The Times Have Changed!

Gao Linzhi thought to himself, That's very true.

The question was, would the company let the Rogue Players develop?

If the Rogues could see this problem, how could the company miss it?

Having ruled the world for years, how could the company willingly give up its dominance?

They would inevitably do everything in their power to drag out the real identities of the Rogue Players, one by one.

Either kneel and become a dog, or be sent to the Western Heavens.

After venting their grievances, the Rogue Players scattered again, rushing back to work.

Each one worked harder than before, sweating profusely as they polished stones and dug foundations.

Gao Linzhi fully understood them now.

Having finally glimpsed a chance to turn things around in the game, these people would naturally give it their all, never slacking off like they did in reality.

Only one player, named "Little Chi Boss," stayed behind and began haggling with Zheng Dong.

He was a thin man with a simple-looking face, but his bargaining was fierce.

He picked apart the crabs from head to toe.

After a round of bargaining, he secured the slaughter rights for all the Crab Demons at a price of 50 copper coins each.

After selling the slaughter rights, Zheng Dong distributed the money on the spot to the villagers and gave Gao Linzhi 20 copper coins.

He instructed, "Brother Canxue, follow this road at the village entrance straight into the village until you reach the center. There you'll find the Fourth Elder, who will give you some arrangements and newcomer support."

"Our East Wolf Village is different from the other three villages. The elders advocate treating you Rogue Players well."

"The elders believe you are the future of the Skyfall Continent."

"Although you only have one life, you can work in the village, haul bricks, craft talismans, and make tools to earn money and village contributions. It's quite safe."

"When we encounter monsters, we'll try to leave them with a sliver of health, then auction off the kill rights to you. You'll gain experience from killing them, and they might drop items and materials."

"How do I level up fast and gain experience quickly?" Gao Linzhi asked directly.

"Just have money. I've heard you players have a way to bring gold and silver from the real world. Gold and silver are very valuable here and are essential materials for many spirit tools," Zheng Dong said.

Gao Linzhi understood—he was talking about the Game Backpack.

So others could bring gold in too.

Gold was expensive, but industrially produced silver was cheap, only seven or eight yuan per gram.

In this regard, Corporate Players had a massive advantage. No wonder they could equip themselves with cavalry while ordinary Rogue Players were still hauling bricks.

"I don't have money," Gao Linzhi said truthfully.

It wasn't that he couldn't earn money; it was that he couldn't earn it recklessly in reality.

Thinking about it, he felt even more urgent to grow stronger.

Only by becoming strong could he break through the suffocating blockade of the company.

Instead of being able to earn tens of billions but having to settle for a measly ten million.

He wanted to spend money freely!

"Then you'll have to sell your life. You can sign a Guard Contract with the Fourth Elder at the village center. As long as you sign the contract and follow the village's reasonable arrangements, the village guarantees to train you quickly. The elders will arrange for someone to take you leveling for experience while protecting your safety and privacy."

Gao Linzhi nodded. "Alright, I'll go take a look."

Then he quickly walked toward the village center.

East Wolf Village was clearly quite wealthy.

The villagers lived in brick-and-tile houses, each with large, bright courtyards.

Many children were playing in the village, all looking sturdy.

At every household, four or five little brats were shouting and playing at the doorstep, completely unaware of life's dangers.

He thought for a moment and realized it must be because players brought supplies from the real world to spend here, enriching the village.

The real world was severely overproducing.

But there had to be limits to this carrying, or else they'd be using machine guns and cannons instead of cold weapons and steel armor.

Moreover, this carrying came with a huge risk—analyzing the real-world supplies could reveal a lot of a player's true information.

If someone frequently bought supplies, it would leave traces in reality.

The real world was an information society; the power of big data analysis was beyond ordinary imagination.

Before long, Gao Linzhi spotted a small, single-room wooden house with no courtyard.

In front of the house stood a wooden sign that read: "Fourth Elder."

Beside the sign was a large armchair, where a fat, elderly man sat with his eyes closed, dressed in fine silk like a wealthy landlord. Next to him was a copper bell.

As Gao Linzhi approached, the fat elder didn't open his eyes but simply rang the copper bell.

Soon, two players—a man and a woman—hurried out from a house behind him.

The men and women had ordinary faces, with their names hidden above their heads, but their clothing and demeanor made it obvious at a glance that they were modern people.

The man wore a denim outfit, and the woman a floral long dress.

"I'm Chen Dagang, she's Han Xiaowei—both fake names." The man's tone was somewhat cold. He cupped his hands toward Gao Linzhi and said, "I still need to get busy learning Medicine Making. Han Xiaowei, you talk to him."

With that, Chen Dagang turned back toward the wooden hut, but added one more sentence: "Be careful of the company. If your real identity gets exposed, you're basically dead."

Gao Linzhi nodded and cupped his hands to Chen Dagang in thanks.

Han Xiaowei looked at Gao Linzhi and spoke warmly: "Canxue, listen up first."

"In Skyfall Game, players and NPCs are the same—one life each."

"The village is relatively safe. You can work to earn money, buy monsters to level up. Don't even think about leaving the village before level ten."

"For new players under level ten, remember two things, and you won't lose out."

"First: Remember, life is only one."

"Second: Earn more money, accumulate more village contributions, and buy more things that boost your stats."

Gao Linzhi nodded.

"What you need to do now is hustle in the village."

"The village has five elders. The Great Elder doesn't handle affairs and is in seclusion all year round."

"The Second Elder handles Medicine Making, the Third Elder handles Talisman Crafting, and the Fifth Elder handles Artifact Crafting. Master one skill and you can sign an Ordinary Work Contract with the village, enjoy the village's safety protection, come and go freely, and not have to go to the battlefield."

"As for the Fourth Elder, he trains guards. Signing a Guard Contract means you have to go to the battlefield."

"If you can't learn a skill for now, you'll have to go to Stone Wall and carry rocks, doing heavy labor to earn contributions. You have to spend village contributions every day just to rest inside the village."

"Since we all crossed over in our real bodies, we can eat Offline. Calories are cheap, and repairing Stone Wall has the best cost-performance ratio. Over time, it can even increase your physique a little."

"If you're taking the Lone Wolf Path, at least save up 1 Gold before you consider bidding on monsters and leveling up by killing them."

"The common currency here is Gold, Silver, and Copper—three types, all with floating exchange rates. Right now, the exchange is 1 Gold for 110 Silver Coins, and 1 Silver for 150 Copper Coins. One Gold coin contains about 1 gram of gold, and one Silver coin contains about 1 gram of silver."