Chapter 55: The Strange Little Shop

Jiang Xiaoyue had originally intended to show this shop owner exactly what she was made of, but the longer she stayed in the establishment, the more she realized that she was not impressive at all—the shop itself was the truly formidable one!

"Waaah, why is it like this..." Jiang Xiaoyue felt as though her tender, youthful soul had just suffered ten thousand points of critical damage!

An Huwei still had absolutely no idea what Diablo II was that Nalan Hongwu was playing, but he had caught a few glimpses of the screen just moments ago.

The instant he entered the game, he was thoroughly struck with amazement!

"I have actually arrived in another world?! Transformed into an entirely different person?!" An Huwei stared at his surroundings in sheer horror, "Even an illusionary realm couldn’t possibly be this realistic, could it?!"

After a round of explanations from Fang Qi, who also briefed him on the basic mechanics of gameplay, An Huwei finally discovered that this was actually what they called a game?!

To be able to explore and battle within a virtual world? To portray an entirely different character?!

He felt an unprecedented sense of novelty; no wonder even that great personage had...

An Huwei's interest was instantly piqued.

"To think there exists something so incredibly interesting?!"

"Father, since you just started playing, go to the Den of Evil first to kill monsters and level up!" Over on the other side, An Cheng finally proved helpful at a critical moment instead of letting his father down, offering a timely reminder.

"The Den of Evil?! Sounds rather dangerous..." An Huwei’s gaze darkened as he barked, "Gong He, pick a squad of the finest elite soldiers to brave this Den of Evil alongside me!"

"Understood!" On the day Gong He had intended to stir up trouble, he had been thrown out by An Cheng, fortunately escaping the fate of being blacklisted by the Origin Internet Cafe. He swiftly pointed out several elite soldiers standing in the very front row, "You, you, and you! Step out! Accompany the City Lord to the Den of Evil!"

Very soon, An Huwei, leading five or six elite soldiers along with Gong He, stood fully equipped and ready to set out!

Even Fang Qi looked on in disbelief: "People actually play games like this?!"

On the other side, Nalan Hongwu and Old Fu took An Cheng and the rest along, carving a bloody path all the way into the Barracks within the Monastery!

"Fallens! A massive swarm of Fallens!" The very moment they flung open the doors to the Barracks, they were met head-on by a vast horde of Fallens. Old Fu shouted repeatedly, "You Mages, go find the Fallen Shaman! Don't let it cast its resurrection spell!"

Nalan Hongwu activated Blessed Aim, wielding his blade as he swung into a furious frenzy of Zeal!

"Holy crap! What skill is this?! I feel like my accuracy has increased by a ton!" In this version of the game, spells could also be dodged, which made Blessed Aim incredibly effective. A ring of light rose beneath the feet of An Cheng and the others, and several magical blasts struck with extreme precision upon the Fallen Shaman hiding at the rear. The Fallen Shaman let out a wretched shriek on the spot and collapsed to the ground!

"Awesome!" An Cheng turned his head and caught sight of the Fallens littered all over the floor. The group immediately gave enthusiastic thumbs-up, "Are Paladins really this awesome?"

Nalan Hongwu laughed heartily: "You boys didn't do too badly with your spells either!"

Fang Qi watched their mutual flattery with a touch of amusement before sitting back down in his own seat.

"Hmph! Is it really that fun?!" The little girl Jiang Xiaoyue watched the group playing with such high spirits, pouting her small lips with a look of pure disdain.

...

Once a cultivator reached the Metariver Realm, the spiritual essence within their body converged into a river, allowing them to independently steer certain spiritual-draining flying treasures to travel to and fro between different regions.

In a grand metropolis like Jiuhua City, there was certainly no shortage of visiting cultivators. For those who hunted demonic beasts, searched for rare natural treasures, or explored ancient ruins out in the wild, settling down in such a major city was a common occurrence.

"What is going on here?!" Bai Lang was a visiting cultivator, accompanied by a middle-aged male cultivator and a female cultivator dressed in red.

Originally, because they had obtained news regarding a rare spiritual herb, the three had agreed to meet in this secluded street before setting off together. Who could have anticipated that they would witness a massive gathering of the Jiuhua Army here instead!

The red-clothed female cultivator was also dumbfounded, saying with great difficulty, "Could they have discovered our plan...?!"

"How could that be!" Bai Lang smiled, "Although this spiritual herb is rare, it isn't worth mobilizing so many troops of the Jiuhua Army. Furthermore, we are currently inside the city, so it shouldn't be anything too major. I will go ask around."

Bai Lang stepped forward to inquire, and the attitude of the Jiuhua Army was actually decent enough, however...

"The City Lord and the Vice Commander are leading a few elite soldiers to raid the Den of Evil?!"

Bai Lang listened with utter bewilderment. Wasn't this clearly an establishment called the Origin Internet Club? Where did a Den of Evil come from?!

Moreover, he looked in the direction the soldier was pointing. Wasn't the City Lord sitting right there, perfectly perfectly fine?!

As he was pondering, he suddenly saw another figure clad in blue robes walk into the shop.

"That seems to be... someone from the Blue Flame Pavilion?"

The moment Li Haoran stepped inside, he saw that An Cheng and the others had already begun clearing the Barracks.

"You guys are clearing the Barracks and didn't even bring me?!" Li Haoran cried out, hurriedly placing his spiritual crystals onto the counter, taking a casual glance as he did so, "Why is there a little girl working here today?"

However, he had no time to dwell on such things and rushed to enter the game: "Quick, quick, quick, what's the room number?! I'm just waiting for the Blacksmith quest! Open a town portal for me!"

Bai Lang: "???"

"Didn't they say the Den of Evil? How did it suddenly become the Barracks?"

"How the hell should I know?" The soldier who had just answered was completely confused himself, "If you want to know, go in and see for yourself, no one is stopping you!"

These soldiers were well aware that even the Shadow Guards had been thrown out yesterday. Although they hadn't received orders to leave, since An Huwei had not given any commands, they naturally dared not disrupt Fang Qi's business.

Mystified, Bai Lang walked into the shop: "Diablo II Act I, 8 spiritual crystals? Resident Evil 1, 5 spiritual crystals? What on earth are these?"

Immediately after, a massive demon shaped like a bull appeared on Nalan Hongwu's screen.

"The Smith has appeared! Get over here! He's right by me!"

"???" Hearing the shout, Bai Lang hurriedly rushed behind Nalan Hongwu, only to see Nalan Hongwu in the screen holding up a small shield, as an incredibly robust demon charged right at him in the blink of an eye!

Boom!

With just a single punch, Nalan Hongwu, who was holding the shield, was instantly sent flying backward!

"This fellow is too powerful, this old man is about to break, get over here quickly!"

"Uh..." Bai Lang stared blankly. Isn't this old man sitting right here perfectly fine? What does he mean he can't hold on?

"Coming, coming!" Bai Lang only heard a shout from the side, and then a few Sorcerers dashed onto the screen in a flurry, launching a wild barrage of ice, fire, and lightning!

"Static Field, weaken him first!"

"Old Bu, summon a few wolves to go up and tank for a bit!"

"This old man needs to drink a potion first! You guys hold him off! These old bones of mine were almost shattered by that impact!" Nalan Hongwu cried out in pain while sitting at the back chugging health potions furiously.

Following that, Bai Lang witnessed those few wolves that had just charged forward get slapped away by the powerful demon in just two strikes!

"Intercept him, intercept him! Don't let him charge over!" An Cheng shouted frantically while casting magic wildly with his hands!

"What kind of madness is this?!" Bai Lang watched the group who were clearly sitting perfectly fine in their seats, yet shouting with such intense passion, as if they were facing actual death!?

Could it be that the people inside the screen...?!

He seemed to realize a miraculous possibility.

"Hey! I'm talking to you guys!" Fang Qi stood up with a dark expression, "Can you uncheck the external communication option when playing games? Your shouting can be heard from eight hundred miles away."

Right after, Fang Qi noticed Bai Lang, a stranger standing at the back, and asked, "New customer? What do you want to play? Diablo or Resident Evil?"

"Uh..."