Famine 228: Target
by Cristae [Countdown to Main God War: 620 days]
[Current number of worlds collected: 56]
[Farm Owner’s Cottage]
After receiving plenty of praise and encouragement during their usual conversation, Zhong Yanqing set down the Seed of Famine, counted her points, and left in high spirits.
Judging by her lively demeanor, she had probably already booked tickets and a room, ready to dash off to the hot spring inn and amusement park, looking forward to a few happy days of vacation.
Smiling, Si Zhiyan watched her go, shook his head, and settled in behind his desk.
Gurgle, gurgle…
On the desk before him lay a squirming, amorphous lump of flesh, constantly growing, emitting an unpleasant sound. It was the Seed of Famine from [Ancient Forest Village—Blood-Sacrifice Site].
“Well then, another S-level world acquired,” Si Zhiyan said briskly.
Bian Xu looked up and sighed, “That was fast. This is the second S-level world this week.”
In recent days, the more efficient, upgraded mines had already delivered over two million second-tier refined gems to the farm.
Of course, Si Zhiyan had not reduced the price, but that did nothing to dampen the players’ enthusiasm. Every day they waited eagerly, and as soon as the market opened, they rushed in to buy. Second-tier refined gems quickly spread throughout the player base.
At times like these, Li Cuie couldn’t help but admire Si Zhiyan’s foresight.
When the second-tier gems just appeared, besides Si Zhiyan and Alice, perhaps no one anticipated such rapid adoption.
Although her suggestion to “auction second-tier gems” was largely just a probe, she couldn’t deny that, when wrestling with the monthly government budgets, she had for a moment seriously considered the possibility.
If they had really done so at the time, how would the farm now face buyers who had spent millions on each gem?
Moreover, these high-priced gems might have become economic markers or equivalents; if the bubble popped, the impact could have been devastating.
Fortunately, thanks to Si Zhiyan’s initial price controls, and his refusal to allow unrestricted market trading, there had been almost no turmoil—everyone had quietly passed over what could have been a catastrophic pitfall.
Of course, loopholes would always exist, and reselling or gray-market trades were inevitable, even in a world governed by rules as strange as this one.
As for those left howling and weeping, having lost everything… well, that was simply beyond Si Zhiyan’s jurisdiction.
On the flip side, the vast majority of honest players, armed with increasingly accessible second-tier refined gems, saw both their strength and their livelihoods flourish. Life was getting better by the day! ^ ^
Before the spread of second-tier gems, the rate of conquering world fragments in the farm was about one every two weeks, mostly targeting low-tier worlds.
After their proliferation, that rate more than tripled. Now, on average, every three or four days brought news of another successful [Harmony] in a new world. Higher-tier worlds were notably more frequent as well.
These new worlds brought with them a greater variety of Buffs, especially the S-level ones, each offering valuable resources at a high tier.
All these resources flowed through the farm and Si Zhiyan, and were shared widely.
In the ranch world conquered by the Spring Grass Mercenary Group, the menu produced by the bizarre farm owner consisted of corn pancakes with chili and ground beef, which happened to grant beast-warriors a mutation skill—giving Wang Jianguo, quite literally, wings to soar. In the icy wasteland Seed of Famine found by Zhong Yanqing, there were sweet, glutinous rice balls with frosted vanilla, capable of bestowing advanced cold and frost evolution Buffs, much to Liang Qingshuang’s delight…
Players eagerly explored the culinary horrors of new worlds, searching each for something to suit their own tastes.
Buddy, your world seems to hold something good—let me have a taste, won’t you?
Well fed and resourced, the players found conquering new worlds became easier than ever.
“It’s truly an era of explosive player growth,” Bian Xu commented.
Nestled on the couch with Sol in his arms, he earnestly told Si Zhiyan:
“I can sense that after crossing a certain singularity, the entire dynamic of the famine game has changed. Everyone is growing stronger through this positive feedback loop, constantly acquiring powers they never even dreamed of before…”
“If before there were just hints, now it’s clear: players with access to the farm, and those without, practically live in two different worlds.”
“The latter have almost no ability to resist the former at all.”
Si Zhiyan nodded.
By now, every world fragment near the farm was long since cleared out.
Everyone had to venture farther afield in search of new opportunities.
Within several kilometers of the farm, not a single instance could be found.
Many players were already stationed outside the immediate area, settling several kilometers away from the farm. Their food and drink came from the farm’s caravans—almost like establishing advance posts.
A Japanese bell, gently shaken, softly chimed, “Wako.”
Buzz—
In front of Si Zhiyan’s study, the air parted.
Wako, a miko with smooth black hair, poked her head in, tilting it so her bangs covered her left eye, smiling gently, “Sensei, did you call for me?”
She was a gift from Yan.
Wako and her group had once lived in the world-jar of Tiramisu, before moving into the world-seed of Tenman’s Blessed Land. The dead souls, the living corpses—they built, brick by brick, a new shrine to the Heavenly Vein Goddess.
This time, though, it wasn’t for the fate of the Heavenly Vein, but for a girl who had brought them a new life.
Si Zhiyan had lent quite a bit of help.
On the day the shrine was completed, Wako had given Si Zhiyan this bell. The bell was bound to the main chime of Tenman Shrine; with a single shake, the entire sacred mountain would hear his call.
Whenever the god-bell rang, the Heavenly Vein Maiden would come to his side.
This was Tenman’s Blessed Land’s highest honor to their savior, Sensei.
Si Zhiyan asked, “In your view, how does the farm’s current strength compare to that of the ‘Eyes’?”
“Or, to go further, not just the Eyes, but the Main God?”
“Hmm…” Wako lowered her head in thought.
After a moment, she lifted her gaze, and from her throat issued a hollow, ethereal voice: [Not enough.]
Swish…
A spectral wind circled around, tossing Wako’s black hair and revealing a crimson left eye.
“—Aiko,” Si Zhiyan acknowledged her with a nod.
Aiko did not share Wako’s penchant for jest. Her youthful face was utterly serious as she gave a firm, merciless answer: [Still a long way off.]
[At the present level, you could indeed kill me… but to beings like myself—an “Eye”—in the face of the Main God, we stand no chance at all.]
[In those endless, sleepless nights, each time I gave myself up before Him, I simulated, countless times, how to kill Him: every stab, every explosion, rehearsed a thousand times… So believe my judgment.]
After a momentary pause, Aiko took a deep breath, lowering her eyes to hide their light.
[Until today, Sensei, I finally see a glimmer of dawn.]
[Within these Seeds of Famine, within the new worlds being born, there truly exists a faint hope.]
[If you want to challenge the Main God through a war of attrition, then the number of worlds needs to increase by several times. Only then might you capture the slightest chance.]
[You may—or rather, you must—take this as your goal—]
In the whistling darkness, countless red threads trailed down as Aiko’s ethereal voice intoned:
[Six hundred.]
[You must, in the next 620 days, collect another 544 worlds.]
[This is the bare minimum. The more the better. But if you fall short of this number, our odds of victory are zero. Nothing.]
Si Zhiyan drew a deep breath.
Six hundred!
That meant, on average, at least a bit more than one new world every day.
Si Zhiyan nodded slightly, “Understood.”
“This is my task, and I’ll see it done.”
Aiko maintained her stern expression and continued: [And your many worlds, and all your players, must coordinate. They cannot each fight their own battles.]
Si Zhiyan nodded slowly, folding his hands across his brow in his chair, smiling faintly. “You’re right.”
“That’s exactly why I called you. After much thought, you’re the ones I trust for this.”
[You want to form a combat corps in the farm?] Aiko asked.
Si Zhiyan shook his head. “Not quite. We don’t have the capacity for that yet.”
“What I want is to promote universal military training within the farm, in rotating batches, making it routine.”
In the quiet cottage, Si Zhiyan’s voice was soft yet resolute.
“And only you are up for this task.”
Tenman’s Blessed Land was a wondrous place.
Back then, it was their blind faith in the [Heavenly Vein] that led them to sacrifice, to rivers of blood, and ultimately destroyed their world’s hopes. The warrior squads who carried out those orders became trapped in millennia of remorse and shame, never again at peace.
Even so, because of that blind unity of faith, Tenman’s Blessed Land, among all the worlds Si Zhiyan had encountered, was the only one to organize a truly effective resistance—one in which a [world] fought as a single unit.
Faith had destroyed them, but faith also guided their way forward.
Ten million years have passed; [Heavenly Vein] no longer matters, but those shrine warriors who survived the centuries of war were now the most precious of talents.
[—Good. No objection.]
Aiko bowed her head.
[We will give everything we have, unreservedly.]
[My warriors and I… we have waited far too long for this day.]
…………
……
With the strategy set, it was time to consider the finer details.
First, Aiko pointed out a major issue: individual combat strength among farm players was highly fragmented, making it difficult to organize effective units.
[Each player develops in their own way, and their Buffs before battle vary. Achieving meaningful cooperation is hard.]
Aiko mused aloud.
[Even among ranged units, those with water Buffs and those with fire Buffs can cancel each other out, while spectral types are… well…]
Gurgle, gurgle…
Suddenly, a noise interrupted everyone’s train of thought.
Bian Xu glanced down, then exclaimed in surprise:
“Whoa, how has this thing gotten so big?!?”