001 Global Gamification: Tower Defense and Civilization Online

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Inside the dormitory of Yanjing University, Yang Jie let out a long sigh, put down his phone, and walked over to the window.

"Sigh! Failed again!"

"This game is just too difficult. Relying on myself alone, I simply can't get through..."

Displayed on his phone was a strategy mobile game called "Tower Defense and Civilization," with a glaring red "Game Over" on the screen.

With ten years of RPG gaming experience, Yang Jie was certain this was an explosively entertaining masterpiece—highly open-ended yet extremely challenging.

The only thing he couldn't understand was why, despite being so addictive, the game had so few players. He was sure that if players could cooperate in the later stages, passing the levels together would be entirely possible.

After asking a roommate to bring him takeout, he picked up his phone, ready for another round, when something incredible occurred...

"Global game synchronization complete..."

"'Tower Defense and Civilization' officially launching..."

"All players, prepare to enter the game..."

A system voice rang out—not just Yang Jie, but everyone heard it.

"'Tower Defense and Civilization'? Isn't that the game I was just playing?"

Yang Jie muttered in disbelief. His roommates, who were playing League of Legends, all wore the same puzzled expressions.

"You guys heard that too?"

"Of course! With a voice that loud, I bet the whole Shuǐdiàn District heard it!"

"Damn, I thought I was hearing things..."

"Seriously, what is this 'Tower Defense and Civilization'? I've never heard of it before!"

The roommates began talking all at once. Just then, the system voice echoed again, as if from the sky.

"'Tower Defense and Civilization' is officially launching; all players are entering the game..."

A boundless halo of light descended, enveloping the entire visible area.

Soon, Yang Jie regained consciousness and found himself standing in a majestic and solemn grand hall.

"This... the opening scene! It's exactly the same as the mobile game!"

"Incredible! It's so realistic!"

Yang Jie couldn't help but exclaim. He was intimately familiar with this scene—it was precisely the starting location for choosing a race in "Tower Defense and Civilization."

As excitement surged within him, three statues appeared before him, though he hadn't noticed exactly when.

He knew this well: at the start, you choose one of three races. "Tower Defense and Civilization" boasted countless civilizations, each with unique traits and heroes, but you could only select one out of three at the beginning. Yang Jie remembered having to restart the game countless times just to get the race he wanted.

The first statue depicted a towering orc, holding a battle-axe, grand and imposing.

Race: Morklian Savage Orcs
Combat Ability: ★★★★
Production Ability: ★★
Reproduction Ability: ★★★
Evaluation: Extremely strong in single combat, adept at plundering, not highly intelligent.

With five stars being the maximum, and setting aside the latter two attributes, Morklian Savage Orcs were exceptionally powerful in the early and mid-game.

But Yang Jie quickly shook his head. The plundering playstyle wasn't to his liking or expertise, so he shifted his gaze to the next statue.

...

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The second statue was noticeably shorter than the Savage Orcs and had a rather cute appearance.

Race: Yordle, Ruler of Bandle City
Combat Ability: ★★★
Production Ability: ★★★
Reproduction Ability: ★★★

Anyone familiar with League of Legends would know the Yordles. Their racial trait was an extremely powerful legendary hero, though this didn't show on the display panel. Regardless, Yang Jie decisively gave up on them—this was a race that heavily relied on teammates in the early stages. Now that "Tower Defense and Civilization" had shifted to a global descent mode, it was nothing like the mobile game he'd played. With so many players, choosing a weak race without allies would likely result in being farmed by plunder-based races.

He quickly weighed the options in his mind and moved his gaze further right.

The third statue's figure was even shorter than the Yordle...

At the sight of this statue, Yang Jie's eyes instantly lit up, barely able to contain his joy.

"I really am the chosen one!"

"Lady Luck is with me, damn!"

He spread his arms, wanting to shout to the heavens. The race depicted by this third statue was his specialty—the Ratfolk!

Race: Andes Wild Ratfolk
Combat Ability: ★
Production Ability: ★★★★
Reproduction Ability: ★★★★★
Evaluation: Exceptional reproductive capacity, rivaled only by the Prairie Goblins and Abyssal Zerg. Extremely weak in single combat.

"I choose my Andes Wild Ratfolk!"

Without hesitation, Yang Jie made his choice.

"Andes Wild Ratfolk—Player, do you confirm?"

"Absolutely!"

Race selection complete. Please give your tribe a resounding name.

Yang Jie smirked. He'd long since decided on the name—low-key yet elegant, reserved but not repressed.

"Tribe Name: The Advancing Bamboo Rats!"

He declared loudly. This was the name he'd always used in the mobile game.

"Name selected..."

"Loading map..."

"All early maps are randomly generated. Players descend at random locations."

"Current version: Tower Defense and Civilization 1.0: Jurassic Park."

Just as in the game, Yang Jie was all too familiar with the 1.0 Jurassic Park version. After entering the map, players enjoyed a three-month period of peaceful development, during which carnivorous dinosaurs wouldn't actively attack tribes. But once the protection period ended, or if it was broken early, the dinosaurs would swarm. In the early game, tribes couldn't possibly withstand attacks from large dinosaurs.

Yang Jie knew he was starting in the Stone Age. After surviving the six-month protection period, the game would enter a brutal phase of primitive accumulation, where raids and sieges among players became commonplace.

By then, most players could defend their tribes, but in the mid-game—version 2.0's "Undead Tide" and 3.0's "Insect Swarm Siege"—defensive pressure would soar.

At that stage, when the city fell and people died, there was no second chance. Every step of early capital accumulation was critical!

"Map loaded successfully. Wishing you an enjoyable game!"

A halo of light fell, and Yang Jie soon found himself transported onto the map.

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Before him stretched endless rolling hills. The vegetation wasn't lush, but not sparse either—just like the unremarkable fields of the countryside.

The temperature was a bit hot; Yang Jie estimated it was a subtropical monsoon climate.

The pros and cons were obvious: the map was rich in natural resources, but the native fauna was formidable, and the climate offered no natural defenses.

If it had been desert or snow, both sides would be weakened and natural defenses would exist, granting his tribe a longer adaptation period.

Behind Yang Jie stood, or sat, a group of adult Ratfolk, each between 1.2 and 1.4 meters tall—just like the starting setup in his mobile game. These Ratfolk were his tribespeople, exactly twenty in number, since a level one camp could only support twenty population, as any real-time strategy gamer would know.

"Chieftain! We've been traveling for three days and nights. The food left in the tribe can only last two more days at most—we must think of a solution."

An elderly Ratfolk approached Yang Jie and spoke. Clearly, he was the temporary leader of this twenty-member group.

Yang Jie was unfazed by the old Ratfolk's words; every move followed his own plan.

He immediately opened the old Ratfolk's profile:

Name: Gil Bangu
Loyalty: 80 (max 100)
Occupation: Acting Chieftain
Trait: [Tribal Management (Beginner)]

Evidently, this was the system-assigned deputy for Yang Jie.

He checked the other nineteen tribe members in turn; their attributes were quite average.

Two Ratfolk were skilled at lumberjacking, three were craftsmen, and the rest were farmers.

Not a single hunter among them. Clearly, the food shortage was no accident.

He steadied himself, grasped old Gil's hands tightly, and looked at his weary tribespeople:

"My beloved tribesmen, you have all worked hard these past days. What I want to tell you is that all your efforts are worthwhile. Now! We Andes Ratfolk are finally going to settle on this land!"

Yang Jie's voice grew louder and more spirited, full of ambition and passion, quickly infecting his simple-minded tribesmen. Their loyalty ratings rose accordingly.

He watched their reactions—some tense, some tired, some excited, some expectant.

Yang Jie knew that in "Tower Defense and Civilization," tribesmen had their own thoughts and consciousness; they were nothing like the NPCs of ordinary computer games.

Thus, the first step was to build prestige!

"Now, listen to my first order!"

The nearby Ratfolk instinctively crowded closer.

"Everyone, pair up in groups of two, and start exploring the surroundings for favorable spots to set up camp."

"Don't just stand around—get moving, all of you!"

Old Gil quickly stepped in to help, his basic tribal management skills coming into play.

Soon, these experienced farmers paired up and began exploring the area.

Yang Jie operated his system panel and opened the map, watching as the fog of war around his location was gradually cleared. For the first six months, as long as he didn't order attacks on nearby wild beasts, his tribespeople would be safe from all assaults—a built-in system safeguard.

He had only one newcomer’s gift pack in his inventory. Knowing exactly what was inside, he paid it no mind.

He switched panels and opened the chat channel.