Chapter 1: Good Fortune Befalls
As the wind rose and clouds gathered, sandstorms swept through the vast, arid desert. The existence of a city in such a barren and dry expanse seemed incredible. Yet, as the sandstorm subsided and the sun reemerged, a modern city appeared in the middle of the desert.
Dream Star City shone like a dazzling pearl set in the desert. The city's entrance port was bustling with activity, the service hall crowded with people. A giant electronic screen in the center continuously flashed red text:
"Level 23 full red gear high-attack psionics looking for a group to Blood Plains, whisper me!"
"Level 25 +1500 HP field medic girl looking for a group to Ice Forest Plateau, handsome guys and controllers preferred!"
"Want a sturdy tank? Want safe leveling and treasure hunting? I'm a Level 23 biochemical warrior with full purple gear, guaranteed to keep you safe. Looking for Level 22+ pros, scream if you're interested!"
Looking at these messages, Chu Ge couldn't help but sigh again; none of the screen's group requests were within his reach.
He was only Level 13—a far cry from the required levels. At his waist hung an old-fashioned Mauser C96—better than nothing. He had a sensor—a life-saving tool; a Zippo lighter—for lighting cigarettes; and a crystal card in his pocket with two credit points left—not enough to buy a bundle of life-saving potions. This was all he had.
Compared to those high-level players with "20-something levels" and "full red and purple gear," he was simply outclassed.
The worst part was, Chu Ge's class was Gunner.
The Gunner class sounded cool, but it was fraught with difficulties—slow leveling, expensive ammo, high consumption, and many other issues.
As for PK (player killing), Chu Ge wanted to try, but so far, no one had seriously PK'd him. Given his level and equipment, others wouldn't even bother to bully him.
If he wanted to post a "team request" on the service hall's electronic screen, he would have to pay the beautiful NPC receptionist a service fee. Rather than spending a credit point on advertising, he'd rather go to the city's weapon shop and buy a box of bullets.
Since he was unwilling to spend the money, all he could do was sit on the steps outside the hall and shout, "Dear brothers and sisters, I'm low level, won't take any drops, just a little bit of money. Just need someone to help me level up. Please whisper if you can help."
Passersby would usually ask, "What level? What gear?"
Upon hearing the answer, they'd immediately curse, "Gunner? Noob, go away!"
Chu Ge felt like a slave from ancient times, displayed like a commodity waiting for someone to choose him. The feeling was stifling.
In fact, there were quite a few "commodities" like him. The players on the steps far outnumbered those inside the hall, mostly low-level, poorly equipped players, all eagerly waiting for someone to form a team.
At this moment, a small group of people walked out from the hall. It was clear they hadn't found suitable members inside.
"God, please let them pick me," Chu Ge silently prayed.
The group indeed walked toward Chu Ge. Leading them was surprisingly another Gunner, a beautiful woman with long, flowing hair. She wore a camouflage short-sleeved combat suit paired with black shorts, her bare legs showing healthy, bronze skin. She had a s*xy and fiery figure, a bullet belt wrapped around her waist, and a tightly strapped shoulder holster holding a sleek black submachine gun. Chu Ge recognized it immediately—the famous MP5, costing over 1500 credits in weapon shops, not including the expensive bullets. In reality, it would cost over 200 yuan.
"Gunners must be a class for the rich," Chu Ge lamented as the beauty finally stopped and looked him up and down.
"What level?" the beauty asked first.
A completely unnecessary question; seeing the Mauser C96 at Chu Ge's waist, anyone could tell it was a beginner's weapon. Even an upgraded Mauser wasn't that powerful.
But Chu Ge answered honestly, "Level 13."
"Oh?" The beauty was slightly surprised. "Why are you still using a Mauser at Level 13?"
Chu Ge thought, if I had an AK47, would I need to be squatting here?
Thinking this, he quickly asked a silly question, "Do you want to inspect the goods first?" By "inspect the goods," he meant checking the equipment before deciding whether to team up.
The beauty waved her hand, "No need, just let me see your sensor."
"Sure!" Chu Ge took off his sensor and opened the trading interface. A line of text quickly appeared before the beauty's eyes.
"Quad-Alloy Thermal Sensor, green gear, level requirement: Level 10; durability 92/100, effective detection range: 300 meters, additional attributes: +1 Vision, +3 Constitution Specialization, +2 Agility Specialization, +10% Movement Speed, Upgradable."
The beauty was astonished, "How did you get this green gear?"
Her surprise was understandable. In Star War World, gear levels are classified into seven categories: White, Red, Purple, Green, Blue, Silver, and Dark Gold, increasing in rarity and attributes. The best equipment sold in shops was Red.
How long had Star War World been open? Even those shouting "whisper" in the service hall only had Purple gear at best. No one would have expected a "poor man squatting outside" to have a piece of Green gear; it was quite surprising.
Chu Ge sighed, "It's a long story. Let's not talk about it. The question is, are you going to team up or not?"
"You're in," the beauty nodded and sent a team invitation.
"Player Hot Girl invites you to join the team."
Without hesitation, Chu Ge immediately pressed "Accept" on his receiver, shouting in his heart, "Long live the beauty, long live the Federation, I finally got a team!"
It was a small team of three, including Hot Girl, a Biochemical Warrior, and a Field Medic, all of them beautiful women with curvaceous figures and, judging by their attire, not lacking in good equipment.
"Don't worry, high risk comes with high reward. Our principle is—distribution according to labor. Once the job is done, you won't lack money or gear," Hot Girl said directly, hinting at something.
Chu Ge suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu and quickly asked, "Are you teaming up to do a hunter mission?"
A hunter mission involves tracking and killing a target. If you have a grudge against someone, you can apply for a hunter mission at the Federation's administrative hall. The mainframe system will provide the target's specific location and coordinates every four hours. If you eliminate the target within a day, the mission is complete, and the target loses two levels, with one level's worth of experience going to you. The target's drop rate will also double.
This mission is legal and doesn't count as malicious PK, but it's very costly. Depending on the number and level of the hunters, you must pay a significant amount of credits to the administrative hall, and you can't apply for another hunter mission within a month.
"Who on earth p*ss*d off three beautiful women like this? Just for that, I'm in." Chu Ge slapped his chest with a righteous expression, secretly thinking, "They're offering 1000 credits to kill someone; I could buy ten Mausers with that. You really have more money than sense."
Oath, the field medic, sneered and handed over a digital photo: "This person is called Ma La Ge Bi, Level 26 full purple gear controller."
"Just hearing the name, you can tell he's no good," Chu Ge cursed while taking the photo. He cursed outwardly but was secretly shocked. Star War World had only been open for a month, and as far as he knew, there weren't even ten players around Dream Star City who were over Level 26. These beautiful women were likely targeting a top player.
This mission was indeed hot; 1000 credits were not easy to earn.
Looking at the photo, Chu Ge saw an extremely close-up shot of a man's pockmarked face with large red pimples. He almost vomited up last night's dinner.
"OK!" Chu Ge took out his Zippo lighter and set the photo on fire.
"Did you memorize the face? Why burn the photo?" Oath was surprised.
Chu Ge replied, "It's not professional if you don't burn it. I'm a hitman now."
"Where is he now?" Chu Ge finally asked the key question.
Hot Girl said expressionlessly, "It's been 22 hours, and the last system update was 1 hour and 18 minutes ago.
The location is Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain, coordinates 2588, 1860."
Upon hearing "Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain," Chu Ge's expression immediately changed. "Sorry, I can't take this job. You should find someone else." He handed the photo back to Oath and turned to leave.
"Stop," Hot Girl shouted.
Chu Ge paused, "What?"
Hot Girl coldly said, "You can leave, but sell me your sensor. Name your price."
Chu Ge smiled, "Sorry, it's not for sale."
Of course, he wouldn't sell it. Although this green gear was just a small sensor and not worth much, Chu Ge had only died twice to reach Level 13, thanks to this little gadget.
Good equipment can be sold, but the tool for making a living should never be sold. Every experienced gamer knows this.
With a "click," Hot Girl drew her MP5, pulled back the safety, and pointed the cold muzzle at Chu Ge's forehead, less than a meter away.
"Hey, don't mess around. This is a port service area," Chu Ge was nervous.
Hot Girl sneered, "I know, but I'm a white-name player right now. Killing you will at most make me yellow and get me confined. If I loot your sensor, let's see how cocky you are. Don't refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit. Selling it or not?"
The atmosphere immediately became tense, even the players around who were "hawking" their services gathered to watch the commotion.
"Oh, come on, there's no need for this. Let's talk it out," a soft, coquettish voice rang out, making Chu Ge's scalp tingle. The biochemical female warrior, Sister Housewife, twisted her waist and walked over, lowering Hot Girl's gun, "Sister, put the gun down. Guns are for the enemy; we don't shoot our own. Hey, Mr. Crazy Wu, there's no need to get mad. Let's all calm down."
Chu Ge couldn't help but shiver and said, "Sister Housewife, I'm not angry. Your sister here is the one trying to kill me."
Sister Housewife patted Chu Ge's shoulder, smiling sweetly, "Mr. Wu, you're quite good-looking. Your level might be a bit low, and your gear so-so, but we don't have much time and we need you. Please don't go. At worst, we'll pay you a deposit first."
Chu Ge was puzzled, but Sister Housewife indeed opened the trade interface and placed a crystal card on it, displaying: "Player Sister Housewife requests to trade, credit balance 500 points."
"Young man, take this deposit. Even if the task fails, the deposit is yours. If we succeed, we'll pay you an even more generous reward. Hmm—" She dragged out the "hmm" sound with a nasal tone and even threw a flirtatious glance.
Chu Ge couldn't help but shiver, thinking, "They're using both threats and bribes."
"Ha, do you take me for a fool?" Chu Ge pretended to be disdainful, then quickly pressed "Accept," flashing a smile, "When do we depart, ladies?"
"Wow!" The crowd around them gasped in unison.
