Chapter 26: Chapter 26: Activation
Soon, Long Ming reached the main entrance.
Just as he was about to leave, an urgent shout came from behind him.
"Sir, wait a moment!"
Long Ming subconsciously stopped at the sound, turning to see the employee, Xiaoqi, running after him. He asked, a little confused.
"Is something wrong?"
"Sir, didn’t you want a game pod?"
"Yes, what about it?"
"A game pod just became available."
Xiaoqi quickly explained.
"Didn’t you just say there weren’t any? How is there one available all of a sudden?"
Long Ming’s brow furrowed slightly, a flicker of suspicion instinctively rising within him.
"Well, a customer just canceled their booking. I immediately thought of you, so I chased after you."
Xiaoqi explained the reason to Long Ming with a smile.
Hearing Xiaoqi’s words, Long Ming fell silent for a moment, not immediately agreeing to book the pod.
Seeing that Long Ming hadn’t immediately booked the pod, Xiaoqi quickly tried to persuade him.
"Sir, we’re having a half-off promotion right now, it’s a really great deal! You shouldn’t hesitate, or someone else will book it in a minute."
"Alright, I’ll book it for three days!"
Long Ming let out a soft breath and said to Xiaoqi.
"That’s great! This way, please, sir!"
Overjoyed that Long Ming had agreed, Xiaoqi led him toward the Star Wish Cafe.
As Long Ming followed Xiaoqi into the Star Wish Cafe, his gaze swept over to Luoxue, who was surrounded by a crowd of admirers.
"Our Star Wish Cafe is divided into three main parts. The main hall is the viewing area, where we sometimes livestream footage of our club’s experts exploring the worlds of Civilization. Of course, we’ll also broadcast tournaments here in the future. The second and third floors are all individual private rooms equipped with the latest helmets. And you don’t need to worry about security; all rooms can be locked from the inside, and all hallways have surveillance cameras and patrolling security guards."
Xiaoqi led Long Ming up the stairs.
"Mm."
Long Ming glanced at the second-floor area out of the corner of his eye.
The entire second floor was partitioned into small private rooms. Security guards could be seen patrolling the hallways. The environment was so quiet it was as if no one was there.
"The fourth through sixth floors are the VIP area. The rooms here are all equipped with game pods."
"So many game pods?"
Long Ming was a little surprised to hear this.
"Yep, our boss and shareholders are very influential."
"How many shareholders do you have?"
"Five."
Xiaoqi replied, quite talkative.
"That’s good."
Long Ming replied calmly.
Just then, Xiaoqi brought Long Ming to the sixth floor. The decor here was even more luxurious than the second floor. The ground was paved with black and gold tiles, and various works of art hung on the walls. This floor also had a self-serve bar with fruit, snacks, and drinks.
"This is the self-serve area. Everything is free. If you’re hungry, feel free to help yourself."
Xiaoqi explained to Long Ming.
"Nice."
Long Ming glanced over; the snacks and drinks on display were all from high-end brands.
Xiaoqi led Long Ming further in, where they could see a series of individual private rooms. Every door was shut tight, and the "Do Not Disturb" indicator lights above them were all on.
It was clear that almost all the rooms were occupied.
"This room is for you, sir."
Xiaoqi stopped and said to Long Ming.
Long Ming glanced at the room number, 666, and subconsciously commented.
"Pretty auspicious."
"I’m glad you like it. Here’s the key card for the room."
Xiaoqi handed the key card to Long Ming.
After taking the key card, Long Ming swiped it over the electronic lock.
BZZZT~
The room’s door automatically slid open.
Long Ming walked into the room. It wasn’t very large, about fifteen square meters, with a game pod in the center, a single sofa to the side, and a private bathroom in the corner.
"This is the game pod. The switch is here, and using it isn’t much different from the helmet..."
Xiaoqi gave Long Ming a brief introduction.
"Okay, how do I pay?"
"There’s no rush for that. You can settle the bill after your session. That way it’s more convenient if you want to leave early or extend your time."
"Alright."
"I hope you have a great time."
Xiaoqi gave Long Ming a slight bow before exiting the room.
Long Ming reached out, closed the door, and pressed the "Do Not Disturb" switch on the wall.
After doing so, he walked over to the game pod.
The entire pod was 2.5 meters long, its shell made of a gray, matte metal that gave it a high-quality feel.
Long Ming reached out and pressed the power button on the pod’s surface.
CLICK!
The pod’s lid automatically opened.
Long Ming took off his shoes, lay down inside the pod, and closed it.
A projected screen then appeared before his eyes.
"Launch Civilization Paradise?"
"Yes!"
Long Ming confirmed directly.
WHOOSH!
Following a flash of white light, Long Ming instantly appeared in Starry City.
The noisy, bustling sounds of the city filled his ears.
Long Ming lifted his wristband, tapped it, and took out his M24 sniper rifle and its attachments.
He then began to assemble the parts, pressing the bullets he had purchased into the magazine one by one.
Although taking the M24 sniper rifle into an instance might result in him dying and losing everything, if he didn’t bring it, he’d have no one to blame but himself if he ended up needing it.
At that moment, players passing by saw Long Ming assembling the M24 and cried out in amazement.
"Whoa, what kind of weapon is that?"
"It looks so cool!"
...
Long Ming ignored them, focusing on attaching the 4x scope, suppressor, and other accessories.
Just then, a man in a leather jacket with a scar on his left cheek saw the M24. His eyes lit up, and he immediately came over to get friendly.
"Bro, that’s a nice gun you’ve got there. Looks pretty badass."
Long Ming, however, did not respond.
"My name is Ah Tao, but everyone calls me Brother Tao. I specialize in buying gear in this area, so I’m pretty well-known. I see your weapon is excellent. How about you sell it to me? I’ll pay a high price!"
Ah Tao said with great patience.
"Not for sale."
Long Ming rejected him outright without even looking up.
"Bro, don’t be so quick to refuse. I’m willing to offer 800,000 one-dimensional coins or the equivalent in offline currency."
"Not for sale."
"One million!"
Ah Tao immediately raised the price. Judging by the weapon’s condition, its durability had to be high. It would definitely sell for a good price.
"I said, it’s not for sale."
Having finished assembling the M24, Long Ming equipped it and replied coldly.
"Bro, listen to me. You’d be a fool not to sell right now. You know what they say, scarcity creates value. The game’s drop rate is low right now, and all the whales have high demand, which is why your gun is valuable. In a little while, the market will be flooded with drops, and your weapon won’t be worth anything. In other words, every second you delay, this gun loses value!"
"Still not selling. I’m going to use it myself."
"No, are you really this dumb? If you take that weapon into an instance and die, you’ll lose everything! You’re better off selling it to a whale while you still can."
Brother Tao tried his hardest to persuade Long Ming.
In reality, the reason Brother Tao was pleading so earnestly was that Long Ming’s gun was absolutely top-tier among all the weapons that had dropped in the game so far.
The whales would definitely be willing to pay a fortune for it, and he could make a hefty profit.
"No need."
Long Ming turned and walked away.
Watching Long Ming’s retreating back, Brother Tao cursed in annoyance.
"Fuck, what an idiot. He just got a little lucky and stumbled upon a good weapon. Does he really think his luck will always be that good?"
"Exactly! Doesn’t know what’s good for him. He’ll be crying about it later."
"Sigh... what a waste of such a good weapon. If it were me, I would’ve sold it long ago."
...
Seeing how ungrateful Long Ming was, the players watching from the side also chimed in.
Meanwhile, Long Ming walked to a more open area and took out the invitation.
A prompt immediately popped up on his wristband’s interface.
"Activate Anfa Civilization Invitation?"
"Yes!"
With a determined look in his eyes, Long Ming chose to activate it.
WHOOSH!
As the invitation emitted a dazzling light, Long Ming was instantly enveloped in a white glow.
When the light faded, Long Ming found himself on a small, gyroscope-shaped mechanical platform.
Unlike last time, however, the small, gyroscope-shaped mechanical platform was completely empty. Aside from him, there wasn’t another soul in sight.
Slightly dazed, Long Ming glanced down at his wristband, which displayed:
Teleportation Platform No. 867.
Civilization Initiated: Anfa
Civilization Level: 1
Participants: 1/1000
Seeing that the participant count was only 1, Long Ming’s heart skipped a beat.
’This platform only has me. If we can’t get enough people, will it bug out?’
’Am I going to get stuck here?’
’If that really happens, I’m totally screwed.’
The more he thought about it, the more uneasy Long Ming became, but he forced down his negative emotions and waited patiently.
