Chapter 239: Dare to Steal My Nail Cat? You're Asking for It! (Bonus for Ally Luffy919)

"Boss, what on earth are you running here?" The cultivator who walked up was named Huang Shan. He was a businessman, but for someone to do business in a place like this, he usually dabbled in both the underworld and the clean world.

Of course, this world did not actually have terms like the black or white path.

Following at his side was an old Daoist priest clad in gray named Daoist Ironstone, an enforcer of the Huang family. Beside him was a middle-aged man dressed in black, his hair styled into individual braids, wearing garments with an exotic flair, named Zagu, who was also an enforcer of the Huang family.

As a merchant, and a sharp-witted one at that, the most indispensable trait was naturally an eye for discovery. Coupled with the fact that the interior of Fang Qi’s shop was truly peculiar in its style, Huang Shan stepped inside.

Naturally, there was another reason: he was not a local. Power structures within Half-City were intricately tangled and shifted constantly; he did not recognize every single one of them. Therefore, seeing the emblem hung outside Fang Qi’s shop was enough for him. He was merely here to try it out, so how could he possibly care that much?

Fang Qi pointed at the game named Legend on the blackboard and said, "Playing games. As for the specifics of how to do it, pay the money first before you try!"

Zagu's complexion was inherently dark, and now it turned even darker. In a somewhat stiff accent, he said, "How can there be such a rule? What if it turns out to be utterly worthless after trying?"

Fang Qi tapped the six characters written atop the small blackboard: Play if you want, beat it if you don't.

"You—!?" The exotic middle-aged man's face darkened with fury.

"Enforcer Zagu!" To a merchant like Huang Shan, a dozen or so crystals was truly no large sum. Even if he lost them, he wouldn't necessarily feel a pang of regret. Moreover, in this Half-City, strange and bizarre things abounded; without trying, there was truly no way to figure them out.

Thus, he handed over a dozen crystals. "Then this humble one shall give it a try!"

"Someone is actually trying..." Seeing someone approach, Ruan Ning walked over to steal a glance, feeling somewhat bewildered upon seeing that someone was indeed willing to try.

In truth, she was also quite astonished. What kind of things were these in Fang Qi's shop? Not only were the fees far from low, but his attitude was also so terrible!

Could it be because the goods in this shop possessed some hidden marvels, making him completely unconcerned about a lack of customers?

She also subconsciously stepped further into the shop, following behind to watch.

...

And at this moment, Fang Qi’s QQ Communication had been ringing non-stop.

Because transmission jades could not contact Fang Qi, they could only use this method.

Fortunately, Fang Qi always kept QQ Communication running in the background. He took a glance at it now:

"Boss! What's the deal with that new game?! The one with the dragon icon! Why can't I play it!" This was Lin Shao.

"Boss! They say they want to play that new game called Legend! How exactly do we activate it!" This was Jiang Xiaoyue.

"Boss! How much is it to activate Legend?"

"..."

Fang Qi quickly replied to Jiang Xiaoyue, "Xiaoyue, go add the price of Legend to the small blackboard. I’ll send it to you."

At this moment, Jiang Xiaoyue was playing Legend of the Sword and Fairy when she suddenly heard a "di-di" notification sound.

"Isn't this the sound of that QQ Communication or whatever?..." Jiang Xiaoyue subconsciously summoned the QQ interface, discovering that she could actually see it even while inside the game of Legend of the Sword and Fairy!

"Wow! This is so convenient!" She hastily replied with a "Received," then jogged all the way to the front counter, shouting happily, "Good news! The activation method for the new game is out!"

"New game?"

"Activation?"

By now, quite a few people had already begun playing other games, while those who hadn't, or those currently nearby who happened to have opened their external communications, quickly looked over upon hearing the voice.

Very soon, a small wave of players in the Jiuhua City shop also entered the game.

...

Half-City Shop.

The games in Fang Qi's shop required no accounts whatsoever. Fang Qi did not know what kind of black technology the system used, but this saved a lot of trouble.

Somewhat different from the original version of Legend, what appeared before him in the dark space were three circular stone platforms. Atop each platform stood a character statue. Once a character was chosen, the statue dissolved, and a living, breathing person instantly appeared standing upon the stone platform.

Warrior, Wizard, Taoist. This kind of class allocation required no explanation from Fang Qi at all; any human could understand it at a glance, and Huang Shan was naturally no exception.

Huang Shan quickly chose his class: Wizard.

A wizard clad in black robes with a ball of fire dancing in his palm; this class caught his eye immediately.

Entering the game.

Having just put on the virtual reality headset and entered the game, Huang Shan was shocked beyond measure. He discovered that upon entering this so-called Legend, he had instantly transformed into a completely different person!

A regular person dressed in coarse cloth clothes (a modified setting by the system for when characters had no clothing; all characters wore coarse cloth clothes to cover themselves when unequipped)!

Slightly panicked, he followed the method written on the small blackboard to log out of the game, took off the headset, and stole a glance.

He found that he was still himself!

It wasn't that he had never witnessed illusions before, but those kinds of illusions felt vastly inferior to this!

"Utterly miraculous!" Huang Shan quickly realized that this shop was by no means simple!

...

Jiuhua City Shop.

By now, about a dozen players had already started playing.

Before their eyes lay a small village filled with an intensely rustic style. Guo Xiong was a minor warrior holding a wooden sword, currently searching for monsters at the village entrance.

"Old Guo, what game is this?" Xi Qi and the others had only just gotten onto their computers. Seeing an acquaintance playing, they cast a surprised glance over.

"The newly released Legend," Guo Xiong replied.

"Is it fun?"

"I've only just started playing too," Guo Xiong said. "It feels a bit like Diablo, but the classes are easier to understand, and..."

He chased down a scarecrow and hacked it to death. "The method to increase one's strength is simpler. You only need to kill monsters to gain growth, unlike single-player games where you have to accumulate until you level up."

"That doesn't seem to make much of a difference," Xi Qi and the others said with little interest. "You try it out first. If it's truly good, I'll play it then."

...

Half-City Shop.

"To think that simply killing monsters can increase one's cultivation?! And these chickens, ducks (the system version included ducks), deer, and other animals actually count too?!" The shock in Huang Shan's heart deepened further as he went on a wild hacking spree, chasing down chickens, ducks, deer, scarecrows, and various other creatures!

The things in this shop gave him too many shocks; therefore, he felt that it surely couldn't end here!

Everything he saw right now was already worth more than a dozen crystals, even with plenty to spare! But as a highly perceptive merchant, he naturally wouldn't believe that something so miraculous would stop at just this!

As his level gradually rose, he soon learned his first skill, Fireball!

By this time, the number of people outside the village had also increased slightly.

Huang Shan was currently fighting a type of cat demon holding a rake. This cat demon was clearly much more formidable than the other creatures, whether in its movement speed or the fierceness of its attacks!

Standing at a distance, he carefully hurled Fireballs at it. This feeling made him feel as though he had returned to the days when he faced opponents back when he had first begun learning spells!

He clearly possessed some experience, and the cat demon soon perished by his hand. "This single kill raised my cultivation by so much!"

He could clearly feel that after the cat demon died, the surge of cultivation within his body was far greater than before!

"Kill these cat demons!" An wave of excitement rushed through his heart!

To think that killing a single cat demon could raise his cultivation by a significant amount! If he continued to cultivate like this, wouldn't his cultivation speed be...!?

Even faster than those sacred cultivation grounds within the great sects?!

Just thinking about it made him begin to grow thrilled!

This shop is simply extraordinary!

But just as he located the next "cat demon," a silhouette lunged forward!

"Someone is stealing my kill?!" His expression darkened, for he knew these creatures were pure cultivation essence!

"You dare steal my Rake Cat?! You're looking for death!"

In an instant, a fireball went hurtling through the air!

.