Chapter 5

Controlled character, the door was opened, and the resistance of the door could still be felt on his arm. In a magical feeling, Su Peng walked in.

"Hehehe... Welcome." In the game's sound effects, a strange laugh appeared. In this strange shop, an old man who looked like an ancient shopkeeper sat, smiling at Su Peng.

Su Peng felt a chill from the laugh and shivered, then couldn't help but laugh. The game designer really went all out. Why make the voice of a game guide so eerie?

"Leader Lei, how do I talk to the NPC?"

Su Peng said to Lei Ming outside the booth.

"The game controller in moderate mode is also controlled by you. There's a sphere next to you. Place it there, and the NPC will hear your voice. The NPC will automatically react based on what you say and do. Tap the sphere three times for continuous voice, tap it three more times to turn it off, and press it hard to log out."

Lei Ming said, pushing his sunglasses up. He continued, "Be careful, what you say can affect the NPC's reaction, which will directly impact the game's progress. So, try not to say anything strange. In the past, some people have even caused their characters to die because of this."

Su Peng nodded, feeling amazed. Can you chat with NPCs by voice? Is it an automated dialogue system or artificial intelligence? This requires a huge amount of computation!

"If this game is really as Lei Ming says, it's worth the ten million fee. Stealing the main unit... Perhaps this is a competition between two game companies?"

Su Peng speculated.

"Cough, cough." At this moment, the NPC old man in front of Su Peng suddenly coughed.

"Politeness never hurts." Su Peng thought, controlling the character to bow slightly and greet the shopkeeper. Then, Su Peng touched the sphere and said, "Hello, may I ask who you are? And where am I?"

"Hehehe, you're quite polite. Do you want to know why you're here?"

The shopkeeper, who looked like a shopkeeper, said to Su Peng.

"Please enlighten me." Su Peng input the dialogue. He already understood that this should be a guide-type NPC for new players. He heard the shopkeeper say, "Hey... I won't tell you."

Su Peng couldn't help but smile. The game designer has a twisted sense of humor, but it suits his taste.

The shopkeeper suddenly laughed, "I'm kidding, how could I not tell you? You're about to leave the ordinary and enter a new world, a mysterious and magical world... In this world, you will gain great power, but everything comes at a price."

"Formal introduction, huh..." Su Peng thought, wondering which programmer had such a twisted sense of humor.

"To enter that world, you need this." The shopkeeper took out something that looked like a card and placed it in front of Su Peng.

Su Peng looked at the card, which seemed ordinary, with some pictures of martial artists fighting on it.

"This is a Death Cycle World card... Don't underestimate it. This isn't an ordinary card. Each card costs you thirty years of your future life in exchange for thirty game points. Each day of the game consumes one point. If the points run out, you can't play the game. If you don't play for thirty days, you will die."

The shopkeeper said seriously to Su Peng.

Su Peng couldn't help but laugh. The game's creator is really interesting, selling game cards within the game itself, and even adding a death concept. Is this to enhance immersion?

"Be careful, don't think I'm joking. I've already told you the cost of the card... In the game, you can find some similar mysterious shops in big cities. If you obtain high-value items, you can trade them to the mysterious shops, and they will exchange them for game points. However, you need to accumulate thirty points to exchange for one card. Also, game points are the internal currency for some special transactions."

The shopkeeper explained to Su Peng, then extended the card and said, "Whether to accept the card is your final choice."

At this moment, a small choice screen appeared in the lower left corner of Su Peng's view: "Accept the card? Yes/No."

"If I don't accept it, what's the point of playing?" Su Peng thought, controlling the character to take the card and say, "I accept."

(For smoother writing, I will no longer mention the control actions for speaking and moving.)

Su Peng held the card and, following the shopkeeper's instructions, tore it open. A black flame appeared on the card and quickly enveloped Su Peng!

"Hehehe... I wish you a pleasant stay in the Death Cycle World."

The flame gradually surrounded Su Peng, and his screen went black, as if entering a loading time.

"Whether to investigate Xiao Lin's death or steal the game unit, neither can be accomplished in a short time. On the first day, I'll dive into the game and see what it's like."

Su Peng set his goal in his mind.

After a short while, the screen brightened again, and Su Peng found himself in a village.

In the village, many NPCs were walking around. One white-haired old man seemed to have noticed Su Peng and called out, "Hello, young man!"

Su Peng focused on the white-haired NPC, and a name appeared above his head: "Village Chief Dr. Han."

"Hello, Village Chief," Su Peng said, then walked over and talked to him, asking, "May I ask, where is this place?"

"Ha ha, this is Green Mountain Village, not far from Jiangning County. You must be a young man who has just arrived here, ready to show your skills in Jiangning County, right?"

Dr. Han said to Su Peng...

Su Peng nodded and asked, "I just arrived here and don't know much. Can you introduce the nearby area to me?"

"Ha ha ha, of course." The NPC seemed very friendly, smiling and nodding. "This is Green Mountain Village, about thirty miles from Jiangning County. Many young men who want to show their skills in Jiangning County often appear in our village. However, life in Jiangning County is not easy. It's hard to make a living without a special skill. I suggest you explore the village first, or learn some skills, or save some money for your future expenses in Jiangning County."

"I see." Su Peng nodded and asked, "Is there any work I can do in the village?"

"Yes, just now I saw Aunt Li in the village looking for some ingredients. You can go and ask her." Village Chief Dr. Han said to Su Peng.

"Thank you, Village Chief." Su Peng bowed to Dr. Han, asked for the location, and the NPC left, leaving Su Peng alone.

"Leader Lei, can we leave the village now?" Fu Kang's voice suddenly sounded, asking Lei Ming.

"Leave the village? If your skills are good enough, it might be possible, but I don't recommend it right now," Lei Ming's voice came. "This game is very difficult. Outside the village, there are wild dogs, and further out, there are yellow cattle and wild horses. Even further, there are wild wolves. You can't defeat the yellow cattle, but you won't die. If you encounter wild wolves, you will definitely die. Fighting wild dogs, you might have a 60% chance of winning, but you will definitely get injured. Injuries here aren't just healed by drinking potions; you need to treat the wounds, which is very troublesome and affects your leveling. Improve your strength a bit before going out."

"What??" Fu Kang couldn't help but exclaim, feeling a bit discouraged.

"Um, your character's strength is roughly the same as in real life. When you encounter monsters, think about what it would be like to face wild dogs, yellow cattle, or wild wolves in real life. This game doesn't have resurrection, so I don't recommend over-leveling challenges. The safer, the better. Ordinary tasks in the village can improve some attributes and teach you basic attack methods. Go out after that."

Lei Ming explained in detail to the group.

Fu Kang responded and continued the game.

Su Peng walked around the village. It was quite large, with a civilian house and inn, a blacksmith, a butcher, a carpenter's workshop, several nurseries, a few small farms, and many residential houses.

The village had about two to three hundred people, making it a fairly large village. However, apart from Su Peng and his three companions, everyone seemed to be an NPC.

At this point, the game had been running for about ten minutes. Su Peng suddenly saw Sun Shijia walking from one end of the village, looking flustered with many chicken feathers on his head.

"What happened? Did you go chicken hunting?" Su Peng asked when Sun Shijia's character approached him.

"Damn, don't even mention it. This isn't a task; it's torture. The wild chickens have quite a bit of health and run away when attacked. They can even fly, up to ten meters... I can't catch them at all!" Sun Shijia said, then added, "The NPC gives twelve copper coins for each wild chicken, but I didn't expect it to be so difficult. Forget it, I'll look for something else."

Saying this, Sun Shijia's character walked towards the residential area.

"Is the difficulty of the newbie village's tasks high, or is Sun Shijia just weak?" Su Peng thought.

"Ha ha, this game is very difficult. To earn money or learn skills, you need to put in effort... Think more, observe more, and work harder. Your efforts will definitely make you feel it's worth it," Lei Ming said at this moment.

Su Peng agreed with Lei Ming. At this point, he suddenly saw a group of playing children gather in a circle. Suddenly, a child's cry of pain was heard, followed by crying and screams as the children scattered!

Su Peng quickly ran over to see what was happening.

He saw a child lying under a tree near the carpenter's workshop, crying. A black snake with golden spots was coiled around his leg!