Chapter 191

Chapter 191

Day four in the game world, 6:00 AM.

"Huh, you're up early?" The hotel included breakfast with the stay, and Bandai, yawning, walked into the restaurant. He thought he would be the earliest, but to his surprise, Ji Xinghai was already there, almost finished eating.

"Good morning," he greeted Bandai with a smile.

Ji Xinghai always went to bed early and woke up early, so he had teleported back at eleven last night and woke up refreshed at five this morning.

Every second counted as money.

There weren't many B-level monsters left, so he had been hunting C-level ones for quick battles. As for the loot, aside from battle pet crystals and free attribute points, everything else was sent to Bill. Materials and blueprints were given to the two life profession trainees.

Later, when he returned to the hotel, he let the soldier bugs roam freely. To his surprise, when he woke up this morning, he had gained more contribution points and attribute points. They must have found monsters to fight again.

Unlike battle pets, the soldier bugs were part of his skill set, so he could gain attribute points from their devouring ability.

Since his agility had already surpassed 100, he added these attribute points to strength and intelligence.

His current profile looked like this:

Player ID 101

Strength: 71

Agility: 132 + 1

Intelligence: 80 + 2

Skills: Mad Gambler (Five-star, available), Soldier Bug Summoning (Four-star, on cooldown), Blood Rage (Four-star, passive), Sheep Transformation (Two-star, available)

Equipment: Slight

Pet: Ink Snake (Second Rank)

Level: 16 (Currently ranked No. 1)

Contribution Points: 2370 (Currently ranked No. 76)

Members of the Burnt Chestnut team started waking up and occupied a corner of the restaurant.

"Team leader, do we have any plans? I want to participate," Ji Xinghai said straightforwardly.

The others were surprised. Fighting monsters took a huge toll on both physical and mental energy. That's why they had celebrated so wildly yesterday, allowing their bodies and minds to relax.

Wasn't Ji Xinghai feeling tired at all?

Ji Xinghai wasn't tired; in fact, he was eager.

Life-and-death battles were his forte, and being in familiar territory gave him a sense of security.

Especially when fate often swung by power, becoming stronger was the most exciting thing for him. The bald team leader rubbed his head, "Young people have boundless energy. You just finished a mission yesterday. Don't you want to rest for a few days?"

"No, I want to fight monsters, earn money, and buy a mech," Ji Xinghai replied honestly.

Analysis suggested that it wouldn't be enough to buy a mech in such a short time, making his efforts futile.

Then let 'analysis' go to hell.

He wanted a mech, and he wanted it in this instance.

"So it's about the mech," everyone laughed, except for Brother Cat.

Others laughed because when they first started, they too had ambitious dreams of buying and piloting mechs. But as their skills improved, they needed constant upgrades to their equipment and had to set aside considerable medical fees. Those with families also had to provide for them and save for their own old age, leaving little left over.

So dreams remained in the past, while reality meant money was always tight.

They weren't laughing at Ji Xinghai; they were laughing at their own youthful naivety.

Brother Cat didn't laugh because he believed that although they, the 'old-timers,' had lost their initial dreams through hard work, they should still encourage the young, who were like the rising sun.

What they couldn't achieve might be possible for the next generation.

Even if the next generation couldn't achieve it, there would be another generation after them.

Young people should be fearless and not follow the same path as their predecessors, or they'd never step out of their shadow.

"I have some old friends. I'll ask if they need help restraining monsters," Brother Cat said.

"Thanks, team leader!" Ji Xinghai's goal was achieved. He wanted to leverage the local NPCs' connections, and Brother Cat was a good person. He wouldn't have asked anyone else.

Seeing Ji Xinghai's energetic demeanor like the morning sun, Brother Cat smiled, "Your skills haven't refreshed yet, right? Do you want to borrow some contribution points to buy a refresh card?"

Ji Xinghai waved his hand, "With the Blood Rage skill, everything has refreshed."

Huh?

The chatter in the corner stopped abruptly, and all the team members looked at the smiling Ji Xinghai in surprise. They recalled the description of the Blood Rage passive skill: When health drops to 1%, enter an invincible state, and all skills refresh.

Bandai leaned back and swallowed, "It can't be what I'm thinking, right?"

Sister Mei sized up Ji Xinghai, "You really aren't afraid of death."

Even their Special Operations Group, who fought death daily, didn't casually flirt with danger. Dropping one's health to 1% just to refresh skills? Was that something a human would do?

One misstep, and it could cost a life!

"A skill refresh card only costs 200 contribution points. Losing your life for that isn't worth it," Ah Jin couldn't help but advise him.

"Indeed, we must cherish our lives; only with life do we have everything." They all thought Ji Xinghai looked quite obedient and didn’t seem like a madman; he must have been walking the tightrope because he was short on money.

Ji Xinghai smiled and accepted everyone’s consolation, but what he truly felt, only he knew.

Captain Mao could see through some of it. That kid had dared to challenge the Queen Bug with just one skill when he was so weak, and later even threw bombs near the Night Owl. From this, it was clear that he wasn’t an ordinary person, and using his passive skill to refresh abilities was something he would do.

Pushing himself to the limit and using the most extreme methods to draw out potential. While their team didn’t have such people, other teams certainly did.

He didn’t know if this kind of personality was good or bad; they could go further, but they might also die sooner.

After breakfast, the team dispersed as they each had their own tasks to attend to.

Ji Xinghai also left, continuing to familiarize himself with his skills and equipment, honing his proficiency with ‘Raging Blood’ in actual combat.

It wasn’t until the afternoon, while he was emptying his magazine, that Ji Xinghai received a message from Captain Mao.

Captain Mao asked if he was interested in a mission.

This mission would last several days, requiring him to join a team exploring a newly emerged secret realm.

A new secret realm meant not only danger but also untapped resources. However, regular military forces couldn’t handle these monster-infested realms; usually, teams entered for exploration, often accompanied by certain experts.

Of course, the more complex the situation, the higher the reward.

Such missions involving secret realm exploration wouldn’t appear on websites; they were handled internally by high-level teams and VIP members. Although Team Roasted Chestnuts often called themselves the ‘Burnt Team,’ they had reached the standard to receive such notifications.

Currently, an A-grade team had taken on this mission, along with a few solo operators.

The slot he had now was an additional spot on that A-grade team.

According to Captain Mao, the energy fluctuations in this secret realm were relatively strong, suggesting the presence of multiple A-grade monsters. Given the unknown conditions inside, the danger was significant, and he hoped Ji Xinghai would consider it carefully.

Upon receiving this information, Ji Xinghai looked up at the monster, which was almost riddled with holes. The floating sharp objects like dandelion seeds had all fallen to the ground. He no longer wanted to play and switched to mini-missiles, directly hitting the monster’s exposed core. With the white light of loot exploding, he typed a few words on his phone:

"Thanks, Captain. I’ll take it. Time and location."

"Stay strong, we’re done. Let’s restock on ammo, then come back to fight the monsters and celebrate properly."

Ji Xinghai half-squatted down, one hand hanging on the ground. The black snake that had been biting the monster quickly crawled over, coiling around his fingers and placing the loot it had been holding down.

"Dad, let’s go."

Soon, the captain’s message arrived. It was set for tomorrow morning, and he sent the contact number of one of the team members.

"I have some acquaintance with their vice-captain, but it’s just a past working relationship. Regardless, protect yourself first and prepare more protective gear. Relax today and stay in top form tomorrow."

Ji Xinghai read the message, his lips curving: "Got it, Captain." His response was prompt.

Then he replenished a large batch of mini-missiles and special effect bullets, using up all his contribution points. Carrying his new equipment, he set off.

New gear needed to be familiarized with, and there was nothing faster than actual combat to get used to one’s weapons and equipment. The captain said to relax and maintain the best state.

This wasn’t a battle; it was a warm-up.

Following the captain’s advice, he set off.

At eleven o'clock that night, Trainee No. 101 finally stopped upgrading, his level stabilizing at 18, once again pulling three levels ahead of second place.

Simultaneously, all his skills updated, his bullets were emptied and refilled, and he triggered special effects like ‘Super Sticky Bombs.’

Bill also sent a message; they had collected 47 pieces of materials. Additionally, eighty percent of the second-hand equipment and skill cards had been exchanged, improving the trainees’ efficiency in fighting monsters.

Now, besides the 47 pieces of materials dropped by the Earth Rock Rats, they had over twenty thousand contribution points. Bill asked if Ji Xinghai wanted the money transferred immediately.

"I don’t need any money right now, keep it with you for now, both the materials and the contribution points," he was about to turn off his phone when he remembered something.

"Is there anyone among the trainees who can build a website?"

"I’ll ask around. Are you planning to design and create a website, Ji?" Bill asked, somewhat puzzled.

"The market for second-hand equipment seems to be unexplored," Ji Xinghai didn’t have many ideas; he wanted second-hand mech parts, but finding them individually was troublesome. If there was a dedicated second-hand website, it would be much easier.

So, with this mindset, he wanted to pass the ball to someone capable, hoping they would quickly establish a mature website for shopping.

Bill, unaware of Ji Xinghai’s thoughts, seemed enlightened: "I understand. Compared to earning contribution points by fighting monsters, online business is indeed easier to scale. I get your point. I’ll handle this well!"

"?" Ji Xinghai was momentarily stunned, "Yeah, okay, leave it to you."

After hanging up, he pondered for a moment: "Was that my intention? Seems about right, so let’s go with that."

With today’s matters settled, it was time to sleep.

Tomorrow, both attributes should surpass a hundred, right?

Ji Xinghai went to bed with hopeful expectations, closing his eyes. But then he remembered something and turned on the bedside lamp, saying ‘goodnight’ to the wide-awake black snake. Then he repeated the steps: turning off the light, covering himself, and closing his eyes.

The black snake waited until he fell asleep before quietly crawling over and whispering by his ear: "Goodnight, Dad."