The virtual empire starts from the game

Chapter 605 Players VS Developers! (Seeking monthly votes at the end of the month!)
The [International Library] is unlike any other building in the Mansheng Metropolis.

For example, regarding the Twin Towers, Xu Meng predicted in advance during the initial construction that some players would definitely want to cause damage.

For example, the [Interspecies Massage Parlor] was arranged to be captured and taken away by the Plans Shrimp Man before it even opened.

Xu Meng not only didn't care, but even watched the commotion with amusement.

The only exception is the [Library of Nations], which the staff who built it desperately don't want it to be burned to the ground by the players.

Therefore, it was also suggested to Xu Meng:
[Build the library only in the Overgrown City in Peace Mode.]
They devoted a great deal of effort to building this library—

The building itself is fine.

By referring to well-known libraries around the world and inviting some renowned architects to design them together, there shouldn't be any major problems.

But the books inside are different.

The scale of the project is staggering!
From the crucial Xia State National Digital Library to the provincial libraries that have done a good job in digital book collections, we need to talk to them one by one.

Especially precious ancient books.

Even digital versions of ancient books still require in-person communication.

Because this isn't a need for just one or two books, but rather a need to buy them all at once!

Packing it up is just the beginning.

—We can't expect players to be able to read in a virtual library using only tablets or e-readers, can we?

Will the entire library end up without a single physical book?
Or are the bookshelves full of blank books for decoration?

This is clearly not plausible.

So they developed a special software program to package digital books and restore them to the appearance of individual books.

Then, AI is used to assist in checking whether the restored book has any flaws.

If any, manual repairs are required.

Since it is a "nation of all nations", it cannot only contain books from the Xia Kingdom.

We should also have books from overseas.

Because of company regulations, core employees of Zhumeng are still not allowed to travel abroad at will.

They applied to establish an external department, hiring many people to travel the world to communicate with overseas libraries and purchase or exchange digital book resources.

This project has only just passed its first stage so far.

It is still far from the "treasure trove of civilization" and "the ultimate collection of knowledge" that players initially expected.

However, for ordinary users, it is sufficient to meet their daily reading needs.

So the development team built the library for players to use first, and planned to gradually push it deeper into the game later.

Xu Meng can understand everyone's efforts and their appreciation of this achievement.

However, he rejected the idea of ​​building the library only in peacetime mode without hesitation:
"What, are players who enjoy murder, arson, robbery, begging, streaking, and peeping unworthy of reading books?"

"This is discrimination! You're judging people with colored eyes!"

"After killing, setting fires, or crashing buildings in high-speed cars, players can also go to the library to read books and cultivate their minds!"

"It's like going to Shaolin Temple to learn kung fu. If you only practice kung fu without cultivating meditation, you'll eventually hit a bottleneck. Only by practicing kung fu and cultivating meditation at the same time can you develop real kung fu skills."

The project team members were speechless at their boss's absurd reasoning.

Fortunately, Xu Meng quickly reassured them: "But I can give you higher authority and allow you to arm [the Library of Nations]."

"You can make it as sturdy as you want!"

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and started working overtime to write code.

With the help of a smart office partner, they built the framework of the [World Library] in the virtual world in just 6 days.

Then it took another 12 days to write the "anti-troublemaker" code.

Moreover, even though it was released along with the Yongning Temple Pagoda, they deliberately kept it a secret from the players.

It's just waiting for book lovers to discover it for themselves.

As it turns out, they've actually managed to hide it until now.

If it weren't for the massive invasion of the Plans Shrimp People, which caused severe damage to the city and revealed the building's unusual features, players might not have noticed it at all.

After all, users who come to the virtual world to read books will generally only recommend this place to classmates and friends who also love reading or need to study in the virtual world.

This resulted in the [Library of Nations] remaining in a small circle.

Until now.
-
Xu Meng and Xiao Meng, disguised, each picked a stool and sat down, watching the players cause trouble with great interest.

The man in front of me picked up a copy of "Out of Africa" ​​and pretended to tear it open.

But after hesitating for two seconds, he put down the book and picked up "The Crowd" instead.

Let's tear it apart cleanly and decisively!
But he couldn't tear it open at all.

"Pooh!"

The older man was not convinced, so he stepped on a stool to make it easier to exert force, spat into his palm, and held the front cover in one hand and the back cover in the other.

I gritted my teeth and tried again.

But even after straining so hard that the veins on his neck bulged and his face turned bright red, he still couldn't tear the book open.

"You forced me to do this."

The man put down his book and took a lighter out of his pocket.

He successfully lit the pages of the book.

But the pages were not burned; instead, they burned for a full 15 seconds before suddenly going out.

The entire book was completely undamaged.

Xu Meng shook her head and looked away.

Another person picked up a stool and slammed it hard on the table, making a light sound.

The table and chairs were completely undamaged.

A female player with a pink afro simply pulled a gun from her lower back and used a thin page from a book to block the muzzle.

"Boom."

The gunshots were barely audible.

The bullet pierced through the book pages instantly, hitting the man who was tearing the book apart.

The man's neck bled profusely on the spot!

The blood splattered on the pages and the tabletop, shrinking and disappearing within two seconds, leaving the surface clean and pristine once more.

But the bullet's journey was not over yet—

After piercing the old man's neck, it continued flying towards another girl who was reading.

But this time, the bullet bounced off her shoulder and flew to the ceiling.

Upon hitting the ceiling, all the bullet's kinetic energy vanished instantly, and it fell straight to the smooth floor under the influence of gravity.

“That’s an idea,” Xu Meng nodded. “Those who study will react defensively, only those who cause trouble will be affected.”

"With this design, if people get into a fight, they can fight to their hearts' content without disturbing others."

"Yes, yes!" Xiao Meng watched with great interest as a large truck crashed headfirst into the glass window.

The truck's windows shattered instantly, and the entire front of the truck collapsed, almost squeezing the driver inside into a small pancake.

But the library's glass wasn't even scratched.

Beside the large truck stood a row of fully armed players, firing rifles and flamethrowers at the glass and the gate.

One person even pulled out an RPG and fired it without hesitation.

Outside the gate, a hail of bullets erupted instantly, and passersby almost thought that the Plans Shrimp Men had invaded again.

But inside the gate, one could only see images and hear no sound, like watching a silent film in color.

The atmosphere was peaceful.

Seeing the players repeatedly encounter setbacks, Xu Meng nodded in satisfaction.

It seems that in this clash between players and developers, the developers, who have higher authority, have emerged victorious.

"Xiaomeng, do you want to continue watching?"

Xu Meng stood up and looked at Xiao Meng.

"If we've seen enough, we're off to play Resonance in Space."

"The main force is about to leave the city; if we go now, we can still catch up."

Xiao Meng jumped off the stool, grabbed Xu Meng's hand, and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped.

Xu Meng felt the pull on her hand and turned to look at Xiao Meng curiously. Xiao Meng, on the other hand, tilted her head back and looked at the ceiling.

Xu Meng looked up in confusion, only to see a white ceiling and a modern-looking chandelier.

"What are you looking at?"

Xiao Meng blinked: "Water."

"A major flood is coming here."

"Huh?" Xu Meng's eyes widened in surprise. "Here? Flooded? Where did the water come from?"

Xu Meng found it hard to believe.

But Xiaomeng obviously wouldn't lie to him.

Confused and curious about the players' actions, he refused Xiaomeng's spoilers and led her towards the elevator.

Xiaomeng was looking up, so the player was obviously causing trouble on a higher level.

Press the button, and the elevator quickly descends from the 6th floor.

As the elevator descended floor by floor, Xu Meng realized something was wrong—

He heard the sound of water!

However, the sound was very faint.

"Is the elevator shaft leaking?" He turned to look at Xiaomeng curiously.

But when he turned his head, he was surprised to find that Xiaomeng was holding a small astronaut helmet and putting it on her head.

"???"

Before I knew it, the elevator had arrived at the first floor.

"Ding~"

The elevator doors opened automatically.

A torrent of water immediately gushed out!

Caught off guard, Xu Meng was swept away by the surging water and slipped, falling to the ground on the smooth floor.

The splashing water hit his face, making it impossible for him to open his eyes.

Xiao Meng, who was next to him, was completely unaffected by the sturdy astronaut helmet.

She pulled Xu Meng's hand and moved a few steps to the side to avoid the water gushing out of the elevator.

Xu Meng was finally able to stand firm and wipe the water off her face.

When I looked at the elevator again, all the water inside had drained away.

But the water in the elevator shaft continued to flow out through the gaps, quickly making the surrounding area slippery.

And it's not just this one elevator shaft—the entire row of elevator shafts around it are leaking water!
"Could it be..." Xu Meng jogged towards the stairs.

They discovered that this place had also become a stream, with a continuous flow of water flowing down from higher levels.

"Are they... pouring water down from the upper floors?"

Where did they get so much water?

Before he could guess any further, he saw a waterfall cascading down from the sky!

The design of the [International Library] is not particularly remarkable, and it only has a mere 7 floors.

But there are many intricacies involved internally.

The development team enlisted several internationally renowned architects to participate in the design, giving the library a modernist style.

From the center of the first-floor lobby, you can see the glass atrium on the top floor at a glance!
Now, this structure is being exploited by mischievous players—

The glass windows in the courtyard have been opened, and a huge amount of water is pouring down from the sky, continuously flooding the first-floor lobby!
Even with such an exaggerated scene, the interior of the [Library of Nations] was eerily quiet.

Even the most dedicated readers now have to snap out of their reverie and return to the world of books.

Because the water was rapidly rising above their feet!

And it's still rising!

"Holy crap, what's going on? Is the library flooded?"

Where did all this water come from?

"What was going on? I was reading 'World Waterfall Showcase' when I suddenly felt a chill on my head... I thought it was an Easter egg from the development team!"

Stop talking! Let's go! We'll be flooded if we don't leave now!

……

Everyone rushed towards the door in a panic, wanting to leave the library.

Xu Meng followed the crowd, only to find a large group of people crowding in front of her.

I jumped onto the table and saw that the library entrance was completely blocked by a row of large trucks!
No, it's not just the gate!
Even the windows were completely sealed off!
Players inside the library tried to break a window, only to discover in despair that the library was indestructible and could not be damaged at all.

Xu Meng picked up Xiao Meng and walked against the flow of water up the stairs to the second floor, and the others followed suit.

But the second floor was also completely sealed off.

Even more outrageous is that on the second floor and higher floors, the windows are sealed off from both the inside and outside.

Needless to say, the entire city is currently being rebuilt, and there is no shortage of any building materials or tools.

And inside...

That's even more ridiculous!
In front of each window in the library, there are two players holding books, engrossed in reading.

To escape by jumping out of the window, you must first pull them apart.

But here comes the problem——

Players who are engrossed in reading in the library will receive special protection from the development team's code.

Just like that girl who was reading before, bullets would bounce off her.

Now, the need for manpower is even more pronounced—

Impatient players reached out to pull them, but before their hands could even touch their bodies, they were separated by an invisible barrier.

The group was extremely anxious, but they were helpless against them and could only attack them with their mouths.

But all sounds in the library were greatly reduced; even the waterfall was barely audible, let alone the sound of talking.

A group of people were cursing each other until their faces turned red, but the guy reading the book could hardly hear them and just kept reading.

When I see something interesting, I can't help but smile.

He infuriated the player in front of him!
Xu Meng carried Xiao Meng as they walked up the stairs, one floor at a time.

The further you go, the faster the current becomes.

Xiao Meng was having a great time and had no intention of using her superpowers at all. She happily hugged Xu Meng's neck and let her owner carry her up the stairs.

Other players initially did not want to go upstairs.

However, the water kept pouring in, quickly flooding the entire first-floor lobby, and then filling the second, third, and fourth floors...

In reality, this is impossible.

It wouldn't even be possible to place it in other buildings in Mansheng City.

—With a highly realistic physics engine, water pressure can shatter glass and flood the streets.

But [the Library of Nations]...

The development team added so many protective measures to the building that it became virtually indestructible.

The windows of the [Library of Nations] can withstand a nuclear explosion!

mere water pressure...

It's a piece of cake!

The result was that the entire building was filled with players, and everything inside was completely submerged!
The players inside also suffocated to death one by one.

Their protection for readers is to defend against external harm, not to make players invincible.

Without oxygen, one will eventually die.

Xu Meng walked up to the seventh floor and finally saw the source of the water—

A group of players were pulling on thick water pipes and frantically pouring water into the windows and skylights.

The hovercars, in groups of four, replaced the helicopters, hoisting huge water tanks to the top of the library and swaying as they poured the water from the tanks down!

The sheer number of these hovercars almost blotted out the sky!
Looking at this scene of "united efforts," Xu Meng could only helplessly complain:
"You guys have an amazing ability to mobilize people when you're causing trouble..."

(End of this chapter)