Chapter 97: Great Development?
Zhou Xiao found Fan Guozhou and they hurried back to the area where several Spirit Herbs had frozen to death.
The frozen Spirit Herbs were very obvious.
—They weren’t glowing anymore, so they were dead!
Chen Miaomiao also stood there, her expression grave, “I didn’t expect them to die so quickly.”
She hadn’t even fully researched how to graft Spirit Herbs yet. After all, it was a long process, and applying real-world experience wouldn’t quickly shake a world where even physical laws were abnormal.
Now that the Spirit Herbs were in trouble, there was no way to rush a solution.
The temperature was too low.
They didn’t have the conditions to build real greenhouses right now, and other methods couldn’t save the Spirit Herbs temporarily.
Fan Guozhou’s expression was even worse. After all, he had taken out a loan from the Sect to contract these Spirit Herbs. If something happened, losing money was a minor issue; losing his qualification was the major one!
Chen Miaomiao had several Cultivators get to work and pull out all the dead Spirit Herbs.
Although it was through Cultivation, Chen Miaomiao now somewhat missed the equipment in the laboratory. Even having a microscope would be good.
That way, she could see more reasons.
Unfortunately, without the conditions, just thinking about it was a pipe dream.
A Wu also arrived at the scene. Seeing the dead Spirit Herbs, he was on the verge of tears, “What do we do? If the snow doesn’t stop, more and more Spirit Herbs will die.”
Although these Spirit Herbs belonged to Fan Guozhou, they were equivalent to the Sect’s property.
A Wu felt heartbroken by any loss the Sect incurred.
Because raising so many Disciples cost money!
Judging by the Sect Master’s demeanor, they planned to recruit even more Disciples in the future. These were all people, and people meant living expenses would continue to rise!
Chen Miaomiao asked him, “Senior Disciple Brother, is there no emergency method for this kind of weather?”
A Wu shook his head and looked back at her, “I’ve only heard of Earth-grade Magic Treasures that can improve the environment, and Spirit Ores of Tier 4 or higher… but we don’t have those…”
Sects that possessed such Spirit Materials wouldn’t possibly be cultivating only Tier 1 and Tier 2 Spirit Herbs.
Just then, Wang Cai, whom Zhou Xiao was holding, also ran towards the field.
Strangely enough, it didn’t seem to fear the heavy snow, frolicking everywhere.
Seeing it step into the Spiritual Field, it bit down on a Spirit Herb that had already lost its luster, chewed a few times, and swallowed a section of it.
The Spirit Herb was dead and had no use for grafting or medicinal purposes, but it still retained a faint trace of Spiritual Energy.
Zhou Xiao saw this and quickly tried to stop it, “Wang Cai, come back!”
Chen Miaomiao glanced at it and shook her head, “Let it eat. Since all these Spirit Herbs are ruined anyway.”
Everyone’s expression was a bit grim.
After all, this was tangible property, and Fan Guozhou would be affected more significantly.
The key was that they were helpless.
In the Modern era, they could still think of ways to deal with emergencies.
“Spirit Herbs should require a suitable temperature; neither too hot nor too cold is acceptable,” Fan Guozhou said. “Not only Wang’an County needs to be reformed, but the Longevity Sect as well. We can’t just hope such things don’t happen. If they do, we’re no different from sitting ducks.”
This was not in line with the original intention of playing the game.
They were Players!
Chen Miaomiao looked at him, “What are your thoughts?”
Fan Guozhou said, “Let’s divide the labor. Players are still too scattered. Since the Sect Master didn’t disagree, let’s form our own organizations. Medicine Department, Engineering Department, Beast Taming Department, and players responsible for combat will join the Combat Department. The Sect Master has released Secret Techniques, so let players choose for themselves.”
“The Medicine Department will be led by you; you’ll be responsible for recruiting players to help you. The Engineering Department will be in charge of Artifact Refining, and the Beast Taming Department will handle Beast Taming. Each player will focus on a different area of research. I’ll also establish a Civil Affairs Department to accommodate life-skill players, overseeing Gourmet Food and general Sect affairs.”
Chen Miaomiao thought this was feasible.
Zhou Xiao also agreed, “I’ll tell Big Shot Han. I’ll join the Civil Affairs Department. Tianya and the others will join the Combat Department.”
She thought for a moment and said, “I’ll ask the System.”
She summoned the System and asked, “Can we establish such branches within the Sect?”
The System asked Song Jiulai, but unexpectedly, Song Jiulai directly refused, “They can only be affiliated with the Sect but cannot be established in the Sect’s name. I won’t give any special treatment; they can only be player-owned forces.”
It was very simple.
Essentially, all Players were equal. They were all here to play the game, and the Sect couldn’t create a hierarchy.
Song Jiulai supported them forming their own forces to rally Players.
In plain terms, it was like game guilds; if you wanted Players to join, you had to offer benefits.
However, the main System and the Sect had to treat all Players equally, without any differentiation.
Even if a Player force impacted the game, Players had to have a path to operate independently without obstruction—that path was Points.
Players could choose not to join and go solo, select their own game routes, and find ways to acquire their own resources, preventing them from being monopolized by earlier Players.
If she agreed to establish them as official departments, resources would inevitably be tilted towards them, which would be unfair to those playing the game.
The System condensed Song Jiulai’s explanation into a few sentences and told Zhou Xiao.
Zhou Xiao pondered thoughtfully.
In fact, she also knew that the Sect Master might not agree, as they were already playing as a group.
If official departments were established to monopolize resources, it would indeed be disadvantageous to later New Players.
And for individual forces to attract members, they would have to offer benefits.
After learning Song Jiulai’s thoughts, the System said, “What you said is also correct, but why not prevent them from forming individual forces from the start?”
Song Jiulai shook his head, “I can’t stop it. It’s just that there are few Players entering now. As more Players enter in the future, there will definitely be those who don’t want to play with them. Everyone will have their own groups; this is bound to happen. As Sect Master, I can’t control everyone’s selfish desires.”
As for whether the forces formed by Players at this stage would affect the future development of Wang’an County?
There was no other way; who told them they entered the game early.
Song Jiulai was currently relying on Players to strengthen the Sect’s influence.
She only needed to control the general direction, such as the most crucial point: all land belonged to the Sect.
The resources obtained by Players would be donated to the Sect and exchanged for corresponding Points.
Moreover, during this process, the main challenge would be how to reconcile the conflicts between locals and Players.
The only difference here compared to reality was the law of the jungle.
After all, in reality, arguments usually threatened individuals, but here, an unpleasant remark could escalate into a regional war affecting many people.
Of course, it was still a Small Sect for now; this was just foresight.
After receiving the System’s prompt, Fan Guozhou and the others temporarily put aside the idea of establishing branches, but they still divided their teams.
For example, who was responsible for what.
Fan Guozhou also connected with Zhen Weida and other Players, confirming the policies for future reforms in Wang’an County and offering various preferential conditions for recruiting Players.
Once the plan was finalized, as long as the Sect Master approved, Wang’an County would eventually be within the Longevity Sect’s grasp.
The Flying Sparrow Sect too!
