"Has Polaris been dealt with?"
Chen Lun was sitting on the sofa in the living room of the villa, took a sip of milk, and focused his attention on the fairyland.
He was secretly observing the fifty players in the lakeside cabin from a bird's eye view.
'The upper limit of the number of players that could be supported was only 10, but after I was promoted to the middle sequence, this limit was raised... Now 50 people can be maintained in the wonderland at the same time.'
Chen Lun pondered.
"The number is still too small, but there is nothing we can do about it... I can only wait until my sequence is promoted, and then the subsequent wonderland can take on more players."
He then turned his attention to the statue of Maggie by the "Gazing Lake", sensing that the sanity value stored in it was rapidly increasing at a rate of 48 points per minute.
The reason why it is not 50 points is because maintaining the wonderland also requires sanity points.
After such a long time of exploration, Chen Lun has also found some rules for this mechanism. If there are no living people in the fairyland, it is actually in a process of self-evolution, but it will not consume any rationality.
However, once someone exists in Wonderland, regardless of whether or not they interact with the environment, their reserve of sanity will be consumed.
And this consumption does not increase according to the number of people, but the "active" area. In other words, these fifty players gathered in the lakeside cabin area, which only "activated" this area, so the consumption is very small, only 2 points of sanity per minute.
If a player enters the Natural Forest or the town of Kazt, the consumption will become 4 to 6 points per minute.
Overall, Chen Lun is still very satisfied with the current situation.
"Based on the current situation, we can at least get a few thousand points of sanity from these players today..."
At this moment, Chen Lun suddenly discovered something and let out a light exclamation.
He looked to the other side, but his face suddenly turned dark.
In the lakeside cabin area, players were seen leaving and new players were coming in and out, having a great time.
Some people were PKing in the battle area on the lawn, the action was in full swing, some people were sitting on the ground chatting and laughing, Dongyang and others were surrounding the statue of Jack, exchanging some items.
But there were a few bold female players who started to touch the statue of Jack.
Especially Su Keying and her bestie Wei Yin, the two of them were sandwiched between them, one in front and one behind.
Su Keying poked the statue's face and even tentatively placed her hand on its chest, as if trying to measure the size of its muscles.
Taiyin slapped the statue's butt hard, giggling with each slap and muttering strange words like "plaything" and "your male god".
Dongyang and the others showed a look of disgust on their faces and quickly walked away a few steps.
Chen Lun sighed in his heart and placed his hand on his forehead.
"I was really stupid... I was so naive to think that players would admire this statue. These guys are just people who have no bottom line and are just having fun."
The purpose of asking Connie to find someone to customize the statue was not only to create a medium for issuing tasks and exchanging items, but also to have another little idea, which was to allow players to see his image every time they entered the lakeside cabin.
But now it seems that the ending went a little off track.
"Forget it... Just treat it as a check-in point for them. Taking photos with the statue and making jokes with it can also increase team cohesion."
Chen Lun shook his head and comforted himself.
He continued to observe the "mission hall" he had created.
I don’t know if it’s because Howard’s incarnation was too powerful. After being killed by Oscar, his power was completely absorbed by the [Jingzhe] bookmark, and the connection between "Philip's Adventures in Wonderland" and the bookmark became closer.
When players make purchases at the statue, Chen Lun can obtain the currency in real time.
"Huh...?"
He also noticed that the "Black Crystal Series Consumables" in the redemption catalog that he had left on the Jack statue had all been sold out.
"It seems this thing is still very popular."
Chen Lun nodded secretly.
Lakeside cabin.
Taiyin then hugged "Mr. Jack"'s neck from behind the statue, leaned against its face, made a scissors hand gesture, and made a face.
"Keying, did you take a screenshot?"
"Yeah... I've finished filming. After I log off, I'll do some post-production and then send it to the group for other girls to see."
Su Keying chuckled and gestured that it was no problem.
Weiyin then reluctantly got off "Mr. Jack".
"These 'black crystal bullets' are new products from the circus. They are very useful and have increased the power of the musket by more than one level."
Dongyang on the side said as he stuffed a small steel ball inlaid with black crystal into the musket.
Then he aimed at a big tree not far away and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Sizzle——
A fan-shaped red and black gun flame spewed out, directly hitting a big hole in the tree, leaving charred marks on the surface of the trunk.
Faintly, you can even hear the squeaking sound of the electric arc jumping.
“Hiss… This power is comparable to when we use our extraordinary powers. If an ordinary low-sequence extraordinary person gets shot by it, I’m afraid it will be very dangerous.”
Goutoujin walked up to the big tree, checked it, and exclaimed in amazement.
Soon, the scars on the tree recovered in just a few breaths, but the purpose of Dongyang and others' test had been achieved.
"Indeed, with this 'black crystal ammunition', we can save a lot of effort. In general battles, a musket loaded with this ammunition is more than enough."
Polaris also joined the discussion.
Several male players were more interested in these new equipment. They turned around to glance at Su Keying and others and found that Chenxi and Honey Pomelo also ran over to take photos with the statue.
They were laughing and giggling, and I don't know what they were talking about.
The men looked at each other and saw speechless expressions on each other's faces.
…
…
…
The next day.
Dongyang and others came to Jack Manor in a group.
Their "token upgrade" task has been successfully completed. Yesterday, everyone completed the "30-minute stay in the lakeside cabin" requirement for 10 people.
However, the upgrade of the Silver Snake Ring still needs to be completed by Mr. Jack himself, so they have to make this trip.
Chen Lun met with more than 20 players in the backyard of the villa.
He secretly checked the sanity reserves of Maggie's statue. After a day of "extraction" yesterday, it had accumulated nearly 6,500 sanity points, far exceeding his expectations.
Make a "Qingzhe Seed" for each player here. Based on the consumption of 100 points per seed, the total sanity value required is more than 2,000 points. You can still have a lot of surplus, which is considered a big profit.
Since sanity is no longer a problem.
So what Chen Lun needs to do now is to gradually upgrade the tokens of all circus players.
This is not something that can be achieved overnight.
But I believe that after other players learn of the existence of the "Lakeside Cabin", they will actively look for Dongyang and others, meet the task requirements, and then run to Chen Lun to request the token upgrade.
'When there are more players in the circus in the future, I can just sit in the manor and gain Sanity points every moment... The more active they are in the lakeside cottage, the more relieved I will be.'
Chen Lun thought to himself.
He took the silver snake rings from Dongyang and others, and then used the power of [Qingzhe] on the spot to create new "Qingzhe seeds" and fused them into the rings.
On the surface, he pretended to be tired.
But in my mind, a funny scene came to my mind, that is, the players wanted to enter the "lake house" but found that they could not squeeze in.
Because the number of people is limited to 50, you need to queue.
"If that's the case, it's interesting, isn't it..."
Chen Lun chuckled secretly.
After a moment.
He returned the silver snake rings to Dongyang and the others, took off his hat and waved his hand.
Bang!
White smoke rose, and Black Hat was transformed into a motionless little hippopotamus by him.
Chen Lun sat on the hippo's back, panting and wiping the sweat off his face with a tired look.
The other players were stunned by this magic at first, and then expressed their gratitude respectfully.
"Okay, the circus token has been upgraded. From now on, everyone can use it to contact other members, and can also carry out real-time activities in the 'Lakeside House'..."
Chen Lun waved his hand.
"Thank you, Mr. Jack."
Dongyang took the lead in saluting.
Soon, these players left with their brand new silver snake rings, and only Polaris stayed behind.
"What's wrong, Northstar?"
Chen Lun asked aloud.
Polaris walked forward, took out a book and handed it over.
"Teacher, this is a work I accidentally discovered yesterday...your enemy, the 'tragedian' Howard."
"Huh?"
Chen Lun took it with some surprise.
He looked down and frowned.
Because the book cover is an image of a cartoon character, a very common and heroic figure, a blond man wearing armor, holding a sword, fighting with a huge sea monster.
The title of the book is "The Adventures of Philip"!
Chen Lun resisted the urge to flip through the pages, took a deep breath, and said to Polaris:
"Where did you find this book?"
"Teacher, this is a common children's book in bookstores. It is considered a fairy tale and is very popular among children..."
Polaris answered honestly.
Chen Lun frowned.
"I remember Howard has been included in the 'Imperial S-level Wanted List' by the shelter. Why is his book still circulating in the market...? Could it be that his power has invisiblely affected mortals? Blinded the shelter's investigation?"
He raised his head, took out a scroll of the Serpent's Hand, and said with a smile:
"Polaris, you did a good job. This book is very valuable... This is your reward. In addition, there are 50 contribution points."
Polaris showed a look of surprise on his face.
He soon received the task prompt on the panel. The side quest "Investigation" was shown to be completed once, and the circus contribution points were also promptly credited to his panel.
“Thank you, teacher!”
He took the scroll of the Serpent's Hand and bowed respectfully.
"Okay, if you have any clues about him in the future, please tell me in time...you can go back first."
Chen Lun waved his hand .
Seeing this, Polaris didn't stay any longer. He responded obediently and turned away.
Chen Lun sat alone in the courtyard, flipping through the book "The Adventures of Philip" in his hand.
Maybe because it is a "children's book", the text is very large and each page is accompanied by cute cartoon illustrations.
The story is not long. It roughly tells the story of a brave man named "Philip" who, in order to save the world, learns from a master and travels around the world to kill monsters.
Two places caught Chen Lun's attention. One was the world in the story. The biggest crisis came from the "dark world", which existed deep underground and was full of terrible monsters.
One day, these monsters will run back underground and rule the world.
The protagonist "Philip" once went to the dark world and killed the devil there.
"This dark world... reminds me of the dark world that Arnold mentioned. According to Mr. Ping, it actually exists in the second layer of the deep spirit world, but in this fairy tale, it is deep underground?"
Chen Lun didn't know whether it was true or Howard just made it up, but he always felt that there was some connection between the two.
The second thing that caught his attention was the protagonist Philip, who had a woman who loved him deeply, named Princess Mimi.
Chen Lun easily connected her with Her Majesty Maggie Milna.
But what surprised him was that the story did not have a happy ending.
On the contrary, it is a complete tragedy.
Although the protagonist Philip defeated the devil of the dark world and saved the world, his old injuries recurred due to a battle with sea monsters in the Far East Ocean, and he eventually became a monster covered with fish scales.
In order to prevent himself from becoming the "new devil" that brings disaster to the world, Philip committed suicide at the beach, fell into the abyss of the sea, and slept forever.
Princess Mimi also chose to marry the prince of a neighboring country because she did not wait for her hero to return.
A strange expression appeared on Chen Lun's face.
'What is Howard's purpose in doing this...He wrote such a fairy tale with Philip as the protagonist, and also explained some things in the mysterious field.
But those things seem to be true, and there is a sense of absurdity in them.'
Chen Lun turned to the last page of The Adventures of Philip. In the author's profile, there was nothing more than the words "Howard, a tragic writer".
The source of the review and publication is a publishing house called "Arkham House".
Chen Lun looked at the name and was silent for a long time with deep eyes.
…
…
…
Two days later.
A handsome young gentleman was walking in a remote street in the outer city, his head slightly lowered, his black hat covering his face.
The silver cane was stuck on the ground, making rhythmic tapping sounds as the steps progressed.
Not far in front of the gentleman is the industrial area that has stood here for decades.
This person was Chen Lun who came to investigate.
After two days of searching, he had found out through various channels a surprising result. The Arkham House Publishing House had gone bankrupt decades ago, and even the company building of the publishing house had become an abandoned building.
But there are still those brand new fairy tales circulating in the market, and that is a question.
Chen Lun came here according to the divination.
Some people are still printing it secretly and delivering it to various bookstores.
It was almost as Chen Lun had expected. The whole thing was suspicious and concealed a profound supernatural power, which blinded the shelter's cognition and made them ignore this fact and turn a blind eye to these publications.
'Just let me see who is still printing The Adventures of Philip.'
Chen Lun walked slowly through the streets.
Some children with simple clothes and dirty faces saw him, hid timidly behind door panels and piles of debris, and watched him quietly with awe in their eyes.
I don’t know if they were the children’s parents, but some adults hurriedly pulled the children into the house, scolded them a few words, turned around and bent towards Chen Lun, not daring to raise their heads.
Chen Lun was wearing an expensive black suit, a large and exquisite windbreaker, a flat hat and a silver cane. He looked like a big shot in the inner city.
These lower-class civilians in the outer city did not dare to offend him and even spoke in much lower voices for fear of causing Chen Lun's dissatisfaction.
Chen Lun didn't even look at them. He just threw a few copper coins, which landed accurately in the hands of a few cute kids. He winked at them and left with a smile.
"thank you!"
A girl smiled brightly.
Chen Lun felt that exchanging a few copper coins for a smile was a very good deal.
After entering the industrial area on foot, he followed the instructions of the divination stick and went straight to an old factory building.
There was silence and no one around, as if no work had been done here for a long time.
But his powerful perception told him that in a room on the second floor, there was still a faint sound of machine vibration.
Climbing up the rusty stairs, Chen Lun arrived at the second floor of the factory. In a room at the end, he saw piles of paper and ink, and seven or eight workers with numb expressions working mechanically.
Those still warm copies of The Adventures of Philip were stacked in the corner of the room like building blocks. The works in the Amber City Bookstore were circulated from here.
Even though they saw Chen Lun coming, the workers turned a blind eye and continued to do their own work dully, unaffected at all.
'These people...their destiny has been tampered with, and printing day after day has become their mission.'
There was a mist in Chen Lun's eyes, and he saw through the workers' true nature.
He sighed secretly, turned and left.
Because Chen Lun already knew about this and there was nothing he could do.
He was certain that this was Howard's work, but he did not yet have the ability to eliminate the influence on the workers, nor could he change their fate.
This is Howard playing with fate. Although he can see it, he can't do anything about it.
'Perhaps only when Howard dies can they return to normal...'
Chen Lun thought again that this might just be a microcosm.
In other parts of the empire, there are probably countless similar workers who are constantly printing stories for Howard and circulating them to the market for the general public to read.
A thought then appeared in his mind.
'This is most likely a mysterious ritual... Perhaps the influence of the work can give him power, or the emotions generated by the work can be absorbed by him... In short, Howard would not bother to do such a meaningless thing.'
Chen Lun took a deep breath.
Through this glimpse, he roughly saw the tip of the iceberg of the power of those in high positions of destiny.
"I still have a long way to go to defeat Him... but at least I won't let Him do anything under my nose."
Chen Lun made up his mind.
After he returned to Jack Manor, he wrote a letter directly, telling the story of "The Adventures of Philip" and anonymously delivered it to the shelter, the Church of the Sun, and the Church of the Moon.
In fact, Chen Lun knew very well that even if the authorities cleared out these reading materials in Amber City, they would still be unable to do so in other parts of the empire.
But this was only the first step in the counterattack. Although the force was small, it also demonstrated his determination.