Chapter 9: New Mission

Liang Shi plunged into the game without delay, only to find that it offered a sensation of combat so profound it felt entirely real. This manor house, bristling with hidden traps and mechanisms, felt akin to a clandestine operation within a grand campaign—every single facet struck him with absolute authenticity.

"To think this place could simulate an actual campaign?!" The further he explored and the more he endured, the greater the shock that swelled within his breast.

He soon realized that this manor, for all its splendid and glamorous facade, was anything but simple.

It was riddled with intricate mechanisms and teeming with monsters that simply refused to die.

He was an official warrior, yet he swore allegiance to no faction.

In the Great Jin Kingdom, there were many warriors like him; after all, not everyone could stomach the shackles of the great clans, nor did they relish a life spent bowing and scraping to others.

Yet, when coin ran dry and sustenance was hard to come by, they would occasionally accept commissions, taking on the hazardous tasks that others shrank from.

He recalled once accepting a perilous mission to rescue hostages from a band of mountain bandits; reflecting on it now, was this game not strikingly similar to that ordeal?

He threw himself into the experience immediately.

The deeper he played, the more astonished he became—the agonizingly real combat, the truly immortal monsters, and the sinister, venomous traps. Several times he found himself brushed by the wings of death, barely escaping with his life.

Yet, the most pivotal realization was that death was not the end; he could resurrect and begin anew, committing the lessons to memory before trying once more.

This indisputably demonstrated the sheer power of this game known as "Resident Evil."

He remembered that rescue mission of old, where a single moment of carelessness had seen him fall into the bandits' ambush, nearly costing him his life. Had luck not favored him, he would have truly perished there.

It had all been due to his lack of experience and a lapse in vigilance back then.

But one had to understand that such life-and-death insights were always purchased at the cost of one's own flesh and blood.

Could money ever buy such crucible-forged refinement between the realms of the living and the dead?

The answer, of course, was an absolute no.

Furthermore, he discovered that after slaying several zombies, his own cultivation base had actually undergone a subtle transformation.

It could actually benefit one's cultivation?! This instantly brought to mind the sacred cultivation grounds like the Martial Arts Tower of the Lingyun Academy.

But this was clearly just a game!

What was more, he hadn't even been actively cultivating inside.

His heart shook with profound astonishment; could this be yet another creation wrought by the hands of cultivators?

If this could be termed a game, then it completely transcended any existing form of entertainment in the world.

To think he had previously been scheming on how to punish this abominable, black-hearted proprietor!

Looking back now, he felt as though his brains had been kicked by a donkey; to have believed those mere rumors so blindly.

Having walked such paths himself, he found it easy to lose himself in the role: "No matter how exorbitant the fee, I, Liang Shi, will surely return here!"

"Play if you must, but did you have to take my seat?" Fang Qi muttered, a look of profound grievance on his face.

Fortunately, however, the system's task of filling the internet cafe to capacity was finally complete.

To one side, Song Qingfeng, who had just suffered another demise, logged out of the game in sheer frustration. Spotting Fang Qi standing by with nothing to do, he burst into a hearty laugh: "Boss, I reckon it's about time you added a few more computers to this shop of yours."

Fang Qi cast a sidelong glance at his system interface.

Task: Fill the internet cafe within three days—Completed.

Reward: Seven computers and their accompanying facilities.

The rewards will be fully distributed after the shop closes.

New Task: Reach a total revenue of 800 magic crystals for the internet cafe.

Current Progress: 87/800.

Reward: "Resident Evil 1: The Movie."

The movie version of Resident Evil 1 as well? I'm charging two magic crystals an hour for internet access, and people are supposed to come to a cafe just to watch a movie?

"What use could this thing possibly have?" While it was undeniable that the cinematic adaptation of Resident Evil 1 was reasonably well-made, serving as a decent supplement to the game's lore, the question remained—who would squander so much coin just to watch a movie in an internet cafe?

"Are you certain you aren't just playing with me?" Fang Qi grumbled inwardly.

"The host will understand once he tries it for himself."

"..."

Still, it was a comforting thought that by tomorrow, the number of computers in the shop would increase to eleven.

"Rest assured, they'll be here tomorrow." Fang Qi rubbed his nose, casting a sly glance at Song Qingfeng as he chuckled, "Aren't you lot about out of time?"

Song Qingfeng, who had been gloating just a moment before, felt his face instantly darken at Fang Qi's words.

Before he could even check the time, Lin Shao and Xu Luo pointed at the prompts on their screens and cried out, "Boss, what is the meaning of this time limit?"

Fang Qi leaned back in his chair, taking his sweet time before speaking: "Each person can only play for a maximum of six hours a day. Those are the rules of this cafe."

"What kind of dogshit rule is that? You won't let us play even when we have the coin?" Lin Shao immediately snapped, "I'll pay double!"

Watching the pair stew in their frustration, Song Qingfeng smiled inwardly; had he not been exactly the same yesterday?

Fang Qi merely shrugged: "Rules are rules."

"What do you mean by that!" Xu Luo spat in anger, "Is it too little? How about five times the price?"

Five times for both of them meant he would rake in twenty magic crystals an hour!

Fang Qi looked at them, his heart aching, and called out internally: "System?"

"I am here," the system's voice echoed in his mind.

"Are you really not going to reconsider? Just give me a ten percent cut afterward."

"Each activation of this system consumes energy. Host, please refrain from wasting this system's energy with such inquiries; this system shall provide no further answers to them henceforth."

"If you're so formidable, why don't you just ascend to the heavens!" Fang Qi cursed the system a thousand times over in his heart, yet...

What else could he do? Despair was his only recourse.

"Without rules, there can be no order. Since the rules have been established, they must naturally be observed." Fang Qi could only shake his head with an air of righteous resolve.

"You won't let us play even with money?" The two exploded in fury. "Do you have any inkling of who we are? Do you believe we won't smash your shop to pieces?"

Fang Qi's mouth twitched; indeed, warriors were entirely muscle-brained, every last one of them thinking of nothing but trashing property.

Every inch of the floor, even every shard of porcelain in this shop, was a product of the system. Fang Qi curled his lip and swept his gaze over them: "If you have the ability to smash it, feel free to grind it into dust."

He pointed toward the small blackboard: "But don't say I didn't warn you—this establishment will never welcome such patrons again."

Song Qingfeng frowned, finally stepping forward to restrain the two. "Brother Xu, Brother Lin, the boss is a man of principle. Since that is the case, we should just abide by the rules. Besides, it is already afternoon; if we do not head to the Lingyun Academy for the assessment now, we truly shall miss our chance."

Song Qingfeng had investigated Fang Qi and knew his background: the descendant of an ordinary warrior.

Moreover, he wasn't even the offspring of any grand master.

Such an identity was utterly commonplace.

Yet it was precisely because he was so ordinary—so ordinary that anyone could deduce with their eyes closed—that it was impossible for someone of his standing to possess such miraculous artifacts.

How, then, had these things come to be? Who stood behind him? It was a riddle no one could fathom.

In any case, they could not have simply materialized out of thin air.

Thus, though he had unraveled the man's history, it only served to make Fang Qi appear as though he were shrouded in an even thicker, more impenetrable shroud of mystery.

It was precisely this kind of unknown that bred the deepest dread.

The proprietor was a man of strict decorum; since everyone was accorded the exact same treatment, there was little ground for grievance. Start a riot? Stir up trouble over a mere game? To speak of such a thing aloud would make them the laughingstock of the town. There was simply no need.

Even Song Qingfeng had spoken his piece. Though the two men harbored bitter resentment in their hearts, they had no choice but to let the matter rest: "Very well, since Young Master Song has put it that way, we shall return tomorrow!"

...

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