[Verifying player's identity …]
[Verification passed. Player No. 07958 is the invitation holder. Linking the dungeon for the player …]
[Dungeon link completed. Current dungeon is auction (special)]
"No background for this round, and it will not be counted in the number of rounds."
[Mission objective: None]
[Mode: Multiplayer]
[Time flow rate: 2] (One hour in the real world is equivalent to four hours in this game. After one hour, the player will be forced to return to the real world.)
[Friendly reminder: The game will officially start in five seconds. Players, please get ready.]
… …
When Zhang Heng opened his eyes, he found himself standing on a luxury cruise ship. He was wearing a black tuxedo that fit him well, and there was a name tag hanging on his chest. His player number and game registration point were printed on it.
Zhang Heng looked at the watch on his wrist. The time now was 23: 00, and the auction would end. He didn't have to worry about the time bug causing any more accidents.
Unlike the previous rounds of the game, this quest wasn't dangerous, so Zhang Heng was very relaxed. He looked around and found that the situation was similar to the game checkpoint. He could see the players around him, but he couldn't remember their faces.
The game committee had always done a good job of protecting the players' privacy, but it seemed to indicate that the relationship between players wasn't always that harmonious.
"First time attending an auction?" A voice rang in Zhang Heng's ear. He turned around and saw a short man behind him.
The latter handed him a business card, but the Ding Si on it was obviously a fake name.
The short man shrugged. "It can't be helped. The world isn't peaceful these days, and there are always some lunatics who don't follow the rules. Everyone has to be careful."
"What do you mean?"
"You must be a new player," the short man said. "There was a period of time when the atmosphere between players was quite good. People from the same city would exchange contact information with each other. After all, it wasn't easy to survive each round of the game, and everyone was willing to help each other. However, some crazy people used this information to hunt other players, causing panic among the players. Now, everyone is paying extra attention to their privacy. As far as I know, the number of people attending the auction at the end of the year is much lower than before."
"Hunting?" Zhang Heng saw the title of Fulou Chamber of Commerce's contact at the bottom of the name card.
"Yeah, there are always people who want to reap without sowing. I don't know who discovered it first, but killing other players not only allowed them to steal their game items, but they could also inherit their game points. After that, the situation became more and more serious."
"Doesn't the committee care?"
"In principle, as long as you don't leak information about the game to others, the organizing committee won't intervene in the disputes between players. Besides, it seems like they have a headache …" Ding Si didn't elaborate on the second half of his sentence. It was clear that he didn't want to continue the topic. "I'm sure you're here to buy some items for yourself. If you don't have enough points, you can consider us."
"Why? Does the Chamber of Commerce still sell points?"
"You are indeed a newcomer," Ding Si said. "It's not just Fulou. Many other chambers of commerce offer similar services. You can buy points from us directly, but I don't recommend it. Because of the auction, the exchange rate is very high right now. One point costs 42,000 yuan. Normally, it's only 37,000 yuan. It's better to mortgage your game items to us, and we'll release the money immediately after we evaluate their value."
"Thank you. I'll consider it if I need it," Zhang Heng said politely as he put away the name card.
"There's still about an hour and a half before the auction officially starts. You can take a walk around the area. There are many interesting places on this ship. There's a casino, a cinema, and a game room on the first floor. There's a performance and a buffet on the second floor. You can relax and relax there. There's also a gathering of major guilds on the third floor. If you're interested, feel free to check it out."
Zhang Heng thanked Ding Si. This was the first time he entered the circle of players. According to Ding Si, to avoid risks, most players' identities in the real world were kept secret. That was why only large-scale events organized by the organizing committee could attract so many people. Other than buying and selling game items, players would also take advantage of the gathering to do other things.
For example, the Fulou Chamber of Commerce that Ding Si belonged to was a chamber of commerce that specialized in serving players. The redemption and lending of game points were only part of their business. Other than that, they also accepted game items for consignment and custom-made special items. The latter's prices were 20 to 30 percent cheaper than the game points. Obviously, they wanted to use this auction to promote themselves.
Of course, Zhang Heng was most interested in the gathering on the third floor. However, he wasn't in a hurry. After saying goodbye to Ding Si, he walked around the deck and received a few more business cards. All of them were similar to commercial organizations that catered to players. Their business scope was slightly different, and their prices varied. However, all of them were cheaper than the game points. Of course, there was a certain degree of risk in terms of security. In comparison, Fulou was more reliable. The latter had been established for a long time, and it had a good reputation among the players.
Zhang Heng put all the business cards he received into his pocket and took the elevator to the third floor. This was obviously the busiest place on the entire cruise ship.
When he pushed the door open, someone on the podium was explaining how to maximize game points. Zhang Heng found a seat in the back row and listened for a while. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he felt that whenever he was about to talk about the important points, the person would avoid the important points and dwell on the trivial ones.
A middle-aged man next to Zhang Heng shook his head. "It's all useless nonsense. The method of obtaining game points is the core secret of every guild. No one will make it public. To put it bluntly, they are just using this method to recruit people." As he spoke, he extended his hand. "Professor."
Zhang Heng raised an eyebrow.
"Don't get me wrong. It's just my code name. After all, it's a little rude to call someone by their number. Everyone who comes here either uses a fake name or a code name."
"Simon." Zhang Heng extended his hand.
"Welcome to the game, Simon." The professor's handshake was simple and firm. "Why don't I see your teammates?"
"Teammates?"
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