Player Reload

The slum is still the same slum, bustling with people shoulder to shoulder.

Perhaps because of a major version update, a noticeable number of newcomers are visible to the naked eye.

People of all ages, races, and nationalities are present,

and maybe because they all read the same popular post, they coincidentally wear all kinds of well-fitting clothing,

like hoodies, stealth suits, robes, suits, desert scarves, etc., focusing on covering their faces,

and have taken care to shave off easily shed hair and wear gloves to cover their fingerprints, imitating the old players as best they can to hide personal information.

However, at a glance, it’s still quite easy to pick out the newcomers in the crowd.

On one hand, it’s difficult for newcomers to hide their wandering, curious gaze,

and on the other hand, true veteran players have their unique aesthetics, with bizarre and eclectic attire.

There are the casual styles of beach shorts + flip-flops, tank tops + jeans, prioritizing comfort;

there are also cosplay styles of heavy armor with a giant sword or a Magic Girl rainbow dress;

there are even inexplicable styles of wearing underwear outside and spraying QR codes on their faces that link to the website of the world’s highest city, Litang, upon scanning.

The more formally and seriously one dresses, the more they are likely to be a newbie.

"The world is declining, and people are not as they were in the past."

Li Cheng, wearing a whimsical Daoist robe, shook his head with a sigh as he walked quickly beneath the shadow of the skyscrapers.

The demolition and renovation speed of the slum rivals the high-speed development phase of Shenzhen, with new high-rises popping up every few days,

If it weren’t for the community council’s regulations prohibiting buildings from blocking the light cast from the dome above, the Transcendents making up the building contractors would dare to connect the floors directly to the ceiling of the entire slum space.

Splash—

The dome’s weather control system adjusted to rain, with fine rain slanting down,

Supplemented by the hot steam gushing from the metal grates by the roadside, the aroma of hot dogs, ramen, and xiaolongbao wafting from street vendors, and the neon lights of skyscrapers blurred by rain and mist—it’s remarkably cyberpunk.

The neon colors on the building walls gathered into a three-dimensional projection of a blonde, seductive woman as tall as the building itself,

She wrapped her arms around her legs and sat down slowly, her knees pressing against a crevice in her chest, her abyss-like emerald eyes watching the pedestrians holding umbrellas on the overpasses,

The scarlet lips parted slightly, and she spoke with a magnetic, enticing voice,

"Killing field New Pujing, the first offline casino of the Evil Science Alliance in the southern district of the slum is now open, featuring various popular slot machines, jackpots at any moment, and a 10 million game coin prize pool waiting for you..."

Uh... such a humorous, neon-dense large advertisement is also very cyberpunk.

Isn’t 10 million game coins a bit too much, exchanging for cash would be 160 billion.

Alright, maybe not that much, feels like less than one-tenth of Hengda’s debt.

After passing a few corners, reaching the Star-casting Anvil, the sight of the whimsical Daoist robe promptly made the gathered players at the store entrance split to the sides.

"Who is this," A newbie in a Nike tracksuit couldn’t help but mutter: "Such a big presence."

"You don’t know that? It’s Mr. Pi Fu, the owner of the Star-casting Anvil."

"It’s him?!"

A soft murmur came from the crowd, as the fame of a person spreads like the shadow of a tree, Mr. Pi Fu’s name had spread thrice.

The first was during the Electric Energy Retrospection mission, where Li Cheng, along with Zhao Zijing from GOC, the Red Driver of the Thousand Throats Beast, and Midnight Howl from the Monster Alliance, accidentally entered a Mystery Lock while escorting a battery,

In the Mystery Lock, using the time loop effect, sacrificing himself 50 times, he counter-killed the previous president of the Mercury Alloy guild, Mithril.

The recorded mission video and text were uploaded by Midnight Howl.

Though a significant part was left out (like the bandaged man was actually the president of the Evil Science Alliance, who traveled back to the Killing Field, the Side of Truth),

To prevail against an experienced senior like Mithril with an unexpected advantage was already legendary enough.

At that time, many small and medium-sized guilds, and even large ones like GS Biotechnology, extended olive branches to Li Cheng.

Unfortunately, Li Cheng politely refused, saying, "The Killing Field galgame isn’t like this; you should have a think tank team profiling my past deeds and words psychologically, build a personality model,

Then find an image that can communicate with me through this model, like Zhuang Yan to Luo Ji,

Talk to me often and increase my affinity, occasionally give gifts and invite me to join the guild on special holidays, rather than directly offering me money and positions.

The Killing Field galgame simply isn’t like that! I refuse!"

This left the headhunters responsible for talent acquisition utterly bewildered.

As for the second spread, it was due to the establishment of the Star-casting Anvil.

With its fair and reasonable buyback prices (daring to collect artifacts that neither the Forbidden City nor previously uncovered by Nanbo),

The advantage of its products being good and cheap (spend 200 to get 20 off site-wide, can call a friend to chip in),

A considerate service attitude (discovering a customer had prostate cancer while modifying their heart, conveniently removing it because excess leads to disaster, better nip it in the bud),

Its fame spread quickly, leaving GS Biotechnology’s higher-ups utterly regretful.

Had they known earlier, they would’ve arranged for Mr. Pi Fu to have ten thousand Sisters Misaka no matter what.

The third spread was linked to the Secret Realm mission.

The players like Blood Lion Roar, White Horse Tombstone, etc., involved in the mission this time were very tight-lipped, revealing nothing about the happenings within the Secret Realm.

But outside the Secret Realm, a large crowd saw Mr. Pi Fu summoning the Side of Truth, the president of the Evil Science Alliance guild himself coming as a supporting guest, with a good attitude not akin at all to a super demon meant to scare children at night.

It makes one suspect if the rumor about them being father and son is true after all.

After the Secret Realm, with an Elbow Strike to London, Mr. Pi Fu became a famous figure in the Killing Field.

The looks outside the Star-casting Anvil were filled with enthusiasm, disappointment, envy, with ambitions of replacing him,

"Sigh, living alone outside, going home at night is quite a hassle, and makes one feel unsafe."

Ignoring the surrounding gazes, Li Cheng muttered to himself as he walked into the Star-casting Anvil, casually took out a [You have entered a 24-hour monitoring area] sign, and stuck it on the wall,

Then inputted a password, opened the register’s grid, remembering to use an alcohol pad to wipe the fingerprints off the keypad,

Then used his right hand to take out a phone, playing loud dog barks and family chattering while checking the past 24-hour surveillance footage with his phone,

While his left hand pulled out pepper spray, the Electric Shock Device, and a Claymore mine from his bag.

???

Customers inside and outside the store couldn’t hold it anymore,

Brother, are you a girl who lives alone in a big city, likes clubbing until 2 a.m., and is afraid to go home alone?

These preparations, even I don’t get this professional while playing FPS games,

And with your skills, do you really need pepper spray and the Electric Shock Device? A single Light Speed Elbow Strike, even intercontinental missiles can’t counter you!

The footsteps drew nearer,

Andre, still wearing those round-framed sunglasses with a robust build, was accompanied by a few priests and nuns from the Vatican.

"Yo, good evening."

Li Cheng greeted them. Since both parties were familiar, there was no need for official promotional photos for the homepage.

"Good evening."

Andre nodded, pulling from the void a vintage half-hollow wooden box lined with velvet, containing the Body Hidden Mustard Seed Skill Scroll.

So formal?

Li Cheng subtly paused his action of taking out the Latin Blood Tears. He hadn’t used a box when leaving home, just grabbed a urea bag from the shelf to hold the gems.

"One moment, please."

As long as he isn’t embarrassed, the embarrassment falls on others. Li Cheng calmly ditched the urea bag, swapped it for a trendy domestic takeout bag, loaded the gems in it, and handed it to the slightly twitching Andre.

"Mr. Pi Fu still has such a... unrestrained personality."

The rigid Andre managed to squeeze out a statement, as a nun behind him timely opened a barrier, making it so that unrelated personnel in the shop couldn’t hear the conversation or read lips.

"By the way, Mr. Pi Fu, there’s something I feel I need to explain to you."

Andre said as the barrier formed, "Regarding why I didn’t die in the Secret Realm that time."