Chapter 1 Something to Collect

Su Mo stood in the crowd, a bit astonished. Who was this guy? He was actually here collecting things.

And he seemed to have considerable resources.

Another thing Su Mo noticed was that this guy named Ye Jing, though seemingly a playboy, was quite good at setting prices for the things he was collecting.

Don't look down on the fact that he was offering only tens of yuan. You have to know that money is valuable in reality. Even in a first-tier city like Shanghai, a white-collar worker's monthly salary is usually only around 1,000 yuan.

Not to mention the second and third-tier cities outside, but fortunately, the country has a minimum wage of 500 yuan.

And don't underestimate these 500 yuan. In small cities, rent is only about 50 yuan, and three meals a day with chicken and meat only cost three yuan.

Of course, natural items are another matter. And Shanghai, where Su Mo is located, is the most prosperous city second only to the capital. Prices and other aspects are much more expensive than in other places.

At this moment, a burly man walked up to Ye Jing.

"I want to join you. What kind of treatment can you give me?"

"The treatment is negotiable. What skills do you have?"

Ye Jing looked at the burly man in front of him with a smile.

"I'm a combat player. This is my combat record. I've soloed more than ten zombies, with a maximum of three consecutive kills, and I've fought two in close combat."

The burly man raised his wristband and pulled up the record.

"Not bad, you're a talent. I like it. I'll give you a salary of 2,000 yuan a month. You only need to work five hours a day, but when there are tasks, you must reschedule your real-world work to participate." (Note: Five hours is the time in the outside world.)

Ye Jing raised his left hand and held up two fingers as he spoke.

Hearing Ye Jing's words, the burly man's eyes widened.

"Really? Okay, no problem."

The surrounding onlookers also stirred. This salary was definitely high, and it didn't conflict with real-world work.

Many people showed expressions of envy.

"What this young master says is never discounted. I've always convinced people with money! Is there anyone else who wants to join us? As long as you have the ability, we'll take you!"

Ye Jing said to everyone present.

"Will you take me?"

A pretty girl walked up and looked at Ye Jing.

"What about you? What can you do?"

"I can't do anything."

"That's fine too. Accompanying people to chat, calculated according to outside time, is 20 yuan an hour."

Ye Jing replied readily.

"That's a bit low."

The girl seemed a little dissatisfied.

"There's a higher price, 1,000 yuan a day, it just depends on whether you're interested."

Ye Jing smiled and patted his thigh.

The girl hesitated, but her face showed a hint of excitement. Ye Jing said simply, "If you want to make money, you have to let go. Besides, this is just a game, you won't lose anything."

The girl gritted her teeth and sat down directly.

"Haha! That's right."

Ye Jing put his arm around her and kissed her on the face, as happy as could be.

The surrounding players were envious, jealous, and displeased.

But more players went up to try to join, for a simple reason: the guy had money. And whether it was the benefits and treatment or the recycling of items, not only were the prices good, but the efficiency was high, and he never dawdled. The bank account was credited in less than ten minutes.

And of the people who entered this game, ninety-nine out of a hundred were here for the money.

Who would argue with money!

"Young Master Ye, do you think we're good enough?"

"Yeah, we want to join too."

......

Ye Jing stood up, his smile even brighter. He said to all the players present, "As long as you have the ability, this young master will take as many people as you have."

"If we leave the guild, will you take us?"

At this time, many players who had guilds stood up and asked directly.

"Of course, why wouldn't I? As long as this young master likes you, I'll pay for all the compensation for leaving the guild."

"Young Master Ye is awesome!"

......

Many players who had guilds stepped forward to express their desire to leave the guild and join.

Of course, some were happy and some were sad. The faces of the guild leaders and executives present were full of anger. But they all restrained their emotions. Losing their temper was useless. They couldn't afford to offend this guy, and he was using money to crush them. What could they say?

Su Mo looked thoughtful. If he wasn't mistaken, this person named Ye Jing should be from inside the high walls.

Don't think he's a fool. None of the deals he makes lose money. He seems generous when collecting materials, but you have to know that each of these materials requires players to risk their lives to obtain. And there is no guide price right now, and he is the richest here. Whatever price he offers is naturally the price. Which merchant dares to offer higher than him?

As for recruiting thugs, that's even less likely to lose money. Those thugs can create greater profits for him. Of course, if they die, this Ye Jing is not a philanthropist. He will definitely stop paying their salaries. The reason is simple: they can no longer create value, so they are useless. Capital never considers human feelings.

Su Mo watched for a while and lost interest. He raised his wristband and tapped it a few times.

"Log out!"

Suddenly, the world in front of him began to collapse like snowflakes, and then he fell into endless darkness.

When Su Mo opened his eyes, he found himself lying in the game pod.

Click!

The game pod door opened automatically. Su Mo sat up, picked up his phone, and glanced at it. It was only a little after 4 a.m. He had only played for more than 4 hours in total.

But in his subconscious, he seemed to have been playing in the game for more than two days. This difference in time perception was truly amazing, so much so that he was now a little unaccustomed to it.

At this time, Su Mo heard very noisy sounds outside the private room. The entire Star Game Cafe seemed unusually lively.

Su Mo got out of the game pod, grabbed a bottle of water from the side, twisted it open, and walked out while drinking. He planned to stretch his muscles.

He saw hundreds of players in the huge Star Game Cafe taking off their game helmets and frantically complaining about the game.

"What the hell is going on? I wasn't even ready, and a monster spawned right in front of me, greeting me right in the face."

"What you're experiencing is nothing, I was even more miserable. I was hiding in a small alley, and I was immediately surrounded."

"What are you guys complaining about? Do you know how I died? I ran into a type-II mutant that was more than ten meters tall and burning with green flames all over its body. I didn't even see what the monster looked like, and my wristband showed that I had been hit with high-intensity radiation and croaked. What a crappy game!!!"

A young man cursed in frustration.

"Yeah, when can we log back in after we die?"

"Stop dreaming. You can't log back in. The system says you must have a Fire Seed to revive, and your friends have to run to find the remains of your corpse and ignite it with the Fire Seed to revive you. Otherwise, you'll have to wait for the next version. Didn't you guys read the walkthroughs? If your skills aren't good, or if you want to be a lifestyle player, don't log in so early. The first batch of players to log in are the pioneer exploration team. Wait until the exploration team stabilizes the situation and establishes their own base, then choose a guild to join and log in."

At this time, a cheerful girl said with a smile.