Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 40 Lend Me Some Money (Thanks to Xiao Han, the Silver Alliance Leader from Yuequan Bay!)
The next day, I went to work as usual.

In one morning, I reassembled the internet cafe's backup router hundreds of times, gaining a lot of skill experience points. With the sound of skill upgrades, I finally upgraded all my existing skills to level 10. At this point, my attributes were good enough to make me practically invincible in Xicheng.

noon.

More and more people boarded the plane, and many ordered food and milk tea. I started to get busy, and finally had some free time around midnight, so I checked my phone.

But then they discovered that Lu Xiaobei had posted a photo on his WeChat Moments.

In the photo, she is still wearing that beautiful cardigan, paired with a coffee-colored long skirt, and has a head of fluffy long hair. She exudes a youthful and free spirit, like an elf wandering in the old town.

Behind her was a blue sign that read "I'm waiting for you in Xicheng," making her seem more like a tourist with nothing to do.

I was speechless. She'd probably gone back to setting up a street stall to earn extra money again.

So, I casually gave that post a like.

"drop!"

Lu Xiaobei reacted incredibly quickly, sending a message less than ten seconds after I liked the post: "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not yet, I was a bit busy just now."

"Wait for me, there's a garden under renovation in the old town area, and there's a boxed lunch vendor next to the construction site. I've tried their boxed lunches before, they're super delicious!! I'll go buy two and bring them back for us to eat together."

"Okay~~~"

So I endured my hunger and waited for Lu Xiaobei to bring me food.

Not long after, Lu Xiaobei walked into the internet cafe with a package full of trinkets in one hand and a boxed lunch in the other, looking quite pleased with himself.

The boxed lunches tasted really good; they had a kind of back-to-basics feel to them.

I wolfed down my food, then picked up a computer fan and started repeatedly disassembling and reassembling it. Lu Xiaobei couldn't understand the repair principles, so he left dejectedly, probably to continue making money at his stall.

Until exactly 2 p.m.

"drop!"

A WeChat message from Zhang Ruolin: "Is it convenient to voice chat?"

"can."

After the voice call connected, she got straight to the point: "Ding Han, the player organization recently launched the Dark Web, which makes it easier for players to communicate. Are you aware of this?"

"Dark Web?"

I was surprised, as I knew nothing about it.

"Ah."

Zhang Ruolin said, "The address of this dark web changes every 60 seconds, but it is relatively safe. Players leave no trace after logging in, and outsiders cannot find the IP address. You can take a look if you are interested."

Where are the dark web addresses?

"Open the Star Chart, but don't enter it. The address is in the upper right corner of the Star Chart and changes every 60 seconds. Once you enter, immediately register an account and then bind your character."

"Row."

After hanging up the voice call, I immediately lay down on the network administrator's throne, squinted my eyes and opened the star map. Sure enough, there was an inconspicuous URL in the upper right corner of the star map, so I immediately wrote it down and logged in on the network administrator's machine.

Sure enough, a super old page appeared before my eyes, looking like the old QQ space, with black stars at the bottom, blue text, and a ring of twinkling stars around it.

Click to register an account. Your ID will be "Chasing Shadows," and your password will be the simple "123456," following the principle of simplicity.

"Clap!"

The moment the mouse clicked, I successfully entered the dark web.

It's basically a large forum with posts from various players; you can see all sorts of content at a glance.

"Looking to buy a green submachine gun. I don't care about the model, any model is fine, like Howler, Hellfire, Syndra, Antelope, etc. I just need the maximum firepower to be 65 or higher. If you have one, please contact me in the Xicheng Star Map."

"Our team is hiring! We need a level 18 or higher damage dealer with Strength and Agility stats. Must have the skills Aiming Enhancement and Weapon Charge. Excellent benefits. If you meet the requirements, please contact us via StarMap!"

"Looking for a girlfriend, requirements: fair skin, beautiful face, and long legs!"

"I need someone to eat with. Living alone in a strange city is so lonely, I don't even have anyone to talk to!"

……

Currently, there isn't much useful information on the dark web, probably because it's only recently been opened.

However, I still posted a message:
"Player Chasing Shadow is searching for 'Chasing Light.' If you have any information about 'Chasing Light,' please contact me. A generous reward will be offered!"

Unfortunately, the post was buried shortly after it was published. There are just too many people looking for friends and family on the dark web, so this kind of post is the easiest to overlook.

I turned off the dark web and then did some research.

Sure enough, my browsing history was automatically erased. The people who created the dark web are really something.

The workday is incredibly boring; a day of working like a slave flies by in the blink of an eye.

At night, at my lodgings.

Milo is still working at the bar. He usually finishes get off work around 2 a.m., and if a customer invites him for a late-night snack, it might be even later.

I couldn't be bothered with him, so I spent the whole night disassembling and reassembling my Blue Roarer countless times, gaining a lot of experience points. After that, I took a shower and went to bed to sleep.

12 points in the early hours.

Just as midnight struck, I heard two consecutive "ding-dong" sounds in my ears!
[Headshot Settings Change Completed Instantly! Details: When a player locks onto a target's weak point in the head, headshot damage will be increased to 3 times the normal damage, and this effect can stack with critical hits!]

[The regional mission "The Dark Tide's Spy" is about to refresh! You have already received the mission "The Dark Tide's Spy"! Mission details: The Dark Tide organization is stirring. Their vanguard has appeared in the West Wind Forest, fifty miles outside of Creek City. The mission will officially begin in 24 hours. The more Dark Tide units you eliminate within the next 24 hours, the more points you will earn. The top ten players will receive extremely generous rewards!]

……

I was slightly taken aback. Was this a system patch update? First of all, the change, or rather the enhancement, to the "headshot" setting definitely counts as a system patch update. However, for me, it was definitely a good thing. After all, I now possessed advanced shooting level 10, which was unavailable to others at this stage, and my shooting accuracy was exceptionally high.

Furthermore, not long ago, Nightingale, the psionic officer of Dark Tide, sent me a Blue Howler gun from afar. With my marksmanship, the chance of getting a headshot at close range is extremely high. This change in settings is definitely great news.

Secondly, a new regional quest has been added to the Xicheng area, and presumably all players in Xicheng have already received this quest.

The more Dark Tide units you eliminate within 24 hours, the greater the reward. This mission came at just the right time, but at the same time it made me a little worried. The Dark Tide is getting close to Xicheng. Are they planning to take action against Xicheng?
If that's the case, then the mere Creek City, with Dulin's 3,000-strong Burning Wind Warriors, is definitely no match for the behemoth that is Dark Tide! In that case, Creek City players might have to switch cities soon.

"drop!"

A WeChat message from Ruolin: "Ding Han, did you see the regional mission? What do you say? Do you want to team up?"

I hesitated for a moment.

Bringing Ruolin and Xiaobai along wouldn't be a problem, but it would definitely slow down my leveling progress. Actually, I prefer to go it alone, and I especially like the feeling of venturing into dangerous territory by myself.

"We won't be teaming up this time."

I replied with a pitiful emoji: "Sister Ruolin, I want to solo level up. You know how hard it is to level up after level 20. I want to try to see if I can reach the top of the Xicheng region rankings!"

"Row!"

Zhang Ruolin sent a dog emoji and said, "Then I wish you good luck in reaching number one! I'll go talk to Xiaobai and Futou, maybe the three of us will team up to tackle this mission."

"Okay, good luck to you. If you encounter any trouble, feel free to call me anytime. As long as I'm in West Wind Woods, I'll definitely lend a hand!"

"Your words are more valuable than anything else."

Zhang Ruolin posted a heart emoji: "I'm going back to drinking."

"You beautiful but wicked woman, indulging in a life of luxury and debauchery!"

"Hahahahaha~~~"

……

Late at night, I checked my strategic reserves.

The Whisperer has about 800 bullets left, and the Howler has over 900 bullets left. There are no grenades, and heavy weapons are completely nonexistent. Their reserves can only be described as utterly depleted.

I want to compete for first place in the Xicheng regional mission this time. It's a long 24 hours, and I don't know how many people the vanguard team will come. It would be fine if I could get some bullets, but what if I couldn't?
Therefore, it is essential to ensure that you have sufficient ammunition reserves for this trip.

I'll borrow money from Lu Xiaobei tomorrow!

……

The next day.

The shift handover was at 8 o'clock sharp, not a minute early.

Zhao Yihang's panda eyes got even worse. Rubbing his eyes, he said to me, "Ding Han, buddy, I'm about to collapse. I feel like if I keep going like this, not only will my eyes fail, but my kidneys might also fail..."

I said with great distress, "If you don't work hard when you're young, do you want to wait until you're old to work hard?"

"Strive?"

Zhao Yihang was a little dazed: "Striving for the boss's future Panamera?"

I tossed him a steamed bun and said, "Go back to sleep now."

"Got it!"

Zhao Yihang left, happily munching on his steamed bun.

Around noon, Lu Xiaobei finally appeared, carrying two boxed lunches.

She leaned closer and said mysteriously, "Guess how much I made from my stall today?"

"Five thousand?"

"There aren't that many! Do you think those tourists are stupid? Guess as low as you can think!"

"five hundred?"

"you……"

She looked at me in surprise: "You guessed right..."

"Cough cough!"

I picked up the lunchbox and said, "Lu Xiaobei, I need to take a day off tomorrow. Don't set up your stall for the day shift tomorrow, can you cover for me?"

"Are you alright?"

"Well, personal matters."

"All right……"

Lu Xiaobei said sullenly, "You'll still have to deduct a day's wages..."

"Hey, hey, hey, this is what a heartless capitalist looks like."

I glanced at her and said, "There's something else I want to discuss with you, and it's a bit more outrageous."

"What is it? Tell me first."

"Lend me 20,000 yuan."

"..."

Lu Xiaobei stared at me in disbelief. She didn't say anything, but the chopsticks in her hand fell to the ground.

(End of this chapter)