Section 005: The Elite Civilizations Ranking

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Amid his astonishment, Li Zhan quickly skimmed through the world’s top twelve rankings on the leaderboard. These twelve races were prominently displayed on the main page, hailed as elite civilizations. Anyone opening the homepage of "Rise of the Empire" would inevitably notice this eye-catching ranking.

★ Elite Civilization Leaderboard ★

Rank – Civilization – Player Name (direct translation) – Tribe Name – Military – Economy – Technology – Society – Civilization – National Value

[If scores are tied, ranking is determined by the completion order of their tribal center.]

1 – Great Britain – Richard and two others – The Empire on Which the Sun Never Sets – 0 – 214 – 10 – 20 – 1 – 245
2 – Aztec – Allen and three others – The Lost – 5 – 197 – 10 – 22 – 1 – 235
3 – Egypt – The Oldest Pharaoh and two others – Baema – 0 – 200 – 10 – 23 – 1 – 234
4 – Frankish – Napoleon I and four others – Blackwater – 2 – 207 – 0 – 22 – 1 – 234
5 – Indian – The Chief’s Grandfather and three others – Eagle – 8 – 170 – 5 – 20 – 1 – 204
6 – Greek – Zeus’s Sandals and another – Divinity – 0 – 175 – 5 – 15 – 1 – 197
7 – Persian – Saladin’s Legacy and four others – Holy Land – 0 – 170 – 10 – 10 – 1 – 191
8 – Spanish – The Cardinal and three others – Light – 2 – 170 – 10 – 8 – 1 – 191
9 – Japanese – Tojo and four others – Yamato – 10 – 165 – 0 – 5 – 1 – 181
10 – Persian – Seaa and three others – Islam – 0 – 170 – 5 – 5 – 1 – 181
11 – Korean – Kim Yutian and two others – Great Han – 0 – 172 – 0 – 5 – 1 – 178
12 – Byzantine – Good Man Philip (solo) – Rome – 0 – 165 – 5 – 5 – 1 – 176

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Seeing Japan among the top twelve left Li Zhan deeply displeased. Moreover, the Japanese player’s name seemed to allude to Tojo Hideki, the infamous World War II criminal. Li Zhan was not an ardent nationalist, but a nation that not only refused to reflect on its past crimes but went so far as to deny and glorify them could never earn his goodwill.

Almost involuntarily, Li Zhan clenched his fists, his gaze sharpening as he stared at the screen.

After reviewing the elite players from around the world, Li Zhan checked the status of the highest-ranked Chinese player, who held the twenty-seventh spot globally:

27 – China – Scallion with Soybean Paste and four others – Glorious Tang – 0 – 112 – 0 – 2 – 0 – 114

Having seen enough, Li Zhan lost interest in the rest. Before closing the webpage, he cast one final look at his own tribe:

115769524 – China – Li Zhan (solo) – Yanhuang – 0 – 25 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 25

(Here it’s worth clarifying: there are countless players, perhaps a million or nearly so, with a national value of 25 like Li Zhan. The only reason he’s ranked last is that his tribe was established most recently. In other words, if Li Zhan’s national production value increased by just one point, his ranking would leap by a million places—assuming no other player makes progress...)

Closing the webpage, Li Zhan leaned back and closed his eyes, calming his thoughts. By nature, he only wished to be an ordinary player, finding his own enjoyment in the game. Forming cliques, national power struggles—those heavy, complicated matters were for the professional gamers, not him. Yet, after seeing the rankings, his feelings were a tangled mess.

Scanning the entire leaderboard, he saw mostly foreign civilizations, while his own country’s civilization lagged far behind. For anyone with even a shred of national pride, this was a bitter pill to swallow. Li Zhan, proud to call himself a descendant of the Dragon and a citizen of a nation with five thousand years of brilliant history, felt this all the more keenly.

After a brief silence, Li Zhan opened his eyes, now filled with a resolute, piercing determination. He had made up his mind—he would strengthen Chinese civilization, let the word “China” shine on the Elite Civilization Leaderboard, and ensure the whole world recognized the brilliance and power of Chinese civilization.

——————————

Meanwhile, in the office of the Minister of the National Civilization Bureau, Beijing, China.

“Yes, that’s right, congratulations to you all... Oh, is that so? Interesting, haha...”

The phone call was answered by a man in his forties, speaking fluent English. Slightly overweight, thinning hair, and eyes sharp with experience.

Bang!

After hanging up, the Minister’s face darkened, his brows furrowed in stark contrast to his earlier banter.

A young man sitting on the sofa stood up and said,

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“Minister, was that a call from the British National Civilization Bureau?”

“Mm.” The minister nodded, then continued, “Those fellows are so pleased with themselves. Seeing their own race on the Elite Civilization Leaderboard, they’re all rushing to call us. On the surface, they offer condolences, but every now and then they can’t help but boast—it’s infuriating!”

The young man sighed, “We thought that with our nation’s vast player base, making the Elite Civilization list would be easy. But though we have the numbers, there are too few professionals; the overall quality is lacking. Compared to these top foreign players, we fall far short...”

The minister waved his hand, cutting him off: “The game has only just begun. It’s far too early to draw conclusions. At first, only our National Civilization Bureau paid attention to this game, but now some foreign government agencies are quietly getting involved. There’s word that at a recent informal session of the French Assembly, a member brought up ‘Rise of the Empire,’ this global online game, and the performance of French players within it. I believe that as the game evolves—especially once ethnic conflicts and national power struggles emerge—governments everywhere, including our State Council, will take it seriously. After all, this is a unique chance to showcase our nation to the world—a war without gunfire, and no one wants to be left behind.”

The young man’s eyes widened in astonishment at the minister’s words.

After a moment’s thought, the minister added, “All right, Xiao Zhang, keep a close watch on all Chinese players in the top hundred. Report any new developments to me at once, and compile a detailed statistical report every day. I’m sure it won’t be long before the State Council asks us for these materials.”

“Yes, sir!” Xiao Zhang replied, promptly leaving the office to get to work.

In the now empty office, the minister stood by his desk, glanced at the Elite Civilization Leaderboard on the screen, and let out a long, weary sigh.