Chapter 1 Meeting

Kuang Zong Jian Ying entered the guild leader's conference room at a leisurely pace. At this time, four people were already seated around the conference table. One of them was his buddy, Wu Dao Ke. The other three sat on the other side of the long table, their IDs being Yi Dao Qing Cheng, Yi Jian Qing Cheng, and Cai Bu Pa Ne.

Jianghu was, after all, a top-tier guild, so discipline was quite good. At least, there wasn't a situation where attendees were sitting there munching on potato chips without restraint. However, they weren't just sitting idly either. Everyone had a bottle of drink in their hand, taking a sip from time to time.

The snacks and drinks in Thriller Paradise were purely for satisfying cravings. They had no buff effects, couldn't restore survival or stamina points, and certainly wouldn't replace a meal for players in the real world. However, these products sold surprisingly well in the game. Whether they were professional players, rich RMB players, or ordinary casual players, they would all buy some to try.

Did Meng Company's virtual food sold in the game really have such appeal? The answer was yes. Their products were mainly divided into three types. The first type was the most popular or mainstream products of the moment, such as potato chips, cola, and cigarettes. The second type was relatively high-end products that were quite expensive in real life, such as precious medicinal herbs, chocolate, and alcoholic beverages. And the third type... was exotic products that didn't exist in reality, such as "Gala Crocodile Jerky" and "Rainbow Juice" that only appeared in gourmet manga, as well as original horror-themed snacks, such as "Eyeball Skewers" and "Mummy Bandage Zongzi"...

Although the public beta hadn't been running for long, and the prices of these products weren't mostly expensive, Thriller Paradise's profits in this area were already close to the revenue generated by other consumables in the store (ammunition, medicine, batteries, etc.). This business had become a major channel for the system to recover game coins from players.

"Has Brother Xiao not arrived yet?" Kuang Zong Jian Ying asked as he sat down. His gaze swept across the faces of the three people across the table. These three were all Jianghu members, but they weren't familiar with Kuang Zong Jian Ying. Out of politeness, Jian Shao still nodded slightly to them as a greeting.

Wu Dao Ke replied, "Probably busy arranging that matter you mentioned earlier."

"Is it that troublesome?" Kuang Zong Jian Ying asked.

"Ha... You just dumped the stuff and became a hands-off shopkeeper," Wu Dao Ke laughed. "We've been busy with a lot of things. You think it's so easy to train a Weaponry Specialization? Besides Order, which guild can produce several players with each specialization ready to be dispatched with just a call?"

Kuang Zong Jian Ying shrugged. "Anyway, I haven't trained it. I'm not sure about the specific difficulty."

Just as he was speaking, the conference room door opened again, and a man about 1.85 meters tall, with a calm and resolute face, walked in.

Xiao Wen Cang Tian, one of the three bosses of Jianghu Studio, also served as the guild leader of the Jianghu guild in the game.

Suppose there was a group of people stranded on a deserted island, trapped in a deep mountain, or stuck in some unknown dangerous space. They would definitely be at a loss at first. At this time, Xiao Wen Cang Tian would undoubtedly be the person in the crowd who could be relied upon, someone who was expected to stand up and do something.

To put it loftily, this was called leadership charisma. To put it simply, it meant that this person looked reliable.

In reality, Xiao Wen Cang Tian, Wu Dao Ke, and Kuang Zong Jian Ying were already considered young entrepreneurs. In the game world, they were also influential figures among professional players. However, if one were to say who best represented Jianghu Studio, then Xiao Wen Cang Tian undoubtedly deserved the title.

In terms of game strength, Dao, Jian, and Xiao were only on par with each other. In the past, in other virtual reality games, they would naturally often spar with each other, and they had always been evenly matched. Aside from the factors of class, equipment, and so on in the game, there was no obvious gap between the three.

But when it came to matters of running the company, Wu Dao and Jian Shao were far behind. The important decisions and future development paths of the studio had been determined by Xiao Wen Cang Tian from the very beginning. For a company like theirs that had risen from humble beginnings, such a wise decision-maker could be said to be the cornerstone of success.

"Hmm... Everyone's here, right?" Xiao Wen Cang Tian arrived at the head of the conference table and sat down, his gaze sweeping over Wu Dao Ke and Kuang Zong Jian Ying on his right, and then looking at the three people sitting on his left. "Everyone's met each other, right?"

"Ah, we chatted a bit," Wu Dao Ke replied. "But Jian Shao just arrived, so you should introduce them."

Xiao Wen Cang Tian then raised his right arm, facing the three on the left, and introduced with a hand gesture, "Jian Shao, Kuang Zong Jian Ying."

"We've heard so much about you!" Yi Dao and Yi Jian finally had the good fortune to meet a master. In addition to excitement, they also seemed a little reserved.

The girl named Bu Pa on the side just curled her lips, seemingly noncommittal.

"Hehe... You don't have to be so polite," Kuang Zong Jian Ying said with a smile.

Xiao Wen Cang Tian then said to Kuang Zong Jian Ying, "Although Yi Dao and Yi Jian aren't professional players, their online time is quite sufficient and consistent. I think they have potential..." He paused, "Haven't you been complaining about not being able to find suitable teammates for the Killing Game? How about they join you?"

"Sure," Kuang Zong Jian Ying agreed readily. He was also good at handling people. At this moment, he would either refuse outright or agree without hesitation. If he put on an act like a pimp choosing a girl, deliberating again and again before answering, it would definitely make Yi Dao and Yi Jian feel awkward.

"We're all in the same guild, and there's also an experience bonus. I couldn't ask for more," Kuang Zong Jian Ying said.

"Haha, then please give us a lot of guidance in the future, Jian Shao," Yi Dao and Yi Jian were also overjoyed. For them, being able to be in a large guild like Jianghu, which had a renowned reputation, was already good enough. The guild leader's earlier phrase "has potential" was enough for them to show off for a while. Now, being assigned to team up with Kuang Zong Jian Ying was simply a godsend. As players who also used cold weapons in close combat, being able to observe the battles of a top master like Kuang Zong Jian Ying up close would make it difficult for their own skills not to improve.

"In addition, this one, Cai Bu Pa Ne..." Xiao Wen Cang Tian continued to introduce, "is a master recommended by Yi Dao and Yi Jian. She just joined the guild today. I wanted you to meet her too..."

Hearing this, Wu Dao and Jian Shao's expressions both changed slightly. They were both wondering, "Meet her" in what sense? Is this your girlfriend or relative, so you brought her for us brothers to take a look? But the way you introduced her doesn't seem like it. So, that means... Although this beauty isn't an employee of our studio, she's a casual player with great strength that we need to know?

"Hello," Cai Bu Pa Ne said casually. The cute demeanor she had when meeting strangers in scripts was gone at this moment, replaced by a tomboyish temperament.

Wu Dao had arrived early, so he had already greeted her earlier. Jian Shao was talking to Bu Pa for the first time, and he replied, "Hello," while pondering in his heart: I've never seen her before, and I've never heard of a professional player using the nickname "Cai Bu Pa Ne," but Brother Xiao seems to value her very much... Interesting.

"Bu Pa will team up with Wu Dao for scripts from now on. Try to maintain a stable online time and level up faster. After level thirty, I want to put you in a specialized squad to clear the Nightmare difficulty team survival mode," Xiao Wen Cang Tian said. "Also, for the three 'pre-Ranked Battles' that can be played from levels thirty to thirty-nine, I hope you can go with teammates from the guild. I'll arrange it then."

…………

At the same time, the Hell Frontline conference room.

Feng Bu Jue walked into the conference room and saw Si Yu propping her chin up with both hands, looking listless as she watched the boring scene around her. He saw Bei Ling throwing popcorn one by one across the table at Xiao Tan, trying to get more popcorn stuck in Xiao Tan's hair.

"Everyone's waiting for me?" Feng Bu Jue asked. At this moment, they were already in the game through sleep mode.

"Actually, it's only been ten minutes," Si Yu said.

Feng Bu Jue turned his head to look at the amount of popcorn on Xiao Tan's head. "I'm curious. If I had come later, what would this popcorn-throwing game have evolved into?"

"Maybe she would have made me open my mouth to catch it," Xiao Tan replied.

"I'm very happy that you've finally found a friend whose mental age is close to yours," Feng Bu Jue said with a smile.

"Nonsense! I'm much more mature than him!" Bei Ling retorted, unconvinced.

"That's right. Anyone who's been to elementary school knows that girls mature earlier," Feng Bu Jue said as he sat down at the conference table.

Bei Ling glared at this poisonous-tongued guild leader and stuck out her tongue, making a face.

"I heard you're going to be on TV?" Si Yu said at this moment.

"Ah... You kid really did advertise it already..." Feng Bu Jue's words were an admission. He said to Xiao Tan, "Hey? By the way, how's your left hand? Has the effect of crushing the [Slow Quicksand] bottle manifested?"

Xiao Tan replied, "I'm fine." As he said this, he raised his hand. "There's nothing abnormal. I played two scripts after getting off work and going home. I didn't feel any effect. Maybe the effect of the quicksand disappeared after leaving that Death Quiz script."

"Negative effects in scripts don't carry over to the landing space," Bei Ling interjected. "Guild leader, aren't you supposed to be familiar with the game instructions? Why are you so hung up on this matter?"

"Because I think there's something wrong with that script..." Feng Bu Jue thought to himself, but he didn't say it out loud.

"It's good that you're okay." Si Yu always brought the topic back on track. If she wasn't there, who knew how long these people could chatter aimlessly. "Everyone has experienced a few more scripts. Let's re-exchange levels and statuses first, and then prepare to set off."