Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Star Wish Club
Guangwei Street was one of Mountain City Mountain’s most bustling commercial districts, located right next to the Mountain City Mountain First Senior Academy.
Long Ming used to come here often when he was in school, but he hadn’t been back since graduating.
After two years, the place had changed quite a bit. It was even more prosperous than before, with many new shops lining both sides of the street.
*Haaa...*
Long Ming let out a soft sigh and started walking forward.
Soon, Long Ming arrived at a star cafe called Moon Wave. It was the best one in the area, and he had been here a few times before.
After Civilization Paradise launched, this star cafe had updated its equipment and pivoted to a new business model.
But it couldn’t be helped. Civilization Paradise was, after all, officially sanctioned, and its impact was incomparable to any previous game.
If they didn’t adapt, their only fate was to be weeded out.
Long Ming walked inside and entered the lobby of the Moon Wave Star Cafe. He glanced around and saw that while the layout was the same, there had been some minor changes.
The desktop computers that used to fill the lobby had all been removed, replaced by a giant projection screen.
It was displaying video footage of players exploring Civilization Paradise.
A large crowd had gathered to watch.
As for the private rooms, all the equipment had been replaced with VR headsets for customers to use.
Long Ming walked straight to the counter.
Just then, an attractive waitress wearing a bunny girl outfit and black stockings approached him with a smile.
"I’m Xiaowei from the Moon Wave Star Cafe. Are you here to log on?"
"Yes. I heard you have game pods here."
"That’s right. Our Moon Wave Star Cafe is equipped with the latest model of game pods."
"What are the rates?"
Long Ming immediately asked Xiaowei about the specific costs.
"The game pods are 200 Mountain Coins an hour. Additionally, the pods come with three nutrient injections, which are 1,000 Mountain Coins each."
Xiaowei glanced at Long Ming’s clothes as she explained the specific costs.
"That expensive?"
Long Ming’s heart sank when he heard her words.
Calculating the cost for three days, it would be a staggering 17,200 Mountain Coins. The money he had on him wasn’t nearly enough.
In fact, Long Ming knew that using a game pod would be expensive, which was why he had specifically borrowed 10,000 Mountain Coins from Wang Yang. But he never expected it to be this ridiculously pricey.
This was far beyond what he could afford. While he could scrape the money together, if this dungeon exploration failed, he would be in real trouble.
Hearing Long Ming’s reaction, Xiaowei said with a smile,
"It is very expensive, but there’s also high demand. Our star cafe’s game pods are all booked for the next week. Even if you wanted to get on one now, there are no machines available."
"Alright, thank you."
Hearing this, Long Ming gave up with a sigh of resignation and turned to leave.
Soon, Long Ming walked out of the Moon Wave Star Cafe.
He stood by the side of the road, watching the young men and women on the street laughing and talking, a melancholy look on his face.
’This is a problem. Even with money, I can’t rent a game pod.’
CRACKLE... POP... POP...
Just then, the loud crackle of firecrackers erupted from nearby.
Long Ming looked toward the sound and saw that a new star cafe had opened diagonally across from Moon Wave Star Cafe.
A group of curvy young women in matching uniforms were smiling broadly and using megaphones to announce:
"Grand opening for Star Wish Cafe! Everything is 50% off!"
Long Ming’s heart skipped a beat when he heard this. ’Fifty percent off everything?’
If this star cafe also had game pods, wouldn’t that mean it would only cost 8,600 Mountain Coins? If so, he could barely afford it.
At this thought, Long Ming immediately headed toward the newly opened Star Wish Cafe.
When he arrived in front of the Star Wish Cafe, he saw that the place was massive. It occupied two six-story buildings clad in off-white stone.
This was one of the most prosperous commercial districts; not only was the rent expensive, but properties were hard to come by even if you had the money, let alone renting two adjacent buildings at once. If he remembered correctly, these two buildings had originally been a shopping mall.
Long Ming also noticed that although both buildings belonged to Star Wish Cafe, they seemed to serve different functions.
The building on the left was labeled "Star Wish Cafe," while the one on the right was labeled "Star Wish Club." Long lines snaked out from the entrances of both.
Long Ming went to get in the back of the line for the Star Wish Cafe, then looked curiously at the line for the club.
He saw a young woman in a pink maid dress and a cat-ear headband enthusiastically shouting to the people in line.
"The Star Wish Club is recruiting pioneering players for Civilization Paradise! Professional players and retired military personnel get priority! Once accepted, you’ll receive a full benefits package, a 16-month salary, free use of all game equipment, plus extra perks..."
At that moment, a skinny young man with black-framed glasses excitedly said to his companion,
"The benefits are amazing!"
"They are great, but Ah Tao, I heard the evaluation is pretty strict. A lot of people have failed."
"What’s there to be afraid of? I’m a professional gaming master!"
...
Just then, a large, burly man standing in front of them turned around, snorted coldly, and said,
"What damn good is a ’professional master’? Civilization Paradise isn’t just some game. It requires real skill."
"You say I can’t do it, so you think you can?"
Ah Tao retorted, clearly unconvinced.
"Of course! I’m a veteran who’s seen real combat. If I could afford a game pod and didn’t have to come here for a free one, I wouldn’t even be here."
The burly man replied proudly.
Ah Tao immediately fell silent.
...
Hearing this, Long Ming’s expression became thoughtful.
He hadn’t expected these clubs to be willing to offer such generous compensation to recruit people.
It was so tempting that even Long Ming was moved, but he quickly dismissed the idea. ’In my physical condition, just coughing a couple of times would scare people off. Besides, clubs like this require high-intensity training. I wouldn’t be able to handle it.’
Time ticked by, second by second.
Soon, Long Ming reached the front of the line.
A beautiful young woman in a blue uniform, with a lovely face and a youthful air, guided Long Ming inside, saying,
"This way, sir!"
"Mm."
Long Ming then walked in.
The lobby of the Star Wish Cafe was luxuriously decorated and spacious. Its design concept seemed to take a page from the Moon Wave Star Cafe across the street, as they had also designed it as a viewing hall.
Using the latest equipment, they were projecting footage of the Star Wish Club’s experts running dungeons.
This drew in many passersby, who stopped to watch.
Long Ming also paused to watch the projected screen. ’I didn’t know you could record gameplay?’ he thought.
The footage currently playing showed an agile man tying a rope to a high-rise balcony, grabbing it, and sliding straight down.
"So cool!"
"That’s Brother Lei for you! He’s a beast!"
...
The crowd on site erupted in excited shouts.
Feeling a bit of excitement himself from watching the scene, Long Ming headed for the counter.
"Hello, sir. I’m Xiaoqi. How may I help you?"
A short girl in a black and white maid dress, with a delicate, oval face and small, cherry-like lips, greeted him warmly.
"I’d like to ask, does your 50% off everything promotion include the game pods?"
"It does."
"Great. Please get one ready for me."
Long Ming said to Xiaoqi immediately.
"I’m sorry, sir. Because of our grand opening promotion, we’ve had a huge number of customers. All of our game pods are currently full."
Xiaoqi explained apologetically to Long Ming.
"Then when will a game pod be available?"
"The earliest will be in three days."
"Thank you."
Hearing this, Long Ming turned to leave, disappointed.
Soon, Long Ming walked out of the Star Wish Cafe.
He stood at the entrance and sighed softly. He hadn’t expected the flicker of hope he’d just felt to be extinguished so quickly.
It looked like he had to make a choice now: either give up and go back, or raise more money and search for a game pod at every star cafe, one by one.
Just as Long Ming was about to leave...
a somewhat surprised voice called out.
"Well, well! If it isn’t Long Ming!"
