I Became the Progenitor Vampire

(This is an anti-theft chapter, do not subscribe; it will be replaced in ten minutes, posted at 00:35 and replaced at 00:45.)

Harrison, although not understanding why Lide was taking the matter so seriously, still replied respectfully.

"The chairman of the Crimson Moon specifically marked the message with a stamp of extreme urgency, requesting that you must go to the Crimson Moon immediately."

Upon hearing this, Lide's eyes flickered uncertainly. The appearance of a rift in Earth's sky... Does it signify that the Ancient Ones might descend upon Earth?

When he received this news, his heart had not been as shocked as one might imagine.

Because the moment he could summon a Small Fireball on Earth, he had already prepared himself for this.

Nevertheless, he had to return to Earth immediately.

The emergence of a rift in the sky bore too significant a meaning.

If the Ancient Ones really descended, could Earth withstand the monsters of the old days?

Lide had no answer to this.

His deep eyes turned to Harrison.

"Harrison, when I broke through to Legendary status, I found a way to enter the Lost Plane. The Lost Plane is critical, so I must go there immediately."

"There's something you must keep a constant eye on—the Twelve-winged Blazing Angel has completely fallen.

She will awaken in three days, and I will try my best to return within these three days. If I do not make it back, you must appease the other party..."

Hearing Lide's words, Harrison wasn't surprised after all; in his view, the Lost Plane was just an ordinary plane, its only specialty being that it was far from the Main Plane, and those who came from there could be reborn.

Lide had even dared to conquer the abyss, so what was so great about a Lost Plane?

In comparison, the news of the Twelve-winged Blazing Angel excited him more.

"Everyone will follow your command, Your Eminence."

Lide looked deeply at Harrison one last time without saying more, directly shattered the void in front of him, entered deep into the Land of Bone-Burying where he fell into slumber, and then returned directly to Earth.

Lide opened his eyes, and the warm-colored light of his bedroom appeared before him.

After sitting up and moving his body slightly, he turned his head to glimpse the modern furnishings around him, feeling somewhat strange inside.

Having gotten used to everything in Glory, Earth made him feel somewhat distant.

At this thought, he couldn't help but smile.

In "Glory," he was the master of Dawn City, holding the fates of millions, his authority overwhelming, and a single command could mobilize millions of troops to die for him.

On Earth, although he was also worth billions and controlled a large company with thousands of employees, seen by outsiders as a top-tier figure, compared to Glory, he seemed quite ordinary.

He slightly collected his thoughts, stood up, and walked over to the bedroom's floor-to-ceiling window. Whoosh— he gently pulled open the heavy velvet curtain, and the verdant villa garden appeared before him.

But Lide had no interest in admiring the flowers at this moment; he looked up slightly toward the sky.

Under the brilliant sunshine, the sky was cloudless, yet amidst such beautiful weather, a chilling scene unfolded.

Crevices spread across the sky like a spider web. Although much smaller than the rifts in the sky of Glory, they brought a tremendous psychological impact.

This was Earth, the foundation of all players, and now, a scene from the game had manifested here.

The shock to humankind was enormous, and describing Earth as panicking was not at all an overstatement.

Lide took a deep breath, his eyes likewise showing complexity.

He could sense the aura of the Ancient Ones seeping through the sky rifts. Although the rifts were small and the Ancient aura was still seeping in only a little, if it continued, Earth could face a situation like that of Glory—The Ancient Ones' descent, the desolation of all things.

Eventually, it might lead to the arrival of Evil Gods.

If those Ancient Deities appeared on Earth, how would this world contend with them?

The strongest BOSS among nuclear weapons, Big Ivan?

The dark, profound eyes stared at the sky rifts for a long time, without a word.

Only after a lengthy pause did he sigh.

"Whether it's a blessing or a curse, no matter the future, what must be faced will always need to be confronted..."

"However, the appearance of the sky rift wasn't entirely bad news; Earth had undergone different changes under its influence, like..."

Lide's thoughts stirred slightly, and he took a step forward.

Anyone who would have witnessed this would have been dumbstruck, for in the next second he appeared directly in the sky outside the villa.

Suspended in midair.

As if divine.

Lide felt the sparse but slowly circulating magic power around him, his expression quite subtle.

"The Earth, after being infiltrated by the ancient aura, underwent changes in its rules and started to generate magic power.

Although the current magic power is very thin, nowhere near comparable to Glory, the implications behind its presence are too extraordinary."

Magic power is a very special substance; invisible, yet just as indispensable as oxygen.

After pondering for a moment, Lide's thoughts shifted, and his body suddenly burst into flames with the intense Power of Crimson.

A terrifying and shocking aura erupted from his body, spreading recklessly in all directions.

The surrounding birds, insects, fish, and all living creatures ceased their activities and trembled where they stood.

It was the soul pressure from a high-level life form, impossible to resist.

Feeling the power flowing within him, Lide extended his right hand, and with a snap of his fingers, a hot red aura appeared before him.

That red aura, like a black hole, instantly attracted a large amount of the surrounding magic power.

Then, in midair, a bubbling Four Circle Magic—a Magma Fireball—began to slowly condense.

The light around it twisted under the terrible heat, and a remarkably powerful force gradually took shape.

In the villa's courtyard across the way, a huskie raised by the homeowners seemed to sense something. It dashed out of the house into the yard and barked wildly at Lide, but after a few barks, the dog felt the aura was too terrifying and whined, shivering as it curled up under the eaves, watching the forming fireball with an expression more comical than any meme.

Naturally, Lide wouldn't bother himself with a huskie; his own Undead are even more idiotic than that...

His gaze was fixed tightly on the Magma Fireball; this Four Circle Magic could be released in less than a second after he broke through to Legendary status, but obviously that was not possible on Earth.

The surrounding magic power continued to condense for a full three minutes, and only after the magic power had completely ceased did his Four Circle Magic fully form in his hand.

The Magma Fireball floated in the air, like a small sun, raising the surrounding temperature by at least ten degrees.

Feeling the violent power within the fireball before him, Lide was dissatisfied.

"The power has weakened by roughly thirty percent, and the condensation time has increased from less than a second to three minutes...

Now, my power on Earth roughly equates to a Level 10 Advanced Mage in Glory.

Forget Legendary status; I haven't even reached the level of a Great Mage at Level 15."

A Level 10 Advanced Mage—this was the same level of power he had when he first entered Glory.

"However, considering Earth's changes, it might not be long before I could regain my Transcendent power."

Lide smiled to himself; if he regained his Transcendent power, he wouldn't need to worry about his safety.

With his abilities, unless he faced Big Ivan directly, even heavy artillery would be ineffective against him.

Yet there was another matter that intrigued him: which body was truly his, the one in Glory or the one on Earth?

As he broke through to Legendary, his body on Earth had also become a presence with the Blood Clan Ancestor, capable of revealing his Bloodline true form any time he wished.

If the Earth's rift continued to expand, and Glory became connected with Earth, he pondered whether his true form might descend upon this region, and if so, would his body there remain asleep?

"Ah well, who cares if it's a clone or the real body? After all, they're both me. Does it really matter whether the left hand is more important than the right? Would you cut off your right hand just because the left is more important?"

If he couldn't come up with an answer, he couldn't be bothered to think further. Let things take their own course; his Legendary intuition didn't alert him to any danger, but instead vaguely sensed that the interconnection of the two worlds might be a great opportunity...

"Ah... a ghost!!"

A piercing scream from below snapped Lide back to reality. He looked down and saw an extremely beautiful young woman staring up at him, her face filled with terror.

It was a good thing it was daytime; if it were night, she might have been scared insane.

Lide's mouth twitched as he saw the girl's reaction. He had indeed neglected the presence of outsiders, so he immediately withdrew the Power of Crimson and waved his hand to make the Magma Fireball disappear.

With a friendly smile on his face, he gently said to the girl, "Hello."

After the greeting, he took a step forward and his figure vanished into thin air.

The girl's panic stemmed from the sight of a mysterious man enveloped in red light floating in the sky, but she hadn't expected that after he repressed the red glow, he would actually look so handsome.

Especially the way he smiled and greeted her last, which had dissolved much of the fear in her heart.

It was only after Lide had disappeared that she slowly came back to her senses.

"I didn't expect there to be such a handsome guy... No wait, a good-looking young man like that couldn't be a ghost, could he also be a professional player from 'Glory'?"

As the girl came to this realization, her eyes suddenly lit up. Recently, with the appearance of the sky rifts, players from 'Glory' who had already demonstrated extraordinary abilities were showing even more amazing talents.

Many were seen blasting through their neighbor Wang's wall with one hand to drag out their wives, or climbing up to the twentieth floor of a building barehanded at midnight just to work overtime at the company... and so on; such incidents were becoming increasingly common.

So it came as no surprise that another person capable of floating in the air had appeared...

After returning to the villa, Lide quickly washed up and then went straight to the underground garage and got into an autonomous vehicle to head out.

He had been campaigning in 'Glory' for quite some time and hadn't been back to Crimson Moon in ages.

His communication with Zhao Yue and the others had been relying on 'Glory's channels.

Thinking of this company, in which he had placed great hopes but seldom used, Lide couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental.

It wasn't that Crimson Moon was not important, but rather that he had been growing too fast, to the point that Crimson Moon had barely been able to help him.

However, nearly two years since the first public test, the advent of Ancient Times had greatly increased the experience available to players, sending levels skyrocketing.

The first batch of elite professional players trained by Crimson Moon had all reached level 10, and perhaps they could start utilizing the power of players in the next war.

Previously, taking players into battle meant that these people could only serve as cannon fodder, but who was he up against? Weren't they all powerful map bosses?

The Underworld, centaurs, Green City, the Abyss, had few wars that were suitable for players to participate in.

But now that player levels had caught up, everything was completely different.

Ultimately, this world still spoke through strength; without strength, even the truest truth was worthless.

After fastening his seatbelt, Lide glanced at his phone; there weren't many missed calls, which made sense since they already had communication channels within 'Glory'. Zhao Yue and the others didn't feel the urgent need to contact him as before, with only a few calls placed in the past couple of days.

Without hurrying to contact Zhao Yue, he logged onto 'Glory's official forum with a bit of curiosity.

Crimson Moon had a dedicated department monitoring the official forums twenty-four hours a day, sending him the most valuable news via 'Glory's internal channels every week.

If he wasn't around, Harrison would receive it, and Lide had also instructed that the information from Earth be fully adapted for 'Glory,' meaning it should be made understandable to the original inhabitants of 'Glory,' which was akin to Crimson Moon also providing news to Dawn City.

Of course, the exchange of news was mutual; the top executives from Crimson Moon would also receive intelligence from Dawn City's intelligence command center, completing the communication exchange between Earth and 'Glory.'

This arrangement turned out to be quite beneficial for both parties.

At the moment, 'Glory's official forum had become the focal point of attention for the entire world, especially after the appearance of the sky rifts; every nation was closely watching the forum.

The posts were virtually innumerable, with people posting frantically every second.

Lide glanced at it, originally thinking these posts would be very gloomy since the sky itself had cracked open, but in the end, he realized he had underestimated these fools.

"Is there a Death Cannon? The end of the world is coming, can a handsome guy bring out the Doomsday Cannon, whine whine whine, if you like plump girls, message me, I weigh 320 pounds, my waist is 200."

"The end of the world is upon us, and I've decided to build a shelter. I started digging a basement yesterday, and I had broken through by today. However, I didn't realize I was on the second floor until my downstairs neighbor came up to find me this morning. No wonder I heard a woman screaming about 'useless stuff' last night that couldn't last three minutes..."

"Hahaha, prepare to welcome destruction, foolish earthlings! The great Galactic Dominator who rules over the Kakabolo Star System is about to descend. Everyone must die! However, out of his great mercy, as long as you convert to our Kakabolo God Sect now, you can safely survive the end of the world. If you want to join the religion, you can contact my QQ489... The referral fee is only 80% of the usual price~"

"What do I do if I find myself getting stronger? Yesterday when I was being coy with my boyfriend, I accidentally punched him and sent him flying into the wall. Now he desperately wants to break up with me..."

"Damn, I've conjured a Small Fireball! Hahaha, I'm practically a deity. But the only problem is that last night I got too carried away playing and accidentally burned down my house. Now I'd like to inquire which bridge is warmer in winter?"

"..."

All kinds of ridiculous posts made Lide's mouth twitch uncontrollably. The world won't end as long as the fools keep coming.

However, among these, there were a few valuable posts that gave him pause for thought.

Among them, the post by the player known as the Knight with the Severed Sword held the highest value.

Knight with the Severed Sword: It's been a long time since I last posted, and today I mainly want to discuss the Sky Rift and the Ancient Descent with everyone.

You all should know about the rift that has appeared in Earth's sky, right?

If you're a spellcaster, you should be able to clearly sense the Ancient power emanating from the crack.

There's no need to elaborate on this power; anyone who has entered 'Glory' should be aware of the terrible erosion it can inflict upon life.

The only relief I have is that the Ancient power is still very diluted at this time. It will take a considerable amount of time before it could cause the same harm as it does in 'Glory.'

However, it is foreseeable that Earth will become increasingly dangerous in the not-so-distant future.

Once the Ancient power becomes concentrated to a certain extent, those Ancient Monsters that get infected will become the common enemy of us all.

Most of you should be aware of these dangers, so I won't waste words on them. As for how to repair the rift, the only known method so far is to find the fragments of the Destiny Tablet.

This message comes from the Sun Goddess. I don't know if it's of any use because it's too high-level—don't even think of touching it unless you're legendary.

If anyone gets their hands on a fragment of the Destiny Tablet, please contact me. I am willing to deploy the mightiest of armies to protect you, even getting the Undead Monarch to provide you with a protective escort!

Okay, other than this matter, I also want to discuss the relationship between 'Glory' and Earth with everyone.

If someone had claimed that 'Glory' was a real world, I think most people would have disbelieved it.

We would rather believe it's black technology developed by our country, although this game unreasonably enhances the players' physical fitness.

But now, there's no need to argue whether 'Glory' is a real world or not.

Which brings us to the question, what is the connection between 'Glory,' this Multi-dimensional Plane, and Earth?

Based on the information I have acquired, I've put forward the following points just for reference.

First, Earth is part of 'Glory,' just as the identities 'Glory' assigned to us indicate. Earth is a Lost Plane that once belonged to 'Glory.'

Now that Earth has reconnected with 'Glory,' it has naturally attracted the attention of the Ancient. Considering the current known information, I believe there's a high level of fittingness in this conjecture.

Second, 'Glory' was once a branch of Earth, and because of unknown reasons, 'Glory' disappeared. Later, we found the way back—this path is the game pod; every game pod is a spatial passage that can reach 'Glory.'

Finally, because of various reasons, the Ancient Evil God followed the game pods to find Earth, hence the current situation.

This speculation doesn't have much factual basis, simply my own guesses based on the information I could gather. You can take it as you will.

Third, according to the official 'Glory' website, the purpose of the limited release of game pods is to slow down the day of the Ancient's arrival. That said, there seems to be a connection between game pods and the Ancient's arrival. Does this mean that the arrival of the Ancient is inevitable, and that the 'Glory' officials knew about it?

We can further speculate, if more people use game pods to enter 'Glory,' does it make it easier for the Ancient to arrive sooner?

Could it be like spatial coordinates, where entering 'Glory' leaves behind a coordinate. The more people that enter 'Glory,' the more visible the coordinates between 'Glory' and Earth become. Hence, it would be easier for the Ancient Evil God to find us.

But since the 'Glory' officials are aware of this and still let us enter 'Glory' through game pods, the Ancient's arrival must be irreversible. Since it's coming anyway, why not go all out in training a group of players who can adapt to 'Glory'?

In my personal opinion, the third point is very likely. If the official site could give more explanations, I think it would be better.

Also, anyone who has different views on these points can discuss with each other.

The Ancient has arrived, and change is bound to happen in the future. To live well in this age of great strife, you'll have to rely on your own efforts.

No need to panic too much; Earth isn't made of clay. When the battle comes, who will come out on top is still anybody's guess.

The comments below were numerous, running into the millions.

First comment: The big guy is awesome, damn! (voice crack)

Second comment: Damn it, so it seems the 'Glory' officials really are deceptive. With the situation as it is, they're still hiding secrets.

Third comment: I strongly suspect that the Knight with the Severed Sword is an official staff member; otherwise, how could he know so much?

Fourth comment: Big sculptured cutie looking for a sugar daddy, can be cute or dominant, top or bottom, black stockings or white stockings...

Fifth comment: The big change is impending, huh. Sigh, not sure if it's good or bad for us.

Sixth comment: I heard the government is already tallying player numbers and seems to be scouting players to enlist...

Seventh comment: If that's the case, can 'Glory' and Earth connect with each other in the future? Woah, can I finally bring my kemonomimi girl to Earth?

...

Lide furrowed his brows after reading the post, it had to be said that the knight of the broken sword truly deserved to be hailed as the top player by the gaming community—this kind of keen intuition was not something ordinary people possessed.

The several opinions had provided him with quite a few inspirations.

While Lide was deeply immersed in studying the forum, his car quietly came to a stop.

"Master, we have reached the destination..."

The intelligent system automatically announced.

Startled awake, Lide put down his cellphone, and his face slowly regained its composure.

No matter what earth-shattering events occurred, one core principle never changed—power.

As long as one possessed power, no matter how the future may change, one could stand tall and proud.

He collected his thoughts, then pushed open the door and stepped out of the car.

---

---

---

As soon as Lide exited the car, he saw the large characters of the Crimson Moon Club. Since it was still working hours, there were not many people entering the company.

Lide didn't linger at the entrance and strode directly into the company.

Several tall and attractive receptionists saw Lide and instantly their eyes lit up.

One by one, their faces filled with excitement, and the most mature among them even wore a charming smile.

"Mr. Li, good afternoon."

"Mr. Li, we haven't seen you in a while."

"Mr. Li..."

Lide, hearing these chirpy voices, remained expressionless, smiled and nodded slightly, then left without saying a word.

His graceful and impressive demeanor caused the breaths of these women to slow; he was just too handsome...

And when his figure was about to disappear from sight, the girls immediately began gossiping excitedly.

"I told you Mr. Li has the best looks in the whole company; you wouldn't believe it, now you're all starry-eyed, as if you wish to devour him..."

"I heard Mr. Li doesn't have a girlfriend yet... should I introduce him to you?"

"Get real, would Mr. Li be interested in us? Just look at who Mr. Li is. The current value of the Crimson Moon is at least five billion—that's a bona fide top-tier tycoon..."

"Alas, what a pity. The people who pursue me, if only they had half of Mr. Li's looks, or one-tenth of his money, I'd wash up and present myself overnight..."

"Keep dreaming, even one-tenth of the money would still be several hundred million..."

A younger, vibrant girl's laughter made quite a few passing men lustful, and several who thought themselves handsome and successful approached to greet and ask for a WeChat contact, but the outcomes were far from beautiful.

In the presence of a pearl, these otherwise not-so-bad men all seemed dull and lackluster, and a few of the unsuccessful ones were even perplexed, having no idea that they had just been dimensionally struck down...

The departments of the Crimson Moon were not located together; the Professional Player Department had even rented two additional buildings in this industrial park to accommodate the game capsules which required ample space.

Lide had no intention of inspecting the other departments. With the strides of a dragon and the steps of a tiger, he went directly towards Zhao Yue's office amidst the respectful greetings along the way.

Even though he hadn't been to the company in a long while, for the veteran employees, it was easy to recognize such a handsome boss no matter how much time had passed.

It would be strange if a man who was both good-looking and successful did not attract attention.

Knock knock knock~

Gently knocking on the door of Zhao Yue's office, the vice president, Lide looked at the doorknob with a strange expression—he suddenly remembered the last time he had broken the lock...

Creak~

The door opened, and a round-faced figure with a touch of baby fat appeared.

"Mr. Li?!" Cheng Lu's eyes were filled with surprise, "You actually came to the company..."

Lide's lips twitched as he looked at his forthright assistant. "What do you mean 'I actually came to the company?' It's my company, I can come whenever I want, right?"

"This period has been demanding for you all, the company is running very well, and I'm quite satisfied."

"Mr. Li, you always say that..."

Cheng Lu expressed a hint of playful complaint. She was Lide's assistant, and in his absence, she had taken over most of the tasks that Lide should have been handling himself.

Effectively, she'd been doing the bulk of the president's work, yet was still being paid an assistant's salary...

"Please come in first, Mr. Zhao is still in a meeting and hasn't returned."

But after all, who was she but the boss's assistant, and indeed, her salary was enough to keep her content.

Lide smiled, stepped inside, and after both had seated themselves on the couch, Cheng Lu immediately began to prepare tea.

Before his seat even had time to warm, the sound of high heels clacking approached from afar.

Moments later, a fiery-red figure came through the open door.

Zhao Yue, dressed in a bright red business suit, paused slightly upon seeing Lide, then approached with a delighted greeting.

"Mr. Li, you've finally decided to come back."

Her tone carried a similar playful complaint to that of Cheng Lu.

Lide, with his thick skin, simply pretended not to hear it.

"Yes, the Crimson Moon has been developing quite well recently, I'm relieved to have you all here. Have a seat first," he said, then quickly changed the subject.

"What was the meeting about just now?"

Zhao Yue's expression became serious when the conversation turned to business, she stepped forward to open the folder with the meeting's minutes in front of Lide, and only then did she take a seat.

"Mr. Li, the meeting just now was to discuss the next phase of Crimson Moon's development.

As you know, the rift in the sky has caused a huge impact on all of human society, and we at Crimson Moon cannot avoid it either.

Even yesterday, officials came to specifically inquire about our understanding of the matter, and they also wanted us to assist in the investigation, reporting any relevant information as soon as it becomes available..."

Lide's eyes narrowed slightly.

"So, the officials aren't fully prepared for this? Then, who exactly developed 'Glory'?"

"From what I could tell from the personnel who questioned us, they don't seem prepared, although it could also be because their rank is too low.

The origins of Glory are still a mystery, the whole world is exploring, but I estimate that Glory is really not developed by officials.

Of course, this could also be a smoke screen released by the officials; it's probably going to be hard to find out the truth anytime soon..."

Lide nodded in understanding. He didn't believe that the officials knew nothing about it, but if it had indeed been created by them, they would have unified Earth and colonized the Milky Way by now, instead of playing a game.

"Let's leave it at that, outsiders won't be able to find out the details of this matter in the short term, we just need to stay aware.

What we need to focus on now is to gather all the strength of Crimson Moon, striving to become even stronger before the great disaster strikes.

In the future, I want to make Crimson Moon so influential that no one can ignore it, that no one dares to overlook us..."

Looking at the flame in Lide's eyes, Zhao Yue felt a shiver down her spine.

With Lide's support, Crimson Moon's development speed within Glory was undoubtedly the fastest of all player guilds.

She keenly understood how exaggerated and terrifying this man's power in Glory was; having dealt with Dawn City for a long time, she had already deduced Lide's true identity.

She was the vice president of Crimson Moon, and her intelligence spoke for itself; a fool could never have earned Lide's approval.

If the sky rift hadn't appeared, no matter how powerful Lide was in Glory it might not have amounted to much. But after the appearance of the sky rift, everything had changed.

If a pathway that mutually connected Glory and Earth was indeed to emerge in the future, then this man might become a top influencer whom everyone looked up to.

With that in mind, Zhao Yue slightly bowed her head, concealing the unusual light in her eyes.

Lide, without paying such close attention, continued to think about the future development of Crimson Moon.

Among all the guilds in Glory, Crimson Moon undoubtedly ranked first, with the Dark Contract Guild, built by the second-generation Bloodline, Stanley, as preparation for colonizing Earth, ranking second.

Moreover, in order to control players, he had also taken a stake in the Dark Contract Guild, meaning that the first and second-ranked gaming guilds were both under his influence.

Therefore, the power of the players in his hands should not be underestimated.

But how to make good use of this power was key, otherwise, it was simply boring to just let it lie idle.

At this moment, Zhao Yue seemed to remember something and hesitated slightly.

"Mr. Li, recently, quite a few large conglomerates have been wanting to acquire Crimson Moon... because we've developed too well; those conglomerates can't compare to us at all."

"Acquire?" Lide frowned.

"Yes, I rejected them outright, but I'm worried that some people might use other forms of influence to pressure us, especially after the appearance of the Sky Rifts."

Zhao Yue's expression became somewhat solemn, "So, during this period, you must be mindful of your safety."

Lide nodded slightly.

Those conglomerates wanted to acquire Crimson Moon for a reason; they had not failed to invest large amounts of money in development, but due to their limited strength, they couldn't develop further.

After all, not everyone could secure the full backing of a significant force like the Crimson Mage Tower in Green City right from the start, as Crimson Moon did.

In fact, right after the game's public testing phase, when players noticed that the game could affect reality, many large conglomerates had already started pouring huge funds into the game.

But the wealth of those conglomerates on Earth was extremely exaggerated, yet they couldn't convert it into power inside Glory; they wanted to exchange for money, but who had money to exchange at the start?

Crimson Moon was different, with Lide, the big spender, ensuring resources were never an issue.

Moreover, with the addition of Anos City, the player's main city, it's no exaggeration to say that at this moment, Crimson Moon was absolutely the top among all player guilds, with none able to compare.

However, this news did give him a bold idea…

Zhao Yue didn't give him a chance to speak and continued.

"No matter what changes occur, our own strength is the most important."

"So, we plan to carry out another expansion of professional players shortly, aiming to increase our professional player numbers to 8000…"

8000 people?

Lide glanced at Zhao Yue; that was no small number.

At present, after several expansions, Crimson Moon had not yet reached 4000 people, counting the other two departments—the Data Analysis Department and Game Commodity Trading Department.

But this still did not satisfy his appetite…

"No problem, we can take bigger steps, expand directly to 10,000 people.

We can recruit on a large scale those players who already have some foundation, and we must have them sign contracts with us both in reality and the game."

Lide spoke, directly raising the number to 10,000 people.

It wasn't that he didn't want to recruit more; it was the limitations of Earth's environment.

Loyalty of personnel, various benefits, and all sorts of messy issues made it quite difficult to manage too many recruits; a scale of tens of thousands was already extreme.

Professional players on Earth were not like the native residents of Glory; just giving them a paycheck was far from enough.

Currently, Crimson Moon's model was to recruit full-time professional players as the core, supplemented by semi-professional players who couldn't work at Crimson Moon in the game but had also signed contracts, along with lower-level players or those who had not signed contracts as a reserve force.

Therefore, the total number of players in the Crimson Moon guild had already surpassed 400,000, but there were only a few thousand core players.

After the trials of the Ancient Calamity, the small towns around the southern provinces had been destroyed, and those scattered players began to congregate towards the major cities with Green City, and the player's main city, Anos City, being the directions in which players around the Nolan Empire gathered.

By now, Anos City had squeezed in more than a million players; these players, after arriving, would selectively join certain guilds seeking shelter or benefits, and Crimson Moon, as the most powerful player guild, naturally absorbed the most people.

"Yes, Mr. Li, I'll go back and arrange this immediately," Zhao Yue nodded.

After pondering for a moment, Lide mentioned the bold idea that had just surfaced.

"Mr. Zhao, the Ancient has already eroded Earth, and in the future, there may be many unpredictable threats.

We need to prepare in advance."

Zhao Yue looked slightly startled, "What do you mean?"

"You arrange for someone to buy a tract of land in the suburbs immediately, and build our Crimson Moon headquarters there."

"After all, with so many major guilds like ours, we should have a headquarters by now—it's not proper to always rent someone else's building," Lide said with profound meaning.

"In the future, this headquarters might shelter us through crises."

"Indeed it might..."

While establishing a headquarters was being discussed, Zhao Yue instantly understood Lide's true intention.

It was true they were to set up a headquarters, but more importantly, to construct a base truly belonging to the Crimson Moon, in order to withstand the calamities yet unknown.

Within a city, owning such a base was simply impossible.

Lide smiled slightly when he saw that Zhao Yue had understood, finding it easy to deal with smart people.

"How much funding do we have in our accounts?"

"A total of twelve billion eight hundred million..."

Hearing the amount reported by Zhao Yue, Lide's face showed surprise.

Over twelve billion in cash??

That was no small figure.

Seeing Lide's confused expression, Zhao Yue softly explained.

"Mr. Li, due to the approach of the Ancient Calamity, players have a strong demand for weapons, equipment, and magic scrolls, but they lack the currency from Glory.

Therefore, our gaming merchandise trading department simply set up a website where we directly sell equipment to players for RMB, which has brought in a substantial income during this period..."

Lide couldn't help but marvel at the players' willingness to spend money.

Over a hundred billion in funds, in such a short time? Even quicker than what he earned from selling Gold Puck.

"Alright, then arrange it. Once a good location has been chosen, spare no expense—I want to see our headquarters completed in the shortest time possible."

"Additionally, with magic power now present on Earth, I will find some layouts for advanced magic arrays within Glory for you, and you will send someone to confirm if they can be built on Earth."

"Trust me, Mr. Li, I won't let you down,"

Zhao Yue assured him with a confident smile, embodying the poise of a strong woman at that moment.

Lide nodded his head.

Since the Calamity was inevitable, and could not be stopped, they would face it with the strongest posture.

He had established Dawn City within Glory, so why couldn't he build one on Earth as well?

"One last thing, get the players of the Crimson Moon ready. Next, I will mobilize the power of the Crimson Moon."

For every day soldiers are trained, there comes a time to use them.

The Crimson Moon, the blade he had forged, was ready to be unsheathed.

"Mr. Li, all personnel of the Crimson Moon are at your command at all times," Zhao Yue smiled calmly, her spirit showing her valiance.

As a top-level assassin already at level 14, she never shied away from battle.

"Good,"

Lide said with a satisfied smile.

"Report to me now any other matters that I need to handle, as I will return to Glory in two days to attend to important issues..."

Zhao Yue had guessed Lide's identity and naturally understood what was more pressing—she started her report promptly.

In the following two days, Lide unusually showed up on time at the Crimson Moon's office building, earnestly dealing with the backlog of trivial matters.

This caused many of the female staff to become eager, frequently finding excuses to approach him.

But to the disappointment of these women, the man they saw as the perfect male god disappeared again after just two short days, leaving them wringing their hands in regret... wondering why such a handsome man could not belong to them?

After busying himself for two days, Lide entrusted the establishment of the Crimson Moon's main base to Zhao Yue and then returned directly to Glory.

The Twelve-winged Blazing Angel was about to emerge... He was full of anticipation and absolutely did not want to miss such an important event.