Chapter 518: Network Connection Interrupted

"Is there something here?" Luo Piaoling also subconsciously opened the shop, and as expected, he found various options inside: Hot Sales, Outfits, and Items of all kinds.

At that moment, many nearby players who had overheard Song Qingfeng and his companions rushed to open the shop as well, staring blankly at the dazzling array of items within; these denizens of an otherworldly realm had never witnessed such a spectacle.

"To think it could actually be like this...?" After all... allowing themselves to wander about looking like country bumpkins, each dressed in the exact same attire as everyone else, was simply out of the question.

Not to mention the likes of Theia and Luo Piaoling, who were the chosen favorites and proud children of their respective clans; for them to wear the exact same clothes as the masses? How could they ever show their faces in public again?

Immediately, they began browsing through the selections in the shop.

Not only did they intend to choose, but they also had to select an outfit that befitted their noble status!

In truth, it was not just Theia and Luo Piaoling who were making their selections.

Nalan Hongwu was also peering into the outfit section at that moment; as a highly respected, venerable old prince of the Great Jin Dynasty, how could he possibly tolerate wearing such a common short jacket?!

He meticulously browsed through every single outfit in the shop, his old eyes wide and bulging like lanterns.

Yet, after searching for a long time...

"Why isn't there a single decent piece in here?!" he bellowed, slamming his hand on the table.

What on earth were these things...

Tights?! Was an old man supposed to wear such things?!

Leather armor?! Far too low-class!

Bronze armor? He had just seen someone wearing that! Absolutely out of the question!

There was simply no attire that felt appropriate for his status—nothing that possessed a sense of magnificence without losing dignity, or opulence without losing elegance!

Then, he glanced at the prices.

Displayed above was...

1 Crystal?

1.5 Crystals?

Were they really this cheap?!

"Kid Fang, isn't there anything a bit more expensive, a bit better?!"

To ordinary cultivators and martial artists, what did it matter what they wore? Being able to come to the shop and play games was already fortunate enough.

But for a certain group of people...

For instance, a certain young lady who had topped up two million: "Boss! There isn't a single pretty dress in here? What's going on?!"

None of them were even as beautiful as the clothes she currently wore!

And what was this about advanced outfits? Where exactly was the advanced quality?!

They were barely passable at best; to call them advanced was an utter stretch, as they did not possess even a hint of refinement.

At that moment, someone nearby spoke up: "This game is free to begin with, so how much can you really expect from it?"

"I suppose so..." Theia shook her head, thinking with a hint of resentment, "It seems this game was likely launched by the shop to cater to those ordinary folks; it doesn't cost money, and even activation is free, isn't that blatantly obvious?"

"Forget it, forget it!" Theia reasoned, reminding herself that it was just a free game after all, and since she couldn't have anything truly beautiful right now, she would simply buy an outfit that was barely passable, just to avoid looking like everyone else on the street.

Having made her choice, she prepared to pay, but upon closer inspection, she nearly spat a mouthful of blood onto the screen.

She had previously seen an advanced outfit listed for 1.5 Crystals, but when she went to purchase it, she saw: ???

1.5 Crystals for a seven-day time limit!?

Below that, a thirty-day option was 4.5 Crystals, and a permanent one was 15 Crystals.

If she calculated the cost for a permanent set—tops, bottoms, hair, hats, and so on...

She was suddenly dazed.

One had to know that previously, many people had hesitated for a long time just to spend 100 Crystals to watch *Final Fantasy*.

Theia was almost on the verge of debating whether to make the purchase at all.

Yet, considering that a higher price meant a lower chance of running into someone dressed exactly like her, she ultimately decided to buy a one-month trial first.

A total of over thirty Crystals was even slightly higher than the monthly fee for *The Legend*.

In fact, people like Luo Piaoling and Theia had initially arrived with the mindset of training and adventuring across this miraculous continent, but they never dreamed in their wildest nightmares that before their adventure even began, they would almost be trapped by the shop's marketplace to the point of being unable to step out the door!

Of course, while they were merely close to being unable to leave, at this moment, there were many other warriors who simply did not dare to step outside, nearly vomiting blood from frustration.

They were still lingering in the shop, agonizing over whether to buy, buy, buy.

In the end, a portion of them chose to try a time-limited option first, while another portion chose to give up entirely.

At long last, they embarked on their journey once more, and the majority of the players at this time were also facing a new crossroad—class advancement.

Although Dungeon & Fighter initially offered only five base classes, as the players' levels increased and reached the advancement threshold, almost every class was subdivided into four distinct paths.

Take the Male Ghost Swordsman, for example.

There was a group of people who would never yield under any circumstances, pressing forward valiantly toward their specific goals.

Similarly, there were others who, even if the hand holding their weapon became twisted, would not submit to fate, choosing instead to dedicate greater effort to mastering their weapons. A portion of them reached the absolute limit within their respective weapon domains, and people came to call these Ghost Swordsmen "Blade Masters."

In their pursuit of the ultimate realm of the sword, they abandoned and sealed the power of that demonic hand, and over time, the hand turned an ashen white.

This was a class capable of unleashing the potential of sword-type weapons to the

"The three of us are all elite, god-tier players—you're a lucky bastard!"

"Oh..." Luo Piaoling had already seen for himself earlier that this game was indeed rather difficult; even for someone like him, going solo without a party proved to be quite an ordeal.

In a forest like this, terrifying monsters lurked everywhere, and even the seemingly harmless flora could plunge a player into a desperate struggle for survival.

Luo Piaoling followed closely behind them, maintaining a cautious vigilance.

Inside the Jiuhua City shop.

Three young men dressed in the fine garb of wealthy scions were currently locked in a chaotic, frantic brawl against the zombies within the Dark Thunderland.

Suddenly, out of nowhere.

The screen before their eyes plunged into pitch-black darkness.

"What's going on?!"

Glancing at the monitor, a prompt read: "Network Connection Interrupted."

The trio stared blankly at the screen, their mouths agape in stunned silence.

In the very next instant, the game application crashed and vanished entirely.

Meanwhile, Luo Piaoling had followed his teammates all the way into the deepest, darkest depths of the Dark Thunderland.

Then, in the blink of an eye: "???"

"Where did everybody go?!" They were just in front of him hack-and-slashing zombies a moment ago!

Within the absolute highest difficulty of the King-tier Dark Thunderland, only a single, solitary soul was instantly left behind.

"!!??"

.

.

There might only be two chapters a day for the next few days, saving up a few chapters for a major release on the eighth.

.