Even if Han Yan Yan had hired a WCG master, they would still be no match for the combined forces of the Thieves Guild. The only possibility was that she used cheats, and someone was covering for her. What to do about cheating? Report it! The Human World game has a built-in reporting system, and reporting comes with rewards; it’s known as one of the strictest games against cheating in online gaming. Generally, players who care about their reputation dare not use cheats, so those who exploit technical loopholes in the game naturally become targets for reporting. The reporting board’s messages filled page after page: account deletion, rollback, re-leveling…
Unfortunately, Han Yan Yan didn’t care, and no GM dared to touch her; she was the girlfriend of the boss’s boss. Moreover, she wasn’t using just any cheats; they were written by an internal tech department employee bought by Old Chen! Princess Liuli’s cheating went on unchecked, causing public outrage, and only when Old Chen could no longer bear the public outcry on the forums did he tell Han Yan Yan to tone it down. Even so, her former lovers and companions gathered around her once more. That day, at the Honghuang Temple, seizing the divine artifact was the last time she promised Old Chen she would cheat in broad daylight. Old Chen, in exchange for tasting Italian chandeliers, reluctantly agreed, keeping it from his superiors.
Thus, Princess Liuli’s cheats easily overpowered Chen Wang and his entire Sea God Ship, leaving Chen Wang in misery and subject to mockery from his friends’ guild. When they respawned, fully recovered, and charged back into the deep sea, Han Yan Yan and her group were already gone.
Chen Wang saw an empty shrine box in the temple; the divine artifact ring called “Mermaid’s Tears” from the Honghuang era was now beautifully adorning Princess Liuli’s finger. Although she was already god-like with her cheats, the title of “Lord of the South” on her attribute panel was an honor and swagger that a hundred cheats couldn’t buy. If Bodhi Flower Dye represented slaughter, Twilight of the Gods represented the afterlife, Snow God’s Umbrella represented redemption, and Grass Mud Dream represented plunder, then Mermaid’s Tears represented domination — with two attributes: 1. The power to dominate space, creating a world of its own. 2. The holder becomes the Lord of the Southern Twilight Sea.
The use of space domination was initially disappointing for Han Yan Yan, thinking it was merely an infinite storage ring.
But later, she discovered it was much more; wearing the Mermaid’s Tears allowed her to manipulate space at will with her mouse and keyboard, to split, merge, reorganize, and disrupt… even to evolve a world. The force generated at the birth and destruction of a world was terrifying. For instance, in Xia’s Tianya City, this terrifying world force could destroy a city, a giant ship, or even an island in the blink of an eye!
In the human world, the most terrifying forces are threefold. First is the power of time, which governs everything. Second is the power of the world, also known as the power of order or space, which can both create and destroy everything. Third is the power of deities, which the gods humanity once worshipped possessed. But, a thousand years ago, all the gods fell in the Twilight Sea, leaving no gods, no power of faith. Time is mysterious and uncontrollable, so the remaining most terrifying power is that of the world — pure destruction, pure domination, controlling space, and controlling hearts.
That day, the little thief who piloted the boat was quick-witted; otherwise, all their hard work would have been ruined.
Seeing Chen Wang and his group instantly wiped out, he knew something was terribly wrong. He quickly steered the Sea God’s ship back to the Safe Harbor. Ships docked in the Safe Harbor are protected by the city; only if the nation of Longevity Island was destroyed would the Safe Harbor lose its effect. Fortunately, Han Yanyan at that time would not dare to attack Longevity Island. Longevity Island had no shortage of thieves who trained as thieves, both main and alternate accounts. They watched Red Medicine Hall’s PK videos daily, honing their skills, all in hopes of one day flattening Yan and Xia. Moreover, they had the Western Divine Artifact, the Thief’s Necklace. If Han Yanyan dared to come, she’d probably be devoured and plundered before she could even activate the artifact.
Under immense public pressure, Old Chen no longer allowed Han Yanyan to use hacks in crowded places, though she yearned to activate her invincibility hack to level Longevity Island. However, even without hacks, the allure of Queen Liuli’s flamboyant presence in the world channel was undiminished. People were envious, jealous, helpless, bullied, and some even sought to join her.
For a while, as many people clung to her as there were who quit the game in frustration. Yet, the myriad emotions of the human world could do nothing to affect this queen, who still preferred to be called “Princess.”
A month later, the Human Fairy Beauty Contest was announced. All female players could apply; the requirements were not strict—just a photo, personal details, and a statement of personal experience. However, what was unique was that the personal statement had to include a touching love story from their own life. Han Yanyan thought it over; she hadn’t experienced any romantic love herself. But she was determined to win the title of Human Fairy. The thought of signing with an international film company and becoming the next big star sent her blood rushing to her head. To promote the contest, Princess Liuli, with the help of her close friends, organized a grand throwing of the embroidered ball ceremony. The one who caught the princess’s embroidered ball would become her husband, sharing the joys of life.
However, to Han Yanyan’s disappointment, Nanbo Wan did not come. The once doting King of Yan seemed to have disappeared from her view long ago. After the battle of Wusheng City, everything in Yan was managed by the priests of the court.
Among the noisy crowd below, she found none to her liking—just some impoverished young men looking for success and glory in the game. For the first time in her long gaming career, Han Yanyan felt a sense of melancholy. She was not young anymore, and if she could, she wouldn’t mind finding some solace through this event. Old Chen was just someone to use for connections. She didn’t want to spend her life with an old man, nor live in poverty. At worst, she’d end up with a wealthy scumbag, using his wealth and status to win the Fairy title, and then the sky would be the limit. Who cared if the man was a scumbag or not?
After much consideration, Han Yanyan chose Ji Canghai. The King of Xia and the Southern Queen held a wedding ceremony once again. Without the interference of Wang Shenmu and Longevity Hall, they lived happily together. In front of their friends, the happy couple swore under the heavens to grow old together, to love each other for a lifetime, never to argue or betray each other again. With the ring in hand, the world was hers.
One day, when Old Chen wasn’t prepared, she’d use her hacks to level Longevity Island, giving the Grass Mud Necklace to Ji Canghai, so each spouse would have a divine artifact, truly ruling the world.