Isn't This a Game? Why Are You All Cultivating for Real!

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Ran Into Them Again

It was a photo of Song Jiulai. She worked at the company next door.

Her cousin must have had some connections, as she’d managed to find an old photo.

"It was taken when their company went on a team-building trip. Take a look. I hope it’s not your friend... but if it really is, try not to be too upset..."

As her cousin handed over the phone, Chen Miaomiao’s heart sank the moment she saw the person on the screen.

Song Jiulai’s face was still very recognizable.

The smiling girl in the photo looked very familiar.

The in-game version of Song Jiulai was gorgeous.

But that was because her skin and figure in the game were flawless.

In reality, she was somewhat less stunning.

But her facial features were largely unchanged.

For a moment, Chen Miaomiao’s mind went blank.

’The Sect Master from the game... matched a real person?’

’And they have the exact same name.’

Chen Miaomiao’s voice trembled slightly. "Cousin, when did she pass away?"

Her cousin thought for a moment. "It was just over a month ago. Why? You... you really know her?"

’Just over a month ago?’

’Isn’t that exactly when the game appeared...?’

The real-world Song Jiulai had passed away, but an in-game Song Jiulai had appeared.

And to this day, no one had managed to crack the secrets of this mysterious game.

Chen Miaomiao felt as if she had stumbled upon something beyond all comprehension.

"No," Chen Miaomiao said, quickly composing herself. "I was mistaken. My friend is still alive."

"Oh... So there are two people with such a unique name?" her cousin said. "It must be a coincidence. Anyway, it’s getting late. Let’s go grab some dinner."

Chen Miaomiao nodded. "Okay."

But she still couldn’t put into words the shock she was feeling.

’What is the connection between the real-world Song Jiulai and the one in the game?’

Chen Miaomiao was utterly confused.

She wanted to ask the other players, but this was someone else’s private business, after all.

Especially since the real-world Song Jiulai had already passed away.

Considering this, Chen Miaomiao decided to keep it to herself.

Song Jiulai had no idea her cover was being progressively blown. Not that she would care if she did. It wasn’t as if they could come directly to the Yunzhou Continent to find her!

’Even if they transmigrated, they’d still have to pass through the system’s gateway.’

While Song Jiulai was still in the Secret Realm searching for better treasures, the players were making new progress on their end.

After Han Tian and his group opened their shop in the Taohua Sect, they immediately set off for the Netherworld Sect and the Liuyun Sect without a moment’s rest.

Meanwhile, Wang’an County was also beginning to undergo earth-shattering changes.

After discovering the coal mine, the question of what to produce was easily answered. With the players’ ready-made knowledge, implementing basic infrastructure was met with virtually no obstacles.

Take cement roads, for instance.

On the Yunzhou Continent, the stone slabs used to pave city roads were typically just mundane minerals. Some extravagant places might use spiritual ore.

But Wang’an County could not afford such luxury.

Ordinary stone slabs could be polished perfectly smooth by Cultivators, but not every Cultivator had the patience for such work.

Besides, cement was genuinely hard.

Its quality far surpassed that of ordinary stone slabs.

And it was simple and easy to produce.

The players laid the foundations and even planned out the entire region’s sewer system, following the blueprint of a major city.

They planned to extend this road all the way to the neighboring Taohua Sect.

As for the danger of demon beast attacks along the route?

That was even simpler to solve: just build post stations and inns first.

In reality, infrastructure wasn’t that important in the current state of Yunzhou; players could freely travel anywhere.

The reason for their enthusiasm was the discovery that they could not only build whatever they wanted but also tear down and remodel any unsatisfactory parts, just like in a game.

This greatly satisfied the itch of the life-skill players who loved management-style games.

One might argue that building a road mortals were too afraid to use was pointless.

To which the life-skill players would just reply: ’Mind your own business!’

To them, the common folk were like their personal subjects.

Their goal was to let the people live good, convenient lives!

They were determined to build a modern metropolis, and even if it wouldn’t be truly modern right away, it would at least have its own unique style.

Once cement production began, the workshops had to be built as well.

Some were very enthusiastic about these projects; others, not so much.

For instance, some players with nothing better to do had begun promoting the importance of books among the mortals.

They even planned to build a school and have all the children in Wang’an County attend.

On the Yunzhou Continent, mortals could live safely by simply hunkering down in one place, which had led to a lack of initiative.

With no drive for advancement, they weren’t enthusiastic about schooling. While schools did exist, most only taught basic literacy.

But what was the use of being literate?

The overwhelming martial power in the Cultivation World suppressed everything. Even if a mortal recognized the world’s injustice, there was no path for advancement.

But to gather all the children for compulsory education, and to teach them not literacy but a string of headache-inducing Arabic numerals, left the mortals completely bewildered.

"My little Dou’er has to go too? But he’s already eleven..."

"So what if he’s eleven? What good is just being able to read? Can he do math? Do you have any idea how many square meters Wang’an County is?"

"Sir, what does ’square meter’ mean...?"

"..."

The task of popularizing scientific education was clearly a pressing one.

Seeing how enthusiastically the players were treating this as a city-building game, some had to offer a reminder: "This is an Immortal Cultivation Game, shouldn’t we be focusing on our cultivation?"

"Cultivation, schmultivation! I’ve got a White Spirit Root, give me a break, will you? I just can’t stand to see kids who should be in school just playing in the mud all day with nothing to do. It’s too lax! Utterly unacceptable! Are the flowers of the motherland meant to be wasted like this?"

"Dude, you’re an office worker in real life, aren’t you? The kind who works overtime and doesn’t even get weekends off?"

"...You know it, I know it. No need to say it out loud."

The players built their infrastructure at a rapid pace. Meanwhile, Song Jiulai, who had stayed in the Secret Realm until the final two days, finally discovered a new and rather valuable Fourth-rank Spiritual Grass!

Other than the Black Gold Glaze Grass from before, it seemed all the other good things in the Secret Realm had been picked clean by the other Sects.

Song Jiulai had encountered traces of several battles along her way.

She wasn’t the only one fighting inside the Secret Realm.

However, a tricky Third-stage Demon Beast was still guarding the Spirit Grass she found this time. This demon beast was even a bit more troublesome than the Nine Netherworld Spider.

Song Jiulai planned to lie in wait and make her move at night.

The demon beast’s vision was poor at night.

At the same time, from another direction, a group of people was also heading her way.

The lead disciple of the Supreme Mysterious Sect looked at the distraught Yi Tianhe with cold eyes. "Yi Tianhe, once the Secret Realm is over, go back and receive your punishment. You and Lü Rufeng have caused a massive disaster this time. After this, you can forget about being an Inner Sect Disciple."

Yi Tianhe trembled.

After escaping, she had been lucky enough to meet up with disciples from her own sect, but the trouble she had caused was so great that she didn’t dare imagine the punishment that awaited her outside the Secret Realm.

Lü Rufeng was the one who lost the Magic Treasure, but they were a team.

She couldn’t escape her share of the responsibility.