NES Classic Four

[You have entered Space Island Central Plaza. The entire Space Island is a safe zone. While on Space Island, you will be able to communicate freely with all players and NPCs.]

All players who passed the Novice Trial would, upon leaving their Personal Space for the first time, automatically appear in the plaza at the very center of Space Island.

Just as most train stations in China had drivers soliciting passengers, Chosen Space had people doing this sort of thing too.

Making money wasn't shameful~

But people differed from one another. Among those touts at train stations, some were honestly trying to make a living, while others would forcibly take your suitcase and try to lead you into a shady shop, betting that you would be too embarrassed to refuse.

This was also documented in the "Greed Island" arc of Hunter x Hunter.

Learning to tell such people apart was also part of gaining life experience.

As for Cheng Tian, who couldn't be bothered to guess at other people's intentions, he had maintained one attitude from beginning to end—pretend they did not exist.

He was especially wary of that guy who kept repeating, as if exchanging a code phrase, "Interested in swimming and fitness?"

As the saying went, when fellow townsmen met, one shot the other in the back. Besides, this was Chosen Space, a place that did not prohibit players from killing each other. The more they called themselves "compatriots," the more vigilant he needed to be.

Seeing that this masked Cheng Tian was so completely uncooperative, the group that preyed on information gaps among newcomers—known by other players as "hyenas"—all grimaced and moved away from him, preparing to scam the next Novice Player who passed the trial.

Cheng Tian did not go far. Instead, he watched the group's bored backs from a distance.

Though he did not know how many of them had completely altered their appearances, he had indeed seen quite a few Non-Human Race forms.

Before long, Cheng Tian saw another male newcomer appear, followed by the hyenas surrounding him.

The newcomer's face had the standard Mosaic Appearance, meaning he had used the Face Blurring Function, yet he still dazedly followed a Deep V Succubus dressed in exceptionally revealing clothes.

Cheng Tian was very curious whether that Deep V Succubus was actually male or female.

But that had nothing to do with him. Time to clear the War Fog over Space Island first.

According to the Projected Road Signs floating in midair, Space Island was generally divided into four major areas.

The East District was the Bounty Mission Area centered around the Player Quest Hall. To the south was the Enhancement Trading Area, focused on "Equipment Enhancement," the "Player Market," and the "Auction House." To the north was the Training Combat Area, centered around the "Wooden Man Training Ground" and "PK Colosseum." The West Side was the Entertainment Leisure Area, a chaotic place with a bit of everything.

Filled with curiosity, Cheng Tian headed south first.

Cheng Tian had no interest in scenery attractions or the like. Whenever he arrived somewhere new, he would always find and visit the local Wholesale Market and Secondhand Market first. Perhaps he could spend an entire day browsing without paying a cent, treating it as nothing more than a shopping companion outing, yet he never tired of it.

Of course, in Chosen Space, he had an additional purpose: observing and analyzing the market prices of Space Items.

Although Cheng Tian had the typical, intense desire to save money of someone from an old-school Chinese work unit, when playing games, he displayed another financial style. As long as there was no mandatory savings target, he would push himself to the limit to convert every last bit of Game Currency into Combat Power for his character and team.

If there was better equipment, he upgraded it. If there was nothing to upgrade, he stockpiled supplies. He dared to spend money, but never recklessly. That was Cheng Tian's approach to gaming.

As long as his character became stronger, money could always be earned back later—and certainly more efficiently. If he got himself killed just to save a couple of bucks, that would be what annoyed Cheng Tian most.

Clearly, when it came to Chosen Space and Chosen Players, Cheng Tian chose the most game-like way of dealing with them.

Incidentally, the Space Island Designer was most likely a Doraemon reader too. The seemingly flat ground was actually made up of countless little balls. One only needed to step onto them and lean slightly toward the destination, and the balls beneath one's feet would immediately begin rolling, carrying the person in that direction.

Cheng Tian accidentally played around with it for a while too long, only finally reining himself in after being pointed at and discussed by passersby whose identities as players were uncertain.

After roughly making a round and asking around, Cheng Tian got a general idea of the Transaction Types here through sheer freeloading.

The first was the Auction House, which had its own independent building. Auctions were held at fixed times every month, and only items with genuine value could be included. Chosen Space also took a percentage cut.

The second was applying to open a shop. Chosen Space only charged a shop fee, but the prerequisite was that one had to reach a certain Transaction Volume each month. Otherwise, the shop would be forcibly removed the next month, and one would be unable to apply again for a long time.

The last was simply setting up a ground stall. This was also the most common type, because there were no Stall Fees, intermediary fees, or anything of the sort. Whether one sold much or little, it was all one's own profit.

Some sellers simply spread a rag on the ground, labeled their items with prices, and tossed them on top. Buyers interested in the goods would squat down in the Asian style, pick them up, and start haggling.

Of course, there was no need to worry about anything being snatched away here. Chosen Space had rules protecting it.

Though Chosen Space inhumanely abducted many people who had no desire to enter it, forcing them to risk their lives in dungeons and missions, it also gave due protection to the spoils players successfully brought back.

The Player Market Area had items of every conceivable origin and type, and quite a few of them stirred up Cheng Tian's old memories.

For example, at a stall where the owner was absent and had simply set out a weapon rack for buyers to choose from, Cheng Tian rummaged through it for a while before immediately realizing that its owner likely had a team behind him.

That was because all these weapons came from different Game Blueprints. It was impossible for a Lone Player to have acquired them all at once in the same dungeon.

For instance, among the same type of straight spear weapons, Cheng Tian saw ones from three different dungeons: Dynasty Warriors, Fire Emblem, and Meteor Butterfly Sword. All of them were Green Excellent Grade.

The Dynasty Warriors one had the greatest room for growth, the Fire Emblem one had the highest Attack Power Panel, and the Meteor Butterfly Sword one had the most Derivative Moves.

There was also a firearms stall next door. With just one glance, Cheng Tian dared to conclude that the owner here probably knew of the Chinese-made concept of the "NES Classic Four."

Because he saw the Type F Flamethrower from Contra, the RPG Launcher from Green Army, the Blooming Rocket from Chi Color Fortress, and the Crystal Wingman from Salamander... huh?

Crystal Wingman!?

Cheng Tian snapped to attention on the spot!