Beneath the drainage channel, in the sewers.
Liu Jinya led the way with a flashlight while I followed closely behind. Before long, a foul stench drilled straight into my nostrils from the depths of the sewer, making it unbearable.
Not long after, Liu Jinya brought me to his temporary base.
The base was located in a storage room connected to the sewers. It had everything one could need—computers, as well as a few simple machines.
"Brother, don't mind how shabby this place is."
Liu Jinya smiled. "People like us are like the rats beneath Creek City, unable to see the light of day. But for the wife and kids, it doesn't matter. Making money isn't shameful!"
"Exactly!"
I nodded and smiled.
"What's your name, brother?"
"Ding Han. Ding as in A, B, C, Ding; Han as in winter."
"Alright, wait a moment."
Liu Jinya entered my name into the computer and got to work. Before long, a brand-new Creek City residence permit appeared before my eyes. Once the money and goods had changed hands, he pointed upward and smiled. "Just find a manhole cover and climb out. I won't be seeing you off, brother."
"Thanks, Brother Ya!"
I nodded. "I'll remember this favor."
"What are you talking about? We're brothers!"
Ten minutes later, I climbed out from beneath a manhole cover in a Creek City alley. After dusting myself off and putting the cover back in place, I had officially settled into Creek City. Just then, a ringtone sounded by my ear. The Death Mine dungeon had finally been cleared!
[Congratulations, you have completed the rare-grade dungeon Death Mine (★★). Rewards obtained: Character Experience +50,000, plus an additional reward: Randel's Shield (Quality: Blue)! Furthermore, as the first player to complete a rare-grade dungeon, you have received: Achievement +3!]
I was overjoyed!
As expected of the dungeon quest Left Hand and I had spent so many days grinding through. The final rewards did not disappoint at all. Not only had it given me a blue shield, but it had also rewarded me with 3 Achievement points!
Achievement points were an incredibly mysterious thing. During the closed beta, no one knew what they were for, but everyone treated them as priceless treasures!
They were a resource that would definitely prove useful someday!
On top of that, the first clear of the dungeon had rewarded me with a Randel's Shield!
I hurriedly opened the Dimensional Storage Space and saw a dark-blue shield etched with ancient patterns lying quietly in one corner. With a tap of my finger, its attributes floated into view.
[Randel's Shield] (Quality: Blue) Tier: 1 Base Parameters: Defense 40, Perfect Block Chance 15%, Projectile Damage Block 75%, Durability 500/500 Strength: +20 Blessing: Toughness, increases Max Health by 500 Requires strength: 50
Looking at Randel's Shield's attributes, I was ecstatic.
A top-tier shield that came with increased health was undoubtedly an absolute early-game treasure!
In Star Abyss, the three classes—Super Weapon Master, Priest, and Gene Warrior—could all equip shields. Shields were also essential equipment for melee players. When closing in on ranged opponents, a shield could greatly reduce the damage one took.
This shield's attributes were impressive. Its 40 defense power was already ridiculously high, and it also had a 15% Perfect Block Chance. Once Perfect Block triggered, it would negate all damage. As for Projectile Damage Block, it applied to flying projectile damage from bullets, explosions, and the like. In other words, as long as I hid behind this shield, an enemy's gunfire damage could be reduced to 25%!
No question about it. Equip it!
"Click!"
The instant Orchid Shield locked into place, an incomparably solid force flowed from my left arm. My combat level immediately soared from 108 points to 158!
"Phew..."
I took a deep breath and suppressed the wild joy and excitement in my heart.
Next, I needed to find somewhere to settle down in Creek City, then contact other players and become stronger in the game as quickly as possible!
Besides, if I wanted to establish myself in Creek City as an ordinary person, I needed to find a job. It would be best if it were a repair job, so I could keep accumulating Skill Experience while working. After all, with the Practice Makes Perfect passive, it would be a terrible waste not to level every skill to the maximum!
I borrowed a pair of worn-out jeans from a household in the alley, along with a white T-shirt that had been washed yellow. Once I put them on, I instantly became a laid-back small-town youth.
The streets were bright with neon lights. There were little restaurants, foot massage parlors, arcade halls, and internet cafes. People came and went; some rode bicycles, while others rode electric scooters.
Everything looked extremely similar to cities back home around 2003. And during Star Abyss's closed beta, Creek City and the Crimson Dragon Country had indeed been set in an era like this.
Ahead stood a road sign bearing the words, "I'm waiting for you in Creek City."
Oh, right! Creek City was also a tourist city. It had an old town as well as a development zone, and the Forward Street where I currently was lay on the outskirts of the old town. That was why there were not only locals, but also quite a few visitors from elsewhere in the Crimson Dragon Country.
"Grrr~~~"
My stomach growled, reminding me that it was long past time to eat.
My last meal had been dinner at the Dark Tide base. After all the mad running and fighting along the way, my stamina had long since been drained. I was having trouble even walking now.
But a penny could stump a hero. The tragic part was that aside from guns and ammunition, my Dimensional Storage Space did not even have a single cent. I couldn't exactly trade a handgun for a good meal, especially since civilian gun ownership was forbidden on the surface in Creek City.
My gaze swept over the signs of the shops lining the road.
Fengyun Internet Cafe had a promotional stand beneath its sign, printed with the image of a Legend warrior and the slogan: "Legendary passion—if you're a brother, come siege Sand City with us!"
I immediately made up my mind. I would become an internet cafe attendant!
Generally speaking, computers at internet cafes broke down quite frequently, and there would always be idle machines. If I repaired them as an attendant, everything would seem perfectly legitimate. Not only could the job help conceal my identity, but I could also continuously gain Skill Experience!
"Boss."
I stepped forward and saw a bearded, bald middle-aged man sitting behind the attendant's counter. He was cursing nonstop. "Fuck! Blazing Fire, get in there! Do the idiots in this guild not even know how to charge up Double Blazing Fire? They don't dare fight, and they can't take hits either. What a bunch of trash!"
Only after spraying the screen full of spit did he notice me. "What is it?"
"Are you hiring attendants here?"
"No. I'm fully staffed."
With that, he buried himself in his game again.
I turned away awkwardly and headed for the next internet cafe, Thunder Internet Cafe.
Inside, a group of idle young men were playing a game as ancient as Legend of Mir, called Miracle. Most of them were botting, and lazy voices drifted over from time to time: "Attendant, get me a cup of instant noodles!" "Fuck your grandpa, what the hell is wrong with this Magic Sword? It's like you've never farmed Demon Plaza before. Why the fuck are you stealing it?"
I watched for a while, then shook my head and gave up.
This internet cafe had clearly only opened recently. Every machine was new, and the failure rate was extremely low. It did not meet my requirements.
The next internet cafe: Jisu Internet Cafe!
The glass exterior walls of this place were covered in CS posters. What was even more outrageous was that no one wore headphones, yet every machine came with a tiny speaker of horrendous sound quality that distorted at the slightest volume. As a result, the entire internet cafe was filled with all kinds of noise.
"Fire in the hole!"
"Fuck you, is this asshole cheating? He snipes the moment I peek!"
"Attendant, get me a bottle of Nutri-Express!"
"Baby, I'll come over after one more match. Get the room ready and wait for me..."
I craned my head for a look, then turned toward the attendant's station. Sitting there was a two-hundred-pound "pretty girl" with an afro and pink hair.
"Excuse me, are you hiring attendants here?"
"We just filled the position. Sorry."
"Oh, it's fine, it's fine..."
After hitting one wall after another, I was not impatient in the slightest. My stomach was simply too hungry, growling nonstop.
Not long after, I stopped in front of another internet cafe.
Feiyang Internet Cafe. Outside stood a huge promotional light box for Audition, with the words "100 Mbps broadband, surf with passion" written across it. On the outer wall of the internet cafe were three large characters: Hiring Attendants!
I glanced inside from the entrance. The machines near the door were occupied by flamboyantly dressed young people, all playing Audition. After strings of directional keys, they would collectively slam the spacebar!
The spacebars wailed, the keyboards smoked, and the scene nearly spiraled out of control.
At the attendant's station, a pair of dazzlingly pale legs was crossed in the air, becoming the most beautiful sight in the entire internet cafe.
I walked over and saw the owner of those long legs.
She was playing on her phone, dressed simply in a white T-shirt and denim hot pants. Her long hair flowed over her shoulders, and her delicate face looked as though it had been sculpted from jade. There was no denying that she was a stunning beauty.
Of everyone I had seen on this street, she was the prettiest.
"Attendant, is the boss here? Are you hiring attendants?" I asked.
"I'm the boss."
The long-legged beauty put down her phone and looked up at me. "You want to apply as an attendant?"
"Yeah."
"Alright."
She smiled. "You know how to log people on and off, as well as handle payments on the attendant computer, right?"
"I only need to look once."
"Then that's fine."
The long-legged beauty gave me a deep look. "Sometimes, some of the machines have system failures. Can you repair them? The previous attendants only knew how to restart them."
"I can fix them."
I nodded. "Ordinary computer problems won't stump me."
"Really?"
She looked at me with doubt in her eyes. "There's a machine that won't restart right now. Why don't you try fixing it? If you can fix it, I'll hire you."
"Alright, it's a deal."
I looked over the machines in the internet cafe, secretly delighted. The computers here were the oldest and most broken-down on the entire street. On top of that, with this group of hot-blooded Audition players, the keyboards would definitely need frequent repairs.
In a corner, a computer's cursor kept flashing, yet it refused to boot into the system.
"This is the one. Want to give it a try?" the long-legged beauty said.
I immediately sat down and entered Safe Mode with Shift+F8, then easily booted into the system...
"Wow, you really know your stuff!"
The long-legged beauty's eyes were full of little stars. She had probably never seen such an impressive internet cafe attendant before.
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