Bab 63: Forum
*Can accelerating the world-altering process let players arrive earlier? Or is it some kind of butterfly effect?*
Bai Yi's eyes gleamed with curiosity as he considered the possibilities. Could he actually enter the forum himself? He focused on the forum and, to his surprise, a gray page appeared in front of him. He froze, shocked.
"What the…!"
"Wow!"
"Seriously?"
Strings of exclamations filled the screen, all in rapid succession. It was a mess, yet unmistakable in tone—it was a flood of messages from players, likely from China, reacting to the game's release.
As Bai Yi processed this, Irene, still sulking, ran up beside him. "Boss, any chance of a raise now that you're rolling in gold?"
Without missing a beat, Bai Yi closed the forum interface, casually waving off her question. "Let's talk about that after you awaken your talent. Until then, a hundred gold coins should be plenty."
Irene's face fell. "What?! I still have years before my talent awakens! You're practically a millionaire, yet you only pay us 100 gold coins a month. If word gets out, everyone will say you're stingy."
Bai Yi quickened his pace, barely looking at her. "Fine, fine, we'll increase it."
Irene's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"
"Sure, the store's pulling in more than enough, and Luo Ning's salary already doubled."
Irene whined, "What about mine?"
"When you awaken your talent or reach bronze level, your rank and pay will increase."
"Ugh, really?" Irene muttered to herself. She trailed behind Bai Yi in defeat.
When they reached the shop, Bai Yi greeted Luo Ning before disappearing into his lab, lost in thought. *The players are already here. This world is getting more interesting.*
Meanwhile, Irene, still irritated, found herself standing near Luo Ning, her expression mournful. Luo Ning, who had been quietly reading, noticed her downcast look. She closed her book and asked, "Sister Irene, are you alright? Who upset you?"
With a dramatic sigh, Irene hugged Luo Ning, looking almost tearful. "It's the boss! He won't give me a raise."
"Isn't 100 gold coins quite a lot?" Luo Ning patted Irene on the back, trying to comfort her.
"But he doubled your salary and won't give me a single extra coin. He's targeting me!" Irene pouted.
"Would you like me to share half of my pay?" Luo Ning offered gently.
Irene shook her head. "No, what's yours is yours. I want to make that miserly boss pay up. You don't know how much he raked in last night."
Bai Yi ignored the complaints filtering in from outside, his thoughts focused on Irene's potential. Her talent was nearing its awakening—a rite of passage for elves, signaling the onset of adulthood. Elves didn't train much until this point, instead spending their youth in play and study, a tradition preserved since the days of the Goddess of Life. But Bai Yi didn't deny that toying with her a little was amusing; her fiery personality added some fun to his days.
He reopened the forum and spent a few minutes assessing the restrictions. He could view posts but not make them—a limitation that didn't bother him much. Observation alone could tell him plenty about the players' movements. Besides, it was intriguing to have access to the forum at all. Most NPCs lacked the capability to track player actions, treating these "aliens" with a mix of fascination and suspicion.
Soon, two forum posts caught his attention:
[Does anyone else think this Bai Yi guy is handsome?]
[Are you choosing Dongwu Castle? This Bai Yi seems like the main protagonist of the Dawn server!]
Bai Yi raised his eyebrows and clicked on the first post. It featured a video, filmed not from a god-like view but from the perspective of Old Lang.
In the video, everything was a harsh white. A wounded paw trembled in the snow as the old wolf staggered forward. A low crunch echoed with each step, the only sound besides the howling wind. The wolf looked back, uneasy, its blood staining the snow like ink on a blank page. But the falling snow quickly covered all traces.
Suddenly, footsteps crunched behind him. The old wolf's vision blurred, and a familiar voice broke the silence. "Found you."
The screen sharpened, revealing a young man in a hood with piercing, calm eyes. He reached down toward the wolf, and the camera zoomed out as the boy gently lifted the wounded creature. In the distance, shadows loomed in the direction the wolf had just been looking.
The boy's figure distorted, flashes of scarlet and dark blue energy pulsating around him, as the shadows in the distance seemed to unfurl into a dark, ominous bloom.
The video ended, and Bai Yi scanned the comments below:
[Cool video, but it doesn't fit the theme. Why are other Federation promo videos about monsters, but ours is about a human?]
[Some people think he's the protagonist of the server. Maybe we should support him?]
[When has a Chinese server ever used villains as a focal point? Makes sense to highlight someone like Bai Yi.]
[This is a shared server, right? Shouldn't it cater to all players equally?]
[China's server is the best. Not up for debate!]
Bai Yi read through the lively debate, feeling a mix of nostalgia and intrigue. The tone felt familiar, yet the theme was unexpected. He mused to himself: *Is the Night Rose group behind this shift? Odd… The old swordsman should still be around.*
This world was evolving rapidly, and his part in it was far from over.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone