How many people could resist the temptation of increased lifespan?
In just over a hundred years, even with advanced technology in the real world extending lifespans to one hundred and fifty years, many people are incredibly obsessed with their own longevity; to live one more day is a luxury.
Now, this miraculous game can grant a longer lifespan, and many in-game items and equipment can even affect the real body, bringing a thrilling surge, like a vast ocean current, impacting the deepest vulnerabilities of people's hearts.
Scavenging for prestige, contending for the fortune of feudal lords, establishing nations and dynasties, cultivating and seizing destiny—all these deeply attract people.
Contend! Contend! Contend!
The struggles of countless players, brutal wars, fierce battles, various overt and covert schemes, intrigues, and deceptions… one could imagine the immense cruelty that lay ahead.
Despite the frenzy, the harsh realities of life still had to be faced, and governments worldwide were strenuously trying to control the public's madness, gradually revealing the secrets they knew about “Mythical World,” and the public's situation was slowly being brought under control.
However, the madness within the game world was hard to suppress; many players frantically took on quests, rushing into battle like desperate fighters, one after another, causing countless casualties, which was extremely difficult to control. This was also one of the reasons why Lin Mu did not want players to be the primary force for his territory's development.
Currently, many ordinary people in the real world were unaware of the secrets, only some powerful families, nobles, and those in high positions knew.
Some people in the middle strata also had a vague idea, which prompted them to pay close attention and withdraw from other virtual games, leading to a monopolized virtual game market on Earth.
Lin Mu, in his previous life, only knew a fraction of the secrets; it was likely that high-ranking officials withheld many undisclosed secrets, which weighed heavily on his mind.
Regardless, with his cheat-like head start, far ahead of countless players, as long as he maintained his initial advantage and avoided major principled mistakes, there wouldn't be significant problems.
Lin Mu also yearned for an increased lifespan. Besides longevity, power, rare treasures, and so on were also his pursuits.
Death, if unavoidable, must be faced calmly; but if there's even a glimmer of hope, it will be magnified infinitely, intensely desired—this is human nature, beyond right or wrong!
When Lin Mu first heard the news, his heart was also deeply shaken, as if a fierce tiger had leaped out, leaving him speechless. Putting himself in others' shoes, he could imagine their frenzy.
Wielding power over the world while awake, and resting in the arms of beauties while drunk! Who wouldn't desire it, who wouldn't seek it?
Lin Mu certainly wouldn't post this information on the battle network. If the country's plans were disrupted and exposed, the consequences would be severe. After all, while many of the country's actions might not be perfectly humanitarian, might not inform everyone, or satisfy everyone, many of their actions were noble and had a huge impact on the overall stability of society, as they were responsible for the entire populace.
Perhaps many people loudly proclaimed so-called human rights, morality, personal freedom, and the right to know—that's all nonsense. If a stable environment is lost, how can one speak of human rights or humanity? Go talk about humanity with people in war-torn countries; they can't even fill their stomachs, can't even protect their lives, so-called human rights are like fleeting clouds.
Lin Mu was not a saint, unable to perform earth-shattering feats, and it didn't align with his low-key approach to life.
The existence of the state has its reasons; many things are best left to the state.
Lin Mu chose to remain hidden among the common folk to observe the overall situation, act with the flow, and aim to gain the greatest rewards in the game.
Now, Lin Mu could treat it with a normal heart; after all, it was still early, still early! Lin Mu thought to himself.
Now that his territory actually had a Destiny Merchant, its development potential had increased. Lin Mu couldn't articulate the mysteries, only try his best to utilize and explore them.
“Yuan Zhi, are you permanently stationed in my territory? Or do you move to other territories?” Lin Mu pondered and asked a crucial question.
“I am permanently stationed here with my Lord. From now on, I will reside in your territory. I hope my Lord can arrange accommodation for me, and I hope my Lord does not mind my abruptness!” Destiny Merchants were elusive; in his previous life, Lin Mu hadn't encountered them often. Now, with Yuan Zhi, a Destiny Merchant, being permanently stationed, it would be extremely useful for future exchanges, as he wouldn't need to spend time searching.
Moreover, after hearing that Yuan Zhi would be permanently stationed, Lin Mu had a very lucrative idea, though it couldn't be realized for now.
“Good, you will reside here from now on. I will instruct my servants to attend to you. However, the territory has just been established, and conditions are very difficult and rudimentary. I hope you can bear with it!” Lin Mu felt at ease.
“No problem, to receive such kind treatment from my Lord, I am content,” Yuan Zhi said gratefully.
“Good! Now, I have 10,200 prestige points. How many Destiny Gold Coins can I exchange for? Can you introduce your group to me, and are there any specific rules?” Lin Mu asked. Although Lin Mu could recite some of the Destiny Merchant's trading rules by heart, what if there were other rules he didn't know? To humbly ask for guidance, to be polite and courteous—yes, that's the right attitude in life.
“My Lord, since you are the first to meet us Destiny Merchants, you can obtain relevant information. We Destiny Merchants are divided into six ranks from low to high: Yellow, Black, Earth, Heaven, Divine, and Saint. The higher the rank, the higher the authority to sell items, meaning the higher the upper limit of items. Currently, my rank is Yellow, and the items I sell are limited. The artifacts my Lord desires will require my rank to rise to Earth rank before I have partial authority to purchase them.”
“Furthermore, some of us merchants are wandering Destiny Merchants; their locations are not fixed. They go wherever there is business, being elusive. Others are like us, providing fixed services, targeting lords or heroes of territories with deep potential. And my Lord, with your boundless good fortune, I am fated to provide fixed service to you.”
“We Destiny Merchants use three types of currency, with values from low to high: 【Destiny Gold Coins】, 【Fortune Gold Coins】, and 【Fate Gold Coins】. Destiny Gold Coins are exchanged for prestige, one for one, meaning 1 prestige point can be exchanged for 1 Destiny Gold Coin; Fortune Gold Coins are exchanged for one point of feudal lord's fortune for one Fortune Gold Coin; Fate Gold Coins are exchanged for one unit of fate for one Fate Gold Coin.”
“My Lord’s 10,200 prestige points can be exchanged for 10,200 Destiny Gold Coins!” Yuan Zhi thoroughly explained to Lin Mu, but Lin Mu could tell that Yuan Zhi held back some information in certain places, which Lin Mu didn't mind.
As Lin Mu heard about the Destiny currency, a pleasant system prompt sounded in his ear:
“Ding!”
“—System Hint: Congratulations, player Lin Mu, you have unexpectedly and successfully activated the 【Fate System】. As you are the first in the world to activate the 【Fate System】, you are rewarded with 10,000 prestige points. You can click on its attributes to view the detailed rules.”
“Oh, my Lord, your prestige has increased again. It seems my Lord has immense fortune and deep blessings.” Yuan Zhi saw Lin Mu’s prestige increase again and had a slight understanding of what had happened.
“Indeed, the great god 【Nuwa】 activated the 【Fate System】 for me. As the first outsider to activate it, I was rewarded with 10,000 prestige points. I am also very grateful to you for explaining everything so thoroughly.”
Lin Mu truly needed to thank Yuan Zhi; the activation of this 【Fate System】 was very elusive, with no specific guide. In his previous life, Lin Mu had also activated it unintentionally. He had intended to activate it the same way as before, but now it was completed by accident, truly a case of an unintentional act leading to unexpected success.
Moreover, Lin Mu didn't hide anything. It was said that Destiny Merchants knew many truths about this world, but wouldn't easily reveal them. Lin Mu befriended Yuan Zhi, building a good relationship, also hoping to gain secrets he didn't know from him. During Yuan Zhi's explanation, he was also very careful to avoid certain secrets, which Lin Mu could discern, but he didn't expose it for now. After all, they had just met, and there would be plenty of time in the future to slowly break through!
“Now, my Lord can exchange for 20,200 Destiny Gold Coins. Do you wish to exchange them? However, due to rule restrictions, my Lord currently needs to pay a handling fee of 5% to exchange Destiny Gold Coins. If Lord Lin Mu exchanges 20,200 prestige, you will receive 19,190 Destiny Gold Coins. I hope my Lord does not mind.” Yuan Zhi smiled wryly, feigning helplessness. This handling fee rule was set by the great god Nuwa; how could an ant like him change it?
Lin Mu was aware of this exchange rule; a 5% handling fee. He didn't know if it was expensive or cheap, as he had few encounters and wasn't familiar with the situation. He didn't mind Yuan Zhi's implication: “Exchange it. 19,190 Destiny Gold Coins it is. What do you have for sale? Display them.”
“Haha, my Lord is truly generous.” At the beginning, 20,200 prestige points could be considered very wealthy. Lin Mu also knew the difficulty of acquiring prestige, but he had his ways and didn't hesitate, waving his hand to exchange it all.
At the same time, a blue item panel screen appeared before Lin Mu, just like in his previous life, both incredibly unfamiliar and deeply imprinted in his memory:
【Lifespan】【Weapons】【Equipment】【Items】【Materials】
Lin Mu ignored the 【Lifespan】 option for now; it wasn't the time to discuss that. His current wealth was but a drop in the ocean.
Given Lin Mu's current situation and conditions, choosing architectural blueprints would be the best option.
Lin Mu clicked on the 【Items】 option, ignoring the others, and a very detailed panel unfolded:
Illustrations, blueprints... densely packed, with rich and complex options.
Lin Mu typed 'architectural blueprints' into the search bar of the panel, and the panel immediately displayed the available architectural blueprints:
Beginner Tailor Shop Architectural Blueprint (10): Requires 100 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
Beginner Blacksmith Shop Architectural Blueprint (10): Requires 100 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
Beginner Carpenter Workshop Architectural Blueprint (10): Requires 100 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
Beginner Shipyard Architectural Blueprint (10): Requires 100 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
Beginner Dock Architectural Blueprint (10): Requires 100 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
Beginner Residential House Architectural Blueprint (100): Requires 50 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
...Beginner Refugee Camp Architectural Blueprint (4): Requires 1000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
Beginner Private School Architectural Blueprint (1): Requires 2000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
Beginner Vagrant Camp Architectural Blueprint (3): Requires 2000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
...Intermediate Tailor Shop Architectural Blueprint (5): Requires 1000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
Intermediate Blacksmith Shop Architectural Blueprint (5): Requires 1000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
...Intermediate Refugee Camp Architectural Blueprint (1): Requires 3000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
Intermediate Vagrant Camp Architectural Blueprint (1): Requires 5000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
...Advanced Tailor Shop Architectural Blueprint (2): Requires 10000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
Advanced Blacksmith Shop Architectural Blueprint (2): Requires 10000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
...Expert Blacksmith Shop Architectural Blueprint (0): Requires 100000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
...Master Blacksmith Shop Architectural Blueprint (0): Requires 500000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
...Grandmaster Blacksmith Shop Architectural Blueprint (0): Requires 1000000 Destiny Gold Coins to exchange;
The numbers in parentheses are the quantities, and the exchange requirement after that is how many Destiny Gold Coins each blueprint needs. Lin Mu, being an old hand, knew all this.