"Keep your voice down!"
Sarah knocked on Bella's head speechlessly and felt relieved after seeing the soldiers from Amazon Lily who didn't respond.
"Don't be overheard."
Discussing becoming a Pirate in someone else's house could lead to trouble if they were discovered; it would be in vain that John helped them find such a good opportunity.
Besides, there were other players around; John would only block them from talking about the game settings with the locals of the One Piece World. The other potential whistleblowers, those who might mention the plan, didn't fall under that scope.
For instance, if a player told Sengoku that they were all characters in a game, he would dismiss it as nonsense.
But if someone said that anyone in the naval base was going to be a pirate, then Sengoku would hear it loud and clear. Whether he believed it or not was a different matter entirely.
Bella immediately covered her mouth and shot murderous looks at the surrounding players, making her feelings clear.
The players around them repeatedly waved their hands to assure that they wouldn't spill the truth, but the flickers in their eyes suggested otherwise.
Fortunately, there was no evidence at this moment; as long as the locals didn't hear about it, even if there was an informer, they could deny it repeatedly.
Or they could leave Amazon Lily after acquiring a full set of exercise methods.
"Okay, let's continue practicing basic physical skills. We can't fall too far behind Olivia."
Sarah ended the topic, feeling a bit guilty for having brought it up in the first place.
Her intention was to guide the players to set sail and follow the trend of the great pirate era, so she hadn't thought much of it.
Looking at the expressions of the players around her, Sarah smiled and changed the subject, "Emma with your healing ability to help; we can definitely improve our physiques much faster."
The martial arts training in the One Piece World is simple: one word—practice!
Ninety-nine percent of the strong gymnasts here are trained from ordinary people, with only a few exceptions of natural monsters like Kaido and Big Mom.
People's physiques in this world resemble breaking a genetic lock; their strength continues to grow with exercise.
And the healing ability of the unicorn is undeniably useful at this moment.
While others are training to the point of exhaustion and must consider their bodies' limits, they can recover instantly here. The players themselves will not experience 100% fatigue simulation, allowing their training speed to increase significantly.
After observing for a while, John shifted his gaze elsewhere.
For example, did the players in the locations where the protagonists and supporting characters of the anime appear have any sparks with them? Had the players successfully completed dungeons involving the Four Emperors, Warlords, and other major pirates? What was the navy's attitude towards the sudden influx of players?
At this point, the number of players had grown to more than five million.
While it may not seem like much compared to the number of natives in the One Piece World, these players were not the keepers of peace.
Just like in Loguetown, even a few thousand more people caused the navy branch to be busy, filled with worries about a large pirate group landing.
The phone bugs in the Navy Headquarters were buzzing non-stop, and Sengoku was so frustrated he was pulling his hair out in fistfuls. He was nearing retirement, so why was he dealing with a new Era of Great Pirates 2.0?
...
Real-world gaming forum.
With the excitement around "One Piece," a dedicated space for it had emerged, and its popularity was skyrocketing.
The hottest discussion among users centered on the news about Devil Fruits and the two-way exchange just revealed in Emma's live stream.
"f**k! John has started giving out benefits again! Billions of benefits!"
"??? What did I miss?"
"The thing called the Devil Fruit is the mysterious prize worth 10 million that John mentioned before! There are said to be at least a thousand Devil Fruits, all randomly refreshed in the Pirate World!"
"Brother, is this what you mean? I walked in and picked up one, [jpg]"
"f**k! Kill Ouhuanggou! You'll be a millionaire if you sell it!"
"No way! Why is this thing so valuable? Didn't the game just come out? Will there really be people willing to buy it?"
"Brother, haven't you seen that the currency in the game can be exchanged for Dragon coins?"
"You can sell it to an NPC in the game and then withdraw cash!"
"I... John is a genius!"
"I'm sorry, I just sold a Devil Fruit, and now I have two million! [jpg]"
"Hehe, you fools who sold the Devil Fruit directly don't understand sustainable development. According to John's settings, you can gain superpowers by eating Devil Fruits and use those powers to make money in the game. Isn't that a better plan?"
"Well... Hearing what you said, I feel like the two million in my hand suddenly isn't worth much..."
"Extraordinary and rare! Yunfu buys Devil Fruits; the prices are favorable, and transactions are quick!"
"..."
In just a few hours, several players in the gaming forum posted pictures of themselves picking up a Devil Fruit.
The situation reflected John's original idea; it wasn't one-sided. Some players chose to sell and withdraw cash directly, while others decided to eat the fruits and use their abilities to make money.
Of course, there were still some who didn't care about money at all.
Players had their own choices, and John would quickly send money to those who opted to withdraw cash. Honesty was crucial.
As "One Piece" continued to gain traction, the results from the first day came in: eleven million!
That's right, "One Piece" achieved over 10 million downloads on its first day without any advance publicity from John.
There were no fewer than dozens of level 10 virtual game designers globally, yet their games had never exceeded 10 million on the first day.
Most of their fanbases grew gradually over time, with no one reaching the tenth level in such a short span like John had with one or two games.
On WeChat's trending searches, eight of the top ten spots were occupied by news about "One Piece," while the remaining two were about a certain queen and a dance video of a popular niche.
The number one hot search was about the two-way exchange between in-game currency and real-world currency set by John.
A/N; Thanks for reading, donate some power stones for extra chapters.
Also check out my Patreon if you want extra chapters: Patreon.com/AncestorX
Enjoy ✌️.
One day of anticipation had passed, and John's decision to allow in-game currency to be exchanged for real-world money had sparked a frenzy far beyond the popularity of One Piece itself. Discussions about this new feature were spreading like wildfire, with comment sections exploding, showing thousands of new messages with every refresh.
As Olivia Su had predicted, this marked a revolution in the gaming industry.
Players were ecstatic, while rival companies were in a state of panic.
"Is he insane?"
"I'm reporting this! This is unfair competition, totally disrupting the market!"
"Exactly! In-game currency should never be allowed to convert into real money!"
"Oh, so it's fine when you rake in money, but we can't make money from the game now?"
"Serves you right! All John's games are player-friendly, while every one of your games is a cash grab!"
"By the way, @"One Piece World, come out and get wrecked. Let's see how your so-called 'authentic' One Piece holds up against this."
"@One Piece World, come take your beating! And while you're at it, return my premium ship!"
(A/N: They are referring to that pirate copy of John's game from the previous chapters.)
Meanwhile, as executives from other game companies threw a fit, their stance was obvious. They didn't want to open two-way exchanges because their revenue came from manipulating players into spending more. They couldn't comprehend how John could generate value from his games while also creating opportunities for players to earn money.
But the players? They were overjoyed. After all, who wouldn't want to make real money while playing games?
At the headquarters of Nexusplay Games, John logged into the Second World. It wasn't because he had suddenly decided to become a Pokémon trainer. No, his decision to open two-way game exchanges had upset certain powerful interests, and a special meeting was being held to address this.
John, accompanied by Michael, entered the central building of Seaside City in Second World and made his way into a spacious room with a large round conference table. Already seated around the table were various high-ranking individuals, and as soon as John walked in, all eyes turned to him.
"That's John, isn't it? Haha, my daughter loves the Pokémon you created."
"He seems unassuming, yet he's so bold!"
"Yes, such courage from such a young man."
John kept his face blank. In truth, he had no idea what kind of expression he should make. After all, he was just a gamer who happened to like creating games, and he didn't recognize any of these powerful figures.
Yet, judging by their casual remarks, they didn't seem hostile toward his revolutionary idea.
"Son, share your thoughts with Master David."
Sensing John's bewilderment, Michael subtly nudged him. His voice calm, he encouraged John to explain the situation.
John hesitated for a moment, then said, "Uh, hello, Master David. What exactly would you like to know?"
David cooper, ruler of Eastflower Province, gave a kindly smile and said, "No need to be nervous. Just tell us your thoughts on enabling the in-game currency to be converted into real money. Speak freely."
"Uh…" John took a moment to think, then said with a grin, "Would you believe me if I told you it was an accident?"
"Oh? An accident, you say? What kind of accident?"
David looked intrigued, while the other leaders at the table waited silently for John's answer.
"In truth, I didn't set out to disrupt the market," John explained. "I recently launched a game called One Piece with a massive world. My original intention was simply to introduce a monetization system so that players wouldn't complain about the lack of resources at the start."
"But I also didn't want to turn players away by asking them to pay before they'd even started playing, so I opened the option for them to convert in-game currency into real money. That way, players could have the chance to earn back the money they invested."
His explanation was a mix of truth and clever elaboration. In his past life, John had despised games that charged players before they even knew what the game was about. So, with One Piece, he had simply given players more incentive to stay engaged and have a chance to benefit financially.
"I see," David said, catching on quickly. "But can you afford to allow players to make real money from the game?"
John smiled. "It's not easy for players to make real money. The game's mechanics differ significantly from reality. I've made sure of that."
Master David seemed satisfied with this answer, moving on to a new topic. "I've heard your new game has a vast world."
"Yes, but it's just a world I imagined. It's not as grand as it sounds."
"Well, let's just say if we wanted to get involved, would you be able to offer us a discount?"
"Uh?"
John was taken aback by the sudden shift in conversation. Were these officials actually talking about joining the game?
After a moment of hesitation, John quickly replied, "Master David, you must be joking! These are real funds, and if I gave you a discount, I'd be taking a huge loss!"
He couldn't afford to discount the in-game currency exchange, not with the sums these officials might bring in.
"Haha, just pulling your leg," David chuckled, stroking his beard. "You don't need to worry."
Then, with a more serious tone, he added, "Actually, this whole exchange idea came from Adam. He suggested that we consider investing in your game because of its potential for development."
John blinked. His brother Adam had suggested this? Adam had indeed joined the game yesterday, and John now recalled that he'd plunged straight into the bustling hub of the Sabaody Archipelago.
But before John could dwell on it, Master David dropped another bombshell.
"In fact, we were planning to implement a two-way currency exchange feature in Second World ourselves. However, before we could even launch the test phase, you activated it first with your game."
"Now, we're thinking of using One Piece as a test case to see how this plays out."
John was floored. Were they seriously using his game as an official experiment now? He had unwittingly triggered a major movement in the industry.
A/N; Thanks for reading, donate some power stones for extra chapters.
Also check out my Patreon if you want extra chapters up to chapter 65: Patreon.com/AncestorX
Enjoy ✌️.
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