71: Chapter 71 A Few More Experts!

"It's time to buy land!"

When Chen You's clear and powerful voice echoed in the silent conference room.

All the experts' gazes 'swished' away from the massive map of Huaxia, pinning themselves onto Chen You.

Their looks were scorching, eager, and full of anticipation.

Director Li Guoan took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and quickly walked up to Chen You, his voice steady: "Speak. What's the situation?"

Chen You wasted no time and repeated the three territory options displayed by the Source Realm verbatim.

"The first type, [Pioneer's Manor], twice the size of Echo Valley, for one thousand Gold Coins."

"The second type, [City of the Lord], five times the size, nestled by mountains and water, for five thousand Gold Coins."

"The third type..."

Chen You paused.

"[Land of the Chosen], ten times the size. The NPC's original words were 'World Cornerstone,' possessing nearly divine authority, allowing the editing of terrain and the design of unique structures."

A collective gasp echoed through the conference room.

Editing terrain?

Designing architecture?

This was no longer a simple game guild base; this was... a sandbox!

A customizable sandbox with infinite possibilities!

"What about the price?" Data Team Leader Sun Feng adjusted his glasses and eagerly pressed for an answer.

"Ten thousand Gold Coins," Chen You stated the figure.

One hundred billion huaxia coin.

This number brought the noisy discussions to an abrupt halt, but only for a moment.

Immediately following, the eyes of all the experts became even more fervent.

Everyone present was sharp; they instantly grasped the incalculable strategic value behind this 'Land of the Chosen.'

In comparison...

One hundred billion?

Too cheap!

"Little Chen," Director Li Guoan's gaze was as sharp as a falcon's.

He didn't even look at anyone else, staring directly at Chen You.

He pointed to a spot in the void, as if three parchment scrolls were laid out there.

"Just that [Land of the Chosen]."

"Ten thousand Gold Coins, we'll take it!"

Without the slightest hesitation, without a shred of doubt.

This was the decision of Huaxia.

"That's wonderful!"

"Director Li, wise decision!"

The experts erupted in cheers, as if they could already see a brand new era drawing its curtain.

However, Director Li Guoan raised his hand and motioned for quiet.

The noisy conference room fell silent again.

His expression became more solemn than ever before. His gaze swept over everyone present, finally landing on Chen You.

"Everyone, from the start of this project until now, have you noticed..."

"The Source Realm... seems to have been constantly tempting us to Pay-to-Win!"

His voice wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

"I've been thinking about one question recently."

"Why would the Source Realm, or rather, the entity that created the Source Realm, need us to 'Pay-to-Win'?"

"Does it want huaxia coin? A credit currency circulating internally among us?"

"You are all top experts; tell me."

"For a great being capable of creating transcendent power, distorting the laws of physics, and constructing a real world, what use is money that is no different from waste paper to it?"

The moment the question was posed, the room fell into dead silence.

Yes.

Why?

This question was too fundamental; they had subconsciously ignored it all along.

Just like breathing air, spending money in a game was only natural.

But now that Director Li Guoan had pointed it out, the deep-seated sense of strangeness instantly swept over everyone.

Does a god need you to burn waste paper for him?

That makes no sense!

"Could it be... a screening mechanism? A test of a civilization's cohesion and execution ability?"

Sociology expert Pan Yu was the first to break the silence, offering a guess.

"Possible," Data Team Leader Sun Feng followed up immediately.

"Or, the act of 'recharging' itself is a ritual for energy exchange."

"The huaxia coin represents the credit and 'fortune' of our entire national system. What it wants isn't money, but this."

Guesses came one after another, but none had any evidence.

Chen You stood to the side, his heart tingling as he listened.

He had harbored this doubt before, but nowhere near as deeply.

Now, analyzed by these top minds, he felt the truth behind it was utterly unimaginable.

"All speculations are just that—speculations,"

Director Li Guoan interrupted the discussion; his gaze was as sharp as a knife.

"Theories that haven't been verified are just castles in the air."

"So, this time, we will conduct an experiment."

He looked at Chen You.

"Little Chen, don't rush to recharge yet. I will immediately coordinate with the bank to have them directly modify the electronic data in your bank account from the backend, adding one hundred billion to it."

"At the same time, I will instruct the Ministry of Finance to transfer two hundred billion in real funds to this account."

"Then you can enter the game and recharge."

Director Li Guoan lowered his voice slightly.

"We will see if you can ultimately exchange for thirty thousand Gold Coins, or if... you can only exchange for twenty thousand Gold Coins."

"We will test whether the Source Realm system verifies a string of numbers in the bank database..."

"...or the 'money' that truly circulates in our real society, carrying national credit!"

"I... I understand,"

Chen You swallowed hard and nodded.

The result of this experiment would directly reveal part of the truth behind the 'Source Realm's' Pay-to-Win system.

If virtual data could also be used for recharging, it would mean the Source Realm system had a huge loophole, or that it simply didn't care about money.

If it didn't work, it would mean it could precisely identify the value of every single 'real credit.'

Regardless of the outcome, the strategic significance was incalculable.

"Good, wait a moment," Director Li Guoan was decisive. "I'll make the calls now."

About five minutes later.

Everything was settled.

Chen You received a text notification from the bank. Looking at the extra 30 billion, he also couldn't help but want to immediately enter the game to verify it.

"Little Chen, go ahead. Verification is one thing, but besides buying land, see what else you can buy with that 20 billion."

"If it's not enough, I will immediately transfer more to you."

Chen You nodded in acknowledgment.

He wouldn't be polite now.

Watching Chen You enter the transparent isolation space, Director Li Guoan seemed to remember something and turned back to instruct his Assistant:

"Immediately contact a few experts for me. I need them to report to the base at the fastest possible speed."

"Academician Liu Sicheng from the National Architectural Research Institute."

"Chief Designer Zhang Bai from the Aerospace Engineering Space Station Structural Design Group."

"And..."

Director Li Guoan paused and stated the last name.

"Professor Wang Qiuchi from the Central Academy of Fine Arts."

Wang Qiuchi!

The titan-level figure in contemporary Chinese aesthetic design!

His works were acclaimed as 'The Eastern Myth that Fuses the Spirit of the High Tang Dynasty with the Cosmos.'

Hearing these names, everyone was deeply shocked once again.

This was no longer a simple team of experts.

This was a 'Divine Lineup' assembled from Huaxia's top infrastructure fanatics, spatial masters, and aesthetic grandmasters!

What they were going to build was not a simple guild base.

What they were going to construct was a true—City of Heaven and Man!