Late Ming Dynasty: Summoning players from Liaodong to support the Ming Dynasty

The candlelight flickered in the quiet room, casting a deep shadow of Chu Ze's profile on the wall. He sat alone on the cold floor, his consciousness already immersed in that vast golden world. The landscape map before him shone with unprecedented brilliance, and the [Guild System] and [Technology Tree] modules within it quietly awaited his next command.

He examined the grand plan that had been sketched in his mind: an interconnected, progressively layered system of merit and rewards; a guild system governed by player self-management and self-discipline; technological paths leading to the pinnacle of civilization; and a player community tightly bound together by interests and glory. Every element had been meticulously considered to ensure it could guide the torrent of "players" in the direction he had envisioned.

The plan was meticulous and almost flawless.

He took a deep breath, his chest rising and falling slightly. His gaze was fixed on the [Public Beta] button, which was burning with intense light. This was not just a simple function activation; it was a high-stakes gamble between him and the fate of this world.

"To survive, and for... a different future."

Chu Ze muttered to himself, his voice low but resolute. Without further hesitation or wavering, he resolutely concentrated his mind and pressed the button he had been waiting for.

Om-!

The Mountain and River Map emitted a deep rumble, causing the entire consciousness space to tremble. The golden ocean of spiritual energy seemed to be suddenly drawn in by an invisible force, surging wildly towards the core of the map like a floodgate being opened!

Meanwhile, on the distant planet Earth, a silent storm swept across the globe almost simultaneously.

All internet-connected devices—phones, computers, smart TVs, even some giant street screens—were suddenly taken over by a video. No intro, no cliffhanger, straight to the point—

The video's title is simple and direct, yet it strikes right at the heart: "This is not a game, this is 1629."

The scene opens with an extremely realistic depiction of battlefield. The camera shakes violently, the deafening roar of cannons fills the air, and mud and blood fly everywhere as Ming soldiers fight desperately against heavily armored Later Jin troops on the city walls. A young girl, clad in brightly colored cloth armor and carrying a pink kitten backpack, is panting heavily, holding a wooden tube in an odd posture. The camera races from her perspective, dodging flying arrows and flashing blades.

This is Qian Lele's live stream perspective!

The screen was flooded with comments: "Holy crap, this CG is outrageous!" "The details...this isn't a game, it's a movie!" "Damn, I saw myself die several times!"

The scene then cuts to a close-up of the red-clad cannons, their deafening roar shaking the very soul. Shells whistled through the air, exploding into a bloody mess within the enemy ranks. The players charged forward fearlessly; some were felled by swords and axes, vanishing in a flash of white light, while others roared "Hurrah!" and leaped from the city walls, clutching Jin soldiers.

"It's Meat Bro! Meat Bro is awesome!" "I saw my corpse, it was a horrible death, but so satisfying!" "Is this the legendary respawn point tactic? I love it!"

The camera zooms out, revealing the dire scene of Guangning City under siege. Enemy troops surge in overwhelming numbers, and the city walls teeter on the brink of collapse. An atmosphere of despair washes over the viewer, sending a chill down their spine.

However, at that moment, the scene suddenly turned bizarre. As night fell, a towering flame erupted from the granary area in the west of the city! The flame was no ordinary fire; it possessed a strange hue, devouring everything like a demonic inferno. Within the sea of ​​fire, countless Later Jin soldiers in white armor let out piercing screams. They ran and struggled, but anyone touched by the flames was quickly burned to a crisp.

"It's a fire attack! The final stage of an epic quest!" "Burning white armor! This cutscene is absolutely stunning!" "Those white-armored soldiers are really dead! Is this supposed to be a game?!"

The final frame freezes on a desolate battlefield, the last rays of the setting sun staining the city walls crimson. A figure stands atop the city wall, his back to the camera, letting the cold wind whip his robes. His silhouette is desolate, yet it carries an unwavering resilience that seems to support the heavens and the earth.

The subtitles appeared: "Are you willing to fight for this nation one more time?"

The video abruptly ended.

The internet instantly went wild on Earth.

The sudden video went viral across major social media platforms. Countless people were deeply moved by its 100% authenticity, epic war scenes, and soul-stirring patriotism.

"Holy crap, which amazing company made this CG? Even Cyberpunk would have to kneel down and call them daddy!"

"1629? Late Ming Dynasty? Holy crap, are they serious? Playing a lowly soldier fighting against the Later Jin? This subject matter is insane! I'm a history enthusiast, I'm in!"

"Holy crap, isn't this a game trailer? This is a movie! What director has the ability to make a war film like this?"

"Wait, what's with all those comments in the video? 'For the General'? 'Meat Bro is awesome'? This doesn't seem like a typical movie!"

"I found it! 'Iron-Blooded Jiangshan'! It's said to be... a fully immersive holographic game!"

"Holographic? Immersive? Are you kidding me? This is clearly real! I've watched it three times, and I don't see a single trace of special effects!"

The official website of "Iron-Blooded Jiangshan" was instantly overwhelmed by massive traffic, and the servers crashed like an avalanche. Even so, the number of registered users continued to surge at a rate of hundreds of thousands, even millions, per second. Whether they were military enthusiasts, history buffs, game addicts, or ordinary people simply ignited by the nationalistic sentiment in the video, they all flocked to this mysterious world called "Iron-Blooded Jiangshan".

"The official website is down!"

"Stop trying to register, I can't get registered!"

"Damn it, I just want to see if this is actually CG, and now I can't even get into the official website!"

"I heard it's a game where you access your consciousness, not VR, you just fall asleep and get into it! It's incredibly realistic!"

"Really? I'm done playing, I'm going to sleep!"

"Brothers, charge! Today is the day to achieve great deeds and make a name for ourselves for posterity!"

In the quiet room of the garrison commander's residence in Guangning City.

Chu Ze's ears were now filled with the piercing alarm sound emanating from the Mountain and River Map. The golden ocean of spiritual energy was no longer "flooding," but rather, it was being swallowed by countless invisible black holes, frantically sinking downwards and visibly drying up!

Before his eyes, the number of online players on the system panel was jumping wildly at a speed that was impossible for the naked eye to perceive.

"374!"

"999!"

"3215!"

"18765!"

"98777!"

"355432!"

"..."

The numbers were still jumping up at an almost collapse-like speed, breaking through 100,000 in the blink of an eye, and then hundreds of thousands!

[WARNING: Soul density per unit space is overloaded! Emergency diversion plan activated!]

The cold system notification tone now sounded trembling with a hint of uncontrolled loss of control.

Chu Ze's consciousness looked down upon Guangning City through the Mountain and River Map.

In the city's Resurrection Square, white light flashed wildly with an unprecedented density. It was no longer a few scattered white lights, but a continuous sea of ​​white light, almost completely engulfing the entire square.

"Stop pushing! I'm stuck in the model!"

"Holy crap! Who pushed me up like that? I saw Shi Dali get pushed all the way to the sky!"

"Holy crap, I think I'm stuck inside the city wall at my respawn point! My hand went right through the wall!"

"Damn it, I can barely stand! This server is terrible!"

The first few thousand players alone had already made the already small resurrection plaza nearly impossible to navigate. And the white light continued to flash wildly, with even more players pouring in!

The next second, the emergency diversion plan of the "Map of Mountains and Rivers" was activated.

call--!

Outside Guangning City, on a vast expanse of land several hundred meters from the city wall, a dense patch of white light suddenly appeared out of thin air. The light appeared even faster than inside the city, spreading across the barren grassland like a shower of blossoms, before coalescing into standing figures!

Outside Guangning City, the once empty land seemed to have been instantly covered with seeds, and countless figures sprouted up in the blink of an eye!

Before they could even complain about the server lag, they found themselves surrounded by countless figures, shoulder to shoulder, making it difficult even to breathe.

"Holy crap! They're starting to spawn outside the city too!"

"What the hell! Wasn't I reborn in the city? How did I get teleported to the middle of nowhere?"

"Did the server crash? This number of users is terrifying!"

Looking at the scroll, with Guangning City at its center, and the countless blue dots that almost completely submerged the city, Chu Ze couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine, even though he had already prepared himself mentally.

The natural disaster he had foreseen did occur, but it seemed... to be even more "disastrous" than he had imagined.

This is not a wave, but a real tsunami!

The Spirit Pool of the Mountain and River Map has been transformed from a vast golden ocean into a dried-up shallow beach at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Not enough!"

A stronger desire suddenly surged within Chu Ze. He knew that the more he expended now, the more he would reap in the future. He wanted a torrent that would sweep across the world, not a trickle.

Without feeling the slightest pity, he focused his mind and issued the command again!

"Initiating the next phase!"

boom!

The last ray of golden light in the Spirit Pool was completely swallowed up by the Mountain and River Map! On the scroll, the lines and light spots that were originally still began to tremble again.

[Ding! Update announcement for the game "Iron-Blooded Empire" has been released!]

Chu Ze's consciousness returned to the core of the Mountain and River Map. At this moment, although the Spirit Pool was completely depleted, countless tiny golden threads of light were flowing in from all directions, like trickling streams merging into the dried-up pool. That was the "Power of Faith" from the players of Blue Star!

He knew there was no turning back.

The real game has only just begun.

He wants to harness this torrent and completely destroy this corrupt era!

He wanted to guide these runaway wild horses, under his reins, in the direction he indicated.

……

Blue Star, on the internet.

Before countless people could recover from the shock they had just witnessed, the official website of "Iron-Blooded Jiangshan" miraculously resumed operation.

On the homepage, a brand new announcement appeared prominently.

A Letter to All Chosen Ones – Announcement of the Open Beta Version of Iron-Blooded Empire

The letter begins with a passionate appeal:

To all the Chosen Ones:

You are ordained by Heaven, descended from the Blue Star world, and bear a heavy responsibility.

However, the world here is in peril. The Jurchens are rampant, raiding the Central Plains, leaving the land shattered and the people suffering. Although Guangning has been relieved of its predicament, the entire Liaodong region remains in dire straits.

"This humble general...is unworthy, but I am willing to join you all in facing this national crisis!"

Below the letter are detailed game update notes:

[Public Beta Version: Catastrophe Descends]

The update details are as follows:

【1. Guild System Officially Launched:】 (Detailed explanation of guild creation, certification, warehouse, and headquarters functions, as well as their connection with quests such as 【The Road to Restoration】 and 【The Cornerstone of Order】.)

【2. Tech Tree System Activation:】 (This details the initial unlockable technology paths and the reward mechanism for the 【Guild Tech Competition】.)

【3. Brand New Identity Verification System:】 (All newly arrived players can receive the "Guangning City Commoner" identity and freely choose their profession.)

【4. New Player Tasks and Guidance:】(To handle a large number of players, the system has added a large number of repetitive new player tasks, as well as a junior career mentor.)

【5.……】

At the very bottom was a red notification that excited all players, while causing some to frown:

"Holy crap! There's no limit!"

"Damn, this game is insane!"

"Wait, can I go to Shenyang to fight Huang Taiji?"

"The announcement said we can only operate within the territory of the Guangning garrison commander, but the tech tree and guild system are the real focus!"

"Guild Technology Competition! Springtime for Production is Here!"

"Go for it! I'm going to work on mechanics, I'm going to build a Gundam!"

In an instant, countless players were drawn to this unprecedented "update announcement," eager to enter the game and experience this incredibly realistic "world."

Meanwhile, inside and outside Guangning City, hundreds of thousands of players are constantly refreshing at an astonishing rate.

As soon as a player landed, he saw his companions being squeezed together by the players who spawned afterward, and he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Haha, this server is absolutely garbage!"

Some players, gazing at the distant city walls, exclaimed with excitement, "Is this the late Ming Dynasty in 1629? Here I come!"

Many players, after landing, habitually open the game interface and see the newly released update announcement.

"Guild system! Tech tree! Unlimited players!"

"Holy crap, this game is going to be something big!"

"To hell with the Jurchens! I'm going to mine minerals and do scientific research first. I'm going to change this era because of me!"

A massive torrent is surging.

Chu Ze closed his eyes in the quiet room. He could not hear the commotion on Blue Star, nor the disturbances inside and outside Guangning City.

But he could sense it.

An unprecedented and immense power is brewing within the landscape map and expanding outside Guangning City.

He personally ushered in this era.

A natural disaster struck.