The Argent Dawn wouldn't work; they were a serious organization dedicated to fighting the Scourge. Even if Lord Tyrosus was willing to do him a favor, having three individuals under the Argent Dawn banner who never actually fought on the front lines wouldn't make sense. As for neutral professional organizations like the Earthen Ring or the Cenarion Circle, they were even more out of the question.
Wayne sat in his booth, staring blankly at the calendar on his desk. Before long, a letter addressed to "Silas Darkmoon" was sent out.
But his plan was more than just a simple letter.
Early the next morning, he gathered Chen and Li Li, along with Tess, Amy, Raymond, and Pirelli. In short, the entire net cafe staff was called into action.
As per his instructions, the group entered Stardew Valley. Those who hadn't completed the opening quests did so first. Once everyone was officially on their starting farms, he pulled them all to Fordring's farm and began assigning tasks.
Through his play sessions over the past few days, Wayne had discovered that activities like fishing and cooking in this game actually improved those skills in reality. Furthermore, he had discovered something only he could notice: after producing 100 gold-star items in the game—such as gold-star parsnips or gold-star apricots—the vending machine would unlock the seeds and finished products of those crops!
He found this out because the Fordrings had been focusing on farming and fishing respectively, unlocking Green Tea, Carp, and Parsnips in the vending machine. Although they weren't cheap at 1 gold each, for items like Green Tea and Parsnips that didn't exist in Azeroth, buying the seeds and planting them in the fields outside the net cafe would surely trigger a new craze.
However, since there were currently few players, whether minerals and livestock could be unlocked remained to be studied. Wayne was a net cafe owner, not a vegetable vendor; while this feature of the game was magical, it wasn't his primary goal.
The net cafe's new game wasn't gaining much traction because it wasn't about combat. Many people found it uninteresting, thinking it was a game for children. As a result, Stardew Valley players became a minority in the cafe.
But the group he called together today was different. After tasting the juicy, sweet gold-star parsnips and the delicious, stamina-refilling omelets at Fordring's farm, they were all captivated by the rare flavors. After all, whether it was a high-ranking noble, a traveling merchant, a wealthy tycoon, or a bandit, everyone needed to eat, and no one would say no to gourmet food—especially when it was essentially free.
Chen felt it was a pity that the food in the game couldn't fill a stomach in reality. Amy, however, thought it was perfect; it meant she could eat as much as she wanted in the game without gaining an ounce of weight in reality.
Wayne told everyone that he wanted to host a massive gala. He needed them to work together and divide the labor over the next half-month.
The Fordring father and son were one team, tasked with producing as many gold-star products as possible and turning them into preserved dishes in the game. Tess was in charge of growing flowers. Pirelli and Raymond were responsible for gathering materials and crafting furniture like tables and chairs. Chen and Li Li were assigned to clean up their farms and decorate them with flowers and furniture.
While Fordring agreed to the arrangement with a smile, the others asked what kind of gala Wayne was planning.
Taelan asked them, "Do you know why my father didn't ask along with you?"
"Why?" they wondered.
"Did he tell you his ultimate goal before you set off for the Eastern Plaguelands?" Taelan asked.
"No..." they admitted.
"Exactly," Taelan said. "Keeping people in suspense is what Miller is best at."
Wayne laughed. "Hey, the High Lord really knows me. It's not about keeping you in suspense. Revealing the final plan too early makes people focus only on the result, while the key actually lies in the process."
After giving the orders, Wayne clapped his hands to send everyone off. At that moment, Tess pouted. "Boss, you're biased!"
Wayne was taken down. "What's wrong, kid?"
"Why does Sister Amy have nothing to do while we have to do so much hard labor?" Tess asked.
"I pay you a salary, but do I pay Sister Amy a salary?" Wayne countered.
"People can help without a salary..." Tess mumbled.
"You're right, and that's exactly why I asked her to help. Now go, go, go!"
Wayne watched the group leave, then led Amy away from Fordring's farm and back to his own. Snow-Falling and the band trio were already waiting there. Interestingly, the band's instruments had also appeared in the game.
Amy asked suspiciously, "Miller... what exactly do you want me to help with?"
Wayne took a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to her. Amy's eyes widened. "Is this... sheet music?!"
Wayne smiled triumphantly. Thunder-Skins struck a drum, Bergrist's guitar immediately rang out, and Mai'Kyl's bass followed. A piece of music began—not wild like their previous heavy metal, but with a relaxed, easy-going vibe.
Snow-Falling, who was also holding sheet music, cleared his throat. Using his dwarf-exclusive deep voice—not as deep as a Tauren's but rugged without the explosiveness of an Orc's—he sang the first line:
"He fell in love with Azeroth," "On a..." "Starless night~"
The trio and the Grand Marshal were all immersed in the rehearsal, while Amy looked at the scene with a mix of disbelief and immense surprise.
"Miller... where did this song come from?" She looked down at the sheet music. The characters were clearly written in Wayne's hand. She asked in even greater surprise, "You wrote this?!"
Wayne raised his eyebrows but didn't answer. Amy looked at her music again. Under the title were words she recognized individually but didn't understand when put together.
"I know Orcs, Tauren, and Pandaren, but what kind of people are these 'Accuse Five People' (Gao Wu Ren)... are they people Wayne met in a place I don't know, or in a game? Or is this Wayne's pen name? A nickname?"
As she thought, she listened to the music. Although the coordination between Snow-Falling and the band was still a bit rough, Amy found the song particularly interesting. If you said it sounded good, it was just okay, but if you said it didn't, it was strangely attractive and catchy.
After Snow-Falling finished the song, he asked Wayne, "I didn't expect your game to have such a function..."
Wayne laughed loudly. "Right? So, Grand Marshal, isn't this game magical?"
He couldn't let Snow-Falling know that the people accompanying him were actually right downstairs...
Unexpectedly, Snow-Falling turned to Thunder-Skins and asked, "That explosive music you played earlier, what was its name?"
Thunder-Skins was about to say proudly, "It's called—" but Wayne cut him off!
"It's called... The Power of Rock!" Wayne blurted out.