Chapter 2 - COG Chapter 2
“Nine Heavens” is an online keyboard game that set countless brilliant records in the gaming industry. In the minds of many players, it’s a classic that declined after the advent of the era of mobile games.
After ten years of silence, “Nine Heavens” made a comeback with brand-new technology. Known as the world’s first holographic online game, it began its public beta after the overwhelming announcement.
Ye Zhou is a loyal fan of the keyboard era of “Nine Heavens”. He bought a holographic helmet in advance and entered the game as soon as it was publicly tested.
On the first day of the game, everyone is a novice, and there’s a bit of fumbling with the new mode.
The game company that has been dormant for many years is very cunning. It not only wants to retain old players, but also wants to entice new players. In order to give everyone a consistent starting point, many changes were made to the game.
Among these changes, hiding the IDs and titles of players, mobs, NPC, and bosses in the game is the most tricky one.
The game concept of “Nine Heavens” is to feature an immersive online game that presents players with the most realistic Xianxia1re: a genre about cultivation. Or world of cultivating to immortality. world. In this world where people, fairies, demons, and monsters are rampant, ordinary people can’t distinguish the identities of other people at all.
Because of this setting, Ye Zhou suffered a lot.
For example, he took a novice mission to go hunting in the wild. After luring a cute young white rabbit with carrots, he was burned to death by the rabbit from flames sprayed from its mouth. The white rabbit who burned him also roared at him: “Don’t have eyes, I’m a monster player!”
For another example, at night he took on a mission to exorcise ghosts in the village, and the other person beside him was young and handsome. They also took over the task from the village chief. After walking to the village, Ye Zhou extended an olive branch to each other and sent out a team invitation. The “player” smiled gloomily and bit a chunk of Ye Zhou’s blood out. The so-called “player” is a ghost hidden in the village.
Even if you go to the outskirts to collect medicine, you may get a whisper from ginseng and hear it scolding the sky: “*** game company, you ****! Why do you randomly assign people choosing the spiritual race to a ginseng? ”
Ye Zhou can only comfortably touch the small head of the ginseng, and show a gloating smile, secretly rejoicing that he chose the human race, and is not too miserable.
“Nine Heavens” has six races to choose from, human, demon, devil, ghost, spirit, and alien. In the promotional video, the six have their own advantages. The human race is handsome, demons are beautiful, devils are powerful, ghosts are weird, spirits are wispy, and aliens are mysterious. Each race has its allure.
Unexpectedly, after starting the service, demons are animals that have not cultivated human form yet. The spiritual race are from spirit grasses such as Ganoderma lucidum, ginseng, and snow lotus. And ghosts can’t see daylight. While he has yet to meet a devil or alien, he believes that these two races should each have their own sufferings.
The human race is not bad compared to other races, but they also have the most average attributes. Other races have a certain attribute that is extraordinarily high, while the human race is okay in all aspects, and only average.
After stepping in pits several times in a row, Ye Zhou finally found a forest full of mobs and no players, and worked hard to upgrade by killing mobs.
Seeing these monsters were about to be crushed to death stolen by others, how could Ye Zhou not be angry?
He slashed down with a sword, but stopped in time after seeing the face of the person.
Ye Zhou was definitely not bewildered by the beauty, but at this moment he doubts about the monster thief’s identity.
The face value data of the initial account of the “Nine Heavens” Terran is 80% of the player’s original appearance. After upgrading, there is a chance to increase one’s appearance. The demons and spirit races have high inherent appearance stats, but they do not even have a human form at the beginning. At best, it is the smoothest fur in a group of white rabbits or the best looking in a bunch of medicinal materials.
If the appearance is too high, there must be abnormalities. Either the monster thief himself is better-looking than the celebrity, or he is not a player!
Ye Zhou, who had stepped on too many pits, was very cautious. He changed the trajectory of his sword in time, and the tip of the sword moved from the top of the head to the shoulder.
Ye Zhou flipped his wrist lightly, and the long sword lay across the thief’s neck as he asked vigilantly: “Who are you…player? NPC?”
The other party did not answer, but looked at Ye Zhou firmly.
Dugu Zhuo wanted to tell the young Ye Zhou his name, but he couldn’t speak. If he speaks at this time, a mouthful of blood will be sprayed on Ye Zhou’s snow-white clothes, and Dugu Zhuo does not want this to happen.
He didn’t know whether it was an illusion or an afterlife, and it didn’t matter as long as he can see the living Ye Zhou – even if it is only an illusion.
Dugu Zhuo slowly raised his hand. Holding the tip of Ye Zhou’s sword, blood dripped down his palm, and the pain was as real as Ye Zhou in front of him.
The young Ye Zhou showed a look of horror, releasing his sword and jumped back a few steps, distancing himself from Dugu Zhuo. He said in a surprised tone: “You can still grab equipment like this?”
Equipment? Player? NPC? A few words that he had never heard passed into Dugu Zhuo’s ears. He looked at the iron sword that Ye Zhou took back, and he recognized that it was a spirit sword that could still be tempered with a single glance.
Seeing the spiritual herb at his feet, he knew that this herb could heal some simple injuries, and it could also replenish some spiritual energy in the body.
Although he couldn’t heal his meridians, it could suppress the blood qi that was churning in his body at this moment.
Dugu Zhuo decisively picked up the herb and swallowed it, absorbing the aura in the herb.
“Hey, the human race can’t directly absorb medicinal herbs. You have to go to the city to find an alchemist to refine a pill, otherwise it will be wasted.” Ye Zhou reminded.
In an instant, the spiritual energy entered his meridians, and Dugu Zhuo’s internal injuries were temporarily suppressed. He looked at Ye Zhou and slowly said, “I have a special physique, it doesn’t matter.”
Dugu Zhuo naturally knew that such grasses could not be taken directly, and a lot of medicinal properties would be wasted. But since he merged with Xuan Jian, he could no longer be regarded as a human.
While talking, Dugu Zhuo applied the blood in his palm to Ye Zhou’s iron sword. Even if Xuan Jian was broken, the sword owner’s blood is a great nourishment to ordinary spirit weapons. The iron sword greedily absorbed the blood containing sword qi, and the blade became sharper.
After all, it was ordinary steel, unable to withstand too much sword qi, and could not continue to contain it after only absorbing three drops of blood. Dugu Zhuo wiped the excess blood from the sword and returned the sword to Ye Zhou.
Ye Zhou looked at him vigilantly and refused to take the sword.
“He doesn’t remember me.” Dugu Zhuo thought sadly.
The less he remembered, the more Dugu Zhuo felt that this place was real, not an illusion.
If it were a terrible illusion, Ye Zhou would definitely be as he remembered, frowning and shaking his head lightly at him, out of reach.
The corner of Dugu Zhuo’s eyes swept across the corpses of a few monsters on the ground, and he remembered the “robbing monsters” mentioned by Ye Zhou and the sound of acquiring various spirit stones, manuals, and grasses in his ears.
Could it be that Ye Zhou was not besieged by the monster, but wanted to obtain these things and actively attacked the monster?
Is the back of the Canglan Mountain range actually a secret realm where treasures can be obtained through hunting? Did Ye Zhou’s soul return to the back of the Canglan Mountain range when the Tianzhu collapsed?
Dugu Zhuo pressed down the doubts in his heard and apologized: “… Zai xia2An ye old and deferential way of saying “I” is Dugu Zhuo. I did not know these were your prey, and hastily attacked. I’m very sorry, and can only upgrade your spirit sword as compensation.”
He handed out the spirit sword again. At the same time, he held the warm jade in the palm of his hand calmly, and sent it to Ye Zhou with the hilt.
“Speak normally. Either secondary disease3Also translated as “middle school” or “grade 10” disease. Someone who has the mind of a middle schooler and pretends to be cool, outstanding, or in this case, pretending to live in a real Xianxia/ancient setting or an NPC, which kind are you?” Ye Zhou continued to ask without taking the sword.
Secondary disease? NPC? Dugu Zhuo tried to analyze two completely unfamiliar words. The second one was completely unclear, and the first one could be guessed as a disease.
Dugu Zhuo could only answer cautiously: “Zai Xia is indeed ill.”
“Admitting you’re sick. Are you… so honest?” Ye Zhou’s face was surprised, and his vigilance gradually faded.
Seeing Ye Zhou’s eyes, Dugu Zhuo vaguely felt that he had admitted to having some kind of terrible disease. But at this point, he had to follow along and replied: “Things can be told to others, and I have never lied.
“You must be very good in classical Chinese and literature.” Ye Zhou relaxed, taking the upgraded sword, and inadvertently touching the piece of warm jade with his fingertips.
Suddenly, the warm jade hung in the air, blooming with splendor.
Somewhat surprised the chapter length halved from Ch. 1 -> Ch. 2. But that’s also good news. Means we’re likelier to have 2 releases a week instead of one. ?
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Visit my ko-fi page to see how close we are to an add’l release.1re: a genre about cultivation. Or world of cultivating to immortality.2An ye old and deferential way of saying “I”3Also translated as “middle school” or “grade 10” disease. Someone who has the mind of a middle schooler and pretends to be cool, outstanding, or in this case, pretending to live in a real Xianxia/ancient setting