Chapter 175

Chapter 175

"Don't think calling me dad will stop me from eating you."

"Daddy~" Rubbing and clinging.

"..." Completely stiff.

Ji Xinghai had never been a father in any of his lives. He only remembered that as a son, he could get anything he wanted by being clingy and cute, so...

Facing those black, shiny eyes lined with beautiful white eyeliner, Ji Xinghai felt a rare moment of confusion.

His parents taught him to be responsible. This little snake was something he acquired through a click, which made it his responsibility.

NPCs nearby were cleaning up the remains after defeating the monster. Such a large creature yielded plenty of materials, skills, and miscellaneous items. Every member of the Special Operations Group who participated in the battle got a share, except for Ji Xinghai.

Although the NPCs knew someone had ambushed the monster, causing it to lose an eye and exposing a weakness, they chose not to mention it, defaulting to its non-existence due to self-interest.

This showed that despite being in a game world, the NPCs' intelligence was quite advanced.

Ji Xinghai held his newly acquired 'son,' standing in a corner watching the pile of items left on the ground after the monster disappeared.

Judging from the rewards, the system determined he had dealt 7% damage in one hit. Technically, these items should have a portion for him, but knowing he lacked the strength to protect them, he decided not to draw attention.

"Dad, do you like those things? I can get them for you later."

He glanced down at the ink snake coiled around his wrist and chuckled, "Let's go, find a place to spend the night."

From the map, each city had a branch station of the Special Operations Group, and there were usually free accommodations and meals provided nearby.

He found the station before twelve o'clock and entered a hotel marked with the Special Operations Group symbol near the station.

The receptionist at the hotel, yawning, brightened up upon seeing him enter, "Hello, esteemed member of the Special Operations Group. Would you like to stay here? Please show your ID number."

Ji Xinghai showed the number on his watch, and the receptionist entered it, discovering he was just a level 1 member and an intern. Disappointment flashed in her eyes, but she still smiled and handed him a room card, "Here is your room number. Please keep it safe. If there are any emergencies preventing you from staying, please contact us immediately."

He nodded, taking the room card and preparing to leave when several higher-level members of the Special Operations Group arrived, the same ones who had fought the monster earlier.

The receptionist regretfully informed them there weren't enough rooms, and two of them would have to share.

"What bad luck, the rooms are full. What's going on today? Why are there so many new members?"

"I heard a batch of new trainees arrived."

"Tch, again? They're all weaklings, wasting resources."

"We could pay to stay elsewhere; it wouldn't cost much. You're just being stingy."

Ji Xinghai didn't listen further and took the elevator to the third floor.

The free room was in the corner of the third floor, with a single bed and a washroom. Pulling back the curtains revealed a view blocked by an advertisement board outside.

Closing the curtains and turning on the light, he checked thoroughly—no listening devices or cameras.

He sat down, placed the ink snake on a glass saucer, poured a glass of water, and opened his mission watch once more. His rankings in both level and wealth had changed; his level dropped two places, while his wealth rose one.

The level ranking made sense; someone else had participated in the battle and gained more experience points.

The wealth ranking worked similarly; spending money would lower the rank. But without spending, one couldn't upgrade equipment or personal combat power.

The mission required climbing the wealth ranking, but it didn't specify which day's ranking. Could this be an elimination process where thousands of trainees are whittled down to a thousand, marking the end of the game?

It was possible.

Elimination in the game happened in various ways: three days without promotion meant elimination. After promotion, every three days required a battle, otherwise, elimination.

Outside the game, energy fluid was a major factor, costing 10,000 standard currency per bottle, needed daily to survive. To live, one must constantly fight.

However, this might lead to early elimination of weaker trainees, but mid-game could stagnate, neither side able to defeat the other.

Would the game then intervene to continue the elimination?

Ji Xinghai sipped warm water, flipping through the rankings.

Since the game began, less than an hour had passed, yet thirteen trainees had already made the list. This was after the monster's death and settlement; there would be even more if battles were still ongoing.

The Elite League truly lived up to its name.

He twirled a strand of slightly long hair, eyes fixed on the top position. One monster a day was too few; he needed to find a way to gain more.

Any number other than one was unacceptable.

As he pondered, the ink snake remained obediently coiled on the glass saucer, head resting on its tail, bright eyes watching Ji Xinghai silently.

"Stupid." Ji Xinghai said disdainfully, but the corners of his mouth betrayed him, curving upwards, "What do you eat?"

The ink snake tilted its head, pondering blankly, "Can't eat meat."

Can't eat meat? So it eats plants?

Ji Xinghai nodded, indicating he understood. After a brief pause, he left with the ink snake. It was midnight, and few shops were open, but he managed to buy everyday necessities like clothes, a backpack, a phone, and a SIM card, and enjoyed a meal (after withdrawing money from a bank counter).

All paid in standard currency, using only 20,000 out of 70,000.

For maintaining the glass chamber, he had already renewed for a day (10,000 of the 20,000 spent went to renewal). When he entered, the silver bottle was still full, so even without renewal, he had at least twenty hours left.

After eating and drinking, man and snake returned with fruit cubes. In this digital world, fullness lacked real sensation. Strangely, however, using his 'Devour' ability linked with his real body.

That was good; monsters killed in the game could turn into real-world energy.

This is in line with the grandeur of the organizers' wealth.

But he didn't immediately return to the inn; instead, he went to the neighboring Special Operations Group branch first.

At this hour, there weren't many people inside. The young man at reception, with his head full of braids, saw him come in lazily and asked, "Trading or taking on a mission?"

Ji Xinghai looked up and saw tasks flashing on the screen behind him: finding certain materials, escort missions, tracking down monsters, and so on. Most were settled directly with contribution points.

"Trading."

The receptionist handed him a crystal token. "Go to this website, then find the city branch. The blue pages are for direct transactions at our branch, while the red pages require appointments, with varying times."

Ji Xinghai took his newly bought phone and sat on the sofa with two others who were also using their phones. They glanced up, saw his youthful face, and quickly returned to their screens, not giving him much thought.

The phone's language had already switched to the familiar jiuZhou script. Considering the participants from several civilizations, the phone offered dozens of languages, with jiuZhou being just one of them.

"So this is what a holographic game is like—recreating an entire world, even setting up websites. If no one told you, who would know it was all fake?" Ji Xinghai mused.

He opened the Special Operations Group's website. Visitors could enter, but members had access to more areas and features after logging in. His membership number was his identification, automatically logged in after scanning his mission watch.

A pop-up window appeared, urging him to turn full member soon. After turning full member, he could collect an official certificate from nearby branches, which came with better benefits.

Closing the pop-up, he began exploring the forum's functions.

The specific information about monsters was locked, requiring full member status. Online trading and accepting missions were also restricted.

The site showed over thirty thousand users online, with many discussions ongoing in the sub-forums. He tried posting but lacked the necessary permissions, only able to read, unable to comment or start new threads.

After browsing through the posts, he learned that full members of the Special Operations Group had the authority to mobilize local armed forces and request cooperation from local governments. Full members also had opportunities to contact life skill masters to craft equipment from materials, though it required some contribution points.

"... Suddenly, it feels like a game again."

Moreover, Ji Xinghai searched for information on 'Ink Snake.' Expecting little discussion, he found countless posts about it.

It was known as the 'Scam of the Century' among battle pets, supposedly having unlimited potential, yet no one had successfully bred a particularly powerful Ink Snake.

Seeing the revised evaluation of 'no potential or breeding value,' he looked down at the quiet Ink Snake in his pocket and felt a rare twinge of pity: "The world is cruel, but you need to be strong. From now on, your name will be 'Strong.'"

Ink·Strong·Snake: "Daddy~" happily.

"... So dumb, I might as well keep it."

As the lowest-ranked intern, even with seventy contribution points, there wasn't much he could buy, and even fewer items were available for direct trade at the branch.

After careful consideration, he chose to trade in his old weapon and add fifty contribution points to upgrade his light gun. With the remaining twenty contribution points, he exchanged for a useful, upgradable vehicle.

With his contribution points spent, his ranking on the wealth list dropped to 27.

But he didn't care about that; increasing income was more important than saving.

Ji Xinghai pushed his new black motorcycle, with the upgraded basic light gun tucked into his waist, back to the previous inn.

"Hello," the receptionist greeted warmly.

He wrote his name and number on a cardboard and handed it to the receptionist: "I got separated from my companions and don't have their contact numbers. Can this be placed on the rack here?"

Ji Xinghai preferred working alone, but if he needed help, his fellow academy members were more trustworthy than strangers.

For example, when asking them to hold off unimportant people.

"This is a thank-you gift." He took out a sum of money no one could refuse.

The receptionist accepted it immediately, any hesitation would be disrespectful to the money: "No problem, of course, no problem."

After everything was set, he took out the Ink Snake from his pocket and placed it on the bedside table, closing his eyes. Though his mind wasn't tired, his body needed rest.

From the official start of the game to now, only two hours had passed. Most students had entered a state of forced dormancy due to unforeseen circumstances, but the real world was bustling with activity.

"This holographic world is different from the novels; it's too realistic. Will staying here too long make me forget what's real?"

"If such a holographic game existed, I'd go bankrupt to experience another life."

"Holographic! Holographic!"

"This time is tough; we need to kill a D-level monster independently within three days to turn full member, otherwise, it's considered a failure. We haven't even left the newbie area yet, it's too strict."

"They should focus on earning energy fluids first; ten thousand regular currency per day."

"Brother Hai's intelligence is high, but his other stats are average. Luckily, he has the devouring innate skill."

The audience was excited, and the Command Unit was discussing.

They believed the academy wouldn't choose a virtual world for the exam without reason. Previous scenarios were related to vanished civilizations, so this holographic game must have some background.

"In some novels, holographic games can enhance mental strength. Could this be similar? If so, psychics could train their abilities in the virtual world."

"Still, these authors have wild imaginations. This holographic world is interesting but can't be treated entirely as a game or reality."

"Minister, are you referring to combat? I noticed Ji Xinghai's gun had no recoil and paused for 0.1 seconds. Also, hitting an eye only counted for 7% contribution, which seems too low. Losing an eye significantly impacts the monster, yet the subsequent troubles don't count towards contribution."

"Yes," the Minister nodded. "Even if it's realistic, it's still data controlled by AI. The weapons, equipment, and monsters inside can't be considered real-world products."

"Actually, there's a hidden catch in the full member requirement," Wei Lan, as an advisor, added.

"It requires students to kill or control a D-level monster independently. However, once a monster appears, all students have the right to teleport nearby and attack. In this scenario, 'independent' killing or controlling means either doing it extremely fast or having enough force to prevent others from intervening."

Wei Lan looked at the peaceful sleeping face in the live stream, suppressing her pride: "This task seems like a solo mission, but it's actually more of a guild mission. It's hard for one person to complete. Fortunately, our students have realized this."

Unable to post on the forum, he opted to leave his contact information at the hostel.

"I think he will rally the team, helping each other to pass the probationary test."

"At such times, a college naturally forms a single entity."