Chapter 259: Chapter 147: In Two Days, the Secret Realm Opens, Everyone Enters
In the West Suburb of Hang City lay Mist City.
Earlier, due to a misunderstanding with Shen Fei, Zero, being an introvert, had lost control in a fit of shock and rage at the stadium in Country F. Afterward, putting on a cold front, she had restored Shen Fei’s [Long-range Teleportation] uses to three before returning directly to her Neutral City. Upon her return, she made the decision not to contact Shen Fei for a week. Looking back on her behavior, even she felt mortified and embarrassed.
Should I resurrect V, or maybe create a VI?
Back in the City Lord’s Mansion, a conflicted thought surfaced in Zero’s mind. She didn’t even know the reason for this feeling. In any case, after coming back this time, she found herself feeling surprisingly empty with V gone. She glanced at I, II, and III, who stood motionless beside her. Zero suddenly found herself missing the playful bickering between Shen Fei and V from the past few days.
Growing up, Zero had always been a loner. She was never afraid of being alone, which was why she wasn’t good at interacting with people and had lost control earlier. But now, she felt a peculiar emotion stirring deep inside her.
"This is so frustrating!"
Two seconds later, Zero stood up, stomping her foot. After a few anxious paces, she opened the Divine Artifact: the Scamming Waist Cutter.
WHOOSH.
Opening the Divine Artifact, Zero decided to find something to occupy herself. The first thing that came to mind was the Ninth Network, which she had established with Shen Fei. The Ninth Network was already set up, its internal framework and processes complete. It was just waiting for people to join and exchange goods.
To rapidly develop the Ninth World, I first need a huge amount of Credit Points! Only then will people feel secure enough to trade here. Otherwise, people will be afraid of getting scammed. No one will participate in trades that aren’t backed by a massive collateral fund. Second, I need a famous person to drive some traffic and advertise it.
She quickly checked on the status of the Ninth World, then communicated with her people stationed in the Northern Territory of Myanmar. When she sensed their willingness to cooperate had inexplicably increased more than tenfold, a new thought process began. The most basic profit model for the Ninth World should be charging a commission. But for that to work, the transaction volume needed to be huge. And to increase the transaction volume, she needed money and fame.
As time went on, Zero’s administrative privileges over the new Forum were steadily decreasing. Even though she had invented Credit Points, it was impossible for her to just grant herself an infinite amount. Her hacker’s habit of staying in the shadows meant that despite her power, Zero had no reputation to speak of. Therefore, she lacked both money and fame.
Hm?
Just as Zero was mulling over her options, wondering whether she should create an elite, invitation-only system for high-level players, her personal panel opened automatically. Then, she saw lines of text scrolling past.
--Version 4.4 Update--
--Mandatory All-Player Secret Realm Opening--
Memory deletion? Artifact Activation Scroll? A Neutral City Teleportation Array Stone?
Hundreds of lines of text scrolled past. Zero stared, dumbfounded. She hadn’t expected Version 4.4 to update now of all times, out of sync with the timing of the game ability inheritance. More importantly, she never thought that the Version 4.4 update would immediately kick off a grand Secret Realm that everyone had to participate in. Furthermore, memories could be erased in this Secret Realm, and it contained an item she absolutely had to obtain—an Activation Scroll.
WHOOSH.
After reading all the text, Zero excitedly opened the three Divine Artifacts she held and focused on an ability they all shared:
[National Fate: With every version update, receive one version-related item as a gift.]
With the Version 4.4 update, the rewards appeared to be related to the Secret Realm. She was hoping the bonus items from the Divine Artifacts would be given before the mandatory grand Secret Realm, not after. And what three items would she get this time?
Looks like it’ll be afterward...
After waiting a few seconds and seeing no new text appear, Zero muttered to herself. Then, she started to lose her mind again.
Because, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about Shen Fei.
As the hacker Zero, she hated this kind of mandatory event that would expose her to everyone. Involuntarily, her thoughts turned to Shen Fei. More importantly, seeing the must-have [Artifact Activation Scroll], she realized she would have to fight with all her might in the Secret Realm, with no way to hide her abilities. This would inevitably expose all her trump cards. Even V’s identity and situation might be revealed.
The text stated that memories from within the Secret Realm would be erased upon exiting, but while inside, her secrets would still be seen! She didn’t want anyone to know the secrets of I, II, III, VI, and V. Especially not Shen Fei!
"AHHH!"
She had just decided not to contact Shen Fei for a week, yet not even three minutes had passed before she broke her word. To make matters worse, just a minute ago, she had seen Shen Fei’s request to establish a link and had deliberately ignored it.
"Damn it!"
Extremely frustrated and reluctant, Zero sent a Divine Artifact Link request to Shen Fei.
"Hey!"
After a few minutes, the Divine Artifact finally connected. Hearing Shen Fei’s smug, affected tone on the other end, Zero took a deep breath and asked quickly, "That mandatory grand Secret Realm... is there any way for you to not participate?"
