Chapter 60

In an instant, the surroundings changed abruptly, and Xu Jianxing found himself atop a mountain peak. Not far away, the three large characters "Nine Heavens Road" slowly appeared. Below the Nine Heavens Road, the towering mountain peaks were shrouded in mist. At first glance, everything was breathtakingly magnificent.

"Virtual reality!!"

Xu Jianxing couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. By now, he fully understood that in the world 500 years later, virtual technology had been widely applied and was clearly very mature.

Without any opening music, the scene shifted to a vast mountain peak. In the next moment, Xu Jianxing felt his body plummet straight down, with the sight of a 3,000-foot waterfall cascading before his eyes.

"Ah, ah..."

Even though Xu Jianxing knew it was a virtual environment, he couldn't help but cry out in shock. In the blink of an eye, he landed on the ground. When he looked around, his eyes widened in amazement...

Not far from where Xu Jianxing stood, there was a small, clear lake. In the lake, a girl of extraordinary beauty, as if from a dream, was visible. She was about sixteen years old, with skin as white as snow, wearing a white embroidered blouse. Her appearance was truly like a fairy, graceful and ethereal, with a demeanor as pure as a lily, elegant and transcendent.

Xu Jianxing knew without a doubt that this girl playing in the lake was one of the heroines of the novel, Lin Mengxian.

Although he had imagined Lin Mengxian's appearance based on the author's descriptions yesterday, he never expected her to be so breathtakingly beautiful, like a fairy descending from the heavens. Her beauty was so pure that it was almost otherworldly, making it hard to look directly at her.

However, after some thought, Xu Jianxing felt a bit more at ease. In the world 500 years later, genetic engineering must have made significant advancements. The rare beauty he saw today would likely be common on the streets in the future, and finding someone unattractive might be more difficult than climbing to the heavens.

He even speculated that this heroine might not be a real person but a creation of a virtual game-like space, simply because she was too beautiful.

At this moment, the scene suddenly shifted, and a pair of mischievous and lively eyes appeared behind a large rock, peering around.

Seeing this, Xu Jianxing smiled. The protagonist had appeared, and the plot was about to unfold...

As the story progressed, Xu Jianxing became completely immersed in this fantastical and bizarre world. Whether it was the beautiful scenery, the rare and exotic creatures, or the extraordinary and saintly battles, everything deeply captivated him.

In this world, he felt as if he had started a new life, sharing the protagonist's joys and sorrows, fully immersing himself in the story.

In some of the battle scenes, he even moved along with the protagonist's actions. By now, he fully understood that in this novel, he could not only see many scenes he had never seen before but also learn a lot, especially various martial arts techniques.

He had no doubt that the protagonist, and even the supporting characters, had high martial skills in reality. This confirmed that in that era, martial arts were fully integrated into people's lives. Of course, there was also the possibility that these actors were virtual characters, and the martial arts moves were programmed.

The only thing he found a bit hard to adapt to was the realistic depiction of violence. The scenes of bloodshed were so vivid that Xu Jianxing almost couldn't bear the nausea.

However, as time passed, he gradually adapted. The novel emphasized the principle that the strong are respected, a concept that most people understood.

Immersed in such a world, Xu Jianxing lost track of time, which flew by quickly.

In the blink of an eye, it was already around 9:00 AM.

"Ring, ring..."

The sharp sound of the doorbell suddenly rang, causing Xu Jianxing, who was deeply engrossed, to frown and look puzzled. After a while, he remembered that the world he was watching was virtual.

Although the doorbell annoyed him, he decided to open the door. However, he faced a problem: how to exit the scenes. After a moment's thought, Xu Jianxing said, "Stop."

Instantly, all the scenes vanished without a trace, as if they had never appeared.

Xu Jianxing chuckled, "I knew it would be like this."

In his mind, since 500 years later, TV shows had virtual reality technology, voice control should be a piece of cake. A quick test confirmed his thoughts.

Xu Jianxing put away the e-book and walked to the courtyard. After a few steps, he reached the front door and opened it. He immediately saw the six men, including Black Brother.

The six men respectfully greeted him, "Mr. Xu, good morning."

"En." Xu Jianxing nodded slightly and asked, "Is everything done?"

"It's done." Black Brother quickly replied.

"Come in, then." Xu Jianxing, fearing that someone might pass by, invited the six men into the courtyard. As soon as they sat down on the stone chairs, Black Brother stepped forward and placed a camera on the stone table. "The footage is in here. Do you want to take a look?"

"Okay." Xu Jianxing responded, picked up the camera, and glanced at it. He quickly turned it off, feeling nauseous, but said with some approval, "Not bad."

"Thank you, Mr. Xu, thank you, Mr. Xu." Black Brother said with a pleased expression. Being praised by such a skilled person gave him a strange sense of excitement.

"Alright, you can leave now." Xu Jianxing waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I haven't left any hidden dangers on you. If I wanted to take your lives, I wouldn't have gone through so much trouble."

The six men, including Black Brother, understood Xu Jianxing's words. Since he said so, it must be true. However, they looked hesitant and didn't move.

Xu Jianxing, seeing their expressions, laughed and said, "Why don't you want to leave? Do you want me to beat you up again?"

"Uh." The six men looked embarrassed. After exchanging glances, the long-haired youth, Zhao Wei, stepped forward and said, "Mr. Xu, my name is Zhao Wei, and they usually call me Longhair. We all want to follow you."

"Mr. Xu, my name is Zhang Liang. Because I have a mole on my chin, they call me Six."

"Mr. Xu, my name is..."

"Brother Xu, my name is Li Gang. Because I am dark-skinned, some friends call me Blackie or Blackhead."

The others, seeing Zhao Wei speak, also introduced themselves. The last one was Black Brother.

"Follow?" Xu Jianxing laughed and shook his head. Then he waved his hand to interrupt their chatter, "I'm better off alone. Why would I need you to follow me?"

Everyone looked embarrassed, and Zhao Wei, with a determined look, said, "Mr. Xu, when you need to handle some small matters that you can't do in person, we can help. Besides, a person like you should have a few people to run errands. We think we are suitable."

Xu Jianxing laughed heartily, "I can hire a bunch of people to run errands for me with a little money. As for what I can't do in person, with my skills, if I don't like something, I'll just kill it."

The last sentence, if said in the past, would have been somewhat forced, but now it was said with ease. Although he hadn't watched much of "Nine Heavens Road," the idea that the strong are respected had already taken root in his mind.

He was no longer as averse to the idea of killing as he used to be. At least, he wasn't as repulsed by it.

Hearing Xu Jianxing's words, the six men, including Li Gang, felt a chill run down their spines. While they were not afraid of fighting, they were certainly not brave enough to kill.

Xu Jianxing looked at the six men with a teasing expression and said coolly, "Alright, if there's nothing else, you can leave."

Li Gang, seeing the situation, laughed bitterly and was about to leave with his brothers. However, Zhao Wei, with a hint of madness in his eyes, said, "I'm not afraid of killing, and Brother Xu, if you let us go, have you thought about our future?"

"Future?" Xu Jianxing looked at him with interest. "Why should I care about your future?"

In fact, Xu Jianxing already had a sense of what Zhao Wei was going to say.

Sure enough, Zhao Wei continued, "Mr. Xu, people like us, who have no special skills, can only survive by following someone. After the incident with Huangshi, it's clear we can't follow anyone else. If the bosses or executives find out, we won't have a good end. So, our only option is to take risks. I think the method you used on Huangshi is good. It's low-risk and fast money, but you know, everything has its dangers. If we get caught one day, we might not be able to withstand the interrogation, and a loose tongue..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Zhao Wei believed Xu Jianxing understood. In fact, he was taking a gamble, betting that Xu Jianxing was not from the authorities, which was highly likely, otherwise, Xu Jianxing wouldn't have used that method against Huangshi. He had thought about this a lot during his rest yesterday. He was not content with a mundane life and wanted a bright future. Since the opportunity was here, he didn't want to let it go, especially the incredible power.

Of course, there could be unexpected outcomes, like Xu Jianxing killing them, but in Zhao Wei's mind, the possibility was very small. He felt that Xu Jianxing was a relatively upright person. However, if it really came to that, he would accept it. For the future, he was willing to take this risk.