370: Chapter 370 Hidden Star City Doesn't Support Idlers

While Chen You was immersed in his tasks, in the urban district of Cangxing City...

Thousands of players were gathered in the plaza, setting up stalls, forming parties, or exchanging monster-grinding experiences.

Suddenly, a dull vibration came from the ground.

"An earthquake?" A Berserker player carrying a greatsword steadied his stance and looked around.

Before everyone could react, the entire landscape of Cangxing City began a violent reconstruction.

The street surfaces, originally covered in black coal cinders and gray dust, flipped over rapidly. A layer of cold-gleaming metal armor plating spread outward from the City Lord's Mansion, instantly covering the main thoroughfares.

On both sides of the streets, those wasteland-style buildings made of stone and wood emitted tooth-aching creaks before being forcibly deconstructed and reorganized amidst a blinding blue light.

Rising from the ground were steel skyscrapers full of mechanical texture.

Huge holographic projection screens hung on the outer walls, and blue-and-purple intertwined neon tubes extended all the way up the edges of the buildings, piercing the sky.

In mid-air, where there had been nothing, several intersecting maglev tracks appeared out of thin air.

Even the NPCs on the streets, who were originally wearing tattered leather armor with faces full of coal dust, saw a flow of data across their clothes.

In the blink of an eye, the tattered leather armor turned into tactical trench coats with fluorescent stripes.

The entire field fell silent.

All the players widened their eyes, watching this city that had turned upside down in just a few minutes.

"Holy crap..." The sword in the Berserker player's hand dropped onto the metal floor with a clang. "This game can be played like this? The main city upgraded itself?"

"Look at the giant holographic screens!" someone exclaimed.

Everyone looked up to see several lines of gold-embossed characters scrolling across the giant screens on the building walls:

[Thanks to the generous investment of acting city lord Chen You!]

[Cangxing City South District Floating Disco Hall is now officially open!]

[Horn Magic BBQ Experience Store's grand opening, 20% off storewide!]

...

Announcements covering all walks of life continued to scroll by.

"Chen You? Is that God You?"

"How did he become the acting city lord?"

"Did he buy Cangxing City?"

...

Looking at the reconstructed main city, the players once again gained a deeper understanding of the power of money.

City Lord's Mansion, Administrative Hall.

Chen You was completely unaware of the commotion outside.

He was leaning back on the throne, brow slightly furrowed, staring at the holographic panel in front of him.

[City Status: Cangxing City (A Rising City of Miracles)]

[Prosperity: 9850/10000 (Extremely Prosperous)]

[Public Security: 10000/10000 (Peaceful enough to leave doors unlocked at night)]

[Happiness Index: 990 (Fanatical Worship)]

"It's stuck." Chen You reached out and tapped the obsidian tabletop.

Public security was already maxed out, but Prosperity was stuck at 9850 points and wouldn't budge no matter what.

He had just dumped another ten thousand gold coins into the treasury, but the value didn't move an inch.

Clearly, relying purely on throwing money at buildings and welfare had reached the limit set by the system.

"Still short by 150 points." Chen You sat up straight.

He understood the game's underlying logic very well; the rewards for 99% and 100% were absolutely worlds apart.

"I've spent money everywhere I can." Chen You flipped through the empty reports on the desk.

"Commerce is maxed, infrastructure is maxed. What else are these unruly citizens unsatisfied with?"

He clicked on the detailed data for the Happiness Index.

[Citizen Feedback: We have money, we're full, but we feel life is very boring.]

"Too much food and nothing to do," Chen You snorted coldly.

His capitalist intuition told him that at this time, he had to find something for them to do.

Once people are idle, they start overthinking, which lowers their sense of happiness.

In the corner of the panel, he discovered a gray button: [Custom Event (Requires massive funds and authority)].

Chen You smiled.

So it was waiting here.

The one thing he didn't lack was funds; this custom event was practically tailor-made for him.

Click, activate.

[Please set the event type and scale.]

"Material needs are met, so let's have some spiritual-level dimensionality reduction strikes." Chen You typed quickly in the input box.

"Event Name: The 1st Cangxing City 'Youth Camp 101' and Super Idol Selection Contest."

"Event Scale: City-wide Carnival (Highest Level)."

"Reward Allocation: Fifty thousand gold coins!"

The system pop-ups flashed crazily.

[Vocabulary anomaly detected, adapting to world view... Match successful!]

[Event Generated: 'Voice of Star Source: Cangxing City's First Cross-Species Idol Grand Prix']

Chen You began setting the specific rules.

"First, no race restrictions. Elves, Orcs, Undead, Slimes—as long as you're breathing, or used to breathe, you can sign up."

"Second, establish auditions, first stage, public performances, and the grand finale. Registration fee is ten copper coins; participation is what matters."

"Third, open off-site voting channels. Spend money to buy 'Starlight Tickets,' one gold coin per vote, no upper limit. Anyone who doesn't spend money doesn't deserve to be called a true fan!"

"Fourth, advertising and sponsorship. Sell all the naming rights for things like that Magic BBQ shop and the Succubus Tavern. Slot fees start at two thousand gold coins."

Chen You got more excited as he wrote, as if he could see countless gold coins waving at him.

Not only could he max out Prosperity and the Happiness Index, but he could also earn back a portion of the money he had spent earlier.

A perfect closed loop.

Even though this money would likely be funneled back into city construction funds, it didn't matter!

This was the charm of capital.

Click publish.

[Ding! City-wide announcement has been issued!]

In the sky above Cangxing City, countless brilliant colored light beams suddenly descended, enveloping the entire mechanical dome like an aurora.

A huge holographic projection appeared in the plaza at the center of the city.

In the projection, Chen You sat regally on his throne.

His voice, processed by the system, turned into a highly penetrating cyber-electronic tone:

"Citizens of Cangxing City, Adventurers!"

"Are you tired of the boring grind of killing monsters to level up? Do you feel your talents have nowhere to be displayed?"

"Now, the opportunity has come!"

"'Voice of Star Source' has officially begun! Whether you are a noble Elf or a sewer Ratman, as long as you dare to show off, you are the next top star!"

"The champion will receive the 'Star Source Idol' title awarded by the City Lord's Mansion, as well as... a debut reward worth fifty thousand gold coins!"

The entire city fell silent.

Three seconds later, a roar of excitement erupted that nearly blew the dome off.

"Fifty thousand gold coins?!"

"I want to sign up! My singing is incredibly beautiful; my mom said I have the voice of an angel!"

A burly Orc Berserker threw down his double-bladed axe and howled at the top of his lungs, directly shattering the bulletproof glass of a nearby shop.

"Get lost! What do you crude fellows know about being an idol?" Several Elf Rangers began frantically fixing their hair, even pulling out enchanted mirrors.

Even the captain of the City Guard's Third Squad pulled his newlywed Slime wife and rushed excitedly toward the registration point.

"Wife, let's go perform the 'smashing a large stone on one's chest' act! If we win the money, we'll go buy a house in the God City!"

The entire Cangxing City fell into an unprecedented frenzy.