Virtual Divine Realm Helmet
A beast-eared girl—no, she should be a staff member of the Myriad Worlds Trading Company.
At this moment, the Cat Demon Maid wore a perfectly timed smile, her eyes were clear amber, and her gaze swept over everyone without the slightest contempt. Even though she noticed that most of Su Ye and his companions were only at the Lower God or Middle God Cultivation Level, she remained courteous and respectful, unlike the snobbish guards at the City Lord's Mansion's mansion who looked down on people.
Su Ye secretly praised him, thinking, "No wonder he runs a business, the service is impeccable."
Thumbs up!
The Desperate Old Man, spoke calmly.
"Virtual Divine Realm Helmet, open an account."
"Understood. Please follow me to the exhibition hall."
The Cat Demon Maid bowed slightly, her cat ears twitched gently, and she turned to lead the way, her cat tail swaying softly behind her. She led the group through a corridor of flowing light and into a spacious exhibition hall.
Inside the exhibition hall, the light is soft, rows of suspended display stands are neatly laid out, and all kinds of virtual terminals are quietly displayed, with light flowing slowly across the surface of the objects.
Some are simple and lightweight helmets with clean lines and a size that fits the head perfectly.
Some were enormous, semi-enclosed oval-shaped hulls, with stabilizing Divine Runes wrapped around their exteriors, their doors half-open, and the interiors lined with soft cushions to nourish the Divine Soul, and filled with a faint, calming incense mist.
Some high-end models even have helmets inlaid with Xingchen Luminous Crystal, and the Divine Soul energy they emit far surpasses that of ordinary helmets, clearly indicating that they are top-of-the-line equipment exclusively for big shots.
"Please take a look, everyone."
The Cat Demon Maid raised her hand in a gesture of invitation, her voice clear and melodious.
"This is the basic Virtual Divine Realm Helmet, also the most widely available model, priced at ten Star Coin. It offers stable Divine Soul connection with extremely low latency, sufficient for normal login to the Virtual Divine Realm, and is compatible with the vast majority of basic functions."
She moved to a larger display stand and pointed to the rows of oval-shaped hulls.
"This is Virtual Divine Pod, offering an immersive experience several times stronger, amplifying Divine Soul perception three times over. The simulation effects of cultivation, deduction, and combat within the Virtual Divine Realm far surpass those of a helmet. It also comes with a Divine Soul soothing Magic Array, making it less likely to cause mental fatigue even after prolonged online use. It is priced at ten Silver Moon Coin per unit."
Xia Zhiqiu couldn't help but lean closer, reaching out to touch the halo of light flowing outside the Virtual Divine Pod, and whispered to Su Ye.
"Ten Silver Moon Coin? My entire fortune is just over three hundred Star Coin, I don't even have a fraction of that. This stuff is way too expensive."
Su Ye glanced at the booth, having already noted the prices in his mind, and spoke, following the advice the Desperate Old Man had given him on the road.
"I'll take the basic model helmet."
The Cat Demon Maid's smile remained unchanged as she casually offered a reminder, a remark that immediately dampened everyone's spirits.
"Distinguished guest, the helmet is merely the hardware itself. To log in and use it normally, you will need to pay an operation and maintenance Rule. The Virtual Divine Realm spans the entire Divine Realm, and maintaining a massive signal link and Law anchor points incurs enormous expenses. The fee is 100 Star Coin per helmet per year, which is equivalent to 0.1 Silver Moon Coin. The Rule require a minimum prepayment of 100 years at a time."
Upon hearing this, Su Ye's heart skipped a beat.
Good grief, here comes the trick.
He had initially thought that a helmet cost 10 Star Coin, which was a bit expensive, but considering its powerful features, the price was not high, and could even be considered very cheap.
Feelings... Ten Star Coin are just the Entry Level purchase fee; the bulk of the cost is in the annual fee.
Isn't this just like some hardware companies on Blue Star that use low prices to attract customers and then exploit them with long-term service fees?
It looks cheap, but in the long run, the cost increases dozens of times.
A knowing glint flashed in Su Ye's eyes, but he remained expressionless before asking further questions.
"I'd like to ask, how are helmets charged for anonymous accounts?"
He already had a plan in mind.
The high-ranking humans in the Heavenly King Hall have not yet arrived at the Azure Mansion, nor have they opened a real-name account at the First Bank. Even if they receive the real-name helmet and the bank's identity Jade Token, they cannot activate or log in.
The anonymous helmets solve this problem perfectly; Su Ye can pay the fee on their behalf, and they can simply have them delivered to them for use.
"Our esteemed guest has been very considerate."
The Cat Demon Maid was clearly used to this demand. There were countless powerful beings in the Divine Realm who preferred to keep a low profile and did not want to bind their virtual accounts to their real-world identities, so anonymous accounts had always sold well.
"The operating costs of anonymous accounts are higher, requiring a separate and independent Divine Soul channel. They cannot be linked to real-name identity verification, so the annual fee is one thousand Star Coin, which is one Silver Moon Coin, and the minimum prepayment is one hundred years."
Upon hearing this, Xia Zhiqiu gasped, almost crying out in shock. She desperately covered her mouth, only daring to frantically send a telepathic message to Su Ye.
"My god, that's outrageous! One hundred years, that's one hundred Silver Moon Coin each! One helmet going for one hundred Silver Moon Coin, that's astronomical! Even robbery wouldn't be this fast!"
Su Ye silently did some calculations, feeling a mix of emotions.
The helmet with real-name registration costs 10 Star Coin for hardware and 100-year service fees of 10 Silver Moon Coin, for a total of 10.01 Silver Moon Coin.
An anonymous helmet costs the same ten Star Coin for hardware, but the one hundred-year service fee is a whopping one hundred Silver Moon Coin, bringing the total cost per helmet to one hundred Silver Moon Coin.
The gap is enormous.
But Su Ye couldn't skimp on this expense.
If humans want to integrate into the Divine Realm, they must first understand the affairs of the Divine Realm.
These Virtual Divine Realm Helmet are perfect for the people of the Heavenly King Hall to use to investigate information about the Divine Realm, transmit messages, and even allow everyone to meet in the Virtual Divine Realm.
For humans, it is actually a necessity.
Su Ye pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
"Then ten anonymous account helmets, plus ten real-name account helmets."
"Okay, please wait a moment while I calculate the total price."
The Cat Demon Maid lightly tapped the light-patterned bracelet on her wrist with her fingertips, and rows of pale gold Runes quickly jumped around, soon announcing the total amount.
"Ten registered helmets cost 100 Star Coin for hardware and 100 Silver Moon Coin for service fees; ten anonymous helmets cost 100 Star Coin for hardware and 1,000 Silver Moon Coin for service fees. All costs will be converted and settled uniformly, totaling 1,102 Silver Moon Coin."
Upon hearing this, Su Ye's heart skipped a beat.
After counting his money at the First Bank, he found that his entire fortune amounted to only 1,230 Silver Moon Coin. This one transaction cost him over 1,000, leaving him penniless and his wallet in a state of "poverty alert."
He took a deep breath, took out his identity Jade Token from the First Bank, and affixed it to the debit card that the Maid handed him.
"Buzz--"
A flash of light, and the payment was completed.
My account balance suddenly shrank to just over a hundred.
Su Ye touched the Jade Token in his arms, feeling a mix of emotions. Just a moment ago, he was barely considered well-off, but now he had instantly become penniless.
Xia Zhiqiu watched from the side, her eyelids twitching wildly, and she let out a mournful groan.
"Oh no, A'Su, are we bankrupt? Are we going to starve? The Virtual Divine Realm spends so much money, how are we going to survive?"
Su Ye gave a wry smile.
How to get through this?
Just grit your teeth and get through it.
I originally thought I'd have money after plundering the Demon Race.
Who would have thought?
He's a penniless wretch.