7 The establishment of Shenqi City

Laotan Suan Cai and the others were at the back of the line, and it took more than ten minutes before it was almost their turn.

At this moment, Yu Zhen Hao Chi, who was behind them, looked at the people submitting their stone materials. After a moment of contemplation, he patted Laotan Suan Cai on the shoulder.

In a low voice, he said, "I think I'll give you my stone materials. With so many people here, the chances of both of us making it into the top ten are too slim."

"It would be better to give you all the stone materials so that you can still make it into the top ten of the contribution board," Yu Zhen Hao Chi said seriously.

Laotan Suan Cai looked at Yu Zhen Hao Chi's determined expression and considered his words. He realized that there was wisdom in what his friend was saying, so he didn't object. Instead, he said, "If I make it to the top ten, I'll split the rewards with you."

"It's okay, we're brothers. This is not a big deal. Just take me along when you go monster hunting later," Yu Zhen Hao Chi replied.

Finally, it was their turn. Laotan Suan Cai and Yu Zhen Hao Chi emptied their spatial backpacks, dumping out all the stone materials they had collected.

Zhou Heng (embodiment of divine power) looked at the two men and simply asked, "Are you submitting the stone materials?"

"Yes, please credit them all to Lao Tan Suan Cai," whispered Yu Zhen Hao Chi, obviously not wanting the players behind them to overhear and copy their strategy.

Zhou Heng remained expressionless as he said, "Thank you for your contribution. May the Goddess bless you."

At this moment, Lao Tan Suan Cai noticed that his ranking on the contribution board had jumped from the bottom to 7th place. This motivated him even more, and he grabbed Yu Zhen Hao Chi's hand and ran towards the direction of the teleportation gate.

As they approached the lake, they spotted several familiar figures emerging from the water. It was the group with the bearded man they had encountered earlier. Apparently, they had been killed by the skeleton knight and had respawned in the lake.

Lao Tan Suan Cai didn't want to be seen by them, as he didn't want any trouble. It wasn't that he was afraid of them, but the mission was urgent and couldn't be delayed. He quietly avoided the bearded group and hurriedly ran towards the teleportation gate to continue their next round of mining.

Meanwhile, Zhou Heng and Nina were also observing the players.

"After giving them some time to adapt, they've indeed changed," Zhou Heng said to Nina.

"Yes! I can't believe how hard they're willing to work for a mission. It's incredible," Nina agreed, nodding her head.

"With the current income of divine power, we can harvest 8-10 points of emotional energy from each player per day, without harming their mental state. Following the conversion ratio of emotional energy to divine power, which is 1000:1, we can obtain 1 point of divine power per day," Nina explained.

"We can gradually increase our investment in the players, increasing the number of participants. Once we accumulate 100 points of divine power and resources, I'll be able to ascend to a demi-plane," Zhou Heng added.

"However, we currently have too few NPCs. We need more hands," Nina pointed out.

"We can use the souls of the skeletons to create more NPCs. I managed to collect a few souls from the players who were killed. They can serve as regular NPCs," Zhou Heng suggested.

"That will work. My incarnation is too busy there as it is," Nina agreed.

Zhou Heng then turned his attention back to the players. Through the system, he could see the perspective of each player. He watched as some overconfident players challenged the skeleton knight, unaware that they stood no chance against it with their current level and equipment. The skeleton knight's strength was equivalent to a level 9 player.

It was now 6 pm in the real world, and 10 hours had passed in the game. As the last player submitted their materials, the stone for building the newbie village was finally collected by the players.

The players gathered before Zhou Heng's incarnation, waiting. Zhou Heng's consciousness descended upon them, and with a wave of his hand, the players were immobilized once again.

"Here it comes again, that familiar feeling. The cutscene is about to begin," one player muttered.

"Is it finally time to start building the city?" another wondered.

Just as the players were speculating, Zhou Heng retrieved the stone materials from his hidden space and piled them up beside him, forming a mountainous heap. This was the fruit of the players' labor throughout the day.

Anthony (Zhou Heng) clapped his hands to gather the players' attention and addressed them with a serious expression, "Brave adventurers, thanks to your efforts, we have finally collected enough materials to build our city. Now, it's time for me to take action."

With a wave of his World Tree scepter, the stones around him floated into the air and began to fall into place according to a pre-planned layout south of the World Tree. Like building blocks, the stones landed one by one, transforming into the shapes needed for construction as soon as they touched the ground. The gaps between the stones fused together seamlessly.

First, the temple of the Goddess was constructed, followed by the statue of the Goddess, the quest hall, shops, and other buildings. However, only the temple was occupied at the moment, by Zhou Heng himself, as there was a severe shortage of hands.

Next came the walls and gates surrounding the city, and any remaining stones were turned into slabs and placed around the buildings. Thus, the basic structure of the newbie village was complete, awaiting further improvements in the future.

After finishing the construction, Zhou Heng wiped his nonexistent sweat and addressed the players, "The establishment of this city marks a new hope for us all. Although it may be small now, one day it will become the largest city in all the realms. That is why this city shall be named Shenqi City, the place where our dreams take flight."

"The rewards will be distributed to you tomorrow," he continued. "And for the top ten participants in this event, there will be mysterious rewards waiting for you tomorrow. May the Goddess bless you all."

As he spoke, the players were left in awe of the spectacle they had witnessed. It was only after Zhou Heng finished speaking that they came to their senses.

"This is amazing! Long live the High Priest! My afternoon of hauling bricks was not in vain," one player exclaimed.

"This game blows all other games out of the water. I declare that I will only play this game from now on," another declared.

The excitement among the players was palpable as Zhou Heng took control of the system and issued a system notification for them to log out so he could plan the next phase of the game.

A system notification appeared on the players' screens:

[The game will undergo a version update in 30 seconds. The estimated downtime is 12 hours. Please choose a safe location to log out. The system is not responsible for the safety of your character or belongings.]

Before the players could react, the countdown had begun, and they began to log out successively.

Some players hid what they thought were treasures they found today before logging out.

There were also some players who disregarded the system's warnings and logged out on the spot.

Zhou Heng watched as the players' bodies collapsed, leaving them unattended where they fell, eagerly anticipating the show that would unfold the next day.

Tomorrow, when the players log back in, they will be in for a pleasant surprise.