Chapter 22: Chapter 22: The Pain of a Wage Slave
This was turning into a major project.
Jing Bao Tian rubbed his eyes. After temporarily setting up the website, he posted the basic information on Weibo.
[Jing Bao Tian V: Any interested players are welcome to come check out this game. I can say responsibly that this is indeed a full-immersion simulation game. I’ve already mapped out all the areas I’ve visited so far. And I’ve got to be honest, the game world is unimaginably huge. You can basically treat it as a second life.
The game is still in its early stages, and our Longevity Sect doesn’t have a main development path yet. Aside from Spirit Grass, I hope some of you pros can offer suggestions for other development directions.]
Jing Bao Tian posted the website; he wasn’t playing any other games.
Even if people didn’t believe him, some curious onlookers would always take a look.
The Longevity Sect lacked a primary objective right now, so maybe a pro would show up and offer some advice.
That’s right, he just wanted to freeload.
After posting it, Jing Bao Tian felt a little tired, but it wasn’t the same painful exhaustion he usually felt after pulling an all-nighter.
At least his mind still felt clear.
But reason told him he should eat some breakfast and get some rest.
No matter how fun the game was, you needed a healthy body to keep playing it.
He didn’t check Weibo again after making the post.
Many of his followers saw his post and clicked the link, only to find that the background lore and map for this Yunzhou Continent actually looked quite decent.
It was just that the art was AI-generated and looked fake at a glance.
[Are you crazy? You’re actually taking a crappy game seriously?]
[Seriously, you’re hallucinating from playing too many games. Even if you’re trying to advertise, this ain’t the way to do it.]
[No pics, so you’re talking out of your ass!]
[Even for a Cultivation Continent, your background lore is way too fake. What kind of mortal would mix with Cultivators? Would the mortals even be treated like human beings?]
Jing Bao Tian, who was out getting a bite to eat, saw this comment. He swallowed a mouthful of his beef patty and replied: [Actually, that’s not the case. I’ve observed that while mortals don’t interact much with Cultivators, it’s because we’re in a remote area with thin Spiritual Energy. This is mortal territory to begin with. The closer you get to the territory of a Major Sect, the fewer mortals you’ll see.
I don’t know about other Sects, but the territory we’re in is managed by the Feique Sect, an Artifact Refining Sect. They must be pretty strict, because I’ve wandered around the game and haven’t seen any conflicts between Cultivators and mortals. We even buy supplies from mortals like normal.]
Although the Qi Refinement Realm is the first step through the Immortal Gate, it doesn’t mean you’re no longer on the same path as mortals.
That’s something only a Qi Refinement Realm Cultivator born in the territory of a Major Sect would even think about. In this remote region, some disciples who awaken a Spirit Root even go back home.
If you can’t break through to the Foundation Establishment Stage, at most you’ll just live a healthy life for a few decades, or maybe a century. What’s the difference between that and a mortal?
Only those with exceptionally good Spirit Roots who are poached by Major Sects would be considered to have left the mortal world behind for good in this lifetime.
As for things like Cultivating the Heart...
Forget it. Why think so much about that when you’re only in the Qi Refinement Realm?
The Major Sects monopolize resources, making it impossible for Cultivators to advance. Jing Bao Tian and the others had even asked A Wu today why Qi Refinement Realm Cultivators don’t try to move to the territory of a better Sect.
A Wu explained that there are gaps between the borders of each Sect, and demon beasts roam those areas.
Even more terrifying are the Loose Cultivators who will attack people. How can you, a mere Qi Refinement Realm Cultivator, guarantee you’ll make it safely across to the territory of a Major Sect?
This in itself was an invisible trial.
This method of monopolization was all too familiar. How was it any different from a class monopoly?
Without talent or ability, you’re not allowed to get ahead in this life.
So the weak only get weaker, and the strong only get stronger.
Han Tian felt that there was more to this Yunzhou Continent than met the eye.
After finishing his comment, he went back to eating his beef patty.
’Hm, maybe it’s not my imagination. This beef patty, even though it’s freshly made, clearly isn’t as satisfyingly dense as the one in the game.’
’How strange.’
*
"Wanqiu, are you going to the get-together today or not?"
A fashionably dressed female colleague walked over to Dongfang Wanqiu’s desk. Dongfang Wanqiu adjusted the thick glasses for her severe nearsightedness and shook her head. "I’m not going, I’m not going."
Her colleague was curious. "Why aren’t you going? I heard a manager from upstairs is coming down today. Don’t you want to make a good impression?"
"What kind of impression can I make at a get-together?" Dongfang Wanqiu’s heart wasn’t in it at all. Her head throbbed just looking at the pile of documents on her desk. "After I finish this, I have to leave work early this afternoon."
’Being an office worker is such a miserable fate.’
Her colleague grew even more curious. "What are you going home for? You’re not married and you don’t have kids. Do you have a boyfriend now?"
"No, I’m in a hurry to get home and play a game."
Her colleague: "...Huh?"
Of course Dongfang Wanqiu was anxious.
The in-game time ratio was two to one. She hadn’t been online since last night and had no idea how much time she’d wasted, or how good her character’s innate talent was.
The game she’d accidentally discovered last night was simply divine. Dongfang Wanqiu had never played such a fun game in her entire life.
Full-immersion. Realistic.
The only problem was she hadn’t made her character’s face very well at the start, and the way the Eldest Senior Brother had rejected her based on looks was utterly heartbreaking.
She was single, and besides her daily work routine, her only pastime was playing games.
She had originally planned to pull an all-nighter last night, but then her boss had a fit in the middle of the night and insisted she rush out a report. The life of a wage slave is just that bitter. Between rushing the report and needing to rest, she had no time to log into the game at all.
And today, her department had announced a get-together. She didn’t want to go at all.
’Who cares if it’s a manager or not? If they’re not giving me a promotion and a raise, they’re not worth shit.’
Her colleague didn’t quite believe Dongfang Wanqiu was really going home just to play a game. She asked again, "You’re really not going? Aren’t you afraid that bald bastard will make trouble for you later?"
"Whatever," Dongfang Wanqiu said with a cold smile. "If that bald bastard thinks he can hire another workhorse like me for this price, he’s welcome to fire me."
Heaven and Earth could wait; she was going home to play her game.
Her colleague sighed. "That’s true. He wouldn’t dare fire you. Well, alright then. If you’re not going, you’re not going. I won’t put your name down."
"Okay."
After chatting with her colleague, Dongfang Wanqiu checked the game’s group chat that she had joined last night.
To her surprise, Zhou Nvzi had sent her a private message asking why she wasn’t online last night.
Dongfang Wanqiu had been busy with work and only saw it now. She could only reply: [Sis, I’m just a miserable office drone. I can’t get on until I get off work this afternoon.]
The other person replied quickly: [My condolences. Well, just get on this afternoon then. The pro Jing Bao Tian posted a website with a guide on Weibo. If you’re curious, you can go check it out. It has records of the places we’ve been, with the map and NPCs all marked.]
Mu Qiu: [OK.]
Not everyone can be immersed in a game 24 hours a day. Everyone has their own way of playing.
It was still a while before she could leave work, so Dongfang Wanqiu opened Jing Bao Tian’s website and started slacking off by reading the logs.
At the same time, on the Yunzhou Continent, Song Jiulai was also about to face his own troubles.
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