Chapter 84

【The script is completed, rewards are being settled.】

【Experience gained: 5000, Youlou coins: 50000】

【Items and equipment obtained: None】

【Missions completed, accepted: 2/2】

【Special, hidden missions completed: 0, Worldview cracked: None】

【Shocking value spikes: 0 times, Maximum shock value: 0%, Average shock value: 0%】

【Your fear rating is 'Fearless', you can obtain an additional reward, please select later.】

【Skill points gained: 317】

【Skill points experience bonus: 3170, Youlou coins: 31700】

【Script completion reward: Skill card * 1.】

【Settlement is complete, please proceed.】

Before teleporting, Feng Jue also didn't forget to return the lantern to Si Yu, so the item did not appear during the settlement.

The gains from this script were quite high. The virtual time consumed was only about two and a half hours, but the experience points were already close to what Feng Jue had gained from a previous derivative script.

As his level increased, the basic difficulty of the scripts also increased, and this variable, like time, could increase the income of experience points.

However, after completing a script, the items Feng Jue had were actually fewer. One could say that his attitude towards the game directly led to this situation. For professional players or those with obsessive-compulsive disorder, finding items, equipment, side quests, and hidden missions were of higher priority. In the previous script, if it were other players, they might not have gone to save their teammates. After all, they were not responsible, and the other party was only trapped, not dead yet. They could quickly go upstairs and search the four floors of the second teaching building, which would have a high chance of finding equipment or a side quest.

Feng Jue wasn't unaware of these things, but there were many things he wouldn't consider.

As mentioned earlier, he would spend a lot of money to buy an expensive game pod, yet he would also meticulously plan out every bowl of clear soup for the next month.

He was a very contradictory person. It seemed he had the ability to deeply consider every action and make the most reasonable choice, but in reality, he often acted foolishly or impulsively.

There are many things in this world that thinking about doesn't help, such as a classic question: If your wife and mother both fall into the river, who should you save first? If there's a correct answer, it should be to save the one who can't swim first, then the other, so both have a chance to live.

But then you would get an advanced question: What if neither can swim?

The correct answer is to find a passerby to help you save them, so there's a chance to save both.

If you get another advanced question: What if you're alone?

Then you can answer the woman asking you: "Let's die together."

In short, people are not machines or programs; they cannot always make the "correct" choice because many things cannot be judged as right or wrong. Countless such decisions determine our direction in life, and there's no need to regret whether we made the wrong choice after the fact. Hypothetical scenarios and regrets are meaningless. It is those split-second decisions that truly define who we are.

【Player "Si Yu Ruo Li" invites you to the meeting room.】

The system prompt quickly sounded, and Feng Jue tapped the screen to agree. He then went to the elevator and pressed the [Meeting Room] button.

When the door opened this time, he entered Si Yu's meeting room space.

Although the meeting room looked the same, it didn't matter who went to whose place. The game currently had no items or furniture for decorating the space, but it was unclear if there would be in the future.

Si Yu was already sitting at the meeting table. Seeing Feng Jue enter, she said, "In the public space, you can directly send me a team invitation."

"I'll try," Feng Jue sat down at the meeting table and said two words to her: "Team up." Si Yu chuckled, "Use the menu! Uh..." Feng Jue smiled awkwardly and completed the team-up.

"Thanks for the script just now," Si Yu said.

"Sure, I think it was mainly thanks to you. The part you handled, I couldn't have done it," Feng Jue replied.

Without much small talk, Si Yu got straight to the point: "I invited you here to ask some questions."

"I'm not a professional player," Feng Jue immediately said.

Si Yu replied, "I didn't mean to ask you that. Huh?" Feng Jue's attempt to be cool failed, and he could only say, "Oh, why do you think I would ask if you're a professional player?" Si Yu asked.

Feng Jue replied, "Well, because I think you might be a professional player, and you're trying to recruit me to your studio. If I were a professional, I would definitely be level 20 or higher." Si Yu's words sounded a bit arrogant but were quite objective: "And I think, if you were a professional player, you wouldn't be at your current level after the beta test." She paused, "I just want to ask, about what you said before, are you really a novelist in real life?"

"Huh?" Feng Jue was taken aback; he hadn't expected her to ask this: "Yes, what's the matter?"

"May I ask your pen name?" Si Yu wanted to hear Feng Jue say it himself.

"My pen name is 'Bu Jue,' what's the matter?" Feng Jue said.

Si Yu suddenly sped up her speech, "What is the most terrifying thing between men and women?"

"Getting a marriage certificate in a fit of anger," Feng Jue was puzzled by her sudden question, but he knew the answer.

"What is the favorite advice Detective White Casus gives to criminals? Don't bend down to pick up soap in prison..."

"What was the name of the novel you left unfinished a few years ago? Uh, 'Murder on the Internet' wasn't left unfinished."

"In 'The Time Traveler Who Can't Return,' what did the female lead say to the protagonist's ear?" Feng Jue interrupted, "She said, 'I'll wait for you in the future, remember me.' I took a deep breath: 'I discussed this with my editor and decided to delete it. But you're the first reader to ask about this. What else do you want to ask?' At this point, Feng Jue realized that she was trying to verify if he was the real 'Bu Jue.' Her questions were all related to the plot of his novels and covered multiple works, including those he wrote when he was completely unknown. These were clearly questions only a hardcore fan would ask.

Si Yu said, "No need, I believe you."

Feng Jue laughed, "Si Yu, what...?"

"Actually, with my fame, even if someone wanted to impersonate a third-rate celebrity, they wouldn't impersonate me." Feng Jue said, "But you seem to be my..." He was about to say "loyal fan."

But before he could finish, Si Yu interrupted, "No."

"You still know so much... I have a good memory."

"And I read widely. Um..." Feng Jue smiled awkwardly, "Alright." Si Yu maintained her cold tone, with no change in expression, and her reaction was quick.

Her refusal to admit she was a hardcore fan made Feng Jue somewhat amused, and he suddenly found the girl quite cute. Discovering that a game friend was his loyal reader made Feng Jue feel a sense of narcissistic superiority.

Si Yu immediately changed the topic, "By the way, I want to ask if you're interested in forming a guild? I've been busy lately and haven't read the public beta version's game manual yet." Feng Jue replied, "Besides having a uniform emblem on your clothes, what are the benefits of a guild? A shared storage function in the storage room: an additional guild option in the social panel: when forming a team, each additional member from the same guild can increase experience, up to 5% for a full team of six: and based on the guild's ranking on two leaderboards, the system will randomly grant two buffs to all guild members, which refresh weekly." Si Yu mentioned a few key points, but she couldn't be as detailed as the system prompt. For the specifics, one would have to read the game manual.

In short, objectively speaking, forming a guild was a win-win situation.

"Hmm, sounds like forming a guild isn't bad," Feng Jue mused.

"Don't forget to add me after you form it," Si Yu assumed he had already decided.

Feng Jue thought for a moment and said, "To be honest, with your skills, why not apply to join a large guild? They wouldn't refuse you, right."

"Large guilds are usually backed by studios or are run by wealthy and idle players." Si Yu's own family situation also fell into the category of wealthy and idle, but she didn't mention it: "The former recruits players outside the studio to expand their strength, but outsiders can't access core resources. Strong players join to trade their strength for benefits, a simple transaction. The latter, non-professional players invest money to expand their guild, mainly for fame, satisfaction, and to attract women. They recruit strong players to boost their image, ordinary players to work for the guild, and female players with ulterior motives."

Feng Jue was genuinely surprised by her description. It was the first time he had heard a woman speak so bluntly and coldly about such matters. It was also the first time he realized there were such strong female figures who could say "attract women" without any sense of contradiction.

"In short, finding like-minded friends to game together in a small guild is enough," Si Yu concluded.

Feng Jue laughed, "I never expected, you and I are..." He paused, originally wanting to say "birds of a feather," but changed it to: "Hmm, great minds think alike. I'll go claim my reward and browse the store. Si Yu didn't respond, standing up and saying, "In the future, let's lock on to area 10 of the store, we might meet there." Feng Jue also stood up, "I'll read the game manual and do some preparations, and I'll notify you when I'm done."

The two said their goodbyes and left the meeting room one after the other, returning to their respective login spaces.

The public beta version's update patch document wasn't very long, at least not as long as the complete game manual Feng Jue had read during the beta test. He finished reading it in just over ten minutes.

The guild system was very similar to the "guild" systems in other MMORPGs, and the conditions for forming a guild were not too strict. Players needed to be level 10, pay the system 100,000 Youlou coins, and get three other players to sign.

After seeing these conditions, Feng Jue instantly deduced that the Ice Emperor's guild probably only had four members...

Regarding the money, Feng Jue was a bit hesitant. He could afford 100,000, but after spending it, he would have to delay buying clothes to enhance his attributes.

Si Yu, however, took the 100,000 Youlou coins for granted. In terms of exchange rate, it was less than 50 yuan. Besides, for players who had participated in the beta test, having less than 100,000 coins was hard to believe.

Feng Jue didn't dwell on this issue for long. He could still play without buying clothes, and he wasn't short on money. After the previous script, his Youlou coins increased by over 80,000. If things went well, the [Kenny's Hoodie] in the auction house could provide him with 140,000 more. In short, as long as he endured one or two more scripts, he would have everything he needed by level 15.

Currently, Feng Jue was level 13, with the following status: Title: [Cold-Blooded Headshot Maniac], Experience: 8700/13000, Skill points: 660, Youlou coins: 2,452,000.

Specializations: General E, Tools E, Recon E, Combat E, Shooting D, Medical F, Spirit F, ???

Inventory 4/10: Mario's Pipe Wrench, Eye of Enmity M1911 Pistol, Echo Armor.

Footwear: Jazz Dance.

Storage 2/10: Puzzle Card - Monkey, Casey Jones' Mask.

Skills: [Hasty Repair], [Brat's Whip Kick], [Concussion]

The last specialization, "Summoning," which Feng Jue had seen in the patch, was very rare. Using it did not consume stamina but required specific items, which were random.

For example, if a skill's effect was to summon a horse, the skill description would specify the conditions. The player would need to sacrifice a spoon, a glass, a bucket of water, a petal, etc., and the possibilities were endless. What summoning item corresponded to what item was random, and even the same summoning item might require different sacrifices from different players.

In addition to the sacrifice requirement, summoning skills had other limitations, such as being usable only once per script, having a very long cooldown, or being usable only in specific environments.

After finishing the patch document, Feng Jue still hadn't received the item, indicating that the item in the auction house hadn't been sold yet. He wasn't too worried, as he didn't think the item would be returned. For ordinary players, the item might be dangerous, but for professional teams, an item with unlimited passive taunt was quite useful for the tank. A knowledgeable studio player would definitely buy it.

Feng Jue then went to the storage room and claimed his reward for the fear rating. To reach level 15 quickly and wear the [Casey Jones' Mask], he chose experience points this time.

He gained 5200 experience points, 40% of the current level cap. The system quickly notified him that he had reached level 14, with stamina increased to 14,000 and experience at 900/14,000. If he could increase his experience to 60% of the current level, 8400/14,000, and claim another reward, he could directly reach level 15.

Next, Feng Jue went to another glass column to draw the "learnable" skill card as a completion reward.

What he most hoped for was a new skill from the "Spirit" specialization, followed by a combat skill. To be honest, his combat skills were quite poor. He was brutal, but lacked technique. His only active combat skill was [Brat's Whip Kick], and while he didn't know which two unlucky souls would be tripped by the remaining two kicks, relying on this and his street-fighting style blunt force trauma was clearly insufficient for high-level battles.

"Heavenly spirits, earth spirits,..." Feng Jue clasped his hands together, raised them over his head, and waved them like a fortune-telling stick, standing in front of the glass column and muttering, "Brother Woody, you must protect me, give me a good skill. Ideally, a Heaven-Shattering Mixed Yuan Palm, once obtained, nothing else matters. If not, at least give me something like a Ghost Technique, a Breaking Technique, or a Binding Technique, even a single-digit number is fine..."

Whether Woody heard this atheist's half-hearted prayer or not, it didn't matter. Devils don't give charity; they only make deals.

F