Dark Night Pier

After chatting with Lin Qimeng a little longer and sneaking a few more glances at her legs, Wang Qianduo happily returned to his seat.

He gave Wang Jun a quick explanation, then happily logged into the game.

How could he pass up a good thing like this? Just like he'd said:

Why had he worked so hard to get where he was? So he could slack off at work without a care in the world.

Now he had a chance to do that without even having to work for it. Of course he had to make the most of it!

"Us ordinary folks are so happy today!"

Wang Qianduo happily logged into the game, only for one piece of bad news after another to arrive, instantly ruining his mood.

"Old Wang, we might not be able to run dungeons with you tonight. We need to take our team members through them—they've reached level five too!"

Wang Qianduo had only just logged on when a message from Song in the Clouds came through.

Song in the Clouds: "...Didn't you say you could only get on tonight? You've put me in such an awkward position!"

Wang Qianduo: "Ahem, something unexpected came up, so I can get on during the day too!

Go ahead and run dungeons with your teammates. We can team up another time!"

"Sure. Let's play together another time!"

Not long after Song in the Clouds sent that message, Sister Cat sent him one too.

The gist was much the same. The main members of her Guild had also reached level five in large numbers, and they needed her to take them through dungeons.

The effects of the Mountains and Seas announcement had caught up with him. Wang Qianduo had suddenly become all alone.

But that wasn't the whole story. The reasons they gave were only part of it.

People couldn't always do as they pleased. The two sides were competitors, after all, and it wasn't ideal for them to keep teaming up.

Even if Song in the Clouds and the others didn't mind continuing to team up, how could the gaming clubs behind them not care?

It was like League of Legends tournaments, where star players from one team were always queueing up and ranking with players from another. What would the audience think if it happened once or twice? And what would the clubs think if it kept happening?

Besides, they were all core players. Their Guilds really did need them to help drive development.

Song in the Clouds and Sword of Miracles could each lead a team on their own. Having them team up together would just be a waste of resources!

Even if they were keeping the Main Quest in mind, they couldn't very well tolerate that kind of loss.

So Wang Qianduo was in a bit of a bind. He knew he might need a regular team of his own, but it wasn't easy to find reliable teammates.

Getting to know people at random was too risky. If his teammates weren't up to the task, he'd be stuck with endless trouble.

"Forget it. I'll do the quest first. There's always a way through once you get to the mountain!" Wang Qianduo gave himself a pep talk, then set off for Fairy Star in Star Sector Nine.

In the Mecha Era, the Star Domain containing the Homeworld was Star Sector Zero. Star Sectors One through Three formed a triangle around it.

Star Sectors Four through Eleven were connected to form a polyhedron, enclosing Star Sectors One through Three in turn.

This was the ultimate line of defense humanity had built for its Homeworld.

But as the years passed and the times changed, the Homeworld gradually lost all but its symbolic significance.

The Alliance Council had moved several decades ago, leaving the Homeworld's status as the political center in name only. The defenses in the surrounding area had grown weaker year by year.

In the past, if pirates had managed to infiltrate the area at will like this, heads would have rolled throughout the Alliance.

But now, hardly anyone even bothered to care!

After arriving on Fairy Star through a Teleportation Array, Wang Qianduo looked at the bustling main city, far more prosperous than Homeworld Base, removed his Mecha, and walked straight in.

Countless starships passed through the area, and the variety of ships and fleets left Wang Qianduo dazzled.

Fairy Star sat at an important junction of the north-south interstellar routes and was the only habitable Planet for humans in the region.

It was also the sole port of entry to and exit from the Homeworld Star Domain, so it was only natural that it was far more prosperous than Homeworld Base.

But that was also exactly why Fairy Star's defenses were riddled with holes, giving people a chance to infiltrate the area.

In any game, the best places to gather information were the ones where all sorts of people mixed together.

And on Fairy Star, the only place that fit the bill was the famous nightclub Night Wharf. Wang Qianduo had heard about it from several well-informed NPCs he'd asked.

It was just opening time at Night Wharf, so Wang Qianduo hailed a cab and headed straight there.

Players could have their own vehicles in this game. After all, the main city was bigger than Kyoto; making people run everywhere would wear them out.

Besides, Mechas couldn't be summoned inside the main city, so players needed another way to get around.

But there was a level requirement for owning a vehicle. Your Mecha had to be at least level ten.

That was why so many people said the game truly began at level ten. Reaching that Mecha level unlocked far too many things.

"Sir, we're here. That'll be three Silver Crystals."

"Thanks. Here you go!"

After paying and getting out, Wang Qianduo stood outside Night Wharf's entrance, stunned.

He'd thought that no matter how famous Night Wharf was, it was still just a nightclub. How big could it be? At most, it would be a little more luxurious than usual.

But when he arrived, he realized he'd been wrong. Night Wharf was far larger than he'd imagined.

He stood at one end of the street. As far as he could see, the enormous complex of buildings before him all belonged to the nightclub.

Night Wharf!

"Hello, sir. We're members-only. Please show your membership card."

Just as Wang Qianduo was about to go in, a staff member stopped him.

"I'm not a member. How do I sign up?" Wang Qianduo asked with a frown.

With a nightclub this big, no wonder there's nothing about it on the forums. So it's members-only? This is going to be a problem.

Worried, he followed the staff member to the membership registration hall.

"Sir, just stand here. We need to verify your credentials."

The staff member led Wang Qianduo to a glowing ring on the floor and gestured for him to step inside.

This so-called Night Wharf was certainly a little disrespectful, but Wang Qianduo wanted to see whether he qualified, so he stepped onto the ring anyway.

After all, he held a military rank: squad leader at Homeworld Base. That had to count for something.

Who could have guessed that the moment Wang Qianduo stepped on it, the ring would begin to glow? First it gave off a faint blue light, then a lovely orange one.

But neither color lasted long. A dazzling Red Light burst out and completely covered them both.

"Red Light? What rank is that? I've never seen anything like it!" the staff member murmured.

Just then, someone suddenly burst through the door. He took one look at Wang Qianduo surrounded by the Red Light, went pale with shock, kicked the staff member aside, then bent down and helped Wang Qianduo off the ring.

"I'm sorry, sir. My subordinate didn't know any better and brought you somewhere like this. I hope you'll forgive us."

"Who are you?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm the manager here, Alan Kemi. You can call me Alan!"

After helping Wang Qianduo down, the man spoke in an almost obsequious tone.

Wang Qianduo: "Alan, all right. Can I get a membership card and go in now?"

"Of course. Someone bring this gentleman a Supreme Gold Card. I'll cover all his expenses today!"

Alan's attitude left Wang Qianduo utterly bewildered. Why was this man treating him like this?

"Sir, forgive me for asking, but with your status, why didn't you use the special entrance? How did you end up coming in through here?

"This entrance is for visitors from other Star Domains. We use it to check that no dangerous people have slipped in, so it's a little..."

Alan handed Wang Qianduo a gold membership card and quietly explained.

"Me? What status do I have?" Wang Qianduo asked, looking at Alan in confusion.

But to Alan, that look was the intimidating stare of a powerful big shot. Frightened, he immediately slapped himself and said:

"No status! Right, no status! Don't worry, I don't know anything about you, and I've never seen you." At the same time, he glanced at his subordinates. Only after seeing them all bow their heads at a ninety-degree angle did he look back at Wang Qianduo.

Wang Qianduo: "???"

Are you people crazy? Can't you just talk normally? Why not simply tell me why you're treating me this way?

But Wang Qianduo really had no idea either, so he could only play along.

He'd have plenty of chances to find out about his status later. The quest was more important.

Then, led by Alan, he entered Night Wharf.

All this made Wang Qianduo furrow his brows. He'd thought a nightclub this huge might be different somehow, but it seemed that all crows were black.

Having lived two lives, Wang Qianduo was a calm person. He'd never liked this kind of atmosphere.

The noise, the frenzy, the indulgence—it all made him feel out of place. Maybe that was why he'd been single for so long.