Game Shop

Lu Ziye wasted no time putting up a massive bragging post.

[Pinned viral post]: "Thanks for asking. Currently in the Wasteland, just wiped out an Evil God. First-beta veterans teach you newbies how to survive tomorrow!"

Original poster: [Passing Pure-Love Warrior]:

"Brothers, no more pretending. The progress bar got stuck this afternoon because we wiped out every monster around the starting village.

"To unlock the Second Beta Test for you fifty hungry little newbies, the five of us stormed the Cultists' hideout in the neighboring village! We even soloed a second-tier incubator stitched together from countless chunks of corpses along the way! Not only did that thing have blood spikes that could instantly kill everyone on the screen, it could also drain blood to heal!"

"But! Against the Fourth Catastrophe's shameless infinite-respawn tactics, even the Evil God would have to take a couple of bitch slaps!"

"Enough talk. Tomorrow at seven, all fifty newbies who won a spot should come straight to the Church and find us after logging in."

"Veterans guiding rookies, guaranteed to get you up to speed! We'll kill trash mobs for you and teach you how to craft stone tools by hand!"

The moment the post went up, the comments exploded, passing ten thousand replies in minutes.

Sour Lemon Essence: "Holy shit!!! Level 7? How are you leveling so fast? You're cheating, aren't you?!"

Zu'an Wenquxing: "Infinite respawns? Shameless tactics? Damn... that sounds so satisfying! Why didn't I get a spot?! Aaaah!"

Ji Luo: "A friendly reminder to all Second Beta Test players: the death penalty in this game deducts money. Without the right survival skills, you'll go bankrupt within ten minutes of leaving town. Remember to buy a guide from us when you log in tomorrow. Fair prices for everyone."

That night, the five first-beta players turned the entire forum upside down.

Discussion of Awakening of the Old Gods shot straight to the top of the trending lists on Blue Star's major social platforms!

As the lucky winners popped up on the forum one after another to show off, the spectators who hadn't secured a spot nearly ground their back teeth to dust.

Meanwhile, inside a penthouse duplex in an upscale residential complex.

Bang!

Dressed in silk pajamas, Ji Li hurled the bottle of purified water in her hand onto the sofa without a shred of concern for her image. Her chest heaved violently; she was clearly furious.

"Stupid game! Garbage system!"

"I've been alive for over twenty years, and I've never once had to hit pity in a gacha game. And today, I actually got defeated by some lousy 1 KB installer?!"

Ji Li gritted her teeth and stared at the merciless rejection email on her tablet as though she wanted to burn a hole through the screen.

Beside her, Ji Luo emerged fresh from his shower, his short hair still dripping wet.

Seeing his older sister's furious expression, he couldn't help laughing at her misfortune as he dried his hair.

"Pfft... Sis, just accept your fate."

"Millions of people online were fighting over fifty spots. With your rotten luck, you should've stayed out of it."

"Shut up!"

Ji Li turned and shot him a vicious glare. Then her eyes shifted, and her tone suddenly softened, carrying a hint of foxlike cunning. "My dear little brother, how about..."

"Stop! Not a chance! Not even a tiny one!"

Ji Luo backed away three steps like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "I told you, this game binds to your soul. If someone else puts on the helmet, the screen just goes black! Don't even think about borrowing my account. I've got to go train those fifty fresh suckers tomorrow!"

Speechless with frustration, Ji Li could only pick up her tablet again and angrily browse the forum to distract herself.

Meanwhile, the five-man squad's Green Bubble Group was also celebrating like never before.

[Even Monkeys Have Dignity]: "Brothers! Look at the forum! Look at all that buzz! We've really gone down in history this time!"

[Kindergarten Boss]: "I just went out for a late-night snack, and a bunch of college students at the next table were all talking about us. They said we beat an elite monster bare-handed and called us gaming gods. I've never had this much glory in my life."

[Passing Pure-Love Warrior]: "Enough chatter! Fifty new slave laborers are clocking in tomorrow morning. As veteran players, we've got to make one hell of an impression!"

"We have to show off our exclusive titles tomorrow and put those new kids in their place right off the bat!"

The five of them eagerly traded ideas about tomorrow's beta launch for quite a while before logging off one by one to rest and recharge for the arrival of the new players.

The Weird World.

All was silent inside the dilapidated Church at the edge of the Black Forest.

Beyond the blue dome of light, only the wind's mournful howl through the Wasteland remained.

Seated within the Divine Statue, Lin En felt no urge to sleep.

As he looked at the bill the system had just finished settling in the backend, he felt both pained and excited.

[Ding! The Ash bodies for fifty Second Beta Test players have been woven.]

[Each body cost 100 Faith Points. Total deducted: 5,000 points.]

[Current Faith Points balance: 1,130 points.]

"Money really does disappear fucking fast."

Looking at his suddenly depleted balance, Lin En couldn't help drawing a sharp breath inwardly.

The gains he had painstakingly squeezed out of the trash mobs and that half-finished second-tier boss had all gone into infrastructure in the blink of an eye.

But investment was meant to bring greater returns.

Fifty lively members of the Fourth Catastrophe, unafraid of death and desperate to prove themselves in a fully immersive game.

These weren't fifty mouths to feed. They were fifty tireless Faith Points harvesting machines!

As though confirming Lin En's thoughts, the system's cold mechanical voice sounded in his mind again. This time, however, it brought an unexpected surprise.

[Ding! Detected that the total player count has surpassed 50.]

[Congratulations to the host for completing the hidden milestone achievement: Spark!]

[Next milestone objective: reach 100 players. Reward: 10,000 Faith Points!]

[Current milestone reward issued: the system's underlying feature-Ash Shop (basic)-has officially unlocked!]

"A game shop?"

Lin En perked up and immediately opened the newly unlocked control panel.

The player backend, which had previously contained only a few bare buttons, now had a [Shop management] tab glowing with dark golden light.

Lin En clicked it, and his eyes instantly lit up.

This was an official shop designed specifically for players!

The system supplied a selection of basic common-grade equipment and items in the shop, which players could purchase using [Ash Coins] earned from killing monsters and completing quests.

The basic shop didn't have many items unlocked yet, but every one of them was an absolute necessity for the players currently running around bare-assed with wooden sticks:

[Item 1: Ash Robe (no stats)]

[Price: 10 Ash Coins]

[Description: A simple robe woven from sacred ash. Although it provides no defensive bonuses, wearing it makes you a respectable Ash Apostle.]

"These robes are definitely going to sell like crazy!"

Lin En was absolutely certain.

Those members of the Fourth Catastrophe might be idiots, but they still had modern tastes.

They wandered around in starter boxer shorts every day, feeling a chilly draft around their crotches even when they tried to show off.

At ten coins for a little "dignity," every last one of them would buy one!

Besides clothes to cover themselves, the shop also stocked a selection of basic weapons, greatly expanding the players' common-grade options for early progression:

[Ash Dagger (common-grade light weapon)-price: 10 Ash Coins.]

[Ash Longbow (common-grade ranged weapon, includes Whitewood Arrows ×20)-price: 10 Ash Coins.]

[Ash Leather Shield (common-grade defensive weapon)-price: 10 Ash Coins.]