Chapter 74: Son, Why Didn't You Buy Equipment

Retracting his gaze slowly in astonishment, Ai Ge swallowed hard.

The orderly benches, the solid floor tiles, the burning incense candles, even the sound his throat made when he swallowed...

His own senses had somehow formed the best con‑artist team, frantically feeding his brain the truth of this place!

"What technique is this? It's insane!"

As an amateur game enthusiast, he had played the intense "Watch Sentinel".

If you strip away the disgusting planners and all the settings, at least compared with other VR games, its one‑step‑ahead edge truly makes it a groundbreaking masterpiece.

But in front of the obscure "Code: Sun Moon"...

Heh, does the clown in this circus even count as VR3A?

He couldn't help but grin, but just as his leg lifted, the surroundings reverted to white light.

This…

Before he could think clearly, amid an endless expanse of pure white, a blue rectangle floated before him.

【Welcome to the game, lucky Player No. 17】

【I am your beginner guide system, and will wholeheartedly serve you during this closed beta】

【For your physical and mental health, the game development team sincerely hopes you will follow the guidance while playing】

【Below is a Safety Game Statement; please sign after reading it carefully】

Thanks to those sensational novels and anime, "They won't trap me inside the game" has become a T0‑level stale meme in the gaming community.

So to avoid trouble, almost every game requires players to sign a similar statement, and refuses to let you play if you don't.

How much legal weight it has, I don't know, but it's really annoying.

Using a painstakingly practiced elegant font to leave his signature, Ai Ge pursed his lips and clicked Next.

【Do you wish to fine‑tune your current appearance?】

The page unfolded slowly; the system said it was a fine‑tune, and indeed it was.

Gender cannot be changed, size cannot be altered.

Even if you max out any one value, the face won't undergo any earth‑shattering change.

But Ai Ge was just experimenting; he was still quite satisfied with his own face.

Besides, as a face‑showing content creator, changing his looks would hinder future business.

So he reverted to the default values and clicked Skip.

【Please enter the nickname you want】

He thought briefly and entered his usual ID.

【Confirmed】

【Scanning, please wait】

【Your personal panel has been generated】

【Nickname: Singing Snow Leopard】

【Level: 1 (0/100)】

【Race: Pure‑blood Human】

【Talent: None】

【Class: None】

【HP: 5】

【Agility: 4】

【Intelligence: 4】

【Charisma: 6】

【Life Skills: String Instrument Mastery·Proficient, Personal Vocal Control·Basic】

Whoa, Strength, Agility, Intelligence, Charisma—aren't these the classic four stats of Mount & Blade?

And this life skill, the immersion is maxed out.

Well done!

But…

After scrolling for ages, Ai Ge still couldn't find where to allocate points.

Uh, perhaps the Production Team has its own ideas…

Never mind, next step!

【The beginner's gift package has arrived; would you like to use it now?】

Ai Ge twitched his eyebrows, expecting something good.

But after opening the package, he found it contained a mere ten exchange points.

Exchange points can be used in the shop to redeem items; he glanced and saw the offerings were equally barren, with all goods combined not filling even a single page.

There were relatively more weapons and tools—at least swords, spears, guns, shields, axes, hammers, saws, and hoes—so he could at least experiment a bit.

Armor was limited to pitiful leather armor, and the whole‑body set sold for six points, the half‑body for three, priced absurdly high.

But the most stingy were the items; besides the two‑point Coagulation Powder, there was only a healing elixir called Rejuvenation Prime, costing four points per bottle.

Which game sells a red bottle for that much? So pricey!

And Ai Ge counted on his fingers, realizing that if he wanted full‑body leather armor, he could only take one weapon.

Even settling for half‑body leather armor would still leave enough points to redeem two more items.

Having played many games, he had some lightning‑rod experience, so the cautious Ai Ge simply skipped this option.

【Friendly reminder: In this game, time flows at the same rate as reality; please allocate your gaming time wisely】

【Guidance complete, character initialization is about to end】

That's it.

No talent draw or anything?

Ai Ge was still puzzled, but it was as if space had been shattered; his surroundings suddenly grew noisy.

He's not the only decisive player; at this moment the great hall already has several players strolling.

Linen short shirt and long pants. And a loose linen long skirt, seem to be the game's default player attire.

They sometimes poke at wall cracks, sometimes kick the floor tiles, and one of them tussles with a bench, curious as if they just grew a brain.

Even among them there was a tiger, who actually tried to rush onto the frontmost high platform to show off.

But before stepping onto the stage, that disheveled‑looking man solidly crashed into an invisible wall and fell flat on his back.

Activating the helmet's built‑in recording function, Ai Ge found a bench and sat down.

After a short wait, a tall youth with a 【Dancing Lynx】 perched on his head appeared nearby.

But unlike the other players, he was already clad in brown leather armor and carried a sheathed iron sword.

Damn, how did this kid spend all his points!?

Ai Ge's face instantly wore a mask of pain.

And after spotting him, Wu Li rushed over with an excited expression.

"Son, why didn't you buy equipment?"

"Yeah, why didn't your old man buy equipment?"

Too lazy to explain, Ai Ge took the long sword from Wu Li's hand.

This Western single‑handed sword felt heavy when sheathed; after drawing it, the blade's edge still flickered with a chilling gleam.

Although he doesn't know swordplay, a single swing still shows the weapon's quality.

Just the feel of this sword alone, no manufacturer can replicate it!

Even the sweat‑dripping "Watch Sentinel", when actually wielding a weapon in a hardcore duel, is universally acknowledged online for its terrible feel.

"Hey hey hey, if you don't want to switch, just don't play!"

Seeing Ai Ge about to get addicted, Wu Li quickly snatched the sword back.

"Tsk, you stingy brat."

Ai Ge hummed, leaned against the chair back and lifted his head.

Only then did he notice that on the sanctum's roof were countless murals depicting deities, angels, and believers.

"What's wrong... I'll copy!"

Wu Li also lifted his head, but opened his mouth with profanity.

He has been to Europa, having visited the Notre Dame, cathedrals, and such.

But those murals weren't as numerous or as striking as here.

After hearing Wu Li's explanation, Ai Ge shook his head.

"Hey, you're overthinking; maybe they just patched together the murals from ancient sites."

"True, even if they could hire someone to design, who could afford that level?"

"It could even be AI; look at that angel's hand, it's like a sack, and each one is twisted like a chicken claw."

"Right, right, and over there, it's as if Erlang Shen were feminized."

During the idle chat, more players around gradually gathered.

Soon, another blue box appeared before the two.

【Please find a suitable seat within ten seconds, the game will officially begin soon】

"Sit, sit."

Patting the seat beside him, Ai Ge and Wu Li sat in the first row of the sanctum.

Compared with the issues discovered so far, this game brings far too many surprises.

No matter how they control their expressions, the two big boys' faces are full of uncontainable yearning and excitement.

But after the twenty‑second countdown ends, what comes is the stripping of bodily control.

His perspective seemed to become a soaring drone, overlooking everything in the sanctum, including himself.

And like in a movie, narrow black bars appeared at the top and bottom.

Holy crap, this game even has cutscenes!?