Book of Eras

Yang Qizhou first opened the Fate Shop, and a list immediately appeared before him.

Fate Fire Bottle (consumable): Restores spent fate power and gives the game character one extra chance to revive. Price: 100 Old Offerings.

Error Signpost (consumable): After the game character dies, they can revive somewhere else. Price: 100 Old Offerings.

Fellow Countryman's Communication (consumable): Allows the game character to cross paths with the nearest player on the map. Price: 200 Old Offerings.

Fate Chain (consumable): Allows you to team up with a player of your choice and explore the current map together. Price: 500 Old Offerings.

Book of Eras Fragment (special item): You can obtain a random fragment of the Book of Eras and learn about major events that once took place on Ancient Earth. Note: The Book of Eras has 99 pages. Once you collect them all, you can obtain the quasi-mythical item "Book of Eras." Price: 2,000 Old Offerings.

Yang Qizhou had heard of the Fate Fire Bottle, the Error Signpost, and Fellow Countryman's Communication from Cheetah, so he was familiar with them. But the effect of Fate Chain took him by surprise.

It turned out players could not only cross paths as part of the story, but also team up and explore the current map together.

As for this Book of Eras Fragment...

"Whoa, this is awesome! So if I spend 200,000 Old Offerings, I can buy a 'quasi-mythical' item?"

I need money, I need money. I want to make money right now!

At the words "quasi-mythical," Yang Qizhou's eyes went red. A fierce desire to obtain Old Offerings surged within him.

It took him a long while to calm down. Yang Qizhou continued scrolling through the list, only to find this notice...

"Your current rank is insufficient. The second-level Fate Shop is not yet open for business."

So the game thought his character was too weak and unqualified to see the better stuff.

Just you wait. Once I get rich and have hundreds of millions of Old Offerings, I'll buy out your whole damn shop and show you what happens when you look down on people.

Damn it.

Yang Qizhou angrily closed the Fate Shop and opened the Fate Exchange, only to find it completely empty.

This place is dead quiet.

Yang Qizhou froze for a moment, then quickly understood.

The game World of Weirdness probably hadn't been around for long. Everyone was groping their way through the dark, and even getting a common-grade item was incredibly difficult. They treasured every little thing they found, so who would have anything to spare for auction at the Fate Exchange?

Take Yang Qizhou, for example.

He was definitely a rich guy now. He had the quasi-legendary items Garment of the Hidden World and Law Book of Windbell Town, the epic items Holy Redemption and Silver Relic, the super-fine item Key to the Shepherd's Field, the fine item Ancient God Fire Lamp, another quasi-fine item, Stone of Truth, and the common-grade item Kanrui's Wizard Ring.

He had plenty of treasures, but each had its own use and special effect in certain situations. Even the lowest-grade one, Kanrui's Wizard Ring, could strengthen his body and grant him night vision, so Yang Qizhou couldn't bear to sell it.

And other players were even less likely to sell their items.

But as time went on and players acquired more treasures, they might have things they could replace and decide to put them up for auction. Then the Fate Exchange would finally start bustling.

Yang Qizhou closed the Fate Exchange and stretched hard. Then, as if something occurred to him, a look of gloom crossed his face.

"Damn it, that accursed Old God of the Abyss made me end the game early today."

It was no wonder Yang Qizhou was in such a bad mood.

He still had three uses of the Doom-Bringing Raven left. According to his original plan, that would have been enough for his character to obtain Fate Redemption and return to Fire-Stealing Village. But that accursed Old God of the Abyss had repaid kindness with treachery. Dying once would have been one thing, but the bastard had camped his corpse and hunted him down, leaving him no chance to reload. He'd used up all three chances to revive.

If not for the decent haul—two epic items—Yang Qizhou would have thanked the thing's entire eighteen generations of ancestors.

The game text continued to refresh.

"Unable to use the Doom-Bringing Raven to cheat, you chose to rely on the power of fate and rewrite the outcome of your death."

"You opened your eyes once more in the Wilderness, where mystery and the unknown coexisted."

"You..."

That's it, I'm done. Time to sleep.

Yang Qizhou stretched hard again and once more thanked the Old God of the Abyss's ancestors for eighteen generations. If not for its treacherous corpse-camping pursuit, he wouldn't have saved all three uses of the Doom-Bringing Raven.

That night,

Yang Qizhou dreamed he was pulverizing the Old God of the Abyss's bones and scattering the ashes. He stabbed it with an awl, burned it with fire, drowned it in water, and sliced its flesh away piece by piece with a little knife. He put it through all ten tortures before some of his pent-up resentment finally eased.

Early the next morning.

Yang Qizhou, a veteran player of World of Weirdness, a Lamp Bearer rated A+ by the Bureau of Occult Investigation, the owner of two quasi-legendary treasures and two epic items, and the holder of the Fate Achievement Enemy of Gods, had to go out to work again.

He couldn't help it.

He'd worked part-time for three days and earned 900 yuan, enough to cover his daily expenses. But what about rent? He hadn't paid last month's, and this month's was due too. It was only because Ding Xiaolan's mother was kind. Anywhere else, they'd have kicked him out long ago.

What about using the strange abilities he'd acquired in World of Weirdness to make money through shady means?

Yang Qizhou had never even considered it.

There were many reasons: it might attract the attention of the Bureau of Occult Investigation, or other World of Weirdness players might set their sights on him, among other things...

But the main reason was... he didn't want to sink into the twisted idea that violence was a way to get what he wanted.

His life was ordinary now, but at least he had some peace and quiet.

"Hey, Sister Xin. What a coincidence—you heading out too?"

Yang Qizhou had just walked out of his room when he saw his landlady coming out with her daughter, Ding Xiaolan.

His landlady's full name was Zhao Xin. She was an exceptionally attractive woman with a captivating charm. Even after having a child, she hadn't lost her figure; her stomach was perfectly flat, her clothes were fashionable and tasteful, and every glance she cast brimmed with allure.

They got along fairly well. Zhao Xin knew how hard it was for Yang Qizhou to make a living on his own in Kyoto. Whenever she made dumplings or cooked something tasty, she'd send Little Bean over with a portion. He hadn't been able to pay last month's rent, but she hadn't pressed him for it. If Sister Xin hadn't looked after him so well, Yang Qizhou might have already been forced to leave Kyoto.

When she saw Yang Qizhou, Zhao Xin smiled too. "Oh, it's you, Qizhou. There's an animation expo at Diamond Plaza today, so I'm taking Xiaolan to have a look."

An animation expo? Of course a kid would be into that.

I remember when I was seven, I was already running around the village fighting with other kids...

"Brother Qizhou, don't go to work! Come with me instead, okay?" Ding Xiaolan bounced as she called out, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

Yang Qizhou shook his head. "I can't, Little Bean. I didn't pay last month's rent, and I still have no idea how I'll pay this month's. Next month's is even more uncertain. If I don't go to work, your mom will kick me out."

Kick him out?

That seemed to touch a nerve with Ding Xiaolan, and she cried out.

"Ah, no! No way! Brother Qizhou still has to play with me! Then go to work, but you have to buy me potato chips when you get back as compensation."

"No problem. Thank you very much."

Seeing how well her daughter got along with Yang Qizhou, Zhao Xin smiled. "Xiaolan just likes to fool around. Work comes first, and don't spoil her too much."

After a little more small talk, Zhao Xin left with Ding Xiaolan.

Yang Qizhou left home too and headed to work.

On the way, Yang Qizhou raised the back of his hand. A black raven appeared there, and a strange realization echoed through his mind.

"Even the choice of whether to go have fun with Ding Xiaolan can overwrite a save point? That's really bizarre."