Wanjie Game Hall, I sent Kiana to Silent Hill

"What's wrong?" Wang Xuanqiao looked at her and asked.

"Hiss—Manager, a voice just said congratulations to me for completing the game and that I would be given a reward." Walnut turned her head, her eyes like red agate shining brightly.

——The author has something to say——

I don't even remember if I encountered the racing suit zombie in this level.

8.12, in response to the request of book friends, the blocked words are modified, [弓单] is the same as [弹], the specific reason can be seen at the end of Chapter 007

Volume 011: : Clearance Reward [Master of Salvation]

In the lounge area of the game hall, Hu Tao and Wang Xuanqiao sat on either side of a round table. On the table was a stack of opened spicy potato chips, most of which went into Hu Tao's mouth.

"Master of salvation..." Wang Xuanqiao was touching his chin and searching for this term in the system's mall interface.

[Salvation Master] is the reward Hu Tao receives after completing the Death Center. According to Hu Tao, this reward acts like a passive skill, granting the holder an advantage against the undead, such as creating an affinity with rational undead and a deterrent against irrational ones.

Moreover, this thing seems to be upgradeable.

Wang Xuanqiao is now searching for the relevant talent trees for this entry.

"Got it." He clicked on a bunch of indexes on the entry of [Master of Salvation] and finally found the pinnacle of upgrade.

"When this skill reaches its highest level, it becomes the [Styx Messenger]. Its function is... for the first time... the ability to travel back and forth between life and death at will. So awesome?"

"Huh! Really?" Hu Tao became interested when he heard it. He stopped eating the potato chips and moved the sofa to sit next to Wang Xuanqiao.

"It's true, but..." Wang Xuanqiao pressed the back button repeatedly and quickly counted the number of skills in between.

"A Salvation Master needs to advance ten times to reach the next stage, and then you need to evolve five times to reach the level of a Styx Messenger. The next level is a Human Ghost Messenger, then a Compassionate Heavenly Master, a Yin-Yang Patrolman, an Extra-official Judge, and finally the Styx Messenger."

There was something else Wang Xuanqiao couldn't quite put his finger on. Based on the skill points required, Hu Tao might not even reach Yin-Yang Patrol even after completing all of Left 4 Dead. Even with an optimistic estimate, she might have to complete four or five games to reach the required level.

But then again, there was no chance the next game she unlocked would be a zombie one, right? The thought of playing every zombie game was unbearable.

Let's try some supernatural horror games! Those are more exciting!

Walnut seemed quite interested in the skill [Styx Messenger], though she wasn't quite ready to dive right in. She remained seated on the sofa, taking two more bites of potato chips. She wasn't sure if she was thinking or what, but she suddenly stood up.

"Phew—that was a close call! I almost fell into the trap of temptation," Walnut said. "If you get lost in the pursuit of gain, you won't be able to feel happiness."

"By the way, Manager, next time I come here, do I have to go back the same way I came in this time?"

Walnut was obviously preparing to leave, and the entire battle took quite a while.

"No need. If you have your membership card with you, just take it and open a door," Wang Xuanqiao replied. "If you want to invite someone else, just have them follow you in."

"Hey, how did the manager know that I wanted to invite someone?" Walnut smiled.

"As for games, you definitely have to play with friends." Wang Xuanqiao smiled back. "After all, the happiness of one person is fleeting, but the happiness of a group is ever-present."

"Ah, that's quite insightful, Manager." Hu Tao nodded gently. "Unfortunately, I've already written a poem today, and now I'm feeling a bit poetic. I'll have to go back to the Liyue Mountains and wander around to find some more inspiration."

After saying that, Walnut walked towards the sensor door and took away the potato chips.

"I'll say goodbye for today, Manager." She stood in front of the sensor door, turned around and waved to Wang Xuanqiao, "Can I have milk tea next time?"

"Of course, but don't go out and come back right away!" Wang Xuanqiao also waved at Hu Tao, looked at this somewhat eccentric girl and smiled brightly. He turned around and disappeared in the center of the open sensor door.

After the person left, the green light on the sensor door went out and slowly closed.

Wang Xuanqiao leaned back on the sofa and thought about what to do next.

"System, is there any pattern in the random distribution of guests?"

"Boss, whether you're a regular or new customer, whether or not they visit the arcade is entirely up to the customer's own volition. For those new customers who only come once every few days, we can only actively recruit them after the scheduled time. Someone of your stature definitely doesn't need to resort to such petty tactics."

"Alright, alright, stop flattering me." Wang Xuanqiao said with some disdain, "So I have to go out now. What should I do if a new guest comes?"

[Hey! Don't worry, boss! Since you're not here, the arcade is closed to customers!]

"That's good." Wang Xuanqiao stood up and walked to the back of the hall. "But is there any customizable function in this regard? For example, set a membership level limit. After reaching a certain level, I can come in and play even if I'm not in the store?"

[Of course! This system is highly user-friendly and customizable, and I guarantee you'll be satisfied!]

"Not bad. I'll give you a good review on that score."

As he spoke, Wang Xuanqiao toured the other areas outside the lobby. Besides the game hall, the first floor contained only the open-air restrooms and a warehouse. The warehouse was divided into two sections: the outer section housed a storage area filled with snacks and drinks, while the inner section housed the energy supply room.

The device that powered the entire arcade was like an incandescent bulb, blindingly bright. Marvel fans would undoubtedly recognize it, as it resembled a magnified version of the device found on Iron Man's chest.

Unfortunately, there were no living facilities on the first floor. Wang Xuanqiao had no choice but to go up to the second floor, where he finally found what he was looking for.

I was in such a hurry to go downstairs to play games that I hadn't noticed the second floor was so extravagantly decorated. Looking through the open door in the hallway, the natural light from the large floor-to-ceiling windows on the perimeter made the entire room spacious and bright.

The entire second floor looks like a house that was renovated by a wealthy businessman using an entire floor of an office building. Its main feature is that it is so big that even a dozen sweeping robots cannot keep the floor clean.

After reading all this, Wang Xuanqiao returned to his room and suddenly had a feeling - his room seemed like a pieced-together thing, which had a strong sense of conflict with the overall house.

But so what? A golden or silver nest is not as good as your own doghouse. Especially one that you grew up in.

While looking for his bank card and ID, Wang Xuanqiao sighed for a moment, then put the things in his pocket and went out.

Because opening the front gate was more troublesome, Wang Xuanqiao went through the back door. Furthermore, going out through the front door would inevitably be seen by the surrounding people, so Wang Xuanqiao had no intention of opening the business to customers from this world for the time being.

The Wanjie Game Hall is one thing, and normal external business operations are another.

Even if we want to promote the spirit of sharing happiness, our own game library now only has "Left 4 Dead", which is even pitiful than the Steam game library of an elementary school student.

At least they can be sons.

Wang Xuanqiao locked the back door of the game hall and strolled onto the street.

The first three things he needed to do on his trip were to replace his phone card, buy a phone, and set up internet. Wang Xuanqiao walked to the street corner, grabbed the legs of his glasses, and yanked them off. In that instant, passersby felt an inexplicable sense of oppression. But just as they instinctively turned to look at the source, the person had already put their glasses back on and left.

In the absence of an unethical navigation system, Wang Xuanqiao could only use this crude method to find his target.

After all, relying on an individual's strong perception seems too unadvanced, and mobile phone map navigation must be developed.

Anyway, buy a phone first! Wang Xuanqiao locked onto the nearest flagship store and headed straight for it.

It took him less than ten minutes to run to the point where it should have taken almost an hour. If Wang Xuanqiao had checked his phone, he'd have found himself on a short video someone had casually taken, with captions like, "How does Bolt compare to him?"

Wang Xuanqiao, completely unaware of this, pushed open the door of the E-plus flagship store and was about to ask the clerk which phone had the best configuration when his eyes were suddenly drawn to a poster in the store.

Is that... Walnut?

The Walnut story has come to an end, and everyone is looking forward to the next visitor.

Although I feel like the next one is already known...

Is there really anyone who doesn't know who is next?

Volume 012: : Is Walnut a game character?

Wang Xuanqiao had a wonderful feeling.

The girl who was playing games with me not long ago, when I went out, I found a poster hanging in the store with her anime image printed on it.

There are many possibilities, such as there happens to be someone in this world who looks very similar to her, or there is an isotope from another world, or... Walnut's world casts a shadow in this world.

After all, there is a purple-haired woman next to Walnut's poster, and the style seems to be from the same place as Walnut.

So Wang Xuanqiao simply called the clerk over and asked about the poster.

"This is the co-branded model of "Genshin Impact" launched by our E Plus mobile phone. However, the co-branded promotion has ended, and we don't have the co-branded phone in our store now."

"So what is 'Genshin Impact'?" Wang Xuanqiao interrupted the clerk who was about to make a sales pitch. "Is it an anime or a game?"

"It's a game," the clerk had to reply. "It seems to be very popular. I see a lot of kids know it."

"What the hell? Doesn't that mean it's going to become a national IP?" Wang Xuanqiao nodded thoughtfully.

The fact that this kind of game IP can be jointly branded with mobile phone manufacturers shows that its main users are adults with a financial foundation. In addition, coupled with the awareness among children described by the clerk, the only thing missing from becoming a national-level IP is the elderly user group.

However, it is quite difficult for game IP to have an elderly user group in China.

I'd better find out the details after I buy the phone. Wang Xuanqiao asked the clerk about the best model currently and performed a credit card swipe on the spot.

After buying the mobile phone, Wang Xuanqiao immediately went to the telecommunications business hall to apply for a phone card and gigabit network. After finishing the process, he saw that he still had time, so he simply found a brand store and bought a high-end laptop.

As for why I didn't build my own desktop? Of course, it's because it's easier to carry a laptop up and down the stairs.

After purchasing all the necessities, Wang Xuanqiao took a walk around the area around the game hall, determined the location of the supermarket and the milk tea snack shop, and purchased some tea and milk, as well as various small condiments such as cheese taro balls.

Everything is ready, now we just have to wait for Hu Tao to come again.

After returning from the purchase, Wang Xuanqiao solved the network problem as soon as possible. He used the points he received from Hu Tao to find a system to replace the router with a powerful one, so that the wireless network covered the entire hall.

After dealing with the network problem, Wang Xuanqiao found a sofa in the rest area and lay down, put his feet on the round table, took out his newly bought mobile phone and started browsing the encyclopedia.

The first keyword he searched for was, of course, Hu Tao. Guided by the search engine, Wang Xuanqiao discovered that there was more than one person named Hu Tao in the gaming world. But he didn't care about other Hu Taos. With a swipe of his finger, he jumped directly to the Hu Tao section of "Genshin Impact."

"Hmm... the 77th generation leader of the Wangsheng Hall, we actually met. Is she really a game character?" Wang Xuanqiao couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, his interest increased significantly.

It's not uncommon for fictional worlds to be real worlds. Having experienced the cycle of reincarnation himself, Wang Xuanqiao didn't care about the debate over truth or falsehood. He was more concerned about whether he could follow Hu Tao to the world called Teyvat and whether he would have the opportunity to "foresee" certain events based on the game's content.

"System, can I go to the guest's world?" Wang Xuanqiao asked directly.

[As long as you get the guest's permission, you can go to their world with them. Boss, do you think my answer is concise and polite?]

"Just delete the last sentence." Wang Xuanqiao nodded slightly and immediately started downloading "Genshin Impact" on his mobile phone.

"MiHoYo? This company has made a lot of games besides Genshin Impact. Zero: The End, Sky Railway, Honkai Impact 3rd..."

Wang Xuanqiao, who was counting the rice mill games, suddenly heard the system whisper in his head:

[Boss, a new guest has arrived.]

What the hell? Does that sound like a new customer or a thief? Wang Xuanqiao put his phone down just in time to see the indicator light on the sensor door light up. Then, a white-haired creature, slightly hunched over, walked into the store, looking furtive.

...?

No? Are there really thieves? Wang Xuanqiao blinked and decided to wait and see what the other party was up to.

Kiana Kaslana immediately felt that someone's eyes were focused on her. Kiana, who had experienced several drastic changes, was like a frightened kitten and reflexively adopted a confrontational stance.

This allowed her to see the source of the gaze clearly - a man half lying on the sofa with his feet on the table.

Strangely, the man showed no fear or hostility. Kiana didn't know if it was an illusion, but she felt like he was only looking at her with one eye, the other completely locked on his phone.

This was, of course, an illusion. Wang Xuanqiao simply had the habit of holding his phone in front of his face to use it, without having to lower his head. This happened to obscure one side of his face, making it difficult for Kiana to see clearly.

Although Wang Xuanqiao was not completely staring at the white-haired ball.

Wang Xuanqiao was more curious about the other soul that was attached to her than Kiana herself. However, since the other soul didn't seem to have any intention of revealing itself, he didn't intend to investigate further.

The two of them looked at each other for a while, and Wang Xuanqiao even saw the white-haired ball swallowing secretly.

Wang Xuanqiao thought about it, put down his phone, and pointed at the sofa next to him.

"Sit down for a while?"

The white-haired ball took a step back with a look of vigilance, turned his head slightly and glanced back with the corner of his eye, only to find that the gate outside the sensor door was closed. The already frightened kitten instantly stood up.

Seeing that the other party suddenly changed from being on guard to being hostile, Wang Xuanqiao slapped his head and instantly realized that it was the iron gate that had never been opened that caused him trouble.

Oh my, how could something like this happen in such a strange place? Wang Xuanqiao sighed and could only pick up his phone and continue browsing.

Coincidentally, "Genshin Impact" has been downloaded.

Kiana's nerves were stretched to the limit, convinced she had stepped into a trap. Everything she'd observed formed a logical loop around this conclusion—from the moment she'd stepped through this door, the man before her had been using unusual behavior to attract her attention, then stealthily closing the gate and trapping her.

Ridiculous! Do you think a door this low can hold me? Kiana clenched her fists. Even without a weapon, she believed she could break free from this shoddy prison!

But... why did that person suddenly turn the phone sideways and...

"What the hell? This game is so big?"

Did he just mention games? Did I hear that correctly?

"It's alright, it's an open world after all. If it wasn't big, I'd have to doubt the quality of the game."

Why the open world? So he's really playing games now? Is he so disrespectful?

Kiana said nothing and quietly took another step back. The sensor door sensed someone approaching and opened to her.

...something's wrong!

The nervous white-haired ball noticed an irreconcilable contradiction - the gates were lowered, so why didn't the sensor door close?

It can't be that the sensor door can be used to force people to open the door, right?

"Who are you?" Kiana finally decided to ask rather than continue guessing.