Chapter 2: Whales Don't Need to Queue
A wave of furious shouting echoed through the recharge space. Looking at the crazed whale player cursing in front of her, Hong Tao couldn't help shrinking her neck.
There was a saying widely circulated in the customer service industry: It was better to offend ten thousand ordinary players than offend a single whale.
So...
A humble customer service representative could only explain patiently online while begging for forgiveness.
"Dear player, in order to maintain the stable operation of the game environment, under instructions from the Blue Star Economic Trade Bureau, our game's recharge limit has been set to 999,999,999 ingots."
"As for the one-ingot discrepancy caused by the recharge cap loophole, we will immediately contact the backend staff and return one Blue Star Coin to you."
Hong Tao wore a professional smile as she explained everything bit by bit in her soft and gentle voice.
However...
"Is this about one single coin? Do I look like someone who cares about one coin?"
"You insulted me! This is an insult to my dignity!"
"You must compensate me for this matter today!"
"Otherwise, this daddy will immediately order the legal department under me to sue you! Anyway, I don't lack this little bit of money. Let's see whether your company can tolerate getting sued before launch and delaying the game's release."
Xiao Wen spoke casually, but the threat hidden within his words was unmistakable.
A player capable of recharging one billion naturally also had the ability to sue the game headquarters.
Facing Xiao Wen's threat, Hong Tao dared not treat it lightly. She nodded repeatedly, saying she understood and would immediately seek approval from higher management.
Several minutes later, Hong Tao spoke again.
"Dear player, hello. Regarding the recharge loophole that occurred this time, we sincerely apologize and are willing to compensate your losses at a thousandfold rate."
Xiao Wen curled his lips.
"A thousandfold? Are you trying to send off a beggar?"
"Do I look like someone lacking a thousand coins?"
"You think a thousand coins can shut my mouth? Not that easy!"
Hong Tao felt extremely troubled inside, but she still maintained her smile.
"May I ask whether you have a preferred solution in mind? If there is an acceptable range..."
Before Hong Tao could finish speaking, Xiao Wen interrupted directly.
"Yes! I don't lack money in reality. But although one billion ingots sounds like a lot in-game, I'm worried it still won't be enough."
"If I remember correctly, your company should have a unique item internally called the Treasure Bowl, right?"
"That item doesn't affect game balance. Once the servers officially open, send it to this daddy's account and we'll consider this matter settled."
The Treasure Bowl?
How did this guy know about it?
Wasn't this supposed to be an internal company secret?
Questions flashed through Hong Tao's mind. She didn't dare ignore the matter and immediately reported upward again.
"Dear player, hello. We have received your request, and the related item will be delivered to your account after the official launch."
"May I ask if there is anything else we can help you with?"
"That's all."
Xiao Wen felt secretly delighted, the corners of his mouth rising.
"Alright then. We wish you a pleasant life! Please remember to rate Hong Tao in the customer service evaluation section. Your ten-out-of-ten satisfaction is our greatest pursuit."
As her voice fell, the customer service projection vanished.
Looking at the ingot recharge interface before him, Xiao Wen let out a long breath.
One billion ingots, plus a Treasure Bowl.
That should be enough for him to spend recklessly during the early stages.
He glanced at the time. There were still four and a half hours remaining before the official launch.
Exiting the pre-recharge interface, he opened the gaming pod, filled it with nutrient fluid, set an alarm, and only then laid down on his thirty-meter-wide soft bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Ring ring ring...
The alarm startled Xiao Wen awake. Looking at the time, there were less than five minutes before the servers opened.
He hurriedly got up, splashed cold water on his face to wake himself up, refreshed his spirits, and climbed into the gaming pod, waiting for the official public launch.
Notice: Only three minutes remain before the public launch of Heroes Contend.
Notice: Only one minute remains before the public launch of Heroes Contend.
Notice: Only 7 seconds remain before the public launch of Heroes Contend.
4...
3...
2...
1...
Public launch!
The moment the login notification changed from red to green, Xiao Wen's spirit trembled, and even his breathing became extremely rapid.
Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately chose to enter the game.
Ding! Notice: Due to the excessive number of players entering the game during the current time period, the servers are overloaded and queue mode has been activated. Players are requested to enter in order. Your current queue position is 3,512,458.
Ding! Detected that the player device is a top-grade gaming pod. You may use the VIP green channel to enter the game without queuing. Enter now?
Enter!
Xiao Wen immediately chose to enter the game.
Queue?
There was no way whales would ever queue.
Unless... this game company no longer wanted to make money.
Notice: Traversing spacetime.
Traversal progress: 1%... 10%... 15%...
While entering the game, Xiao Wen found himself bored, so he casually opened the player forums built into the game.
He wanted to browse around and see whether there were any old acquaintances he recognized.
[Detective Corgi]: Holy crap! What kind of trash servers are these? I spent three thousand on a top-grade gaming helmet and still have to queue?
[AoHanouo]: Stop complaining upstairs. Same top-grade gaming helmet here. Currently ranked 354,781 in the queue. And I entered the game the instant the servers opened.
[This Lord Will Dominate the World]: Heh... This young master spent sixty thousand on a gaming pod and still has to queue. Did I say anything?
[Beef Pickled Cabbage Noodles]: Uh... the idiot upstairs has been exposed. The hundred-thousand top-grade gaming pod doesn't require queuing and has an exclusive green channel. Don't ask how I know. This lord is currently traversing spacetime!
...
Looking at the barrage of complaints on the forums, Xiao Wen smiled slightly.
Even whales were divided into different ranks.
At least during the early stages of the game, when everything was exclusively controlled, the hearts of this game company were pitch black.
The kind of black that practically shined.
As long as you had money, you could rapidly grow stronger.
No money?
That was fine too. You could just act as background decoration for the whales and help them show off.
Traversal progress: 98%...
Traversal progress: 99%...
Traversal complete!
"Congratulations, player, on successfully entering the game. Please choose your starting faction. The currently available factions are..."
"Western Liang!" Xiao Wen answered directly before the system notification could continue.
Faction selection was something he was naturally extremely familiar with.
In the previous life, the most famous thing within the Western Liang faction had been the Western Liang Iron Cavalry.
The Western Liang Iron Cavalry were peerless elites whose combat power far surpassed that of other factions.
Of course, aside from that, Xiao Wen had another reason for choosing this place.
Back then, the very first fifth-tier general he recruited had belonged to the Western Liang faction.
That had also been the first general whose loyalty reached maximum value, a righteous and loyal man who had even sacrificed his own life to save Xiao Wen.
Back then, you gave up your life to save me.
This time, when we meet again, I absolutely won't let the tragedy of that year repeat itself!
Brother, I'm coming!
ns216.73.217.31da2
and then Add to home screen.