Chapter 90
Chapter 90
At the Game’s settlement point, Cheng Miao’s group of four was still chattering about Zhang Qiao’s final choice.
“Ding! Looks Are Justice Team has cleared the instance Is This Lantern Pretty? Team reward: 12,000 Travel Coins. Current balance: 15,200 Travel Coins.”
“Transfer all Personal Account balances into the Team Account?”
Everyone had long found maintaining two accounts troublesome and eagerly selected yes.
The hard line of Qin Musong’s mouth curved unconsciously. He had seen many teams whose members constantly guarded against one another. Forget merging Personal Accounts into a Team Account. Many divided their earnings according to individual contributions the moment they left an instance.
Cheng Miao and the others had never considered doing that. Qin Musong cherished the feeling of being accepted and trusted.
“Player Cheng Miao made the highest contribution in Is This Lantern Pretty? Reward: 3,000 Travel Coins.”
“Player Cheng Miao received an A performance rating in Is This Lantern Pretty? Side-quest completion: 100%. Reward: 3,000 Travel Coins.”
“Player Qi Jiajia received an A performance rating in Is This Lantern Pretty? Side-quest completion: 75%. Reward: 1,800 Travel Coins.”
“Player Lin Zhu received an A performance rating in Is This Lantern Pretty? Side-quest completion: 70%. Reward: 1,500 Travel Coins.”
“Player Qin Musong received an A performance rating in Is This Lantern Pretty? Side-quest completion: 90%. Reward: 2,500 Travel Coins.”
“Looks Are Justice Team’s total remaining balance: 27,000 Travel Coins.”
“Player Cheng Miao’s Friend of Ghosts buff has upgraded to Close Friend of the Dead. The player will be the last to suffer harm from ghosts in supernatural instances. The probability of sensing a ghost’s presence in a supernatural instance has reached 100%. Eighty percent of ghosts in an instance will seek your help.”
Cheng Miao and the others fell silent.
Qin Musong thought, Thank goodness I don’t have that buff.
“Player Cheng Miao earned NPC Zhang Qiao’s favor in Is This Lantern Pretty? One-use Item obtained: Zhang Qiao’s Lantern. Negates one instance of damage in a supernatural instance.”
“Settlement complete. Looks Are Justice Team return point: Black Cat Hotel.”
“Teleporting…”
“Whoa!” At Lin Zhu’s cry, Cheng Miao opened her eyes. A bustling street spread before her, packed shoulder-to-shoulder with pedestrians and lined with every kind of store.
Black Cat Hotel stood directly before them.
It occupied the most enviable position on the street. Its gleaming glass doors opened into a revolving lobby, while broad patches of catnip grew in white-tiled planters on either side.
To Cheng Miao’s surprise, Black Cat Hotel even had security guards.
Two sharp-featured men in uniform stood inside sentry booths, batons clipped to their belts.
Two panting players wailed and pounded against the hotel’s glass doors, but the automatic doors did not open. The guards exchanged a glance and dragged them into the alley behind the hotel.
Qiudong never appeared throughout the entire incident.
“Brother Qin… Is this what a Hotel-level Inn is like?” Lin Zhu looked around in amazement. This was no ordinary hotel. It was on the level of a Hilton, complete with a thriving city.
Qin Musong nodded with a smile. “That’s why I told you not to linger at lower-level Inns. The higher you go, the better the environment.”
He gestured for them to turn. A network of streets extended behind them. “I used to stay at Chow Chow Hotel. It was also surrounded by a small town, though the atmosphere was quieter and less commercial.”
“At the Hotel level, players are no longer confined to the Inn itself. The surrounding environment improves considerably, and you gain far more freedom.”
“Then… are all these people NPCs?” Qi Jiajia looked toward a clothing store. She loved buying clothes. Money had been tight before, so she had always dressed simply. Now that she was wealthy, she had been eager to replace her wardrobe.
“Some are NPCs. Others are… players.” Qin Musong’s voice tightened, and his smile faded.
Seeing their confusion, he led the group to a bubble tea shop. He glanced back at Cheng Miao and Qi Jiajia. “Young women like bubble tea, right?”
Qi Jiajia rose on tiptoe to inspect the menu and pointed. “I want that one.”
Surrounded by such lively, ordinary city life, even Cheng Miao’s usual composure loosened. Like any young woman, she hesitated over the choices. “I’ll have that one too.”
Qin Musong paid in the end. They ordered two black teas and two matcha drinks with sea-salt cream foam.
The four sat inside the spotless shop. A single daisy stood in an artistic vase on their table.
Qin Musong returned to the subject. “You should know that once players reach the Guesthouse level, they won’t be forced into instances frequently. Usually, the longest interval is one month before a mandatory entry.”
Cheng Miao nodded. Lin Zhu had mentioned that before.
When the server delivered the drinks, Qin Musong handed straws to Qi Jiajia and Cheng Miao.
“During that interval, players don’t have to enter an instance. For most people, going into one means a near-certain death.”
“But if they don’t enter instances, they can’t earn money to stay at an Inn…”
Qi Jiajia took a sip of cream foam, leaving a little white mustache on her upper lip. “So they work jobs to earn Travel Coins!”
Qin Musong laughed and wiped her mouth, ignoring how she bared her teeth in embarrassment. “Exactly. And that’s one of the more legitimate methods.”
Inspiration struck Cheng Miao. “So the illegitimate ones include theft, robbery, gambling… all of that?”
Qin Musong nodded. “Yes. But powerful players can also work for the police. If a criminal is caught, they aren’t sent to prison. They’re sent into instances. A one-month sentence means… entering instances continuously for an entire month.”
Lin Zhu shuddered. “Wouldn’t that kill them?”
Qin Musong shrugged. “That’s why the crime rate is low. Unless someone has no other way out, who would take that risk?” He sipped his tea and added, “Gambling isn’t a crime here.”
Cheng Miao nodded, briefly tempted, then immediately suppressed the urge.
It was not that she did not want to become rich overnight. She simply could not tolerate losing. She had never even invested in stocks in the real world.
Fortunately, all four preferred steady progress. Qi Jiajia had no interest in gambling either, so no one wanted to try their luck at a casino.
As they left the bubble tea shop, Lin Zhu bumped into a beautiful, fashionable woman. Fragrant perfume trailed around her. She winked and handed him a business card.
Lin Zhu fell silent.
Qin Musong coughed. “That… isn’t a crime either.”
Cheng Miao and Qi Jiajia burst out laughing.
At the entrance to Black Cat Hotel, Cheng Miao took out the access card that had appeared in her pocket after clearing the instance and swiped it against the reader.
Beep.
The glass doors slowly opened. The handsome guards bowed from both sides. “Welcome.”
Feeling strangely flattered, Cheng Miao’s group entered the lobby. A pleasant grassy fragrance filled the air, and the minimalist decor perfectly suited her tastes.
Cheng Miao moved her ring, and a can of premium cat food appeared in her hand. Under the speechless gazes of her three teammates, she walked to the Front Desk with buoyant steps.
“Kitty? Kitty, are you here?”