Chapter 17: Is It Difficult to Enter the Game?

“What should we do? Hold on, everyone—I’m coming over right now!”

After hanging up, Zhao Hu glanced reluctantly at the gray icon of the Advanced Martial Arrival game before decisively choosing to enter the Celestial Dragon Dynasty.

The second phase of the assessment boss was insanely difficult, not something that could be cracked in a short time. As a senior elder of the Tianwei Guild, Zhao Hu’s top priority was to maintain Tianwei’s dominance in the Celestial Dragon Dynasty. Everything else had to be set aside for now.

Meanwhile, as the Advanced Martial Arrival test was in full swing, Lin Qi stretched leisurely in the lounge of the Obsidian Martial Hall, completely unaware of the turmoil unfolding on Blue Star.

“An entire day just to transcribe a copy each of the Stone-Shattering Fist and Leopard Shadow Step—this is truly backbreaking work,” Lin Qi said, eyeing the two handwritten martial arts manuals on the table with satisfaction.

With these two martial arts techniques, his game finally had the rudiments of a combat system. Newcomers to the martial hall wouldn’t be limited to just learning fitness breathing techniques to boost their physical condition with little fighting power.

Moreover, players who mastered the Stone-Shattering Fist and Leopard Shadow Step could, even with a physical condition as weak as a kindergartener’s, hold their own against apprentice candidates.

Apprentice candidates possessed strength ranging from 100 to 200 kilograms and speeds from 10 to 12 meters per second.

In Radiant City, the majority of people were at apprentice candidate level.

As for martial arts skills, they were a luxury for official residents of Radiant City; ordinary people simply couldn’t afford them.

Players below apprentice candidate level, once they mastered the apprentice-level Stone-Shattering Fist, could exert more than twice their normal strength. With apprentice-level Leopard Shadow Step, their speed could increase by over twenty percent. Mastering both would allow them to reach apprentice candidate levels in strength and speed.

“Next is the pricing issue. If it’s too cheap, I won’t have much to exchange here; if it’s too expensive, players’ abilities will improve too slowly. It’s quite a dilemma,” Lin Qi pondered.

He suddenly realized that balance was truly an art—worrying about players consuming the game’s lifespan too quickly, yet also fearing they lack motivation.

These players are truly difficult to manage.

While Lin Qi wrestled with pricing, a tall figure entered the martial hall. One mechanical prosthetic arm carried a metal box, while the other held two large cardboard boxes, his steps steady and powerful—far beyond the capabilities of an ordinary apprentice candidate.

“Lin Zi, I brought all the supplies you asked for,” Luo Qi said, setting the boxes down in a corner of the lounge and looking curiously at Lin Qi. “Why so many seeds of Blood Essence Rice, plus food and water? Are you planning to live out in the wild for a long time?”

“I’m just stockpiling a bit, in case something happens. After all, things in Radiant City haven’t been stable lately,” Lin Qi replied, handing Luo Qi 6,000 bits. His remaining bits dropped to just over 2,400—not enough to cover next month’s hospital debt.

This time he had Luo Qi purchase 100 jin of Blood Essence Rice seeds and supplies sufficient for ten players, including himself, for a month. Whether this gamble would pay off remained to be seen.

---

“It really has been unstable lately,” Luo Qi nodded. “Just yesterday, several gangs were wiped out in the suburbs. Many gangs have been fighting fiercely, and their weapons are consumed rapidly. If I weren’t delivering these supplies to you, I’d probably be busy crafting weapons right now.”

“Fighting that fiercely?” Lin Qi was surprised. “Wasn’t it said that the Half-Scale Tribe’s gangs only slightly expanded their territory in the suburbs?”

“I don’t know the details either,” Luo Qi shook his head, then looked at Lin Qi with interest. “By the way, our shop has a pretty good part-time job opening. Interested?”

“A part-time job for black-market vagrants at your shop?” Lin Qi was curious. As a reputable weapon store in the suburbs, the Crystal Jade Weapon Shop usually employed residents with legal identities. Black-market vagrants, even for part-time work, were unheard of.

“Yeah, it’s a very good part-time job, perfect for you,” Luo Qi nodded, not teasing further. “You want to go farming, right? Since you’re heading outdoors, you can do some transport on the way. Our shop has been swamped recently, and the raw materials for making weapons are running out fast. We’ve made deals with several gangs.”

“These gangs operate mines not far from the abandoned zones, extracting a lot of ore. Our shop plans to trade weapons for their raw materials, but the huge volume is overwhelming our staff. And since those gangs are busy fighting, they don’t have spare manpower.”

“So our shop wants to hire some people to do part-time transport for those gangs. The more ore you bring in, the more you earn. Since you’re going out anyway, you can make a detour on the way back. One hundred kilograms of ore only earns 30 bits, but every little bit helps.”

“Will those gangs even let me come near?” Lin Qi was tempted, but not primarily by the money.

The mines controlled by the gangs were heavily guarded. Ordinary people caught nearby would be ruthlessly dispatched without a second chance.

Avoiding detection was almost impossible; the gangs had monitoring devices around the mines. For a commoner to remain unseen was a pipe dream.

Besides abundant ore, the mountains were full of trees—many as thick as a human arm—excellent materials for repairing the martial hall.

If he could approach the mines legitimately, he could gather timber and have players repair the hall. That would be far more cost-effective than hiring external workers.

“Don’t worry about that. We have ID authorization from those gangs. As long as you carry the ID, they won’t harm you,” Luo Qi explained. “This part-time job is highly sought after by our staff. The manager only allows one recommendation per person, and you’re the lucky recipient.”

“Alright, I’ll take the job!” Lin Qi agreed without hesitation.

“Good. Here’s your ID,” Luo Qi said, producing a metal wristband. “But I should warn you, this job has requirements. You must transport at least one ton of ore per week, or you’ll lose the position.”

Lin Qi accepted the wristband happily. “Don’t worry, I promise to bring in more, never less. You’ll be satisfied.”

Now, not only could he set a good price for those two martial arts manuals, but when new players arrived, they’d have a new way to play—truly a win-win. He was winning twice over!

---

Blue Star, as the sun set, inside the upscale Tianya Pavilion community.

The four-story villa was brightly lit. Zhao Hu lay in his virtual game pod, exhaling deeply as his gaze swept over the dimmed icon of Advanced Martial Arrival once more.

“Finally dealt with those guys from Mythic Heaven. Now I can think about how to tackle that boss,” Zhao Hu muttered, glancing at the screen clock. He still had several hours before tonight was over. He refused to believe he wouldn’t see Luo Wuchang tonight.

Just as Zhao Hu paid 198 bits for a revival and prepared to enter the Advanced Martial Arrival test, a system notification suddenly popped up.

System: Seven pre-order players have secured full connection slots. Thank you to all pre-order players for your participation.

“That’s impossible!” Zhao Hu stared dumbfounded at the system window.

He knew all too well how powerful the boss Qin Mu’s second phase was. He even doubted if anyone could pass such an inhuman test.

And now he was told that within the time it took him to fight one battle, all seven slots had been taken. How could he believe it?

“Could they be the old-timers from the other four major guilds?” Zhao Hu speculated, regaining his composure.

“I underestimated the world’s top experts,” he sighed, staring at the empty connection slots with some regret. If he hadn’t gone after Mythic Heaven, maybe he still had a chance to pass the test.

He then picked up his phone and called Zhang Qingwei. “Qingwei, please tell Vice President Luo I can’t meet tonight. But next time there’s a slot, I’ll definitely enter Advanced Martial Arrival!”

Having said this, Zhao Hu resolved that before the game increased the number of slots again, he would pass the test.

“Enter Advanced Martial Arrival?” Zhang Qingwei sounded surprised. “Is it really that hard?”

“Yes, very hard,” Zhao Hu replied honestly, though he didn’t understand why she asked. “At least, I’m not confident yet.”

“That hard?” Zhang Qingwei responded slowly. “Alright, I’ll enter Advanced Martial Arrival later and inform Wuchang.”

“Enter Advanced Martial Arrival?” Zhao Hu looked at his phone in disbelief, trying to calm his restless heart. “Qingwei, you mean you’ll actually enter the game and tell Vice President Luo?”

“Yes,” Zhang Qingwei nodded, puzzled by Zhao Hu’s excitement.

“Qingwei! No—Secretary Zhang!” Zhao Hu spoke with a hint of awe. “Could you tell me how you managed to last twenty seconds? Of course, if it’s inconvenient, I won’t press. I just want to get some strategy ideas.”

The last ten seconds of Qin Mu’s second phase, in Zhao Hu’s eyes, were like a god descending—inescapable and unstoppable. Yet Zhang Qingwei had passed it. Her strength was simply terrifying.

“Last twenty seconds? Strategy ideas?” Zhang Qingwei was stunned. “Isn’t it just entering the game after purchase?”