I've already reached the maximum level, and you guys are just starting out?

Chapter 17 Chen Gang
Limingcheng Street.

Chen Gang stared wide-eyed at everything around him.

People came and went on the street, most of them wearing tattered clothes, their faces covered in dirt, and their eyes showing exhaustion.

not far away.

Several children squatted in the corner, fighting over a piece of dark-colored meat of unknown origin.

Their movements and expressions were so realistic that Chen Gang, who had just logged into Wasteland, was stunned for a long time before he could recover.

The wind blowing across my face, the trails of sand rolling on the ground, and the real feel of my feet on the earth...

Chen Gang looked down at his hands, which were filthy, with dirt stuck in his fingernails, as if he had lived in this world for a very long time.

“It’s so real!”

"Is this a game?"

Although Lao Cui had described it in glowing terms in his dormitory before he landed, the shock he felt when he actually experienced it was indescribable.

Chen Gang was even a little dazed at this moment, wondering if he was playing a game or had really traveled to this world...

"quit?"

Chen Gang was still worried. Remembering what Lao Cui had said, he silently repeated it to himself.

[Will you leave Wasteland?]

【hint--】

[Logout will lock your current coordinates, which will be used as your next login location!]

Chen Gang finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the few lines of text that had appeared out of nowhere.

"The ability to quit is part of the game."

Chen Gang murmured to himself and continued to observe the surrounding scenery.

Compared to Yin Yao, although Chen Gang also started as a refugee, his starting spawn point was not in the wild, but directly on the streets of Dawn City.

This also leads to -

Chen Gang did not understand what the situation was.

"Old Cui is absolutely right. This game is extremely open-ended. It doesn't have a quest system, and there isn't even a tutorial for beginners."

"So what should I do next?"

Chen Gang stood there, lost in thought.

He heard the crowd around him talking about things like 'the new city lord taking office'.

Chen Gang did not see the huge pillar of light that shot into the sky from the inner city of Dawn City earlier; he logged into the game a few seconds later.

Da, da, da——

Just as Chen Gang stood there, somewhat at a loss,

Suddenly, a sparse yet orderly and powerful sound of footsteps came from in front of me.

Chen Gang subconsciously looked up.

A young girl appeared before them, and a short-haired young man stood beside her, behind her.

This girl... looks familiar.

Chen Gang stood there, stunned.

And the next second.

The other party actually called out his name directly.

"Chen Gang?"

Chan Kong: "?"

Could it be a game NPC who's here to help me start a game quest or something?
The moment Chen Gang had this thought, it vanished, because the girl's second sentence was—

"I am Yin Yao."

hiss--

Chen Gang gasped.

He realized what was happening!

No wonder that face looked so familiar; I felt like I'd seen it somewhere before!
That evening, he dragged Lao Cui and Yu Fei along and stared at the posts about Yu Jin and Yin Yao on the campus forum for a long time. There were quite a few photos of Yin Yao in them.

"Senior Sister Yin!"

Chen Gang didn't understand why the other person could call him by name so easily, but...

When you suddenly run into an acquaintance in the Wasteland game, you can't quite describe the warmth of meeting an old friend in a foreign land; instead, you feel inexplicably awkward.

Not to mention……

I was able to play this game using the helmet that the other person gave to Ember; I guess I got lucky and benefited from it.

"You just logged into Wasteland and your respawn point is in Dawn City?"

Yin Yao chuckled and asked.

"Yes, yes!"

Chen Gang nodded vigorously.

"you alone?"

Yin Yao's smile remained unchanged, and her tone was gentle.

"I……"

"Also, there's Lao Cui and Yu Fei. The three of us were together, but I opened my eyes and found myself here. I didn't see them."

Chan Kong answered truthfully.

Upon hearing this, Yin Yao raised her eyebrows slightly.

"Where are the embers?"

The reason she struck up a conversation with Chen Gang was, of course, to find out about Yu Jin.

especially--

Having just witnessed the new city lord's prowess, she was eager to confirm whether Yu Jin was truly one in a million lucky people who had obtained the 'new city lord' status right from the start.

But next second.

Chen Gang's answer left Senior Sister Yin stunned and speechless. "Old Yu?"

"Old Yu didn't play this game."

"He came back, had a meal, and then went out again. I don't know what he's up to; he probably hasn't come back yet—"

Chen Gang suddenly stopped halfway through his speech.

He, along with Lao Cui and Yu Fei, all assumed that Yu Jin had gone out late at night to meet Yin Yao.

But now?
Yin Yao appeared in front of him, which meant that she hadn't gone on a date, but was playing games while wearing a helmet.

That old Yu...

He probably went to find a mistress!

What about those few words I just said...?

Wouldn't that be betraying your brother?
Chen Gang realized the seriousness of the problem, especially when he saw the utterly shocked expression on Yin Yao's face. He wished he could slap himself twice for being so talkative!
"He didn't log into Wasteland?"

Yin Yao snapped out of her daze and checked again.

"No...right?"

Chen Gang carefully considered his answer.

"Did he wear a gaming helmet when he went out?"

Yin Yao stared intently at Chen Gang.

Chen Gang felt a little uneasy under that gaze. After hesitating for a moment, he still answered truthfully, "I didn't bring it."

This statement came out.

Yin Yao was completely stunned.

She turned her head and looked towards the inner city of Dawn City.

The fact that Yu Jin didn't log in means he couldn't possibly be the new city lord.

that……

How did Yu Jin eventually become the lord of Dawn City?

Yin Yao's mind was in a mess, with various thoughts intertwined.

She even began to doubt...

Will my rebirth cause a butterfly effect, completely deviating from the original path, and lead to many things that were supposed to happen in the future?

And among them.

It includes the supposedly invincible Ember, yet it has still not appeared in Wasteland?
"No."

"I must remind Ember to start the closed beta test as soon as possible and create his own account."

"Only in this way can he become the invincible powerhouse of the wasteland in my memory."

"but me……"

"Only then will we have a chance to cling to powerful figures and survive in this perilous wasteland."

Yin Yao snapped out of her daze, her expression resolute.

There are only five days left until Wasteland invades reality, and countless people around the world are randomly transported to the wasteland world.

Yin Yao was even considering at this moment—

Should we tell Ember the truth about the Wasteland game beforehand?

……

……

2025, April 9.

sunny.

7+7 chain hotels.

On the Simmons bed, Yu Jin woke up early.

[You have used 1 second-tier energy crystal and 2 third-tier energy crystals, bringing you one step closer to the fourth tier!]

The system notification arrived as scheduled.

Although Yu Jin was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't advance to the fourth rank in one go, it was also within his expectations.

"If we can get another fourth-order energy crystal, that should be enough."

Yu Jin thought to himself.

"Where can we get fourth-order energy crystals?"

Through his previous experiences of exploiting the system, Ember has summarized some basic patterns.

Suppressing/frightening/containing an nth-tier mutated beast or infected entity will most likely reward the system with an n-1th-tier energy crystal.

Apart from the stray calico cubs that were initially fed.

The three third-order energy crystals of the embers all came from—

Obtained from the black dog 'Tier 4 Mutant Beast King - Cerberus', Leo 'Tier 4 Infected - Aiznig', and Yang Yuan 'Tier 4 Infected - Fallen Plum Maiden'.

"Either..."

"Gather more Tier 3 crystals."

"But according to the pattern of picking up trash, the same type of reward will only be triggered once."

"This means that feeding other stray cats and dogs will not yield crystals again."

"Either..."

"Suppressing higher-level mutated beasts or infected entities, such as suppressing a fifth-level mutated beast king or something?"

"A fifth-tier mutated beast king, in human terms, is an animal even more powerful than a stray cat or dog..."

Yu Jin's eyes suddenly lit up.

He had an extremely bold idea—

"Jiangcheng Wildlife Park has lions and tigers, doesn't it?"

(End of this chapter)