章 12: Chapter 10: Absolute Survival Game
Xiao Jie looked at the plump, dark-skinned man across from him in surprise. He had seen this fat man looking at Equipment in the morning, toiling away at blacksmithing in the house. At the time, he had thought the man was an NPC; it hadn't crossed his mind that he could be a player.
The key was that this guy had chosen a very generic name, which perfectly blended into the local aesthetics.
He glanced at the name above the other person's head, then at his own.
Wang Kai (ironsmith apprentice) Level: Level 1.
Hidden Moon Following Wind (Woodcutter) Level: Level 1.
"Are you really a player?"
"Yeah, did that scare you? Hahaha," the chubby man laughed heartily.
"It did startle me a bit, but since we're both players, could you help me out? I just started and don't have much money, you see..."
"No, this is a small business. Repairing Equipment has its costs. If you're short on money, how about this—I'll sell you some Game Coins instead. I'm professionally into gold-selling."
Xiao Jie was somewhat surprised; it seemed he had encountered someone in the same line of business.
But wait—it's a death game, and there are people selling gold here? That genuinely took him by surprise.
Although he had planned to earn money in this game by grinding, ever since he learned the true nature of this game, the only thing on his mind was 'gaining power'—he hadn't expected anyone would be selling gold in such a game.
Xiao Jie tentatively asked, "What's the price?"
Wang Kai said, "One to ten, how's that? Pretty cheap, right?"
Xiao Jie thought to himself, one to ten? That's not expensive. A thousand copper coins are only one hundred yuan. Although in other games, such a rate would be considered very high, in "Old Soil," it was definitely a bargain.
"Then give me 1,000 coins to test the waters first, that would be one hundred yuan, right?"
However, Wang Kai looked at Xiao Jie speechlessly, "What are you dreaming of? Copper coins are 1, RMB is 10, you want one thousand copper coins, that's ten thousand yuan."
Even though Xiao Jie was an old hand in worldly society, he was still shocked.
'Wen' is the lowest currency in the game, similar to copper coins in 'Demon Beast.'
1,000 Wen equals one tael of silver; 10 taels of silver equal one tael of gold.
With that calculation, a damn tael of silver cost ten thousand yuan, and a tael of gold cost one hundred thousand yuan, which is more expensive than gold in real life, which costs a bit over thirty thousand yuan per tael.
Liu Qiang had previously mentioned that the game coins were very valuable, and grinding had a bright future. It seems his words were indeed accurate.
"What do you think, are you buying or giving a quick no—my business is really busy."
"Let's forget it; the price is a bit outrageous. Here's fifty cents, please repair my axe," Xiao Jie said.
Xiao Jie's account still had several thousand yuan, and he could exchange it for several thousand Wen if he went all in, but he wasn't planning to gamble everything. Considering he needed to focus entirely on "Old Soil" for a while without any economic gain, those few thousand yuan were his living expenses for the next two years—it couldn't be spent carelessly.
The main reason, of course, was that this game clearly wasn't the type where you could just mindlessly grind monsters and walk sideways through the game with some early investment.
If he didn't plan to leave the village, spending money on Equipment would be meaningless. Plus, game designers usually design a self-consistent economic ecosystem for the game, which often includes various hidden details that can't be appreciated without actually playing and exploring.
Players need certain items to undertake certain actions, thereby engaging with the game's true mechanics. The method of Chopping Wood might well be likewise.
From his years of gaming experience, Xiao Jie had a hunch that there must be further developments behind this Chopping Wood job—it couldn't be just as simple as it seemed on the surface.
If he spent money to buy gold and solved everything with money, he might miss out on some benefits he should have gotten, which would not be worth it.
And since Wang Kai wasn't going anywhere, if he really needed to spend money on gold someday, he could just look him up again.
As Wang Kai began to repair the axe with his blacksmith hammer, Xiao Jie took the opportunity while waiting to chat with him while simultaneously fishing for some useful information.
"How long have you been playing this game?"
Clang—Clang—Clang!
"It's been three years."
"Three years?"
Xiao Jie somewhat disbelieved. If it had been three years, wouldn't that mean playing since the game launched? That would make one an old player, so how could it be only Level 1 when the game doesn't allow one to practice with alternate accounts?
"But you're only Level 1?"
"Yes, that's because I've never left this village, nor have I fought any monsters, so naturally, I haven't been able to level up."
Clang——Clang——Clang!
"My principle in the game is, as long as I don't leave the village, I won't die, and as long as I don't fight monsters, I won't encounter danger, so since entering this game, I've never stepped out of the village."
Clang——Clang——Clang!
Xiao Jie watched Wang Kai swinging the blacksmith hammer, at a loss for words.
"Three years without leaving the village? So what have you been playing at for these three years?"
"Farming, chopping wood, fishing, mining—anything that makes money, really, but the most profitable thing is blacksmithing. After all, it's a processing industry; there is a product markup. It took me two years of mining to save enough money to apprentice and learn blacksmithing, but that money was absolutely well spent.
Now, I mine or smelt every day, selling the fine weapons to the shops in the village. One iron sword for 1,000 coins, one long spear for 900 coins. Subtracting the cost, I easily make ten thousand coins a month. Nowadays, the exchange rate between Game Coins and RMB is one to ten, so in one month, I can make over one hundred thousand yuan, which is way faster than manual labor in reality. Definitely a high-paying job."
Wang Kai spoke rather proudly.
Xiao Jie was dumbfounded after listening: Holy shit, there are actually such people? Playing this game that could grant supreme power and not fighting monsters to gain power, but literally doing menial work here.
"You know the secret of this game, right?" he probed.
"Are you referring to the 'Skills gained in the game can be taken into reality?' Haha, of course, I know."
"Then why don't you..."
"Because I'm afraid of dying. Because I'm self-aware. Do you know how many players have appeared in this village over the years? Based on my observations, in these three years, at least a hundred or two hundred players have come and gone, but now in the whole village, including you and me, there are at most three to five players left. Most of the others have died somewhere outside, many on their first trip out of the village, never to return, alas, but those were their own choices, no one else to blame."
Xiao Jie certainly knew that, according to Officer Li, the annual death rate was 78%, meaning eight out of ten players don't survive a year.
Imagining the wilderness outside the village littered with the remains of dead players, Xiao Jie couldn't help but feel chilled.
But Wang Kai continued, "Of course, not everyone dies; some do well. I know a few who have made a name for themselves outside. My achievements can't compare with those experts who made their mark outside, but it's certainly better than those who died out there. I can make money and it's completely risk-free.
Young man, take my advice, don't always think about power, spells, and becoming immortal or anything. The prerequisite is that you have to be alive to enjoy it. Instead of fighting desperately, it's better to forge iron or move bricks in the village; making over one hundred thousand yuan a month is way better than risking your life out there."
Xiao Jie also couldn't help but admire that. Self-awareness is precious, easy to talk about, but how many can really achieve it?
To not leave the village for three years showed that this chubby man had tremendous self-control, ranked among the top powerhouses, securing his inner peace without greed for power, was indeed rare.
Yet, he still couldn't help but say, "But with so much money, you could completely gear up with the top-level starter equipment, start with the weakest monsters, slowly grow stronger, and then challenge stronger monsters. Isn't that safe too? You'd still get your power, just a bit slower."
Wang Kai immediately laughed, "Hehe, all those who died out there probably thought the same. This game isn't like others, nothing is absolutely safe here. You think weak monsters are not dangerous? There are no harmless monsters in this game; even a few wild dogs can threaten the life of an expert.
A single mistake might be the end.
Plus, even among low-level monsters, there often appear special elite ones, and even experts can slip up.
If you really want to be safe, the only guaranteed method is not to leave the village. As long as I don't take risks, I won't die.
By the way, why don't you join me? I'm in need of a mining supplier. You could specifically mine for me, and I'd buy at a premium, guaranteeing you an income of over thirty thousand a month, and over one hundred thousand per month after three years."
However, Xiao Jie shook his head. If it hadn't been for Han Luo's death, perhaps he really could have chosen to do that, but now he must become stronger. Only by gaining strength would he have a chance for revenge.
Moreover, deep in his heart, his longing for extraordinary power meant he could never settle for hiding in the village and doing mundane work.
"Not for me, I have my plans."
"Well, I won't force you. Here, this is your Firewood Axe, fixed and ready to go."
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