Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1579: Chapter 306: Leveling Up

The small life inside the Crystal Ball breathed faintly… it was a miraculous life that could only be born in such a fantastical world.

“This child looks very healthy,” Boss Luo carefully observed before smiling and saying.

“Yes!” Qian Yu Xian Rou hugged the Crystal Ball in her arms, speaking softly, “Every day, I take good care of her!”

“Have you thought of a name?” Boss Luo asked casually.

Qianxiu shook his head, “Not yet, such things can’t be taken lightly… I just don’t know when this child will be born. The incubation progress bar hasn’t moved much recently.”

Luo Qiu said, “No need to rush, a normal pregnancy takes ten months.”

“Hmm.” Qian Yu Xian Rou nodded in agreement, “I’m not in a hurry! Watching this child grow bit by bit every day is the happiest thing. It’s just that Qianxiu seems to wish she could come out right away! My God, this isn’t crafting equipment!”

After all, it is a humanoid pet created through blueprints.

He must love her dearly, hence his silly smile, hands unsure where to place them, not daring to act rashly, or even speak, like a child.

“How did Mr. Qianxiu know I was here?”

“You haven’t added me as a friend…” Xiu directly said, “But, did you forget the task you once transferred to me? In the social interface, under the strangers section, you’ve always been there. I couldn’t bear to clean it up; I check every day to see if you’ve logged in.”

“I see.” Boss Luo nodded, then said, “I don’t play often, just check in occasionally.”

Qianxiu and Qian Yu Xian Rou exchanged a glance—they had a tacit understanding that others lacked.

As one of the earliest players to enter the game, there was essentially a fundamental difference between players in the game and players outside the game.

Basically, every player in the game would silently adhere to an unwritten rule that they absolutely did not want players outside the game to know they were real people logging into the game.

In Qianxiu and Qian Yu Xian Rou’s view, this Little Mage must be a player from outside the game… If they were one of the Chosen Ones on the mainland, they would always remain online; only players from outside would log off.

Like their other friend, Xiaobao.

Generally, players in the game would gradually sever ties with those outside and only interact with their kind to effectively prevent this secret from being exposed!

After all, players in the game were not born here because they were persecuted or threatened—they came voluntarily, and never intended to leave.

Qianxiu always kept in touch with Xiaobao, mainly to learn about real-world happenings through him… But lately, he had rarely initiated contact.

As for Xiaobao, he seemed to log in less and less because of work… This is a phase a normal player inevitably goes through. Qianxiu himself had once relied on game power-leveling for a living and naturally saw through it.

“Is it because work is more hectic?” Qian Yu Xian Rou asked.

Boss Luo nodded with a smile, “Partly because of work.”

“I see…” Qian Yu Xian Rou thought for a moment, then looked at her husband Qianxiu before continuing, “We’ve always been thinking about how to thank you properly if we ever met again…”

“Although I transferred the task to you, it was you who completed it.” Boss Luo shook his head: “Actually, it doesn’t have much to do with me. You remembering me is already a very nice gift for me.”

“That’s not acceptable!” Qianxiu shook his head, “What may seem a trivial task to you has special meaning for both of us… So please give me a chance to thank you!”

Boss Luo thought for a moment, curious about their intentions, “Hmm… what do you plan to do?”

Qianxiu was elated and immediately said, “What we can offer you can only be realized in this game… I’ve thought about it for a long time; you seem like a casual player, right? Even so, you still need certain levels to access scenic places.”

“So?” Boss Luo blinked, seemingly catching on to their intent.

Indeed.

“If you don’t mind…” Qian Yu Xian Rou said, “Could today be spent with us? Before you log off, we’ll boost your level. We’ll head to the frontline, where monsters give the most experience. By teaming up with us, all the experience and rewards are yours!”

Boss Luo opened his mouth, then fell into thought.

Hmm… The majority of this game’s content, including many hidden scenarios and plots, were designed by the maid. In fact, Boss Luo really hasn’t experienced much of the game’s other content.

Like battles, exploration, missions, etc.—also, the pass he gave to Caesar earlier was likely used secretly. Some beastmen have logged in and live in the Beastman King’s City on the mainland and may be worth a visit.

“You… if you don’t like these, we can think of something else,” Qianxiu said anxiously.

He was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, eager to thank this Little Mage, but with a world between them as the player was from outside the game, the only offering could be what’s inside the game.

“No…” Boss Luo smiled and said, “In that case, I’m counting on you both.”

…

…

Dark circles, bloodshot eyes… instant noodles, sausages, and chips, a floor littered with empty Happy Water bottles, and an ashtray overflowing with cigarette butts.

The computer screen seemed to be coated in a thin layer of tar… A true dragon from China was crouched atop the chair, fingers dancing as they furiously ranted at a temporary team’s toxic healer on the chat interface.

On the sofa, a little butterfly monster was fast asleep—to supply resources for Sister Long’s [Your Man Doesn’t Want You] Fire Mage, the young little butterfly monster had to create nearly fifty alternate accounts, working from morning to night without pay.

—If I can’t conquer this game, my thoughts won’t settle! That little b*tch dared to smear me like this!

These were her Sister Long’s exact words.

The clacking keyboard soon woke the little butterfly monster… Luo Pianqian yawned and, rubbing her eyes, approached Long Xiruo, “Sister Long, are you still grinding here?”

“This game is terrible! Why is the leveling speed so slow! And, why can’t I find the pay-to-win entrance! I want to one-shot everything!”

Luo Pianqian shook her head. If this game allowed pay-to-win, she wouldn’t be forced to open fifty alt accounts.

“Sister Long, I’m going to create a new account for daily tasks.” Luo Pianqian grabbed a bottle of Happy Water and started drinking it — they’ve both been drinking this recently.

“Nope.” Long Xiruo continued to vent using her feet to type while smoking a cigarette, “I’ll head to the frontline to eat experience and level up later!”

Luo Pianqian blinked, “The frontline? How can you go there? Your Mage account level is so low, no strategy team will want you!”

Long Xiruo looked confident, “Hmph! You have no idea, right? I had a talk with the folks from the Management Bureau. They have a team at the frontline, and there’s quite a few of them. I told them, add one more person!”

The lady with butterfly wings was stunned for a moment, then could only smile bitterly… Sister Long’s obsession is truly deep; she goes to great lengths to level up.

Remember at the beginning, because it was convenient to kill chickens in the Novice Village and the experience came fast, she slaughtered the chickens there three times repeatedly, and for some reason, it angered the chicken deity, causing an endless stream of chicken monsters.

A true dragon of China… had her game character pecked to death by chickens — and the anger of this chicken deity was only lifted once her character was pecked back to Level 0.

“Still not opening today?” the lady with butterfly wings couldn’t help but ask — the hospital hadn’t opened in two weeks.

Sister Long might really be getting lazy.

“Nope!” The true dragon of China replied without thinking: “Go feed Wang Cai, just go play by yourself, I’ll give you a day off today!”

Luo Pianqian jumped for joy — today she could finally study properly!

By the way, Wang Cai is the Golden Dragon Fafnir, currently in the form of a dog, so Fafnir is really being fed — because ever since returning to the pet hospital, the last Golden Dragon from the West has been tied up in the hospital’s back yard by China’s true dragon.

Originally, China’s true dragon wasn’t this stingy — but from the moment Fafnir moved into the hospital, he’s been trying to escape the city every day, and after enough sucking up, China’s true dragon simply tied him up and named him Wang Cai.

As for how in this magic-banned city Fafnir can turn into a canine?

It’s simple… the ban only applies to this city — China’s true dragon just took a quick drive outside, and when she came back, the golden dragon was tied up.

“Woof woof— woof woof!”

“Wang Cai, good boy! Eat your food obediently! I’m going to study now! Bye-bye—!”

“Woof woof…”

…

Emerald Fantasy, mainland war frontline, Third Layer of the Divine Blessing Gorge.

“Tian Ji, Tian Ji, what are you thinking about?” a shield warrior patted the shoulder of a certain swordsman zoning out by the riverbank, then sat down too.

Having his shoulder patted, the swordsman named Tian Ji shook his head and said calmly: “Nothing, just thinking, we’ve been in here for quite some time now, yet we still haven’t found a way out… Originally, we entered this game world to search for that cyber ghost, but now it seems everything is not as simple as it looks.”

The shield warrior beside him fell silent suddenly.

He, like Tian Ji, was sucked into the game — and unlike most of the so-called Chosen Ones who entered willingly, they had a certain purpose for entering… because they belonged to Shen Zhou Administration Bureau as special operative officers.

In total, 32 special operatives from Shen Zhou Administration Bureau successfully entered the game, and with the help from outside management bureau, quickly became a formidable force, active at the frontline and within the Human Alliance.

“Don’t worry, people in the bureau will surely find a way to get us out.” The shield warrior sighed and said reassuringly: “There will definitely be a way! Not long ago, during the Mount Tai incident, several elite members and even seniors from Divine Land’s Daoist Fiend said they were trapped in some special space for nearly half a month, didn’t they later come out successfully?”

“That’s true…” Tian Ji sighed, then suddenly whispered: “Do you… what do you think of this world?”

“What do you mean?” The shield warrior frowned slightly,

Tian Ji said, “You see, we’re now on this mainland, everything we see, everything we encounter, is so real… or rather, it is real. In the past, we saw game NPCs through screens and felt nothing, but during this time, when you interact with these NPCs again, can you still consider them as mere data? They, like us, have joy and sorrow, emotions… they grow up and they age.”

“Tian Ji, don’t overthink it, we don’t belong here.” The shield warrior took a deep breath and said, “Our home is outside… outside is where our family is, no matter how real this place seems, it’s just a game world.”

Just then, a graceful figure came along the riverbank… a sweet-smiling little girl.

“Lord Tian Ji!”

The little girl waved her hand, happily running over.

Tian Ji moved slightly at her words… his shield warrior companion sighed, patting his buddy’s shoulder again, “Remember, you have a mission… and you do not belong here, this little girl is just a bunch of data.”

Tian Ji remained silent.

“Don’t chat for too long.” The shield warrior shook his head, stood up, “Soon, a new account will come; orders from above said our regiment shouldn’t do anything else, just help this account level up…”

Tian Ji froze, “Does that mean someone else was sucked in here?”

The shield warrior shook his head, indicating he didn’t know, “Orders from above said don’t ask anything, just focus on leveling up, the faster the better.”

—— Mission?

Tian Ji frowned, finding these two words particularly jarring.

Orders from above, orders from above… all are already deeply immersed in this world, yet for some reason… why, despite being separated by a world, must we still obey those people’s orders?

Risking lives to explore dangerous places… while those above just sit in chairs watching the screen, looking at us…