Chapter 40: The Future Game

"Holy crap! Holy crap!! Holy crap!!!"

Inside the shop, Cao Mengmeng pointed at the rows of game discs and cartridges lining the shelves, then turned to Qin Changsheng, stars practically gleaming in her eyes.

"Look at this, look! Isn't this *Black Myth: Wukong*? I thought this game wasn't coming out until next year!"

Qin Changsheng reached up to cover his ears. Faced with the ecstatic Cao Mengmeng, he could only say helplessly, "I see it, I see it. A small suggestion: could you try to tone it down a little?"

Unfortunately, Cao Mengmeng clearly didn't hear a word of it, clutching the game disc and shrieking with excitement.

Qin Changsheng’s expression was one of someone listening to fingernails scraping against a chalkboard; his nerves were instantly set on edge.

How things arrived at this point all started fifteen minutes ago.

After wandering around the dining area for a long time without being able to decide on a restaurant, the result of their bickering was a decision to head elsewhere to look around, thinking that if they got even hungrier, they wouldn't be so picky.

Qin Changsheng had originally intended to check out the "God-Chosen District" first, but to his surprise, they were stopped right at the entrance.

"My sincerest apologies," a young man dressed as an usher bowed deeply to Qin Changsheng and his group. "You do not currently possess the qualifications to enter the God-Chosen District. Please leave."

"What?" Qin Changsheng was dumbfounded, still wanting to try some verbal persuasion. "Are you mistaken? We are the chosen people."

"I am aware, which is why I am truly sorry," the man continued to bow. "Even for the chosen, special conditions must be met to enter the God-Chosen District. Please explore the areas ahead for now."

"Special conditions? What kind of special conditions?"

Faced with this question, the man offered an awkward yet polite smile and chose to remain silent.

With no other choice, Qin Changsheng and the others had to turn back.

Having hit a wall in two consecutive districts, Qin Changsheng simply diverted them into the Entertainment District. The Entertainment District was right next to the dining area, both situated on the same street.

Upon arriving, Qin Changsheng felt something was off. It wasn't that the place itself was strange, but rather that the people accompanying him were acting strangely.

The streets of the Entertainment District were filled with countless video game shops of immense variety, ranging from the arcade machines of his childhood and obscure gaming PCs from the last century to the latest game consoles, all with their own dedicated storefronts.

Qin Changsheng felt a fervent gaze sweeping the surroundings from beside him. He turned his head and discovered that the source of this fervor was none other than Cao Mengmeng, who had remained calm until now.

In Qin Changsheng’s experience, Cao Mengmeng rarely displayed any distinct emotional traits. Smiles, for instance—he had never seen her smile, not until now.

What a heartfelt, joyful smile it was. The corners of her mouth kept curling upward as if trying to break some kind of boundary, and the look in her eyes was like a blazing torch, capable of setting everything on fire.

Cao Mengmeng’s reaction made Qin Changsheng shiver involuntarily, and he couldn't help but ask, "What’s wrong with you?"

"Look!" Cao Mengmeng ignored his sarcasm entirely, spinning around like a top. "PS5, Xbox, NS—all the latest console models are here!"

Before she even finished, Cao Mengmeng, like a child who had found something new, trotted excitedly toward a display window. She stared at the items behind the glass, her voice hoarse with excitement: "A Sega Saturn! And it's brand new from the factory!"

"Uh..."

Qin Changsheng didn't know what to say. It occurred to him then that Cao Mengmeng used to be in the same gaming guild as Dong Huan and Feng Lie. She was a gamer girl, and far more fanatical than he had imagined. Such a contrast was slightly embarrassing.

The next second, Cao Mengmeng dashed directly into a nearby game shop, too fast to be stopped.

Qin Changsheng looked at Dong Huan, who just shrugged, implying, "She’s always like this."

Resigned, Qin Changsheng had no choice but to lead the other two into the shop.

Then came the scene from the beginning. Qin Changsheng turned around to see that Cao Mengmeng had already cleared out a huge stack of game cartridges from the shelves.

"*Baldur's Gate 3*, *Starfield*, *Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty*... Holy crap! Is that *Armored Core 6*!?" Cao Mengmeng said, growing more excited. "Aren't these all games that aren't coming out until the second half of this year?"

"It really is!" Dong Huan, whose gaming spirit had also been ignited, went up and grabbed a disc. "This game only just released its trailer this year, and they haven't even shown gameplay footage yet. How can you buy it here?"

"Hey, one gaming addict is enough, don't you get sucked in too!" Qin Changsheng covered his face, watching as the number of "problem children" in his team doubled in an instant.

He walked over, and his gaze froze on the disc in Dong Huan's hand.

Wait, this is...

Qin Changsheng took the disc from Dong Huan. The title read *The Elder Scrolls VI*, and the release date at the bottom said 2027.

A game from 2027? That wasn't coming out for another four years!

A game leaking a few months early wasn't unheard of; it could be a leak from the manufacturing plant when discs were being pressed. Many top-tier blockbusters had "early leakers" who would spend several times the price to buy them from the factory before the official launch.

But four whole years early... what kind of concept was that? Four years ago, this game probably only existed as a "New Folder" on a computer!

Qin Changsheng suddenly realized that this shop was selling games from the future!

No matter how he thought about it, this was impossible in reality. Qin Changsheng’s thoughts became increasingly chaotic. What kind of place was this town? What kind of shop could put games from the future on its shelves?

Just as he was thinking, a loud shout came from Cao Mengmeng: "Hey? Is the owner here? These, these, and these—I want them all!"

"Wait a second!" The voice pulled Qin Changsheng back to reality. He saw Cao Mengmeng piling two bags stuffed with game discs onto the counter, her face still flushed with unabated excitement.

"What are you doing, buying everything?" Qin Changsheng rushed over to stop her. "Do you know how much all these games cost? Do you even know how many points you have?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the shop owner behind the counter calculated the total and reported the price right on cue: "A total of 657 points. Deducting from your account now."

"Hold on! Wait! We aren't buying..."

Qin Changsheng tried to intervene, but it was already too late.

As the owner pressed a button on the desk, everyone heard a "ding," just like a microwave timer going off.

Immediately afterward, all of them saw a transparent panel appear out of thin air in front of Cao Mengmeng. It looked like a virtual system prompt, displaying a row of numbers: "8600."

Then, the number began to drop, falling from 8600 to 7943—the exact amount the owner had just quoted.

The panel vanished, leaving only the shop owner's final words hanging in the air: "Transaction successful. Thank you for your patronage, and please come again!"