Chapter 20

It was a little past two in the morning.

Xu Jianxing woke up and couldn't fall back asleep, feeling an overwhelming surge of energy. He turned on the light, went to the bathroom, and then opened his computer, wanting to check the game to see what the pill he had sacrificed was.

After a while, the computer started up and he entered the game. Xu Jianxing controlled his character to wander around the market...

He was very clear that to truly understand a game, one must first understand the market. As long as he memorized all the items in the market, he would have a good grasp of the game.

After wandering around for a while, Xu Jianxing's eyes lit up when he saw what a merchant was selling.

"Experience Pill!"

Looking at the smooth, white pill, Xu Jianxing felt it was very similar to the one he had sacrificed. Suppressing his excitement, he took out the pill he had sacrificed and compared it with the one in the game. Xu Jianxing was completely certain that the pill he had sacrificed was the Experience Pill in the game.

As for the existence of Experience Pills in the game, Xu Jianxing really didn't know, as he hadn't played the game much. After some thought, he resisted the urge to take the "Experience Pill" and decided to ask for more information first. He left a message at the stall, "Boss, are you there?"

After a minute, Xu Jianxing saw no reply and knew the owner must be logged in but sleeping.

Deciding to take action, Xu Jianxing shouted in the world chat, "Is anyone around? Make a sound if you are."

Sima Changkong: "..."

BadBoy: "Here!"

Dugu Yunyi: "Haha."

In no time, three players responded.

Xu Jianxing smiled and typed, "Guys, I'm new to this game. Does anyone know the ins and outs of the game?"

Xu Jianxing's words caused a moment of silence in the world chat, with no one responding. After a long wait, Xu Jianxing sighed and typed, "Which of you can answer some of my game questions? I can recharge your account with 50 yuan worth of game coins or something else of equal value, and it won't take more than half an hour. You need to be able to communicate in real-time."

BadBoy: "I can, bro, I can talk."

Breeze: "No problem, but how do we transact?"

...

Instantly, seven or eight people sent private messages to Xu Jianxing's character, making him realize that money really works wonders.

Then, Xu Jianxing asked about their character levels and finally chose BadBoy, a 67-level player, after confirming his level.

After confirming, Xu Jianxing asked BadBoy to join a communication channel. Soon, BadBoy's ID appeared before Xu Jianxing, and he asked, "Is it you, BadBoy?"

A young boy's voice replied, "I'm BadBoy, are you the one in the game, Xuanyuan?"

"Yep, it's me," Xu Jianxing said with a smile. "I can recharge 20 game coins now, and the rest after you answer my questions. What do you think? If it's okay, I can recharge now."

"Sure, sure, just recharge the game coins," BadBoy said hurriedly. Honestly, he was a bit curious about this guy who was willing to pay 50 yuan for some game questions, but he didn't think too much about it.

Soon, Xu Jianxing recharged 20 game coins to BadBoy's account. After confirming, he asked, "BadBoy, how many dungeons are there in the game now?"

"Eight."

Xu Jianxing then asked some other questions that weren't important to him before getting to the point, "By the way, BadBoy, are there Experience Pills in the game that can directly boost levels?"

"Yes, there are. In this game, Experience Pills are categorized like equipment into six tiers: white, green, blue, purple, orange, and rainbow. Besides high-level alchemists who can craft Experience Pills, even fishing and sacrificing can yield them. Fishing can get you Experience Pills from treasure boxes, while sacrificing is a matter of luck. Most players have a few secondary accounts just for Experience Pills. In the game, a player can consume three Experience Pills per day. White and blue Experience Pills are considered trash."

"Trash? I spent two days just to find one, and you call it trash," Xu Jianxing muttered to himself, then quickly asked, "Why are they considered trash? I didn't see any when I was sacrificing."

BadBoy was speechless for a moment before laughing bitterly, "Bro, you're only level 30. Even if you sacrifice, you're using trash equipment or items. How could you get an Experience Pill? I'm level 67, and if I sacrifice level 60 white equipment, I'll get a white Experience Pill in about 10 tries. For green, it's about 50 tries. For higher tiers, it's much harder. If you can get a purple or orange Experience Pill, you can make a small fortune in the game."

"Ah, I see," Xu Jianxing nodded thoughtfully. After a moment, he asked, "If I'm level 2 or 3 and take a white Experience Pill, how many levels can I gain?"

BadBoy was speechless again. He felt the person he was talking to was a bit off. Even though white Experience Pills were cheap, most people would level up to 30 before using them, as it only took about an hour to reach level 30.

Despite this, he patiently replied, "Based on my experience, if you're between levels 1 and 20, a white Experience Pill can boost you 2 to 3 levels. After level 20, it's about one level. After level 30, the experience gain drops significantly, maybe 1/20th. The higher your level, the more experience you gain, but the required experience also increases, so the speed slows down. That's why white and green Experience Pills are considered trash. I think blue Experience Pills will become trash soon too."

"Ah, I see," Xu Jianxing nodded, then asked more questions. After finishing, he recharged 30 more game coins to BadBoy and dismissed him.

Now, Xu Jianxing understood that to get Experience Pills, he needed to sacrifice items of higher value. The fish he used, which weighed over 10 pounds and could sell for about 60 yuan in real life, might be the minimum value needed to get an Experience Pill. The higher the value, the better.

Thinking about the higher value, Xu Jianxing felt a headache. He lacked high-value items. Although he didn't know the value of the pill he had, he knew it was priceless, but such items couldn't be sold easily.

At least, Xu Jianxing didn't dare to sell it. No matter how much money he could get, he couldn't risk it, as once something was known by one person, it could be known by many, and the consequences would be dire.

After much thought, Xu Jianxing decided to experiment with the pill to see its effects. However, he didn't want to take the whole pill at once, just a small piece to feel its effects.

He took out a small knife from his storage space and carefully placed the pill on the table. Holding the knife, he tried to cut a corner of the pill.

"Hmm," Xu Jianxing was slightly surprised because, although the pill was very soft, it was also very resilient, and the knife left no mark.

"Hmm!" He applied more force, but it still didn't work.

It wasn't until Xu Jianxing used about 80% of his strength that he finally broke the pill. As the pill broke, a fragrant and captivating aroma filled the air.

Feeling the aroma, Xu Jianxing took a deep breath and quickly put most of the pill back into his storage space, keeping only a small piece, which he quickly swallowed. He knew the effects would dissipate quickly if he waited.

As the small piece of the pill entered his mouth, it dissolved instantly, turning into warm streams that flowed throughout his body. Xu Jianxing felt a sense of euphoria, and his strength increased. His mind became clearer, and all his worries seemed to vanish, making him feel extremely comfortable.

"Damn, I forgot to test the effects."

Xu Jianxing suddenly realized this and took the knife, making a deep cut on his left arm. This wasn't because he had a masochistic tendency but to test the pill's effects.

The cut was about an inch long, and blood immediately flowed out.

"Damn, that hurts!" Xu Jianxing winced. He then felt the warm streams in his body flow to the wound, and in a moment, the pain subsided, and the wound began to heal slowly.

Xu Jianxing watched the wound closely, and after about five minutes, it was completely healed, leaving only a small scar. Even though the effects had worn off, he could still feel a mysterious force healing the wound.

After about twenty more minutes, the scar fell off.

"Phew..." Xu Jianxing took a deep breath. He felt the pill's effects were incredibly powerful, not only enhancing his physical abilities but also healing wounds effectively.

He calculated that a normal person using the pill to heal a similar wound would take about 15 minutes to form a scab and an hour to fully recover. If he used the whole pill, the time would be reduced by five times.

Why? Because Xu Jianxing considered his own recovery ability, which was at least twice that of a normal person. The pill couldn't restore mental fatigue, only physical functions.

Xu Jianxing also knew that as his body "upgraded," the pill's effects would diminish, similar to a high-level character using a white Experience Pill.

Suppressing his excitement, Xu Jianxing sensed his enhanced physical abilities. He knew that if he took the whole pill, his physical strength would be about six times that of a normal person, as the one-fifth he took had already increased his strength by more than one time.

Although Xu Jianxing wanted to take the whole pill, he thought better of it. It was better to save it for emergencies, as it could be a lifesaver. He would wait until he had more before taking it.

Feeling energetic, Xu Jianxing had nothing to do, so he looked up some cooking-related materials online...

Cooking might not seem important now, but Xu Jianxing knew it would be useful when his skills reached a certain level. Learning more now was always beneficial.

Time passed quickly, and it was almost five in the morning.

Xu Jianxing looked out the window at the dimly lit sky, changed into a white sleeveless sports outfit, and went out for a run...

Running in the morning was a good habit he had developed with his father. It not only lifted his mood but also improved his metabolism, with many benefits.

Since the place was close to the sea, Xu Jianxing ran towards the beach, waving his fists as he ran, drawing curious looks from early risers.

Ignoring the looks, Xu Jianxing ran faster than most people, overtaking many runners.

In about half an hour, he reached a main road near a seaside villa complex. The road was scenic, with blooming flowers, and it was a popular route for morning runners, especially for those who hoped to catch the eye of a beautiful woman, which could lead to a better life.

Among the women, some were daughters of ordinary families, and their reasons for coming here were not purely for exercise. They hoped to find a way to improve their lives.

When Xu Jianxing reached the main road, he was captivated by the many beautiful women. He slowed down to admire their graceful movements, especially those with firm chests.

"Not bad, not bad, this one is pretty too," Xu Jianxing thought, his heart racing. "I should find a beautiful woman to chat with soon, or I might end up with some health issues."

Xu Jianxing was a normal man, and it had been over a year since he had been with a woman. His thoughts were not unusual.

After running for a while, Xu Jianxing's eyes lit up as he saw a woman with a smooth, full, and elastic buttock and long, strong legs.

His pace slowed as he followed her, admiring her swaying figure...