Chapter 158

[Challenger Notification (All Channels): Plots 1-3 in the Western District of Emperor Tomb Village will open for auction in one hour; players may participate via the function panel.]

Hearing the game notification, the players one after another opened their function panels.

Yang Tianxuan, leader of the Doomsday Technology Guild and currently within Emperor Tomb Village, also summoned his function panel at this moment.

He discovered a new "Auction" function had appeared on the panel.

Upon mentally tapping the auction function, an auction interface popped up before his eyes.

In the center of the interface, numbers were counting down: 59 minutes and 43 seconds.

Scrolling down the interface, he saw introductions for three plots available for bidding.

[Emperor Tomb Village Western District - Plot 1]:

Plot Area: 25 mu.

Starting Bid Price: 1 Sacrificial Power.

[Emperor Tomb Village Western District - Plot 2]:

Plot Area: 20 mu.

Starting Bid Price: 1 Sacrificial Power.

[Emperor Tomb Village Western District - Plot 3]:

Plot Area: 20 mu.

Starting Bid Price: 1 Sacrificial Power.

Except for Plot 1, which was 25 mu, the area of the other two plots was 20 mu each.

In Yang Tianxuan's view, this area was completely insufficient, but fortunately, the introduction stated that a land expansion function would be opened later.

His target was Plot 1, the largest of the three plots.

In the early stages, 25 mu was enough to build a small research base.

To this end, he and his guild members had pooled 1.03 million Sacrificial Power, determined to secure the best plot, number 1.

Just then, a Challenger Notification rang in his mind, indicating that a player was requesting a video connection.

Mentally tapping "Connect," a light screen popped up before his eyes, showing an elderly man with a weathered Iron Face and graying hair.

It was Yu Ze, head of the Gene Research Department and also the president of the Alchemist Guild.

As soon as the video connected, Yu Ze couldn't wait to speak:

"Old Yang, there's no need for us to compete internally; let me have Plot 1, and you take Plot 2, how about that?"

Hearing his old friend immediately demand Plot 1, Yang Tianxuan couldn't help but roll his eyes:

"Old Yu, what do you need such a large plot for just to develop potions? We need to place various large equipment for weapon research, so naturally, we should take Plot 1; Plot 2 is completely sufficient for you."

Upon hearing this, Yu Ze in the video feed did not back down in the slightest and immediately retorted.

The two glared at each other; across the video screen, it seemed as if sparks were crackling. After a moment of silence, Yu Ze took a deep breath:

"We are building a potion production line; 20 mu is enough for the early stage, but definitely not enough for the later stage."

"A land expansion function will definitely be launched in the later stages; having enough for the early stage is fine." Speaking thus, Yang Tianxuan paused briefly before continuing:

"How about this: you don't participate in the bidding for Plot 1. If I have excess Sacrificial Power on my end and you are short, I'll lend you the extra power to secure Plot 2."

Faced with Yang Tianxuan's proposal, Yu Ze suddenly smiled:

"Good, it's settled then."

Hearing these words, Yang Tianxuan immediately realized that his old friend had never intended to compete with him for Plot 1.

The purpose of this connection was simply to get a guarantee from him that, should any unexpected situations arise, they would support his guild's bid for Plot 2.

"Old fox!"

"It's decided then; you bid for 1, I'll bid for 2; let's talk again after the auction ends."

With that, Yu Ze actively terminated the video connection.

As time passed, more and more guilds signed up to participate in the auction.

After all, registration was free; many guilds viewed this auction as merely participating for fun, knowing they could never compete financially with those large guilds.

This included guilds formed by players of the Sky Feather Clan, the Gilled Fish Clan, the Giant Python Clan, and the Night Demon Clan.

Before the auction had even begun, the regional voice channel was already bustling:

"Everyone, give our Tianlang Guild some Iron Face; we will secure this Plot 1. Later, everyone can come over to hold parties; I'll grant you free access permissions, so please don't compete with us."

"Give our Starry Sky Roaming Guild some Iron Face; we aren't asking for Plot 1, just let us have Plot 3. Everyone, please be lenient and let us secure it; we'll send out red envelopes in the regional chat channel afterward."

"Melody Concerto Guild must take Plot 1! Damn officials, hurry up and open a cash-to-Sacrificial-Power exchange channel; I want to spend until I burst, open it up! Who has that much Sacrificial Power to bid for land? Why can't we use cash to participate in the auction? I'm not convinced; I want to use cash."

"Why are there so many small guilds making noise in the regional voice channel? Is this something you can participate in? At best, you're just padding the numbers; do you really think you can secure a plot? Have you asked the major guilds? I bet the Divine Hall Guild will definitely secure one plot."

"The Arms Merchant Guild started pooling money two days ago; truly speaking of financial strength, no guild is richer than the Arms Merchant Guild, right? Just look at the Exchange Hall data; they have substantial daily income in Sacrificial Power. If they weren't taking their earned Sacrificial Power to continue investing in technical research, I wouldn't be surprised if the Arms Merchant Guild secured all three plots."

Regarding this auction, the vast majority of players were merely spectators on the sidelines.

The content of their discussions was all guessing which guild actually had the strength to secure a plot.

When the countdown ended, the numbers in the center of the interface disappeared, and bidding columns appeared on the right side of the three plots.

One could custom-input a bid price or use a one-click option to increase the price by 10% for bidding; below was a 24-hour countdown for the auction duration.

The moment the auction began, the prices of the three plots surged instantly.

Among them, Plot 1 reached a price of ten thousand Sacrificial Power in just one minute, with the highest bid coming from the "Flying Bully" Guild established by Sky Feather Clan players.

During this period, the two Great Demon Sect guilds and several top human clans had not yet made a move.

The early competition was just small guilds playing around; they all knew their capabilities were insufficient to secure a spatial plot, so they used this event to seize exposure opportunities and attract more players to join their guilds.

Ten minutes after the competition began.

The price of Plot 1 was raised to 22,000 Sacrificial Power.

The price of Plot 2 was pulled up to 18,000 Sacrificial Power.

The price of Plot 3 was pulled up to 13,000 Sacrificial Power.

But the top-tier guilds still chose not to act, all waiting for other top-tier guilds to enter the fray.

Regarding how much Sacrificial Power other guilds held, none of them had any confidence in their hearts.

During this period, many guilds that wanted to secure a plot also began their last-minute cramming, trying to acquire another batch of Sacrificial Power while there was still time to increase their auction competitiveness.

Qi Sheng did not pay attention to this fierce auction activity.

Possessing real-time data, he already knew the answer in advance.

Except for Plot 3, which still held some suspense, the ownership of the first two plots was already clear.

At the current stage, the guilds ranked highest in Sacrificial Power reserves were:

Doomsday Technology Guild: President Yang Tianxuan held 1.032 million Sacrificial Power in reserves, ranking first.

Alchemist Guild: President Yu Ze held 769,000 Sacrificial Power in reserves, ranking second.

Fan Zui Guild: President Li Siyu held 627,000 Sacrificial Power in reserves, ranking third.

It would be very difficult for other guilds to pool more Sacrificial Power than these three within 24 hours.

As for the Divine Hall Guild led by the God King, recognized by forum players as the number one guild, they had only managed to pool 595,000 Sacrificial Power.

Although their comprehensive strength was the strongest, their president, the God King, always spent any Sacrificial Power he had, never having thought to hoard it.

The guild members under his leadership were the same; with the newly launched pet function, nearly every member had one, using all their Sacrificial Power to boost combat strength, leaving them unable to pool much for the auction.

However, the Divine Hall Guild had not given up on the auction; through acquisitions and hunting, they hoped to strive for a plot as much as possible before the auction ended.

Their tentative target was Plot 1.

If their financial strength proved insufficient, they would then consider the other two plots.

As time progressed, the number of guilds placing bids began to decrease; the price of Plot 1 rose to 69,000 Sacrificial Power, creating a twofold gap with Plot 2.

Almost all guilds' focus in the early stage was on Plot 1.

With three hours remaining until the auction ended, the Alchemist Guild made their move at this time, raising the price of Plot 2 to 100,000 Sacrificial Power.

This price hike was like sounding the horn for a charge.

The prices of the three plots began to climb rapidly.

Fan Zui Guild, Doomsday Technology Guild, Divine Wing Guild, Divine Hall Guild, Merfolk Alliance Guild, Alchemist Guild, Sky Feather First Guild... all guilds wanting to secure a plot made their moves to raise the prices.

Before long, the prices of the three plots were pushed above 150,000 Sacrificial Power.

The price of Plot 1 was raised to 350,000 Sacrificial Power, with the highest bid coming from the Divine Hall Guild.

The price of Plot 2 was raised to 240,000 Sacrificial Power, with the highest bid coming from the Fan Zui Guild.

The price of Plot 3 was raised to 248,000 Sacrificial Power, with the highest bid coming from the Merfolk Alliance Guild.

Among them, the Merfolk Alliance Guild was recognized as having the largest number of player members.

All players of the Gilled Fish Clan and the Abyssal Fish Clan were members of this guild.

Their reason for bidding on the land was very simple.

The presidents elected by the two clans had consulted the Guidance in advance and learned that spatial land could be listed on the Exchange Hall for resale; thus, they smelled a business opportunity.

At the current stage, Sacrificial Power output is low, limiting the price of spatial plots by the available output.

But in the future, when player revenue output increases, the price of spatial plots will definitely skyrocket.

This means that spatial plots are a financial product destined to surge in value; even if the land is not developed and is simply hoarded, one can earn returns over time.

To this end, the Merfolk Alliance Guild initiated a round of internal financing, aiming to secure a plot and, upon its future sale, return the Sacrificial Power profits according to the ratios established during the initial financing.

Therefore, the Merfolk Alliance's motivation for participating in the auction was to hoard land, not for self-use.

There were many other guilds with similar ideas.

The auction entered its final half-hour, with each bid increase no lower than 1,000 points of Sacrificial Power.

The final results concluded once the timer on the interface reached zero, yielding the following outcomes:

Plot Number 1: Apocalypse Technology Society

Bid: 720,000 Sacrificial Power.

Plot Number 2: Alchemist Society

Bid: 680,000 Sacrificial Power.

Plot Number 3: Divine Hall Society

Bid: 667,000 Sacrificial Power.

Among them, the competition for Plot Number 3 was the most fierce.

The Crime Syndicate and the Divine Hall Society competed until the very last second.

Both societies realized the other held little Sacrificial Power; to seize the plot, members rushed out to hunt and earn more.

In the end, the Divine Hall Society secured the plot by a narrow margin.

With the auction concluded, a plot display screen appeared on the interfaces of the three societies.

In its initial state, it contained only dirt, devoid of any other structures.

Subsequent construction required players to personally transport timber, stone, and various resources from outside the Emperor Tomb Space to build freely.

Qi Sheng would not interfere in this aspect in any way.

He granted players the authority to develop freely.

Earth, Human Federation.

Yelan City.

In a corner of a room piled with sundries, lights atop a game pod intertwined and flickered.

Within the virtual scene, Tong Xin was grinding in the game.

Clad in battle armor shimmering with purple light and wielding a weapon radiating biting cold, he carefully navigated the dim forest, the fallen leaves beneath his feet rustling softly.

Suddenly, a monster resembling a giant wolf, its body covered in ferocious scales, burst from the bushes with a deafening roar, lunging straight at him.

Tong Xin reacted swiftly, raising his shield without hesitation to meet the monster's pouncing bite.

Shield Bash!

Accompanied by green text indicating a successful judgment, the monster was instantly stunned.

Murmuring incantations, Tong Xin enchanted the sharp sword in his right hand and slashed fiercely at the monster's head.

[Weak Point Attack, dealing 14,924 points of damage.]

The moment the sword struck the evil wolf, it released streaks of brilliant light that wrapped around the beast like flames from the impact point, then exploded upon its body, igniting raging fires.

[Enchanted Fire Element Attack, dealing 20,324 points of damage.]

After two successful attack judgments, the vortex symbol above the evil wolf's head vanished; waking from its stunned state, it opened a maw filled with sharp teeth to bite down again.

Shield Bash!

The block judgment succeeded once more, plunging the evil wolf into stun again.

Through skilled blocking and counter-attacking techniques, after cycling through three rounds of attacks, the evil wolf let out a mournful cry and collapsed.

Just then, the wolf's body dissipated into crystal shards, revealing a staff wrapped in purple flowing light on the ground.

"Holy shit!"

Seeing it was an Epic quality weapon, Tong Xin's heart surged with wild joy.

As he approached the equipment, the auto-loot function activated, and the purple gear on the ground automatically entered his spatial inventory.

Tong Xin summoned his backpack interface to carefully examine the staff's attributes.

[Star Sky Staff]:

Quality: Epic

Level: 488

Attributes: Strength +2232, Mana +23924

Equipment Special Ability: Starfall (Cooldown: 1 hour)

"I'm rich, I'm rich."

After reading the equipment description, Tong Xin decisively clicked the teleportation scroll in his item slot.

Instantly, countless rune-like bubbles rose beneath his feet; after a flash of white light, he returned to the player main city: Sin City.

He shared the equipment information in the main city chat channel, shouting:

"Freshly crafted level 488 Epic quality caster god-tier gear. Contact me if interested. Don't private message me if you're an idiot who doesn't know the price."

Immediately, several players sent purchase requests.

But upon seeing their offers, Tong Xin rejected them without hesitation.

After chatting with several players in succession, none of the prices satisfied Tong Xin.

Soon, another player sent a private message:

Dark Archmage: Bro, name your price. If it's right, I'll take it immediately.

Facing the inquiry, Tong Xin stated his desired price:

Kindergarten Principal: Take it for 100,000 Credit Points.

Dark Archmage: Bro, are you still alive from the previous version? Go check the equipment prices in the Exchange Hall. Your gear is top-tier, but the price you're asking is truly too high. If you're not sincere about selling, just forget it.

Kindergarten Principal: What do you think is appropriate?

Dark Archmage: If I hadn't failed to grab a qualification for the Dark Lands, I wouldn't even want to play this game anymore. Currently, equipment of all qualities is dropping in price, including the unique Mythic quality gear. For your level 488 Epic staff, I can offer 18,000 Credit Points. That's already higher than the market rate; whether you accept is up to you.

Kindergarten Principal: Not selling!

Closing the chat interface, Tong Xin opened the Exchange Hall function and began browsing the latest transaction records for Epic quality equipment.

The results were exactly as the "Dark Archmage" he had just contacted said; prices had plummeted miserably.

Compared to that, the price of 18,000 was indeed very reasonable.

After contacting several more players who had privately messaged offers, Tong Xin was completely convinced.

He proactively contacted the Dark Archmage again, deciding to sell the top-tier staff for 18,000; if he didn't sell now, the price would clearly continue to fall.

In response, the Dark Archmage agreed to proceed with the transaction.

Summoning the remote trading Cultivation Mode, he dragged the staff from his backpack inventory into the trade window.

At the same time, the other party activated the online transfer Cultivation Mode, entered 18,000 Credit Points below, and clicked lock.

Once both trade windows were locked, the two clicked to confirm the trade.

After the transaction completed, a notification of funds arriving in his bank account rang in Tong Xin's ear.

After struggling for so long, he finally had a decent transaction record.

Before this, he had mainly earned real-world income by farming materials.

Many pieces of equipment went unpurchased by players; basically, they were dismantled into materials and sold to those wanting to strengthen their gear.

Glancing at the time, he realized it was already 3 PM.

He immediately chose to log out of the game.

As the darkness receded, the game pod lid slowly rose.

Pulling out his phone, he checked the "Kindergarten Passion Chat Group."

The last message had been sent nine days ago.

The chat history contained three screenshots, each showing a transfer of 200,000.

Seeing this made Tong Xin feel like crying.

"You bastards! It's been nine days without logging off. Is this game really that fun? You've even abandoned your brothers for the sake of the game."

After venting his bitterness, Tong Xin stepped out of the game pod, removed his game suit, changed clothes, and hurried out the door.

Downstairs in the residential complex, he pulled out his phone to hail a taxi.

Before long, the city brain assigned an autonomous vehicle; on the app, he could see the self-driving car's route.

Having entered the destination in advance, Tong Xin stood at the complex entrance waiting.

One hour later, Tong Xin arrived at his destination.

It was a Spirit Ore Research and Development Base, where he had recently been working rotating shifts.

Every day he worked from 5 PM to 11 PM, then went to a bar to work as a waiter until 3 AM, returned home to grind in the game, operating non-stop for 24 hours.

Compared to the unstable income from the game, this real-world job provided higher returns.

However, the working environment carried risks.

The ores that needed to be transported inside possessed extremely strong radiation, which interfered with robot operations, necessitating manual execution of transport and cutting tasks.

If the worn protective suit was not properly sealed, one could suffer severe radiation exposure leading to cell damage, or even death.

Entering the facility and passing pupil verification, he headed to the changing room.

Donning protective suit number 323, he walked straight toward the mechanical platform.

The mechanical arms on the platform operated automatically, fitting him with a set of exoskeleton armor.

This equipment helped him easily transport ores heavier than himself and provided additional safety protection.

The principle was simple: relying on sensors to perceive human movement intent, such as muscle electrical signals and joint angle changes, it automatically drove the power system to provide auxiliary force, achieving coordination between the exoskeleton and human movements.

Once dressed, a beam of light scanned from head to toe, detecting the sealing integrity of the protective suit.

When the green light illuminated, Tong Xin stepped off the mechanical platform, pushed open the locker room door while clad in heavy protective gear, and headed straight for the area marked with a skull-and-radiation symbol.

Passing through two layers of doors requiring identity verification, he arrived at the radiation zone.

Here were piled vast quantities of spiritual ores nurtured through energy radiation.

The technology came from the Eclipse Clan.

Since Earth possessed very few spiritual substances, it lacked the foundation to nurture spiritual ores naturally.

Therefore, the creation of spiritual ores was achieved by injecting energy via special radiation.

The environment here was extremely dangerous, but the rewards were exceptionally high.

After handing over his shift to the worker at the same station, Tong Xin began his busy work, using tools to cut the spiritual ores and placing them on the cart behind him.

Later, these would be sent to a massive transport vehicle at the end of the line; the vehicle itself had undergone anti-radiation isolation treatment, with an outer isolation layer 0.3 meters thick.

Intelligent robots could not operate in this environment; they would crash immediately upon entry.

Even mobile phones were unusable.

The high-radiation environment contained large amounts of high-energy particles and rays, which severely interfered with the electromagnetic wave signals received and transmitted by mobile phones.

Secondly, it would also cause hardware damage.

The electronic components inside mobile phones were designed based on specific electromagnetic environments; strong radiation would ionize these components, generating thermal effects that led to permanent damage.

Before coming here, Tong Xin had heard about an accident that occurred here, where an employee suffered from strong radiation exposure due to improperly wearing protective gear.

He died from body rot while being transported to "Moon Eclipse City" on the moon for emergency treatment.

Subsequently, a protective suit sealing detection device was added here, and such incidents have basically not occurred since.

Although dangerous, Tong Xin was willing to toil in this place.

The monthly income was 22,000, the working hours were not long, and the benefits were quite good.

No communication devices could be used here, so the workers wrapped in protective suits had no interaction whatsoever throughout their entire shift, making the work process feel incredibly tedious to Tong Xin.

All he could do was weave various stories in his mind.

Among them was a story where he successfully secured qualification for the Dark Lands and returned to the Kindergarten Guild.

Then, through multiple fortuitous encounters in the game, he obtained enormous wealth, and his strength surpassed that group of show-off good brothers within a short time.

During the work process, Tong Xin multitasked.

The busy six hours ended; Tong Xin changed his clothes, hailed a taxi, and left.

At 11 PM, he arrived at a bar in the city center.

Pushing open the door, the music inside the bar was deafening, colorful lights flashed wildly to the rhythm, crowds twisted their bodies freely on the dance floor, and a wave of heat mixed with the smell of tobacco and alcohol hit him.

His job at the bar was promoting alcoholic beverages.

Compared to cold robots promoting drinks, humans doing this line of work were more likely to win the favor of guests.

This was also the reason he managed to get hired; his income was a 17% commission based on the total price of alcohol sold that day.

Working until 3 AM, Tong Xin rushed home without stopping.

Before starting his game gold-farming, he took pre-made dishes out of the refrigerator, heated them up, and wolfed them down.

Although they were pre-made dishes, the taste was not bad; they were all carefully prepared by robot chefs.

Whether viewed from a nutritional perspective or a food hygiene perspective, the pre-made dishes of this era were the best choice for ordinary people.

Returning to his room.

Tong Xin entered the bathroom to wash off the smell of tobacco and alcohol from his body, changed into a loose set of clothes, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Sitting on the bed, he pulled out his phone and stared blankly at the balance displayed on the screen.

After several months of hard work and deducting living expenses, he had 84,722 Meng Yuan remaining.

He was still over 40,000 Meng Yuan short of purchasing the qualification for the Dark Lands game.

He would have to endure days like these for another two months.

Recalling the god-like lives his good brothers in the group chat were living, he felt his own situation was truly too miserable by comparison.

Scrolling through the group chat, his good brothers had already gone offline, but the content of their conversation was heart-stabbing word by word.

Small Class-Monitor: If it weren't for leveling up, earning ten thousand Meng Yuan a day would be just like playing; there are far more pay-to-win players than gold-farming players in this game, it's so satisfying.

Small Class-Iron Hammer: Another 200,000 credited to my account (screenshot); I sold a batch of Sacrifice Power to the God King, and I'll use the rest to upgrade my Star Veins. I don't plan to sell Sacrifice Power recently; having enough cash for expenses is fine, having too much is meaningless. Many things from the Eclipse Clan require queuing to buy; having money doesn't guarantee you can get them.

Small Class-Black Ball: A new batch of spiritual plants in the spiritual field has matured; I sold them all to the Alchemist Guild. I earned 100,000 Meng Yuan just lying down; the days of wealth redistribution have truly arrived.

Small Class-Drunk Milk: Let's invite the Director for a meal when you have time; he hasn't replied in the group for so long, I'm worried he might have been beaten to death by radiation.

Feeling increasingly indignant the more he read, Tong Xin immediately typed a line of text:

Kindergarten Director: You guys really deserve to die, showing off transaction screenshots again; have you considered my feelings?

Kindergarten Director: I advise you to stop showing off, otherwise our friendship boat will capsize; I'm quitting the group right now (knife-at-neck-don't-force-me.jpg).

Kindergarten Director: I wish I could mute everyone; look at what you're saying, is that even human language? What do you mean earning ten thousand a day is easy? I work myself to death every day for how little? It makes me so angry.

Kindergarten Director: Say it again, no one is allowed to talk about income, otherwise I'll throw a tantrum and leave the group!

Seeing the Director's mindset explode, the group members one after another sent apology emoticons.

Just as Tong Xin was about to activate his rage-spraying Cultivation Mode, the group member Iron Hammer suddenly sent a red packet:

Small Class-Iron Hammer: Director, this money was pooled together by us brothers; grab the pirated version or the official version, it's up to you. It's just a small token of our affection (Designated Red Packet: 120,000 Meng Yuan).

Seeing the red packet just as he was about to unleash his anger, the grievance in Tong Xin's heart instantly vanished.

Kindergarten Director: What are you doing? I don't want this money; I have hands and feet and can earn it myself. I just need to hold on a bit longer and I'll have enough.

Small Class-Drunk Milk: Director, don't be in a bad mood; we've been brothers for so many years. Although we tease each other usually, we brothers are sincerely looking forward to your return. If you really feel uneasy, just pay us back after you enter the game and start earning.

Small Class-Monitor: Director, just take it; we brothers are all waiting for you to come back. Without you, it always feels like something is missing. Quickly take the money and return to the team.

Small Class-Cute Baby: Are you moved? Tomorrow is the next round of qualification distribution; we are waiting for you. If it doesn't work out, just continue grabbing the pirated version. Keep the money; we brothers are all prosperous now, we don't lack funds.

Small Class-Gulu: The Director is probably wiping tears right now, looking at his phone with red eyes, little pearls falling one by one, secretly shouting "Good brothers for life" in his heart, hahaha.

Small Class-Marble: Why hasn't the Director taken the money yet? Does he look down on us brothers? (Angry fist-pounding-table.jpg).

Seeing the messages from his brothers, Tong Xin's eyes turned red.

It would be false to say he wasn't moved.

Although his brothers had sharp tongues, he could feel their expectation for his return.

Although making money was very easy for them now, this sum was indeed substantial.

Taking a deep breath, he clicked the red packet and accepted the 120,000 Meng Yuan.

Then, his thumb touched the phone screen, and he typed a line of words:

Kindergarten Director: Consider this your filial piety to your father; you are all good, filial children; your father is gratified.

Small Class-Drunk Milk: Dog Director, refund the money!

Small Class-Black Ball: Refund, hurry up and refund!

Small Class-Iron Hammer: Is this how you repay your brothers? You turn your back on us as soon as you take the money?

Seeing the messages from his brothers, Tong Xin burst into laughter.

Kindergarten Director: Honoring elders is a traditional virtue of our Human Race; I will accept your kindness. Additionally, let me ask, if I enter the game, what profession should I play? What profession are you guys lacking?

Small Class-Iron Hammer: Dog Director, don't worry about the profession issue; professions in this Dark Lands game can be changed at any time. If I must say what's lacking, I suggest you choose a Gargoyle (Petrification) Soul at the start. Once the Star Vein slot opens, go for the Tank build, and I'll switch to Melee DPS.

Small Class-Cute Baby: Director should go for the Magic build; we are currently running the Luck build, where we have to roll dice every time to determine strength. The Magic build gets buff states that are insanely strong; I strongly suggest you choose Ink Flame or Running Thunder, these types of Magic DPS Souls, at the start.

Small Class-Black Ball: Director should still go for the Gargoyle build; let that idiot Iron Hammer roll over and play Melee DPS. Recently he's obsessed with the Champion Fighter, yelling every day that Melee DPS is invincible; I don't even want to talk about him (Disdain.jpg).

After chatting for a long time, the brothers one after another returned to the Dark Lands, and Tong Xin also stood up at this moment and walked towards the game pod.

Originally, he had planned to rest for a while before entering the game to farm gold.

But now, with the support of his brothers, he decided to cash out all the equipment and resources on his account.

Then, he would wait for the next round of game qualification distribution.

If he failed to grab an official game qualification this time, he decided to try grabbing a cracked version of the game qualification again, and he would not enter this game afterwards.

After changing into his game suit, he entered the game pod.

Before long, he entered the character selection interface.

In this game, Sin Land, each player could choose to use two characters.

He had leveled up one Magic user and one Shield Warrior.

Among them, the Shield Warrior was his main profession.

Entering the game, he appeared in an open space within the main city; ahead stood a Gem Merchant NPC who was constantly shouting. Although endowed with smart AI, he usually just repeated the same set of lines.

Summoning the equipment panel, Tong Xin took off all the equipment on his body.

To speed up the sale of his equipment, he chose to shout out sales in the main city.

As for listing them on the Exchange, the selling speed was too slow.

At the current stage, equipment in the game "Sin Land" was very hard to sell, and prices were dropping every day.

This included the neighboring game "Conquest," where prices were also dropping daily.

Although only a minority of players had managed to grab the Dark Lands, many players had realized a problem in advance.

The era belonging to the two games, Sin Land and Conquest, was becoming a thing of the past.

The current stage was the best time to rush and sell; once the Dark Lands fully opened game qualifications, it would be difficult to sell goods then.

It was precisely for this reason that in-game prices plummeted.

Except for a very small number of rare equipment that could still fetch a price, many low-level items had no market, especially newbie equipment.

One could even say that there were no newbie players left in the two games.

The new generation in the future would also choose the Dark Lands; why would they come to these two old games to experience virtual life?

Recalling when the two games first launched, the main city was packed with people; even snagging a small monster spawn was difficult.

But with the release of the Dark Lands, this game has been driven into decline and is about to exit the stage of history.

The most outrageous part is the recent listing price for a unique-attribute divine artifact in the Sin Lands; its former transaction price neared one hundred million, snapped up by a player from the Struck Clan.

As a result, the latest transaction price has plummeted to three million.

Cases of equipment prices crashing continue to multiply; the game's economy is facing collapse.

It can only maintain stability now because the distribution speed of Dark Lands qualifications is excessively slow, forcing many players to choose between the Sin Lands and Conquest.

Yet many players' hearts are already in the Dark Lands.

That includes him.

After shouting in the main city chat channel for a long time, a player finally private-messaged him, but the quoted price differed significantly from Tong Xin's expected price.

In three hours, only one piece of headgear equipment sold, and even then at twenty percent off his expected price.

Summoning the Auction House function, he compared prices item by item; Tong Xin adjusted his expected price for every piece of equipment and shouted out again.

This time, the sales progress was much faster.

Weapons, chest armor, bracers, belts, boots, and necklaces all sold at sixty to seventy percent of their original prices.

Only the shield in his hands refused to sell no matter what.

Shield Warriors are a niche profession in the game; with the current environment so poor, shields have become even harder to sell.

With no other choice, he could only lower the price further, finally selling it at forty percent off to a player from an alien race, bringing in a total profit of 13,200.

Next came clearing out the warehouse.

Standing before the warehouse NPC in the main city, he withdrew all his inventory and listed it in batches at prices below the market rate.

For every batch sold, he listed another.

During this process, many pieces of equipment reminded Tong Xin of the years he once struggled alongside his good brothers.

When he took out a piece of novice equipment intending to dismantle it, he couldn't help but sigh, ultimately tossing it back into the warehouse.

This piece of equipment was his starting point in this game; in the future, it would remain forever buried in endless darkness along with this account.

"Brother, farewell."

Once his inventory and warehouse were completely emptied, Tong Xin bid farewell to his Shield Warrior, then logged off.

Glancing at the time, it was already 8:13 in the morning.

He pulled out his phone and made a call.

Soon the call connected, and a middle-aged man's puzzled voice came through.

After expressing his intention to resign, the other side fell silent for a moment before saying:

"I can apply to increase your benefits package; has something happened?"

"Nothing happened; I just don't want to do this anymore." Tong Xin offered no nonsense, stating his mind directly.

"Very well; I will settle your wages in advance."

"Thank you."

Hanging up the phone, Tong Xin felt entirely relaxed.

Since he had decided to continue snatching up qualifications for the Dark Lands game, he had no intention of returning to work.

If he couldn't grab an official copy, he would grab a pirated one; he intended to devote all his time to securing game qualifications, re-entering "cultivation" Cultivation Mode.

The probability of securing an official game qualification tomorrow was slim, so he needed to prepare in advance for staying up all night.

Opening his shopping app, he began placing orders.

Energy drinks, coffee, tea, chocolate, snack packs... stocking up on supplies in preparation for the upcoming cultivation session.

This time, he was going all in.

If he didn't get the qualification, he would keep trying.

Either he would secure the qualification, or his soul would leave his body; one of the two was inevitable.

The next night at 11:30.

Tong Xin stood on the balcony holding three sticks of incense and took out a lighter.

Click!

The leaping flame greedily licked the incense tips; instantly, curling blue smoke rose, carrying wisps of sandalwood fragrance that coiled and twisted through the night sky.

Tucking the lighter into his pocket, he held the three incense sticks with both hands before his chest.

"Gods and Buddhas above, today I stand at a crossroads of life's choices; I pray for your protection, guard my smooth path, and aid my success."

With that, Tong Xin bent his knees and knelt heavily on the ground, emitting a dull thud.

Straightening his spine and leaning his upper body forward, he bowed deeply toward the sky.

Once, twice, three times; after completing the three prostrations, he raised the three incense sticks above his head, gazed at the sky with a solemn expression, and said:

"Ancestors above, I have one request: the next round of qualification purchases for the Dark Lands is about to begin; I hope your spirits in heaven can protect me and help me successfully secure a game qualification... On Qingming Festival, I will definitely treat you to a grand feast; remember to visit my dreams in advance to tell me what you wish to eat."

After another three prostrations, he inserted the three incense sticks into a flowerpot on the balcony and turned back to his room.

The room floor was covered with white candles arranged into a symmetrical structure.

This was a formation structure for a luck-turning array he had seen online; reportedly, executing the steps could bring good fortune.

Previously, upon seeing such claims, Tong Xin would surely have scoffed.

What bullshit luck-turning rituals? In this day and age, anyone who believes in such nonsense is an idiot.

But now the situation was different.

He wouldn't let go of even the slightest possibility.

Regardless of whether metaphysics worked, he would try it first.

Gods and Buddhas, luck-turning rituals, ancestral protection... he would perform them all without omission; what if it worked?

After lighting all the candles, Tong Xin stepped over them, sat in the center of the formation, murmured incantations, and occasionally glanced at the luck-turning prayer texts he had copied onto his phone.

After finishing the lines, Tong Xin closed his eyes, meditating on external forces entering his body.

This was a crucial step in the luck-turning ritual: imagining the absorption of external fortune to bless himself.

Once the entire procedure ended, Tong Xin pressed his palms together:

"Brother Star Net, protect me; if I win the qualification this time, you will be my big brother from now on."

Then Tong Xin blew out the candles, respectfully wrapped them in paper, and placed them by his pillow.

Before attempting to grab the qualification, he bathed and changed clothes, washing away bad luck, donned a brand-new outfit, and sat down at his computer desk.

He had employed every method available; now it depended on luck.

Clicking the shortcut icon on his desktop, the official Dark Lands webpage popped up.

In the center of the webpage, a countdown timer ticked.

[Time until Dark Lands game qualification distribution: 14 minutes 49 seconds. Qualifications distributed this round: 1,000,000]

Watching the countdown numbers jump, Tong Xin felt agonized inside.

When only five minutes remained, he stood up, went to the living room, lit three more incense sticks, returned to his room, and placed them beside his computer desk.

Metaphysics protecting the body, all paths open.

As time ticked away second by second, Tong Xin's anxiety grew ever stronger.

When only ten seconds remained, his left mouse button began to be clicked frantically.

"Ancestors protect me, give me a hand!"

As the countdown hit zero, Tong Xin roared in his heart:

"Let me grab it, ahhh!"

Just then, a notification popped up on the official Dark Lands website:

[Congratulations, Identity Number: ss2232142x. Purchase successful. You have obtained a Dark Lands game qualification. Proceed to payment for verification and activation?]

"Hahahaha!"

At this moment, Tong Xin laughed with extreme arrogance.

Standing up, he planted his right foot on the chair, placed one hand on his hip, and pointed his right finger at the computer screen:

"Nailed it!"

His arrogant expression might as well have had "I, Laozi, am number one under heaven" written across his Iron Face.

Then he screenshot the webpage and sent it to the Kindergarten Passionate Chat Group:

Kindergarten Principal: A mere game qualification, easily nailed (Du Gu Qiu Bai.jpg) (Webpage Screenshot.jpg)

(End of Chapter)