Zhong Liyu stared at Lu Qingjia for a while, and the foolishness on his face was nowhere to be found.
Then he chuckled softly, “As expected, your advantages aren’t given for free.”
He continued in a serious tone, “Was it that pervert Ouyang Bai who hinted at this? I knew he had ulterior motives.”
Lu Qingjia replied, “Come on, you’re just venting your anger. I had my suspicions long ago; he just confirmed them for me.”
“I remember you mentioned that a rival company took advantage of your company’s Valentine’s Day event to launch a sneak attack, and as a result, the three of you administrators banded together and beat them down, causing several major ‘branches’ to fall.”
“The three major Games known are ‘Horror’, ‘Infinite’, and ‘Extreme’. For an administrator to personally intervene and reclaim the situation, it must be a high-level instance of the immortal cultivation type. Since then, there haven’t been any exchange students in Horror and Extreme Games for several years.”
“Only in the last year or two have relations gradually thawed.”
“My uncle died six years ago. At that time, we had severed ties with the Extreme Game, so there was no possibility of competing with players from the Extreme Game to clear levels. The outcome was inevitable.”
“The Infinite Game, right?”
At this point, Zhong Liyu was straightforward. He nodded, “Our foolish boss has a good relationship with the Infinite Game, but the players from both sides are a different story.”
“Perhaps it’s true that fools have their blessings; among the three major Games, only the players under our foolish boss have a harmonious relationship with the Game. The other two Games have a very delicate relationship with administrator-level players.”
“Of course, this also has to do with their selection mechanisms.” Zhong Liyu stepped over a piece of rubble and instinctively turned to reach out his hand to Lu Qingjia.
Lu Qingjia also instinctively placed his hand on it, using his strength to step over.
Once they crossed, the two realized that with Lu Qingjia’s physical ability, he didn’t need any help and had no reason to worry about tripping.
Zhong Liyu’s face turned a bit red, but when he let go of Lu Qingjia’s hand, he didn’t wait for him to pull away; instead, he tightened his grip again, pretending nothing had happened.
His eyes darted around, “This path is quite steep; you should hold onto me carefully so you don’t fall.”
“Don’t misunderstand; I’m just worried you’ll scrape your skin and blame me for not clearing the path properly, and then take the opportunity to dock my salary. My monthly salary is only two thousand; I have a family to support and can’t afford any deductions.”
Before Lu Qingjia could respond, he saw this guy rambling on to save face and raised an eyebrow, “Young man, don’t always look for problems with the boss; you should look for problems within yourself.”
“If I were to be harsh on all employees, you could say I’m heartless and shameless, but if I’m only harsh on you, then that’s your own problem.”
Zhong Liyu smiled, “Then am I not showing it?”
“If you really want to show it, shouldn’t you carry me on your back? What’s the use of just holding on tightly?”
Lu Qingjia was just used to bickering, but he didn’t expect Zhong Liyu to immediately show a “Is there such a good thing?” expression.
In one swift motion, he lifted Lu Qingjia onto his back, “Boss, do you think my vehicle is still stable?”
“Ah? Hmm! It’s a bit sunny.” Lu Qingjia was momentarily stunned but remained unfazed.
“This is simple.” Saying this, Zhong Liyu plucked a large taro leaf from the side.
The wild taro was planted by Lu Qingjia; it was cost-effective, easy to grow, and matched Lu Qingjia’s overall design style.
The wild taro leaves can grow quite large, and the biggest ones can easily serve as umbrellas.
Before coming here, Zhong Liyu had indeed learned some essence from Father Zhong, integrating various skills, and he didn’t even need Lu Qingjia to hold the “umbrella.” He simply tucked it into the back of his neck.
The sticky sap from the cut taro stem was extremely difficult to remove, and Zhong Liyu’s valuable custom-made jacket was thus smeared.
After walking for a while, feeling empty around his neck, Zhong Liyu turned back to see that the ‘umbrella’ had been taken out by Lu Qingjia, who was now holding it.
Seeing him look over, Lu Qingjia shamelessly said, “The leaves were too low and hit my face.”
At that moment, Zhong Liyu’s expression was similar to that of the second disciple carrying Gao Cuilan out of the flower sedan.
But after just a few steps, the atmosphere turned sour.
Because two old men carrying hoes approached, and upon seeing Lu Qingjia, one of them shouted loudly—
“Oh, Jiajia! I thought it was someone else.”
“I could see two fools, one carrying the other on a hot day from far away, and I thought it was another young person from the city. I was saying that young people these days are too pretentious; it hasn’t even rained yet, why carry someone? Sweating all over isn’t pleasant.”
The other nodded, “Exactly, and picking taro leaves, how silly. We didn’t play like that when we were young.”
Zhong Liyu was caught in a dilemma about whether to let Lu Qingjia down or not.
After the two old men rambled on, they looked at Lu Qingjia and said, “Since it’s Jiajia, then it’s fine.”
“Jiajia, did you sprain your ankle or get heatstroke? Uncle has some red flower oil; do you want me to get you some?”
“Right, right, that one from his family is good. I have tiger bone wine at home; do you want some?”
Lu Qingjia expressionlessly got off Zhong Liyu’s back, threw the taro leaf on the ground, and stepped on it a couple of times.
With a smile, he said, “No, I’m just playing around with a friend.”
The two old men chuckled, “Ah, boys like to mess around; then you all have fun.”
After the two walked away, Zhong Liyu cautiously said, “Then why carry—”
Before he could finish, Lu Qingjia grabbed his collar and said expressionlessly, “Did you put some kind of mental suggestion on me?”
“I didn’t!” Zhong Liyu immediately felt more wronged than Dou E.
“How could I do something so lame? My standards are quite high; you know that.”
Zhong Liyu was also getting angry, “Then why didn’t I just suggest you go to the civil affairs bureau with me?”
After saying this, he was suddenly startled, feeling a sense of enlightenment.
But before the thought could fully form, Lu Qingjia shot it down, “Thinking about your sister’s peaches all day long.”
Zhong Liyu stammered, “It sounds like you’re the one at a disadvantage. My conditions aren’t bad, right?”
Lu Qingjia didn’t want to engage with him and changed the subject, “You still haven’t finished what you were saying.”
Zhong Liyu, reluctantly turned into a talking machine, but he was also worried that Lu Qingjia would suffer due to lack of preparation.
So he continued, “Let’s not talk about the Extreme Game; its selection range is for evolved humans who survived extreme disasters, so its starting point is higher than ours. However, resources are scarce, and the ceiling is lower than ours, which is also why the Extreme Game launched a sneak attack back then.”
“The Infinite Game’s selection ignores time, spanning thousands of years of human history. It includes ancient people from a thousand years ago and future people from hundreds of years later, but the selection criteria are that they must have killed someone.”
“Although some people kill out of necessity or excessive defense, most who can harm their own kind are inherently more cruel, with lower moral standards. So if we talk about the primary player groups, most of our Horror Game players are actually not as good as those from the Infinite Game.”
“This gap will gradually narrow after several rounds of instances.”
“But we also have our advantages, right?” Lu Qingjia asked.
“Right!” Zhong Liyu nodded, “Our selection mechanism requires survival through life-and-death disasters, and such people naturally carry luck.”
“In plain terms, our Game’s players, aside from gold-digging players, generally have better luck than the other two.”
At this point, he thought of Ouyang Bai, and Zhong Liyu’s expression darkened, “After all, our Game’s ‘lucky person’ is a silent existence that all Game administrators are aware of.”
Lu Qingjia sniffed, “Where’s this strong sour smell coming from?”
Zhong Liyu: “…”
The exhibition structure designed by Lu Qingjia wasn’t complicated, but indeed, without the aid of a large crane, it wouldn’t achieve the desired effect.
The contractor was also helpless. Upon seeing Lu Qingjia, he spread his hands and said, “This is the only way; borrowing might be a bit troublesome.”
Lu Qingjia shook his head, “If it can’t achieve the effect, it’s better not to have it.”
Just like a low-quality wax figure, poorly crafted displays are purely a joke.
He patted the contractor’s shoulder, “You all go back first; I’ll find a way to adjust it. The restaurant has prepared lunch for you, and you can come back in the afternoon to clean up and settle the payment.”
The contractor was eager to hear this and quickly thanked him, calling the workers to head down the mountain.
Lu Qingjia took out the design drawings and pointed at the stage setup, “Go ahead, hero.”
Zhong Liyu suddenly felt a sense of responsibility, but just as he was about to feel awkward again, he said, “Two thousand yuan salary, and you want me to use super abilities? I’ve never heard of such cheap labor.”
“Consider it overtime!”
“No way, that’s too cheap.”
“Then you can’t let me take advantage of you?”
Zhong Liyu immediately laughed, feeling shy and awkward, “Sure!”
Lu Qingjia wanted to slap himself for being so easily provoked.
However, Zhong Liyu indeed worked efficiently, using illusions to conceal the surroundings, and instantly completed the design effect.
Seeing this, Lu Qingjia was quite satisfied. As they wrapped up and headed back, Zhong Liyu unusually fell silent for a moment.
Then he spoke up, “For the next instance, can I go with you?”
Lu Qingjia raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t we agree to wait until the Clearance Ticket is used up?”
Zhong Liyu stopped, as if he had been struggling for a while, and said to Lu Qingjia, “Then you must take care of yourself.”
“I have the method to resurrect players,” he suddenly said, looking at Lu Qingjia with calm eyes.
But beneath that calmness was an endless surge of extremism and radicalism. He said, “I hope you stay well. If I have the chance to resurrect you, no matter how angry you get, how much you kick or hit me, it won’t change my decision.”
Lu Qingjia’s pupils constricted, shocked by the information revealed by Zhong Liyu.
“There’s a way to resurrect?” His voice was almost distorted.
Zhong Liyu shook his head, “I know what you’re thinking, but the conditions are very harsh. Your uncle’s hope after all these years is probably very slim.”
At this moment, Zhong Liyu saw Lu Qingjia reveal a smile, like a glimmer of light shining through a deep abyss of hatred.
He froze for a moment, then had a bad premonition.
Lu Qingjia said, “You should go take a nap.”
Zhong Liyu couldn’t believe it, “You just came out last night! No one rests this frequently.”
“You promised to take good care of yourself; inflexible clearance isn’t good for players.”
Lu Qingjia looked at him inexplicably, “This is why I hate you meddling; you always put me in a position of being protected.”
“The meaning of rest is to clear levels in a better state; this time isn’t fixed for every player.”
“The pressure of a tight rhythm comes from the stress of clearing levels, but which of your eyes saw me under pressure?”
Lu Qingjia smiled, his eyes sparkling, somewhat chilling, “I don’t know how happy I am playing with them; I can’t wait to continue.”
Zhong Liyu: “…”
Then his chest was poked by Lu Qingjia: “The way you are now, what’s the difference between telling me about the new Game and letting me wait a while before playing?”
Seeing the expression on his face, Zhong Liyu finally turned his face away, his expression deep, and said nothing as he went up the stairs.
Lu Qingjia returned to his room and immediately submitted an application to the Game.
The Game, recently serious, was trying hard to act like an artificial intelligence: “Player Lu Qingjia’s application has been received, and the application is approved. You will enter the Game in two hours.”
“No, ten minutes.”
“Rules—”
Before it could finish, Lu Qingjia interrupted, “Fine, two hours; I’m bored anyway. I’ll go up and chat with Zhong Ye about the gossip of certain people being beaten up one, two, or three times back in the day.”
The Game jolted: “The Game will start in ten minutes; please prepare, Player.”
Lu Qingjia’s earnings from the last instance were substantial. In his first Intermediate Level Game instance, he had broken through the instance and even connected to a higher world, facilitating three Advanced Players.
From every aspect, it was an astonishing achievement, so after the last SSS rating, Lu Qingjia received another SSS rating.
The time between the two ratings was so short it was astonishing, already attracting the attention of other administrators.
Additionally, the Points he earned were worth mentioning; he now had over five hundred thousand Points, and all the rules used by Ji Ye had been fully revealed by him.
However, the two abilities were too overpowered, and their temporary usage conditions were limited.
For example, “Absolute Truth” requires that the rules must be told to the other party beforehand, and the other party’s strength cannot exceed twice that of the user. The duration is half an hour, after which it will expire, with a cooldown time of twelve hours.
The conditions for “Oath Fulfillment” are even stricter; both parties must verbally agree, and the user must also pledge a corresponding oath. In short, it’s a double-edged sword.
But after breaking through the Game, aside from the overall increase in clearance evaluation rewards, the ‘Class Flower’ Female Ghost devouring all the evil spirits’ spiritual power also fed back to the corresponding contributing players due to the collapse of the Game, and Lu Qingjia naturally received the bulk of it.
In addition, there were the ability rewards given to Lu Qingjia by the three who had been promoted to Advanced Players.
One was a portal; as long as a spiritual mark was made at a place he had been, he could teleport freely. Although it wasn’t a combat-type ability, it was very precious, almost a trump card ability outside of that player’s main abilities.
Another was the “Thousand-Mile Eye.” While “thousand miles” might be an exaggeration, seeing clearly several kilometers away with the naked eye was not a problem, and it could also be used in conjunction with Lu Qingjia’s X-ray vision.
There was also a “Mind Link,” allowing direct mental communication with others.
However, caution was needed; if the mental strength of the other person far exceeded that of the user, or if they had mental attack abilities, it should be used sparingly, or it could easily backfire.
The last ability was the only offensive ability among the rewards—”Sludge.”
It could release a large amount of sludge from both hands for combat, with flexible manipulation, suitable for fighting in enclosed spaces and sandy or muddy waters.
Lu Qingjia tried dropping his blood into the sludge, merging the two abilities, and found it feasible, which pleasantly surprised him.
Having prepared everything, the Game’s exchange window also opened.
This time, the exchange window still had nothing much.
Perhaps Lu Qingjia had received too many rewards before, and the Game was trying to balance things out, or perhaps after this clearance, he would likely be able to enter another Game’s main city for a big shopping spree.
Lu Qingjia didn’t pay much attention to these. As the feeling of falling came, the scenery around him changed.
What he didn’t know was that a pair of eyes on the second floor was watching his every move, and at the moment he entered the Game, the other party forcefully followed him in.
However, after being exposed twice before, Zhong Liyu had learned to be clever.
Since he could recognize anyone, could he not be human this time?
Game: “Bro, you—”
Zhong Liyu shook off the fur on himself: “How’s it going? Am I looking handsome?”
Game: “Ah!!!!!!! Mike Ace!!!”
The place they landed this time was a bit different; it was a more private room.
Clearly not a hotel or dormitory type of collective accommodation, but a rental house with a strong personal atmosphere.
The rental house was low and cramped, somewhat damp, with a strange smell of mildew mixed with leftover instant noodles wafting through the air.
Lu Qingjia sniffed himself and was immediately choked.
He stood up and walked to the dressing mirror in the room, looking at the young man inside; it was still his body.
But what kind of hair was this? Thin and messy, covering his face, with stubble all over. The clothes he wore looked like cheap second-rate cosplay outfits, probably still themed around heroes.
But he couldn’t tell which work this purple-themed fluorescent cape bodysuit was from after staring for a long time.
Lu Qingjia used his X-ray vision to glance around; the neighbors were all ordinary people, and it was lunchtime, with many families eating.
Within a hundred meters, he didn’t see a single player.
It seemed that this instance would be a test even for forming a team.
However, the Game didn’t hesitate this time; while he was pondering, the world background had already been transmitted.
This was a world where superheroes were packaged as idols, having been discovered for over a decade since the first ability user.
At first, filled with passion, believing that the greater the ability, the greater the responsibility, they dedicated themselves to protecting ordinary citizens, suppressing crime rates, and combating the greed and malice that arose from awakened abilities. That pure, sunny environment was no longer present.
Now, superheroes have almost replaced the traditional idol industry. They have formal management companies, character packaging, and business styles. Naturally more outstanding than ordinary people, they initially burst onto the scene, occupying living space, leading to the decline of the traditional idol industry.
The public is no longer satisfied with seeing good-looking young boys and girls sing and dance; they have more stimulating and era-breaking substitutes, leading to even more fervent engagement.
The superhero economy has stimulated a chain of technological upgrades, allowing every hero’s performance to be recorded.
There are dedicated websites and TV stations that broadcast the performances of popular heroes all day long, but those, to put it bluntly, can no longer be considered heroic activities; they can only be seen as business performances.
The traces of human manipulation in every rescue are becoming increasingly obvious. Initially, it was just controlling the heroes’ rhythm, camera sense, expressiveness, or the timing of rescues and assassinations.
Later, it developed to the point where even the authenticity of disasters was questionable.
Fans inheriting the previous fan culture are only being swept into a more blind and frenzied state.
Even in the dark hearts of the general public, these mutated beings, transcending humanity, are seen as glamorous saviors, and their identities are wrapped in fame and public opinion, making people feel more at ease.
People can talk freely about their privacy and gossip, and heroes can be abandoned by their management companies due to scandals, leading to ruined futures and poverty.
This indirect grasp of the fate of the strong also makes it hard to extricate oneself, plunging society into a phenomenon of burying their heads in the sand.
However, heroes are also ranked, just like idols of the past.
And the identity Lu Qingjia now inherits is probably similar to that of an 18th-tier comedian?
Just starting out, with an average image, terrible packaging, and an unappealing ability, the heroes launched alongside him are not without becoming popular newcomers, breaking into the upper echelons.
But Lu Qingjia—
Lu Qingjia felt somewhat speechless about his situation. He couldn’t help but ask the Game, “How much resentment do you have towards my image?”
The Game chuckled a couple of times, “After all, training employees isn’t easy. Those Female Ghosts have communicated after returning, and each one demands higher standards for player appearances, especially for male players.”
“Isn’t this just increasing my workload for no reason? Why does clearing the Game still depend on looks? This trend should be curbed.”
“Being ugly and scaring away ghosts or bosses is much more impressive, right?”
Lu Qingjia smiled and said, “So you’re saying that being ugly prevents you from prying into corners?”
Game: “Who said I’m ugly? You can eat whatever you want, but you can’t talk nonsense. My human disguise is quite handsome, angel-level; everyone who’s tried it says it’s good.”
Lu Qingjia: “…Have you ever played cross-species sports?”
“Anyway, don’t complain. By the way, since you’ve already guessed that this is another Game, I only spoke up because of that. But from now on, you’re no longer my concern.”
After saying this, Game fell completely silent.
Lu Qingjia shrugged and took the shampoo and body wash to the public bath on this floor.
At first, he thought the outfit he was wearing was a cheap cosplay costume, but it turned out to be a hero uniform. Lu Qingjia recalled the agency he belonged to.
Although it wasn’t top-tier in the industry, it certainly wasn’t a company that couldn’t even design a decent hero uniform. Coupled with the deliberately long hair that obscured his eyes, the strange angles and poses during the promotional photoshoot made it clear.
Lu Qingjia was certain that he had been set up.
He took off the uniform and tossed it directly into the trash can without a second glance, scrubbing himself clean after several rounds of washing off the dirt.
He then took out the scissors and razor he had brought in his backpack to tidy up his head, before putting on his well-fitting spare clothes.
Seeing his familiar appearance finally put him at ease.
After getting ready, Lu Qingjia put on his watch-like terminal and went downstairs. People passing by in the old rental building couldn’t help but turn their heads.
One reason was his unfamiliarity, and the other was his striking handsomeness, which made him stand out.
Lu Qingjia planned to find something to eat. Fortunately, he wasn’t short on Points; if he exchanged them all, he could instantly become a billionaire and wouldn’t have to return here at all.
The ecosystem of heroes, much like that of celebrities, allowed those who gained fame and fortune to earn a substantial income, even becoming the ones who call the shots after accumulating capital.
For someone like Lu Qingjia, who was at the bottom tier, it meant living in a basement and slurping instant noodles.
Why not give up being a hero? With super abilities, it should be easy to find a suitable job, right?
That would be naive thinking. In reality, unless a super ability was so weak it could be ignored, super ability users faced the most workplace discrimination.
As he was sorting through his thoughts, Lu Qingjia’s terminal rang.
Upon answering, a sharp female voice rushed in, “Sludge, you’re three kilometers away. A robbery is happening at the gold shop on East Gate Street.”
“Don’t say I’m not giving you a job. If you can handle it, go ahead. If you mess it up again, you won’t need to come back.”
The author has something to say:
I see many people misunderstanding the source of the setting as being from “Hero,” so let me explain. Similar settings are quite common in Japanese and American comics.
Years ago, “TIGER & BUNNY,” which I highly recommend, features a younger top and an older bottom. There’s also “One Punch Man,” and last year’s hit series “The Boys,” all of which have similar settings.
Why didnt he just use his skill to make his hair short???? Did he forgot????