Chapter 64: Pay-to-Win Points and Exchange Vouchers

Chapter 64: Pay-to-Win Points and Exchange Vouchers

"Where’s Du Duode? Haven’t seen him in a while. Could his father have finally reined him in? Wait, no—last time, there were three thousand complaints filed on the Empire’s official website, and even after the mage lords came to investigate, he still didn’t lay low!"

The grain shop owner, who had been missing the usual spectacle, leaned against the doorframe with a sigh.

The Du Duode he spoke of was none other than the second young master of the Du family, one of Kabai'er City’s three scourges.

Was he truly evil? Not to the core. Though he flirted with innocent girls everywhere, at least he did so with gold and silver paving the way—mutual consent, so to speak.

But was he harmless? Far from it. His behavior was downright despicable—drunken brawls, galloping horses through the streets, even daring to lift a maiden’s chin with the tip of his sword. A scoundrel through and through.

Countless hot-blooded youths in Kabai'er longed to see him dead.

Two months ago, the Empire suddenly promoted the Internet Divine Technique, and the Empire’s official website spread overnight even to the countryside. The complaint function reached the highest authorities.

Many took the chance to list Du Duode’s countless, inexcusable crimes.

The uproar in the city was deafening, even drawing the attention of the mage lords.

And the result? A symbolic few days of confinement, some compensation in gold and silver, and that was it. No real consequences.

Everyone saw through him by then—a tough and slippery person, never committing major offenses but constantly stirring up minor ones. With his family’s powerful backing, he remained untouchable.

Helpless, the people could only avoid him as much as possible.

But recently, many Kabai'er residents noticed something odd—the usually domineering Du Duode had suddenly vanished.

"You don’t know? I heard all three of Kabai'er’s scourges ran off to the Conquest of Subdomains to wreak havoc on the beastmen! Ha! Though their skills are so lousy, they’ve supposedly died countless times. You can see them hauling bricks in the labor camps every day, grinding for merit points."

At the storefronts along the street, a group of shopkeepers lounged in the sun, chatting idly.

"What? That young master actually working in a labor camp? You’re joking!" The grain shop owner’s face lit up with gleeful schadenfreude.

"Absolutely! Merit points can’t be bought or sold. No matter how powerful or wealthy his family is, can they influence the great Internet God? Not just him—the other two scourges have been toiling in the labor camps too, completely tamed, I hear."

"Ah, the heavens have finally opened their eyes! I’ll celebrate with an extra bowl of rice tonight!"

"This is clearly the Internet God’s blessing!"

"Hey, don’t you think they’re stubborn? Even after ending up in labor camps, they’re still hell-bent on playing Conquest. Wouldn’t it be nicer to just drink and visit brothels?"

"Can’t blame them. The Internet God is just too damn alluring."

"True. Now that you mention it, my hands are itching to give it a try too. Who’d have thought a man past fifty like me would still get to swing a weapon on the battlefield? Damn thrilling! Addicting!"

"Haha, same here! Praise the Internet God!"

Just as the shopkeepers were getting carried away, someone suddenly pointed to the end of the street and exclaimed, "Hey, isn’t that Du Duode?"

Everyone turned to look—sure enough, there was Du Duode, galloping down the street on horseback, his wild laughter echoing through Kabai'er.

"Listen up, you turtle bastards of Kabai'er! You dare refuse my employment and laugh at me? Do you even know that the great Internet God has launched the cross-border purchase feature? Just watch as I buy a lava puppet and make you paupers green with envy, hahaha..."

Amidst his raucous laughter, Du Duode cracked his whip and galloped away.

Behind him trailed several horse-drawn carriages.

The heavy carriages rumbled down the long street, their wheels jolting over the uneven cobblestones, producing a melodious clinking of metal from within.

The shopkeepers along the street exchanged bewildered glances. With their years of experience, they recognized that sound—it was the divine symphony of gold coins!

Wait—

What did he just say?

The Internet God has opened the cross-border purchase feature?

On this day, the faces of Kabai'er's youth turned ashen.

Countless players toiling away in the Conquest of Subdomains also turned pale with shock!

...

"Damn it, I quit!"

On the walls of Duofei City, Hanfrey glared at the lava puppet strutting arrogantly on the battlefield. He then looked down at the boulder puppet he had painstakingly earned after days of grinding, his teeth grinding in frustration.

"This is infuriating! I thought I could finally trample these damned nobles underfoot, but no, just no... Internet God, weren’t You the fairest of all? Why?!"

All along the city walls, countless players wailed in despair.

It turned out that today, the Internet God had suddenly activated the cross-border purchase feature in the Conquest of Subdomains.

Users only needed to visit their local Magic Tower, pay a minimum of 1,000 gold coins, and exchange them for "pay-to-win codes." By inputting these codes into their personal accounts, they could convert them into corresponding "pay-to-win points."

With these points, players could not only purchase special high-tier puppets and weapons but also unlock noble titles, granting them unique status markers when posting in the Forum.

Good grief—before this feature, the highest-tier puppet in the city was the boulder puppet.

But now? Overnight, countless high-tier puppets had flooded the scene.

This shattered the morale of countless players.

Honestly, if the Conquest of Subdomains had launched with this feature from the start, common players wouldn’t have felt so cheated.

In this low-human-rights kingdom, people were already used to being second-class to nobles.

But the Conquest of Subdomains hadn’t started with this feature.

Though many nobles still leveraged their privileges to form monster-hunting parties, a significant number of skilled common players had risen to prominence.

These elite commoners didn’t just enjoy the shared power of high-tier puppets—they reveled in the glory of being admired!

And the sheer satisfaction of trampling these nobles underfoot!

In fact, some players even deliberately threw themselves into death just to visit the labor camps and watch the nobles toil—now that was a sight to behold.

But now? Watching the same noble brats they had mocked suddenly rise to power, obtaining high-tier puppets that would have taken them countless beastmen kills to earn...

Honestly, many players were utterly crushed.

In the end, it wasn’t scarcity that bred resentment—it was inequality!

"Hanfrey, stop complaining! They’re spending real money—there’s nothing to resent. The Internet God has given us countless chances to change our fate. He’s already been more than merciful."

Xize patted his friend Hanfrey on the shoulder, offering words of comfort.

Hanfrey wore a helpless expression but ultimately sighed.

Indeed, this wasn’t something to blame the Internet God for.

To be honest, the Internet God was truly benevolent.

The internet He created not only made various cultivation systems publicly available but also pioneered Online Classes, giving countless lowly Commoners the chance to access noble magic and seize opportunities to rise above their station.

Its social functions, lighting capabilities, and Forum features were so practical they were practically unparalleled.

Honestly, if the internet disappeared, Hanfrey wouldn’t even know how to live his life.

Now, He had even developed the [Conquest of Subdomains], allowing everyone to share a puppet’s life force and mana. It could be said that He had once again brought new hope for countless Commoners to turn their lives around.

Hanfrey had personally witnessed an uncle next door, who had his legs crushed while working, not only survive after logging into the [Conquest of Subdomains] and sharing a puppet’s life force but also gradually recover his legs under its influence.

His body was even three times stronger than before!

Now, that uncle had become the Internet God’s most devout Believer, enshrining Him in a dedicated shrine at home and praying piously every day!

"You’re right. They may have money, but we have brains!" Hanfrey declared solemnly, forcing himself to adjust his mindset.

"Xize, do you still have any merit points left? Hurry and grab the exchange vouchers—quick, quick! The daily supply is limited!"

Just then, another player suddenly shouted at Xize.

"What’s going on?" Xize asked in confusion.

"No time to explain! Hurry, there’s an exchange button under the merit points! The vouchers can be traded for gold coins—at the Magic Tower!" The player was so excited his words were nearly incoherent.

But Xize understood.

In an instant, it was as if he had been struck by lightning, standing frozen in place.

No one knew that the optimistic, cheerful teammate they saw was, in reality, a burden to his family—a man born with paralysis.