Chapter 78

"Boss, I've already sent today's restoration drawings."

"Good job, Xiao Qi. Come to my place tomorrow morning; I have something to give you."

"Alright, then that's settled."

Xiao Qi hung up the phone and yawned.

"Phew, finally finished the work. Let me check the game forum first."

Xiao Qi was a recent graduate, having only been out of university for a few years. Although he studied urban planning in college, his research focus was mainly on "the comparison and theory of classical cities and modern urban areas." The name sounded strange, but in his job, Xiao Qi's main task was to find urban planning from various periods around the world, then categorize and compare them, from ancient to modern, from East to West.

It was a very complex job.

But surprisingly, Xiao Qi found it easy to get a job, and the salary was decent.

Well, because it was so niche and peculiar, although it was unique, Xiao Qi could still find a job.

However, Xiao Qi himself always felt a bit uncomfortable.

In fact, Xiao Qi enjoyed designing and planning cities, which often gave him a strong sense of achievement. In various single-player simulation games, Xiao Qi had designed and planned more than one city.

But unfortunately, although his job was related to his major, it didn't involve planning anything. His job was to spend his limited time on endless data organization, day after day, year after year.

As for those simulation games, Xiao Qi had long played them to the point of nausea.

Now, every day of Xiao Qi's life was no different from that of an ordinary office worker. Moreover, like other players, he enjoyed a game called "Dragon Tomb."

Of course, Xiao Qi was just a casual player, and his level in the game was only in the forties.

After a day's work, Xiao Qi put on his helmet.

However, he didn't immediately enter the game world. Because Xiao Qi liked to log onto the official website before playing to check the game news and information.

"They're all discussing the new version of the game..."

The new version had been out for quite some time, but in the game, players still hadn't found anything particularly noteworthy.

"Did you know the official has started a new event?"

At this moment, a voice came from Xiao Qi's chat tool. This was the game's voice chat room, where players could chat casually.

"An official event?"

Xiao Qi immediately switched the main interface in front of him to the chat tool.

"Yeah, yeah, but this event is a pain. I don't think it's very useful."

"Right, designing a new city. What's this all about? I was surprised when I saw the official event today, but when I went in, it turned out to be this."

"I think this is the official's way of indirectly recruiting players. Shenglong Group is one of the top companies in the world, so it would be nice to work there."

"Actually, I think you're missing the point. The correct answer should be: the official actually put out a serious event!"

"You're right..."

Hearing this, Xiao Qi quietly closed the chat tool and opened the long-neglected official website.

"New City Planning and Design Competition."

At the top of the official list was this peculiar event!

Xiao Qi couldn't help but click into the promotional page.

"The city in the game, our shared home. Do you want to design a city of your own in the game? Do you want to make your dreams come true? The Hundred Flowers City Design Competition is starting today!"

"Objective of the competition: Using Hundred Flowers City as a blueprint, design a real city. Requirements: The city design must consider economic, convenient, beautiful, grand, and safe aspects, and must conform to the theme and design of 'Dragon Tomb.'"

"After the competition, the new city will be built according to the winner's design, and the winner will receive 100,000 gold coins and a house in the new city area (choice available)."

"Registration method: XXXX."

For most people, this event wasn't a big deal. But to Xiao Qi, it was something he couldn't take his eyes off.

"New city will be built according to the winner's design," just this sentence alone was enough to satisfy Xiao Qi.

Oh, if the new city could be built according to his imagination, making the city a masterpiece in his hands... how wonderful would that be?

Xiao Qi felt his blood boil.

This wonderful feeling made him incredibly excited.

"I'm going to participate! I must participate!"

Xiao Qi immediately registered for the competition according to the requirements.

Then, he received a map sent by the system. Opening the map file, he found it was an aerial map of Hundred Flowers Valley.

Xiao Qi was a bit surprised; the map was so detailed and realistic, as if it were taken from above the game.

"Truly, the official is impressive. This map is several levels above those strategy sites!"

Although many players in the game could fly, getting such an aerial map was still quite difficult.

Xiao Qi had heard before that the official website of the game did nothing. Although the website had many strategies, arena rankings, and other content, it had never really held any "events."

"Could it be that because the game has been updated, they are changing their strategy?"

Xiao Qi immediately thought of this possibility.

The game used to be called "Legendary World," and now it should be called "Dragon Tomb World." If this was the case, it would indicate that the official was making a fresh start.

"Hmm... right, since it's Dragon Tomb, why not build a city with 'dragon' as the theme?"

Xiao Qi thought for a moment, then pulled out an old map from his personal folder.

This was an old map left from the initial public beta, showing the seven-star formation of the Dragon Clan and the Big Dipper.

At the time, Xiao Qi didn't know about this "major event" in the game, but the scene was so impressive that he took a photo of it. This was the source of his photo.

"Speaking of which, the place where the seven-star formation resonated seems to be similar to Hundred Flowers Valley."

Xiao Qi began to collect all the information about Hundred Flowers Valley.

This included the relationship between Hundred Flowers City and other countries, the surrounding cities, and the commercial situation of Hundred Flowers City itself.

"This city is near Zhongzhou City. Although it's not well-known now, it's a key route connecting two countries and is a neutral area. In the future, it will definitely become more popular. This means it will definitely be a big city. So in the design, we need to consider the future population. But if so, we also need to consider the daily life of the new city's residents..."

Xiao Qi opened the software he used for work and began to create the map using these professional tools.

But after a while, Xiao Qi shook his head. "In the game, we also need to consider defensive capabilities. I used to work on real-world maps, and things like magic and spells weren't part of it. I need to reconsider this... Hmm, how about adding a formation to the city?"

Xiao Qi's idea was good, but reality was harsh. As a casual player, although he wasn't completely clueless about formations, he couldn't think of such a formation right away.

"Right, I heard that the Big Dipper formation itself is a formation... I don't know what it does, but let's start with this idea. If necessary, I can ask professional players to help modify the formation in the game."

Formations could not only be learned but also created. In the game, there were a few "professionals" who made a living by modifying formations. Their formations weren't just for power; some were for entertainment.

With this in mind, Xiao Qi started drawing again.

From the city center to the farthest corner of a house, Xiao Qi meticulously drew everything.

Of course, at the beginning, these were just lines of different thicknesses, but the image was already in Xiao Qi's mind.

Soon, a rough sketch of a city appeared before Xiao Qi.

Without the constraints of the real world, Xiao Qi felt very happy and worked quickly. A map gradually took shape in his hands.

This meticulous artist was now refining his work in his own world.

And on the paper, a real city was taking shape.

"Phew..."

After a few hours, he finally completed a rough sketch.

Although it was just a rough sketch, when he saw the city on the paper, Xiao Qi felt as if he was seeing the city itself.

Unlike simulation games, he could design every detail of the city according to his own ideas.

But the more he looked at the map, the more dissatisfied he became.

It was exactly as he had imagined, but it still didn't feel right!

"..."

His gaze suddenly fell on the mountain beside Hundred Flowers Valley.

"Why should I limit my vision to this small valley? These areas can also be used!"

Realizing this, he started drawing again. After a few more hours, a different version of the city, distinct from the initial design, appeared before Xiao Qi.

"Hmm, even though it's just a rough sketch, it needs a name."

Not the name of the new city, but the name of the design itself.

"Hmm, since it's designed based on the Big Dipper and the main theme is dragons... 'Great Dragon Seven Stars,' that's a good name."

Xiao Qi nodded, satisfied with his design.