Template: New York Architect

"Do you have an architect qualification certificate? I mean one that can actually be registered in the system."

Scanning the player-run marketplace, Li Si walked up to a stall belonging to a player who sold forged documents.

"No!"

Seeing the stall owner shake his head, Li Si didn't waste any breath and immediately moved on to the next vendor.

In truth, he had noticed these forger players last time, but he had been too busy trying to scam money and had forgotten about it when he left.

He had come today specifically to buy a forged document; he remembered that a certain blue rare template could be obtained through such a forgery.

The non-full-dive virtual mode had many restrictions, but it wasn't without its benefits. While full-dive mode required players to rely entirely on themselves, the non-full-dive mode provided assistance from the game system for various skills.

Players could learn various skills from NPCs during their interactions, ranging from combat and support skills to life skills, and forging documents was one of them.

Initial templates like office workers or thugs had a high probability of encountering such NPCs, and some even started with the identity of a document forger.

In non-full-dive mode, the skills a player learned were less about personal mastery and more about the game system granting permission to execute those skills.

Essentially, the execution of these skills was handled by the game system. For example, Combat Mastery involved the system temporarily imbuing the player's body with combat instincts, while support and life skills were often performed directly by the system or by controlling the player's body.

The advantage of this execution method was that the system could imbue these skills with abilities that exceeded the norm.

Combat Mastery carried a certain probability of identifying weaknesses, and life skills had a chance to produce items that exceeded standard quality—for instance, the Forgery Skill had a small chance of producing special forged documents.

What Li Si was looking for was this specific type of document that could genuinely register identity information into the management department's database. Although these documents mostly served to mask one's identity, they could often lead to unexpected gains if used correctly.

Just like the architect qualification certificate he was looking for now; as long as he knew the method, it could allow him to bypass a series of complex applications and exams to directly obtain a blue rare template. This template could be considered one of the easiest rare templates to obtain in the entire game.

"Is this what you're looking for?"

After asking around a large circle, Li Si finally found what he wanted at a player's stall.

"That's it. I'll take it. How much?"

Seeing the document the player carefully pulled from his chest pocket, Li Si smiled.

"This..."

The player stall owner hesitated. He had only produced this by accident while practicing his skill and didn't know the market price for such an item.

Li Si saw his hesitation and pulled out a few banknotes, handing them over: "Five hundred dollars. That's my final offer. After all, this is just a forged document; ordinary ones are worth at most a dozen dollars."

"Fine, deal!"

The stall owner gritted his teeth and finally agreed.

He had used similar documents before; they had no effect other than making a forged identity look more authentic, so five hundred dollars was indeed a significant amount.

"Max, let's go. Let's find a place to grab a late-night snack!"

Taking the architect qualification certificate, Li Si didn't linger and turned to leave with Max.

Item: Forged Architect Qualification Certificate (Perfect Quality)

Type: Support Item/Misc

Effect: Using this will grant a forged architect professional qualification, which will be recorded in the relevant department's information database.

Note: Although it can pass for the real thing, it is ultimately fake. When you use it to swindle others, please pray that you don't run into a certain department with a long, foul-smelling name. Also... please stay far away from the one-eyed black man.

"Pfft! How much of a grudge does this game system have against S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

Li Si couldn't help but laugh. The game system's notes were hilarious every single time.

After laughing, he didn't hesitate to use the item immediately.

[Notification: You have used the Forged Architect Qualification Certificate (Perfect Quality). You have gained the identity disguise: Architect!]

[Notification: Because you used the Forged Architect Qualification Certificate (Perfect Quality) in New York, you have triggered a hidden effect and completed the acquisition requirements for [Template: New York Architect]!]

[Template]: New York Architect (Rare)

Attribute Bonus: None

Special Effect Bonus: None

Template Skill: Rapid Construction

Rapid Construction (Active): When leading a team in construction work, construction speed is increased by an additional 100%. Duration: 24 hours. Cooldown: 7 days.

Evaluation: As a disaster-prone New Yorker, you understand the importance of construction speed.

Acquisition Condition: Obtain an architect professional qualification recognized by the relevant New York City departments.

The New York Architect template was known by players in his past life as one of the easiest rare templates to obtain. One only needed to pass the architect qualification exam in New York to get it, and by using a perfect-quality forged document, he had even skipped the exam process entirely.

This template had no attribute or special effect bonuses, but a single skill made it transcend everything else.

Doubling construction speed for 24 hours didn't just apply to buildings; it would work even if he were building a Gundam or an aircraft carrier. Furthermore, it was a team effect—as long as they were under his leadership, even machines could benefit from the bonus.

For players following the mutation or augmentation paths, this might just be a lackluster skill, but for him, it was absolutely perfect.

Furthermore, in Full-Immersion Virtual Mode, this effect manifested as a complex buff enhancing memory, physical coordination, and more; if applied skillfully, it could achieve results far exceeding the displayed numerical values, and when used on large-scale machinery, the effect would be even more terrifying, possessing infinite potential for the late game.

[Notification: You have obtained the new template [New York Architect]. Do you wish to lock it as your new identity template?]

"No!"

Li Si decisively selected the decline option.

The so-called locking of an identity template actually determines the primary identity that influences one's gameplay style; for instance, Li Si's currently locked identity was his initial Student Template.

The biggest change brought about by switching identity templates is the alteration of standard experience acquisition methods—for example, the Student Template relies on daily class attendance tasks, the Soldier Template involves command-based missions like guard duty issued by superiors, and the Thug Template triggers random events based on probability.

If it had been the Scientist Template or the Entrepreneur Template, Li Si would naturally have switched and locked the identity without hesitation, but the experience acquisition method for the New York Architect template was incredibly frustrating; it usually involved various long-term construction projects that were not only time-consuming but offered little benefit, making it a complete waste of effort.