Chapter 284 - Change Needs Time (1/2)

“Are you Roland?”

The person before Roland was excited. He had golden hair, blue eyes, and an athletic body, although something about his face was unusual. It was obvious that he was a player.

Roland blinked his eyes and asked, “And you are?”

“I’m Ziegfeld, from the Coalition of Progress.” The player shook hands with Roland warmly and firmly. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you, but I never had time. I didn’t expect to meet you here. It’s really great. I’m quite lucky!”

Roland could barely stand the guy’s enthusiasm.

The young men nowadays, including Roland, were unusually not good at dealing with people who were particularly warm to them. It was not because they were short of social skills, but because they treated colleagues, clients, and friends in different ways.

They could greet strangers normally, but they were quite unused to talking to them warmly or being talked to in the same way.

So, Roland could only manage a smile and say, “h.e.l.lo, I’m indeed Roland. What can I do for you?”

“Can we talk for a while in the tavern over there?” Ziegfeld pointed to one side.

Roland pondered for a moment. He was about to decline the request, but Ziegfeld was too hopeful and earnest.

Having no choice, Roland could only agree to his request.

They sat down in the tavern.

There were few people in the tavern, probably because it was not rush hour yet.

After ordering two cups of fruit wine, Ziegfeld said, “You must’ve heard about the Coalition of Progress, right?”

“I’ve read your posts on the forum that are hiring new people and looking for new friends.”

Ziegfeld smiled happily and continued, “We’ve been paying attention to you too. Most players nowadays are selfish and are unwilling to share their new discoveries or research results. When they do release their findings, they will still charge forum coins.”

Roland listened in silence. He had noticed the trend too.

“But you’re different. You’re still publicizing your knowledge for free,” Ziegfeld said in admiration. “You have the spirit of community. The central members of our group all agree that you should join us.”

Roland was briefly stunned. “Right now?”

“Of course right now. It’s never too early to start.” Ziegfeld smiled and said, “We need powerful partners who can understand us.”

Roland frowned. “But now is still not the time.”

“Why not?” Ziegfeld was slightly surprised.

“The players are not strong enough yet,” Roland explained. “Personally, I don’t object to your ambitions. I don’t like the aristocracy in this world either. But this is really not the best time.”

“Are you saying that we’re too weak?” asked Ziegfeld slowly.

Roland nodded.

Ziegfeld smiled. “Rest a.s.sured, we’ve taken that into consideration. We all know the importance of military force. So, we’re still preparing and haven’t really done anything yet.”

Roland was much more rea.s.sured after hearing that.

He asked curiously, “How many members have you recruited?”

“A thousand players have joined our group.” Ziegfeld smiled and said, “There are also more than ten thousand ordinary people, who live with us in the suburbs. We have established a small town that is run completely according to the system on our side.”

Roland gasped after hearing that. “More than ten thousand people?”

Ziegfeld nodded in satisfaction.

“That’s too huge a target,” Roland mumbled. “I feel that something might go wrong.”