other territories?" Lin Mu thought for a moment and asked a key question.

"I am permanently stationed here with you, Lord. From now on, I will settle in your territory. I hope you can arrange accommodation for me. I hope you will not blame me for my abruptness!" Fate Merchants are elusive. In his past life, he didn't encounter Fate Merchants many times. Now that this Fate Merchant, Yuan Zhi, is actually permanently stationed here, it will be very useful for him to exchange items in the future, as he won't have to spend time searching for one.

Moreover, after hearing that Yuan Zhi was permanently stationed, an idea with great financial potential popped into Lin Mu's mind, though it couldn't be realized just yet.

"Good, you will settle here from now on. I will instruct my servants to attend to you. However, as the territory has just been established, many conditions are very difficult and crude. I hope you can bear with it!" Lin Mu felt at ease.

"It is fine. To be treated with such kindness by the Lord, I am satisfied," Yuan Zhi said gratefully.

"Good! Now, I have 10,200 reputation points. How many Fate Coins can I exchange for? Can you introduce your group to me? Also, are there any specific rules?" Lin Mu asked. Although he could recite some of the trading rules regarding Fate Merchants by heart, what if there were other rules he didn't know? Asking for advice with an open mind and being humble and polite—yes, this is the right attitude to have.

"Lord, since you are the first to meet us Fate Merchants, you can obtain relevant information. We Fate Merchants are divided into six ranks from low to high: Yellow, Profound, Earth, Heaven, God, and Saint. The higher the rank, the higher the authority to sell items, meaning the upper limit of the items will be higher. Currently, my rank is Yellow, and the items I can sell are limited. The artifacts you desire, Lord, will be partially available for purchase once my rank reaches Earth."

"In addition, some merchants among us are wandering Fate Merchants. Their locations are not fixed; they go wherever there is business, drifting unpredictably. Others are like us, providing location-based services, targeting lords or heroes of territories with deep potential. You, Lord, are blessed with great fortune, and I am fortunate to provide you with location-based services."

"There are three types of currency used by us Fate Merchants, with values from low to high: [Fate Coins], [Destiny Coins], and [Qi Coins]. Fate Coins are exchanged for reputation, one for one—that is, 1 reputation point can be exchanged for 1 Fate Coin. Destiny Coins are exchanged for the destiny of feudal lords—one point of feudal lord destiny can be exchanged for one Destiny Coin. Qi Coins are exchanged for one unit of Qi—one unit of Qi can be exchanged for one Qi Coin."

"Your 10,200 reputation points, Lord, can be exchanged for 10,200 Fate Coins!" Yuan Zhi gave Lin Mu a detailed introduction. However, Lin Mu could tell that Yuan Zhi was holding back on certain points, but Lin Mu didn't mind.

When Lin Mu heard about the Fate currencies, a pleasant system notification sounded in his ears

"Ding!"

"—System prompt: Congratulations to player Lin Mu, you have unexpectedly succeeded in opening the [Qi System]. As you are the first in the world to open the [Qi System], you are rewarded with +10,000 reputation points. You can click on the attribute to view the details."

"Oh, Lord, your reputation has increased again. It seems you are blessed with immense destiny and deep fortune." Yuan Zhi saw that Lin Mu's reputation had increased and slightly understood what had happened.

"Yes, the Great Goddess [Nuwa] has opened the [Qi System] for me. As the first 'Outsider' to open it, I was rewarded with 10,000 reputation points. I am also very grateful to you for explaining things so thoroughly."

Lin Mu truly needed to thank Yuan Zhi. The opening of this [Qi System] was very elusive, with no specific guide. In his past life, Lin Mu had opened it inadvertently. He had wanted to learn how to open it like he did in his past life, but now he had completed it unintentionally—truly a case of "planting a willow tree without intent, only for it to provide shade."

Moreover, Lin Mu didn't hide it. It is said that Fate Merchants know many truths about this world but won't easily reveal them. Lin Mu befriending Yuan Zhi and building a good relationship was also in the hope of obtaining secrets he didn't know from him. When Yuan Zhi was introducing things, he was also very careful to avoid some secrets, which Lin Mu could tell. He didn't expose him for the time being; after all, it was their first meeting, and there would be plenty of time in the future to slowly break through.

"Now, Lord, you can exchange for 20,200 Fate Coins. Do you wish to exchange? However, due to rule restrictions, you currently need to pay a handling fee of 5% to exchange for Fate Coins. If you exchange 20,200 reputation points, you will receive 19,190 Fate Coins. I hope you don't mind, Lord." Yuan Zhi smiled helplessly. This rule about the handling fee was set by the Great Goddess Nuwa; how could an ant like him change it?

Lin Mu knew about this exchange rule. He didn't know if a 5% fee was expensive or cheap, as he had little contact with it. Regarding Yuan Zhi's point, he didn't mind: "Exchange. 19,190 Fate Coins it is. What do you have for sale? Show me."

"Haha, you are truly generous, Lord." At the very beginning, 20,200 reputation points could be considered very wealthy. Lin Mu also knew the difficulty of obtaining reputation, but he had his own ways and didn't hesitate at all, waving his hand to exchange it all.

At the same time, a blue product panel screen appeared in front of Lin Mu, just like in his past life—incredibly unfamiliar yet deeply imprinted in his memory

[Longevity] [Weapons] [Equipment] [Items] [Supplies]

Lin Mu ignored the [Longevity] option. Now is not the time to talk about this; with his current wealth, it is but a drop in the ocean.

Given Lin Mu's current situation and conditions, it is best to choose architectural blueprints.

Lin Mu clicked on the [Items] option and, ignoring everything else, opened another very detailed panel

Illustrations, blueprints... dense and varied, with rich and complex options.

Lin Mu entered 'architectural blueprint' into the search bar of the panel, and the panel immediately displayed the available architectural blueprints

Primary Tailor Shop Blueprint (10): Requires 100 Fate Coins to exchange;

Primary Blacksmith Shop Blueprint (10): Requires 100 Fate Coins to exchange;

Primary Carpentry Workshop Blueprint (10): Requires 100 Fate Coins to exchange;

Primary Shipyard Blueprint (10): Requires 100 Fate Coins to exchange;

Primary Wharf Blueprint (10): Requires 100 Fate Coins to exchange;

Primary Residential Blueprint (100): Requires 50 Fate Coins to exchange;

...

Primary Refugee Camp Blueprint (4): Requires 1,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

Primary Private School Blueprint (1): Requires 2,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

Primary Drifter Camp Blueprint (3): Requires 2,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

...

...

Intermediate Tailor Shop Blueprint (5): Requires 1,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

Intermediate Blacksmith Shop Blueprint (5): Requires 1,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

...

Intermediate Refugee Camp Blueprint (1): Requires 3,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

Intermediate Drifter Camp Blueprint (1): Requires 5,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

...

...

Advanced Tailor Shop Blueprint (2): Requires 10,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

Advanced Blacksmith Shop Blueprint (2): Requires 10,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

...

...

Expert Blacksmith Shop Blueprint (0): Requires 100,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

...

...

Master Blacksmith Shop Blueprint (0): Requires 500,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

...

...

Grandmaster Blacksmith Shop Blueprint (0): Requires 1,000,000 Fate Coins to exchange;

...

...

The numbers in the parentheses are the quantities, and the exchange requirement following them is how many Fate Coins are needed for each. As an old hand, Lin Mu knew all of this.

(End of chapter)