995 The Makings of Mind Hive Dungeon Instance

"All you did was give me a list of weapons with which to equip them! That's all! We can hand them a lance and call them a lancer, but that doesn't change the fact that they are still ultimately clay soldiers. They will still be vulnerable! I mean we can slap on some armour etc, for higher levels but there is no complexity to this 'game' at all." Qiu Yue remarked with a slight fit of anger. "Isn't there anything else at our disposal?"

"That is why I have this." Jin showed her a Blank State Seed and gave her a brief summary of what had been discussed. (He sincerely hoped the conversation would pacify her temper a little.)

"So we have tanks and planes which can be controlled by these clay soldiers?! Is that even possible??" Qiu Yue questioned, and Jin told her that it would not really be the clay soldiers commandeering them, but the vehicles would be semi autonomous or at least that was what he had proposed. With Rei on the team, they could create a semi AI which he featured in his Gunndam manga.

"Shoot, I totally forgot about the movie thing. …Then again, if there is no news of Rei complaining that should mean he is doing fine. Hopefully. Hahha! Oh well, I'll just ask him after the whole Grand Operation is over." Jin thought to himself while Qiu Yue pondered on the semi autonomous machines that he had proposed.

"If that is the case, then perhaps it is possible to make a game out of it. However, there is no collecting of resources or whatsoever." Qiu Yue criticised his plans once more.

"Oops… forgot about that too." Jin did not really think much about the plan nor put a lot of effort into it considering he had wanted Qiu Yue to take reins over the project. Upon laying the groundworks, Jin merely thrust the entire project to her.

While flattered that he put so much trust in her, Qiu Yue was simultaneously pissed at how half baked Jin's notes and plans had been for the game. No difference in stats, no special abilities or anything. With all the resources they had at their disposal, they could make something remarkably fun and powerful. Instead, Jin had scribbled some combinations like 'clay soldier + lance = lancer' and had called it a day. 

During his short term absence, Qiu Yue had already put in as much effort into this 'game' as Jin had done for his Nian Instance. At least Jin's idea in regards to those semi autonomous machines sounded like a promising addition.

"Though I have to say it's rather funny. You rely on trees to grow your metal parts so that you can put them all together." Qiu Yue found it a bit ridiculous, but as long as it worked, she would be happy. "Well, now that we hcolourome variety with our 'units' I have some ideas about the resource gathering part."

"How about doubling our mobile encampments as collection points too? That way, we can allow them to gain a stable but slow income of tickets to purchase those clay soldiers even though they are readily available. Maybe even add a 10% refund of tickets after their units die? So in the event that their force gets wiped from a surprise attack, at least they can still recover." Jin suggested.

"Hmm, not a very bad idea. Considering we want them to keep going down and attack the cities, giving them an option to build more additional mobile encampments as defensive positions to protect the place will be good. Should we cap the amount of units they can have at any one time?" Qiu Yue asked.

"Nah, we need all the help we can get. Besides, who knows how many million rats are down there? It'd be dumb to limit them to like 20 clay soldiers. The more the merrier." Jin replied. "Also, based on the number of rats and outposts they've cleared, they should earn reputation points, and we can use your ladder redemption reward again. Or we could go with a limited reward store."

"Heh! And what if they still lose after all that? Should we add more monetary possibilities like pay to win units?" Qiu Yue asked.

"Nah, that would make it seem like the other units are not worth it. However, we can easily offer cosmetics. We can colour their clay soldiers with paint, and we can also add stuff like Zodiac costumes. But we definitely will have to offer a Panda option. Just imagine a bunch of clay soldier in Panda outfits stomp through the rats. Hahah!" Jin suggested enthusiastically, and Qiu Yue believed it was a good idea. "However, I have to remind you that this is a beta version of sorts. Especially since I am not sure how are we going to charge them to play the game."

"Hmm. Maybe charge the customers as to how those local LAN gaming shops charges? Or something similar to an Arcade game try? After all, they are commanding the troops and not going into battle with these stone soldiers." Qiu Yue suggested.

"Then I suggest we go by Arcade tries more than charging a local LAN gaming fee. After all, the 'graphics' would be so much more realistic." Jin replied.

"Well, that finally sounds like a decent plan. I will iron out the details. By the way, are you planning to make this a Raid as well? If anyone asks, we can call it"

"Why, of course! Similar to the Pandapolis Defence, I am going to advertise this very early. We can even promote it as a sort of cross play feature. Like a general could summon his friends as squad leaders for the clay soldiers. And will stick to a certain timeline. I was thinking of putting this in lieu with Valentine's day." Jin thought it would grant those people who were single on that day a good activity. "That way, those singles and couples have a place to play. Hahaha.

"You and your fantasies. What couple do you think would want to have where they fight in a war?!" This time around, Qiu Yue really smacked Jin's head.

"Love is war, isn't it?!" Jin argued back as he rubbed his head to soothe it.

"That's meant as an expression, not reality!" Qiu Yue let out a sigh while shaking her head.

"Alright, calm down. I was merely kidding. We can start before Valentine's Day. Otherwise, people like Bing Yong and Xiong Da will likely complain." Jin gave in, but he wondered if that would really be the case.

"How did I even get together with this guy in the first place?" Qiu Yue mumbled to herself before talking back to Jin. "You better have a romantic option for the actual couples other than the raid!"

"Do you think Cupid costumes will do the trick?" Jin joked, but Qiu Yue gave him a strong glare. "Fine, fine. I've already planned something for Valentine's Day, besides this Grand Operation will definitely not end in a day. I suspect it will at least last a couple of weeks. Or maybe months."

"Well, I have some concepts in mind on how to make the mobile encampments, but I need you to finance them." Qiu Yue returned to the topic at hand. 

"I thought you needed resources too? Now it's just money?" Jin queried while he checked his phone on the accounts which Claire had tidied.

"Hmm, you could say that I've received a modest upgrade. I guess the System has learned a lot from your bargaining and has shared that kind of bargain ability with my Sub System. Now it's able to get the stuff I need as long as I put money in. I don't have to worry much about materials. It can choose the best ones available at the best price." Qiu Yue boasted with a grin.

"We currently have enough to spend. Just have your Sub System hand over the receipt to the System or perhaps directly to Claire. By the way, I never got a chance to ask. How are the Wolf Foxes, Tsu and Kai as trainers?"

"Not too bad, I guess. My only gripe would be that it's scary how different they behave during and outside the training. So far the beast kids have managed to endure their strict training regiment, but that only means the Wolf Foxes are going to give them even more hell. Surely you didn't just ask me because you were concerned?"

"I admit I may have had another reason for doing it." Jin sat down properly beside her and asked Qiu Yue more about their training regime. It looked like he had found some trainers to get inspiration from for the Advanced Training Centre's Hell Course.

As if handling one job wasn't tough enough, the inheritor of the Panda Clan had to manage many outlets, all while saving other worlds. Apparently, aiming for the number one dungeon supplier was not as easy as it sounded!