Lin Wan transmigrates into the Great Xia Dynasty as the daughter of a disgraced official exiled to the frontier. From the start, she’s on the verge of death, and the difficulty is set to hell. Just as she’s losing hope, a problematic System called the “Seeds of Civilization Simulator” binds itself to her. Its function is to summon projections of Earth players’ consciousness, but they have no bodies and no starting resources, just a bunch of virtual laborers clamoring to be fed.
To survive and take revenge, Lin Wan brings out her family’s time-honored art of bluffing. She packages the real chaos of the age as the groundbreaking “fully immersive historical strategy game,” Chronicle of Great Xia. She, Lin Wan, is the game’s sole “core NPC,” the mysterious guide known as “Zero.”
And so, a bizarre scene unfolds:
* Players sweat as they clear land and farm? Lin Wan is stockpiling the provisions she needs to survive.
* Players enthusiastically “clear dungeons” and wipe out bandits? Lin Wan is eliminating threats in the surrounding area.
* Players risk their lives on the battlefield for “contribution points” and “rare titles”? Lin Wan’s free army is conquering cities and expanding territory.
* Players use modern knowledge to improve tools and engage in “cross-server trade”? Lin Wan quietly collects patent fees and counts her money until her hands ache.
While staying hidden behind the scenes, Lin Wan works her “Fourth Calamity” players’ stamina and ingenuity to the bone, using the proceeds from their “in-game purchases” (real resources exchanged for the System’s currency) to recruit soldiers and stockpile supplies. As the players immerse themselves in the glory and fun of the “game,” burning with passion over the epic quests issued by “Lord Zero,” Lin Wan calmly lays the groundwork for her path to power.
Until one day, in the Golden Throne Hall, the newly enthroned emperor...
