377: Chapter 377 New Players

Qinling Base, White Jade Capital Guild Hall.

The night wind poured into the hall through the open doors. Director Li Guoan walked with hurried steps, with Zhang Yunhai, Sun Feng, and the others following closely behind.

The moment Director Li Guoan entered, his eyes fixed onto the "map of ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers" hanging in the center of the hall, which shimmered with golden light.

The mountains and lakes on the scroll remained shrouded in mist, appearing majestic and grand.

The layout of the territory on it was no different from before the Guild Boss battle.

Director Li Guoan stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowed deeply.

He turned to look at the right side of the hall, where Chen You stood quietly, his expression unreadable.

"No movement." Director Li Guoan pointed at the map on the wall, his voice low. "Did the Descent fail? Did that beautiful girl deceive us?"

Chen You shook his head calmly.

"It succeeded. The entire process took less than a minute."

"Although that 'Invincible Beautiful Girl' isn't the brightest, she's fairly reliable when it comes to getting things done."

"Then why hasn't the map changed?" Zhang Yunhai stepped forward. "Shouldn't it be linked to the Luck Value?"

Chen You pulled over a chair and sat down, a meaningful smile appearing on his face.

"Perhaps it's not that simple. Plundering Luck in the game and plundering Luck in the real world are two different things."

Sun Feng looked at the data waveforms on the screen and pushed up his glasses.

"That makes sense. The underlying logic of the Source Realm is very rigorous; it separates a civilization's own growth from its external war plundering."

"So... was this Descent all for nothing?"

Not only that, there was also a bizarre transaction.

Not only was it for nothing, but it was also a loss.

Although it wasn't clear yet what exactly had been lost.

Director Li Guoan noticed the change in Chen You's expression and sat down as well.

"Little Chen, were there any extra gains?"

Chen You didn't answer.

He simply extended his right hand slowly.

The air in the hall underwent a violent distortion.

Specks of blue light converged in Chen You's palm, quickly outlining a physical object.

Everyone immediately crowded around.

It was a silver-gray metal bracelet.

Its surface was engraved with complex geometric patterns. The material was neither metal nor wood, emitting a faint, eerie blue glow.

Sun Feng's eyes widened instantly. He propped his hands on the table, his face almost touching the bracelet.

"This... this is?"

Chen You raised his left hand and shook the bracelet on his wrist that had accompanied him throughout his battles in the Source Realm.

"Look familiar?"

The two were identical.

A brief silence fell over the hall.

Director Li Guoan sucked in a breath of cold air and suddenly looked up at Chen You. His usually steady voice actually trembled slightly: "You mean..."

"The Source Realm calls it a 'Civilization Data Interface'." Chen You leaned back in his chair, his tone calm.

"This was the reward after plundering Luck from other guilds during this Descent. Although I'm not sure if it's a guaranteed drop, it at least represents..."

Chen You paused, and seeing everyone's shocked expressions, he slowly finished his sentence: "Our Huaxia can now have a second player."

Boom!

This sentence instantly set the room ablaze.

Sun Feng was the first to lunge toward the table, reaching out to grab the bracelet. "Give it to me! Let me do it! I want to enter the Source Realm! Don't stop me!"

"Nonsense!" Zhang Yunhai grabbed Sun Feng by the back of his collar and hauled the crazed data specialist back.

"You're a data guy; are you going in there to die? This slot must go to the military!"

"We need a special forces soldier with high tactical proficiency to go in and provide cover for Chen You, establishing a two-person tactical system!"

"Tactics my foot!" Professor Pan sneered. "The Source Realm is now a game between civilizations! What's needed are negotiation skills and social science!"

No one thought about the dangers; everyone wanted to enter the Source Realm personally.

Chen You sat in his chair, watching this scene, his eyes twitching wildly.

"Quiet, everyone!"

Director Li Guoan slammed the table.

The hall fell silent instantly.

Sun Feng sheepishly withdrew his hand.

Director Li Guoan took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.

He turned to Chen You. "Chen You, what are the activation conditions for this bracelet? Are there any restrictions?"

Chen You leaned back and spread his hands.

"If I said I didn't know, would you believe me, Director?"

The air in the hall froze for a moment.

Sun Feng's hand, which was about to push his glasses, froze in mid-air, and Zhang Yunhai's brow furrowed.

Director Li Guoan just looked at Chen You, waiting for him to continue.

"My main body just asked Hill in the game." Chen You pointed at the bracelet.

"That AI customer service agent gave me a real runaround."

"However... I've deduced two key points."

Chen You held up one finger.

"First, this thing doesn't have independent sovereignty; it's more like a 'sub-account'."

"Sub-account?" Professor Pan keenly caught the term. "Do you mean the holder of this bracelet won't have independent permissions?"

"Yes and no." Chen You snapped his fingers. "I suspect this is a product of Immortal Summer's Luck increasing, so the holder would automatically belong to the Immortal Summer Guild."

Zhang Yunhai waved it off dismissively. "How is that a restriction? If the state sends someone in, they'd be there to cooperate with you anyway."

Chen You held up a second finger.

His expression became extremely serious, even carrying a hint of lingering fear.

"The second point, and the most important one." Chen You looked around at everyone and said word by word, "This sub-account cannot Pay-to-Win."

The hall fell silent again.

Even the ever-steady Director Li Guoan couldn't help but have his eye twitch.

"Cannot... Pay-to-Win?" Zhang Yunhai swallowed hard, his voice dry.

"There's no top-up channel." Chen You nodded heavily and pointed at the ceiling. "That high-dimensional system of the Source Realm probably has some ulterior motives."

Everyone frowned, thinking of something.

All this time, Chen You's strength had increased so rapidly because of his Pay-to-Win status.

Perhaps the Source Realm also wanted to see what other Huaxia people would be like without Pay-to-Win?

Chen You stood up.

"Group Leader Sun, Professor Pan, you really wanted to go in just now, didn't you?"

Sun Feng nodded subconsciously.

Chen You sneered, his tone carrying the weariness of one who had been through it all. "Did you forget about my newbie quest?"

He gestured with his hands, describing an exaggerated shape.

"That chicken stood two meters tall! Its claws were thicker than rebar! With one peck, the floor tiles would crumble into dust!"

"If it hadn't been for the First-recharge gift pack I got with the initial funds Director Li allocated to me, the grass on my grave would be two meters high by now!"

Chen You's tone was exaggerated, and his emotions were perfectly conveyed.

His meaning was: for an ordinary person, going in would be nothing but delivering themselves on a silver platter!

They wouldn't even make it out of the newbie village!

Sun Feng silently put away his scanner and took two steps back.

Professor Pan also cleared her throat and turned to look at the map on the wall, as if she had suddenly developed a profound interest in Chinese painting.

They weren't afraid of death, but they certainly didn't want to die pointlessly, or worse, negatively impact Huaxia's Luck.