Chapter 10: This Game Must Be Played with Your Life

Sure enough, my thoughts are lewd.

Unlike Chen Shicheng's imagination of publicly indulging in lewd acts, these people, although accompanied by courtesans, are still fairly proper, at most holding hands and embracing, with nothing over the line.

Just, the quality of the women here seems somewhat high?

The women in the courtyard, at a glance, each have proportionate figures and smooth, delicate skin, almost all of them having a pale, icy complexion.

As the saying goes, one white covers three uglinesses, not to mention these women each have lovely faces; any one taken out could be called a beauty, which is somewhat surprising! Although I don't know if the game has planners, at this moment Chen Shicheng must admit, they understand male aesthetics.

"Young master, do you find it a bit noisy here?" The woman beside him, after observing Chen Shicheng's attire, extended an invitation: "How about we move to the upstairs annex? It's quieter there."

"Good, this suggestion is excellent; let's go upstairs."

As a novice, Chen Shicheng still felt somewhat shy, but he immediately went along with it.

"Go tell the people to get ready." The woman whispered to the maid standing nearby for a while, then led Chen Shicheng upstairs.

Arriving before an annex bearing the "Warm Sunshine Pavilion" sign, the woman pushed open the door and gestured invitingly; Chen Shicheng, excited, craned his neck and stepped inside.

Upon entering, he let out an inner sigh of admiration: before him lay a spacious room over a hundred square meters, with various wooden furnishings exuding an antiquated charm, jade stone screens and silk hangings displaying luxury; amidst the flickering candlelight, the annex was filled with an ambiguous atmosphere.

He sat at the main seat of the central wooden round table in the annex, imitating the way martial heroes order dishes in movies, he waved his hand grandly: "Fine wine and fine dishes, bring us your house specials; as for the lady, just find a courtesan for me—I'll just listen to the music."

In the end, he still didn't cross that mental threshold, deciding that this visit to the brothel to open his eyes would be a chaste one; after all, it was his first time, and taking things step by step was the best choice.

Next time, next time for sure. Watching the woman give a covert smile and bow to him, bringing a fragrant breeze as she twisted her waist like a water snake and departed, he secretly resolved that next time he would definitely indulge.

Pfft

At that moment, a maid who had just walked in carrying a basin of warm water saw his guilty yet timid expression, couldn't help but let out a snicker; although she immediately stifled it, Chen Shicheng's keen perception still noticed.

"What are you laughing at? I'm asking what you're laughing at!" Chen Shicheng said, somewhat flustered, "Watch out, I'll complain about you!"

"Complain?" The modern term made the maid blink, "Are you a player?"

"You know what a player is?"

"Nonsense, who isn't one?"

"You too?"

Chen Shicheng stared at the maid before him in astonishment, somewhat incredulous that a player dubbed the Fourth Heavenly Calamity had blended so perfectly into the game's background society, let alone that a female player would actually work in a brothel.

What kind of mentality is this? Could it be some unusual XP?

"What's with that look? I warn you not to let your imagination run wild; I'm working here for a reason!" The maid gave Chen Shicheng a white eye, signaling him to compose himself.

"Cough cough. Sorry." Chen Shicheng hurriedly apologized.

He couldn't afford to offend a player he'd finally met; he had quite a few questions he wanted to ask this "senior." Enthusiastically taking the copper basin from the maid's hand and setting it aside, Chen Shicheng seized the chance to chat, trying to gather some useful information.

"How long have you been playing this game?"

"I was among the first batch to enter the game; it's been three years now."

"Three years!"

Chen Shicheng felt a surge of joy, knowing he'd hooked a big fish; now he could really learn some basic game settings: "You also know this game lacks a beginner tutorial, right? Could you tell me some basic information?"

"You're a newbie?" The maid frowned, looking at his clothes with disbelief, "Can a newbie really have such good gear?"

"Just good luck, that's all." Chen Shicheng explained vaguely.

"Tch, if it's a primeval relic just say so, as if nobody has one." The maid seemed to misunderstand something, pursing her lips in dissatisfaction.

However, concealing a primeval relic among players is pretty common practice; she wasn't really angry, quickly adjusting her mood and continuing.

"Looks like your relic is defensive; otherwise you couldn't have gotten from Newbie Village to the County Seat. Still, be careful going forward—don't rely on your relic's power to act recklessly, or you might end up dead at the hands of wild monsters outside."

"Death?" Chen Shicheng raised a hand to interrupt her, "If you die you just respawn—what's there to fear in a game?"

"Respawn? Hah." The maid snorted, "Reviving at the nearest respawn point costs one year of lifespan; at a bound respawn point it costs five years; respawning on the spot costs ten years the first time, twenty the second, and so on, until lifespan is exhausted and you die for real—note! Here death is real."

"What?" Chen Shicheng sprang up in shock, "You're saying that dying in the game consumes lifespan, and when it's exhausted you die in reality too? Is that true?"

"Why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, go try it out." The maid seemed to recall something, adding, "Lifespan loss is just a drop in the UI numbers, not intuitive; if you doubt it, level up, then quit the game and have a look."

"This game can sync your upgraded attributes to reality, and the equipment you obtain can also be extracted into the real world; then you'll believe it."

"This…"

Chen Shicheng's mind was a tangled mess; all he could do was bury his head in the nearby copper basin to try to calm himself.

When the pendant appeared out of thin air in his hand, he knew this game was no ordinary thing; its hundred-percent realism, like future technology, confirmed his suspicion.

But his limited imagination, coupled with the petty-bourgeois mindset forged by years of grinding as a low‑level worker, led him to think that at most he could do what novels do—bring game items back to reality.

But now someone actually tells him the game can bring abilities into reality! Don't forget, the game opened with a simple background introduction.

If I remember correctly, this is a world of cultivation, meaning players can train to achieve longevity equal to heaven's; if that's the case, then why the hell would we still be hauling bricks?

Damn it, I should just ascend to immortality!

After a brief flight of fancy about the future, Chen Shicheng suddenly recalled that this game seems to consume lifespan for respawning—in other words, although it doesn't use point cards or have a cash‑shop pay‑to‑win, you literally play with your life!!!

(End of chapter)