To ensure players could last the full thirty minutes, Bai Fu handed out all the Prayer Cards she had on her to the players at the scene.
After shearing a hefty amount of Spiritual Energy from the players using the Spiritual Ability Collectors and the store discounts on prayers, the production cost of these basic Prayer Cards had significantly decreased, so she didn't feel the least bit of sting giving these Prayer Cards away for free.
After all, it wouldn't cost her much.
In Bai Fu's view, this small investment would bring her three benefits.
The most obvious benefit was that players could use these Prayer Cards to fend off the Sandworms that surged from all directions, preventing these pests from disrupting her so she could study new Spiritual Ability Knowledge in peace.
The second benefit was that giving away free Prayer Cards could harvest a wave of Affinity from the players. Although it wouldn't rake in much at a time, small streams make a big river, and who knows, accumulating it over time might lead to a qualitative change.
The third benefit is something most people wouldn't think of.
The population of the Silent Court had officially broken through the thousand-player mark, but among those thousand-plus players, only a third were willing to spend money to buy Prayer Cards. In this one-third of spending players, half typically bought cheap items priced no more than 200.
Bai Fu had carefully observed that the reason for this wasn't because Silent Court's players were poor.
On the contrary, thanks to the high volume of commissioned tasks and Sand Worm Material gathering tasks she provided, the players of Silent Court were actually the wealthiest among all the Newbie Villages on Ancestral Origin Star.
Most Silent Court players were reluctant to spend money on Prayer Cards or Advanced Prayer Cards, simply because they felt that spending money on one-time-use items did not significantly enhance their abilities.
Indeed, the Community and players around them had high praise for Prayer Cards with taglines like "a must-have for arena combatants", "a magic weapon for fighting above one's Level", and "a great companion for difficult Tasks"; but what did that have to do with them?
They didn't enjoy PvP, nor did they like to challenge monsters above their own Levels, and as for high-difficulty Tasks, they were in it for the guaranteed minimum rewards, just following other Players along and coasting through.
Concerning the thought process of this group of players, Bai Fu's assessment was—
She was itching to imitate that meme of hassling an author for updates by grabbing these players by the feet, turning them upside down, and shaking them until all the money in their pockets fell out.
Spend money, why don't you spend the money? Turning cash into combat power for a good time upfront, what's the issue? Saving money when not playing games, still saving money while playing games—aren't you just wasting your time?
Bai Fu planned for all the present players to experience the goodness of Prayer Cards by giving them a round of free trials. She was supremely confident in her own Prayer Cards, believing that even the most miserly players would be converted after experiencing the thrill of using Prayer Cards to combat swarms of Sandworms.
The reason is simple, for the current Level of players, the difference in combat experience with and without Prayer Cards is as stark as using a submachine gun versus wielding the holy sword of physics to smash zombies.
Players with Prayer Cards only had to think about which Sandworm to hit first, while those without Prayer Cards had a lot more to consider.
How to avoid being surrounded by Sandworms, how to avoid being hit by Sandworms while attacking—if it wasn't for Bai Fu setting up a new Resurrection Point near her lab, they would have even more to consider.
Just spend a little money, enjoy a more exhilarating combat experience, gain more Experience from combat and Tasks—now tell me, isn't that enticing?
Bai Fu believed that once these players who had tried the Prayer Cards returned to Shelter #11, even if they didn't go all out to spend on Prayer Cards, their testimonials would surely attract a portion of the indecisive players to open their wallets.
To win a little more, she decided to occasionally include similar trial events alongside the Digging Girl review videos.
Bai Fu has had an ambitious dream all along—
She wants every player to be able to use a Prayer Card!
Back in the day, Jobs led the smartphone revolution. Now, she, Bai Fu, would pioneer the new era of Prayer Cards.
Of course, Bai Fu's dream isn't because she's a Female Bodhisattva wanting all players to enjoy a good gaming experience.
She's being honest—she's doing this to make money from the players.
Once all players get spoiled by the convenience and utility of Prayer Cards, then she could just lie back and rake in the cash.
[Without Prayer Cards, I'm about to die]
[I've got a Prayer addiction, please, just two more packs of Prayer Cards, just two]
[Don't rush me, once I get the latest model Prayer Card, I'll kill you!]
[To the supreme leader of the Prayer faith, Bai Fu, the highest respect is offered. She has led an era; she is the supreme God above the Stars, the eternal Queen, the unfading Sun!]
The mere fantasy of such a future had Bai Fu feeling a hundred times better than self-entertaining in her little solitary space.
Actually, she didn't want things to be this complicated; she wished she could just say, "Be good, you're still young, give me all your money and go earn some more," and keep the Gold Coins flowing from the players incessantly. But how could players be so generous? She had no choice but to take action herself and squeeze the players.
After all, in this day and age, treating players as slaves to exploit is a road no longer easily traveled—best-case scenario, you'd end up with money but without a mother.
Bai Fu wanted both, yearning for cash as well as motherly love, so she had to come up with more schemes.