"Xiao Wu, nicely done!"
Outside the Internet Cafe, Tang San watched his little sister put on a pink baseball cap bearing the Origin logo. He was so excited he nearly cried.
For the past three days, he had dreamed of the gun schematics on the big screen, each one a marvel of mechanical design.
"Brother, Boss Dai, come on in! The boss said family members of staff can enter!" Xiao Wu stood in the doorway and beckoned playfully.
Tang San and Dai Mubai exchanged a look. Both straightened their backs and tidied their rumpled collars.
The dejection of being turned away vanished in an instant.
Tang San strode through the blast-resistant glass door with his head high, as though he were a governor inspecting his territory rather than someone there to mooch a free look at the games.
"Wow, the air conditioning really packs a punch since the Internet Cafe upgraded." Dai Mubai... ahem, fanned himself with theatrical flair while his eyes searched the hall for Zhu Zhuqing.
Before they reached the familiar little plastic stools, an icy voice shattered their hopes.
"Stop!"
Wearing a cashier's apron, Zhu Zhuqing stood expressionless in the passage leading to the main gaming-pod area.
Her cold feline eyes swept over them as if they were nothing but two patches of worthless air.
"Zhu Qing... I..." The moment Dai Mubai saw her, all his swagger drained away. His voice trembled.
"Since the upgrade, no one who isn't playing is allowed to linger in the main gaming area on the first floor."
Zhu Zhuqing pointed to a newly built spiral staircase. "Spectators, please proceed to the VIP viewing room on the second floor."
"A viewing room upstairs?" Tang San froze, then rejoiced.
Senior Lin had been generous enough to build a private room where nonpaying family members could watch the big screen?
What incredible treatment!
The two hurried upstairs.
When they opened the door, the lavish room stopped them in their tracks.
A screen covered an entire wall and could display any holographic screen in the hall below. Soft carpet covered the floor, and two leather sofas looked exceptionally comfortable.
"Boss Dai, Senior Lin really is cold on the outside but warm at heart! This view is amazing!" Tang San excitedly pulled out his notebook, sank into a sofa, and prepared for another round of "learning by observation."
Just then, the door opened.
Xiao Wu came in carrying a tray with two iced Colas and a bucket of popcorn.
"Brother, have something to eat first." Xiao Wu set the tray on the coffee table.
"Xiao Wu, you're so thoughtful! Being a network administrator has its perks. You can even bring your family free treats." Dai Mubai rubbed his hands together, touched by the gesture, and picked up a Cola.
"Um... Boss Dai, Brother..." Xiao Wu's rabbit ears drooped slightly. She tugged awkwardly at the hem of her clothes and produced a bill. "The boss said that although the second-floor viewing room has a great view, it's a premium venue with a minimum charge."
"A minimum charge? How much?" Tang San's smile froze.
Xiao Wu slid the bill forward. "Ten Gold Soul Coins per person per hour. The Cola and popcorn are the 'spectator special,' fifty Gold Soul Coins per set! If you don't pay, the Internet Cafe will throw you out."
"Pfft—!" Dai Mubai sprayed out the mouthful of Cola he had just taken.
Ten Gold Soul Coins an hour?!
Fifty for a cup of black liquid and some puffed-up snacks?!
The people actually playing games downstairs paid only two Gold Soul Coins an hour!
This wasn't a viewing room. It was a place built to fleece customers!
"A rip-off... This place is an absolute rip-off!" Tang San clutched his nearly empty purse, his heart bleeding.
But the Cyberpunk 2077 loading screen had appeared on the big screen downstairs. He gritted his teeth, unwilling to walk away.
"I'll pay! Even if it bankrupts me, I'm watching today!" For the future of the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, Tang San tearfully handed over his Gold Soul Coins with a trembling hand.
Thus began the two brothers' miserable stint of paying to be confined upstairs.
Down in the hall, excitement had reached a fever pitch.
"Boss Lin! Start it up! It's been three days! Do you know what these three days have been like for me?" Dugu Bo was practically sprawled across his gaming chair, his eyes red.
During the three days without access, he had dreamed of hacking people apart with a Thermal Katana.
Ning Rongrong, Dugu Yan, and the others urged Lin Ye on with equal impatience. Their withdrawal symptoms were plain to see.
"Hold on. Since the Internet Cafe has upgraded to Lv3, Night City has received a major update too."
Lin Ye stepped out from behind the counter, and lines of new announcements appeared on the screen overhead:
"First, a new dangerous area has been unlocked: Dogtown! It's home to Night City's most vicious thugs and the finest black-market cyberware. You're all welcome to go there and die."
"Second, two-player co-op bounties are now available! You can team up and take down the hideouts of major gangs together."
At the mention of teaming up, Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up. She turned at once to Zhu Zhuqing. "Zhu Qing! Team up with me! With my heavy firepower and your time-slowing ability, we can turn Dogtown upside down!"
"I was thinking the same thing." Zhu Zhuqing nodded, battle lust kindling in her eyes.
As the veteran players eagerly prepared to log in, Hu Liena, who had failed to get the job, remained in a corner of the hall.
Seeing so many powerful people go wild over an "illusion" had thoroughly piqued the Spirit Hall saintess's curiosity.
"Boss, open a machine for me too! I want to see what's so captivating about this Night City of yours."
Hu Liena resumed her languid, alluring manner. She tossed over a money pouch and settled into a brand-new gaming pod with a coquettish laugh.
Lin Ye put away the money and watched Hu Liena's graceful figure, a knowing smile on his lips.
Go on. Night City's thugs love a confident seductress like you.
Ten minutes later, inside the game.
Hu Liena rubbed her dizzy head and woke in a filthy alley.
The pungent smell of motor oil made the pampered saintess wrinkle her nose.
"This illusion is far too grimy..."
Before she could finish complaining, three Maelstrom thugs staggered into the mouth of the alley, red cybernetic eyes glowing in their heads and steel pipes in their hands.
"Well, where did this pretty little stray come from? Why don't you come with us, sweetheart?" The thug's mechanical laughter grated on her ears.
An ordinary girl would have screamed in terror.
Hu Liena merely gave a scornful laugh.
She was a fox spirit born with an aura of charm. She wouldn't even need Soul Power against street trash like this. Her natural allure alone would make them obey.
"Gentlemen, why be so rough?"
Hu Liena deliberately lowered her voice until it sounded soft and enticing.
She approached with a seductive sway, fixed her luminous eyes on the leader, and gave him a flirtatious glance that would have stopped any normal man's heart.
"How about... you put down your weapons and do as I say?"
She waited confidently for the thugs to fall drooling at her feet, just as men did back on Douluo Continent.
Instead—
"Is this woman's eye twitching?" The Maelstrom leader paused. Then irritation flashed through his red cybernetic eye. He raised the solid steel pipe, as thick as an arm, and swung it straight at Hu Liena's beautiful face!
"I'm not interested in women! Hand over your Euros!"
Thud!
With a heavy blow, Hu Liena's vision plunged into bloodred darkness.
[System crash]
Back in the Internet Cafe.
"Aah!"
Hu Liena shrieked and shot upright, both hands clamped over her face. Terror twisted her delicate features.
For one instant, she had truly felt the pain of a steel pipe smashing her skull!
"What happened?! Why didn't my charm work on him?! That lunatic barely looked at me before bashing my head in with an iron pipe?!" Hu Liena gasped for breath, her entire understanding of the world shaken.
"Pfft."
Qian Renxue, who still hadn't entered the game, gave a cold laugh. "Your Saintess Highness, Boss Lin warned us that the people there are lunatics who've replaced their bodies with machines! Trying to charm a lump of metal that might even have a chip for a brain? How utterly foolish."
Hu Liena ground her teeth. The allure that had never failed her in her life was worth less than a scrap pipe in Night City!
"Damn hunks of metal... I'm not letting you off today!" Her frustration hardened into fierce determination. Hu Liena pulled her headset back down and charged into the game again, seething with anger.
Before you continue