130: Chapter 130: Universal Welfare? Drop Rate Maxed Out!

The red maple leaves of Luofeng Village swirled and drifted onto the stone table on the earthen slope. A breeze wrapped in Natural Divine Power swept through the Elf District, and the soft glow of the laurel lamps made one feel warm and cozy.

Lin Chen nibbled on half a piece of osmanthus spiritual honey cake, his short legs swinging back and forth. A translucent, pale golden light screen floated before him, displaying a stream of "Congratulations to the Prince Regent" messages from players across the entire server, scrolling so fast that the words were illegible.

Beside him, Lin Yueyao held the high priests scepter, which was taller than she was, and squatted on the ground, poking at the thousand-year-old fire Dragon Egg gifted by the Dragon Clan. The eggshell made a thumping sound with each poke. The Great Elder of the Elves nearby watched with sweaty palms, terrified that this little ancestor might use too much force and crack the Dragon Egg, which would surely result in the Dragon Clan showing up overnight with dragon spears in hand.

"Dad just got appointed as Prince Regent, and all the players on the server are so happy. Let's give out some welfare benefits." Lin Chen chewed on the spiritual honey cake, slapped his little paw onto the stone table, his eyes like black grapes shining brilliantly. "Let's host a 'Prince Regent Welfare Week' that everyone in the Novice Area can collect, so everyone can share in the joy!"

Lin Yueyao raised her little head, her light brown deer-like eyes sparkling. She shook the high priests scepter in her hand and chimed in with a milky voice: "Increase drop rates, so everyone can farm equipment."

Lin Chen held a pen in his little paw, squatting on the stone table as he scribbled down the rules, asking for his sister's opinion with every stroke: "Increase the drop rate of all Novice Area dungeons across the server by 15%, is that enough?"

"Add more. The older brothers and sisters in Falling Maple get an extra 10%." Lin Yueyao shook the scepter, pale green Natural Divine Power overflowing from her fingertips as she began to pre-apply buffs to all Novice Area dungeons across the server.

"Good!" Lin Chen nodded and added another item: "Players only need to gather 10 herbs of any kind to redeem 1 free entry to the Elf Secret Realm. There is no limit to the number of redemptions, no threshold, and anyone can collect it! All benefits require no quests and no spending; you can enjoy them as soon as you log in!"

The Great Elder of the Elves nearby nodded repeatedly, inwardly sighing that these two little masters were truly conscientious. Increasing the server-wide drop rate by 25% was equivalent to getting one extra piece of equipment for every four runs, plus the free Elf Secret Realm entries—wouldn't the players go crazy once these benefits were released?

Hum—! Less than half an hour later, a bright red pinned announcement popped up simultaneously in the view of every online player on the server. It shone for a full fifteen seconds before disappearing, the crimson characters making everyone's eyes swim:

[Server-wide Announcement: Archon of Luofeng Village Lin Chen, Great Priestess of the Elves Lin Yueyao are jointly launching the "Prince Regent Welfare Week" event. The event will last for 7 days, and the benefits are as follows:

1. During the event, the drop rate for all Novice Area dungeons across the server will be increased by 15%. Players registered in Luofeng Village will enjoy an additional 10% drop rate bonus, for a total of 25%!

2. All players can gather 10 herbs of any kind and head to the public warehouse in each Novice Area to redeem 1 free entry to the Elf Secret Realm. There is no limit to the number of redemptions, and there are no thresholds!

3. During the event, the price of potions in all Novice Area will be halved. The public warehouse will distribute 3 free Basic Life Potions every day, which all players can collect! The final interpretation rights of this event belong to Luofeng Village!]

The entire server was deathly silent for three seconds, and then it completely exploded!

The messages on the world channel scrolled so fast that the server lagged for three seconds. Tens of millions of messages stacked up, all filled with ecstatic howling:

"Holy crap? Am I blind? A 25% drop rate increase for all Novice Area dungeons server-wide? And free Elf Secret Realm entries? Big Boss Lin Chen is the GOAT!"

"I just ran the level 10 Wild Boar dungeon, only hoping for some white equipment to tide me over, and I dropped a Blue-tier equipment chest piece! The drop rate really did increase! This is the first time I've farmed a Blue-tier equipment in a Novice Area dungeon in the three months I've been playing!"

"I'm going to gather herbs right now! I'm going to redeem ten Elf Secret Realm entries! I used to have to save up for half a month just to afford one entry, and now it's basically free! This is so awesome!"

Dozens-of-meters-long queues instantly formed at the entrances of dungeons in every Novice Area. Even low-level dungeons that were usually deserted were packed to the brim. There wasn't even a place to stand at the herb-gathering spots. Players carried herb hoes and squatted in the fields, digging frantically. New herbs would grow back in the holes they just dug in less than half a minute—it was impossible to dig them all.

Many solo player who had previously been bullied by guilds monopolizing dungeons managed to collect a full set of Blue-tier equipment after just three dungeon runs. They were so excited that they ran to the world channel to spam a hundred messages of "Big Boss Lin Zhe is awesome" and "Lord Lin Chen is a living Bodhisattva."

Many players in the main cities did the math: Falling Maple players got an extra 10% drop rate and various exclusive benefits. They deleted the accounts they had been leveling for half a month on the spot, used directional teleportation talismans, and ran to Luofeng Village. In less than three days, the number of newly registered players in Luofeng Village increased by 800,000. The white light of the teleportation array flashed so rapidly it almost merged into one. The official team had to temporarily add ten more servers just to stabilize the lag.

The flow of funds in the Luofeng Village public account skyrocketed like a rocket. The extra equipment and materials that players farmed were all listed for sale on the public exchange, and the transaction fees flowed continuously into the public account. In less than three days, the revenue quadrupled. The gold coins and materials inside were piled up like a small mountain, enough to provide free potions to all players in the Novice Area for three months.

Zhou Ming from the Official Operations Department stared at the backend data, his mouth unable to close from smiling. The event had only been live for three days, and the retention rate in all Novice Area across the server had risen to 99%, a full 30% higher than usual. The number of active players had increased by 50%, and the revenue was more than all previous events combined.

Without a second thought, he made the executive decision to add a three-day 10% EXP buff for all players on the server. He even made a special trip to Luofeng Village to gift Lin Chen two boxes of top-tier Elf candied fruits, his face beaming with smiles: "Rest assured, Lord Archon! From now on, we will follow your requirements for all events. The benefits will definitely be maxed out, and we will absolutely not engage in that pay-to-win exploitation!"

Far away in the Holy Light City, Lin Zhe's fingertips moved slightly as he received a system notification: [Ding! "Prince Regent Welfare Week" event has gone live. The awe of players across the server has increased significantly. Host's Human Empire rule adaptation has increased by 1%, current progress 100%!]

He leaned back on the sandalwood chair in the side hall, his fingertips tapping gently on the tabletop. His Rule Perception spread out slightly, and he could clearly sense that in several hidden corners of the Imperial Capital, several malicious auras were gathered together, conspiring about something and ready to make a move.

A faint, cold smile curled at the corners of Lin Zhe's lips, but he didn't take it to heart. If these clowns wanted to jump around, he would just take them all on.