Chapter 3
Standing before Instructor Yu, Su Wangchuan felt immense pressure. It was as if he were facing a ferocious beast radiating a powerful presence, with deep, penetrating eyes. He nodded unconsciously and answered,
“I worked as a fitness streamer for two years.”
“No wonder…”
Instructor Yu nodded, then said to Su Wan,
“His overall quality is a bit better than the previous ones. I’ll take him.”
“Alright, then I’ll hand him over to you.”
“Wangchuan, do your best.”
Su Wan returned to her earlier, sweet girl-next-door demeanor and turned to leave.
“Thank you, Director Su.”
Su Wangchuan watched Su Wan depart. Instructor Yu’s voice sounded behind him:
“Your physical condition is good. You can completely handle this job. Come with me.”
Holding the box containing the gaming helmet, Su Wangchuan followed Instructor Yu into the elevator and went down to the 70th floor.
Instructor Yu seemed to sense the questions in his mind and took the initiative to explain:
“This entire building belongs to our studio.”
“……”
Su Wangchuan was stunned.
Such a massive property?
What kind of family background did this prodigal heir come from?
Instructor Yu, unaware of the strange thoughts running through Su Wangchuan’s head, continued his introduction:
“As long as you perform well and complete your tasks on time every month, your base salary plus bonuses will be at least twenty thousand. In our game studio, there are five departments. The strong ones can earn seventy to eighty thousand in a single day…”
“The premise is obedience.”
“Many people, in order to plunder more resources in the game, chose to take risks on their own initiative. The result… every single one of them was expelled by the company.”
“A game studio does not rely on individual heroism. It must be forged into a precise war machine! Everyone has to shine in their own position. When the time is ripe and you are promoted to another department, your status will naturally rise, and your salary will increase substantially as well.”
For the moment, Su Wangchuan could not quite understand this speech from Instructor Yu and simply categorized it as drawing a big pie for him.
After all…
He had not even received his ten-thousand-yuan salary yet.
Talking to him now about earning a hundred thousand a day felt a bit unreliable.
Instructor Yu led him onto the 70th floor, which had a completely different layout.
It looked like a series of apartments.
Instructor Yu casually opened one of the doors and walked inside.
Inside was a spacious hall with a duplex layout. There was a bed, a bathroom, and surveillance cameras.
“When entering the game, you must be in a relatively quiet and safe environment. Otherwise, if you are disturbed midway and the game is interrupted, it will put your game character in danger!”
“Su Wan should have already told you about the many restrictions in the game. The game character has only one life… once it dies, the account becomes useless, and the gaming helmet will automatically self-destruct.”
“So…”
“Every game player must be fully prepared.”
At this point, Instructor Yu pointed at the sofa and said:
“Put on the helmet, create your character, and log into the game. After entering the village, you will be randomly spawned in any village. All you need to do is send me the village name and number. I’ll check who from the studio is with you.”
“Alright.”
Su Wangchuan quickly sat down and followed the instructions to put on the gaming helmet.
A red light scanned his eyes.
A voice sounded in his ears:
“New user detected. Create a character immediately?”
“Yes!”
An image of his real self appeared before his eyes, as if it had been 3D-printed—lifelike in every detail. The only drawback was that his clothing was rather crude: worn gray cloth, with straw sandals on his feet.
“Please name your new character.”
“Wangchuan.”
“Character creation successful. Enter the game?”
“Yes.”
“Since this is your first time entering 《Spirit Realm》, you will be randomly assigned to a beginner village.”
After the system prompt, Su Wangchuan felt his vision go dark.
Then he heard the ‘cluck-cluck’ of chickens and the rhythmic clang of metal being hammered…
When he opened his eyes,
he found himself standing in a village.
Su Wangchuan looked around.
Earth and stone walls formed a ring around the area, enclosing dozens of wooden houses arranged in an orderly fashion.
Not far away stood a sturdy village gate, beside which two guards holding long spears sat resting.
It felt very much like an ancient village.
Yet something felt off.
What kind of village needed a dirt wall over two meters high?
What kind of village required dedicated guards?
Was there some kind of danger outside?
Forget it.
It was a game, after all. Even placing a dragon outside the village would not be strange.
Remembering Instructor Yu’s instructions, Su Wangchuan summoned his status panel.
A transparent interface appeared before his eyes:
Wangchuan: Male (Vagrant) (Hunger 100/100)
Strength 8; Attack 2–3
Agility 8; Defense 1.6; Speed +8
Stamina 8; Health 80/80
Spirit 8 (Unactivated)
Current location: Southern Sky Continent, Nanyu Kingdom, Sanhe Commandery, Huishui County, Blackstone Village
“Blackstone Village.”
Su Wangchuan firmly memorized his spawn location, exited the game, and informed Instructor Yu.
The latter nodded and said:
“Not bad.”
“Most of the new players recently have been arranged in Huishui County. There are our people in Blackstone Village. I’ll notify them right away. For now, follow them to familiarize yourself with Blackstone Village and the game rules.”
“Alright.”
Following Instructor Yu’s guidance, Su Wangchuan returned to the game.
After waiting for a while, a man wearing coarse cloth clothing walked out of the village. He looked about twenty-five or twenty-six and waved from a distance.
“You’re the new employee from the company, right? Hello, my name is ‘Lin Dahai.’”
“Hello, Brother Lin. My name is Wangchuan.”
Su Wangchuan greeted him politely.
“Haha, we young people don’t need to be so formal. Come on, Wangchuan. I’ll take you to see the village chief first and get your vagrant status changed. Once your household registration is settled in Blackstone Village, entering and leaving will be much more convenient.”
“Alright.”
Since this was his first time in the game, Su Wangchuan naturally followed the instructions of the senior employee.
“New players have a one-week adaptation period after entering.”
Lin Dahai looked easygoing and talkative as he continued:
“Blackstone Village isn’t big. As long as you remember the game rules and don’t leave the village casually, you can actually start gold farming with us pretty quickly.”
“Our Blackstone Village is close to an iron mine. We rise at the crow of the rooster every day and head into the mountains together to mine. Around noon, a convoy from the county comes to collect the ore and purchases it by weight.”
“We usually finish work by then, return to the village to rest, log out, and do other things.”
“…Every seven days, people arranged by the studio come to collect the silver. Based on the amount, bonuses are calculated.”
“That’s basically the situation.”
“Do you understand?”
Su Wangchuan nodded.
“I understand. From now on, the daily task is mining in Blackstone Village.”
“That’s right! The more you work, the more you earn!”
As they spoke, they arrived at the village chief’s courtyard.
Lin Dahai reminded him, “You go in by yourself. Just say you want to settle in Blackstone Village. He’ll issue you a household registration certificate. You don’t need to say anything else.”