Chapter 4

On the first day of entering Peace Village, Xiao Zhi spent his time getting familiar with the environment. He wandered through the entire village, chatting with all the villagers and players he encountered.

"The World of All Beings" was a bit different from other games.

In other games, although the NPCs didn't talk much, they usually gave players some small quests, like delivering letters, gathering herbs, or finding lost pets. After completing these small quests, players could gain experience points, some money, and items like weapons and equipment.

However, the NPCs in Peace Village were just ordinary villagers. Players could chat with them, but they wouldn't get any quests. Even if they managed to get a quest and completed it, they would only receive a "thank you" and nothing else.

Fortunately, Xiao Zhi wasn't entirely unsuccessful. Through his conversation with Yu Cunzheng, he successfully gained his favor. Yu Cunzheng gave him a set of old gray clothes and a pair of somewhat worn-out straw shoes.

The clothes and shoes weren't new, but they were clean and tidy.

According to Yu Cunzheng, these were his son's clothes. His son and daughter-in-law had moved to the county town a few years ago, leaving these old clothes behind.

After thanking Yu Cunzheng repeatedly, Xiao Zhi put on the clothes and shoes, feeling much more comfortable.

Having grown up in a civilized society, he was very uncomfortable with nudity and felt secure only when dressed.

Xiao Zhi became the first player in Peace Village to wear clothes, which made the other players envious.

These players tried to mimic his approach, hoping to get clothes from Yu Cunzheng and other NPCs with their smooth talk, but they all failed.

One irritable player even tried to snatch the clothes by force.

His fate was tragic; he was beaten to death by a patrolling guard, and his body was dragged out of the village. The trail of blood leading out of the village was shocking, even through the screen, Xiao Zhi found it disturbing.

The villagers here were really... fierce, ready to kill at the slightest provocation.

After this incident, the other players no longer had the idea of snatching things by force.

More new players arrived and joined Peace Village.

Clearly, this was the legendary newbie village for players.

In the afternoon of the first day, Xiao Zhi joined a few other players to find the patrol captain, Wang Ji. They wanted to learn from Wang Ji how to break through from ordinary people to become warriors.

Wang Ji sought Yu Cunzheng's approval, and after a discussion, he returned and said, "I do have a technique that can help ordinary people break through to become warriors, called the 'Nine Ox Bursting Strength Technique.' However, your strength is not enough to qualify for this technique."

A line of text flowed across the screen.

Prompt: "The 'Nine Ox Bursting Strength Technique' is a strength-based technique. The requirement for cultivation is: Strength attribute must reach 100 points or more."

Prompt: "The three attributes of Constitution, Strength, and Agility can all be improved through basic training. The training methods are..."

After so long, the game's system prompt finally appeared for the second time.

Xiao Zhi opened his character's attribute interface. His Strength attribute was only 68 points, far from the 100 points required for the 'Nine Ox Bursting Strength Technique.'

'It looks like I can only use the training methods mentioned in the system prompt to improve my strength,' Xiao Zhi thought to himself.

"The World of All Beings" was very realistic. Players' characters would get hungry, thirsty, and needed to excrete.

After a day of折腾 (struggle), more text flowed across the screen.

Prompt: "You are very thirsty and need to drink water."

Prompt: "You are very hungry and need to eat."

Prompt: "Hunger and thirst levels have been activated. When you are extremely hungry or thirsty, your condition will deteriorate, and if it continues, you will die."

As these words flowed across Xiao Zhi's screen, a faint gray outline appeared around the screen.

'Both hungry and thirsty, where can I find food?' Xiao Zhi was troubled.

His character had no money, and he had no connections here. Where could he find food?

The other players were clearly also worried about this.

Fortunately, their worries didn't last long. Yu Cunzheng, out of pity for these pitiful refugees, cooked a large pot of food in an open area of the village to serve them.

Each player received a bowl of steaming, gray, paste-like food. Xiao Zhi zoomed in on the bowl on the screen several times but couldn't identify what the paste-like food was.

But it didn't matter; as long as it could fill his stomach, he wasn't picky.

To be precise, his character in the game wasn't picky. After all, it was just a game. Even if he were given a grand banquet in the game, he wouldn't be able to taste anything through the screen.

The character, perhaps very hungry, ate quickly and with relish, making smacking sounds.

There was only one bowl of food, but water was plentiful.

After eating the food and drinking several scoops of water, the character let out a satisfied sigh.

That night, the players spent the night in the open area of the village. Yu Cunzheng, out of pity for these homeless people, lit a large bonfire. The warmth from the bonfire drove away the cold of the night, and sleeping near it kept them from feeling cold.

The full moon shone down, casting its light on the ground. Xiao Zhi counted and found that, including himself, there were 17 players in Peace Village.

Among them, 16 were male players, and only one was a female player.

As he had expected, the female player received much better treatment than the male players. She had a pair of long pants and a gray short-sleeved shirt.

However, this female player had an ordinary appearance and figure. The male players, including Xiao Zhi, only glanced at her curiously before looking away.

By the bonfire, some players 'slept,' while others gathered to chat.

Xiao Zhi also joined in the conversation.

He had always been easy-going and had a good temper. He could chat with anyone, regardless of age or gender, and never made people feel uncomfortable.

The only person he found difficult to chat with, to the point where the conversation would stall, was his ex-girlfriend.

Why was this?

This question had troubled him for a long time.