Chapter 102 Real World
What would happen?
Ji Yuanzhi leaned back, looked up at the ceiling, and seemed to seriously think about this question. He said, “You need to be on the scene to know.”
Wen Shi’s lips held a slight smile. This meant he agreed to help.
“There’s one more thing. I wanted to hear your advice.” Wen Shi talked about the time he swapped a bunch of items for the【Royal Cars Box】inside the instance, “Altogether, they were worth around twenty thousand points, but they were all just random ordinary things.”
These items wouldn’t fetch a good price if put up for sale in the in-game’s store.
“The black market,” Ji Yuanzhi spoke from experience, “Although you’d likely need to negotiate a lower price.”
Wen Shi’s main goal was to sell them quickly. “No problem.”
Ji Yuanzhi motioned to the front desk and mimicked making a phone call. The front contacted the hotel manager, who arrived three minutes later.
“Help him take care of some things,” Ji Yuanzhi said.
The hotel manager smiled and shared his player ID. Wen Shi handed over all the items.
One system prompt after another kept ringing out without pause. The hotel manager’s smile stiffened. If he remembered correctly, the other person hadn’t entered instances many times, so how did he manage to gather so many small items?
“I’ll make the contract now and transfer the points to you within two days.”
Wen Shi waved his hand. “No need.”
A large guild wouldn’t covet such a small amount of points, especially since this time he was asking a favor from someone.
Including these points, he’d have a surplus of over fifty thousand, more than enough to activate new functions for his homestead.
“Which day is the banquet?” Wen Shi looked at Ji Yuanzhi.
“Saturday night at nine o’clock, on a cruise ship.” Seeing Wen Shi’s subtle expression, Ji Yuanzhi smiled. “Seems like people prefer cruises over hotels nowadays.”
Of course, for players like them, they still loved open land more.
“But it’s a hassle to get a separate invitation. Just come in with me.”
Someone attentive could discover the connection between the invitation and him.
Wen Shi thought for a moment and didn’t decline. “Then let’s meet at seven in the evening, at the same place we met last time.”
“Alright.”
For the newbie, the hotel had already sent a copy of the “Guide to the Virtual World.” Wen Shi didn’t worry about him anymore. After returning to his room, he had Song Yan try to buy a travel pass. As expected, an ‘X’ appeared on the mirror, indicating he couldn’t purchase it.
“I’ll be away for a day afterward. You stay here.”
There was no safer place in the virtual world than this hotel.
It hadn’t been seven days since their last afternoon tea. Wen Shi decided to unlock the new function in advance, just in case.
“Would you like to spend ten thousand points to activate the second function of【My Home】?”
“Yes.”
The speed of unlocking in the game was as swift as deducting points, almost completing in an instant.
Without minding the cost, Wen Shi quickly accessed the attribute panel to check.
【Come to My Place: Also known as luring monsters in to kill them. A special function usable only once per instance.
Instructions: Friendly visitors require mutual consent. When inviting, kindly seek the other party’s opinion first. The guest must say ‘willing’ themselves for the invitation to succeed.
Note: Special NPCs cannot be lured in, and NPCs above the level of malevolent creatures cannot be lured in temporarily.】
“……” Lure them in to kill them, and still worry about being polite?
However, after reading the instructions, Wen Shi felt relieved. “This is a big step towards the virtuous family.”
In the future, he could throw a punching bag into each instance for his family to vent. This way, even the Earl wouldn’t end up beaten bloody every time. It would be beneficial for the unity and harmony of the extended family.
After resolving a major matter, Wen Shi began contemplating how to contact Yu Xingzhou to discuss terms and quickly exchange for the medium.
It was evening, and he was still thinking about this matter while having dinner. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Wen Shi glanced through the peephole and saw the hotel manager standing outside. He thought it might be feedback about the items he put up for sale and directly opened the door.
Seeing the person with disheveled hair and a large shrimp in his mouth, exuding a careless demeanor from head to toe, the manager’s eyelid twitched, handing over a gift box.
Wen Shi found a piece of paper to wipe his hands before taking the gift box. Inside was a jade-carved figurine of a golden leopard, looking substantial.
“What’s this…”
The golden leopard was in a pouncing posture, fierce and powerful, but the densely dotted rose patterns on its body emitted a slightly eerie vibe.
This eerie feeling was feedback from the sixth sense as a player. Ordinary people wouldn’t notice anything strange. They’d only see the fierce demeanor.
The hotel manager explained, “The guild leader asked me to deliver this.”
Wen Shi closed the lid again, and the communicator beeped. Yu Xingzhou’s voice came through from the other side.
“Did you receive the item?”
Wen Shi made a bold guess. “Is this golden leopard the medium?”
“Yes.” Yu Xingzhou made it clear what Wen Shi needed to do. “I have some matters to arrange at home recently. If there comes a day when my brother enters an instance, I’ll need you or that newbie to take him into two instances. We can discuss the details then.”
All members of the Second Commandment Guild were elite players, so the difficulty of the instances they encountered wouldn’t be low. It was simply not suitable to take newbies along. Yu Xingzhou wouldn’t entrust his family to unfamiliar forces.
Although Wen Shi followed unconventional approaches, based on Yu Xingzhou’s observation, their survival chances would be higher if they go into instances together. The only downside was that the instances Wen Shi has experienced so far hadn’t been easy.
Another option was to wait for Song Yan to gain experience and let him lead the group. Song Yan deeply admired Wen Shi, and anything instructed by him, Song Yan would certainly strive to do well. Moreover, as fellow newbies, teaming up with Song Yan would allow them to control the difficulty level.
This exchange condition wasn’t something Wen Shi had foreseen, but it made sense. He couldn’t help but sigh internally, realizing that every family had its own struggles.
For a fleeting moment, he was quite envious of Li Nan’s life.
“Alright.” Wen Shi got straight to the point. “But I can’t guarantee survival.”
Yu Xingzhou didn’t forcefully demand this. After a slight silence, a soft sigh came from the other end of the phone. Even across different spaces, the helplessness could be sensed. “Just do your best.”
In those four words, it was unclear whether he was speaking to Wen Shi or reminding himself.
After ending the call, Wen Shi examined the golden leopard in his hands.
Yu Xingzhou definitely had more than one medium, and sending this one over showed a certain level of careful consideration.
Pei Hongxin was a businessman who believed in feng shui and valued wealth. The golden leopard should suit his taste. However, it couldn’t be given by Wen Shi or Ji Yuanzhi. Otherwise, due to Pei Hongxin’s suspicion, he’d rather smash it than place it in his room.
Wen Shi laughed. “Went around in circles, and yet I still need to ask Ji Yuanzhi for help.”
Surely his Golden Dad could find a suitable person to present the gift.
After resting in the hotel for over a day, during which Wen Shi also contacted Ji Yuanzhi to deal with the golden leopard, Saturday afternoon arrived quickly.
Holding the travel pass, he stood in front of the mirror for a moment before leaving. His youthful innocence had faded from his face, though his facial features hadn’t changed much.
Song Yan’s transformed state would only revert tonight. Facing the dirty mirror, Wen Shi slowly formed a smile.
“Not much change.” He muttered to himself.
With a face like that, even after many years, it should still be easily recognizable.
The mirror trembled as he smiled, but before it could react, Wen Shi had turned into a mottled patch of colors and vanished from the spot.
…
Today, the city of Tianhai was overcast and hazy.
By a little after seven, the sun had already set, casting its final glow onto the overgrown wild grass. Between the trees and weeds, the interplay of light and shadow staged a captivating performance. Wen Shi fell straight down from a height of over one meter, his tailbone hurting as he landed. Once again, he was teleported to the side of the doghole behind the wall.
No need to guess. Ji Yuanzhi must have arrived a step ahead.
Habitually scaling the wall, Wen Shi had just climbed to the top when he was surprised to find a ladder already set up on the other side. He descended with ease. “Thanks.”
Ji Yuanzhi was still in his extended luxury car, but this time he only had two bodyguards with him. One of them walked over to retract the ladder.
Today, Ji Yuanzhi wasn’t dressed casually like usual. He wore a suit and leather shoes, carrying himself elegantly.
The car door opened, and he looked at Wen Shi. “I’ve already arranged the gift. A friend from the business world will present it on my behalf.”
After speaking, he handed over two boxes. One contained formal wear, and the other held shoes, both clearly high-end from their packaging.
Wen Shi wasn’t particularly fond of suits, as they made him feel constrained. However, since it was a special occasion later, he wouldn’t be stubborn about it at this critical moment.
“Forgive me for freeloadin’ once again.”
Wen Shi didn’t refuse the suit. He didn’t have extra time to prepare these things now.
The house wasn’t far from here. Wen Shi went back to change clothes first.
The all-black three-piece suit fit him perfectly. It was clear that Ji Yuanzhi had taken care of every detail in his investigation.
When Wen Shi came back down from the old building, he exuded an elegant and sophisticated charm from head to toe. Even his shoes couldn’t hide the grace in his light steps, like a nimble cat.
Ji Yuanzhi, sitting in the luxury car, raised an eyebrow, an unexpected description popping into his mind: “Cat-like suit thug.”
The car headed towards the harbor. The thirteen-story cruise ship could reportedly accommodate up to four thousand people.
“No matter how many people come today, once Pei Hongxin sees you, he won’t care about anything else.” Ji Yuanzhi half-jokingly asked, “Do you need me to take a photo of his expression as a memento?”
“No thanks.” Wen Shi loosened his tie. He could already imagine that scene. “It’ll probably be a damn shocked look.”
The pronunciation of the word “shocked” had extra weight in his voice.
The bodyguard turned the car into a nearby designated parking area. Once Wen Shi got out of the car and glanced around, he saw various luxury cars shining brilliantly under the lights, their radiance rivaling the stars in the sky.
Specially assigned security personnel maintained order at the shore, and patrols could be seen in the distance. These luxurious gatherings always emphasized privacy.
Walking alongside Ji Yuanzhi, Wen Shi encountered no obstacles. When Pei Hongxin was still well-off in his childhood, he had experienced such extravagance twice. However, now those memories held little impact. Just like the few years after he disappeared, his photos were repeatedly published in newspapers, but by now, people had forgotten about them.
“Zichen.”
Someone from behind ran over and hooked their arm around Ji Yuanzhi’s shoulder. “Long time no see.”
Wen Shi quickly realized that players in the virtual world and real world usually went by different names.
The youth glanced at Wen Shi and asked Ji Yuanzhi, “Your friend?”
Ji Yuanzhi nodded and walked towards the cruise ship while chatting with the newcomer.
Listening to their conversation, Wen Shi learned that tonight’s highlight was Pei Hongxin auctioning an extremely rare bottle of wine, and the proceeds would be donated to charity.
The youth talked to Ji Yuanzhi but kept his attention on Wen Shi, sensing that his demeanor and appearance were fitting for a celebrity.
“By the way, why didn’t you come with Uncle today?” The youth asked Ji Yuanzhi. “Earlier, when I was talking to my parents, they happened to run into Uncle.”
Ji Yuanzhi smiled and retorted, “Aren’t you also not here with your family?”
The youth rubbed his nose. He had gone crazy playing games last night and had just woken up.
The deck had a restaurant area with the added benefit of the best viewing spot. The youth, who still carried the scent of alcohol from before the party, subconsciously adjusted his clothes.
“Uncle’s presence is as imposing as ever,” he sighed.
Ji Yuanzhi’s father’s gaze happened to sweep over there. The youth’s parents were also present. It was only right and proper to greet them, both in terms of etiquette and reality.
In the Mirage Landscape, Wen Shi had seen Ji Yuanzhi’s father once, but until now, he wasn’t sure if it was an illusion or reality. Wen Shi looked at Ji Yuanzhi, who understood his question and whispered, “I asked him once out of curiosity. He just said he had a strange dream and couldn’t remember the details.”
Wen Shi pressed his lips together. If that was true, then Ji Yuanzhi’s father must have an incredibly strong mental fortitude. In the hearse heading to the death gate, he had been one of the calmest individuals, second only to A’Sang.
Ji Yuanzhi preemptively explained, “My dad tends to be serious, and he usually wears a stern face. No matter how he behaves later, don’t mind it.”
Wen Shi nodded.
The trio walked over, the youth politely greeted them, and Wen Shi followed suit with a polite hello.
The elder nodded, his gaze falling on Wen Shi.
Ji Yuanzhi’s recent private investigation couldn’t escape his notice. His son investigating someone for no apparent reason naturally caught his attention. The people Ji Yuanzhi sent to gather information had always served their family, and after inquiring, the man quickly learned everything about Wen Shi.
Comparing the investigation findings with the young man standing quietly beside his son, the elder pushed his glasses frame and thought expressionlessly, “Oh, he’s really pitiful.”
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