21: Chapter 21 A heavy rain destroyed his dream of attending junior college.

Chen Mo watched the group chat for a while and decided not to restrict the atmosphere.

After all, everyone gathered because of a niche hobby.

So far, they had gotten along quite pleasantly.

Even if there were occasional personal attacks, it was an unavoidable phenomenon in online chats; actually, no one had any ill intentions.

Moreover, what moved Chen Mo was...

...a small incident that happened in the group.

At that time, someone posted a Pinxixi bargain link in the group.

Although the person involved was cursed out thoroughly...

...to everyone's surprise, the bargain was actually successful just a few minutes later!

This was enough to prove that this crude, semi-finished game he made had successfully connected over a dozen strangers!

Therefore, Chen Mo still cherished the current "harmonious" atmosphere in the group.

He also planned to prioritize choosing players for Fantasy Jianghu from the group.

Learning from Tang Yao's lesson, Chen Mo planned to choose a player with a strong physique this time.

Only then would the Early Stage of the game not be so difficult.

Logically, Old Li would be a good choice.

Although he had internal injuries, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse; as a genuine Internal Strength Martial Artist, his physical fitness in all aspects was much stronger than an ordinary person's.

But on the other hand, Chen Mo was somewhat wary of Old Li's special identity.

So in the end, he chose someone else.

"Student Athlete Hu Gualing (Self-discipline, Settling down)."

According to Hu Gualing's own description in the group, he was indeed a Student Athlete in his prime.

Unfortunately, on the day of the physical exam, a heavy rain ruined his junior college dreams.

Left with no choice, he had to serve as a conscript for two years.

After being discharged, he found a security-related job.

Commonly known as a gatekeeper.

It could be considered a professional match.

Of course, according to his own words, he was "settling down," and even said something about "meeting at the peak one day."

Chen Mo didn't quite understand; he guessed it was their professional jargon.

But surely, with these experiences, Hu Gualing's physique wouldn't be too bad.

Then it would be him!

After planting a space beacon on Hu Gualing, Chen Mo set aside a small portion of his mind to observe, while most of his focus was on writing code to start the update for Text Jianghu.

...

[Name:]

"Hu Gualing."

[Welcome to Fantasy Jianghu, wish you a pleasant game!]

[Daily login achieved, fantasy points +1]

"Dreaming again?"

"But it's not a dream of my youthful days on the training ground, but a holographic game."

"Heh, interesting."

Hu Gualing looked around, his gaze locking onto the Old Village Chief.

The Old Village Chief introduced kindly, "Dreamer, welcome to Xiao Huang Village. I am the village chief here..."

Hu Gualing chuckled and interrupted the Old Village Chief, "Old man, if you know what's good for you, hand over all the top-tier equipment and hidden quests."

Old Village Chief: "I'm afraid the Young Hero will have to explore those things for himself."

"Oh, you dare talk back?"

Hu Gualing clenched his fists and approached the Old Village Chief step by step.

Bang!

"Holy crap—"

"Ouch, ouch."

Before Hu Gualing could see how the old man made his move, he was already flying through the air, crying out in pain as he hit the ground.

Am I not in a dream? How could I be humiliated by an old man?

"Damn it!"

Feeling a great sense of humiliation, Hu Gualing scrambled up and rushed at the Old Village Chief.

Bang!!

"Damn it!"

"I, a dignified Student Athlete, am already submissive enough in reality! Why do I have to take this in a dream too!"

Hu Gualing, falling to the ground once more, couldn't take it anymore.

He looked around, trying to find a handy tool to reclaim his pride from the old man.

But as he twisted his body, a sharp pain came from his buttocks.

"Hiss!"

"This dream is quite realistic."

"Forget it, forget it."

"I'll let this old man off for now."

Hu Gualing rubbed his buttocks and limped away.

As he walked, his eyes suddenly lit up.

A female player appeared in his sight.

Moreover, what this female player was wearing looked expensive at first glance.

"If I can't bully an NPC, can't I bully a little sister like you? Hehehe..."

Hu Gualing smirked and walked towards the player with the name "Tang Yao" above her head.

Meanwhile, Tang Yao was also walking towards him...

Since successfully buying the Fashion this morning...

Tang Yao's motivation for this game had suddenly decreased a lot.

At least, she no longer stayed by the river just to cut pig grass.

She began to wander around the village, trying to chat with every NPC she met, whether it was a farmer resting and wiping sweat on a ridge, or children chasing each other around an old locust tree.

It wasn't to dig for hidden quests, but purely because she hadn't talked to anyone in a long time.

Supported by an intelligence she found hard to understand, these NPCs really let her satisfy her craving for communication.

However, the fly in the ointment was that the NPCs were, after all, characters in a game world; the topics they could chat about were limited to the content of Fantasy Jianghu, such as farming techniques, village gossip, rumors about the Jianghu...

As a modern person and a girl, Tang Yao didn't know much about these things, which gave her a bit of an unrealistic feeling.

"I wonder if this is an online game or a single-player game."

"It would be great if there were other players."

"Then I could ask about the situation in the real world."

Just as Tang Yao was thinking, she suddenly stopped.

This person...

Hu Gualing?

This white name, could it be a player?

Tang Yao was suddenly a bit excited and walked towards this new face in the village.

"Hello! Are you a player too?" Tang Yao asked.

"Hmm?" Hu Gualing frowned.

What's going on?

He clearly came to rob her, but not only was the other party not afraid, she even approached him so enthusiastically. Did he, Hu Gualing, look so easy to talk to?

Moreover, looking at Tang Yao, she seemed only seventeen or eighteen, barely an adult at most, with an innocent face, which actually made him feel a bit embarrassed.

He wasn't really keen on burning, killing, and looting; it was just that life in reality was already very frustrating, and he thought that since it was a dream and no one else could see, and there would be no consequences, why not let loose?

But in previous dreams, the scenes weren't very clear, and the people he met were like they had a filter on; he could do whatever he wanted without any psychological burden.

But today's dream was a bit different.

Not only was the experience much more realistic than before, but even the girl in front of him, whom he had never seen in reality, had such detailed and real features.

"Hmph, forget it, consider yourself lucky. Your Grandpa Gualing is feeling merciful today."

Thinking this, Hu Gualing asked, "Tell me, where is the Boss?"

Hearing Hu Gualing's question, Tang Yao confirmed his identity as a player and became excited.

However, before asking about the real world, she had to answer his question first.

"The Boss? I haven't even seen a monster in the village, but I heard there are many monsters outside the village. If there's a Boss, it should be outside too."

Having wandered for so long, Tang Yao was quite familiar with the situation in Xiao Huang Village and led Hu Gualing to the east entrance of the village.

Chen Mo, who had been observing, also noticed.

Due to limited land, he had only created Xiao Huang Village so far.

The east entrance of the village was the boundary of Xiao Huang Village.

If they went further out, they would leave the game and come directly to the Main God Space.

Of course, games in reality know to set up Invisible Walls or portals, and Chen Mo had naturally considered this.

He just didn't expect that Hu Gualing would head straight for the village exit to fight a Boss as soon as he entered the game.

Truly worthy of a Student Athlete.