Chapter 1

"Welcome to the game world. Today is July 4, 2033, 1:01 AM, the 8th day of the sixth lunar month, the year of the Water Ox, the month of Earth Horse, and the day of Fire Dragon. It's very late now, please pay attention to your rest." With the system's prompt, Zhou Xian opened his eyes. "Time really flies. By the way, today is my late father's birthday..." He was now floating in mid-air, and in front of him was a login interface. Although it looked so real, these experiences were actually created by a helmet that could interact with the human brain. "No matter how many times I enter the game, this fully immersive holographic online game is indeed amazing." Zhou Xian touched his hand. Although it was a game, this world was almost indistinguishable from the real world, whether in terms of touch, sight, or hearing. ——Of course, ordinary people wouldn't have such a subtle experience as Zhou Xian. Although their feelings were very real, they were all weakened after being processed by the system. In this regard, Zhou Xian was "cheating," but in fact, there wasn't much difference because the device Zhou Xian used to access the game was different from what ordinary people used... "Enter the game." With Zhou Xian's command, he disappeared from the login interface, and the next moment, he appeared in the neutral city of Baihua City. Zhou Xian, who appeared in the game, was wearing a simple-looking Tai Chi robe, with a purple-gold crown on his head. Although his attire was ordinary, for some reason, such simple clothing on Zhou Xian seemed to have a strange magical power. If someone saw him, they would probably exclaim, "What a fine young man!" "—Hey, you with the mosaic, move aside!" A voice suddenly came from behind Zhou Xian. "Sorry." Zhou Xian moved to the side to let the warrior, who was as wide as two doors, pass. "Hey, Mr. Mosaic, why are you still using the system's default face? Want to buy a face reshaping potion? I'll give you a 20% discount!" "Uh, sorry, I have something to do." Zhou Xian shook off the crowd and found an empty spot, then wiped the sweat from his forehead. He touched his face. Although Zhou Xian looked almost the same in the game as in the real world, he used a face disguise function, so to others, Zhou Xian's appearance was just a blurry figure, which was the system's default face. So people with such a face were affectionately called "Mr. Mosaic." ——Of course, this was only in the eyes of the players. If it were NPCs, they wouldn't be deceived by such a disguise. So, after entering the game, Zhou Xian took out a mask. One side of the mask was a frowning face, and the other side was a smiling face, giving a strange and subtle feeling. Players were coming and going in Baihua City, and Zhou Xian, looking at them, couldn't help but feel a bit sentimental: "There are really a lot of people here, even though it's already the middle of the night." Baihua City was a city that had only recently appeared, located to the east of Zhongzhou City, one of the few neutral areas in the game. It was also at the intersection of Xuanwu Country and Zhuque Country, making it a strategic location. Half a year ago, this place was still a desolate leveling spot, so no one paid attention to it. But not long ago, a new city was built here, and this place became a place that players flocked to. "The Legendary World" was not like ordinary games but had a very dynamic system, almost like the real world. In this game, apart from the system's own restrictions, players could do whatever they wanted, which was not just empty talk. The establishment of a new city often meant more quests and more opportunities, as the city needed help in various aspects, so the quests and experience were very generous, and it was understandable that players flocked to it. Realizing this, Zhou Xian nodded. "A lot of people? Of course, a lot of people! Everyone is here to see the girls!" Just as Zhou Xian realized this, a player patted his shoulder and came out: "Brother, you also came here because you heard about the beautiful Baihua Fairies, right? Hehe~" "Uh? Sorry, who are you?" Zhou Xian's face turned awkward after hearing the sudden voice of the man, but because of the mask on his face, it wasn't noticeable. "Hehe, you don't know, the Baihua Fairies in Baihua City are all more beautiful than big stars, and they have good personalities and voices. I, Meteor, came here just to see the beauty of the Baihua Fairies!" This "Meteor" had a lecherous look. "Is that so?" Zhou Xian wiped his cold sweat; he had never heard of this. Hearing Zhou Xian's tone, Meteor got excited: "Tsk tsk, you must be a new player who just arrived in Baihua City, right? I, Meteor, have been here for a few days and can barely be considered a local. I can tell from your confused look that you're a new player who just arrived in Baihua Valley!" "I guess so." Zhou Xian replied with a vague answer. Hearing Zhou Xian's words, Meteor immediately patted his shoulder and said with a smile: "You don't know, Baihua City was a dungeon area a month ago. But at that time, a player triggered a regional event quest and established a new city! Think about it, the new city was just established, everything was incomplete, and the establishment quests were endless!" As a game with very high dynamic realism, "The Legendary World" usually had only one high-level quest. A high-level NPC couldn't assign the same quest to two players at the same time. This very realistic feature was also a characteristic of the game. It could be said that, apart from a few repetitive quests, most of the quests in the game were randomly generated. Among them, there was a special quest called a "regional event quest." These quests had very difficult requirements but could almost change the entire game's history and progress. Those who could activate such quests were considered heroes in the game. The establishment of Baihua City was because a player triggered such a quest not long ago. "Unfortunately, I didn't get this quest. Such a big quest is usually triggered by a small event. I can only say that the person who triggered the event has very good luck. But if it were me, I might have established a country by now..." "Is that so?" Zhou Xian raised an eyebrow. Meteor nodded matter-of-factly: "Of course, in my opinion, the city lord has no plan at all. This place is so empty—look at the road under our feet, it's just a dirt road! A dirt road! It should be built with granite or something, right? If it were me, I would definitely decorate the road with gold!" "Hmm, a stone road would be better." Zhou Xian nodded seriously in agreement: "But Baihua City has only been established for a short time, so it will definitely change in the future." Just as they were talking, the crowd in front suddenly became restless. "Fairy, let me in! I can do high-level quests too!" "Do you really need a certain contribution to enter? This Baihua Palace is too pretentious. We can just climb over the wall, can't we?" "What are you talking about! Don't you see those demon guards are all over level 70? One hit from those overpowered NPCs can kill you instantly, do you believe me?" Zhou Xian watched the players causing a commotion in front of the Baihua Palace, finding it quite interesting. "Why do they want to squeeze in so much?" Hearing Zhou Xian's question, Meteor shook his head and said: "You don't understand, do you? Although Baihua City has only been built for a short time, this place has high-level specialties that other places don't have. If you go in later, you'll see the high-level equipment hidden inside. The equipment in Baihua Valley has a rating of no less than 80!" "Oh, you mean those practice equipment..." Zhou Xian understood. A rating of 80 or above was considered excellent by ordinary players. The fact that Baihua City had such excellent equipment was what made players flock to it. Of course, in the eyes of professional players, anything with a rating below 100 was almost worthless. "But these people are really overdoing it. They can't get in, but they're still trying to squeeze in." "Brother, you don't understand. These guys are here just to tease the Baihua Fairies!" "Ah?" Zhou Xian was speechless. But it was true, the Baihua Fairies were as beautiful as flowers, with perfect looks. If they were in the real world, even big stars couldn't compare. It was nothing special, but this was a fully simulated game, and the Baihua Fairies were not only beautiful but also almost indistinguishable from real people. This perfect and dreamlike feeling couldn't help but amaze people. "But in my opinion, the only bad thing about the Baihua Fairies is that they never smile. The charm of the Baihua Fairies is greatly reduced because they never smile!" "The Baihua Fairies don't smile?" Zhou Xian usually didn't know much about such gossip. "Yes, I heard that someone tried to make the Baihua Fairies laugh and was instantly killed by them and the guards. Before you came, many people tried and failed—" "Ah!!!" As if to prove Meteor's words, several players were killed by the demon guards for annoying the Baihua Fairies. The Baihua Fairies had cold faces, like lotus flowers on a pond, beautiful to look at but not to touch. However, the fact that these unlucky players were killed did not cause complaints from the players; instead, they became even more eager to approach. Just then, a figure suddenly walked out from the back of the crowd, and Meteor's attention was quickly drawn to this person. "—Hey, it's Lei Huang!" Not only Meteor, but the crowd also became restless. "Lei Huang? That name sounds familiar." "That's Lei Huang! The leader of the Immortal Dynasty!" The Immortal Dynasty controlled Tianbao City in the game, and although the name was a bit tacky, it was still well-known in the game world. They were here for the new city, of course. As a representative of a major guild, Lei Huang not only had an extraordinary appearance but also had a strong aura that only high-level people had. As soon as he appeared, the lively atmosphere on the scene immediately disappeared. As he walked over, the players obediently made way for him. "Tsk tsk, truly a big shot, look at that aura..." Meteor looked at Lei Huang enviously. Lei Huang was already at the entrance of the Baihua Palace. The Baihua Palace was the center of Baihua City, and it was originally packed with people, but at this moment, it was almost deserted. "Mr. Lei." The Baihua Fairy at the gate bowed to Lei Huang and slowly moved aside to let him pass. "I heard that to enter the Baihua Palace, your reputation needs to reach Adoration. Lei Huang is really impressive!" "Yes, yes. I worked hard for three days to raise my reputation to Friendly." The players expressed their admiration for Lei Huang at this moment. Just then, someone else walked over from behind. "It's Long Zhen from the Chilong Guild!" The Chilong Guild, like the Immortal Dynasty, was a major guild that dominated a region and was well-known in the game. "Tsk tsk, Long Zhen and Lei Huang don't get along, but they're both here at the Baihua Palace?!" As he spoke, Long Zhen was also welcomed into the Baihua Palace by the Baihua Fairy, causing another round of exclamations. "Hey, brother, do you want to go in with me?" Meteor suddenly leaned in mysteriously to Zhou Xian. "Can you get in?" Zhou Xian asked in surprise. "Hehe, I can't get in through the front door, but I know a secret passage." "The Baihua Palace has a secret passage?" "Come, let me show you!" Meteor led Zhou Xian around the Baihua Palace and soon brought him to a small path on the other side. "Here...?" This was clearly a cliff! "Hehe, come, this way!" Meteor led Zhou Xian through the cliff, and to his surprise, he found a narrow crevice. He led Zhou Xian through the crevice, and after a long detour, when Zhou Xian came out of the crevice, he found they were already at the back of the Baihua Palace. At this moment, Meteor seriously told Zhou Xian, "There are many demons in the Baihua Palace, and you can buy good things. Just don't get caught by the Baihua Fairies." "There's actually a secret passage here." Zhou Xian was impressed. "Hey, what's the big deal? I've bought and sold a lot of things here, and I've made at least ten thousand gold." Meteor was very proud, and he even called himself "boss." "Does anyone else know about this secret passage?" Zhou Xian asked. "Hehe, the second half of the secret passage was dug by me—my miner profession even leveled up 10 levels. Others? Hehe, impossible—" But before Meteor could finish, he saw a Baihua Fairy in green clothes walking over. The Baihua Fairy was level 70, much higher than Meteor's level 56. "It's over! We've been caught!" Meteor's face turned pale, and he was ready to be killed by the Baihua Fairy. Although he would lose experience and equipment, he couldn't escape, so he closed his eyes and waited to die... But the expected scene didn't happen. "Sir!" The enchanting voice pulled Meteor back to reality. He secretly opened his eyes and saw the Baihua Fairy smiling and bowing to Zhou Xian. "Ah, Cai Die. This is my friend. If he wants to come in in the future, just let him in... Oh, right, there's a secret passage at the back. Send someone to guard it and don't let dangerous people in." "Understood." Subordinate? Sir? Meteor's brain was overwhelmed. "Activate the city lord menu." Seeing Meteor's brain freeze, Zhou Xian temporarily ignored him and opened a special menu that other players couldn't see. This was the control panel for the city lord. City: Baihua City City Lord: Zhou Xian City Size: Small Buildings: Baihua Palace, Flowing Cloud Temple, Demon Arrow Tower, Level 1 Wall, Wooden Gate... Current Population: 30,000 (27,123 floating population/player count) A series of data appeared in front of Zhou Xian. Seeing the city's good development, Zhou Xian nodded. "Cai Die, I have important matters to attend to for the next few days, so I'll leave Baihua City to you as usual." "Understood." "Hmm, I need to go to the Flowing Cloud Temple to refine some equipment. Have someone prepare for me." "Understood." After receiving the order, Cai Die gracefully retreated. "...Young man... Oh, big brother... No, boss, you are... the city lord of Baihua City?" He was shocked. "I am the one with good luck." Zhou Xian said modestly. Meteor was completely stunned.