Volume 2: Chapter 9 – Recruiting Soldiers, Buying Horses1
Some of the players were extremely resolute. Therefore, their battle points were like that of Mt. Lu’s waterfall —, flowing down a thousand meters.
On the other hand, the one who had caused this entire disaster, Student Wang, was currently deciding what to have for lunch.
His choices were quite plentiful. Old Tan Pickled Vegetables and Beef Noodles, Old Tan Pickled Vegetables and Pork Noodles, or perhaps he should have Old Tan Pickled Vegetables and Lamb Noodles.2
In the end, Student Wang opted for a bowl of Chef Kang(2) instant noodles.
As he was paying, Wang Zheng suddenly realized something was amiss. …How come his bank account had more than ten thousand???
That was a massive fortune!
Where did it come from? What if it was a mistake? Then he would have to return it. If he didn’t do this properly, he would be seen as untrustworthy. This wasn’t a joke!
As he ate his instant noodles, he continued to figure out how this could have happened. As he ate, tears welled up in Student Wang’s eyes. God, he could finally see the light! He would no longer have to eat instant noodles!
Quick as a bullet, Wang Zheng rushed towards the canteen and immediately ordered three dishes and a soup. Even the canteen operator was stunned at the sight of what had just transpired.
After eating and drinking his fill, Student Wang once again felt the joy of living. When one’s car reaches the mountain, there will definitely be a road3. When he saw the large number of emails, Wang Zheng finally understood. This was not a mistaken transaction. Instead, it was given to him by the CT system. That guy by the name of Solon was the real deal. In order to let Wang Zheng believe him, Solon had fully researched every aspect of Wang Zheng.
In actual fact, it would be better for Wang Zheng to find opponents closer to his skill level. Fighting weak opponents was meaningless. That was a significant problem. The Rubik’s Cube could not only grow hotter, but could at times grow colder. When it became cold, the battle energy would decrease. This would happen when Wang Zheng’s performance was poor or when he made mistakes.
Sometimes it would not be due to the fact that Wang Zheng performed poorly, but rather that the opponent was too weak. Even if there were no other options, this did not matter to the Rubik’s Cube. The less often such situations occurred, the better for him.
Randomly picking an email, Wang Zheng gave a reply. He did not want to be entangled with the opposing party. He wanted things to be simple. If the constraints were too significant, it would affect his daily life.
✫ ✫ ✫
Solon was in an extremely good mood. Although he had patiently suffered while waiting for the reply, it had finally bore fruit. Skeleton would always give him a surprise. When the Skeleton Corps had formed, the CT officials had even created a special advertisement for their publicity. This was treatment only reserved for the most elite corps!
The workers were currently giving Solon a report on the numbers as they were constantly creating new entries. Most importantly, in the beginner arena, the Asian region had not had a decrease in numbers.
Solon finally felt that he could finally sit firmly on his laurels. His retirement sum was waving at him.
Suddenly, the Skylink rang. There was a new email.
Solon lazily glanced over, but very quickly his large frame stood up. He hurriedly opened the message. As he was too nervous, he constantly opened the wrong mail. In the end he managed to open the email.
There was only one word – Okay.
Outside, the workers were busy with their tasks. As player activity increased, their workload increased as well. At this point, loud laughter could be heard from the chairman’s office. It was absolutely terrifying.
To Wang Zheng, for this period of time, he would no longer have any worries. Even the sun seemed exceptionally radiant.
In addition, if he became rich, he could find a more specialized place to train his body. Simple running was not sufficient for him to further train his body. He also required more nutrients to accommodate his training.
Back at the dormitory, the other three coincidentally happened to be there. Zhang Shan was meticulously combing his hair, Yao Ailun was currently engrossed in his computer game while mumbling to himself and nodding continuously while Chen Xiu was sitting by his side with sparkling eyes sparkling.
“You’re back? How’s my hair?”
Zhang Shan was preparing for tomorrow’s gathering. Beautiful ladies were like spring; if one did not get a girlfriend in college, it was as pathetic as a monk with a wooden fish4.
“Not bad. What are the two doing?”
“Don’t bother with those two nerds, they’re playing some computer game. What’s the point?” Zhang Shan could not understand and shrugged his shoulders. He could not imagine himself being excited over such pointless things.
“Zhang Shan, don’t be such an unsophisticated plebeian. This is the most modern game in the Milky Way Galaxy, CT!”
“Cheh, so what? If you want to satisfy your cravings, why don’t you just pilot an actual mech!” Zhang Shan disdainfully replied. His thinking was the same as Wang Zheng’s in the past.
“This guy’s skill defies the natural order!”
“Ah, his calculations are very exact. His math ability isn’t bad!” said Chen Xiu as he watched from the side. The two of them were stereotypical noobs who loved the game and were theorists.
When one discussed CT tactics, the two of them were “professors”. In actual combat however, they were no different from kindergarten kids. The two of them were rather powerless as their body could not keep up with their minds.
Wang Zheng gave them a look and was speechless. Yao Ailun was currently creating an avatar.
“Wang Zheng, didn’t you say that you wanted to become a mech pilot? Come here and take a look at this guy. His skill is unnatural, and he’s a real expert. He doesn’t use those high end mechs like those other, arrogant players. If he was a military school student, it wouldn’t be a small matter.”
“Haha. It’s just a game, no need to be so serious,” replied Wang Zheng.
Yao Ailun’s small eyes sparkled with light beneath his glasses. “Just you guys wait, this guy will definitely create a miracle!”
“Do you have interest in joining the Skeleton Corps? It was created by Brother Yao and me,”
Chen Xiu was very enthusiastic.
After understanding the situation, Student Wang was slightly speechless. These two were truly passionate and carefree.
Zhang Shan grabbed Wang Zheng. “Don’t let these two nerds lead you astray! Follow me, your older brother, and your future opportunities will be boundless. Don’t associate yourself with them!”
“Cheh. Zhang Shan, we have already made preparations for our leader. What ‘ways of the world’. The time of the muscular male is long over. In this era of the elite, one will have to walk the path of an elite!”
Yao Ailun opened his cupboard and removed a parcel. Within 5 minutes he had completely transformed.
In a brief moment, he was dressed in a western suit and fixed his hair. He really looked like that of an ‘elite’. Student Yao changed to a pair of golden rimmed spectacles and adjusted his collar while looking disdainfully at Zhang Shan. “When dealing with girls, one must have the poise of a gentleman. One will have to go the mile to look the part.”
Wang Zheng and Zhang Shan stared at each other in disbelief. Who could have believed that this hardcore nerd could transform in a snap. This transformation was too fearsome.
“Isn’t this just being in disguise!”
“Don’t be envious brother. Did you not hear of my legend? At Tai Feng middle school, who hadn’t heard of Yao Ailun’s distinguished playboy nickname!”
Chen Xiu looked on enviously at Yao Ailun. “Actually, I have made my own preparations. Mother said that age is not an issue. In university, it would be better to find more girlfriends for the sake of the future.”
The dormitory was filled with silence. Wang Zheng and the other two were slightly petrified, what kind of modern age mother was that!
“Wang Zheng, what about you? Are you planning to wear your school uniform?”
Wang Zheng replied helplessly as he shrugged his shoulders, “I’m fine with anything. Anyways, like this, Ye Zisu will instantly recognize me.”
“Fuck, the two of you are so close. You wouldn’t have already acted, have you? Shit it’s just a trap for the rest of us. Wait, wrong. We are all brothers-in-arms, so she is yours. I will not fight with you over her,” Zhang Shan replied with a spirit of loyalty and self sacrifice.
.“No, everyone please work hard; we are only classmates.” Wang Zheng shrugged his shoulders. Although they were friends, he felt quite strange since Ye Zisu was always helping him. If he looked at it differently, Yue Jing had also left the city because of his actions.
“Brother Zheng, you wouldn’t happen to prefer males, right?” Chen Xiu asked curiously. “My mother used to say that times have changed. The best guys are now being snatched up by other males.”
The other three in the dormitory once again looked on speechlessly. They suddenly felt that there was a generation gap between them and Chen Xiu.
“Student Chen Xiu, you are already in college. Your heart should be that of an adult. You must have your own opinions in the future!” Wang Zheng used to think that his train of thought was sufficiently weird, but when compared to Chen Xiu, he felt way too normal.
“But… you have not answered my previous question?”
“Scram, big bro likes women!”
Student Wang stomped off in a fury while the other three roared with laughter. They had all tricked Student Wang; Chen Xiu was merely pulling his leg.
Although Chen Xiu was the youngest in the dormitory, he had the largest number of devious ideas.
“Brother Yao, someone is here to quarrel with you.”
Yao Ailun rushed to the computer. “Fuck, these noobs. They took the king’s arena videos to commentate on. Damn it. When will Skeleton wreck these experts? I will see how they scream then!”
“Brother Yao, I have compared the Sol Federation’s mecha. Theoretically speaking, Wargod No. 1 does possess an upper limit. When competing against the King’s Struggle Arena’s mecha, the odds of victory are extremely low.”
“As devoted members of the Skeleton Corps, we have to believe in miracles. We must believe that Skeleton will represent us and beat those guys silly!”
“Hopefully he will see the article I have written on the merits and drawbacks of the mech. Brother Zheng, do you want to take a look? It has been posted on the official site,” said Chen Xiu.
He was an avid fan of CT. At the same time he was a noob that was eternally struggling in the beginner’s arena. He would basically get scolded by his teammates to the point where he could not utter a single reply.
However, when it came to theoretical discussion, no one could best him there.
“Sure, I am quite interested in this.”
“Okay, I will send a copy to your Skylink,” said Chen Xiu. He enjoyed sharing his work with other individuals.
Wang Zheng also wanted a better understanding. Fighting against the Tyrannical Magnetic Guardian was quite interesting. It was great that he had been matched against a slightly weaker opponent. If the opponent was any stronger, and they even brought a frequency converter, it might have been too tough to win.
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On the outskirts of the European Region’s Central LD District, there existed a grand villa which spanned 2/3’s of a hectare.
In a spacious and shining gym, a young man was currently engaged in training with his bare hands. Beside him were 4 individuals who were wielding sabers. They were using… the sharp edge of the sabers.
The 4 simultaneously attacked, their sabers flashing. There were no blind spots, yet with a single clash of the knives, the 4 who were assisting in the training lay sprawled on the floor, unable to get up.
The young man walked off in a relaxed fashion, “Give them twice the usual compensation for medical fees.”
A butler immediately appeared and produced a towel for the young man while bitterly smiling. “Yes. Young Master, these 4 were considered to be within the top 10 for MMA. With your viciousness, in the future I’m afraid no one will be willing to come.”
“Find individuals from the underground arenas then. Those who are able to harm me will be able to win a million dollars!” replied the young man dryly.
The butler helplessly nodded his head. “Yes, Young Master. In addition, Representative Yue Long has already been here for 3 days; will you pay him a visit?”
The young man’s visage turned cold. “Yue Long?”
“Yes. He has been implicated in Aslan’s situation and has been sacked. Looks like he is here to ask for your help.”