Journey

The prosperity of the Virtual Universe far exceeded Tang Ping's imagination. Walking through the streets of Black Dragon Mountain Island, he finally understood the true meaning of the saying, "Money makes the world go round."

As long as you have enough Black Dragon Coins in your pocket, you can buy anything you can imagine, and you can even personally craft a dreamlike virtual world of your own.

In that place, you can be a god who commands the wind and rain, or an overlord who traverses the stars. Even scenarios that are difficult to realize in reality can be custom-tailored for you by the Virtual Universe Company, provided you are willing to spend the money.

Tang Ping's figure wove back and forth through the alleys, his gaze firmly drawn by the flashing advertisements on the roadside screens.

Those ads were filmed with great allure: "Experience starship piloting for free," "Purchase Immortal-rank special effects at a low discount," "Chat online with exotic beauties in your city"—every single one made his heart race.

However, when he followed the prompts and spent 10 Black Dragon Coins to teleport over, he discovered it was all a scam. The so-called "free experience" was nothing more than sitting in a simulation pod and watching a ten-minute promotional video.

The "low discount" special effects turned out to be "low price for the first month, with the price increasing tenfold every month thereafter" once he clicked the details page. Most absurd of all was the "local chat" service; upon teleporting, he only saw a robotic customer service agent saying he had to top up 1,000 Black Dragon Coins to become a member before he could be matched with a real person.

He reluctantly had Xiao Ai pull up a price comparison for similar items, and the result was even more infuriating. The "discounted prices" in some ads were actually higher than the current prices in other shops.

Not to mention the street was filled with shills for bars and restaurants. Seeing that he was a "newcomer," they would enthusiastically drag him to high-end restaurants where a single meal would cost tens of thousands of Black Dragon Coins.

Others pretended to be "cultivation mentors," claiming they could help him quickly improve his rank, when in reality, they were just trying to swindle his personal information and residential address.

"I didn't expect there to be so many scammers in this universe!" Tang Ping rubbed his throbbing temples. In just half an hour, he had lost 10,000 Black Dragon Coins to these traps. The worst part was that his good mood had been completely ruined, and even the bustling scene on the street now felt irritating.

He clenched his fists and secretly swore to himself, "Once I become powerful in the future, I will definitely pick a scammer at random every day to give them a good beating, and I'll confiscate all their assets—especially those shills who prey on people's emotions. They are just too detestable!"

Note that down in the little book!

After wandering around indignantly, Tang Ping discovered that the only places in the entire Virtual Universe he could trust were the few partner shops marked on the Luo Family membership card.

After all, they were family-certified merchants; they wouldn't dare to swindle their own people.

As for the notifications constantly popping up in his message bar, such as "Exotic beauties dealing cards live" or "Virtual psychoactive drugs for a dreamlike experience," he didn't even bother to click them.

I stand firmly against gambling and drugs!

Just then, the message bar suddenly emitted a sharp alert sound. A pinned, bolded, and red-highlighted message popped up, and the sender was displayed as "Luo Hongguo."

Tang Ping was stunned for a moment. Luo Hongguo was the true patriarch of the Luo Family, Luo Feng's father. His status in the Luo Family was supreme, and his word was law.

However, this patriarch knew his own strength and insight were limited, so he never concerned himself with family affairs. In his life, he focused on only two things: consuming various heavenly treasures to improve his rank, and playing games in the Virtual Universe with his wife.

It is said that the Luo Family specifically arranged for many disciples, vassals, servants, and even employees of the family's companies to have one primary task every day: to play games with Luo Hongguo and keep him happy.

Moreover, this patriarch was extremely generous. Sometimes a casual reward from him was higher than those people's annual salaries, so everyone around him was loyal and wished they could revolve around him 24 hours a day.

Tang Ping opened the message and saw it read: "Little Tang, I know you are the Luo Family's son-in-law. I see you've been wandering around the Virtual Universe for a long time and don't seem to have anything to do. Do you want to come and play some games with me?

I checked your family evaluation, and you have first-class aptitude. Our guild happens to be short on a Star Rank combat talent. If you're interested, contact our guild steward after you log in; his ID is 'Sky Edge Swordsman.'

Our guild is in the Journey 8888 district. It's an overlord-level guild called 'God Domain'."

Tang Ping stroked his chin and fell into deep thought.

His current strength was indeed not weak; with the support of his Wind-Thunder Fusion Domain, he could even contend with Star Rankers. However, his biggest weakness was a lack of combat experience—well, real combat experience, not the kind he had when "sparring" with Luo Xiaoyu.

He had previously been pondering how to find opportunities to accumulate experience in the Virtual Universe. At the time, he had three options in mind:

The first was the Killing Field of the Virtual Universe, where one could set up opponents at will, ranging from martial artists with maxed-out secret techniques of the same rank to various exotic powerhouses, or even World Lord-level simulated opponents.

But once he saw the price, he backed down. Entering the Killing Field for one day cost 1 million Black Dragon Coins; it was simply too expensive.

The second was to join the Ganwu Universe's largest educational institution, the "Ganwu Dojo," to challenge other students and improve his ranking. If he were lucky, he might even be noticed by a World Lord or an Immortal powerhouse and taken as a disciple.

But Babata had specifically warned him to hide his strength as much as possible before mastering the laws, so as not to attract the attention of exotic races, and to wait until he could enter the Ganwu Secret Realm in one go. So, this option had to be abandoned as well.

The third was "tower climbing." There were many Trial Tower-style games in the Virtual Universe where one could gain experience and rewards upon clearing levels. However, most required payment, and the difficulty was extremely high, making it hard for a novice to accumulate experience quickly.

Thinking about it this way, Luo Hongguo's invitation became the best choice.

Although the combat in the game was virtual, it could still train real combat techniques. Moreover, it was said that the wealthy people in the game would equip their characters with all kinds of high-tier gear, exotic pets, and even items that simulated laws, making the combat scenes no less impressive than reality.

More importantly, "God Domain" was an overlord-level guild, so there would certainly be no shortage of combat opportunities. Following guild members to run dungeons and fight for resources every day would allow him to accumulate experience and get familiar with people.

He also suddenly thought that Luo Xiaoyu was likely bored while in seclusion, though she was too competitive to admit it.

Neither of them could leave Storm Port right now. If they could team up in the game, they might even make a name for themselves, like "Black and White Duo" or something similar. Just thinking about it felt interesting.

Hehehe~

Ten minutes later, Tang Ping tapped his fingertip on the virtual panel, and the scene before him shifted abruptly.

The flowing light dissipated, and a creation interface engraved with interstellar patterns slowly unfolded. A soft electronic voice rang in his ears: "Welcome to Journey. Please set your character's appearance, gender, race, and talent.

Special races must be obtained through lucky draws. You receive a ten-pull upon logging in; additional draws require payment in Black Dragon Coins. It is detected that you possess Star Rank strength; you may choose to use your original body's power and talent directly."

Tang Ping was here to experience combat, so he naturally chose his own power and talent. However, when his gaze swept across the clothing store, a robe named "Dark Forbearance" caught his attention.

The robe was pitch black, with dark patterns faintly flowing across the fabric, as if the night itself had been woven into it.

The description read: "Special effect: After wearing, it is impossible for anyone to see the wearer's figure or appearance from any angle, and the wearer will always maintain a lowered-head posture. The clothing will not be damaged in any combat."

This outfit could hide his identity and carried an air of mystery, which was exactly what he wanted. Without the slightest hesitation, Tang Ping paid 10,000 Black Dragon Coins and added the robe to his inventory.

As for the character name, he pondered for a moment and typed one character: "Wind."

Cool is all that matters!

"Beep! Welcome 'Wind', ID 9989242435, to the Journey world." The moment the electronic voice faded, Tang Ping felt the light and shadow shift before his eyes. The next second, he found himself in a bustling virtual main city. The streets were filled with traffic and people, and players dressed in various outfits moved about—some holding long swords, others carrying staves on their backs. The air seemed to be filled with passion and anticipation.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he immediately pulled up the guild list, searched for "God Domain," and found the contact information for the manager, Sky Edge Swordsman.

"I am Tang Ping, invited by Patriarch Luo Hongguo to join the guild." After sending the message, he clenched his fists, a flicker of excitement flashing in the depths of his eyes.

The slaughter was about to begin!

One hour later, Tang Ping stood in a desolate desert, gazing at the solitary city standing before him, his face full of confusion.

This city was named "Lost City," its walls built from dark yellow rock that shimmered with a rough luster under the scorching sun; outside the city gates, only vast clouds of yellow sand rolled with the Wind, and not a single soul was in sight—it was truly a "place where birds don't even lay eggs."

[System Notification: You have been appointed as the Lord of Lost City. Monthly salary: 100,000 Silver Blue Coins. Primary mission: Garrison Lost City, oversee the mines outside the city, and prevent hostile guilds or other players from stealing ore.]

Where in this dump was there any fighting to be done? Damn it! I've been played by the capitalists!