As Zhao Xian and the others gradually returned, they too faced similar issues, though none as peculiar as the ones encountered by Huang Bo and his team.
Time passed swiftly, and soon the third day was approaching.
While Shen Mengchu anxiously awaited Xu Que's return, the government released an update.
The content was a full praise of the Zhan Tian Hunter Company, lauding their efforts, while the earlier murder incident was conveniently categorized as self-defense, with the opposing side being labeled as troublemakers. Even evidence was presented, suggesting foreign entities were inciting trouble within the nation.
In an instant, the entire internet erupted.
Many foreign netizens launched a barrage of insults towards Z Country.
At the same time, Z Country's netizens united in a frenzy of online defense, their outrage directed outward.
The people of Z Country were no fools; they knew they had survived this calamity largely thanks to their government and the Zhan Tian Hunter Company.
The government's data revealed that the Zhan Tian Hunter Company had borne one-third of the risk during the disaster alone.
While netizens from around the world were still embroiled in verbal battles, all of humanity on Blue Star simultaneously received a cold, mechanical female voice:
"Congratulations to all surviving players. You have successfully survived the first dimensional rift outbreak. The time until the next rift eruption is 723 hours, 59 minutes, and 52 seconds. To ensure fairness, the following are the new rules for the next dimensional rift."
"1: The Honor Store will feature Return Stone items, available for player purchase."
"2: The Lifestyle Store will sell all everyday items from Blue Star, and the exchange feature has been enabled."
"3: During the trial period, there will be no failure penalties for dimensional rift challenges."
"4: The challenge duration for trial period dimensional rifts has been changed to 68 hours."
"5: The next dimensional rift will last for seven days. If you fail the challenge, the rift will not erupt. However, during this period, the ultimate BOSS in the dimensional space must be defeated to close the rift. If the challenge fails, the maximum penalty rule will be activated."
"6: Territory trading rules are now open, and the Wealth Ranking is available."
…
In an instant, all of humanity on Blue Star stood dumbfounded, some live-streamed screens even freezing in shock.
Many countries had yet to recover from the pain of the disaster, and now there would be another rift eruption in just a month?
"Can someone tell me, how many more of these disasters are there to come?"
"Only a month and three hours to show off before the next calamity hits?" (R language)
"Let it destroy everything, after all, the world is ending." (A language)
"No, I don't want to die. I want to immigrate to Z Country!" (Y language)
At that moment, a flood of messages about immigration to Z Country exploded across the internet, surpassing the government's official updates by a thousandfold.
Meanwhile, Xu Que, who had just emerged from the rift, was equally confused, nearly drowning in the river.
This announcement had come over a week earlier than it did in his past life!
Xu Que surfaced, casting a glance at the closed rift beneath the water.
"Could it be related to this rift?"
Just as Xu Que was about to leave the water, the mechanical female voice echoed in his ear.
"Congratulations, Human Xu Que. After data verification, your Spirit Stones and Spirit Ore meet the conditions for the Wealth Ranking. Your entry onto the ranking has been automatically processed through the [Ya Zi] feature."
"Congratulations, Human Xu Que, for achieving the first rank on the [Wealth Ranking]. Your reward is a temporary talent [Endless Wealth] (Subject to changes in rank)."
Xu Que, standing mid-air on his black sword, waited for five minutes, but no further announcements came.
"What's going on? Just a temporary talent? No god-level rewards?"
Xu Que was completely bewildered, but after waiting another ten minutes, there was still no update.
"Could it be that the [Wealth Ranking] doesn't offer god-level rewards?"
He opened his personal talent interface.
[Name: Xu Que]
[God-level Talent: Hundredfold Absorption (Increases cultivation speed by 100 times, absorption of spiritual energy by 100 times.)]
[God-level Talent: Hundredfold Profit (For every territory you own, you gain 100 times the resources daily.)]
[Temporary Talent: Auto Cultivation (While static, automatically absorbs and compresses spiritual energy into liquid form.)]
[Temporary Talent: Eye of Inspection (Allows you to inspect all things, disregarding hidden rules.)]
[Temporary Talent: Endless Wealth (Every day, resources obtained from your territory are multiplied by 10.)]
Xu Que was speechless... There really were no god-level rewards!
But, recalling the connection between the [Territory Ranking] and the [Wealth Ranking], he started to understand.
It was similar to how, in his previous life, there were claims that the [Combat Power Ranking] didn't offer god-level rewards.
"So, the twelve rankings must all be connected, including an [Honor Ranking]. Which means, no matter who claims the top spot, it doesn't really matter."
With this realization, Xu Que stopped caring about the ranking positions. To surpass his territory… well, they might as well wash up and sleep.
After all, with just an A-level territory, he could dominate many B-level territory resources. Not to mention, no one had a B-level territory yet.
The internet was abuzz today, and in less than ten minutes, it had splintered into several sections.
The most heated topic was the dimensional rift eruption in 720 hours.
If the next one were like the one from three days ago, humanity would barely have any room to survive.
However, some people argued that with the new rules for dimensional rifts, there was room for growth, especially with the Return Stone, which was quite considerate.
But the person who first brought it up added, "It's only humane for those with strong abilities. For those below D-rank, don't bother thinking about it too much. Focus on improving your strength."
At first, those who read the post didn't understand. But once they opened the Honor Store, everything clicked!
For those below D-rank, 50 honor points were a steep price, but for those above D-rank, that 50 honor could be earned from dozens of monsters. For people like Xu Que, having these items was already irrelevant!
The next most discussed topic was the Ranking Boards, since everyone knew that to acquire valuable items, one had to make their mark on the leaderboards.
Following that were discussions about Z Country and the Zhan Tian Hunter Company.
At first, there were criticisms, but soon, everyone wanted to immigrate or join the Zhan Tian Hunter Company.
Not for anything else, but simply to stay alive.
At the Magic City Operations Command Center, Old Ye was quite pleased. There was barely any damage in the inner city, and casualties were in the single digits.
This was at least a hundred times better than other cities.
As Old Ye and his team reviewed the data report, a staff member knocked and entered.
"Report! The Zhan Tian Hunter Company has sent over the resource list."
Old Ye took the document, glanced at it, and then handed it to Shen Tianhe.
"Old Shen, your son-in-law isn't simple."
Shen Tianhe twitched at the comment, but upon seeing the numbers on the report, he was equally shocked.
"Old Commander, do you think we should discuss this plan with Xu Que?" Shen Tianhe asked.
"I've already asked him. That kid said it's no problem, but the primary condition is that the data cannot be entered into the computer. With the risk of data theft, I plan to use the old method."
Zhao Lao and Peng Lao nodded in agreement. They had been considering this approach for a while but feared that higher-ups wouldn't receive the data in time. Now, with the old commander leading the way, they could proceed with confidence.
"Oh, and make sure to get satellite phones for reporting. We'll do it verbally." Old Ye added quickly.
"Understood. No problem," Shen Tianhe replied.
"Old Commander, for the resource transfer, do we need to report to Upper Capital beforehand?" Zhao Lao inquired.
"Leave it to you. You handle it." Old Ye motioned for Shen Tianhe to pass the document to Zhao Lao.
After the documents were exchanged, Old Ye's expression turned serious.
"We need to expedite the defense wall project. With that thing out there, the people will feel safer."
The others nodded in agreement. They understood the importance of the defense wall.