<h4>Chapter 390: Conclusion</h4>


    <strong>Trantor: </strong>Nyoi-Bo Studio <strong>Editor: </strong>Nyoi-Bo Studio


    After spending three days and passing the basic operation test, the internal beta test for Gxy Era officially began.


    The first batch of 50 million yers were randomly matched on various copies of Nidru. Simr to a battle royale, each match wasprised of 83 yers as the leaders of 83 countries, where they were to flex their muscles in a survival of the fittest.


    Three massive nations.


    Twenty big nations.


    60 middle powers.


    Without a doubt, anyone would want to be distributed a superpower, as they could establish a huge advantage from the beginning and emerge as thest yer standing by defeating all otherpetitors.


    Li Dong also had the same idea.


    However...


    “Congrattions, you have been matched with a big nation, the Kingdom of Bregslo. Your country has and area of 5.5 million square kilometers, a poption of 350 million, a standing army of 1 million, a rtivelyplete industrial system, and nuclear arms. The Kingdom of Bregslo’sprehensive national strength is ranked eighth in the world... you are the supreme king of this country, and no one can vite your will.”


    Upon hearing this, and looking at the elegant and majestic costume fully embellished in jewels that he was wearing and the pce environment before him...Frankly, Li Dong felt as if he had reached the peak of his lifetime in an instant.


    “Your majesty...”


    “Good day, my great king...”


    Two beautifully dressed maids greeted him with a bow and a gentle smile the likes of which could heal all wounds.


    Li Dong blushed a little and disyed the expression of aplete amateur. He unwittingly whispered to himself, “Now that’s the Xing Hai Technologies I’m talking about. They understand us too well.”


    He had, in fact, gotten it all wrong. Not all 83 countries practiced autocratic monarchy. Countries governed by imperial regimes were only the minority. There were countries that practiced constitutional monarchy, republics, and even dictatorships.


    Li Dong was rather lucky. He was not allocated a top superpower, but his control over his nation’s authoritative power was still unusually firm. His personal will could easily be carried out.


    In contrast, the real authoritative power in a constitutional monarchyy with the prime minister, and in republican governments, with the president. Any enforcing ofws and regtions would need to be approved by the parliament. An individual dictatorship, meanwhile, relied on Machiavellian scheming and trickery. Its rule was based on the individual’s capability and the fear that their underlings had towards them. If one were tock any of these traits, their country would plunge into instability very swiftly.


    Hence, Li Dong felt that he had drawn the long straw.


    Considering the strength of a big country, it was unlikely that he would get to acquire the power and resources of the entire. Li Dong decided not to act rashly, and to observe for a few days to understand more about the situation.


    There weren’t many yers like him who were vignt.


    Just two to three days after the internal betaunched, all the servers were already at sixes and sevens.


    “The Republic of Maro officially dered war on the Kingdom of Sabui. The two nations have entered a state of all-out war!”


    “Two imperial soldiers went missing. The Fache Empire Council passed a war bill and decided to dere hostilities against the Republic of Bahamas.


    “The Gordo national fleet suddenly attacked the warships of the Shiguya Nation that were parked in a military port, triggering an undered war.”


    “Superpower Mti issued an ultimatum, demanding that all countries surrender and offer their utmost loyalty within three days.”


    “The President of the Republic of Nuparta died suddenly due to an excessive infatuation with the female NPCs. The country’s territory and poption were quickly annexed by neighboring countries.”


    “In the 15,421st match, a nuclear nation released all of their atomic bombs, annihting the entire world... all yers in that game have exited the beta test.”


    “The President of the Balist Nation was assassinated. The country was plunged into chaos. Neighboring countries took advantage of the situation and annexed the country.”


    “The Justice Alliance was established to jointly cope with the bullying and aggression by big nations.”


    “...”


    Netizens who were concerned about the beta test were having heated discussions among each other.


    “Wow, so this is what an ultimate modern war would look like. Atomic bombs seem so underwhelming to me.”


    “Killing goes way too fast in future warfare. Hundreds of millions of people could perish in just a short few days.”


    “I think that Xing Hai Technologies hase up with a not-at-all-small challenge. The situation on the Nidru is too riotous. There are powerful countries all over the board. There is no nation strong enough to unite the whole world and integrate the’s forces and resources... this challenge is too big.”


    “Uhm, is it necessary to do it through war? They could use diplomatic means, form military alliances, and mull over things with each other. Wouldn’t this help to attain an integration of power?”


    “What you’re saying is something like the Earth Federation that we have in reality. The problem is that Nidru is enormous and is in too big of a mess with internal conflicts happening everywhere. It is unlikely that all the countries could be integrated into a single organization.”


    “The difficulty of this beta test is immense, and everything is just set on the surface environment of a single. If things were to be upscaled to that of an entire universe, I wonder howplicated things would get.”


    ...


    Inside dorm 302.


    “Argh!! Damn it!”


    Cai Qinghai smashed on the table with his fists, a frustrated look on his face, “F*cked in just three days by the war. The fate of small countries is simply pathetic.”


    “So am I. I’m almost done for here.”


    Liu Yichen was pping his own head. “I was given a big nation, very rich in both natural resources and cash. I felt very confident and was about to annex a small country in the South. I did not expect that, at five days in, I would only be 30 kilometers past their borders. The strength of my military is five times more than what they have, but the losses we’ve sustained are almost the same. When neighboring countries saw that I was in a weakened state, all of them swarmed over. Now, two-thirds of my territory is already gone.”


    “Rich country, weak military... isn’t it a little like Idaily?” Cai Qinghai immediately thought of an original source of inspiration.


    “Wealth does not equal fighting power, and everything has two sides. I was really too impetuous in this.” Liu Yichen shook his head.


    After Li Dong went offline, his roommates inquired about his match as well.


    In the chat group.


    Mu Wanqiu also asked with interest, “Commander, I bet the match you’re in is also going to blow up soon. How is the situation now?”


    “There are local conflicts, but there hasn’t been a full-blown war. But after a few days of spection, I think I havee to a conclusion.”


    “What conclusion?”


    Mu Wanqiu startled. What had hermander found out?


    “Once a full-blown war breaks out, everybody loses,” Li Dong said.


    “Uhm...” Cai Qinghai was baffled. “Aren’t yers supposed to fight in this game? Isn’t the victor determined through war? Like, whoeversts till the end wins?”


    Liu Yichen agreed, “This game should be testing the yers’ military strategizing abilities. The yer with the most outstanding military conduct can eliminate all opponents that pose a threat and acquire the biggest reward.”


    “You guys are wrong if you think so,” Li Dong said. “Military force is not all-powerful! Even with outstanding war strategies, it is still impossible to eliminate forces ten times or a hundred times the size of your own, and to win over themon people, who have no sense of belonging—especially in the modern era, where national consciousness has already taken shape. Defeating a country’s army does not necessarily mean defeating the entire country. The annexation of a country’s territory does not entail conquering it... in this era, force is mostly used to deter one another, not to seize territory.


    “In the matter of integrating all forces and resources, war is thest thing that you want. This feat can only be attained through consensus.”


    “I think I understand now,” Cai Qinghai said. “So, this is actually a diplomatic game, and everybody should make friends with one another?”


    “But without war, how will the winner be determined? How can yers get a higher score?” Liu Yichen asked.


    Mu Wanqiu also inquired, “Commander, have you thought of a way?”


    “Uhm...there is no particrly good way. I just don’t want my score to be too low.”


    Li Dong shook his head. He was given a ‘big country,’ not a ‘massive country,’ and thus did not have the ability to dictate the situation. Nor did he dare to be too high-profile. Otherwise, he might be a consistent target for other yers.


    “Okay, then. Keep it up,mander! I believe you can do it,” Mu Wanqiu said in encouragement.


    “Thanks.”