Kill one monster, stack one poison, and I alone will poison my way across the world!

The next morning.

Tianhe City, Bus Route 104.

The carriage was filled with a mixture of smells of cheap tobacco, sweat, and some kind of rusty iron.

Su Chen sat by the window, looking at the people inside the car.

No one was making a loud noise, and no one was chatting.

The carriage was packed with people, mostly middle-aged people between thirty and fifty years old.

They wore worn-out, low-quality leather armor or coarse cloth robes covered in patches.

Some people were still clutching rusty iron swords with curled blades, or wooden staffs with extremely faint magical light.

Their expressions were remarkably similar.

numbness.

His eyes were vacant, filled with an overwhelming weariness, like a walking corpse whose soul had been drained.

They are all professionals living at the very bottom of the social ladder in this world.

The vast majority of people are stuck at level 20 or below for most years.

Because reaching level 20 requires a career breakthrough, which is very difficult for ordinary people.

To support their families and pay the exorbitant rent in Tianhe City, they have no choice but to take the early morning bus to the East Gate every day, just like clocking in for work, to the outskirts of the low-level monster zone outside the city, hoping to kill a few slimes or crippled goblins and collect some scrap materials to exchange for money.

Isn't this just like those miserable corporate slaves who worked 996 every day in their past lives?

Su Chen silently complained to himself.

really.

No matter the world, life is never easy for people at the bottom of society.

"Attention passengers, we are about to arrive at the final stop, Dongchengmen."

A cold, emotionless electronic voice emanated from the dilapidated speakers on the roof of the carriage.

"Today's danger level report outside the city: Goblin tribes are frequently active on the outskirts of the Dark Forest. Teams below level 5 are advised to detour. An elite-level mutated rat king has appeared in the abandoned mine area. Do not go there alone."

"Yesterday, in the wilderness area outside the East Gate of Tianhe City, a total of 342 workers died, 716 were seriously injured, and 108 are missing."

"The area outside the city is not protected by imperial law. All professionals leaving the city are advised to carefully assess their own strength and act within their capabilities."

"..."

The cold, hard data echoed through the train carriage.

Those low-level workers, with their blank expressions, didn't even lift their eyelids.

Clearly, they hear these horrific casualty figures every day and have long since become accustomed to them.

In this game that has become a reality, on a blue planet whose area has expanded ten thousand times, danger is the least valuable thing.

"laugh--"

The bus arrived at the station and the doors opened.

The crowd poured out of the train carriages mechanically, like sardines being pried open, and headed toward the towering city gate.

Su Chen did not follow the crowd directly out of the city.

He turned and walked toward a magnificent building to the left of the city gate.

Professionals Chamber of Commerce.

The building occupies a vast area, its exterior walls made of hard obsidian that exudes a faint magical aura, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding dilapidated buildings.

In this world, professional chambers of commerce are an extremely special existence.

It is a non-governmental organization established by some of the most elite professionals in the human race, and is directly guided and coordinated by the national government.

Simply put, this is the largest officially certified exchange.

This place is teeming with powerful individuals.

You can consign or buy materials, equipment, and skill books of any grade here.

You can post bounty missions, whether it's finding someone, killing a monster, or escorting someone.

The Chamber of Commerce even buys out guides for newly appearing dungeons at high prices.

If you have money or ability, you can get everything you want here.

of course.

The Professionals Chamber of Commerce does not engage in illegal transactions.

Su Chen pushed open the heavy glass door of the Chamber of Commerce.

The hall was extremely spacious, the floor was so shiny it reflected the light, and the air was filled with the scent of high-end incense.

Unlike the apathetic low-level professionals outside, the people walking around in the hall mostly wore equipment that gleamed with bronze or even silver-level light, and their expressions were calm and confident.

Su Chen walked straight to a counter in the trading area.

The appraiser behind the counter was a middle-aged man with a mustache. He glanced at Su Chen, noticed that he didn't have a guild badge and was dressed very plainly, then looked away and said indifferently, "Go over there and look at the light screen if you want to buy something, and bring out the item if you want to sell."

Without wasting any words, Su Chen took out a short dagger from his backpack and slammed it on the counter.

Black Iron Venomous Fang Dagger

[Rank: Black Iron]

……

The appraiser glanced at the panel attributes casually.

"Level 5 Black Iron equipment, good stats, very practical. Now is the time for students to prepare for the college entrance examination, it's the perfect time to make a purchase."

The appraiser said in a businesslike tone, "If you sell it directly, I can give you 10,000 yuan after tax, or you can choose to have it consigned for auction."

Su Chen quickly did some mental calculations.

In Tianhe City, the average person's monthly salary is only around three thousand gold coins, yet a broken black iron dagger can sell for ten thousand gold coins. This price is a bit abnormal.

That makes sense, though. The drop rate for equipment is already incredibly low. Even a Black Iron-grade item is a godsend for those low-level professionals who can't even afford to eat.

"make a deal."

Su Chen readily agreed.

The appraiser swiped across the control panel, and a prompt immediately popped up in Su Chen's system panel.

[Transaction successful. You have received 10000 gold coins.]

With the money, Su Chen turned and headed towards the daily necessities sales area.

Leveling up by fighting monsters is physically demanding, especially in the wild; without supplies, you're basically waiting to die.

He spent 1000 yuan to buy a large amount of compressed biscuits, water, tents, and flint and steel, and then went to the materials area.

A deep blue projection appeared, revealing an AI shopping assistant.

She asked, "Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Query skill stones".

Su Chen plans to level up to level 10 in the wild before returning, and then he can learn new skills directly outside.

"Searching... Please wait..."

"..."

[Basic Skill Stone (Common Grade), Price: 1100, 2221 remaining]

[Basic Skill Stone (Iron Grade), Price: 13, 659 remaining]

[Basic Skill Stone (Silver Grade), Price: 42, 168 remaining]

……

Holy crap, this is so expensive?

Su Chen clicked his tongue.

No wonder everyone says that solo players have no future. It costs so much money to learn a skill. How long would it take to farm gold by killing monsters?

Su Chen gritted his teeth and bought ten ordinary-grade beginner skill stones.

Instantly, his wallet became empty again.

"We've gone back to square one."

He put the skill stone into his system inventory and then walked to the huge mission light screen in the center of the hall.

Hundreds and thousands of task messages scrolled densely across the light screen.

The clients are diverse, including the military, professional chambers of commerce, major guilds, and individuals.

The font color indicates the task level.

White is the lowest grade, F, and red is the highest grade, S.

Su Chen filtered out the tasks involving teaming up for dungeons and escorting caravans, focusing instead on several white-level tasks that involved collecting materials.

[Collect unlimited goblin eyeballs, 10 gold coins each, instant payment!]

[Unlimited purchase of mutated poisonous toad skins, 20 gold coins each, direct purchase from Dawnlight Guild, never on credit!]

[Buying Rampaging Boar Tusks, minimum order 10,000, highest price in the market, feel free to compare prices!]

……

Goblins are everywhere, mutated poisonous toads are in the eastern suburban wetlands, ferocious wild boars are on the outskirts of Sunset Plains, and hemostatic herbs are everywhere in the dense forest.

After memorizing the areas where these monsters were located, Su Chen turned and walked out of the Professional Merchant Guild.

The sunlight was blinding.

Su Chen raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sunlight and looked towards the East Gate in the distance.

Outside the city gates lies a true lawless land, a paradise for monsters.