131: Speculation on the First Act of Chapter 131

The Dean's words, "Things haven't been peaceful lately; the power of calamity is spreading silently through the town," explained the reason for the chaotic state of public order in the town.

After leaving the alley, Chen Aoyun and the other three encountered a few more "injustices" and obtained some coins.

Coins could not only be crushed to "strengthen civilization characteristics," but also served as currency themselves.

They found a secluded inn, used the coins earned from dealing with "injustices" to rent two rooms, and then gathered in one of them after ordering some food.

After taking a few bites of the mediocre meal, Fan Ling asked, "Right, didn't you say earlier that you figured out the situation of this First Act? Tell us, what's it all about?"

Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong also looked over. Chen Aoyun put down his chopsticks and began to analyze.

Chen Aoyun first repeated the rule that only he knew to the three of them: [First Act Rule 4: Increase favorability with acquaintances; within one month, factions with high favorability can obtain true friendship. After obtaining true friendship, the acquaintance will recommend a corresponding type of "Combat Heroic Spirit."]

After recounting [First Act Rule 4], Chen Aoyun analyzed further, "Acquaintances, favorability, Combat Heroic Spirit types, plus that compass in my mind. I suspect the layout of this First Act should be like this: The black character silhouettes in the compass should be all the acquaintances available in this First Act. There are ten character silhouettes in the compass, which means there are ten acquaintances in total. Before meeting the corresponding character in the compass, the character only has a silhouette; after meeting them, the character's image will light up, and then favorability will be activated, just like with the 'Dean'. The 'Dean' himself is not a Heroic Spirit, but after obtaining so-called 'true friendship,' the other party will recommend a Combat Heroic Spirit! The recommended Combat Heroic Spirits are also categorized; the Heroic Spirit type recommended by the Dean is: Success in Youth."

Zhao Hongxiu frowned, "NPCs in the plot recommending Heroic Spirits? That doesn't seem right... Placing Heroic Spirits has always been something only a Strategist can do; this is the most fundamental rule of the Game of National Destiny, it cannot change."

Chen Aoyun agreed with Zhao Hongxiu's statement. He had seen the footage provided by Tang Junlin; even if it wasn't "beta testing," matters concerning Heroic Spirits could only be manipulated by a Strategist, so Chen Aoyun speculated, "The so-called 'recommending Heroic Spirits' should just be a process required by the plot. The 'Dean' is only executing the action of 'recommending'; the person who truly selects the Heroic Spirit should still be the Strategist of each faction. My guess is that the reason the plot is made so complicated is related to the 'type'!"

Chen Aoyun recited the information from the compass in his mind: [Dean, Favorability: 10, Recommended Heroic Spirit Type: Success in Youth]. "A dean of an academy, the Heroic Spirit type he recommends is 'Success in Youth.' Perhaps it means: once the Dean's 'true friendship' is obtained, the Strategists of various factions can only select 'Heroic Spirits who graduated from the academy'."

Using the NPC's identity to limit the Heroic Spirit's identity—the ten different acquaintances might correspond to ten different identity limitations. Taking the Dean as an example, the Dragon Kingdom could use him to place a "famous general who graduated from the Whampoa Military Academy" as a Heroic Spirit. Furthermore, the scope of "Heroic Spirits who graduated from the academy" could be broadened; in the hands of other factions, such as the Ottoman, they might be able to summon an ancient Heroic Spirit who graduated from the "Palace School," [Ahmed Pasha].

The other three felt Chen Aoyun's analysis was reasonable, and everyone was in agreement, "Regardless of what 'recommended Heroic Spirits' are used for in the First Act, going to such great lengths indicates that the key to the First Act is definitely related to Combat Heroic Spirits! We must obtain the favor of the NPCs in the compass! In the public plot, the levels of Raiders from other factions are terrifyingly high, but with ten NPCs who can recommend Heroic Spirits, the Dragon Kingdom must at least conquer one!"

Mentioning other factions, Fan Ling suddenly thought of the Sakura Country [Roleplayer] Kayahara Ao from earlier, "When we encountered the Sakura people, Kayahara Ao could have attacked us, but why didn't Kayahara Ao do so?"

Recalling the lip-reading from earlier, Chen Aoyun said, "[First Act Rule 2-4], but one was missing: [First Act Rule 1]. I read the lip movements of the Sakura Country [Strategist] Saku Kenichi when he stopped Kayahara Ao, and I suspect the reason Kayahara Ao didn't strike directly is related to this rule! Do you remember how I was forced to activate an item at the start? A total of seven Heroic Spirits were forcibly activated, and the Heroic Spirit forcibly activated in the First Act was Duke Xiao of Qin - [Ying Quliang]. Unlike the Heroic Spirits that NPCs can recommend, Duke Xiao of Qin - [Ying Quliang], who was activated at the start, is not a so-called Combat Heroic Spirit, but he can provide me with one opportunity to use his exclusive skill. The Sakura people must be wary of this!"

This time it wasn't a guess; Chen Aoyun had experimented after reading the Sakura people's lip movements. The forcibly activated [Ying Quliang] couldn't do anything, but Chen Aoyun could indeed borrow [Ying Quliang] to launch one Heroic Spirit exclusive skill. A Heroic Spirit's exclusive skill is an absolute killing move; no matter how high the levels of the Sakura people are, they can only use their own exclusive skills to counter it. The Sakura people didn't want to waste their only exclusive skill of the First Act easily, which is why they didn't choose to attack wildly upon meeting. Chen Aoyun's analysis was correct.

[First Act Rule 1: At the start, select one Emperor-type Heroic Spirit; this Heroic Spirit is unrelated to the plot but can provide one exclusive skill as a trump card for the First Act.] Chen Aoyun was forced to select [Ying Quliang], skipping the process, and thus missed the specific content of [First Act Rule 1].

Chen Aoyun chuckled, "It's funny, actually; the forcibly activated Duke Xiao of Qin - [Ying Quliang] doesn't really have any anecdotes, especially since I can't think of any combat-capable exclusive skill to construct for him. If the Sakura Country had really attacked wildly back then and used their only exclusive skill, we would have been wiped out long ago!"

It couldn't be said that Chen Aoyun and the others were lucky; rather, it was the necessary caution of the Game of National Destiny that prevented the Sakura people from attacking immediately upon meeting. Having figured out his trump card for the First Act and the general strategy for the First Act, Chen Aoyun and the group discussed and determined the next course of action:

"Rest for the night. Tomorrow, Fan Ling and I will leave the city to try and complete the 'Dean's' task of escorting students into the city. Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong, you two will act separately and continue looking for the other nine NPCs in the city who can recommend Heroic Spirits. Besides finding NPCs, coins are also an important resource; food, drink, and lodging all require them, and they can also strengthen civilization characteristics. If you encounter 'injustices,' act if you can."

Such an arrangement had a certain rationality; Fan Ling followed the [Path of the Artist] route and lacked combat ability, so it was safest for him to stay by the side of Chen Aoyun, who had the highest level among the four and also possessed a second [Roleplayer] ability. Zhao Hongxiu and Xiao Zhenghong both followed the [Warrior Path], had some self-preservation ability, and were best suited to act alone.