125: Chapter 125: Is the Official Team Trying to Make Money? (All Changed to Free)

The red maples of Luofeng Village swirled and drifted onto the stone table on the hill. A breeze carrying the scent of nature swept through the Elf District, and the soft light of the laurel lamps bathed them in warmth, making it exceptionally comfortable.

Lin Chen nibbled on half a piece of osmanthus spiritual honey cake, his short legs dangling and swinging. His soft little hands patted the thousand-year-old fire dragon egg by his feet, causing the shell to emit a rhythmic thumping sound.

Beside him, Lin Yueyao held the high priests scepter, which was taller than she was. She squatted on the ground, poking at the newly sprouted moonlight grass, her light brown, deer-like eyes sparkling with curiosity.

The Great Elder of the Elves stood by in attendance, watching with trepidation, terrified that the two little ancestors might be careless and damage the dragon egg—if something were to go wrong, the Dragon Race would likely flip the world upside down.

"Thump, thump, thump—"

Rapid hoofbeats echoed from the eastern official road. Zhou Ming, accompanied by two employees from the Operations Department, arrived drenched in sweat, carrying two boxes full of Elf candied fruits and spirit-tier forging materials.

Still three meters away from the hill, the group bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle, their waists bent almost to the ground. "Archon! Little Priest! We apologize for the intrusion!"

Lin Chen lifted his little eyelids slightly, still nibbling on the spiritual honey cake, and spoke indistinctly. "What is it? Hasn't the payment for the last [Holy Light City Celebration] been settled yet?"

"It's settled! It was settled long ago and deposited into the Luofeng Village public account!" Zhou Ming waved his hands hurriedly, a respectful smile plastered on his face, and presented a neatly bound proposal with both hands. "It is like this, my Lord. Now that Mr. Lin Zhe has been invested as Prince Regent, the heat across the entire server is firmly in first place, and the discussion volume on the world channel is extremely high. Our Operations Department would like to leverage this momentum to launch a [Prince Regent Celebration] event to boost server-wide activity. This is the initial draft of the event; I humbly request you to review it."

He paused, his tone becoming even more respectful. "Our preliminary plan is to release an exclusive Prince Regent welfare gift pack, featuring a half-body image of Mr. Lin Zhe on the cover, distributed in limited quantities across the server. We are willing to allocate forty percent of the event proceeds to the Luofeng Village public account; we absolutely will not let you suffer any losses, my Lord!"

Zhou Ming calculated inwardly: This gift pack is planned to be priced at 99 maple coins, containing three pieces of basic Green-tier equipment and five low-level health potions, with an extremely low cost. Based on the current popularity, it could sell at least ten million units. Even after deducting forty percent for Luofeng Village, the official side would still make a hefty profit, and the headquarters would surely commend him.

Lin Chen reached out with his little hand to take the proposal, flipped through it quickly, and his little brows furrowed instantly. With a "slap," he placed the proposal on the stone table, his milky voice laced with obvious displeasure. "What kind of welfare gift pack is this? 99 maple coins for just a few pieces of ordinary Green-tier equipment and low-level potions? So, if players want to get welfare related to my father, they have to spend money first? You are using my father's name to trick players into spending money!"

Zhou Ming shuddered, cold sweat instantly breaking out on his forehead. He hurriedly waved his hands in defense. "That is not it, my Lord! This is just a first draft; if you are not satisfied, we will modify it immediately! We will change it right away!"

How could he dare to argue? During the previous Elf Blessing Week and the Novice League, it was only after Lin Chen modified the rules that the server-wide activity and revenue increased significantly. If he were to displease this little ancestor and cause the event to be called off, headquarters would certainly punish or even fire him.

Beside him, Lin Yueyao also raised her little head, shook the high priests scepter in her hand, and added in her milky voice, "You cannot make players spend money. My father's welfare should be free for everyone."

"Correct!" Lin Chen swung his little feet, picked up a pen, and quickly crossed out several lines on the proposal, his tone firm. "Change it exactly as I say. First, cancel the paid gift pack and change it to server-wide free welfare. All players can claim it upon logging in; they don't need to do any tasks or spend a single cent. Second, replace all the welfare content. Change it to a 3-day 10% overall drop rate buff, 10 bottles of intermediate health potions, plus a [Prince Regent Commemorative Avatar Frame]. Wearing it will increase all attributes by 3%, effective permanently. Third, allocate thirty percent of the sales revenue from event-related merchandise to the Luofeng Village public account, specifically to be used for distributing free potions to players in the server-wide Novice Area and for upgrading public facilities. Change it according to these requirements. If you can't change it well, there's no need to hold the event. In the future, whoever dares to use my father's name to trick players into spending money again will have their event approval authority revoked directly."

"Yes, yes, yes! Everything will be done according to your requirements, my Lord!" Zhou Ming nodded and agreed without a second thought. Although the paid gift pack was cancelled, the free, permanent 3% all-attribute avatar frame would certainly attract all players to log in and claim it. Server-wide activity would definitely increase significantly, and merchandise sales would skyrocket. The remaining seventy percent of the revenue would be more than the original plan of selling paid gift packs—it was a guaranteed profit with no loss.

He quickly pulled out the pre-prepared Rule Contract, added all the clauses one by one according to Lin Chen's requirements, bit his fingertip, and pressed his blood print onto it. The Rule Contract instantly lit up with pale golden patterns, binding it to the underlying system of the game. Once breached, they would have to pay ten times the event revenue; the official side had absolutely no room to go back on their word.

In less than half an hour, the event was modified. In the field of view of all online players across the server, a bright red pinned announcement popped up, staying for a full fifteen seconds before disappearing:

[Server-wide Announcement: The brand-new server-wide welfare event [Prince Regent Celebration] is officially live! The specific welfare is as follows:

1. All players who log into the game can claim the exclusive Prince Regent welfare for free: a 3-day 10% overall drop rate buff, 10 bottles of intermediate health potions, and a permanent [Prince Regent Commemorative Avatar Frame] (wearing it increases all attributes by 3%), without needing to complete any tasks or spend any currency!

2. Thirty percent of the sales revenue from event-exclusive merchandise (Prince Regent standees, physical badges of the same avatar frame, etc.) will be credited to the Luofeng Village public account, used for distributing welfare to players in the server-wide Novice Area and for upgrading public facilities!

The rules for this event were personally reviewed and approved by the Archon of Luofeng Village, Lin Chen, and the final interpretation rights belong to Lin Chen!]

After the announcement popped up, the entire server fell into a brief silence, and three seconds later, it completely boiled over!

Messages on the world channel scrolled by so fast that the server briefly lagged for three seconds. Tens of millions of messages piled up, all filled with the players' ecstasy and praise:

"Holy crap? It's actually free? I had my maple coins ready, and it's just being given away? Lord Lin Chen is too generous!"

"A permanent 3% all-attribute avatar frame! And I don't have to spend money! I was planning to log off and rest, but now I'm going to grind dungeons until dawn!"

"Which of the previous official events didn't require spending a lot of maple coins? This time it's actually all free. As expected, with Lord Lin Chen reviewing it, the welfare is finally substantial!"

In less than half a day, the number of claims for the Prince Regent Commemorative Avatar Frame exceeded twenty million. Everywhere on the server, one could see players with golden glowing avatar frames above their heads, walking with their chests held high, looking even more imposing than if they were wearing a full set of purple equipment. Server-wide player activity increased by thirty percent, and the event merchandise was sold out less than an hour after going online. The revenue data in the official backend soared, exceeding the revenue from the anticipated paid gift packs by fifty percent. The staff of the Operations Department were all beaming with joy, and they never dared to plan events that tricked players into spending money again.

Thousands of miles away in Holy Light City, Lin Zhe had just finished reading the list of congratulatory gifts sent from various places. His fingertips moved slightly, and a system notification rang in his mind: [Ding! The [Prince Regent Celebration] event has been successfully launched. The players' awe value towards the host has significantly increased. The host's Power of Rules +1%, current progress 100%! Unlocked the right to control the rules of the entire Human Empire!]

Lin Zhe raised his eyes to look outside the palace gate, where a line of people was waiting to deliver congratulatory gifts. Behind the clouds, one could vaguely see several unfamiliar auras approaching Holy Light City. A very faint arc curled up at the corner of his mouth, and a flash of understanding passed through his eyes.