This time, the closure of the Otherworld lasted a long time.
One day, two days, three days in a row, no movement at all.
The spatial gate to the Otherworld remained sealed, making it feel like a global lockdown that was driving people insane.
Only at this moment did people finally realize: The Otherworld, which they once thought was a disaster, had already become an inseparable part of their lives.
For ordinary people who had not successfully awakened, it wasn't a big deal.
But for professionals, it felt as if their souls had been hollowed out.
Taking advantage of this downtime, Zhang Yue successfully developed his guild.
From the initial forty-plus members, now the entire guild had grown to 361 members.
And according to the requirements, nearly 70% of them were elite-level professionals.
The remaining ordinary-level professionals were also highly skilled operation-based players.
If not for this strict requirement, Heavens Hall would probably have grown to hundreds of thousands of members by now.
Of course, having more people wasn't necessarily better.
Heavens Hall prioritized quality over quantity.
Besides, if the numbers got too high, Zhang Yue wouldn't be able to afford to support them.
One person costs a hundred thousand, so with over three hundred people, that's more than thirty million a month.
However, Zhang Yue currently possessed assets worth over a billion, converted from the equipment, gold coins, and resources he had plundered from the Eastern Nation. A few tens of millions were insignificant to such a big boss.
Moreover, every single member of Heavens Hall was of extremely high value.
According to the guild's rules: Members had to hand over any equipment, skill books, or materials they obtained but couldn't use to the guild for handling.
Through these resources, the guild could generate significant revenue each month.
On the fourth day, the Otherworld still hadn't reopened.
Zhang Yue gathered all three hundred-plus members of Heavens Hall from all over the world at the guild headquarters in Dragon City.
That evening, a welcome banquet was held at the Dragon City Grand Hotel.
During the feast, Wu Haotian, who was sitting at the same table as Zhang Yue, joked, "Guild leader, I did some calculations. The guild's expenses are over forty million a month. Can you really afford to keep us?"
Zhang Yue pondered for a moment and then said thoughtfully, "Good point. Starting this month, Wu Haotian's salary will be cut in half to save the guild some money."
Wu Haotian: "Brother Yue, nooo!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
At that moment, Ouyang Ling'er was slurping on a crayfish as she said, "With our guild leader's strength, he can make a few million in minutes. It's nothing! Haotian, stop worrying so much!"
After a pause, Ning Tiantian turned to Zhang Yue and said, "Zhang Yue, the guild warehouse still has a lot of unprocessed equipment. Should Sister Ling'er and I list them all in the auction house later?"
"Don't list them," Zhang Yue said, "There's no fun in making money off our own people."
Wu Haotian was confused, "Then who do we make money from?"
"The servers are merging soon, right? We make money off the little Eastern Nation," Ouyang Ling'er said with a grin, "Before we wipe them out, let's drain them dry first!"
Following up on Ouyang Ling'er's words, Li Yue(Archer in Ch183) added, "And once they're drained dry, don't waste them, throw them into the frying pan until golden brown, coat them in breadcrumbs, sprinkle some cumin, and watch as the Lighthouse Nation and the Cold Nation drool in envy."
Knight Owl was puzzled, "But if we sell them equipment, wouldn't that just make them stronger?"
Ba Tiandao said, "We fatten them up first, then slaughter them all in one strike."
"Genius! Absolutely genius!"
"Come, let's toast to Heavens Hall leading Dragon Nation to flatten the Eastern Nation!"
Everyone raised their glasses, as professionals around the world anxiously waited.
Finally, on the morning of the fifth day, the entrance to the Otherworld reopened.
When Zhang Yue double-tapped the back of his hand and saw the long-lost spatial gate reappear before him, it felt as if the world had come back to life.
Professionals from all over the world, filled with nervousness, excitement, and anticipation, logged into the Otherworld.
Zhang Yue was among the first to enter.
[Ding~ Welcome to the World 17 of the Otherworld: The Source of Magic! Your designated region is the Dragon Nation War Zone. Your current location: The Source of Magic · Dragon Nation Safe Zone · Magic Town]
"World Mission Release."
—Whoosh
As white light descended, Zhang Yue arrived in a small town brimming with magical energy.
At the same time, other professionals continued appearing around him.
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[World 17· The Source of Magic]
[Background: When magic blankets the land, everything will be infused with magical power. To seize the magic stones that can extract immense magic, humans and demon gods have waged war. As a human in Magic Town, you must unite with the town's people to collect magic stones and protect the town…]
[World Mission 1: Kill ten Lord-level Demon Gods and one Boss-level Demon God within the 17th World.]
[World Mission 2: Collect a total of one thousand Tier-3 Magic Stones within the 17th World.]
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The missions and background of this world were still the same as before.
The professionals around him were all from Dragon Nation, there were no professionals from other countries.
However, upon opening the map, they quickly realized: The entire layout of the Otherworld had changed.
Before the forced shutdown, the map was just a simple world map that could be zoomed in but not zoomed out.
Now, when Zhang Yue opened the map, he found that the map of the Source of Magic could be zoomed out further and further, until it formed a shape resembling a rooster.
This was unmistakably Dragon Nation's world map.
Surrounding it were various other shapes, each corresponding to different nations' world maps.
In total, over 200 nations were distributed around a massive, dark vortex filled with an overwhelming sense of attraction.
That vortex resembled a gaping maw, as if it sought to devour all empires.
As professionals from various countries stared dumbfounded at this updated map—
A system notification rang out—
[Ding~ Attention, professionals: Due to turmoil in the Otherworld, the world map has been updated to include two major territories: National Territory and Death Territory!]
[Professionals are prohibited from stepping into other nations' National Territories. The Death Territory has an extremely high danger level, but it also contains far greater exploration value and resources than National Territories. Professionals from all countries may enter the Death Territory!]
'So that's how it is.'
Simply put, a new shared map had been introduced, one where professionals from any country could enter.
Professionals could choose to stay within their own nation's territory, where they could complete world missions, level up, and grow stronger normally.
However, the resources they could obtain would be limited to that level.
To acquire high-grade, rare resources, they would have to venture into the Death Territory and compete with professionals from around the world.
Understanding this new world layout, Zhang Yue muttered, "It looks like the updated world is going to be even more interesting…"
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