Wang Zheng was a little strained by being tossed around. In the dorm, he was still pestered by Yao Ailun and Chen Xiu, and decided to go for a walk. As a commentator, Yao Ailun had pressed him to stay with Old Deer for a while, since it was so rare that Wang Zheng was willing to have a hand in the game. Right now, the audience was buzzing with excitement. If they did an advertisement, or anything else, they would stand to make a tidy sum.
Wandering through the school grounds, Wang Zheng had already fully disengaged from the battle mood he had been in. To be honest, there was not even any ‘battle’ mood. After being through so much, his mental state was a lot more mature than Yao Ailun’s and Chen Xiu’s. They were still counted as full-fledged students, while he was no longer one.
Suddenly thinking of Old Merchant’s application, Wang Zheng decided to find some cybercafe, since he could not very well return to the dorm.
The internet café was crowded. 99 percent of the people were playing CT. Of course, it had become even more heated after he had made an appearance. Some were trying out the Gold Wheel mech, wrecking themselves so badly that their own mechanic wouldn’t recognize them.
Virtual community games were controlled very strictly. The most popular by far was CT, by a huge margin. Wang Zheng suspected that, inside this Saint, it was not just a bunch of kittens, but in fact some wonderful interpretation of martial arts.
After connecting, he entered into virtual space again.
But things were different. Completely white, and then rows of words began to scroll downwards, almost like a warning notification.
All those who have been enlightened can enter Saint, and must have experienced the feeling of having their whole body rearranged. In Saint, one can attain a higher level of skill, regardless if one is a pilot, or in some other profession. It will bring about life-changing differences.
The words disappeared, and entered the scanning phase. In Saint, appearance matched reality, and time also ran in real time. If one wished not to reveal their face, they could also choose an automatically generated mask.
Wang Zheng pondered for a moment, and chose a mask.
When the mask had appeared, the white-robed person appeared again, staring intently at Wang Zheng as if he was a horror film.
“Beginner bonus is a free 10 hours of Saint time. Completing missions will be rewarded with more time. Each hour is worth 10,000 Federation dollars.
Having said that, the light faded.
Wang Zheng’s brain was reeling in response. Damn, why weren’t they lining out the door for this? 10,000 an hour, this was the highest in the whole universe!
When Wang Zheng opened his eyes, he found a huge shining temple hall in front of him, surrounded by the reliefs of various gods and goddesses. It was a fair imitation of Earth’s cultural uniqueness. It was quite different from other virtual worlds’ usage of alien civilizations, such as the Roland Garros or Aslan styles.
More importantly… Damn, was there a need for so many people?
Wang Zheng was knocked for a loop. The great hall was crowded with people, wearing all kinds of ancient costumes. Suddenly Wang Zheng covered his crotch.
F*ck, he had a naked avatar, only wearing a thin pair of briefs.
Damn, they had no conscience. Couldn’t they at least give him some clothes?
In the main hall, there were quite a few in the same situation as he was. But the difference was that many did not seem confused or unsettled in the least.
Wang Zheng opened the ability window that accompanied him. It said 10 hours, and also had a simple map of the Sanctuary.
There were all kinds of NPC in the great hall. Clearly you could buy whatever you needed. Regardless, he would first secure himself some clothes.
2 minutes later, Wang Zheng was dressed in a simple white robe. At least he didn’t need to be stark naked. But this ragged white robe had cost him “1 hour”. Which meant in terms of money, his 10,000 dollars had flown away.
Looking at the countless players of all sorts in the game, Wang Zheng felt that this plaything looked like it could earn money faster than robbing a bank!
Even CT, with its intense popularity, depended on the sale of mechas and some other frills. What kind of intense system was this, which required one to spend money even by doing nothing?
Wang Zheng was in no hurry. He spent more than half an hour asking every question shamelessly. Finally, he was beginning to develop a rough understanding of the situation. Of course, he had now spent another hour.
All the maps he opened were of the safe zone in the Sanctuary. There was everything here, almost like any other virtual world. Perhaps only the model was different. In the Saint safe zone, time was not spent. Once one entered the practice or mission zones, then time would be charged. Therefore, in the world of Saint, time was the only currency.
Once time was up, there was no way to re-enter, besides to pay more. It was really 10,000 for an hour. The person Wang Zheng asked had looked upon him with disdain, as though 10,000 was peanuts.
F*ck, this was some sort of billionaire playground. Where did all these rich heirs come from?
Suddenly, Wang Zheng reacted. The enlightenment process was fairly radical. Because he had already been through it once, he was not too affected. But for a normal person, even if they were an ability X user, such a change was not something that money could buy.
Staring at the boundless world outside, Wang Zheng started to realize what a frightening virtual world this was. Those with money wanted health. Those with talent wanted to become even stronger. And these were all things that martial arts could bring. On this point Wang Zheng had plenty of experience. Money was no matter to him.
Wang Zheng initially thought that this thing was a new invention, but he had just discovered that Saint had been around for a long time. In fact, nobody accurately knew when it appeared. Even the distribution method was also private.
Just as he was about to go and find out, a beautiful girl appeared in front of him, a refreshing short hairstyle and a sweet smile. “Charcoal, your mask is really pretty. I’m from the Beginner’s Help Association. Are you lost?”
Wang Zheng had wandered for quite a while, and still had many questions. But simply chatting required an exchange. He only had 8 hours left, and that was not enough to continue. Since Old Merchant had given him this mission, there was no point doing it half-baked. Besides, he also wanted to understand this world better.
“Thank you Benevolence, how do you do? It’s my first time here, and I’m confused.”
“Keke, to be here you must have been introduced. He didn’t explain more?” The girl gave him a surprised smile.
“All I was given was a download link. I am not too clear about the rest. It seems like this place is a marvel, where you can learn the lost martial arts.”
The girl smiled slightly. “Look at the huge numbers of players. This is but the first level of Saint. Everyone comes here to grind martial arts. Those with money want longevity. The young want ability X or to make theirs stronger. No matter what kind of leaps and bounds you search for, this place can satisfy it. Simply put, it is a place to make your dreams a reality.
Wang Zheng did his best to hide the shock he felt. “How is this possible?”
“Keke, what is impossible about it? The world is vast, and nothing is impossible. Once we counted aliens as an impossibility. Here’s something to consider: You’re here, which means your enlightenment was a success. Did you not have the sensation of being in a new body?” The girl asked laughingly. She shook her hair, revealing a perfectly formed ear, adorned with a beautiful pearl earring.
Perhaps seeing his surprise, she said, “Enlightenment allows one to learn the 8 Point Blade Techniques. It is said that when they are mastered, a fabled power can be attained, which improves you a hundredfold.
Wang Zheng smiled. “If it was so legendary, then wouldn’t there be experts galore outside?”
As a participant of IG, Wang Zheng knew this was not the case.
“Looks like your friend was thoroughly unprofessional. Martial arts can be learnt, but not everybody can bring it out.” As she spoke, the girl opened her ability board. With a flash of light, she held a card in her hand, which had a Blade Technique written on it.
“The martial arts, intelligence, and everything about you in Saint is stored in cards like these. When opened, they can be used, or traded. To bring these to the real world, either you need money, or a special tool.” The girl laughed. “You’re really a little lost sheep, aren’t you.”
“Benevolence, let’s go. It’s training time, stop wasting time talking to newbies.”
From afar, the girl’s friends were calling her.
“My friends are calling. Here, I have a basic intelligence card, I’ll give it to you.” The girl smiled. In front of Wang Zheng’s eyes, a trading board appeared, with a flashing card on it.
“Thanks.” Wang Zheng was a little bashful. Finally he had met someone nice.
“No problem, your name is the reason I helped you.” She smiled.
As the deal completed, Wang Zheng suddenly felt his environment blurring. The girl’s smile became… extremely malicious.
And then he was kicked out of the Saint world.
His time had been cleaned out.
“Benevolence” was fairly unsatisfied. He was a broke bugger. All he had was the free hours, and there had only been 8 left. No wonder he chose such a stupid name like Charcoal. What a dumb guy.
Wang Zheng sat blankly on his chair. Benevolence… F*CK, a newb bully!!!
He… a brilliant student of the Ares College, the leader of IG Solar System team, had actually been swindled!
To re-enter Saint, the funds charging request appeared. The minimum amount was 240,000.
He had the money, but he couldn’t swallow the embarrassment. He quit!
Besides, there was no great loss. The 8 Point Blade Technique was just a basic breathing technique. There was nothing too crazy about it. The girl was probably just creating a fascinating gimmick to suck people in. 64 Point something, Wang Zheng was dubious.
It had been so long since he had fallen for something like that. Wang Zheng was prepared to put it far away from his mind. Since he was on ‘holiday’ now, he should take time to properly relax.
He was already pretty popular now. He had been recruited by his middle school teachers, along with Ye Zisu, to help contact his class members, in preparation for the 100th year school celebration.
He felt a little guilty when he thought about it. The entire period of high school, he had not done much, besides refresh the shame list of the school. Now it was the 100th year anniversary, and Wang Zheng felt that he should do something to thank his alma mater.
Dawn Middle School, in preparation for this day, had spared no effort. They had spread seeds far and white. This time round, not only the successful alumni, but normal students had all been invited.
Although a century was a milestone, it also marked a new beginning. From the 100th year anniversary, Dawn Middle School would enter the roll of schools which had stood for more than a century.