Membership Card

It was late at night.

The people who booked overnight stays at the internet cafe had gradually logged in. I heard that Stream City was planning to crack down on internet cafe operations, even intending to abolish the "overnight stay" service and restrict major internet cafes from operating late at night. That's why I had already pulled down the rolling shutter. From now on, no matter who came, I absolutely wouldn't open the door.

After dismantling, repairing, and reassembling a faulty computer several times, I lay down in the internet cafe manager's seat for a short rest.

When I opened the regional leaderboard, I couldn't help but be slightly startled. My ranking was rising very quickly!

1, Gun Like a Dragon Level: 18 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon

2, One Blade Into Soul Level: 17 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon

3, Milk Tea Life-Extending Immortal Level: 17 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon

4, Shadow Chaser Level: 16 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon

5, Chaos Demon King Level: 16 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon

6, Lu Xun Deletes Comments Overnight Level: 16 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon

7, Bunny Critical Hit Level: 15 Class: Firepower Specialist

8, Zu'an Liberal Arts Top Scholar Level: 15 Class: Psionicist

9, Ruolin Level: 14 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon

10, I'm Bad But Can Talk Trash Level: 14 Class: Firepower Specialist

Currently ranked fourth, it was truly a bit too flashy!

Moreover, I had to admit that the leveling speed of the top three players was indeed fast. If nothing unexpected happened, they either took on large-scale quests or, like me, obtained an Instance Crystal. Otherwise, their leveling speed wouldn't be this fast!

Of course, if they were wealthy and formed a squad with unlimited ammunition to storm through everything, their leveling speed wouldn't be slow either. However, at this stage, players were basically dirt poor, so the possibility of paying players appearing could basically be ruled out.

Every day, I made a call and continued.

Having consumed 1% of the experience for my current level, I opened the Star Chart and said in a deep voice, "Player Shadow Chaser, looking for player Chasing Light. Players with any news about Chasing Light, please contact me! Thank you!"

"Wow, it's the great Shadow Chaser..."

A player almost instantly entered the Star Chart chat room. It was still that female player named "What Should I Eat, Give Me a Bite": "Great Shadow Chaser, haven't you found your friend yet?"

"Not yet, it's a vast ocean of people, it's a bit difficult..."

"Indeed, but your leveling speed has been so fast recently. I feel like with a bit more effort, you might be able to enter the top three of the Stream City leaderboard!"

"It's just luck. My leveling speed won't be this fast from now on."

Just then, a male player entered the chat room. It was actually the player ranked 10th, "I'm Bad But Can Talk Trash." He immediately asked, "Brother Shadow Chaser, you're fourth now... Awesome..."

He chuckled and asked, "May I be so bold as to ask, what's your comprehensive combat energy level now? Let a little noob like me feel how terrifying the combat power pressure of the top five big shots is..."

"Guess?" I chuckled.

"At least 150 points, right?"

He asked cautiously, "A couple of days ago, I heard that One Blade Into Soul's combat energy officially broke through 150 points. You're ranked fourth now, and a couple more days have passed. Logically, your combat power should be close to 150, right?"

"Not yet, still a little bit away."

I glanced at my own comprehensive combat energy of 325 points, not revealing my true strength.

"Oh, that's not bad either."

"What About You?" "What Should I Eat, Give Me a Bite" said, "Trashy, what's yours?"

"Just hit 140 points. How about you, Kou Mei?"

"What Should I Eat, Give Me a Bite," who was called "Kou Mei," smiled and said, "I'm just a nobody, just passed 100. I'll take it slow. I don't dare to be too ambitious, I'm afraid of dying outside. I heard that death is real death, and I don't want to die yet."

I chuckled and then exited the chat room.

Trashy, Kou Mei...

These players are quite interesting.

So, I crossed my arms, closed my eyes, and tried to get as much sleep as possible.

I don't know how long I slept before someone suddenly shook me awake.

"Ding Han, my machine is having problems. It's a critical moment, hurry up and help me take a look!"

The person who woke me up was a regular customer who came almost every night. He played Legend and was known as Old K. He seemed to be a professional player, playing a Taoist character, making a living by farming and selling items.

"Oh?"

I immediately got up, "What's wrong? Let me see what's going on."

"Hurry up and look, the screen has been shaking since a while ago. I don't know what's happening."

Old K was a bit anxious. "I've been poisoning that Yellow Springs Cult Master for twenty minutes, and he's about to die from the poison. Ding Han, hurry up and look, don't delay me."

I quickly tested it. There weren't any major issues. A restart would solve it.

Not long after, the machine was restarted, and everything returned to normal.

"Holy crap..."

Old K was sweating.

"Don't rush it," I said. I dragged a chair over and sat down, smiling. "What's yours will be yours. Maybe the machine glitch was just a minor hiccup. Just take it easy. Want a smoke?"

"Yeah, pass one here."

I pulled out a Liqun cigarette and handed it to him, then helped him light it.

Old K, cigarette dangling from his lips, logged into his account. He squinted, looking quite pleased.

A short while later, his character appeared online.

"The Cult Master didn't get much health back, that's great!"

Old K was ecstatic. He started operating his character, spitting out red and green poisons, summoning divine beasts—the whole routine had become muscle memory. Then he unleashed a barrage of fire talismans, chipping away at the BOSS's health.

I didn't say anything, just watched from the side.

About five minutes later, accompanied by the BOSS's mournful howl, it dropped a ton of loot!

"Holy crap!"

Old K's eyes widened. Before I could react, he had his character rush over to pick up the treasures. He then opened his inventory and burst into laughter, "Ding Han, look at this?!"

I saw a thick, black stick in his inventory.

"Judgement! Damn, it finally dropped Judgement! The first Judgement on this server!"

Old K roared with laughter. Without another word, he returned to town and stored the weapon named "Judgement" in his warehouse. He turned back to me, smiling, "Ding Han, you're really my lucky star. The first Judgement on this server dropped right after you showed up. Guess how much those big shots on our server are asking for Judgement?"

"How much?"

"This much..." He held up five fingers.

"Five hundred?"

"Hell no, five thousand!"

Old K was thrilled. "Awesome! My rent and internet fees for two months are covered just like that!"

I smiled slightly. "Congratulations. That just goes to show that Feiyang Internet Cafe is your lucky spot."

"You bet!"

Old K chuckled. "To tell you the truth, I also dropped the first Limitless Staff on this server. But I didn't sell it; I kept it for myself. That's how I started snowballing. I'm the only Taoist on the whole server who can solo this BOSS. Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Impressive..."

I nodded.

Old K quickly logged into his forum account and posted a screenshot of Judgement, along with a "highest bidder wins" notice and his contact information. He then got lazy about logging back in, asked for another cigarette, and puffed away, chuckling, "Ding Han, you're not from Stream City, are you? Your accent doesn't quite match. You sound more like you're from Tengshan City in Crimson Dragon Country, or maybe a bit like Huaining City."

"Oh, really?"

I smiled. "Mr. K, where are you from?"

"Don't even mention it. I don't want to talk about the past."

Old K seemed wary of past events. "I think you're a decent guy. I heard you were the one who helped Lu Xiaobei out last time when the city management caught her selling stuff on the street."

"Just a small favor."

"Hmph..."

Old K exhaled a smoke ring. "Ding Han, do you know Lu Xiaobei?"

"What do you mean by that?"

I was slightly taken aback. "To be honest... I don't know her that well. But I can tell she's probably not from around here. This internet cafe probably hasn't been hers for too long, right?"

"Yeah."

Old K nodded. "I knew the old owner of this internet cafe too. His business wasn't doing well. He had few machines, and their performance was terrible. Later, I heard his son got into a university in BH City, so the couple decided to sell the place. Just around that time, Lu Xiaobei arrived in Stream City."

He squinted and smiled. "When she first got to Stream City, she was quite flashy. Dressed head to toe in designer brands, carrying a designer bag. Later, I heard she sold the bag and used the tens of thousands from it to take over this internet cafe. She's been running it ever since, but poorly, until you came along and things started to pick up a bit."

"No wonder."

I nodded. "The moment I saw her, I knew Lu Xiaobei wasn't someone who could handle hardship. With her soft skin and delicate hands, it's obvious she grew up pampered. She's not cut out for the early mornings and late nights of running an internet cafe."

"So you should treat her well..."

Old K gave a meaningful smile. "If one day Lu Xiaobei goes blind and falls for you, kid, you might not have to work hard for the rest of your life. Follow her home, and what kind of riches won't you have?"

"Get outta here."

I couldn't help but laugh. "I've had a strong stomach since I was little. I was never one to rely on others!"

Old K burst into laughter.

Afterward, we chatted for a while longer. Old K then took a few calls from people wanting to buy that Judgement. It seemed this game was truly popular in this era; a single Judgement was that sought after.

In the morning, just as I had opened the roll-up door, I saw a figure dart down from upstairs. Lu Xiaobei, dressed in stylish casual women's wear, rushed out.

"Where are you going?"

"To buy breakfast!"

She didn't look back, as if she would die of hunger if she was delayed another second.

I was speechless for a moment, waiting for Zhao Yihang to come and take over.

Not long after, Zhao Yihang arrived with Lu Xiaobei. Zhao Yihang looked unwell and kept his head down, while Lu Xiaobei lectured him, pointing out various shortcomings in his work.

"Ding Han, breakfast."

Lu Xiaobei plopped down in the internet cafe manager's seat and opened the breakfast bag. She had actually bought enough for two people.

"Boss, I haven't had breakfast either?" Zhao Yihang said with a cheeky grin, "Is there any for me?"

"No, go buy your own."

"Boss, you're so biased!"

I didn't stand on ceremony. I was hungry, and the hot meat buns, fried dough sticks, and hot and sour soup were indeed better than instant noodles. So, I ate breakfast with Lu Xiaobei.

"Ding Han."

She pursed her red lips and said, "Business has declined again these past two days. The utilization rate during peak hours is still too low, and it's hard to retain customers. Do you have any ideas?"

"If you want to retain customers, there's actually one way."

"What way?"

"Offer them membership cards!"