Chapter 30

Having obtained the Miracle Badge, Ma Le couldn’t help but play with it, quickly figuring out its various functions. The Miracle Badge looked like an item when held, but Ma Le could feel that it was part of him. Ever since the light had entered his head, the Miracle Badge had become a part of his body. With a mere thought, the screen would display the information he wanted, instantly switching from the regular phone interface to the Miracle City system interface.

Ma Le also activated the spatial storage function of the Miracle Badge. His personal space was currently only one cubic meter in size, and it contained only one item: the "research results" entrusted to him by Dr. Lagrange.

With a swipe of his phone, Ma Le opened a spatial door and reached in to retrieve the small box. Opening the box, he found a stack of A4 papers printed with English text, and beneath them, five neatly arranged vials.

Ma Le briefly glanced at the English text, but there were too many technical terms, making it hard to understand. However, he could tell it was a research report. As for the five vials, Ma Le scanned them with the Miracle Badge:

Black Light Enhancement Serum: A special drug extracted from the blood of creatures infected with the Black Light virus. Using it instantly restores 100 health points and can heal limb and organ damage. The first use permanently increases Strength, Agility, and Stamina to 10 points. This effect does not apply to those whose attributes are already above 10. (This item can be brought into the real world).

This could be considered a beginner's god item, instantly restoring 100 health points and enhancing attributes. However, for Ma Le, who had significantly increased his strength, these benefits were not particularly significant. What caught his attention was the note in parentheses, specifically mentioning that it could be brought into the real world. Did this mean that many items could not be brought into the real world?

Putting aside his doubts, Ma Le decided to leave. Through the Miracle Badge, he learned that this small white space was his dedicated room in Miracle City. To truly enter Miracle City, he needed to leave this room. Ma Le chose to leave, and a door appeared on the white wall before him.

Ma Le approached the door and tried to push it, but it didn’t budge. An electronic voice sounded: "Congratulations, Adventurer 110405, you are granted entry to Miracle City. Please note the following rules of Miracle City, and we hope you will understand and comply with them.

1. Adventurers in Miracle City will not be harmed; any attack is futile.

2. Miracle City has system-generated guards, vendors, and other administrators responsible for its daily operations. Adventurers can seek help from these system personnel or report any illegal activities by other adventurers.

3. Try not to reveal your real information in Miracle City to avoid being targeted in the real world.

4. Before entering Miracle City for the first time, adventurers must reset their appearance. Once set, this appearance will be the default in Miracle City and mission worlds.

Please set your appearance now."

After the prompt, the Miracle Badge in Ma Le's hand lit up, and the interface changed. In the center was Ma Le's current face, with various adjustment options, similar to a character creation system in a game.

Ma Le tried to adjust the options and found that minor changes were fine, but significant changes would consume credit points. Since appearance affects the Charm attribute, significant changes to appearance would result in a substantial increase in the required credit points.

Among the options was a random generation feature, which would adjust the adventurer's facial features slightly while keeping the Charm attribute unchanged, ensuring that the person could not be recognized. Ma Le clicked it, and the face on the screen changed slightly, altering the overall impression. Ma Le didn’t have high requirements for his appearance, so he clicked a few times and chose one that looked good to him.

With everything set, Ma Le finally pushed open the door and stepped into Miracle City!

The sunlight was blinding, and Ma Le squinted, shading his eyes with his hand. After a few seconds, he adjusted to the bright light and finally saw the surroundings. Instead of the bustling city he had imagined, he saw a cluster of low, crowded shacks.

Ma Le turned around and saw that the door he had just exited was a dilapidated wooden door. His "dedicated space" was also a makeshift shack, with a sign hanging next to the door displaying his number, "110405." This place was more like a slum than a city.

Just then, an armored guard passed by. Ma Le called out to him, "Is this Miracle City? Why is it like this?"

The guard, dressed in ancient Chinese armor, glanced at Ma Le, snorted, and walked away with his head held high. Ma Le was taken aback by the guard's attitude. How could an NPC be so arrogant?

Ma Le walked down a narrow path, passing by similar shacks. Some had numbers on their doors, while others did not, indicating that not every shack was occupied by an adventurer.

Turning a corner, he saw a small tavern, which looked like a large shack. If it weren’t for the sign, Ma Le wouldn’t have recognized it. The tavern was noisy, and he could hear the chatter of many adventurers inside. He pushed the door open and found the interior relatively clean, resembling a Western-style bar. A long bar counter was manned by a system-generated owner. The room was small, with about a dozen small tables, and several adventurers were sitting in groups, drinking and chatting.

Ma Le went to the bar and ordered a pint of beer, which cost only five credit points and could be refilled indefinitely. He found an empty seat and sat down, trying to figure out how to strike up a conversation. Suddenly, an old man pulled out the chair in front of him, sat down, and drank his beer to the bottom. He then handed the empty glass to Ma Le and said, "Go, get a refill!"

Ma Le stared at the old man, who seemed to be very familiar, and asked, "Who are you?"

The old man chuckled but didn’t answer Ma Le’s question. Instead, he asked, "New here, aren’t you?"

Ma Le knew he had encountered a seasoned veteran in Miracle City. Lying would be pointless, so he honestly replied, "You’re right. How did you know?"

The old man laughed smugly, "Hmph, how could a newbie like you fool me? A new face, looking around the tavern, asking about prices at the bar—what else could you be? What’s your name?"

Ma Le replied, "I’m called..." He was about to say "Ma Le" but remembered the electronic voice’s warning. He changed his answer, "Just call me Foodie! What should I call you, old senior?"

He called himself "Foodie" because he thought of his absorption ability, which allowed him to absorb and digest anything living. What else could he be but a foodie?

The old man chuckled, "Alright, pretty cautious! No need to be shy; it’s best not to reveal your real name here. A nickname is better. You can call me Old Wolf." He leaned in and said mysteriously, "Newcomers have a lot of questions, right? You want to ask someone, but the guards and others ignore you, don’t they?"

Ma Le quickly replied, "That’s right. Not only do they ignore me, but they’re also very arrogant. Why is that?"

The old man explained, "Of course they’re arrogant. Open your Miracle Badge and check your rank."

Ma Le did as instructed and saw, "Merit Points: 48/5, Current Status: Slave, Can only use basic facilities, Cannot enter the main city of Miracle City, Must pay 100 credit points in taxes after each mission world."

"Slave? What does that mean?" Ma Le asked.

Old Wolf explained, "It means exactly that. New adventurers to Miracle City are the lowest-ranking slaves. However, this is just a social status in Miracle City, not actual slavery. As the lowest class, you are often looked down upon by NPCs, have no privileges, and cannot use most facilities. To upgrade, you need to kill powerful monsters, complete hidden quests, and earn merit points. Then, go to the Merit Review Office to upgrade."

Ma Le understood. So, there were social classes in Miracle City, and he was at the lowest level. According to the badge, he needed 5 merit points to upgrade, but he hadn’t gone to the review office, so he was still a slave despite having 48 merit points. He noticed the note about "Cannot enter the main city of Miracle City" and asked Old Wolf, "Senior, what does the main city of Miracle City mean? Is this place not Miracle City?"

"Of course not! You don’t think Miracle City is this shabby place, do you? What’s miraculous about this?" Old Wolf explained, "This is the slum outside Miracle City, where slaves, commoners, and peasants live. Only those who reach the citizen rank can buy property in Miracle City!"

"So, there’s a household registration and property restriction here?" Ma Le said, half-laughing, "I thought this was a place of equality and fair competition!"

Old Wolf sneered, "Fair competition, yes, but equality, not necessarily. Smart people always go further and live longer than fools. This is a universal truth... Well, since you’re new and don’t know the rules, I’ll give you some pointers and reveal some of the hidden rules of Miracle City. Are you interested?"

Ma Le was naturally interested. The old man, seeing Ma Le’s eager face, put on an air of superiority and glanced at the empty beer glass, "I asked for a refill earlier. Why is it still empty?"

"Please wait a moment, I’ll be right back!" Ma Le grabbed the glass and ran to the bar.

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