386: Chapter 386 We're rich, our perspective broadens

Lin Miao stood in place, her head slightly lowered, cautiously observing her surroundings.

Earlier, when facing the alien players alone, her back had been ramrod straight, her expression calm.

Now that Chen You was standing before her, sporting that blinding string of titles, her tense shoulders unconsciously slumped a little.

With someone to rely on, that forced composure dissipated, replaced by a trace of a newcomer's awkwardness.

“Captain Chen, how exactly do I take first place in this talent show?” Lin Miao asked in a low voice.

The Yuanjie System indeed possessed an extremely strong learning ability.

Chen You had originally just set up a small event in Cangxing City to farm prosperity points, and later postponed the time for the sake of the guild BOSS.

Now, the system had directly upgraded it to a server-wide event.

Auditions were held simultaneously in all major main cities, with a server-wide live broadcast to follow.

The scale had grown, but the underlying logic remained the same.

Looking at Lin Miao's serious face, Chen You suddenly felt like teasing her.

“How's your dancing?” Chen You asked.

Lin Miao froze.

She looked down at her legs, recalling seriously.

“I was enrolled in dance classes when I was a kid; I learned a bit of folk dance.”

“But I haven't danced in a long time. If I really have to, I might need to prepare a bit.”

“Let's see a bit.” Chen You folded his arms.

“Huh?” Lin Miao's eyes widened.

She looked at the coarse cloth clothes she was wearing, then at the increasing number of alien players gathering around.

She gritted her teeth, stuffed her notebook into her backpack, took half a step back, and raised her hands, genuinely preparing to strike an opening pose.

“Stop, stop, stop.” Chen You quickly reached out to push her arms down.

He was somewhat between laughter and tears.

“I was joking, you were actually going to dance.”

“Don't be so nervous. Director Li and the others aren't here; just be casual.”

“We have money; your talent isn't important.”

Lin Miao breathed a sigh of relief, a hint of a blush appearing on her cheeks.

“I thought it was a hard requirement for the mission.”

Chen You didn't respond.

He opened the system interface, found Lin Miao's name, and his fingers quickly typed in the amount for the tip.

Ten thousand Starlight Tickets.

Confirm.

The crystal plaque in Lin Miao's hand suddenly erupted with a piercing red light.

Immediately after, a deafening system notification exploded over Chuxin City's central square, even drowning out the surrounding clamor.

[Regional Announcement: Player 'Chen You' has gifted Chuxin City contestant 'Lin Miao' Starlight Tickets * 10,000! The starlight is brilliant, shining through the Source Realm!]

[Regional Announcement: Contestant 'Lin Miao's' firepower value has surpassed ten million! She has taken the top spot on the Chuxin City Audition Leaderboard!]

A massive golden banner unfurled in the air above the square. Lin Miao's name flickered with a 'rich-man gold' glow, nearly blinding everyone who looked at it.

The entirety of Chuxin City fell into a dead silence.

The professional smile on the fox-eared NPC's face froze. Her eyes bulged, and her mouth hung open wide enough to fit a fist.

The player who had just mocked Lin Miao for being thin and weak looked at the long string of zeros in the air. Thinking he was dreaming, he slapped himself twice.

Lin Miao looked down at the crystal plaque in her hand.

[Voice of Star Source · Chuxin City Audition Area]

1st Place: Lin Miao. firepower value: 10,000,000.

2nd Place: Karl. firepower value: 150.

Lin Miao swallowed hard.

She looked up at Chen You. “Captain Chen, isn't this a bit too exaggerated?”

She knew the country had allocated a massive 500 billion, but this act of spending money like water still heavily impacted her inherent perceptions.

“Exaggerated? I haven't even started yet.” Chen You closed the interface, his tone flat.

However, he hadn't expected the Starlight Ticket ratio to be so high; he had originally thought they were only worth 10,000 firepower value total.

This is the power of capital.

Chen You looked Lin Miao up and down.

This look could only be described as shabby.

“You need to change into some better-looking gear.” He rubbed his chin. “This outfit is too plain; it doesn't match your current worth.”

Lin Miao felt a bit uncomfortable under his gaze.

A memory of some fantasy online games she'd seen her classmates play back in school suddenly flashed through her mind.

The equipment for those female characters had pitifully little fabric and would jiggle violently when they walked.

Her cheeks instantly turned bright red.

“Captain Chen, I...” Lin Miao crossed her arms over her chest, her tone firm. “I absolutely will not wear the kind of armor that only covers the vital parts.”

Chen You's forehead was covered in black lines.

“What are you thinking?” Chen You was speechless. “The Source Realm is a decent game.”

“Even if you wanted to wear that, you might not even be able to buy it.”

Lin Miao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

She glanced at the alien players nearby who were still in a daze, remembering the communication barrier from earlier.

“Captain Chen, should I go do a side quest first?”

Lin Miao took out her notebook. “I can't even understand what other players are saying.”

Without an automatic translation function, it would likely lead to unexpected conflicts.

“Do quests?” Chen You laughed.

He looked at this straight-A student newcomer.

“Comrade Lin Miao, you must remember your current identity.”

“You are a Pay-to-Win player. If a problem can be solved with money, resolutely do not use 'grinding'.”

“Then how do I unlock the translation function?”

“Get a membership.” Chen You turned and walked toward the edge of the square. “The Source Realm's supreme member comes with mastery of all languages in the universe.”

“Come on, let's go to the Supreme Tower.”

Lin Miao quickly put away her notebook and followed.

Chuxin City wasn't small; there was a significant distance from the central square to the Supreme Tower.

Chen You felt walking was too slow and directly opened the mount panel.

He had wanted to summon the Nine Nether Heaven-Devouring Kun, but considering that thing was way too showy in the city and would easily cause traffic paralysis and city-wide panic, he chose a lower-key one.

A flash of white light passed.

A giant rabbit with snow-white fur, blood-red eyes, and a bell hanging around its neck appeared before the two of them.

Big White Rabbit lay on the ground, its three-part mouth twitching.

The surrounding players were excited once again.

“The legendary mount, it's that one!”

“It's back, it's all back. The rumors weren't false.”

“He's really too handsome. Ah, I'm dying.”

“Get on.” Chen You flipped himself onto the rabbit's back and patted the wide space behind him.

Lin Miao looked at this massive rabbit, then at the cool moyuan star river robe Chen You was wearing.

A trace of anticipation unconsciously rose in her heart.

She hopped onto the rabbit's back and sat behind Chen You.

“Sit tight, auto-pathing enabled.” Chen You patted the rabbit's neck.

Big White Rabbit's hind legs gave a powerful kick.

Fierce winds whipped against their faces.

The rabbit sped through the streets at a velocity that defied all biological logic.

Each leap crossed half a street, like a bolt of white lightning.

Along the way, passing players turned their heads one after another, cries of surprise rising and falling.

“Holy crap! What kind of mount is that?”

“Don't even think about it, that's God You! Even if he rode a dog, I'd think it was a divine beast!”

“Who's that girl on the back? That Lin Miao who was just first on the leaderboard?”

“Confirmed! Definitely an insider! Protest! There's a conspiracy!”

In less than a minute, Big White Rabbit came to a sudden halt before a magnificent building.

At the top of the building, three large characters were carved: Supreme Tower.

Chen You jumped off the rabbit and conveniently recalled the mount to his space.

Lin Miao moved two steps to the side, leaning against a stone pillar at the entrance of the Supreme Tower, taking several deep breaths to force down the churning in her stomach.