The living room on the second floor of the studio.
A row of game pods, with various signal lights flashing. As arranged by Chen Xue, the game pods were laid out in the order of: Zhang Jun, Ding Chi, Shen Xingchen, Lin Zhao, Chen Xue, and Luo Man. The reason for this arrangement was simple: if the Scarlet Moon Knights obtained the Alliance Token and formed an alliance, the two vice-leaders would inevitably be herself and Shen Xingchen. Therefore, having them close to the leader would make communication easier should anything arise. Placing Shen Xingchen between Lin Zhao and Ding Chi, she likely wouldn't object. Firstly, it was clear Shen Xingchen trusted Lin Zhao. Secondly, Ding Chi, a master of eloquent persuasion, was a gentleman at heart.
...
Everyone logged in one by one and gathered in the Grand Cathedral.
The afternoon sun streamed through the window onto the long benches. Lin Zhao, Shen Xingchen, Chen Xue, Ding Chi, and others sat on the benches, huddled together. This was the first official meeting of the Scarlet Moon Knights studio.
"Come,"
Lin Zhao extended his hand and smiled, "Please, Shen Xingchen, begin organizing and arranging the upcoming work."
Shen Xingchen chuckled and said, "Can we be more serious?"
"Indeed!"
Everyone nodded in unison.
Shen Xingchen's beautiful eyes swept across everyone. "Although I haven't been online much these past few days, I've done a lot of preparation work and have a clear understanding of the situation changes in Cloud County. So, I'll first talk about our previous shortcomings. First, we have too few guild members to achieve great things. This problem has been solved with the arrival of the Youth Group. Second, we've made too many enemies and engaged in too much PK, which has significantly squeezed our time for leveling and questing. This is a problem that we urgently need to solve."
Lin Zhao nodded, "I agree. The key is how to solve it."
"Simple."
Shen Xingchen sat beside Lin Zhao, gazing at the sunlight and tree shadows on the ground not far away, her bright eyes sparkling. "We, the Scarlet Moon Knights, have two enemies in Cloud County: the Azure Knights and the Prosperous Peony. Currently, the top three powers in Cloud County are us: first, Scarlet Moon Knights; second, Azure Knights; third, Prosperous Peony. However, we don't need to fight both. The optimal choice is to appease one and attack the other."
"Who do we appease, and who do we attack?" Chen Xue asked.
"Considering the current situation..."
Shen Xingchen organized her thoughts and said, "The Azure Knights are stronger and pose a greater threat to us. Furthermore, Li Canghai and Xi He Da Guo Kui harbor more animosity towards us. Most importantly, the Azure Knights consume resources in Cloud County second only to us. Therefore, we should currently appease the Prosperous Peony and suppress the Azure Knights, taking over more than 50% of the Azure Knights' resources. Even if we share a portion with the Prosperous Peony, we'll still profit greatly."
"That makes sense."
Lin Zhao smiled, "With your explanation, the direction is clear. But the crux of the issue is that the Prosperous Peony has also fought us quite a bit. That chuunibyo leader, Ghost King, has repeatedly issued Peony Decrees against us, making diplomatic relations quite difficult."
"Times have changed."
Shen Xingchen smiled lightly, "Lin Zhao, before, you were too sharp, but your overall strength wasn't sufficient. That's why the Prosperous Peony wanted to suppress you. But now? With the Scarlet Moon Knights exceeding a thousand members, would the Prosperous Peony dare to act rashly? After defeating them once or twice, wouldn't they obediently go back to farming monsters?"
Chen Xue couldn't help but chuckle, "Now that you put it that way, it does seem to be the case."
"The diplomatic issue isn't too significant either."
Shen Xingchen said, "Because of my arrival, the overall strategy of the Scarlet Moon Knights will begin to change. And with me acting as the new diplomat for the Scarlet Moon Knights to establish relations with the Prosperous Peony, I believe Ghost King will give me some face. We can allocate 10% of the secret realm map to the Prosperous Peony, ensuring we don't act against them. We, the Scarlet Moon Knights, will take 25% of the secret realm map, and the remaining 65% will be given to other guilds. This way, we can even reach a tacit understanding with the Prosperous Peony: if the Azure Knights enter the secret realm, we will join forces to drive them out."
"Now that's interesting."
Ding Chi chuckled, "Not too long ago, Li Canghai and Ghost King were practically inseparable."
"Profit is paramount, and situations are ever-changing."
Shen Xingchen smiled, "Regarding this diplomatic matter, does anyone have any objections?"
"None."
Lin Zhao was the first to shake his head.
Chen Xue, Luo Man, Ding Chi, and Zhang Jun also expressed their agreement with Shen Xingchen's diplomatic strategy.
...
"Good, next step."
Shen Xingchen continued, "We can't just indefinitely farm secret realm maps. Those who have awakened their class talents should immediately leave the secret realm maps. Simultaneously, we should dispatch enough assassins to search the entire map for the coordinates of Gold-grade and even Dark Gold-grade bosses. We will form teams and groups to hunt bosses. The more we hunt, the better. Our next goal is to drop an Alliance Token and formally form an alliance. Without an alliance, we will inevitably suffer significant disadvantages in terms of attributes and command."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao nodded, "The matter of arranging boss-hunting teams can be handed over to Chen Xue."
"En."
Chen Xue gladly accepted the order, "Leave this to me, I'll organize it."
"Good."
Shen Xingchen smiled and nodded, "Next, let's discuss territorial expansion."
"Oh?"
Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow, "Specifically, how do we expand?"
Shen Xingchen pursed her red lips and spoke eloquently, "Previously, our Scarlet Moon Knights' development strategy was quite crude, relying on the individual strength of Lin Zhao, Chen Xue, and Ding Chi to compete with opponents. We didn't consider leveraging the overall momentum to overwhelm them. Looking across Cloud County, there are now quite a few players in gathering and production professions. Lin Zhao even fought the Fengzi Camp to protect these gathering players. Our foundation among the populace is exceptionally strong. Therefore, I believe the Scarlet Moon Knights should not just have a combat-focused main guild, but also a sub-guild to accommodate gathering and production players. We will build a protective umbrella for these gathering players, and we can even organize personnel to help them level up. In return, their high-level potions, meals, and other items will be exclusively supplied to the Scarlet Moon Knights."
Lin Zhao, Chen Xue, and Ding Chi listened with solemn expressions, their minds not yet clear on the details.
Shen Xingchen continued, "Imagine how many gathering and production players above level 50 there are in Cloud County. If we sign a large number of protection agreements with them, and control the most top-tier potions, meals, and equipment manufacturing in Cloud County within the Scarlet Moon Knights, then our members can venture out and tackle bosses that other guilds wouldn't dare to consider, challenge higher difficulty maps, and have a greater advantage in PK battles compared to others. In the future, which guild would dare to stand against us when they are already at a significant disadvantage in basic resources? Doesn't that make sense?"
"Feasible."
Lin Zhao nodded gently and said, "Currently, the rules for production professions in the entire national server are chaotic. In any county city, you can see combat players slaughtering gathering players. If we can truly do this, it will not only strengthen our guild's hard power but also serve as a means to win over hearts."
"En."
Shen Xingchen looked up at Lin Zhao and smiled meaningfully, "It has a bit of the essence of Lin Baiyi of Xueyu Tianchi."
Lin Zhao naturally understood what she meant. In fact, after Lin Zhao re-entered "Tian Xia," recalling all his previous plans, while these might escape the eyes of NPCs, they couldn't escape the eyes of intelligent people like Shen Xingchen. She likely saw through every one of his schemes.
The current Scarlet Moon Knights had become a collaboration between two intelligent individuals, Lin Zhao and Shen Xingchen. In truth, this was an incredibly dreamlike combination, unique in the Huaxia region!
"Next, we need to scout for high-level gathering and production players throughout Cloud County, from herb gatherers to miners, and so on. We should try to poach as many high-level ones as possible. We can sign contracts at a low price, provide protection, and unite them to establish a sub-guild for the Scarlet Moon Knights."
She glanced at Lin Zhao, "Let's decide on a name for this production sub-guild first. Once decided, I'll arrange personnel to implement it."
"Scarlet Moon Eating Group?"
Lin Zhao asked.
Shen Xingchen immediately rolled her eyes at him, "Can you come up with something less silly?"
"Brainstorming!"
Lin Zhao smiled, "Let's all think together."
Ding Chi pondered for a moment, "Eating, Drinking, Urinating, Defecating Group?"
Shen Xingchen raised her hand as if to hit him.
"Vice-leader, spare me, your subordinate knows he's wrong." Ding Chi dodged repeatedly.
Chen Xue smiled, "Scarlet Moon Logistics Group?"
"En!"
Shen Xingchen smiled, "Chen Xue's name is acceptable. Let's call it the Scarlet Moon Logistics Group. We'll protect it as our logistics force from now on, and it will surely be of great use in the future."
"Okay."
"Alright."
Shen Xingchen stood up, "Let's each get back to our tasks. Lin Zhao, Chen Xue, you are responsible for organizing the boss-hunting teams. I will go and engage in diplomacy with the Prosperous Peony, and then start finding people to form the Scarlet Moon Logistics Group."
"Okay."
...
Evening.
Within a corner of the Titan Secret Realm map, belonging to the Prosperous Peony.
Ghost King was personally leveling today, riding a golden warhorse, charging back and forth, his long sword slashing at monsters repeatedly, looking incredibly dashing. This drew shouts of "Our King is amazing!" from a group of sycophants.
Just then, there was a "ding" sound, and a message arrived from a stranger. The stranger's ID was "Bujian Xingkong" (Invisible Starry Sky). For a moment, Ghost King felt his back crawl. Had the goddess actually messaged a nobody like him?
He examined it carefully. The ID was correct, and it was certified as a beta player. It was indeed the goddess Shen Xingchen, known as "Bujian Xingkong"!
Shen Xingchen: "Ghost King, can we chat?"
"Yes!"
Ghost King immediately opened a video call and started recording. He wanted to document every second of his conversation with Shen Xingchen. Looking at the beautiful figure in the chat window, his voice trembled, "May I ask... what business does the goddess have with me?"
"You should have already heard the news."
Shen Xingchen smiled, "I have left Xinghe and joined the Scarlet Moon Knights. Therefore, I am now speaking to you as the vice-leader of the Scarlet Moon Knights. My intention is, let's just forget our past grievances. From now on, the Scarlet Moon Knights and the Prosperous Peony will mind their own business. We will reserve 10% of the secret realm map for the Prosperous Peony as a development space. At the same time, when we drive out the Azure Knights in the secret realm map, we hope the Prosperous Peony can lend a hand. This way, although we are not allied, we will have a tacit agreement that is even better than an alliance. What do you think?"
"Yes!"
Ghost King agreed without hesitation.
Shen Xingchen slightly stiffened. It was too easy.