We promised to develop a game called Candy Crush, what the hell is the Third Reich?

Chapter 172 [S1 Begins, Empires Join Forces Against Three Great Empires!] (5.6k words, combined with other chapters, please vote!)

It's not just about ethnicity; there are also options for height, skin color, eyes, eyebrows, and so on.

It looks like a character customization game.

Wu Jie didn't care about this; getting into the game was the most important thing.

And that ethnicity option.

Wu Jie glanced at the dozens of options, so many that it made him dizzy, let alone choose one. There were no options for ethnicity, skin color, or anything like that. Wu Jie simply chose the default.

Anyway, I've already chosen my identity: businessman, assets in the tens of millions. That's enough for me.

Then click Start.

Entered the game.

The scene slowly appears: [Austria-Hungary, Vienna].

Then it slowly lit up.

What came into view was a room filled with a luxurious atmosphere, with exquisite jewelry casually placed everywhere, and words appeared in Wu Jie's mind.

He then introduced himself as the person he possessed.

It turned out to be a jewelry merchant.

Moreover, the assets are in the tens of millions, meaning the available funds are also in the tens of millions.

If you include all the jewelry in the two jewelry stores under his name, his assets would easily exceed tens of millions.

Wu Jie clicked his tongue, "It still has to be games."

In reality, he never had that much money, but money makes things easier, so finding someone with that much money should be easier, right?

Wu Jie couldn't guarantee anything about this matter either.

After all, other people can customize their identities, yet they still searched for a long time without finding one.

After receiving the identification information, Wu Jie went downstairs, where the butler greeted him.

"Sir, would you like to go to a jewelry store?"

Normally at this time, the NPC possessed by Wu Jie would go to inspect the jewelry store, but since he had become a Blue Star player, Wu Jie spoke up:
"I won't go today."

"Go and get some money, and find some well-informed locals."

"Help me find someone."

He then gave a brief description of the emperor's appearance, emphasizing his distinctive mustache. The butler, though puzzled, did not ask any further questions and turned to carry out his duties.

Wu Jie, on the other hand, left his house and went out onto the street.

The cleanliness of the streets, the slightly luxurious feel, and the classical artistic atmosphere of the architecture clearly indicate that this area is an exclusive wealthy neighborhood.

Wu Jie nodded in satisfaction, then strolled out along the street.

evening.

Wu Jie spent half the day wandering around before returning home. He found that the butler had already returned and greeted him immediately upon seeing him.

"Sir, the person you mentioned has been found."

At this point, the butler looked somewhat troubled.

Seeing this, Wu Jie smiled and didn't notice:

"Oh?"

Where is he? What is he doing now?

The butler thought for a moment and then spoke:
"gentlemen."

"The person you're looking for now makes a living by painting on the streets of the old town."

"I mainly paint landscapes and buildings."

"Moreover, this person had participated in protests before, and the situation in Vienna is getting more and more serious."

"You should expedite the immigration process you were considering."

The butler was telling Wu Jie about the person he was looking for, while also reminding him to speed up his immigration process.

Wu Jie chose the default identity and was unaware of the intricacies involved. Moreover, during World War II, Zhao Ming omitted some scenes involving genocide.

Therefore, regarding ethnic conflicts on 'Earth'.

Blue Star players know relatively little about it.

Upon hearing the butler's reminder, Wu Jie simply nodded and then said to the butler:

"Okay, I see."

Where in the old town is he?

The butler replied:
"Near St. Stephen's Cathedral."

Wu Jie nodded and then went upstairs.

As soon as he entered the room, an excited look appeared on his face, and he started chatting with the viewers from Blue Star in the live stream:
"Brothers, we've found it!"

"take off!"

"So I'm no longer an original shareholder?!"

Seeing Wu Jie's excited expression, some viewers in the live stream couldn't help but twitch their lips and type out some comments.

【No? Dude, are you in elementary school?】

Are you a child?

Didn't you catch the hidden meaning in the butler's words?

[They're practically blatantly telling you that the head of state participated in a nationalist march. Guess who they marched for?]

【Wow, you actually thought that?!】

I remember during World War II, the empire seemed to place more emphasis on ethnicity.

That's right, as long as you have Germanic blood, advancement is a breeze.

Looking at these comments, Wu Jie had some doubts:
"No way?"

“I saw that there are dozens of ethnic groups in the ethnic options, especially in Europe.”

"So unlucky?"

"I didn't look at it carefully at the time, and I just selected the default ethnicity."

"If that's the case, how about we restart it?"

Wu Jie was chatting with his viewers on Blue Star in the live stream.

What we don't know is...

It was already quite noticeable for wealthy people living in the uptown neighborhood to inquire about a down-on-his-luck painter, especially in a place like the old town. Not long after the butler found out about it...

The news spread far and wide after someone inquired about it.

Many people recognized him from the description as the down-on-his-luck painter who was painting next to the church.

Although I don't know what those rich people are thinking.

But they were all poor people, and they felt it necessary to inform them.

Upon receiving the news, the 'Head of the Empire' was filled with anxiety and inner turmoil before gritting his teeth and choosing to leave Vienna. Otherwise, he had originally planned to travel to Munich in the Empire next month.

Because the Austro-Hungarian Empire had laws mandating military service, they naturally had to leave before their service began.

However, this sudden change in timing forced him to leave a month earlier than planned.

I still don't understand why I'm asking about him. He has nothing.
However, the young 'imperial head' even wondered if he had been remembered because of the previous demonstration?
And think of this.

The young 'imperial head' packed his things even faster.

At the same time, he learned about the butler's information from the people around him, and who had inquired about him. The young 'emperor' secretly made a mental note of this person.

the other side.

The Russian Empire.

Baku

As an oil field of the Russian Empire, managing its security was a lucrative job.

And this lucrative opportunity, thanks to the customizable options, also fell to the players on Earth.

In Huang Yong's live stream, he was using his identity as a Russian Imperial noble officer to collect various materials while explaining them to his viewers.

Compared to the well-known World War II, World War I players still have some gaps in their knowledge.

Fortunately, this identity allowed him to gather far more information than other streamers.

Huang Yong took out the in-game world map, divided it into different areas according to different colors, and then placed it on the table for the viewers in the live stream to see.

"That's about it."

"Brothers, now I know why it's called the Twilight of the Empire."

"Look at the map now."

"The British Empire, the French Empire, and the Russian Empire—these three old empires were the Allied Powers."

"The newly rising empire in the center, along with the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy, were allies of these three countries."

"But apart from the Kingdom and Empire of Italy."

"The Austro-Hungarian Empire disappeared during World War II, the French Empire and the British Empire became federal systems, and the Russian Empire became the Soviet Federation."

"It can be said that these old empires were wiped out."

"This fully demonstrates that times are progressing, and federalism is still the way to go."

"correct."

"There's also the Ottoman Empire beneath the Mediterranean Sea, which disappeared during World War II and became... wait, I need to find a map for that."

"Let me see"

"The Ottoman Empire was transformed into Türkiye, Hungary, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina."

"What the hell?!"

"It's now more than 20 countries?"

"The Middle East and parts of North Africa were all separated from the Ottoman Empire."

"That's a bit too harsh."

"However, no one has triggered that plot yet; we'll investigate that later."

"Let's look at Europe instead."

After exclaiming in amazement, Huang Yong looked at the map on the table and marked the location of 'Serbia':

"Let's come and see Serbia."

"It is located directly beneath the Austro-Hungarian Empire."

"Based on information collected from other live streaming rooms."

"June 28th is Serbia's 'National Day of Injustice,' and Austria-Hungary, which had long oppressed Serbia, chose this time to visit."

Huang Yong shook his head, not knowing what to say:
"It's no wonder someone tried to assassinate him."

"What's the difference between this and taking a dump on the head of the entire Serbia?"

"Who could stand it?"

Huang Yong then colored the map of Serbia to the same Allied colors as Russia's side, and said:
"Based on the internal information I've collected..."

"Since Serbia is predominantly composed of Slavic people, Russia sides with Serbia."

"In the Austro-Hungarian Empire, because of the assassination attempt."

"On July 28, war was declared against 'Serbia'."

"On July 29, the Russian Empire launched a general mobilization to support Serbia, also preparing to join the war." "But as mentioned earlier, the Empire, Austria-Hungary, and the Kingdom of Italy were allied powers."

"Therefore, after Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Russia launched a general mobilization to support Serbia in its preparation to enter the war."

"As an ally of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the empire declared war on the Russian Empire on August 1, in accordance with the treaty."

"As a newly emerging empire, because its territory borders both sides, unlike the other two countries which only have contact with one, it declared war on the Russian Empire."

"Two days later, on August 3, the Empire also declared war on the French Empire to the west."

"But as everyone knows."

"Sandwiched between the Empire and France is Belgium to the north, which was blitzed by the Empire during World War II."

"So the Empire declared war on France."

"They marched into Belgium on August 4th, intending to use Belgium as a gateway to France."

"But because Belgium was a neutral country that was invaded, the British Empire, as one of the allied powers, had to stand up for its little brother at this time."

"Therefore, the British Empire also declared war on the Empire on August 4th."

"The situation has become completely chaotic."

"Is this the efficiency of a feudal empire?"

"In just four days, the entire European continent declared war and became one with the enemy."

"If this situation were in a federal system during World War II, it would take a long time just to hold high-level meetings."

"Unlike now, when emperors of various countries give an order, they immediately start fighting."

"But how should I put it?"

"It feels like the Empire is some kind of great traitor."

"Originally, it was the Austro-Hungarian Empire bullying Serbia, but in just four days, the empire declared war on all of them, taking on three old empires single-handedly."

"That's all the information we've gathered so far. The Empire has already declared war on all the countries."

"The other storylines and other live streams haven't even gotten very far yet."

Players who choose the "Immersive Story" mode will be captured after assassinating Archduke Ferdinand, and will then become soldiers of various countries when the game starts again.

The story is currently only at August 7th, and the armies of various countries on the European continent are heading to the border.

The information he has collected can be explained clearly to this side.

The viewers in the live stream understood, because with a detailed division of power, it was easy to see the scope of conflict in World War I.

The live stream chat was filled with comments, with some viewers adding their own.

The Empire had actually been preparing for a two-pronged attack for some time.

Specifically, it was called the Schlieffen Plan. Because the Russian Empire was vast and slow to mobilize, it was a crucial plan once a conflict broke out.

[First, launch a blitzkrieg against France in the west, leaving only a small force on the eastern border to defend against the Russian Empire.]

[After the war against France is over, the returning soldiers will then go to reinforce the Eastern Front.]

[However, things went wrong right from the first step. The Empire's invasion of France would inevitably go through Belgium, and the British Empire was supporting its ally, Belgium.]

The streamers who are progressing quickly are already playing in Belgium.

Huang Yong read the comments aloud, and the viewers in the live stream understood the situation better.

at this time.

Boom boom boom!
A knock sounded at the door, and Huang Yong looked towards the entrance:

"Come in."

Then his adjutant walked in, carrying a stack of arrest warrants:

"Sir."

"These are all arrest warrants that require your signature, including those for the serious criminal Zhu Jiashi."

Huang Yong waved his hand:

"You don't need to ask me for help with this. Just handle it yourself."

The adjutant nodded in agreement.
"Yes."

Then he left.

Seeing that the door had been closed, Huang Yong continued his "battle" with the analysts in the live stream.

Although he wasn't an expert in strategy games, the sheer amount of information he had made him fascinated by the feeling of analyzing the overall situation.

No wonder everyone wants to be a general commanding a major battle; it's a rather wonderful feeling.

the other side.

After leaving, the adjutant returned to his office.

As instructed, they signed each arrest warrant and then issued them.

As the arrest warrant was issued, it circulated.

Half a day later.
Inside an underground factory near the oil depot.

The factory gates were suddenly kicked open, and squads of military police rushed in. The head military police captain looked at the young man covered in ink and said with a sneer:

"Dzhugashvili (Stalin), you're under arrest!"

outside world.

The release of World War I: Twilight of the Empire and the sequel to World War II, Cold War Shadows, are proceeding smoothly.

as time flows.

Nearly a week has passed, and data from Polestar's internal backend system shows that...

The game is generally stable.

They also collected a lot of information from the forums, and overall there were no major problems. However, some in-game situations also prompted the Federation to reflect.

For example, the declarations of war between countries during World War I.

Because among the various federations on Earth, there are actually those with good relationships and those with bad relationships, but the general public is not usually aware of this.

However, some curious players were watching the conflicts between the major empires on Earth.

The photon supercomputer was activated.

If we consider the scenario of 'Earth', and the Antarctic Star Alliance declares war on other alliances, how would the other federations react?
However, the result was unexpected by the players.

Because news that ordinary people on Earth don't usually care about can be directly searched and listed by the Photon Supercomputer.

As the results from the photonic supercomputer were released.

The players on Blue Star only then realized that the emotional conflicts between the six federations had been going on for quite some time. For example, the Great Xia Federation had a pretty good relationship with the Golden Moon Federation.

Border conflicts with the Slavic Energy Federation occur from time to time, but they are only mentioned briefly on military websites.

However, this is listed under the photonic supercomputer.

The people of the Great Xia Federation realized that a real war might break out.

The photon supercomputer provided the probability that if the Antarctic Federation declares war on another federation, other federations will follow suit, and it is very likely to escalate into an armed conflict.

This calculation result quickly became a trending topic on various federal websites.

The public was in an uproar, wondering if war was really that close to them.
However, the various federations on Earth quickly came out to refute the rumors, telling the public not to worry, that there would be no war, and that there were currently no absolute conflicts of interest among the federations.

Minor frictions will not escalate into a world war like the one on Earth.

Many people on Earth were finally relieved.

However, this farce also showed the six major federations the effectiveness of anti-war propaganda.

This is surprisingly good.

In the past, when people talked about war, many online said it would be good if war broke out, but now everyone is worried about what will happen if war breaks out.
It's clear that this series of chain reactions was triggered by seeing the war consequences on 'Earth' in the game.

Unknowingly.

Polaris Corporation has once again been noted by the various federations.

However, Zhao Ming is not currently paying attention to this little incident.

The company is currently operating smoothly, so I decided to take a vacation. I'm currently fishing in Beihai, and the virtual screen projected from my phone next to me is playing game footage.

at this time.

Inside Kong Yang's live stream room on the Tiansha live streaming platform.

As the first game to be downloaded, and then subsequently shut down for half a day, it certainly attracted a lot of attention on the day of its launch.

However, as time went on, more than a week passed.

Players have also found their favorite streamers. At this time, although Kong Yang has not yet become a top streamer in the 'World War I' section, he is doing much better than he did in the 'World War II' section.

After all, the base of the 'World War II' zone is too large, so it's impossible to compete for traffic.

After playing the game for several days, Kong Yang in the live stream has found a suitable identity: a soldier of the Empire, and because of his current location.

It also attracted a lot of traffic, and even the title of the live stream was changed.

[Back to Season 1, breaking through the Ardennes Forest!]

Many Blue Star fans were drawn in by the title. At this moment, Kong Yang, as a soldier, was walking at the back of the team, heading towards the border.

Seeing that the new viewers were unaware of the situation, Kong Yang explained:

"Currently, after the Empire declared war on France, it sent troops to Belgium and divided its forces into five routes to advance towards France."

"My team is heading to the Ardennes Forest."

"To be honest, I feel like the Ardennes Forest is the lifeline of Europe."

"During World War II, the empire broke through the Ardennes Forest, launched a blitzkrieg against France, and dominated the whole of Europe."

"At the end of World War II, the Allied forces broke through the Ardennes Forest, shattering the Empire's dream of a counterattack."

"It is World War I now."

"The Empire still needs to break through from the Ardennes Forest and attack France."

"This is definitely a major artery."

"It's a pity that there are no official positions in the new game."

"Otherwise, I'd want to be a military officer."

"Directly replicate World War II, use blitzkrieg to break through the Ardennes Forest, and blitzkrieg France."

Seeing Kong Yang's smug expression, the viewers in the live stream couldn't help but comment:

[You're just bragging. France in WWI was tougher than France in WWII. Did you watch the CG for nothing?]

[That's right, and the empire in World War II relied on overwhelming force, which wasn't the case in World War I. If they were really fighting to the death, you might not be a match for those French soldiers in the CG.]

[Let alone the fighting, just watching the CG of Verdun gives me the creeps, but the French soldiers were really fighting.]

Kong Yang glanced at the comments and waved his hand dismissively:
"Don't panic."

"I still believe in the Empire."

"Although the times are not progressing well, the fighting power of the Imperial soldiers is beyond doubt."

"It's not just the French soldiers who are so tough; on the other side of Verdun, there are Imperial soldiers."

"Be careful this time."

"They've already played four games in just one week."

"Why is it so hard to live a little longer, accumulate merits, and get promoted?!"

As Kong Yang complained, after several days of marching and skipping in the game, the 5th Army Group, to which Kong Yang belonged, had secretly arrived at the Ardennes Forest.

(Everyone, please participate in the monthly pass giveaway!) (PS: The monthly pass bonus chapter didn't get very good feedback, my fault. I'll make up for it with other bonus chapters later.)
(End of this chapter)