42 Rif (1/2)

Ouyang Shuo returned to his office, picked up his paper and pen, and began to integrate the real world’s federal discipline and military training code in preparation for setting the territory’s military behavior code, for General Shi’s reference.

The next day, after coming online, a burst of system announcements exploded in Ouyang Shuo’s ears.

_“System Notification: Congratulations to player Chun Shenjun for becoming the third Lord in China to upgrade to Grade 3 Village! Special reward of 900 merit points!”_

_“System Notification: Congratulations to player Chun Shenjun…”_

_“System Notification: Congratulations…”_

So it was Chun Shenjun; this was hardly surprising. Wealth was a very strong advantage in the early game. There was no pause for Ouyang Shuo to recover his senses before another announcement went off.

_“System Notification: Congratulations to player Xiongba for becoming the fourth Lord in China to upgrade to the Grade 3 Village! Special reward of 800 merit points!”_

_“System Notification: Congratulations to player Xiongba…”_

_“System Notification: Congratulations…”_

This announcement caused an immediate uproar in China. First one surprise, and now another one had appeared! Nobody thought that the status of the Six Tyrants of Handan would be challenged again. A dark horse could be considered as lucky. Two dark horses weren't luck but instead the inability of the horses in front.

The Six Tyrants of Handan who used custom game cabins, the imposing forces behind their backs, and their slowly built up hegemony... were now starting to be threatened.

Hence, Xiongba from King village announced himself in such a domineering manner. Even more interesting was that the names of King Village and the Six Tyrants were like dead rivals, meant to oppose one another. Suddenly, the calm air of China was getting filled with smoke.

At that moment, as if dropping this bomb wasn’t enough, someone suddenly decided to toss out some propaganda on the formerly quiet all-China channel.

“Chun Shenjun: You are awesome! Congratulations, congratulations!”

“Xiongba: Back at you! Back at you!”

The national channel required 1 gold for every single word. It was a luxury service, and this was the first time someone had used it. However, no one was paying attention to the luxury behavior, instead what they were curious about was the hidden meaning which was revealed by those simple words.

Chen Shenjun and Xiongba, both had upgraded to a grade 3 village, and then through the national channel gave one another congratulatory calls, which was sort of strange. One of them was one of the Six Tyrants of Handan, the God of Wealth, and backbone of the group. The other was a challenger to the Six Tyrants, and should’ve been an enemy of them.

Strange that both of them should be on opposing sides, but yet they were on friendly terms. Was this a coalition? What it meant was something everyone was hungry to know. Everyone could not help but wonder if the coalition of the Six Tyrants, the strongest in China, was going to fall apart?

Truthfully, Ouyang Shuo couldn’t read the situation either. In his past life, the Six Tyrants were unshakeable, destroying all challengers. At the same time, because of the lack of challenges, it was difficult for outsiders to speculate on the relationship between the Six Tyrants. Even if they had problems, they had always resolved it privately, giving no one a glimpse of their internal politics. Di Chen of the Six had often played the role of mediator.

This time though, the Six had not bonded so strongly when Ouyang Shuo struck them successively three times, and then when they were successfully struck by Xiongba. Whether the Six people would be able to maintain that level of trust was really pretty hard to say.

***********************

At the same time in Jingdu, near the Handan Village Council, Di Chen was sitting on the throne, his face gloomy. In the chamber, the backbone of his village staff was gathered. They were just about to begin their meeting but met with such a situation.

“Is second brother trying to challenge me?” Di Chen’s voice was cold, making people stiffen in fear.

It was no surprise why he was so angry. Other people did not know the identity of Xiongba, but he was crystal clear on who it was. The family of Xiongba was also a political family, and they had always had a hostile relationship with him. Between them, there would always be rivalry and animosity.

Now, a member of the Handan Alliance, Chun Shenjun, had even openly spoken with Xiongba, which was, as far as Di Chen was concerned, a naked betrayal.

The sudden emergence of Qiyue Wuyi did not make Di Chen so angry. After all, as long as the Handan Alliance stayed together, there could be no forces in China who could shake them. But now, a crack in the wall was before them, and he could not erase it.

The atmosphere of the chamber was exceptionally solemn; no one dared to speak out.

Sitting next to him, Juedai Fenghua broke the deadlock, saying, “Chen, now is not the time to be angry. We have to find out as soon as possible what Chun Shenjun intended with his words. More importantly, we have to see what the other four members are thinking. Otherwise, if this happens again, it may ruin everything.”

“This, I am afraid it is not so simple. Shenjun dared to speak this time; he may already be ready to move. It is also possible that in this matter, he is simply blowing smoke, deliberately confusing us so that he can profit from disorder,” Di Chen calmly analyzed.