Building a Gaming Empire From Scratch

Chapter 817: Chapter 776: Brothel 1 lacking 7, hurry up!

Lincoln initially thought that after knowing about the hidden attribute [Merit], players’ actions would become more restrained.

Although it is currently a closed beta, all the data generated during this period—including changes in merit caused by behavior—will be erased.

But he did not tell the players this information.

Logically speaking, players should be hesitating, right?

It can’t be that everyone is actually a villain, right?

The development team believes that without a main storyline and a newbie game area, players who are randomly thrown onto the streets of Chang’an City should first try to find ways to earn money.

The players who are currently allowed in have it even worse than Wu Di.

When it was Wu Di’s time, at least he was given copper coins, but Lincoln didn’t even give these people a single dime.

So both Wu Di and this batch of players need to make money at this time.

It’s no different than when a modern person arrives in a strange city: they first need to earn money before they can think about anything else.

As a result, the development team carefully monitored jobs like porter, groom, sedan chair carrier, and other apprentice job occupations, like blacksmith, chef, and leatherworker—which were all designed to provide players with a way to make money.

But players had their own ideas.

After many players entered Chang’an City, they stopped to ask the locals about the general situation and then headed straight to Brothel Street.

They don’t even bother looking at places like hook-up house, instead, they directly go to the highest-class brothels, specializing in choosing the best location and the most luxurious ones.

But, of course, they can’t enter.

Thomas in particular, who still had massage oil on his body, was stopped by the brothel’s welcoming servant from far away, not allowing him to approach the gate, saying that he would “disturb the distinguished guests.”

Other players were in better situations than Thomas, at least wearing clothes.

——But not much better. Cloud Dream didn’t provide appropriate ancient costumes, so when the players entered, they wore their virtual world clothes.

“Chang’an” is different from Metropolis and Night City. This is an ancient theme, and the rules are different.

Normal modern attire would be considered strange in ancient times and wouldn’t be allowed into formal situations—brothels were high-end establishments in ancient times, so they were considered formal occasions.

Thomas withdrew back to his home to change clothes and took a shower along the way.

——He was not like the other players. He was just curious about the brothels and wanted to see what they were like, with no special thoughts about courtesans, so he was willing to follow the rules.

But not everyone was like him who obeyed the rules. More people chose to break in forcefully instead.

Then, as expected, they were driven out by the brothel’s hired henchmen.

Thomas, after changing into proper attire, still couldn’t enter—the entrance fee, called “flower tea,” was required, and players, without a single dime on them, couldn’t afford the minimum spending and were driven out as expected.

Up until now, these people have perfectly replicated Wu Di’s experience.

But what happens next is very different.

At that time, Wu Di had no choice. He was the only player in the city of Chang’an and he couldn’t shake others’ hands even if he wanted to.

But now, shaking hands couldn’t be easier!

Yi stood at the entrance of East Donghua Building in Health Square, the largest brothel, and loudly recruited teammates:

“Broken-door mission of the East Donghua Building in Peaceful Square, looking for seven more! If interested, come quickly!”

As soon as the words fell, the other players who were fighting alone immediately gathered around, apparently planning to use force.

Watching this scene, Thomas didn’t want to join, but instead, hurriedly retreated a few steps to keep his distance.

He just wanted to open his eyes and enjoy the graceful song and dance performances. However, those were only accessible to legitimate guests entering the brothel.

—Forcing their way in using strength, they could probably only see scared girls lifting their skirts and running away screaming.

Thomas had no interest in that.

But it seemed like the men at the entrance were very interested…

In no time, 18 heroes gathered at the entrance of Donghua Building—far more than the 8 people Yi had called for.

There were only six henchmen on the other side.

18 versus 6: Isn’t that a crushing victory?

Yi led the brothers to attack the men.

The henchmen pulled out their sticks. @@novelbin@@

The next moment, the hard, wear-resistant, high-density, dark red, high-quality rosewood stick hit Yi’s head.

“Thunk!”

The sound was very crisp.

It seemed that the quality of Yi’s skull was also quite good.

“Ah! F**k! It hurts!”

Not only Yi, but other players were also moaning in pain:

“You f**king cheaters!”

“Fight fair, put down your weapons! Ah! Don’t hit my face!”

“Ah! Your mother… Ah! Fucking hell… Ah! Ah! Pain! I was wrong! I’m sorry!”

…

Three minutes later, 18 players with battered faces and swollen heads were thrown out of the door.

“Hiss—” Yi touched the purple bump on his forehead, feeling a sharp pain.

But despite being so badly beaten, he still refused to admit defeat verbally: “They only won because they had weapons in their hands, it’s not a real victory!”

The other players moaned and groaned in confusion:

“It hurts so bad!”

“What’s going on, is there a bug?”

“Damn, virtual games finally have pain now?”

“What kind of trash change is this? I’m not a masochist, I don’t need this!”

“Where’s the option to turn this off?”

…

If they couldn’t feel pain, they might not have lost even if the other party took out a knife, let alone a wooden stick.

But with the pain perception, the situation completely changed.

Fearing pain is human nature; even if the pain is not strong, it significantly impacts ordinary people’s combat power.

Cloud Dream had already foreshadowed the emergence of pain perception.

From the early virtual world with no negative sensations to the appearance of vomiting, dizziness, cold, and bruises… they cautiously observed the players’ reactions until they finally introduced pain perception.

And this pain perception was still faint and quite flexible.

—Initially, Lincoln’s idea was crude, and he gave players a 10% pain sensation across the board.

However, at the “Chang’an” development meeting later on, several employees suggested different ideas, making Lincoln realize that this approach was too simplistic.

If it was across the board, a minor scratch—for example, the opponent’s blade grazing an eyelid during a fight, leaving only a faint line of blood—would be an extremely exciting and thrilling moment.

But the pain would be too faint to be noticed, greatly reducing the pleasure brought by “Extreme Dodge.”

On the other hand, if someone got their liver exploded, anus ruptured, kidney pierced, heart stabbed, or genitals crushed…

This kind of excruciating pain, even reduced to 10%, is still terrifying! It might even leave players with severe psychological trauma, so the sensation must be weakened even more.

So, at the end of the meeting, to fine-tune the [Pain Perception System] and make it both more immersive and stimulating in combat without giving players a terrible experience, Lincoln set up a six-person team specifically for this task.

He only gave one requirement: when players cause trouble and get chased down, their pain perception is increased by 3%.

This is why Yi and his teammates, as well as those trying to bust into brothels at the same time in different images, were driven around in chaos by rosewood sticks, constantly shouting in pain.

But this situation only lasted for a short while.

Only those super pain-sensitive players would choose to give up and explore other places.

Most players, with incredible adaptability, accepted the virtual world’s “pain perception” and then—

Continued to shake people down!

“A gentleman must avenge his wrongs!” Yi shook his head and started shaking people down again!

Thomas, who had been watching the scene from the side, quietly left.

He gave up his plan to stir up trouble and sneak inside, deciding to earn some money and then go in to watch the show properly.

There were plenty of brothels in Chang’an City anyway.

These “chaotic and evil” players only targeted the top-tier brothels, such as Donghua Building, Jade Tower Pavilion, and Golden Hairpin Tower.

In Health Square, slightly less prestigious brothels, such as White Crane Tower, Yulou, Phoenix Goddess Tower, Emerald Tower, Spring Boudoir, Flower Garden, and Fragrant Flower Pavilion, were still operating normally.

As long as they made some money, they could enter respectfully.

But to make money, they first had to understand the situation in Chang’an City; otherwise, they wouldn’t know where to start.

This is also the approach many orderly, slow-playing “peaceful” players took.

From the moment they entered the game, they would roam around Chang’an City leisurely. Even if they were penniless, they wouldn’t be anxious and blended into the lively crowd naturally.

They’d chat with NPCs, ask about the current time period, the ruling emperor, and any significant events in the city.

They’d run to a restaurant to eat a free meal and then work off the debt—earning a job as a waiter or cooking apprentice—and unlock a side job after successfully completing their first cooking task.

Others listened to storytelling at teahouses, performed street magic, worshiped in temples, fished by the Qujiang Pool, competed in martial arts, or went sightseeing A lot to keep them entertained!

But the 40-plus people gathered at the entrance of Donghua Building had no interest in these things.

Yi stared at the 12 burly men with rosewood sticks at the entrance of the brothel, rubbing his hands gleefully.

“There’s no reason to block guests at the door.”

“I’m reserving tonight’s guests for myself!”

“You have to receive us, whether you want to or not!”