After a few days of exploring, Mo Bai had thoroughly explored Peach Blossom Land.

Just like Xiao Qi had said, Peach Blossom Land was a safe and peaceful city, and it was a great place to live.

That day, when she walked out of the apartment building, the sky was bright and clear. The sun was shining, and the warm sunlight fell on her, making Mo Bai close her eyes in comfort.

She rarely went out, and it had been ages since she had enjoyed the sun like this.

Although Gu Tiandong called their place a slum, the newcomers' neighborhood was basically as nice as a modern luxury apartment complex.

The environment in the neighborhood was excellent, with a total of nine buildings. The buildings were spaced far apart, so every building got plenty of sunlight on the first floor. There were three public swimming pools in the shared area, and Mo Bai saw a few players chatting and working out in the pool, just as they would in real life.

Except, of course, the players swam faster than Olympic champions, but other than that, it was pretty normal.

There was also a huge garden area in the neighborhood. Even bigger and quieter than the famous Zhuozheng Garden in Suzhou that Mo Bai had seen in videos.

Mo Bai saw a few players strolling on top of the trees. Yes, not in the forest, but on the trees. They walked on the leaves, moving around leisurely, which reminded Mo Bai of a traditional martial arts move called "Lingbo Weibu" (Graceful Step upon the Waves).

Furthermore, there was also a special sunbathing area with lounge chairs and umbrellas. Xiao Qi told Mo Bai that if she was willing to spend 50 points on a drink, a little robot would even bring her a cold beverage.

Mo Bai refused Xiao Qi's spendthrift suggestion, wheeled herself over to the sunbathing area, and closed her eyes to just enjoy the sunshine.

Besides her, a few other players were sunbathing too, and Mo Bai listened in on their conversation while relaxing.

Player A: "Every time I finish a dungeon run, I come out here to sunbathe and get rid of the bad luck."

Player B: "There's a really pretty player in a wheelchair over there. She must be from the Observation Group, right?"

Player A: "Never seen her before, probably a newbie."

Player C: "She's so pretty, should I go talk to her?"

Player B: "Forget it, who knows how long she'll survive? You fall in love too easily. If you fall for her and she dies in a dungeon, what are you gonna do?"

Player A: "For someone in the Observation Group, finding a strong and smart Combat Group player to protect her is the best bet. You're not strong enough, don't drag others down."

Player C: "Guess I'll wait until she survives her first mandatory dungeon."

Listening to them chat so openly about her, Mo Bai couldn't help but pick at her ear.

Xiao Qi said, "They're so rude, they don't even bother to avoid talking in front of you."

But Mo Bai replied, "I actually think they're not bad. They're showing a kind of friendliness from strangers."

"Huh?" Xiao Qi didn't get it.

Mo Bai explained, "You know it's rude to say that in front of people. They know it too. There are two main reasons why they do it:

First, they really don't care about me. They live freely and casually. In a world where you have to keep clearing dungeons, there's no need to care what others think. You just live your own life, and they've managed that.

Second, they're also trying to let me know that the first forced dungeon is tough and important. They hope I'll pay attention and find some strong teammates.

Moreover, they're telling me not to put too much faith in high-level players. Teammates should be around the same level. I bet the dungeon difficulty probably scales with the average level of the players. If a low-level player gets a high-level protector, the dungeon might get so hard that the low-level player can't survive."

Xiao Qi: "I get the first two reasons, but how did you figure out the same-level thing? They never said that, and I couldn't find it in my data!"

Mo Bai: "They specifically emphasized the words' same level,' so it's easy to pick up on those clues. You can go back and listen to the recording again. And besides, Gu Tiandong was right. Your assistant permissions really are too low. You can't even unlock basic info like this."

Xiao Qi went silent.

Mo Bai was adapting way too quickly.

At first, she had asked Xiao Qi a bunch of questions, but pretty soon, she didn't really need them anymore. She even started teaching Xiao Qi things.

Xiao Qi looked up all the newbie player data it could access and found that Mo Bai was different from everyone else.

Her most precious quality wasn't her Observation Group status, or her extraordinary abilities, or her changing titles, but her core as a human being.

Mo Bai had a complete and steady sense of self. She rarely felt lost and had a lot of confidence in her own judgment.

It wasn't because she was particularly smart, but because she never regretted her own decisions.

Once she made a choice, she wouldn't hesitate or look back, and she never worried about 'what if I'm wrong.' She was always willing to accept whatever consequences her decisions brought, good or bad.

That's an ability even more powerful and precious than intelligence.

"Xiao Qi's favorability towards the player has risen to 'utter loyalty'!" Xiao Qi informed Mo Bai with admiration.

Mo Bai had no idea what sort of inner struggle Xiao Qi went through, and she was a little surprised and a little happy at Xiao Qi's sudden pledge of loyalty.

"No need for such a heavy promise like 'loyalty.' I think we're already good friends," Mo Bai said.

"Okay! Xiao Qi is Mo Bai's best friend!" Xiao Qi replied firmly.

After soaking up enough sun, Mo Bai decided to head to the supermarket for some steamed buns.

Before she left, she said to the three players, "Thanks for the advice. I hope after I get through my first forced dungeon, we can be friends."

After saying that, Mo Bai left in style, leaving the three players staring at each other.

Player A: "Did we… give her any advice?"

Player B: "Weren't we just gossiping about her right to her face? Wasn't that pretty rude? How did it turn into advice?"

Player C: "Wow, she's so beautiful, so cool, so generous and kind. I really admire her. I'm completely charmed!"

Players A and B: "Shut up, you hopeless romantic!"

After leaving the neighborhood, Mo Bai was amazed by the world outside.

It was indeed a city with a wide range of public facilities.

Around the neighborhood, there were supermarkets, restaurants, clothing stores, snack stalls, and even a movie theater. All of these shops had robot owners and staff, all set up by the system, so they were clean and hygienic, and players didn't need to worry about being poisoned.

There were also public buses and taxis, both self-driving, fully controlled by AI, so you could travel even farther.

But all these amenities required points.

Mo Bai's head hurt just looking at the price list Xiao Qi showed her.

Her poor little stash of points just wasn't enough.

Looking out into the distance, she could see that the city was vast, with numerous tall buildings and even some villa districts.

"That's where the high-level players live. They buy their own houses there," a voice came from behind her.

Mo Bai didn't even need to look to know it was Gu Tiandong.

"So, have you decided to give me all your points?" Mo Bai asked.

Gu Tiandong pretended to be mad. "In your dreams! I'm not giving you money!"

"Oh," Mo Bai said, acting disappointed, "I guess I can't buy a house, then."

"I don't have enough points for a house either. See those tall buildings over there? All the apartments are over 200 square meters, and it's 30,000 points per square meter," Gu Tiandong said, full of envy.

Mo Bai was shocked. "30,000 points per square meter?! That's six million points for a 200-square-meter apartment! Who could possibly afford that? Where do you all get your points? And you're actually willing to spend 50 points on a crappy drink?!"

Gu Tiandong explained, "The first newbie game is just for experience and to get used to your abilities. It doesn't give many points. But the last two dungeons out of the three for newbies actually reward a lot of points. If you're careful and collect a few more item cards, you can get around 30,000 points after finishing the three dungeons. That's basically your starter housing fund from the system. After you get through the next two, you'll be happy to buy drinks, too."

Mo Bai: "…"

However, because she was rejected by the orphanage, she didn't even have access to those last two dungeons. So she wouldn't get the 30,000 points, either.

She quietly lowered her head. "Points are so important. Even if I had 30,000, I wouldn't want to spend them on drinks."

Gu Tiandong said, "Everyone's different. Some players think, since dungeons are so tough, they should splurge and enjoy life whenever they finish one. Others work hard to grind dungeons and save up, dreaming of buying their own big house someday or moving to 'Neverland.' As for me, I just want to save up and buy more useful item cards to boost my chances of surviving."

"Aren't the dungeons really dangerous? Why would anyone grind dungeons just to save money?" Mo Bai asked.

Gu Tiandong told her, "It's the forced dungeons that are super deadly. Besides those, there are a ton of regular and daily dungeons. Those are ones that players have already beaten and figured out. You can buy information from other players and team up to grind them repeatedly. But most dungeons can only be run once every seven days. If it weren't for these time limits, some players would do seven daily dungeons a day just to save up for a house."

Mo Bai's eyes lit up. "So we can do more daily dungeons, use the points from those to buy item cards, and increase our odds in the forced dungeons! That way, we can live happily ever after in Peach Blossom Land!"

Xiao Qi chimed in, "Right! I've been telling you all along, Peach Blossom Land is a happy and safe place. It just takes a lot of points. But you'll definitely earn lots of points!"

But Gu Tiandong said, "Wishful thinking. Look at your item slots, how many cards can you even carry?"

Mo Bai checked her wristband. "Three."

She already had two in there.

Gu Tiandong said, "Beginners can carry three cards, intermediates can carry four, and advanced players can carry five. No matter what dungeon it is, we can only bring that many cards.

"And there are level restrictions, too. Beginners can have one B-level and two C-level cards. Intermediates can have one A-level and three B-levels or lower. Advanced players can have one S-level, two A-levels, and two B-levels or lower."

Mo Bai glanced at her two cards. Both were B-level, which was already over the limit. "Is it really that strict?"

Gu Tiandong said, "You can only trade cards like that, but if you get a card in a dungeon yourself, you can keep it no matter what level it is. If you get a high-level card, never sell it. It's your lifeline."

Mo Bai carefully put away her two cards. They were worth 20,000 points, but she decided not to sell.

"Wang Fan only told you the system's buyback price. Players only sell the junk cards from daily dungeons to the system. Any card with real value, players will sell to other players for a much higher price," Gu Tiandong said, pushing Mo Bai's wheelchair. "Come on, I'll take you to the biggest player free-trade market."

"Wow!" Mo Bai felt like a whole new world had opened up, full of curiosity.

Gu Tiandong tapped her on the head and laughed. "It's only at times like this you act like a regular girl. Usually, you're more like a schemer."

Mo Bai said, "Aren't you mad that I pretended to be all nice to trick you before?"

Gu Tiandong replied, "Everyone's got some way to protect themselves. You can keep pretending if you want, just not when we're alone. I already told you my biggest secret, so you can't put on a front with me!"

Mo Bai scratched her nose. "But you didn't actually tell me. I figured it out because I'm smart."

"Yeah, yeah, you're the smartest," Gu Tiandong said perfunctorily.

He flagged down a taxi and took Mo Bai to the trading market, paying the fare himself, which cost 130 points.

During the ride, Mo Bai watched the meter climb higher and higher, feeling her spirit take a thousand-point hit. She almost rolled her eyes into the back of her head.

The free-trade market was a vast, elaborate hall. Right at the entrance was a massive screen. Players could connect their wristbands to the screen, check trading info from their device, or just sit in front of the big screen to soak up the atmosphere.

Gu Tiandong taught Mo Bai how to connect to the screen, and they both looked at the info on their wristband displays.

You could choose who could see your screen: 'only me,' 'friends,' or 'everyone.' Mo Bai picked 'friends,' so she and Gu Tiandong could look together.

There were two main types of info: intelligence and items.

Mo Bai checked out the intelligence section first. There were all sorts of requests and offers. Requests to buy information, people selling data, and even some calls for intelligence gathering. Most of the posters were anonymous; only the sellers were required to use their real names.

Gu Tiandong explained, "That's to ensure authenticity. Here, you can sell fake info, so to avoid scams, the seller has to use their real name, but buyers can stay anonymous."

"Is it essentially designed to assist people in pursuing scammers?" Mo Bai joked.

She scrolled through and noticed three posts:

[Buying intel on B-level monster "Enhanced Mutant." Must include weaknesses. 10,000 points.]

[Selling partial info on A-level monster "Phantom Butterfly." Acquired in-dungeon, incomplete. 10,000 points.]

[Selling partial info on B-level forced dungeon "Count Leon's Castle." 20,000 points.]

Seeing the last two, Mo Bai's eyes practically lit up.

 

 

The Author Has Something to Say:

Mo Bai: Gu Tiandong, would you mind robbing the system bank with me? I’m broke!
Gu Tiandong: I mind. We can’t win.
Xiao Qi: Xiao Qi can hold up a banner to cheer for the Players!
Mo Bai: These two teammates are useless.