CHAPTER 20: CHAPTER 17: IS IT REALLY THAT HARD TO ENTER THE GAME?

"What should we do? All of you hold on, I’m coming over right now!"

After Zhao Hu disconnected the communication, he reluctantly glanced at the grey icon of Descent of High Martial and directly chose to enter the Celestial Dragon Dynasty.

The BOSS assessment’s second phase is incredibly difficult, not something that can be cracked in a short time. As a high-ranking elder of the Celestial Might Guild, maintaining Celestial Might’s advantage in the Celestial Dragon Dynasty is the top priority. Other matters can be set aside for now.

Meanwhile, during the intense testing of Descent of High Martial, Lin Qi in the resting room of the Black Obsidian Martial Arts Hall stretched lazily, completely unaware of what was happening over on Blue Star.

"Finally finished transcribing a Shattering Stone Fist and a Leopard Shadow Step after a whole day’s work; this is truly exhausting."

Lin Qi looked at the two handwritten Martial Arts books on the table and felt quite satisfied.

With these two Martial Arts techniques, his game now has the prototype of a combat system, so newcomers to the Martial Arts Hall won’t just have to learn the Fitness Breathing Technique to improve their fitness with little combat capability.

Moreover, as long as players learn the Shattering Stone Fist and Leopard Shadow Step, even if their physical fitness is only at a kindergarten level, they can still fight a quasi-apprentice.

The strength of a quasi-apprentice ranges from 100 kilograms to 200 kilograms.

Speed ranges from 10 meters per second to 12 meters per second.

In Chasing Light City, most people are at the level of a quasi-apprentice.

As for Martial Arts, they are a luxury for the official residents of Chasing Light City, and ordinary people can’t afford to learn them.

But non-quasi-apprentice players, if they master the Apprentice Level of Shattering Stone Fist, can unleash more than double the usual strength. Mastering the Apprentice Level of Leopard Shadow Step can increase speed by more than 20%. Mastering both can fully bring their strength and speed up to the quasi-apprentice standard.

"Next is the pricing issue. If it’s too cheap, then I won’t have anything good to exchange for, but if it’s too expensive, the players’ strength will improve too slowly. It’s really frustrating."

Lin Qi suddenly felt that balancing was genuinely an art.

Worried that players would consume the game’s lifespan too quickly, while also concerned that they wouldn’t be motivated.

It’s really hard to harvest this bunch.

While Lin Qi was fretting over how to set the price, a tall figure entered the Martial Arts Hall from outside. With a mechanical prosthetic hand carrying a metal box and the other hand holding two large cardboard boxes, his steps were steady and powerful, far beyond that of an ordinary quasi-apprentice.

"Lin Zi, I’ve brought all the goods you wanted." Luo Qi placed the boxes directly in the corner of the resting room and looked at Lin Qi curiously, asking, "Why are you ordering so many Blood Essence Rice seeds, along with food and water, are you planning to live in the wild long-term?"

"I’m just stocking up more, just in case. After all, lately, Chasing Light City has been quite unstable." Lin Qi handed Luo Qi 6000 Bits, leaving himself with only 2400 Bits left, which was not enough to settle next month’s hospital debt.

This time, he had Luo Qi purchase 100 pounds of Blood Essence Rice seeds, along with a month’s worth of food and drink for himself and ten players. Whether it works out depends on this.

"Things have indeed been unstable lately." Luo Qi nodded, "Just yesterday, several gangs were wiped out in the suburbs. Many gangs, due to intense fighting, have been consuming weapons at a ferocious pace. If I weren’t delivering these items to you, I’d probably be busy crafting weapons right now."

"Is it that intense?" Lin Qi was quite surprised, "Wasn’t it said that the Half-Scale Race gangs expanded their territory in the suburbs a bit?"

"I’m not exactly sure." Luo Qi slightly shook his head, then curiously observed Lin Qi, laughing as he said, "Recently, our shop has a nice part-time job, would you be interested?"

"Your shop has a part-time job for undocumented vagabonds?" Lin Qi was curious.

The Cangjing Weapon Shop is a well-known weapon shop in the suburbs, and usually, a lot of officially recognized residents want to work there, but as for undocumented vagabonds, even part-time work is a dream.

"Yes, it’s a very good part-time job, perfect for you." Luo Qi nodded without keeping him in suspense, "Aren’t you planning to farm? Since you want to go to the wild, you can conveniently assist with transport. Our shop is insanely busy lately, and raw materials for weapon crafting are consumed rapidly, so we’ve struck deals with several gangs."

"Those gangs have mined a lot of minerals in the mountains not far from the Abandoned Area. Our shop plans to trade weapons for their raw materials, but due to the huge transaction volume, we’re short-handed, and those gangs are busy with turf wars with no extra manpower."

"So our shop plans to recruit people for part-time work to help with transportation for those gangs. The more ores you transport, the more you’ll earn. Since you’re heading to the wild, on your way back, you can also make a trip. Although 100 kilograms of ores earn only 30 Bit, every little bit helps."

"Will those gangs allow me to get close?" Lin Qi was tempted, but not primarily for the earning opportunity.

The mountains occupied by the major gangs are off-limits to ordinary people. If discovered near the area, those gangs wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate them without any chance.

And it’s almost impossible to avoid being noticed, as those gangs have monitoring equipment near the mountains.

Aside from a large output of ores, the mountains also have a lot of trees.

These trees are generally as thick as a person and are excellent materials for repairing the Martial Arts Hall.

If allowed to approach the mountains, materials could be gathered legally, and then players could be used to repair the Martial Arts Hall, which is far more cost-effective than hiring people.

"No worries on that; we have identity proof from those gangs. As long as you carry the proof, they won’t bother you." Luo Qi explained, "This part-time job is something many shop employees vie for, and the manager only allows one recommended spot per person. It’s a good thing for you."

"Okay, I’ll take this part-time job!" Lin Qi agreed without hesitation.

"Great, here’s the identity bracelet." Luo Qi nodded and handed over a metal bracelet, "But let me make it clear, the job has a bottom line requirement. You need to transport at least a ton of ores each week, or the position will be withdrawn."

Lin Qi took the metal bracelet, beaming, "Don’t worry, I’ll only exceed expectations, never fall short. You’ll be satisfied."

Now, not only could his two Martial Arts books be priced well, but new players would even have a new gameplay option when they arrived. It was a double win for him!

...

On Blue Star, as the sun set, in the upscale district of Celestial Beauty Pavilion.

The four-story villa was already brightly lit, with Zhao Hu lying in the virtual game pod, exhaling deeply as his eyes swept over the grey icon of Descent of High Martial once more.

"Finally resolved the Mythical Paradise group. Now I can think about how to deal with that BOSS." Zhao Hu checked the time on the screen; he had several hours left until nightfall. He was determined to see Luo Wushang tonight.

Just as Zhao Hu finished paying the 198 revival fee and was about to enter the Descent of High Martial’s test, a system prompt suddenly appeared in the game.

System: Currently, seven pre-order players have received full connection qualifications. Thank you to all pre-order players for participating.

"How is this possible!" Zhao Hu was stunned as he stared at the system popup.

The strength of Qin Mu’s second phase BOSS was very clear to Zhao Hu, so much so that he wondered if anyone could pass such inhuman assessments.

And now he was told that in just the time of a single battle, all seven slots were gone? How could he believe that?

"Could it be the veteran members of the other four major guilds?"

As Zhao Hu regained composure, he kept speculating about who could pass such a terrifying assessment, especially seven people at once.

"I’ve underestimated the world’s masters," Zhao Hu thought with a tinge of regret. Had he not been distracted with dealing with Mythical Paradise, perhaps he would still have a chance. He immediately picked up his phone and called Zhang Qingwei, "Qingwei, could you please inform Deputy Guild Leader Luo that I can’t meet her tonight, but next time the slots open, I will definitely enter Descent of High Martial!"

After saying this, Zhao Hu was resolved to pass the assessment before more slots opened in Descent of High Martial.

"Entering Descent of High Martial?" Zhang Qingwei was surprised, "Is it difficult to enter that game?"

"Very difficult." Although Zhao Hu didn’t understand Zhang Qingwei’s question, he answered truthfully, "At least, I’m not confident at this point."

"Is it really that challenging?" Zhang Qingwei slowly remarked, "Alright, I’ll inform Wushang as soon as I log in to Descent of High Martial."

"Log in to Descent of High Martial?" Zhao Hu looked at his phone, questioning if he misheard, struggling to control his excitement, he reconfirmed, "Qingwei, did you say you would enter Descent of High Martial to inform Deputy Guild Leader Luo?"

"Yes." Zhang Qingwei nodded, not understanding Zhao Hu’s excitement.

"Qingwei! No, Secretary Zhang!" Zhao Hu spoke with a hint of reverence, "Could you share how you managed to survive for 20 seconds? Of course, if it is inappropriate, I won’t push. I’m just looking for a strategy."

The last ten seconds of Qin Mu’s second phase, in Zhao Hu’s view, was like the descent of a deity, unavoidable and unstoppable. Yet, Zhang Qingwei had passed, which was simply formidable.

"Survive for 20 seconds? Strategy?" Zhang Qingwei was baffled, "Isn’t it just purchasing the game to enter?"