Home (1)

During the two days of rest, Ding Shi had been studying the Five Thunder Talisman. He focused on metal thunder and had already figured out how to draw it in a single stroke. The biggest problem was that his hand was out of practice, leaving him unable to complete the talisman in one stroke. His best result so far was ten strokes. The greatest difficulty lay in water generating wood, which required drawing a patch of tiny raindrops.

The key to drawing raindrops was hand tremors. The movement could not be too large, or it would no longer count as a one-stroke talisman. But it could not be too small either, or they would become lines instead of dots.

Just as Ding Shi felt he was beginning to grasp the knack, the second leisure dungeon, Home, officially opened.

At 7:50, Ding Shi entered the dungeon. Before him was a room by itself.

Subtitle: 8:00 to 8:10 is dungeon preparation time.

It quickly reached 8:00. Fifty-four cards appeared on the table before Ding Shi. The system's voice came like a broadcast: "Please choose one as your travel expenses."

Hearing that, Ding Shi checked his luck for the day. Oh no. One point.

Ding Shi's hand moved back and forth across the table. Like a pecking chick, he tapped at one card, picked it up, then slowly flipped it over. One hundred yuan. The 100-yuan option among the 100-to-500-yuan travel expenses. The card turned to ash, and ten ten-yuan bills appeared on the table.

The system said, "You may now purchase special items. Please note that the shopping period ends at 8:10. Please note that 100 yuan is all of your travel expenses."

Product categories popped up before him. The first thing Ding Shi saw was maps. After clicking in, he found electronic navigation maps worth 500 yuan, as well as city paper maps worth 1 yuan.

From the map information, Ding Shi learned that this dungeon consisted of over a hundred cities of varying sizes. Every city, whether it was a metropolis with millions of residents or a small county with only tens of thousands, had a corresponding paper map.

There were also timetables for each city's planes, trains, buses, and ships.

After looking around, Ding Shi's gaze settled on the map pack. The map pack cost 50 yuan and contained paper transportation maps for every city, arranged alphabetically by city name for easy reference.

If he bought the map pack, Ding Shi would have only 50 yuan left. For the next seven days, he could only walk home while sleeping rough and living off the elements.

As a modern man, Ding Shi knew full well that one could hardly get anywhere without navigation. He definitely could not afford electronic navigation, so he could only settle for the next best thing. Besides, he did not know which city he would spawn in or which cities he would pass through.

Without thinking for too long, Ding Shi spent 50 yuan on the map pack.

Next came transportation: a 700-yuan RV, fully fueled and charged, seating eight; a seven-seat business van for 400 yuan; a five-seat sedan for 200 yuan; an electric scooter for 50 yuan; and a bicycle for 5 yuan.

Besides purchasing through the current channel, after entering the dungeon, people could also visit vehicle dealerships near their spawn points to buy various means of transportation. The above prices were only reference prices. There were many vehicle models, and their prices varied. The system recommended that players form teams and pool their money to buy one.

Next were ordinary goods: tents and barbecue grills for wilderness camping, insect-repellent and mosquito-repellent sprays, and medicine for colds and fevers. There were also driver's licenses.

What?

If he had not insisted on flipping to the second-to-last page of ordinary items, Ding Shi would have nearly missed it. After clicking in, the first thing he saw was a line of text: Driving a motor vehicle without a license is illegal.

Driver's license: a 12-point credential. Once all points are deducted, it becomes invalid.

A driver's license could not be bought directly. One had to pay 10 yuan to take the theory test and score 90 or above to obtain one.

You could take it now, or apply at testing centers in any city after entering the dungeon. Note: Only ten theory questions are tested now. After entering the dungeon, you may be randomly tested on Subject Two or Subject Three.

Between the two, taking it now was clearly better.

Although more than five years had passed since he got his driver's license, the driving theory test was very simple. Basically, whenever in doubt, choose the safest answer. Ding Shi had scored 76 on his first mock Subject One test despite having never studied driving knowledge at all.

Two minutes later, Ding Shi got his driver's license. Only then did he sense that something was off. He had bought a map and taken the license test, but what about a car? Where did he have the money to buy one? Was this a consumer trap?

Ding Shi clicked to end shopping. Dungeon preparation entered its final stage. If a player did not have time to participate in this stage, the system would assign one at random.

An octagonal map appeared before Ding Shi, while fifty-four face-down cards appeared on the table.

The system's voice was gentle and pleasant, yet it pierced his heart like an arrow: "Please draw your starting point for returning home."

Damn it. With one point of luck, any draw was a death sentence.

Ding Shi had never cared much about luck until he actually needed it. Of course, one point of luck did not mean he could not win a grand prize. For example, with ten points of luck, there was a 1% chance of scratching off the jackpot. With one point of luck, there was a one-in-ten-thousand chance of scratching off the jackpot.

Ding's Interpretation Method: Out of one hundred lucky people, ninety-nine end up no better than 9,999 unlucky bastards.

Ding Shi's hand drifted across the table. Like a pecking chick, he picked up a card between two fingers and flipped it over. "South Yin County," Ding Shi read, then looked up at the map.

A dart was embedded at the very bottom of the octagonal map. Two words were written there: Starting Point.

Ding Shi put one hand to his forehead. Born unlucky, terribly sorry. He asked, "Dear system, can I wash my hands?"

A sink appeared beside Ding Shi. Seeing that four minutes remained, he vigorously washed his hands four times.

Sitting in the chair, he closed his eyes and used his mind to sense the cards' energy. In his heart, he silently chanted, South Yang, South Yang, South Yang. South Yang should be the county next to South Yin.

Like a pecking chick, he picked a card into his hand. Ding Shi slowly moved his palm, exposing the two dots of the first character. He immediately had a bad feeling. He shifted right, and sure enough, it was the character for North.

Ding Shi moved his hand away in despair. Three words were written on the card: North Yang County.

A dart appeared at the northernmost point of the map. One word was written there: Home.

Ha! Fine. Just you remember this. Ding Shi was so furious that he laughed instead.

He had been wondering whether, with a map and a driver's license, he could share a ride with someone. But think about it—how could anyone with a car possibly draw South Yin and North Yang?

It seemed he could only study public transportation after entering the dungeon.

First, he ruled out planes and high-speed trains. Those were not things a walking disaster like him could even dream of. The best form of transport was a green-skin train, because it was cheap, cheap, cheap. But not only were green-skin trains slow, he had no idea how many transfers it would take to get from South Yin to North Yang. Even then, if he only drank free hot water and ate nothing, his travel money probably would not last for such a long journey.

It seemed he would have to start begging as soon as he boarded a train. Although NPCs were heartless, among a dungeon with tens of millions of people, there had to be some kind-hearted players.

The more Ding Shi thought about it, the more he could not resist complaining to the air, "System, this is supposed to be a leisure dungeon? Even unlucky bastards have human rights, okay?"

No one responded. As the countdown continued, the dungeon preparation time ended.