CHAPTER 172: LEADER OF 172 NEW WAYS OF PLAY

"Have the Beggar Gang disciples in Qian City increase publicity for the Sect Leaders of the various sects participating in the battle," Lin Bai picked up a charcoal pencil and wrote on a cardboard for the player sitting beside him.

"Sect Leader, we don’t know much about the Sect Leaders of the Evil Sects," [Crazy Man] said, looking perplexed.

"If you don’t know, then make it up. Use literary techniques to embellish it." Lin Bai glanced at him and continued writing.

"..." [Crazy Man] and several other players were stunned.

"If you don’t know, the common folk will know even less. What we want isn’t the truth, but the impact. You don’t actually think those bigwigs from the Evil Sects will come out and issue clarifications, do you?" Lin Bai scribbled rapidly with his charcoal pencil.

If they lack fame, create it for them. There’s no faster way to build fame than through hype.

Looking at the content on Lin Bai’s cardboard, Daojing and the others were speechless. They truly didn’t care about the opinions of ordinary people, but was this right? Are you sure this way of doing things can really align with the Heavenly Dao?

Ignoring the astonished looks around him, Lin Bai continued to write, "Get the populace interested in the figures involved in the upcoming event; the more interested they are in the people, the more it will stimulate their enthusiasm for the event itself."

DING!

Media Tycoon System: Information is a resource, a necessity for survival and development, and the bond of social activity. It shortens the distance between people, synchronizes their cognition, and makes a positive contribution to social development. Once you control the media for information dissemination, you possess an external mouthpiece and can, if necessary, subdue enemies without a fight.

[Create a media outlet that belongs to you; Reward: Five press passes (With these credentials, you can access any location)]

As expected, Systems are everywhere in life! However, once the media is established, tasks involving reputation should become much simpler. A press pass that allows access to any location? With this thing, doesn’t it mean that array formations, which aren’t very advanced in this world to begin with, are even more useless! It’s a good thing!

...

"I understand," [Crazy Man] said.

Lin Bai glanced at him and continued to write on the cardboard, "No need to print any brochures. Just create a weekly publication. Name it ’Justice Weekly’."

...

The bullet comments exploded instantly.

...

"Damn, Lin, the Storekeeper, you’re awesome!"

"My idea was actually stolen by Lin, the Storekeeper! Is Lin, the Storekeeper, really an NPC from an Immortal World setting?"

"I’m really curious now, what principles did the developers use to design Lin, the Storekeeper?"

"First time seeing someone start a publication inside a game..."

"Sway public opinion before the supplies even move! Lin, the Storekeeper, plays this game even better than us players!"

"Maybe the game officials thought we players were too dense, so they’re reminding us there are fresher ways to play the game, not just fighting and killing all the time."

"Holy hell! ’Write Justice, Spread Truth’—you haven’t even met these people and you’re just fabricating stories! Can you even live up to those words? Lin, the Storekeeper, don’t you feel any shame?"

"Tabloid news, for sure!"

"It’s not even tabloid news; it’s pure fabrication!"

"As a media professional, I strongly condemn Lin Bai’s actions for lowering the industry’s standards!"

"@GameOfficials, please fully open the public beta! I want to get into the game and start a newspaper! I want to be a media tycoon!"

...

"The Real Mysterious Darkness Cult Leader Shen Kuang: An Interview with Lady Hua Xi of the Mysterious Darkness Cult"

"The Untold Story of Magic Spirit Sect Master Ge Feiyun and Waning Sun Gate Sect Leader Pei Yanzong"

"Zhao Tulong’s Murderous Past: Does the Blood Separation Sect’s Cultivation Technique Violate Human Nature?"

"The Role of the Qian City Lord in This Great Battle"

"A True Record of Beggar Gang Leader Lao Mi"

...

Lin Bai didn’t know what the media in the players’ world was like, but that didn’t stop him from concocting tabloid news according to Earth’s standards. As he switched from one cardboard to another, he effortlessly came up with headlines and wrote content outlines beneath them.

Reading such shocking content sent shivers down the spines of Qing Yu and the others. If these baseless fabrications were to spread, the public image of the Sect Leaders of the Five Evil Sects would be utterly ruined.

This is too unscrupulous. Who exactly is the Evil Sect here? It’s a good thing Lin Bai changed Return to Dragon View to the Righteous Door. Otherwise, they would have completely disgraced the Heavenly Dao Sect!

...

It takes a day and a night to travel from Return to Dragon View to Qian City using a levitation talisman, but messages between players were transmitted instantly.

The Beggar Gang, true to its nickname ’Money Gang,’ had already used its wealth to pave the way for advertising, establishing good relations with the merchants and wealthy households in Qian City.

While Lin Bai was personally teaching [Crazy Man] and others how to craft stories, the players in Qian City had already replicated the story content via live broadcast. They began typesetting and printing while simultaneously polishing the narratives.

The players came from all walks of life, with no shortage of those in writing professions. When it came to fabricating stories, they were even more adept than Lin Bai.

After all, they too were backed by an entire civilization.

The players enthusiastically added content to ’Justice Weekly,’ creatively assigning backstories to the NPCs and enriching their emotional histories...

They had finally found something more interesting than just fighting and killing, something almost impossible in any previous game.

In previous games, NPC backstories were often elaborate. But that complexity existed outside the actual gameplay; in the game, NPCs would only recite pre-set lines, remain indifferent to teasing, and function merely as utility characters...

Everything the players were doing now shattered those in-game limitations, giving them the exhilarating joy of creating the plot themselves.

Every player knew how terrifying the media could be.

Lin Bai had opened a new door for them, revealing that this was the true way to play such a realistic game...

...

After hearing about Lin Bai’s new plan, [Lonely Old Man] fell silent for a long while before saying, "We should have thought of it sooner. A newspaper would be more beneficial for the Beggar Gang’s publicity..."

[Crispy Rice] said, "But this is an Immortal World game!"

[Lonely Old Man] said, "Ordinary people in the Immortal World are even more important; otherwise, the concept of a ’Basic City’ wouldn’t exist. Everything useful in the real world can be adopted in the game, such as media, industry, commerce, even agriculture..." He paused, looking at the surrounding players, and added, "Shopkeeper Lin hinted at this to us long ago!"

"What?" [Crispy Rice] asked.

"Arrow of Rejuvenation," [Lonely Old Man] said. "Shopkeeper Lin used the simplest Arrow of Rejuvenation to severely injure the eldest disciple of the Blood Shadow Sect. The game officials, through Shopkeeper Lin, wanted to show us the potential for self-developed weapons. It’s true that Golden Core Stage cultivators can fly, but modern weaponry has many anti-aircraft capabilities. Unfortunately, we were blinded by advertising fees at the time, only thinking about making money, learning Shopkeeper Lin’s Martial Arts, and leveling up..."

"AHEM!" [Crispy Rice] coughed, interrupting [Lonely Old Man]. "Old Lonely, you’re not actually planning to develop a tech tree in the Immortal World, are you?"

"Why not?" [Lonely Old Man] replied. "If one day the game fully opens to public beta, and tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of people flood in, do you think the Immortal World sects can accommodate that many? Someone will eventually develop modern weapons..."

[Crispy Rice] interrupted [Lonely Old Man] again, "Shopkeeper Lin is even manipulating fundamental laws over there. Technological development must be gradual. No matter how advanced the technology, if it encounters Shopkeeper Lin, he could very well nullify it with a single sentence. I think you’re overthinking this..."

"Perhaps," [Lonely Old Man] chuckled, noncommittal.

"Old Lonely, I want to respawn outside," [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] said, approaching the two leaders of the Beggar Gang. His expression was grim. He looked at them and said in a deep voice, "That’s not how you run a newspaper! Shopkeeper Lin’s fabrications might generate buzz and boost sales initially. But over time, once people discover the truth, they will fundamentally distrust ’Justice Weekly’.

"Ultimately, ’Justice Weekly’ will devolve into a third-rate tabloid, which will, in turn, damage the Beggar Gang’s reputation.

"I can’t just stand by and watch Shopkeeper Lin destroy ’Justice Weekly’. I want to go out and interview the Sect Leaders of the Five Evil Sects, to report the real facts.

"I want to make ’Justice Weekly’ the most authoritative media outlet in the game, ensuring every report carries weight, making it a true weapon in the hands of the Beggar Gang."

[Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] was the one who first brought Lin Bai to public attention on the forums, the very person who propelled Lin Bai to the pedestal of a virtual idol.

He was also the first to accept advertising, ushering in the era of in-game advertisements.

Later, he joined the Beggar Gang and diligently unearthed various in-game news, posting them on the forums. However, after the game officials launched the live-streaming feature, the popularity of his forum posts declined significantly.

At that point, [Immortal Realm’s First Papparazzi] seemed to have lost his passion for the game.

But the emergence of ’Justice Weekly’ helped him find a new direction and realize his mission.