章 3: Nightclub
編集者: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In a room on the highest floor of a humongous silver skyscraper that was over 200 stories tall, the silver door of an apparently live game capsule slowly opened. The strong, muscular body of Feng Luo, clothed only in his underwear, crawled out of the capsule.
Standing in the highest floor of the building—which was so tall that it would have caused the knees of anyone with acrophobia to immediately buckle—Feng Luo gazed out of the single-sided transparent nano window in front of him to look at the two silverish moons of different sizes in the sky. Suddenly, he felt a sense of nostalgia. Yes, there were two moons—because this was not Earth!
This was the 17th Administrative Planet. Its full name was "Star Federation's 17th Administrative Planet," and Feng Luo did not even know where it was located in terms of its place in the wider galaxy. It had an environment that was very similar to Earth, and it was a suitable habitat for humans.
Feng Luo was not a native citizen of this planet. He actually came from 21st century Earth, where he had been an international mercenary earning money by putting his life on the line. Once, he had been hired by a billionaire from Saudi Arabia, along with another group of other people, to protect several archaeologists.
The team had entered an underground area of a pyramid that had never before been exposed to light. They were there to procure a specific item that the billionaire desired. Then the pyramid had collapsed. Everyone had been buried in the cave-in. But Feng Luo—who had managed to hold on tightly to the item that was the object of their mission—had been sucked into a black whirlpool. After that, he had appeared in this world.
It was a world that was both very strange and very familiar to him. Strange because the technology was amazingly advanced. Humans had obtained the ability to leap through space and had entered an era of extraterrestrial travel. The Star Federation owned over 20 administrative planets and thousands of resource planets, as well as huge star fleets. Based on the technology of the 21st century, none of this could have been achieved even after several centuries!
As for the familiarity factor, this planet and Earth definitely had many similarities and associations. The most obvious proof was the official language of the Star Federation, which was 70 percent similar to Mandarin. Moreover, the world also had a language and numeric system that was similar to the English language.
Apart from that, Feng Luo could also find traces of Earth influence in architecture, lifestyle, personal habits, and various other aspects. However, the thing that puzzled him was that the people of this world had never heard of "Earth" before. It could not even be found on the internet.
"Otherworld? Cross-world? A parallel world?"
In the past, Feng Luo had considered the multiple possibilities, but he had never been able to find a satisfactory answer. It had gotten to the point that he even started to wonder if Earth and his life as a so-called "international mercenary" were simply experiences he had imagined. Perhaps he was actually just a hospital patient with severe mental illness. However, hanging in front of his chest was the mission item that he had held onto back then. It had been turned into a necklace, and the icy feeling delivered to his body whenever the item touched his skin was a reminder that those past experiences were not hallucinations.
And then, just half a year ago, the virtual reality game called War had been released across the Federation. Scenes released during the game's promotion confirmed the authenticity of Feng Luo's previous life.
Type 99 main battle tank. Apache helicopter. F-22. AK-47. Cobra. Stinger…
The familiar weapon names and models, one after another, had helped to clear the fog from the memories of his past life, which had grown vague after living in this new world for three years.
To the people of this world, these military equipment items were simply equipment in a virtual world; they were just objects imagined by game designers. But Feng Luo knew that these things actually existed in another world!
He could even remember being on a mission in a region of Saudi Arabia. A friend of his, a retired U.S. Marine, had used a shoulder-mounted "Stinger" missile to turn a triumphant-looking Apache helicopter into an enormous fireball. He'd done it with a smirk on his blood-streaked face.
That feeling—deadly and exciting! As such, Feng Luo had entered War for the first time hoping that, perhaps, this game could help unravel the mysteries within his heart.
Feng Luo stopped reminiscing. He dropped to the ground to complete over 100 push-ups. After that, he walked into the 30-square-meter bathroom, showered, and changed his clothes before putting on a coat and unlocking his digital lock. After that, he took the elevator and headed to the 100th floor of the building where the levitating vehicle car park was located. He took a levitating vehicle and drove toward his destination.
******
Night Club!
The colorful neon lights and large gold letters flashed on a huge screen, advertising the use of the luxurious building that was thousands of square meters in size but only around ten stories tall.
"Brother Feng! You're here!"
Feng Luo, clad in a black coat, walked through the main door. Beside the door, several sexy attendants wearing purple cheongsams immediately greeted him with bows. Some wore thick makeup while others wore light makeup, but all had smiles on their faces.
"Brother Feng!" Several large, muscle-bound men in black suits and sunglasses, seated in the hall, nodded to Feng Luo with respect.
"Hey!" Feng Luo casually replied, then proceeded toward the automatic rotating escalator that guided him towards the second floor.
The contents of the nightclubs of this world were similar to the ones on Earth and bore similar names. The only difference was that because this world's technology was so advanced, contraband items like drugs had gone practically extinct in places like these. Instead, people could take part in all kinds of experiences in virtual worlds that were not much different from the real world—simulations achieved through the sensory nerves of the body. Naturally, individuals did not need to stimulate themselves by relying on drugs that had immensely negative side effects on the body. As such, from a certain point of view, these nightclubs were cleaner than ones in the 21st century. Of course, a limited number of special transactions between humans still existed.
Feng Luo was here because of his real work in this world as the manager of this nightclub. To be precise, he was the assistant manager. He held a position and received a salary and bonuses, but, in reality, he never actually had to show up to work.
Even though he only held the title for show, Feng Luo still visited the nightclub occasionally. He would also go to one of the bars on the second floor for a visit or head to the gym on the fifth floor to work out.
As for the underground casino in the basement first floor and the underground fight club on the basement second floor, he was not really interested. However, by the time he had entered the bar that he frequented, he discovered that the atmosphere today was out of the ordinary.
The people inside were not drinking or chatting. No one was dancing, either. Most of them were just standing in the middle of the dance floor as if they were spectating something.
As Feng Luo walked to the side of the bar, the words of the bartender, a man clothed in a tuxedo, cleared the doubts in Feng Luo's mind. "The new activity that Brother Wu organized is to auction the equipment for War in the bar," he said as he poured Feng Luo a drink. "It has been going on for a few days now. The number of people coming every night has been increasing."
"Brother Wu" was Mu Wu, the manager of the nightclub—its actual manager. He was not yet 30 years old, but he was perceptive in dealing with people, and he had a certain way of doing things. Of course, it was a given that he was someone with a noteworthy background; there was no way an ordinary person would have been able to hold such a position.
"Auctioning game equipment? Mu Wu's newest idea is quite fresh."
Feng Luo held the alcoholic drink, known as a "Blue Starry Sky" in this world, and took a seat beside the bar, watching the center of the stage. Onstage, a tall, slender, enchanting beauty wearing a sexy red bunny outfit, her face flushed with excitement, hosted the auction of the game equipment. She would have been an eight out of ten—after makeup.
"Mr. Fang with a price of 3,300! Oh! Ah, this gentleman who just arrived has bid a price of 3,600! How generous! 3,600, going once. Does any gentleman want to increase the bid!? Yes? Sir, he actually bids again! 3,800, going once!"
To overhear this provocative-sounding exchange, one would have undoubtedly mistaken it for a negotiation in an exchange related to the flesh. Especially when it was accompanied by a scantily clad woman in a bunny outfit with meter-long legs, a sweaty, flushed face, crimson lips, and an alluring gaze. It increased the heart rates of the assembled men—who represented the majority of the crowd—quickening the flow of blood throughout their bodies, as well as the pace of their breathing.
"Mu Wu certainly has his methods…!" Feng Luo spun the glass in his hand and gave a gentle smile.
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