Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Lincoln thought about these various issues, but suddenly he heard Fred’s uproarious laughter and the sound of him hitting the table.

“Hahahaha, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… hahaha, I just… I just couldn’t hold it in hahahaha…”

The loud laughter could be heard loud and clear without the help of the [Eight Sides] Helm, even attracting the attention of almost all the people in the cabin.

Seeing such a big reaction, Fred was very apologetic, quickly raising his hand to cover his mouth.

Nevertheless, the “pfft-pfft” laughs still slipped out from between his fingers.

Across from him, Nick covered his face with both hands, hiding his entire face behind them, only showing his eyes through his fingers, staring at Fred with a questioning look.

“I’m, I’m sorry… pfft. I’m not very clear…”

Before he could finish speaking, seeing Nick glare at him again, Fred, fearing being thrown off, finally let the survival instinct take over: “I’ll ask for you and tell you the reason quickly.”

Fred immediately called Little Chun to clarify the game mechanism for Nick.

After paying a huge price – his social life offline – Nick finally figured out the reason and made up his mind: never to get on the strange people’s… bah! Strange NPCs’ beds again!

Gonna bury that bed tonight! As deep as it can be!

He even wished he could go to the game right now and stuff the bed to the center of the earth!

…

…

Twenty minutes later, the airship began to slow down gradually and lower its altitude bit by bit.

“We’re here!”

“I see it!”

“Xiajing City, this view, it’s fantastic!”

Accompanied by the cheering of the passengers in the cabin and the clicking sounds of cameras, the main city area of Xiajing City finally arrived.

The broadcast equipment in the cabin emitted a short adjustment sound, followed by a familiar voice:

“Dear passengers, hello! I am the navigator of this voyage: Lincoln.”

“Welcome aboard the Cloud Dreamland Airship! Today is the maiden voyage of Cloud Dreamland in both the real and virtual world, and we are glad to have you aboard!”

“At the same time, I’m sorry to inform you of one thing: this is very likely the last voyage of Cloud Dreamland in reality; we hope you can fully enjoy the pleasure of airship cruising.”

“The airship has currently arrived above Xiajing City and has entered the deceleration process. Please be patient. In 5 minutes, the lower deck will be officially open; interested friends, please follow the guidance of security personnel, wear safety measures, and then proceed to the lower deck to enjoy the low-altitude scenery of Xiajing City.”

“Enjoy your journey!”

Lincoln’s voice rang out in both the real and virtual world, surprising the players on both sides.

“Such a big airship, only flying once? That’s extravagant!”

“This can go out of print?!”

“Then I have to take more pictures!”

…

Even in the virtual world, these people felt that they didn’t need any safety measures at all, unwilling to wait for 5 minutes, and had already begun to figure out how to open the lower deck.

However, without the right tools, it wasn’t an easy task.

In the end, they waited until 5 minutes later and went down to the deck with the passengers in the real world.

At this time, the speed of the airship had been reduced to that of a hot air balloon, and the physical sensation was also very slow. Even standing on the open lower deck, the breeze that brushed their faces was gentle and reassuring.

Everyone walked to the deck’s edge and looked down at Xiajing City, marveling at the layers of high-rise buildings that spread out towards the distance. The closer to the center, the more bustling and tall the buildings were.

In the past, walking within Xiajing City, people would feel that it was full of high-rises. Raising their heads, they could only see pieces of the sky divided by tall buildings.

They spoke of the prosperity of Xiajing City, but their personal experiences were mostly limited to congestion and hustle.

Walking through the crowded streets and gazing at the towering skyscrapers until the neck was stiff, people would feel like a group of ants maneuvering between them.

Wealth? Not much seen.

Rather, the mountainous pressure was even more real.

It wasn’t until now, looking down at Xiajing City with this vantage point, that they felt like they were stepping on all the high-rises in the city. The streets they once walked, the storefronts they entered or exited, the first glimpse of the buildings when they stepped out of the subway exit, even the traffic and pedestrians on the streets, were all within sight.

Not obscured like the ground, not limited to a corner like the high-rise balconies, and not only seen for a short ten seconds like in an airplane.

More than ten million players in the virtual world, along with the one hundred passengers on the deck, clung to the railing, wide-eyed, taking in the vast scenery, almost reluctant to blink.

Well-known anchors like Super Tomato, Camille Victoria, Yi and Yelang had all forgotten about the live streaming, silently admiring the view outside.

Players no longer paid attention to the anchors, even Lincoln, Prince, and Alex stopped paying attention, all looking down at Xiajing City.

Lance and Shuihua stood shoulder to shoulder, Shuihua pointed to a few unremarkable small buildings, whispering something to Lance.

Randall held Little Chun’s hand, whispered something to her, and both of them had sweet smiles on their faces.

Lincoln looked to his right and found that Camille Victoria was also looking at the city with an amazed expression, silently admiring the view.