Chapter 24 Game.

Chapter 24: The Game

How to make money?

With his skills, earning a living wasn't difficult. His culinary prowess alone could secure him a decent position at any restaurant.

However, Yu Xin knew little about the rules of interstellar society. More importantly, after the original host left the Yu family, they had revoked his official resident status on Imperial Star. The original host hadn't even registered as an unofficial resident, effectively making him an undocumented individual.

He wondered if this would impact his job search…

Yu Xin decided to register as soon as possible, but until his status was sorted, he needed other ways to earn money.

His gaze swept across the rented room. The furniture, left by the previous tenant, was old and dilapidated, not worth much even if sold.

The only valuable items were the original host’s belongings, but Yu Xin had no intention of touching them… Wait, was that a gaming helmet?

The original host was a severe gaming addict. Or rather, amidst the chaos of his real life, he had poured all his energy into the virtual world. Even when he could barely afford rent, he had clung to this gaming helmet.

And in the end, he had met his demise in the illusory beauty of the internet… Who knew if that was what he truly desired.

The gaming helmet looked advanced and sleek, clearly expensive. It contained only one game, a testament to the original host's profound attachment to it.

Yu Xin grew curious. What kind of game could have captivated the original host to the point of costing him his life?

To understand the original host fully, exploring the game was essential.

He donned the helmet and logged in.

The game the original host played was called "Before Dawn." Surprisingly, its setting bore a resemblance to Yu Xin’s previous world—a comparable era, also a period of human civilization rebuilding after radiation pollution and destruction. The game offered various modes where players battled radiation-mutated monsters and competed against others, with the last one standing declared the winner. The gameplay was somewhat akin to the sandbox shooter games from Yu Xin’s original world.

In the interstellar era, gaming technology had advanced to full immersion VR. With just a gaming helmet or a pod, one could enjoy the most immersive gaming experience.

Though Yu Xin had never played interstellar games, he could tell that the original host’s in-game equipment was quite valuable.

The initial spawn point was in a base. The game was incredibly realistic—once connected, every movement felt as if it were happening in real life. Yu Xin made his character bunny hop, and it felt almost like jumping in reality.

The game’s main city, Sunset City, was built in a desert. A colossal, eternal sunset perpetually hung on the horizon, painting half the sky blood-red. Coupled with the desolate, ruined city, it exuded a distinct atmosphere.

Yu Xin visited the training camp to familiarize himself with the game’s firearms. The weapons in the game were similar to both firearms and melee weapons from his own time, so Yu Xin found them relatively easy to handle.

After getting a rough understanding of the weapon parameters, Yu Xin left the training camp and headed to the quest hub. In this game, players had to find NPCs in the quest hub to accept tasks, which could be done solo or in teams. Completing quests rewarded experience and rare equipment.

The quest hub was located in the center of Sunset City. Along the way, Yu Xin encountered many players with their in-game names displayed above their heads. Most were dressed in practical gear and moved with purpose, either heading to accept quests or to engage in PvP.

The original host’s game character was ostentatious and flashy, just like himself, as if desperate for attention. It was clear he was a "whale"—a big spender.

Yu Xin attracted a lot of attention, especially near the quest hub where the crowd was dense. Almost everyone passing by glanced at him.

Yu Xin paid no mind. After all, it was just a game—who could tell who was behind the character?

Well, someone actually recognized him.

A nearby player suddenly sent him a whisper:

"Yu Xin? Is that you?"

The player’s character was a bald man with a scar. Although his equipment wasn’t as ornate and eye-catching as Yu Xin’s, it was clear he had spent a lot too.

Probably someone the original host knew.

Yu Xin played along: "Who are you?"

"Seriously, big shot? You forget people you used to know after just one show?" the player sneered.

"You haven’t logged in for months, have you? What, does Young Master Yu have money to hire boosters again?"

The tone was dripping with sarcasm.

This person definitely knew the original host, but they were certainly not friends.

Although the original host spent a lot of money, his gaming skills were indeed subpar. Yu Xin had checked his battle records—his damage output was low in every match, yet his rank was high. His teammates were always very skilled, carrying him every time. They were likely the boosters this person mentioned.

"Not talking? You really forgot who I am? I’m Cheng Zikun."

Yu Xin ran a search on the star-net. Excluding those with the same name, the most likely candidate was the young master of the Cheng Group.

He was part of the original host’s social circle.

Cheng Zikun was garrulous and loved to trash-talk:

"Where’s your carry? Not online yet? How dare they leave their sugar daddy hanging so long."

The original host was all gear and no skill—his high rank was entirely bought by paying others to carry him. The other trust fund kids in their circle, despite their wealth, disdained such behavior, making the original host a laughingstock.

Yu Xin slowly typed: "I didn’t hire a carry."

"Look at you, Young Master Yu finally plans to play on his own. Won’t you get wrecked the moment you enter the game? Hahahaha."

"Tell you what, I’m in a good mood today. How about I play a few rounds with you?"

This was his first interaction with someone the original host knew. Yu Xin remained calm:

"Sure, what do you want to play?"

"Let’s go fight the Tarantulas. Follow me, I’ll take you to accept the quest."

The tall, bald game character turned and headed toward the quest hub. Yu Xin followed.

Tarantulas were not weak bosses in the game’s PvE mode. They lived deep in the desert. Individually, they weren’t too strong, but they usually appeared in groups. A single player would have to deal with a large swarm, and they moved extremely fast, making them very difficult to handle.

Moreover, this dungeon was instanced—once entered, unless you cleared it or force-quit, there was no way to leave voluntarily.

Cheng Zikun was setting him up by bringing Yu Xin here. As long as they didn’t form a team, he could exit the dungeon after meeting the quest requirements, leaving Yu Xin inside to be repeatedly farmed by the spiders. Hahahaha.

Yu Xin didn’t know the details of the dungeon and wasn’t aware of Cheng Zikun’s plan, but he was sure Cheng Zikun’s sudden kindness couldn’t be good.

But… so what?

The two entered the quest hub and accepted the "Clear the Tarantulas" quest. The NPC, a curvy, hourglass-figured woman with wavy hair and a military uniform, spoke in a sultry contralto: "A-rank quest [Clear the Tarantulas] accepted. Happy hunting."

"Let’s go."

The two fast-traveled from the map to the entrance of the Tarantula dungeon—a lightless cavern with impenetrable darkness within, only occasional disturbing skittering sounds from the depths.

Cheng Zikun turned on his flashlight and entered first:

"It’s very dark in here, Young Master Yu. Don't fall behind. If you get lost, I won’t come looking for you."

Yu Xin rested his hand on his sidearm and stepped in after him.

The cave was dead silent; the weird sounds from before had completely stopped, leaving only the echoes of their footsteps reverberating through the hollow cave.

As they went deeper, the cave grew increasingly winding and dark, so dark it felt like it could swallow them.

Yu Xin noticed webs starting to appear in the corners of the cave walls, getting thicker the further they went.

They had to be getting close.

Sure enough, after rounding a corner, the cave suddenly opened up, and a heavy, rank smell hit them.

In the darkness, red eyes suddenly snapped open. In the next moment, both Yu Xin and Cheng Zikun pulled their guns and opened fire—

After a volley of shots, things thudded to the ground—the wolf spiders they had shot down—but immediately, more came surging forward.

Yu Xin shined his flashlight and finally got a clear look at the creatures: pitch-black bodies, patterned backs, each about the size of a large bowl, with eight legs covered in barbs and razor-sharp mandibles. The liquid that oozed out after one was shot was a weird green.

This game has to have an age restriction!

No time to think, Yu Xin grabbed his gun with both hands and kept firing, but there were too many wolf spiders. The corpses piled up into a small mountain, yet more kept coming.

"This isn't cutting it! There are too many spiders—we can't take them all out!"

Yu Xin and Cheng Zikun shouted simultaneously, "Use fire!"

Swapping their machine guns for flamethrowers, they both activated them at once. Two blazing streams of fire shot out, instantly burning the oncoming wolf spiders to ash.

The air filled with the smell of burning protein, and the entire cave lit up as bright as day.

Temporarily pushed back by the fierce flames, the wolf spiders held back from charging again. Seeing that his mission was nearly complete, Cheng Zikun prepared to dump Yu Xin and leave as planned.

He yelled, "Hold them off for a minute—I’ll clear the path we came from!"

I’m outta here! You can stay and get eaten by the spiders, hahaha!

But just as he was about to flee, things suddenly changed. The ground began to shake, dust fell from the cave walls, and the wolf spiders got restless.

Cheng Zikun froze on the spot, his eyes widening. "Crap!"

"The Wolf Spider King has been awakened!!"

The Wolf Spider King was a hidden boss in this dungeon, not triggered by every player. Cheng Zikun had never encountered it himself, only seen it in other players’ videos.

The Wolf Spider King was extremely difficult to defeat. In most videos Cheng Zikun had seen, players got wrecked; only real pros or well-coordinated squads could succeed. At this point, Cheng Zikun was ready to be slaughtered.

What’s more, the Wolf Spider King had an especially annoying trait: it enjoyed torturing its prey.

Although players couldn’t feel pain, witnessing their own characters being tormented was still a pretty rough psychological blow.

Just my fucking luck!

The huge form of the Wolf Spider King had already emerged. It was too late to escape now. Cheng Zikun closed his eyes in despair, giving up fighting, deciding to quit the game after being killed once and forced to log out.

Just then, he heard Yu Xin’s sharp yell:

"What are you standing around for? Are you crazy? Pick up your gun and help me suppress the smaller spiders!"

Yu Xin??

What's he trying to do?!

It can't be what I think it is!!

Cheng Zikun was stunned, automatically obeying Yu Xin’s command, raising his gun to shoot down the smaller spiders lunging at Yu Xin.

Is Yu Xin planning to solo the Wolf Spider King? That’s fucking suicide!!

Even high-level players needed a full team with precise coordination to kill the Wolf Spider King. And Yu Xin thinks he can solo it?!

That’s impossible!!

But all Cheng Zikun could see was Yu Xin’s figure, charging fearlessly toward the Wolf Spider King while firing relentlessly.

However, the Wolf Spider King’s exoskeleton was too tough. Ordinary weapons barely did anything to it, the damage so small it was pointless.

This won't work!

What's the wolf spider's weakness? Obviously, it was the abdomen, which it guarded closely.

But even knowing the weakness, getting close was nearly impossible, let alone attacking it.

What to do?

Cheng Zikun watched helplessly as the Wolf Spider King shot webs from its massive mouthparts at Yu Xin, who narrowly dodged with a swift turn. Then, Yu Xin leveraged the momentum to arch backward, sliding himself directly beneath the Wolf Spider King’s enormous abdomen!

While turning, Yu Xin had switched to the most powerful handheld cannon. Now, pressing it against the Wolf Spider King’s underside, he fired boldly!

Holy shit!! Holy shit!!!

Cheng Zikun was completely dumbfounded. There’s no way this is happening!!

The cannon blast tore a hole in the Wolf Spider King’s abdomen. Yu Xin swiftly shoved a bomb inside, then rolled out from under it, grabbing Cheng Zikun and sprinting outward:

"It’s about to collapse—run!!"

They dashed out of the cave just as a deafening "BOOM—" echoed behind them. The cave and the Wolf Spider King were blown to bits.

"Mission Successful."

[Congratulations to players "IAmYourDaddyCheng" and "WorldsNumberOneXin" for completing the hidden mission "Rampant Wolf Spider King."]

Cheng Zikun was in a daze. He barely registered it when Yu Xin said he was logging off, numbly letting him leave.

Yu Xin!! Took down the Wolf Spider King!! All by himself!!!

Holy shit!!

When he finally snapped out of it, he was filled with regret. How could he have just let him go? At the very least, he should’ve asked for his contact info!

He really wanted to play with him again!

He had completely forgotten his initial intention to mess with Yu Xin, now consumed by the regret of having brushed shoulders with a pro.

Wait!

Cheng Zikun’s eyes lit up as he suddenly realized—Yu Xin must be short on money right now. He could totally hire Yu Xin as his gaming companion!

With skills that incredible, Yu Xin could even stream while playing—he’d definitely blow up!

He needed to find Yu Xin’s contact info right away!

Cheng Zikun excitedly logged off the game, while on the other side, Yu Xin exited the game and shook his head to clear the disorientation. The game's special effects were too realistic—the sound of the massive explosion still echoed in his ears.

He removed his helmet and opened his personal terminal, noticing that someone had sent him a message while he was gaming.

The original host had a narrow social circle, and after the fake young master incident, almost all connections were severed. Who could be reaching out to him at this time?

Yu Xin clicked on the message.

Most of the contacts in the original host's terminal had been deleted, with only a few remaining.

This person was one of the contacts the original host had kept—his oldest brother, or rather, the oldest brother who now belonged to the true young master, Yu Zhizhou.

"Tomorrow at 8 a.m., xxx Restaurant. I want to see you."

-----------------------

Author's note: First chapter update!

In the next chapter, Little Yu will meet Old Ji—hehehe.