"Brother Qiang, I'm just a Lv1 newbie. Going to fight Ash Domain monsters would be basically serving myself up on a platter. I think I'll pass."
After hearing Brother Qiang out, Wang Zhifan did not hesitate much before politely declining the invitation.
It was obvious enough. He was currently only a Lv1 player, as fresh a newbie as could be. Having just cleared one dungeon, going straight to challenge Ash Domain monsters invading reality would be asking to learn how the word "death" was written.
Although Wang Zhifan had not been a player for long, he had actually spent time on player forums before finding Brother Qiang's channel to buy a Player Class Card. He had gathered all kinds of information about players and knew full well that the Ash Domain threat that had emerged in recent years, which only players could handle, was not easy to deal with.
It was not because those Ash Domain monsters were especially powerful, but because they had invaded the real world. When players fought monsters in reality and got injured, there was no free treatment like when leaving a dungeon. Minor injuries were not much of a problem, but serious wounds or disability would be truly disastrous.
"Mm... I understand your situation, Brother Wang. Suggesting you go now might indeed be a bit risky."
To Wang Zhifan's surprise, Brother Qiang did not keep pestering him after his polite refusal. Instead, he began agreeing with him. But then his tone shifted, revealing his nature as a businessman.
"Brother, you really do need to improve your strength as soon as possible. As it happens, I've got a batch of fine-grade equipment on hand, including a fine-grade broadsword that suits your class perfectly. Want to upgrade your gear? Since you've only cleared one dungeon, I bet you haven't gotten a weapon that feels right yet."
"Uh... Brother Qiang, how much is that fine-grade broadsword?"
Wang Zhifan was somewhat speechless at the sudden sales pitch, but he showed no sign of it. He immediately probed with a tone that sounded eager yet strapped for cash.
"Hehe, Brother Wang, we're old acquaintances. You can rest assured about the price—absolutely affordable. It's not even half the price of the class card you bought before. A flat price: just eighty thousand kingdom credits!"
Seeing that Wang Zhifan seemed highly interested, Brother Qiang quickly named what he considered a very reasonable price for the weapon.
"Eighty thousand?! Brother Qiang, I can't afford that right now. Let's talk after I've saved enough money! I've got something to do, so I'm hanging up! Beep beep beep~"
A mere fine-grade weapon was priced at eighty thousand kingdom credits. Speechless, Wang Zhifan hurriedly hung up on the man. At the same time, he opened his mobile banking app to check the original owner's savings. He vaguely recalled that the original owner had nearly spent all his savings buying that Player Class Card, meaning he might currently be in a serious financial crisis.
Sure enough, after Wang Zhifan painstakingly recalled the original owner's banking app password and logged in, he quickly discovered that he was flat broke. The combined balance across several bank cards was only a little over one thousand credits!
"Good grief, this guy really went all out to become a player. Not only had he not worked for the past few years, he'd also spent every last bit of money his parents gave him..."
The situation gave Wang Zhifan a headache, but having fully integrated the original owner's memories, he had no trouble understanding why the original owner had done so.
The original Wang Zhifan had merely been an ordinary young man from a small town in the Xia Kingdom. His parents had been healthy, his family harmonious, and life had been decent enough.
But after graduating and heading to a big city to work, he suddenly received the devastating news that both his parents had died unexpectedly back home. The first person who contacted him told him that his parents had been murdered by a group of criminals. But after returning home, he discovered that was not the truth. In the end, he learned from official authorities that his parents had encountered an Ash Domain invasion while out and about, and had ultimately died at the hands of Ash Domain monsters!
Because of this, the original Wang Zhifan had gradually come to understand the player community and developed an intense desire to become a player and avenge his parents. Otherwise, he would never have spent so much money and effort finding a channel to purchase a Player Class Card.
"Original owner, since I inherited everything from you, I'll take on your grudge against the Ash Domain monsters as well. But I'm still far too weak right now. Wiping out Ash Domain monsters will have to wait until later."
Wang Zhifan felt considerable sympathy for the original owner who shared his name. For the sake of revenge, the man had been willing to become a player by taking the relatively weak Blademaster class, only to fall in his very first dungeon. The result had been tragic, but his unwavering resolve was worthy of praise.
"But I need to solve this financial problem as soon as possible. Otherwise, never mind next month's rent—I might not even have enough money for this month's meals..."
Troubled, Wang Zhifan closed the banking app and began ordering food through a delivery app. Since he had little money left, he could only choose cheap, filling fast food. He did not dare try any of the meals that looked more tempting and nutritious.
As for cooking for himself, that was not very realistic right now. His rented room had no kitchen and no usable cooking utensils.
"The original owner seemed to work in IT before, but he hasn't worked in over a year. I wonder if I can still find a suitable job using his previous experience."
To solve his current financial problems, Wang Zhifan began considering the possibility of becoming a wage slave again, even though he seemed somewhat resistant to the idea deep down.
Thus, while waiting for his fast food to arrive, Wang Zhifan soon sat down in front of his laptop and began writing a resume to submit.
This ordinary day soon slipped by. The city night was lively and prosperous, but it had nothing to do with Wang Zhifan. After eating his fast food to stave off hunger, he spent the entire time until midnight pondering feasible ways to escape his financial crisis.
The next morning, Wang Zhifan washed up, went outside to eat a few steamed buns, then opened his laptop to check the results of the resumes he had submitted the night before. But clearly, not a single one had received a response.
"It's already eleven o'clock. I submitted dozens of resumes yesterday, yet I haven't even gotten one interview invitation... Looks like I can only try the second option."
His plan to earn money through regular work was not progressing smoothly, so Wang Zhifan immediately thought of another way to make money. This path carried a certain degree of danger for him at present, and success was not guaranteed.
"I hope choosing my reward earlier wasn't just a fluke... Dungeon, activate!"
Having made up his mind and finished preparing himself, Wang Zhifan instantly vanished from his rented room and entered the incomparably mysterious dungeon world.
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