The Mysterious Shopkeeper's Trial

Looking at the face in front of him, the senior engineer narrowed his eyes.

That name sounds familiar. As a veteran player from the early days, this player perfectly demonstrated what a skill-based player is.

Meanwhile, Baozi and Da Jiba, who were not far away, were also whispering to each other as they looked at this NPC.

"Wow, this NPC is kind of handsome, he's my type."

Looking at the muscular hunk, Baozi remained silent for a moment, then quietly took two steps forward and gave a dry laugh:

"I never knew you had this hobby!"

"By the way, why didn't you let me collect the money just now? The game currency isn't worth much in the early stages," Big Muscle suddenly said, clearly not just a big-breasted, brainless guy.

"Is money more important, or a skilled player?" Baozi said meaningfully, "I have a feeling this game will cause a huge uproar."

Not far away, Yu Ye, who was carrying a knife but no umbrella, suddenly turned around and reached out his hand towards the two of them.

"What's going on?"

"I have a mission," the Rain Night Boss said calmly.

Baozi's eyes lit up, and he quickly forced a fawning smile, "Don't worry, boss, no matter what the task is, we'll find a way to help you solve it."

The muscular tyrant quickly stepped forward, his face serious, and said, "I've wandered for half my life, only regretting that I haven't met a wise ruler. If you don't abandon me—"

"Ahem," the senior engineer coughed twice, then calmly said, "I'm very busy with business and need someone to help me carry something. Would you be willing to help?"

Soon, the system's beeping sound rang out.

Name: Goods Takeaway

Difficulty: Easy

Mission Briefing: Retrieve a package for the mysterious cyborg doctor, Mr. G. Location: Welfare Gang's hideout. Target: Leaky Guy.

Mission objective: Package

Mission Rewards: Experience +100, Mr. G's Favorability +5

Note: This mysterious NPC has a vast background; delving deeper into him may yield some insights.

Upon seeing this note, all three of them gaped open.

A hidden NPC!?

Hidden quest!!

The most poignant part was the scene of him carrying a knife without an umbrella on a rainy night. The reason was simple: the shop was quite inconspicuous, and he had only casually tried it on the shopkeeper while testing his "Insight" skill.

At that moment, the person carrying a knife but no umbrella in the rain felt every pore on their body stand on end. It was an intense sense of danger, as if the other party could kill them in an instant if they wanted to.

Name: Senior Engineer

Race: Symbiote

Grade:???

Profession:???

Personal attributes:???

This was the first time he had encountered an NPC who was full of question marks. And what kind of bloodline did the symbiote have? Why would such a powerful NPC be willing to stay in this small shop? What was its purpose?

Most importantly, when he met this NPC, a hint of nostalgia flashed in the NPC's eyes.

Why?

"Then what are we waiting for?" Baozi coughed and said, seeing that Umbrella Bro looked unusually dazed.

"Wait a moment."

The senior engineer took two small handguns out of the cabinet and tossed them over.

"Take this for self-defense, and come with me for a moment."

He hesitated for a moment, carrying a knife but no umbrella on a rainy night, before following the senior engineer into the renovation room.

Although the two pistols were just basic, Baozi and Da Jiba still felt a sense of warmth. What a nice NPC, giving you pistols for self-defense. Could this be the hidden village chief of the newbie village?

"Holy crap, what is this?!"

Big Muscle Man saw the prosthetic body in the glass case and suddenly let out a loud scream.

"What are you yelling about?"

Baozi looked down and was stunned.

Bio-Chemical Triceps (Excellent): A bio-engineered muscle group from a veteran of the battlefield. A classic soldier modification surgery, grants +2 Strength, reduces recoil from rifles and submachine guns by 20%, and increases the chance of ricochets.

Reinforced Skull (Superior): Utilizes a stimulating biochemical procedure to cause significant facial bone growth, increasing skull armor by +150 and reducing headshot damage by 20%.

Magnetic finger (blank): Firearms reload time -8%

Thigh Accessory Slot (Fine): Installs a short-range weapon accessory slot on the outer thigh, increases prosthetic accessory slot by 1, and increases draw speed by 15%.

Iron Blade Arm Groove (White): Modify a special blade groove on the inside of the forearm, increases the prosthetic component slot by 1.

"Umbrella Bro just leveled up twice and only gained two attribute points, right?"

Big Muscle Man swallowed hard and looked at the only "superior" grade prosthetic body on the counter.

High Protein Burner (Excellent): Strength +5, Agility +5, Stamina -20%, Additional Skills: High-Speed Fat Burning, Armor +30%, Fire Damage -50%, Melee attacks inflict a certain burning effect, duration: 60 seconds

"One piece of equipment is worth ten levels of skill points? Is this how the game is played?" Baozi muttered.

Big Muscle Man looked at the pistol in his hand, then at the exhibits in the glass case, and swallowed hard.

Does this game support free purchases?

"Don't be silly, high-level equipment isn't that easy to get. Let's finish the newbie village quests first."

Soon, Yu Ye emerged carrying a knife but no umbrella. His previously broken hand had been replaced with a mechanical one, with a slight increase in both strength and endurance.

Let's go.

The three left reluctantly. The senior engineer smiled. Soon, these people would know that in the Cyber World, level is not the only factor.

The three quickly found the members of the welfare gang at the entrance of the arcade.

"Were you sent by the advisor? Leaky Brother, he's not here. He went to attack Sanye Street."

The three then headed to Mitsuba Street. Fortunately, the street was not far, only about a ten-minute walk away. When they arrived at Mitsuba Street, they were shocked again. There were shattered corpses everywhere, bullet holes all over the ground and walls, and several walls had even been blown down.

"Are the gangs really that heavily armed in this game?"

The muscle-bound guy who was just debating whether to play GTA immediately chickened out; with his health, two bullets would probably be enough to take him down.

Following the sound of gunfire, the three saw a series of mechanical monsters wielding chainsaws and kukri knives repeatedly charging into a department store, some even able to jump directly to the second floor.

"Level 5 ordinary gang members, level 9 welfare gang thugs, and some high-level characters of the Double Flower Red Pole type."

The welfare gang members patrolling the perimeter quickly spotted the three men. After they showed their credentials as senior engineers, carrying knives but no umbrellas in the rainy night, the leader, a man dressed as Guanyin, looked much better. He called out, and soon someone handed him a package.

"The leaky guy is busy. Tell the clerk that this is a gift from our boss."

Baozi bowed and scraped, "Thank you, brother. May I ask your name, and what is your task?"

"A mission?" The bodhisattva-like man paused, looked Baozi up and down, and sneered, "With your puny frame, and without any modifications, what help can you possibly offer?"

Baozi wasn't angry; she just muttered something after the other person left.

"It seems that every task has a threshold."

The muscular burly man stared intently at the other man's 3D Bodhisattva tattoo, the golden Thousand-Hand Guanyin's hands constantly clasping together as the other man moved.

"That tattoo is so cool! Is that skin? It's perfect golden skin!"

"Can I spend money in this game? I want to become stronger!"

"Let's go," Baozi sighed as he watched the battle nearing its end. "So there really is only one newbie perk quest."

The three of them quickly returned to Hanging Neck Street. When they reached the next street, Baozi suddenly paused and poked the big muscle man who was still thinking about the 3D Bodhisattva.

"What's wrong?"

"Look."

Not far away was a sign that glowed pink, and beneath it, two virtual girls were performing a seductive dance.

"There's even such a perk!" The muscular burly man stared intently.

"Look at the sign, Little Muscle King!"

"Hey, my name is Big Muscle Man, not Little Muscle Man. You can also call me by my nickname 'Daddy.' Besides, what's so interesting about the signboard? 'Red Dream Club,'" Big Muscle Man frowned and thought for a moment, "Why does that name sound so familiar?"

"Forum, Sister Ji."

"Holy crap, this is the silver mine!"

Below the electronic sign is an elevator; clearly, this is an underground club.

The big boss stopped the muscular burly man who wanted to get closer to take a look, raised his chin, and pointed to the customer who swiped his card to enter.

"You can't get in. It's a members-only club," Rainy Night paused, "And it's dangerous."

"Where is the danger?"

"Killing you is no problem."

After saying that, the big shot in the rainy night left on his own without offering any explanation.

"Has Umbrella Bro written too many masterpieces, causing him to become somewhat sexually apathetic in real life?" Baozi muttered.

[Mission complete, experience +100, Mr. G's favorability +5 (this favorability can be used for weapon discounts and modification discounts)]

"As expected, they offer customization options here!"

"Boss, what other tasks are there? We'll definitely help you complete them!" Baozi was brimming with enthusiasm.

The senior engineer smiled and shook his head, then began to turn off the lights, close the windows, and shut the door.

"Boss, why are you turning off the lights?"

"Of course it's time to get off work, what else can we do?"

"Do NPCs even get off work?"

The senior engineer gave Baozi a deep look, and the next moment, the player panel popped up.

[Mr. G's affection for you -2]

Baozi wanted to slap himself.

"By the way, here's a friendly reminder: find a place to stay as soon as possible tonight. The city that never sleeps can be very dangerous."

"Very dangerous, what do you mean?" Big Muscles said domineeringly.

"If there are gang fights in broad daylight, what do you think will happen at night?" the boss suddenly remarked in the rainy night.

"If we log off, what will happen to our bodies?"

"Disappear directly?" Big Muscles said domineeringly, "I'll try."

The next moment, the man's eyes rolled back and he fainted. The other two quickly held him up.

About a minute later, the muscle-bound guy opened his eyes and woke up again.

"How is it? How is it? Has it disappeared?"

The two shook their heads.

The muscular burly man suddenly tensed up. "This game's anti-harassment system applies to male players too, right?"

"This game has a stamina system, you can't just log off, and you can't recharge—it's such a rip-off!"

"Isn't this forcing us to work for NPCs and make money?!" Baozi complained.

"I'm hungry," the muscular burly man said, rubbing his belly, which actually started to rumble.

"I saw a capsule hotel on the road," the Rain Night Boss suddenly said.

He needed to rest early to recover his strength, because during the modification process, he suddenly accepted a mission.

The Mysterious Shopkeeper's Trial

Difficulty: Easy

Mission Briefing: A mysterious cyborg doctor believes you possess a certain aptitude. Please arrive at Hanging Street Employee Alley at midnight.

Mission Objective: Complete the shopkeeper's trial.

Mission Rewards: 400 Experience Points, Mr. G's Favorability +5