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He still realized it.....

Chen Qing gave the other person a serious look. Judging from his aura, this guy was likely a person of great power. Those who could become powerful figures within the Huazhou region were usually extraordinary. However, Chen Qing had not expected the other person to realize the issue so quickly.

Indeed, the netherworld..... could intercept Reincarnators!

Should this intelligence leak, Chen Qing felt he might become the primary target for all guilds to deal with, especially those ranger players.

The reason was simple, Reincarnators were not completely controlled because they were difficult to manage.

However, if Reincarnation could be controlled, it would be a different story altogether.

A scenario where all Reincarnators were under control was surely something any official organization or guild would desire. ....

"Mr. Chen Qing, is it inconvenient for you to answer?" Zhang Zhengyuan asked with a smile.

As Chen Qing looked at the elderly man, a trace of wariness arose in his heart, but he still responded with a smile, "There’s nothing inconvenient about it. Indeed, such a thing is possible."

Luming’s wife is one of the Reincarnators, and she is still being suppressed in the netherworld of Lyuzhou!

"Then it will be easy to handle....." The other person said with a laugh, "Your data has been fully submitted to the Federal Parliament.

All five districts are aware of your existence, and because of your value, the five districts are considering increasing their energy investment in this game project. "

"Those people in the West are not so easily persuaded. It’s a ’no show without a rabbit,’ sort of situation. They need to see the real benefits to commit their resources. Physical inspection provides the best proof and also shuts up those who rumors that our Huazhou is running a sham project."

"Oh?" Chen Qing chuckled, "Do you mean to say that among the five hundred this time, there are also foreigners?"

"We have to do it this way to keep the project going," Zhang Zhengyuan smiled and said, "The world you’ve designed has an enormous backdrop.

After it becomes automated, the energy required is roughly equal to the total of all other virtual worlds combined.

The energy output of our Huazhou District has been the highest in the Federation for many years, yet why are we still living on a tight budget? Your project is the biggest reason."

"Now, more and more young parliamentarians are protesting the expenditure on this project, and my days are numbered. If we, the older generation, are gone, the likelihood that this project gets shut down is quite significant."

"What happens if it is shut down?" Chen Qing was somewhat curious.

"I don’t know.....," Zhang Zhengyuan shook his head, "Electrical energy is the key to sustaining digital life, but no one knows whether digital life will cease to exist if it’s cut off. Your world will certainly stop functioning, and whether or not you’ll still be there after a restart is also unclear.

I think..... you wouldn’t want to take that risk, would you? "

"That’s kind of interesting..... Are you threatening me?"

"It’s not a threat, but a clarification of the situation," Zhang Zhengyuan said seriously as he looked at Chen Qing, "This is the reality, no exaggeration. Once you engage with the Federation, you will also understand this in the future. The living space in each region is becoming increasingly scarce, the population is growing, but the resources are getting fewer and fewer. Developing new Virtual Districts is the only way forward. Your designed world is very tempting for us, but if there’s no hope, the Federation indeed won’t waste massive amounts of energy to keep you all alive, will they? "

Chen Qing fell silent for a moment then looked up and said, "What do you want me to do?"

"Out of the five hundred, we plan to give three hundred spots to outsiders. For those three hundred, in terms of which Reincarnator families they belong to and their potential, I hope you can make arrangements to suppress them as much as possible."

"Alright.....," Chen Qing nodded.

Zhang Zhengyuan smiled contentedly. He liked dealing with such reasonable people, who agreed readily when it aligned with their interests, unlike some politicians who hem and haw.

"So what can you offer?"

"Our ability to influence the inside from the outside is limited.

The only thing we can do is to use external energy to activate certain version areas.

We can provide you with the latest intelligence, which areas are still undeveloped.

If you need development, we will assist you to the best of our ability. "

"Oh?" Chen Qing stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then understood the principle. He came from a background as a programmer; though he couldn’t grasp the concept of monstrous projects like digital life, he could infer some principles.

His own world was too vast; to run it entirely, the required energy was definitely massive.

Now the version was only in the second stage, and Huazhou District already had to collaborate with other Federation districts—a sign that due to the energy requirement, many areas within the game world were still undeveloped.

If that was the case, there was considerable room for maneuver. After all, if all the game versions had already been thoroughly explored by those who came earlier, it would be difficult to turn the tables—even with something like the Path of the Gods.

But if there were still many places undeveloped, then the situation would be different.

"Agreed!" Chen Qing finally nodded, "You can arrange for those five hundred people to come in at any time. I can also make classification plans according to your wishes at any time. If you want special consideration for your people, I can arrange that too."

"You really are someone who understands matters." Zhang Zhengyuan immediately smiled, "Then, onto the second issue."

"Please speak," Chen Qing said, his tone becoming more polite.

The other person indeed had the strength to negotiate with him. After all..... the ability to cut off power was indeed too decisive...

"We need one of your netherworld masters!"

Chen Qing: "....."

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"Civilians being promoted to manage the Underworld?"

Following Chen Qing’s suggestion, the news quickly reached several members of the Shen Family.

Shen Eleven was the first to jump up upon hearing this.

He had always assumed that the rulers of the Underworld would always hail from his Shen Family, even finding good positions for Shen Twelve and Shen Thirteen.

But now he was told that there would be promotions for civilians?

Was this a case of discarding the millstone after draining it of use?

Before he could make much of a fuss, he was smacked on the head by both Shen Lao San and Second Elder Shen, and he crouched on the ground, daring not to speak.

Second Elder Shen couldn’t be bothered to even glance at his foolish brother and continued discussing the policy change with Tian Heng.

"Have you not heard any whispers about this before?" Tian Heng tentatively asked.

"Not a bit..." Shen Lao San said with a smile that was not quite a smile as he glanced at Tian Heng. He always felt that Tian Heng was somewhat discontent and even somewhat dishonest. Now it seemed to be true. This man, known to be the most conservative duke, was actually very ambitious.

"But I think the policy is a good one," Shen Lao San continued, "Our Shen Family’s base is in Jiangnan. We supported His Majesty wholeheartedly in the beginning and, as a reward, eventually His Majesty entrusted us with the Underworld of Jiangnan. Now we’ve gone beyond Jiangnan, and to aim even wider would be unjustified. "

"Jiangnan, huh?" Tian Heng nodded, "But according to His Majesty, the ruler of the Underworld should change every ten years, which doesn’t necessarily mean the Underworld lands of Jiangnan will continue to be with the Shen Family."

"I am aware of the decennial rotation," suddenly Second Elder Shen interjected.

Not only did Tian Heng pause for a moment, but all members of the Shen Family were also surprised and looked over.

"Oh..." Seeing the gaze of his brothers, Second Elder Shen nodded and said, "I haven’t mentioned it before..."

"For such an important matter, why didn’t Second Brother tell us?" Shen Eleven jumped up again, not quite over it yet.

"Because it wasn’t that necessary..." Second Elder Shen said indifferently, "Though the ruler of the Underworld can accumulate Virtue Power quickly, they are too busy to practice cultivation. A decade as the ruler of the Underworld allows for the accretion of vast amounts of Virtue Power for personal use. After cultivation, it can transform into an important and venerable spirit of the Underworld, with a lifespan of over ten thousand years, and can also leave the Underworld to explore more of the ancient with His Majesty. What’s not to like? "

"Uh..."

"Do you really want to be a City God for a lifetime?

" Second Elder Shen asked with amusement as he looked at everyone, "Haven’t you felt a lack of time for cultivation by now? Haven’t you thought that if you continue as you are, you will not even have the chance to cultivate and will simply perish? "

"Uh..."

It was only then that everyone had their belated realization.

Indeed, other deities such as the Warrior God and the Western Sea God, although busy, were nowhere near as occupied as the ruler of the Underworld.

The Underworld’s cycle of reincarnation was extremely important, particularly in the judgment of evildoers and in the approval of reincarnation for those with deep Virtue—it all had to be personally determined by the ruler of the Underworld before proceeding to reincarnation or suppression.

Such a workload was unmanageable given the ever-increasing population, unlike Xuu Hu, the Warrior God, who had ample time to absorb his own power of belief.

Over time, the gap would likely widen even more.

"But with this change... won’t the Underworld no longer be related to our Shen Family?" Shen Eleven still struggled to accept it.

"For such an important position, did you really think it could be monopolized by one family forever?" Second Elder Shen asked with amusement, "What are you thinking?"

Even the most benevolent of Emperors wouldn’t allow such a thing to happen, let alone Chen Qing, that crafty fellow.

"But our Shen Family still has a great advantage in Jiangnan," Shen San said as if he swiftly accepted the concept, "Civilians are now selected from academies, and our Shen Family has many offspring with Magician talent. Over these three years, more and more have adapted to rationale studies. Our family’s foundation remains.

If in the future we want to develop within the Underworld, our Shen Family has a great chance. "

"This..." Shen Eleven still seemed somewhat dissatisfied, but upon reflection, he realized it was true—when it came to studying, the Shen family’s youngsters never feared anyone, not to mention their depth in Technique. There weren’t many Jiangnan noble families that could compete with the Shen Family.

If they invested their full efforts, even if they couldn’t monopolize the Underworld of Jiangnan, at least ensuring half of it remained with the Shen Family was not a big issue.

Considering this, Shen Eleven felt much better.

Tian Heng, however, was frowning deeply.

His Tian Family didn’t have much in the way of Technique foundation, and because he himself came from a martial and military background, only a few in his family were inclined towards academics.

Even over these three years, the Tian Family youths in Jiangnan were more drawn to the Western Sea Army or the Warrior Army.

The prospect of cultivating some Magicians to compete for the Underworld seemed difficult. ..

It appeared... there was no place in this for his Tian Family.

And this news, whether intentionally spread by someone or not, had traversed Jiangnan in merely two days, causing a huge commotion!