Tokyo: The Player Behind the Scenes.

Chapter 258, Part 01: The Land of Peach Blossoms

You have entered "Peach Blossom Village"

The white light before his eyes gradually dissipated, and Higashiyama Shin found himself surrounded by clouds and mist.

As he arrived, the surrounding clouds and mist automatically dispersed, slowly revealing their true form.

"This place is neither a paradise nor a village."

He looked around and made his comments.

It was nighttime, and he stood on a low hill.

Behind them, a towering lighthouse cast its cool light in place of the moon, illuminating a limited area around them.

However, even without the lighthouse, he would still be able to see at night.

As far as the eye could see, there was an extremely ordinary hilly plain, with sparse, withered grass spread out, and some trees whose names I did not know standing in the distance, their bare appearance resembling the tops of a middle-aged programmer's head.

Further away, a thick fog enveloped the area, resembling a gray-white city wall.

Even the sky was shrouded in mist, and the overall observable area was about the size of an upside-down bowl. The lighthouse behind him should be the center.

Below the hills lies a flat plain, dotted with dilapidated wooden houses and earthen walls covered in moss.

[Peach Blossom Village Main Quest Unlocked: Restoring Life]

[You are the newly appointed village chief of Peach Blossom Village. Please guide your villagers to plant organic crops, harvest them in a timely manner, and offer them to the "withered branches" to revive the vitality of Peach Blossom Village.]

As the village chief, plants grown within your designated area will receive a 20% bonus to growth rate.

Higashiyama Shin raised an eyebrow, having roughly guessed what was going on.

What is a broken branch?

The very source of life in Peach Blossom Spring was the withering of the ancient Peach Blossom Tree, which led to the village's decline and destruction. The remaining branches are the last remnants of the ancient tree; they require sufficient life force to irrigate them and allow them to regrow.

The explanation is fairly clear; it's not particularly riddle-like.

Where do plant seeds come from?

[Can be redeemed with points]

Is there a reward for donating to "broken branches"?

[You can earn points and contribution points]

Got it, it's a reskin of Happy Farm.

This Haki system of yours, it wasn't distributed by Tencent, was it? It's always something copied from here and there.

Dongshan Shen's lips twitched. To confirm further, he continued to ask, "If a player's plant matures but isn't harvested in time, can other players steal it?"

This behavior is unrestricted; whoever contributes the finished product will receive the points and contribution value. Plants will wither if not harvested within 12 hours of maturity. As the village chief, you may supplement the rules as appropriate.

“Then let’s add a rule: each theft cannot exceed 10% of the mature crop in that batch.” Dongshan Shen put on the role of the village chief and showed great mercy.

It would take at least ten players to steal everything.

If a player can be stolen by ten other players, then that player should reflect on their own actions and do something about it.

Have you been taking good care of the fields? Or have you been slacking off?

Why steal from you and not others?
Wait, something's not right! There's a key point!
Higashiyama Shin then asked, "As the village chief, I have a lot of authority, right? Can I set more rules?"

As long as the underlying logic is not violated, reasonable rules can be effective.

What is the underlying logic here?

The Basic Rules of Peach Blossom Village:

1. Areas shrouded in fog cannot be explored.

2. Unconventional modes of transportation such as flying and burrowing underground are prohibited.

3. All player abilities will be compressed to conform to the normal logic within the village.

4. Maliciously damaging the environment and wasting resources are prohibited. The harvesting of natural resources is permitted only for necessary construction purposes.
5. Crops may only be harvested, not maliciously destroyed.
6. Players cannot inflict fatal damage on each other.
7. Natural laws cannot be modified (e.g., the speed at which crops mature, the inability to turn rice into wheat, or wood into stone).
Higashiyama Shin quickly scanned the list; these underlying logics did not conflict with what he wanted: "Okay, I'll set two rules. First, only I have the right to buy seeds and offer crops to the 'remaining branches'."

In this way, other players can neither use points to directly buy seeds from the system, nor can they offer their harvest in exchange for points.

All channels must go through him as an intermediary.

He plucks feathers from passing geese, a local tyrant.

Yes, he wants to be a middleman.

Farming? Farm my ass!

He's going to levy an agricultural tax on the players!
Where do lords personally farm? Even with the so-called 20% growth bonus, it's nothing compared to sitting back and collecting money. But if you don't have to farm yourself...
This system is the only one that doesn't complain; otherwise, people would at least call it a beast.

"Secondly, I can designate a creature and grant it the position of deputy to the village chief, which only grants it the authority to exchange seeds, offer crops, and cultivate and harvest."

That's right, he even outsourced the tax collection to himself.

[The rule has been approved and is now officially in effect according to the rule record.]

After seeing the rules approved, Higashiyama Shinichi closed his eyes and delved into his mind.

He discovered upon entering this paradise village that, unlike in typical games, he could retain many abilities and items.

The Soul-Gathering Umbrella is one of them.

He took out the Soul-Gathering Umbrella and reached inside.

"Hey!"

The calico fox was pulled out by the scruff of its neck, looking completely bewildered.

It seems that it is indeed possible.

He casually tossed the ball of fur onto the withered grass at his feet, opened the exclusive exchange list for Peach Blossom Village, and used a few points to exchange for the cheapest and roughest iron hoe, which he then threw in front of Sanhua with a clatter.

"Go, turn over that patch of land over there that's a different color."

Sanhua blinked her beady black eyes, trying hard to process what she was saying.

Wait a minute! This doesn't sound like human speech at all!
It was one thing to row a boat before, but now it's being asked to hoe the earth, even though it's a powerful demon!

This is simply outrageous!
"What, you can't do it?" Higashiyama Shin's eyelids drooped slightly, his tone was calm, but it conveyed an invisible pressure.

"Waaah! Waaah! (I can definitely do it, I guarantee I'll complete the task!)"

Sanhua shuddered, then instantly put on a fawning smile.

Planting seeds is nothing to be ashamed of.

Why did the owner insist on having this plant do the planting instead of other plants? Isn't this a great sign of trust and nurturing?
Everything is difficult at the beginning. Now that we have taken the first step, how far are we from being second only to one person and above all others?
Sanhua quickly figured it out, stood up, grabbed the hoe with her paws, let out two soft moans, and then her small body began to swell up, puffing out in a fluffy way until it finally stopped at the height of an eight or nine-year-old child.

It was clear that it wanted to transform, but its power and spiritual energy were insufficient, so it could only transform a little bit. The result was neither human nor fox, which happened to coincide with Fu Rui's state of ecstasy.

Without another word, the humanoid fox picked up a hoe and began its first arduous task of working on the slightly darker, arable plots of land in front of it.

Dongshan Shen redeemed a recliner, lay down comfortably, and watched Sanhua wield a hoe to cultivate the land while leisurely browsing the Taoyuan Village's exclusive shop.

There are very few things you can redeem here right now.

There are only [seeds], [farm tools], [water source], and [cultivating more farmland]. Except for seeds, which can only be exchanged with points, the others can be redeemed with points or contribution points.

I glanced at the three-flowered dog struggling with the mud, and the three lonely little plots of land in front of it.

Dongshan used 30 points to exchange for three of the cheapest radish seeds and casually tossed them to Sanhua to plant. Then, he spent another 3 points to exchange for ordinary river water and watered the plants.

Everything was silent and uneventful; there was no countdown to maturity, and no obvious changes were visible.

More importantly, the final value of the harvest is still unknown. For ordinary players, investing 30 points in a seed, even if they spend ten days or half a month tending to it, and can eventually sell it for 60 points, would be considered a huge profit.

but
Even Dongshan Shen, with his quick mental calculations, knows that irrigation also has costs.

Each time ordinary river water is used to irrigate the land, it costs 1 point or 1 contribution.

Assuming each plot of land needs watering once a day, three plots would require 3 points. Over ten days, that's 30 points. Therefore, selling the land for 60 points would just break even, making it practically free work.

Never mind. There's no point in thinking too much.

Anyway, with this free fox laborer watching over things here, he can sense everything that happens inside at any time.

He had already figured out his future business strategy.

The seeds should be sold to players at the original price. What should really be squeezed out is the finished crops that players have worked so hard to grow.

The old saying is indeed true: you reap what you sow.

"Work hard, and if you manage this small plot of land well, you can get two drops of spiritual liquid a week."

Although Higashiyama Shin is a bit ruthless, he will still give people some benefits.

Upon hearing this, Sanhua's spirits lifted instantly, and she no longer felt tired.

Those were two drops of spiritual liquid!
Normally, no matter how much it tries to curry favor with Dongshan Shen, it can't get a single drop.

The Yellow Springs space is filled with yin energy, which is why it can't die.

She originally planned to use her innate charm ability to please Higashiyama Shin after she had mastered the transformation.

Even before it has fully transformed, it can still produce three drops per week. I can't even imagine how many drops it will produce after it transforms.

It'll probably grow a fourth tail soon.

Leaving the energetic Sanhua behind, he went inside the lighthouse, searched around, and found only one dusty room.

At the top of the lighthouse, the glowing object is a large stone that looks like jade, but it doesn't seem to possess any spiritual energy or fluctuations; its only function appears to be illumination.

Leaving the lighthouse, he walked down the hill and strolled around the moss-covered, weathered ruins of houses, his brow slowly furrowing.

Why is the architectural style of these ruins so eclectic?

Is this the Dou* Continent, with both Chinese, Japanese, and Western styles?
He took the opportunity to test his abilities, and they were indeed somewhat suppressed, mainly in terms of limiting his means of movement.

Even a phoenix would have to turn into a free-range chicken if it came here.

Before we knew it, dawn was breaking.

However, due to the dense fog, it was impossible to see where the sun was rising.

When Higashiyama Shin returned to reality, it was still dark.

"Is it a time difference, or a time discrepancy?" Dongshan Shen recalled his feelings about Taoyuan Village. "It can't be that this is actually reality, right?"

I glanced at the time; it was past 1 a.m.

Using simple geographical knowledge, he added east and subtracted west, concluding that if Taoyuan Village were real, it would be located east of Japan, roughly along the Bering Strait and the Aleutian Islands.

That is, near the International Date Line.

He silently noted it down, planning to verify it when he had some free time.

We returned to Peach Blossom Village.

He carefully considered adding some rules and even created his own loan program to provide low-interest loans to players who were short of money and couldn't even afford seed money.

He turned what was supposed to be a happy farm game into a landlord simulator.

The bourgeoisie and the feudal class achieved an epic reconciliation in his work.

"There's nothing to worry about. The nuclear button is in my hands. I will use the clearest and simplest physics to tell those monsters that this is Earth, this is human territory, not their playground to run wild."

"Mr. President! The consequences of misusing nuclear weapons will be borne by all of humanity and the entire ecosystem. You—"

"This is not the time for questions. You are being very rude. Please leave."

"You must understand that monsters are the common enemy of mankind. They have no scruples when they attack us. We must not be intimidated by so-called radiation or ecological disasters! Weakness and compromise will only cause us to completely lose our dominance on this planet!"

"Even if the price is the extinction of humanity! We must never allow these monsters to invade our world! The world needs a strong leader, and I will never back down!"

"I have more important matters to attend to, so the Q&A session is cancelled today. Thank you everyone."

The heavy door closed behind them, shutting out the chaos and sight of the outside world.

The unyielding mask on the president's face crumbled instantly, replaced by a furrowed brow and undisguised exhaustion.

He took the chilled, damp handkerchief handed to him by his secretary and vigorously wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and neck.

"It's Monday, and I'm hoping to hear some good news."

Entering the private lounge, he sat heavily on the sofa, his gaze falling on a person who had been waiting there—his trusted confidant to whom he had entrusted important responsibilities.

Hoover secretly took a breath and unconsciously licked his lips.

"Mr. President, during the second round of nationwide mystery investigations, 1,821 more suspected related artifacts have been discovered, and experts are examining them one by one."

"Alright, just tell me, yes or no." The Grand Commander already knew the answer from his reply, but still asked with a last glimmer of hope.

Hoover opened his mouth, then shook his head dejectedly: "Sorry, no."

The president closed his eyes, and in the darkness, the memories of last night's dream uncontrollably assaulted him.

It seemed like an ordinary weekend. Inside the bowling alley, the demonic mist appeared in front of him without warning, casually poked its hand into his eyes, and, like he was bowling, took it off and threw it away.

It was a dream, yet it felt so real, like a prophecy.

He was far from being as calm and confident as he appeared in public.
The emergence of the extraordinary signifies a crack in the existing pyramidal order, and its collapse is only a matter of time.

Those at the top of the tower are the most threatened.

Having reached the very top of the tower, or even stood atop it, he had no way out; a single misstep would plunge him into an abyss.

Now, all he can do is try his best to delay the collapse.

Especially in times like these, we must not show the slightest weakness.

Especially those extraordinary beings, they are not powerful enough to overwhelm conventional weapons.

But the monster of Mount Fuji dealt him a blow; to be precise, it was the monster of Mount Fuji, along with that enigmatic white mask.

I don't even dare to dream about it.

The monster that even nuclear bombs couldn't kill really exists.

That statement was indeed true: nuclear weapons are most useful when they are not yet launched.

'We must possess our own extraordinary abilities, or...'

The president silently recited in his heart.

Become extraordinary!

The president stared at Hoover: "I'll give you one more task."

"Yes! Please give your orders!" Hoover immediately straightened his back.

"Use all available resources to gather detailed information on the world's top gamers across all fields," the president said in a deep voice. "Then, keep a close eye on them, every single one of them!"

"Uh, I understand."

(End of this chapter)