9: Chapter 9 Tour

Zhen Lu did not log out immediately.

He stood in the plaza for a while.

At this hour, there were fewer people in the plaza than in the evening, but many players were still coming and going.

In the distance, a group of people surrounded the golden portal, seemingly waiting for someone to emerge.

Two players were squatting beside the green portal with a few items laid out in front of them, likely hawking their wares.

The entrance to the purple portal was empty, the light screen standing there quietly, rippling occasionally like water disturbed by a breeze.

He recalled his first time entering, when Xiaoguang dragged him along to explain the rules, and he had only taken a hurried glance at the plaza before heading off to accept a mission.

The second time he came in to meet up with Brother Wei, he had also gone straight to the mission hall and left immediately after accepting one.

He hadn't properly explored either time.

He was in no rush now.

He walked slowly across the plaza.

The patterns on the stone floor beneath his feet glowed faintly, pulsing with a rhythm of light and dark.

He followed the patterns until he reached the edge of the plaza, near the white buildings.

A floating light sign hung above the entrance of the first building, displaying the words "Trading Hall".

The door was open, revealing a vast circular space inside, with light screens covering all four walls, scrolling with dense transaction information.

Some stood before the screens watching, while others negotiated prices in the corners.

Zhen Lu stood at the entrance for a moment but did not go in.

He had nothing to sell and nothing he wanted to buy.

The light sign on the second building read "Warehouse".

The door was closed, with a small information panel beside it.

He took a glance; it read: Every player possesses an initial storage space of one hundred slots, capable of holding credits, treasures, equipment, and materials.

Stored items will not be dropped upon death.

One hundred slots.

His warehouse was currently empty.

The third building was the "Rest Area".

He walked inside.

It was larger than he had imagined.

It wasn't just a room, but an indoor street.

On both sides were various shops—selling drinks, food, equipment, and repair services—as well as a few shops with strange signs hanging at their entrances that he couldn't decipher.

The street wasn't wide; it was just enough for three or five people to walk side by side.

The ground was made of the same white stone, and overhead was warm yellow lighting, resembling glowing vines hanging from the ceiling.

The light wasn't harsh; it shone on the people in the street, making everyone's expressions look softer than they did in the plaza.

He walked slowly along the street.

The first shop was a drink stall.

A player, or perhaps an NPC—Zhen Lu couldn't tell—stood behind the counter.

Wearing an apron, they were mixing something.

Several cups were arranged on the counter, containing liquids of various colors, some bubbling, some emitting mist.

The price list next to them read: Star Mist Soda, 15 credits.

Glow Honey Tea, 20 credits.

Deep Space Ice Brew, 30 credits.

15 credits.

That was about the amount he earned for an hour of work at the Logistics Center.

He didn't buy anything.

But he stood in front of the counter for a while, watching the person mix the drinks.

Their movements were very skillful—pouring liquid, adding ice, shaking the shaker, and straining—all in one smooth motion.

The person looked up at him and smiled.

Zhen Lu nodded and walked away.

The second shop was for equipment repair.

A sign hung at the entrance, depicting a sword and a shield, with the words below: Repair equipment durability, price negotiable.

The shop was piled with various metal parts and leather scraps; a young man wearing glasses was hunched over a workbench, repairing a knife.

There was a notch in the blade; he applied some kind of glowing liquid to it, then slowly polished it with a stone.

The notch gradually shrank, and finally, it vanished.

Zhen Lu watched for a moment, then continued walking forward.

The third shop had no sign, only a wooden board hanging at the entrance with "Skill Training" written in charcoal.

The door was half-open, and he peeked inside.

It was a very small room, with walls covered in various weapons—swords, blades, spears, bows, and some he couldn't name.

A middle-aged man sat on the floor, wiping a long spear with a cloth.

The spearhead was polished until it shone.

Zhen Lu's gaze lingered on the long spear.

Basic Spear Technique.

He already had it.

But he had learned it directly, without the "training" process.

Just as he was thinking this, the middle-aged man looked up and glanced at him.

"Want to learn something?"

Zhen Lu was stunned for a moment.

"Just looking."

The middle-aged man didn't speak again, lowering his head to continue wiping the spear.

Zhen Lu walked away from the entrance.

He passed a few more shops—selling equipment, selling materials—and the one with the strange sign at the entrance turned out to be a tattoo shop, where players could get patterns tattooed on their in-game bodies, with prices ranging from a few hundred to several thousand credits.

At the end of the street was a small rest area.

A few chairs and a table were set in a corner, with a vending machine nearby.

The vending machine sold the cheapest drink for 5 credits a can.

He bought a can, pulled the tab, and took a sip.

It was cold, slightly sweet, with a hint of bitterness, like some kind of herbal tea.

He sat down on a chair.

From entering the Realm of Holy Light until now: the field battles and sieges on the Ash Plain, the engine repairs on the Ring Road Circuit.

Four skills on his person.

His credits had risen from just over three thousand to over three thousand eight hundred.

But his understanding of this world had only just begun.

Trading Hall, Warehouse, Rest Area, Skill Training, Equipment Repair, Tattoo Shop.

And all those buildings he hadn't entered yet.

Xiaoguang had mentioned before that most of the buildings around the plaza were public facilities that he would frequent in the future.

When would "the future" be?

He didn't know.

But he didn't want to enter any more missions tonight.

Eight hours of repairs—although his body wasn't tired, his mind was stuffed with clamps and bolts, and he needed a break.

He finished the drink, stood up, and threw the empty can into the trash bin.

As he walked out of the rest area, he saw a small door beside the street with "Observation Deck" written on it.

He pushed the door open and went in.

A staircase.

Not long, just over a dozen steps.

He walked up.

The top was open-air.

He stood on the roof of a building, with the warm yellow lights of the rest area beneath his feet and a deep purple starry sky overhead.

The plaza was to his left, with those portals scattered across the white ground like colorful gemstones.

Further away were the silhouettes of buildings, with floating light spots moving slowly between them.

A breeze blew from somewhere, carrying that faint sweet scent.

Zhen Lu stood on the roof for a long time.

He thought of the sky over the Ash Plain.

Real blue skies and white clouds.

He thought of that cloud drifting from the west to overhead, slowly dispersing.

He thought of the burned-down village and the well at the entrance of the village.

The sky of the Realm of Holy Light was fake.

But the people here were real.

Those people haggling in the Trading Hall, the people mixing drinks in the rest area, the people repairing equipment, the people training skills—they came from different planets and different galaxies, but they were all doing their own things beneath this fake sky.

Including himself.

He touched the ring on the ring finger of his left hand.

The metal was warm.

"Xiaoguang."

"I'm here."

"Log out."

A flash of white light.

The ceiling of the Beehive Apartment.

The humming of the heat exhaust vent.

The desk lamp was on.

Zhen Lu lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

Four skills.

He slowly grinned and smiled.

Then he turned over and closed his eyes.

He had a shift to work tomorrow.

Praise the Holy Light.