Medicine King Valley

Fengyuan Star was a planet on the edge of the Tianhe Star Region, close to the Gloomy Star Region. Since the Gloomy Star Region was a virus-infected area, many experts researching genes stayed on Fengyuan Star to collect various Gene Viruses, conduct experiments, and develop new medicines.

Sea Emperor had chosen this route partly because it lay along the New Trade Route, and partly because this planet might hold a way to raise Gu Ding's genetic level.

At the Young Eagle's speed, the journey from Deep Sea Star to Fengyuan Star would take a week.

After saying goodbye to his friends on Deep Sea Star, Gu Ding climbed into the Young Eagle. Sea Emperor took over the ship's systems, set the destination, and switched the spacecraft to automatic navigation mode. The brand-new Young Eagle soon flew away from Deep Sea Star.

The Young Eagle's interior covered less than eight square meters and had no built-in gravity device. In a spacecraft without gravity, travelers spent most of the journey secured in sleeping pods in deep sleep. Under normal circumstances, Gu Ding would spend most of that week asleep. However, he was not someone who could stay idle, so he decided to spend all seven days on the virtual network.

Gu Ding was now a member of the Medicine God Alliance and could access its exclusive network—Medicine King Valley.

After securing himself in the cockpit seat, Gu Ding had Sea Emperor connect him to Medicine King Valley's network.

Only after entering Medicine King Valley did Gu Ding realize how misleading the name was. It was not some secluded forest valley cut off from the world, but a modern metropolis. It was far more prosperous than Shangjing City, the busiest city on Deep Sea Star. Skyscrapers stood everywhere, all kinds of transportation filled the streets, and there were plenty of pedestrians.

"Didn't they say there weren't many pharmacists?" Gu Ding was a little surprised. Judging from the traffic and the density of the crowds, while it could not compare to Shangjing City's population of over ten million, this virtual city had at least several million residents.

"Less than one-tenth of Medicine King Valley's population are actual pharmacists. Everyone else is considered a temporary resident." Within just a second or two of entering, Sea Emperor had gathered plenty of information about Medicine King Valley through various channels. "Most of these temporary residents are ordinary people who come into the city to buy medicines. Of course, there are also large-scale purchasers, material suppliers, and so on. Only real pharmacists can obtain permanent residency, and only pharmacists are qualified to enter certain restricted areas. The higher a pharmacist's rank, the more authority they receive."

"It sounds like an online game." Gu Ding grinned.

Just then, a high-end hover car stopped in front of Gu Ding. The driver waved at him from inside. "Young pharmacist, where would you like to go?"

"I'm not really sure..." Gu Ding scratched his head awkwardly. "And I don't have any currency here, so you don't need to bother with me."

"This must be your first time logging into Medicine King Valley, right? Pharmacists can ride public transportation here for free." The driver smiled. "Get in. I'll take you around. Acting as a guide is part of our job too."

"He isn't lying. Free transportation really is one of a pharmacist's privileges. Temporary residents have to pay. Go take a look around with him first," Sea Emperor suggested.

Gu Ding sat in the front passenger seat and glanced at the nameplate on the other man's chest. It read Kyle. He could not help asking, "Uncle Kyle, how did you know I was a pharmacist?"

"Everyone in Medicine King Valley has an inspection function. You can check someone's status to learn their identity." Kyle smiled. "Medicine King Valley is actually similar to an online game. You need to explore many of its functions gradually, so I'll give you a basic explanation."

Kyle drove while explaining the various functions of Medicine King Valley. Whenever they passed special buildings, he slowed down and told Gu Ding what they were used for.

"That tall, pointed building ahead is the exchange. Pharmacists can receive virtual materials of the corresponding grade for free, based on their own rank, to use for practice."

"So an F-Grade pharmacist can only receive materials for F-Grade medicines for free?" Gu Ding felt that was probably what he meant.

"That's right." Kyle nodded.

"Is there somewhere here to advance a pharmacist's rank? I heard before that rank advancement here is the same as advancing your actual rank?" Gu Ding had heard Pa Ma mention this before.

"Yes. Rank advancement is over at the Medicine God Academy. I'll take you there later and point it out." Kyle explained enthusiastically. "Medicine King Valley itself is the system responsible for managing pharmacists' ranks. Advancing here in the virtual world is the same as advancing at a Medicine God Alliance branch. Although the medicine materials and medicines here are virtual, the system has incorporated all sorts of possible variables and can simulate the reactions during medicine refining with one hundred percent accuracy. If you can refine an A-Grade medicine here, it means you can also refine an A-Grade medicine in the Real World."

"A one-hundred-percent simulation..." Gu Ding found it hard to believe. There were simply too many variables caused by different combinations of medicine materials, not to mention the various effects of medicinal properties.

"The Medicine King Valley system is actually a special intelligence derived from the heavens. Its simulations are not limited to stored data; they also include calculations based on prediction and inference. Every kind of medicine material has highly precise records of its various data, so the results of these calculations rarely contain errors. The calculations themselves are not difficult, but with such a large population here, it still amounts to quite a substantial workload," Sea Emperor added.

"Once we've finished looking around this area, I'll take you over to the Medicine God Academy." Kyle continued driving.

As they passed a particularly crowded area, Kyle slowed the car again.

"Uncle Kyle, why are there so many people over there?" Gu Ding could not help asking when he saw the packed crowd.

"Heh, that's an arena. Many young pharmacists arrange competitions there, so there are lots of spectators." Kyle smiled as he explained.

"An arena?" Gu Ding did not quite understand. "Do the pharmacists here compete in martial arts like the people in the Virtual Arena?"

"Of course not. They compete in refining medicines. The quality of the finished medicine and the speed of refining are what determine victory or defeat. Of course, I don't really understand it myself. As they say, outsiders only watch for the excitement." Kyle laughed.

"Then, Uncle Kyle, I'll get off here." Gu Ding grinned, feeling that he had found a good place. "Thank you."

"All right, young man. I hope you have fun here." Kyle nodded with a smile. He knew that young people all had a competitive streak.