"Recruiting?" Player Zero found it strange, as she had previously been unfamiliar with online games. If it were Yu Xiaonan, he would have immediately realized that this was just like a guild.
At this time, quite a crowd had indeed gathered in front of the city.
A five-star flag featuring a Nine-clawed Golden Dragon fluttered near the Babylon City Wall. Several players dressed as Lieutenants were distributing military coins. In "Military Road," military coins had become the sole currency. Apart from the Lieutenants distributing coins, there were also several non-commissioned officers registering information.
There were two types of information: one was a record of the day’s beneficiaries and their stories; the other was a list of people applying to join the "Yanhuang."
The man stopped by Player Zero wasn’t entirely correct; Yanhuang had specific recruitment requirements. The requirement was a rank of non-commissioned officer or higher, and members must contribute 100 Military Merit Points each month.
For players in "Military Road," military merit was the primary factor. Those players who rushed for Yanhuang’s recruitment upon hearing the news left shaking their heads when they learned about the additional merits required.
A few more thoughtful individuals settled down, among them a player with a Mohawk asked, "Besides paying a membership fee, aren’t you just profiting without losing anything?"
A non-commissioned officer registering the players looked at the Mohawk, "It’s not just taking from you for nothing. Yanhuang assigns personalized missions based on individual capabilities and organizes at least one group combat mission each month."
Over the past ten months, guild-like organizations like Yanhuang had been flourishing everywhere. There were ones based on geographical realities, such as the "North America Gang," and others named after racial identities like the "White Alliance," depending on the cities already developed within "Military Road," each city had different powers.
Yanhuang, being one of the earliest and most well-established organizations, and its policy of only recruiting Chinese, were very attractive to players from Hua Country, which had the largest base in "Military Road."
Group combat missions were almost an impossible dream for ordinary players. It referred to large-scale beast or enemy eradication missions between different city-states and nations. When city-state or government army forces were inadequate, mercenary players were hired to help annihilate enemy troops or beasts.
From the perspective of ordinary players, group wars had long cycles and numerous participants, meaning each person’s share of military merits was limited. Though initially unpopular, group wars had a significant advantage; reaching a certain experience threshold in a group war could lead to recognition as a legal citizen by the country or city-state, granting rights to vote, be elected, and to buy property locally.
"So you’re saying, as long as I participate more in group wars and earn the title of an Honorary Citizen of Babylon City, I can buy property there?" the Mohawk soldier perked up upon hearing this. The realism of "Military Road" was evident to all. If this trend continued, living ten times longer than in reality, enjoying endless wealth, and having a beautiful family were temptations for anyone.
"Yes, but you must join Yanhuang first," the supervising Lieutenant approached, watching the Mohawk player hastily sign the membership form and pay the 100 Military Merit Points.
By the end of the day, the supervising Lieutenant had collected the obtained information and the new membership registry. The Yanhuang flag was also lowered, carefully folded, and kept for future use. Holding the two sets of data, he walked down the street in Babylon City that accommodated horse-drawn carriages, heading towards the south of the city.
In South City, a man in a white military uniform, about thirty and looking seasoned, was meeting representatives from local merchants in an architectural style distinct from that of Babylon City.
"Regarding the cloth from Yanhuang, the price I’ve offered is already the lowest," said the man in the white military uniform with commanding authority. The outward appearance of the Yanhuang leader, like all participants in the "Military Road" system, had been adjusted to meet requirements. Hence, based solely on appearance, most players found it difficult to match their game characters to real-life individuals.
After some discussion, the merchant representatives, having no other choice, agreed to President Yan’s terms.
A few months ago, shortly after Yanhuang rose to prominence, this man claiming to be President Yan appeared at several major local chambers of commerce. Using his knowledge of different commodity markets, he had purchased foreign goods at low prices and transported them to Babylon City. To prevent his cheap goods from lowering local prices, the merchants had asked their chambers of commerce to intervene and agree on a compromise price to purchase the goods from President Yan.
Cursing under their breath, the merchant representatives left the Yanhuang headquarters, just as the Lieutenant walked in. He handed the materials to the man, "Report President, here are the names of today’s new members."
"It seems the people from the Rand Military District haven’t shown up yet? They really are patient," muttered President Yan, who had been in "Military Road" for only a month. However, using his intellect, he quickly established the Yanhuang Association, surrounding himself with his old subordinates who had entered "Military Road" in the same period. (To be continued. If you like this work, we invite you to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for us and support us in monthly cycles. Your support is my greatest motivation.)