Chapter 57: Level Two Fighting Andariel?

As evening fell, the patrons of the internet cafe gradually began to dwindle.

Jiang Xiaoyuan was sent upstairs by Fang Qi to tidy up the bedroom.

"Boss! Two copies of the Resident Evil movie!" shouted two young men dressed as warriors.

Task: Sell 100 tickets for Resident Evil 1: Movie Version (Completed)

Task Reward: Diablo 2: Virtual Reality Remastered (Act II)

Fang Qi leaned back in his computer chair, staring at the system prompt.

Compared to Diablo, the main source of players for Resident Evil still came from the disciples of the Lingyun Academy and a portion of the warriors; of course, there had been no shortage of cultivators lately who came to watch the Resident Evil movie, wanting to see what this "movie" that had gone viral in the city actually was.

The task of selling 100 movie tickets had been completed, and as Diablo 2 Act II unlocked, Fang Qi quickly received the requirements for Act III.

New Task: Sell 80 copies of Diablo 2 Act I

Progress: 28/80

Task Reward: Diablo 2: Virtual Reality Remastered (Act III)

However, at this particular hour, Fang Qi had little time to play; the bed upstairs had been replaced, and after some repairs, the roof was no longer a major issue.

As for one of the instigators of this mess, the little girl Jiang Xiaoyuan, she had been relegated by Fang Qi to the bedroom next door upstairs.

Fortunately, the night passed in relative tranquility; Fang Qi remained on his bed to continue his cultivation, encountering no further disruptions.

Yet while things were peaceful on Fang Qi's end, the same could not be said for others.

In An Cheng's case, he was currently being held captive by An Huwei, sporting dark circles under his eyes as they talked late into the night by candlelight.

"Cheng'er, come tell your old man, how do you get into Tristram..." An Huwei felt a massive headache coming on. "It says I need to find some tree..."

"Also, do you have any good gear left? Spare some for your dad... I'm already level four, how about I go with you guys tomorrow to explore that Outer Cloister?!"

"Who the hell dragged my dad into this? Playing all day and only level four?" An Cheng buried his face in his hands, weeping silently in his heart.

"Oh right, I've also invited your Uncle Ouyang and Uncle Bu to come play Diablo together tomorrow..."

An Cheng: "..."

Meanwhile, at the Blue Flame Pavilion.

"Little... Little Martial Uncle, you're still forging artifacts?!" A female disciple saw Li Haoran just stepping out of the forging room at this ungodly hour.

"Yes, I gained some new insights today," Li Haoran inquired. "Did the artifact I forged yesterday sell?"

"Uh..." The female disciple hesitated. "It seems... one copy was sold."

"I see." Li Haoran nodded, gathered some materials, and returned straight to the forging room.

Of course, there were also those who lay awake out of sheer apprehension.

Nalan Jie gripped an exquisite jade cup in his hand, staring intently toward the eastern district of the city. "Just what is the background of this little shop?!"

"Should I... send more people...?"

"No need!" The jade cup in Nalan Jie's hand shattered into dust instantly. "A bunch of useless trash! What use is sending them?!"

"Tomorrow I will personally go see what kind of holy entity the boss of this shop is! We will make plans after that!"

"Understood!" A cultivator entirely wrapped in a black cloak stepped out from the shadows.

"Right!" Nalan Jie added with grave caution. "Contact Master Wu and Sword Master Yu for me, and await my orders!"

"Is it necessary to make such a grand fuss?!" The cloaked cultivator asked in astonishment.

Nalan Jie's face darkened with cold malice as he said solemnly, "Have you never considered why a small shop with no background and no faction backing it dares to act so audaciously?"

"I suspect that behind it lies a connection to my dear sister! If that is the case, it is inconvenient for me to move against her now, but I can seize this opportunity to clip her wings..."

"Brilliant, Eldest Young Master!" A sinister laugh echoed from beneath the black cloak.

...

The next morning, just as Fang Qi had opened the doors, he saw a middle-aged man of extraordinary bearing, dressed in black silk robes, arrive at the shop.

"A new customer so early today?" Fang Qi was somewhat puzzled, but he still signaled Jiang Xiaoyuan to greet him.

"Welcome, sir, what do you need?" Jiang Xiaoyuan mimicked Fang Qi's manner, pointing at the small blackboard. "These are the services our shop offers."

"Diablo 2?" Nalan Jie looked at the words on the blackboard with utter confusion. "Resident Evil... 1?"

"Sprite?" Nalan Jie took a deep breath, scoffing inwardly. "My sister really went to great lengths to design these secret codes!"

"However..." He sneered coldly. "Given my status, I shall naturally choose the most expensive one!"

"Diablo 2 Act II, then," he spoke arrogantly.

"I'm sorry," Fang Qi replied expressionlessly. "To activate Diablo 2 Act II, you must first clear Act I."

"Uh..." Nalan Jie froze for a moment before quickly speaking up, "Then Act I it is."

Whatever this Diablo was, he only wanted to uncover the truth behind this shop himself!

Under Fang Qi's guidance, Nalan Jie quickly logged into the game.

"What... what kind of ghostly thing is this?!" Upon entering the game, feeling the incredibly realistic world around him and controlling an entirely different character's body to move as he pleased, Nalan Jie cried out, completely dumbfounded!

"It's a game," Fang Qi said, looking at him with a look of bizarre disdain. "Didn't you come here to play games?"

"Uh..." Nalan Jie was choked for words, nodding repeatedly. "Yes, I am precisely here to play a game!"

To avoid giving himself away, Nalan Jie awkwardly continued playing. He chose an Assassin, glanced briefly at the quest, and headed out of the encampment holding a katar and a shield.

He swung the katar in his hand forcefully twice, then effortlessly cut down a zombie. Nalan Jie took a deep breath, astonished. "This is a game? It feels this real?"

As if he hadn't had enough, he slaughtered a few more monsters.

"Hiss—!" He stroked his chin, pondering. "This thing seems rather interesting..."

"What am I supposed to do now?" He casually opened the quest log. "Kill all the monsters in the Den of Evil to earn the trust of this camp's leader?"

"Den of Evil...? Let me look for it..."

"Leveled up?"

"What is this used for? Skill tree? Dragon Talon? Tiger Strike?"

"Given my status, I naturally choose Dragon Talon!"

"Is this the game the boss talked about?" He took off the virtual reality headset and glanced around the internet cafe.

As he turned his head, he suddenly spotted a figure that made his heart leap with profound dread and familiarity!

"Old... Old Master?! Old Man Fu?!"

"Boss, two bottles of Sprite!"

Nalan Hongwu opened his game while looking around the cafe. "Did those boys like An Cheng not show up today?"

"The Old Master plays this too?!" Nalan Jie gasped, thoroughly stunned this time, completely paralyzed with shock!

"What is wrong with these brats?" Nalan Hongwu said displeased. "I stayed up today just to party up with those boys to fight Andariel, and they drop the ball at the crucial moment!"

"Party up? Fight together?" Nalan Jie suddenly recalled Fang Qi mentioning earlier that this game could be played online together.

A thought struck Nalan Jie's mind, and he quickly stepped forward, calling out, "Old Master, if you need a party, how about looking at me?!"

"Jie'er?" Nalan Hongwu let out a low chuckle. "When did you get here, boy?"

A sharp intake of breath followed. The old man is in such a good mood today? He actually smiled the moment he opened his mouth? Excitement surged within Nalan Jie's chest. It looks like my luck is finally turning today!

Nalan Jie hurriedly replied, "I've been playing for a little while now. I made an Assassin, and she's incredibly powerful. Just a moment ago, I cleared out almost the entire cave of monsters."

"Oh?" Nalan Hongwu mused that if An Cheng and the others failed to show up, finding two new teammates wouldn't be a bad idea. No one was playing the Assassin class at the moment; could it truly be as formidable as the boy claimed?

"What level are you? How's your gear? What class did you say?"

Then, Nalan Hongwu cast his gaze upon the boy's screen. In an instant, his beard bristled with rage, and he delivered a fierce smack right to the back of Nalan Jie's head!

"Level two and you expect to go hunt Andariel with me?! Get the hell out of here!"

Meanwhile, inside a tavern just outside the internet cafe, a cultivator draped in a black cloak pulled his hood down low. Sitting among a few strangely dressed individuals, he murmured in a hushed tone, "Strange... so much time has passed. Why hasn't there been any word yet?"

.