Ch28 - Paper Gold

The name Paper Gold was taken from ‘dazzling with paper and gold’. (Idiom for indulging in a life of luxury)

It was grander and more flashy than Rust City. Paper Gold had a setting of short days and long nights, with sunrise at 10 in the morning and sunset at 3 in the afternoon. 

After 3 o’clock, the Paper Gold City changed into a sensual city that never slept. Once it was night, a round moon would hang on the horizon of Paper Gold City. In the noise of the city, it was like an oil painting accidentally smudged by water droplets. The outline wasn’t clear, showing a wet, hazy halo.

Paper Gold’s design was unique and concentric. The inner circle was the central city with many spires. The main color was black and gold. The thin and pointed roofs pointed straight at the sky like a sword. Inside, there were bars, dance halls, information stores, high-end hotels, material exchange points and other places.

Another large circle was the outer concentric circle and it surrounded the city like Kowloon Walled City. In the original game setting of Forces of Temptation, this was the place where three religions converged and there were all sorts of things like dentists, temples and stores selling barbecued pork. A person had to be extra careful when walking here. If they touched the drying rack of an NPC or bumped into an NPC uncle on the road, they would receive a string of curses.

In this walled city, players might get valuable item information at a very low price or they might spend a lot of money only to get a non-refundable trash weapon. 

Now Paper Gold was transformed by an unknown force and was undergoing subtle changes.

***

Due to the unexpected attack before the instance ended, the eight people were now sitting together in a cafe in Paper Gold City. The system time showed that it was 4 p.m. It coincided with the time when Nan Zhou and the others entered the instance.

Unlike the sunny Rust City at that time, Paper Gold City had just entered the prelude to the night carnival.

Prices here were much more expensive than Rust City and the NPCs were human. The waitress who brought them refreshments had a perfect smile and exquisite makeup. She was completely like a real person and almost made them doubt that they had returned to the normal world.

After entering the safety zone, everyone was in a relaxed state and showed their true selves. Shen Jie didn’t like to talk very much out of the instance. She leaned quietly back in her seat, tiredly watching the lights drifting outside.

Once the fitness trainer had three cups of strong coffee, he ordered cheap fast food such as sandwiches and hamburgers to relieve his stress through eating. The thin monkey didn’t even dare look at the face of the beautiful female NPC. Then once she left, he looked at her perfect waistline from behind with an expression of yearning. Yu Tuisi was an extremely thoughtful and decent person. Even after taking the sleeping pill, he still supported his head in his hands and resisted the urge to sleep.

Li Yinhang was calculating her points on a napkin. Jiang Fang spread out an arm and placed it on the back of the chair where Nan Zhou was sitting. It was a stretch at first glance but from the perspective of a third party, it was a silent, dominating posture. 

Only Nan Zhou was no different from how he acted in the instance. He might’ve just broken a person’s neck but he looked no different as he selected desserts now. Nan Zhou washed his hands seven or eight times and carefully reviewed the menu before ordering a cream tart and a daifuku.

Li Yinhang took the menu and her eyes twitched when she saw it. For a person like her who was accustomed to frugality, this price was almost the same as stealing money in public. Two small desserts cost 150 points? However, she didn’t dare be too arrogant toward her savior. In addition, it wasn’t her points being spent. She only dared murmur in a low voice, “It’s too expensive…”

“I want to reward myself.” Nan Zhou seriously praised himself. “I just did a good job.”

Li Yinhang, “……” There is a reasonable reason and I can’t refute it. You are right. 

Before the desserts were served, Nan Zhou was attracted by a magnificent three-storey building diagonally across from the cafe. It was extremely noisy as if the voices of all the people in the central city were concentrated there.

Nan Zhou wondered, “What is that?”

The fitness trainer chewed on his food and answered vaguely, “Haven’t you heard? This is the Douzhuang Casino.”

Li Yinhang, “……” Since when was there an element in Forces of Temptation that blatantly violated contemporary values? 

Shen Jie added, “It was built by a player called Qu Jinsha himself.”

Li Yinhang, “……” Some people really took the business route in this game?

As she was complaining, she quickly realized that the name Qu Jinsha was a bit familiar. At the same time, Nan Zhou clicked on the player rankings and found this name. Qu Jinsha, an individual player who was second in the rankings.

In the dungeon, the fitness trainer followed Shen Jie and rarely expressed personal opinions yet he was talkative in his normal state. No one asked but he started to introduce it in detail. “This Qu Jinsha was in the first batch of players to enter. I heard he is a master of PvP.” 

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“Lf tjr j ubbv yerlcfrr wlcv jcv lr kliilcu ab ajxf glrxr. P vbc’a xcbk tbk wjcs lcrajcmfr tf qjrrfv atgbeut yea tf rjnfv 100,000 qblcar. Ktfc tf qlmxfv j rwjii rabgfogbca lc Ujqfg Xbiv atja kjr jgbecv 50 rdejgf offa jcv rqfca jii tlr qblcar bc la. Tbe xcbk, tf kjr lc atf abq atgff bo atf lcvlnlveji gjcxlcur ja atf alwf. Ktlr vfji wjvf tlw lwwfvljafis ojii ab atf ybaabw.”

The fitness trainer squinted. “Look at the result. Not long after, the entire building is his and his rankings rose back up to the top.”

Jiang Fang picked up some meaning from his words. “Then you must’ve been in this game for a long time?”

The fitness trainer opened his mouth. “Not counting the time in the instances, just the time we spent resting at the various safety points is at least three months.” 

The fitness trainer faced Li Yinhang’s shocked eyes and became more exuberant.

“Yes, the time flow here is completely different from the normal world.”

“We have communicated with other newcomers in the instances. In the real world, it should only be five or six days, right?”

Jiang Fang and Nan Zhou were silent while Li Yinhang nodded. 

“Hou, Sister Shen and I all came in on the third day of the mass disappearances. People like Qu Jinsha came here on the first day. From his perspective, he has been doing business here for at least half a  year.”

Then there was nothing wrong with fucking starting a business.

Nan Zhou turned his attention back to the gradient neon lights outside the casino and spoke the truth. “Then the points you’ve saved are too low.”

The fitness trainer who was talking enthusiastically, “……” He didn’t want to chat any longer. 

Fortunately, Jiang Fang relieved the embarrassment of the fitness trainer in time. He said warmly, “This is normal.”

Apart from buying desserts, Nan Zhou was very strict about the number of points. “Staying at the rest point will consume oxygen and you have to spend points on food, clothing, housing and transportation. It isn’t cost-effective.”

Jiang Fang patiently explained, “Do you remember the wish pool?”

Nan Zhou nodded. “Yes, the person who is number one on the team rankings or individual rankings can make a wish.” 

Jiang Fang wondered, “What did you wish for?”

His attitude was very natural and it wasn’t obvious that he was probing at Nan Zhou’s heart. Nan Zhou’s lips pressed tightly together. “I won’t tell you.”

Jiang Fang didn’t push him and instead asked Li Yinhang, “Yinhang, what about you?”

“Of course, I hope that this game will disappear and everyone will return to the normal world.” 

She glanced around at everyone and hesitated. “You should all think so.”

Shen Jie responded, “The three of us have divided our wishes. My wish is that my daughter will be healthy throughout her life. Hou Xu’s wish is the same as yours. Xiao Shen hasn’t made a wish yet. His wish will be retained until the end.”

Yu Tuisi also answered, “I made a wish. Sufeng hasn’t made it yet. I had him keep it as well.”

Jiang Fang asked the crowd before telling Nan Zhou, “Look, a large proportion of them have the desire to return to the normal world.” 

“If even one person at the top makes a similar wish then others don’t have to struggle for first place. They only want to ensure that they have enough points to maintain oxygen and basic life needs. They want to avoid entering the instances as much as possible in order to survive. Once the game ends and first place is decided, they can leave the game.”

At this time, Nan Zhou’s desserts came.

“Isn’t the competition system still completely unclear?” Nan Zhou wondered as he inserted a fork in the strawberry daifuku. “What if it is a PK elimination system and only the individual players and teams who survive can make a wish?”

“Of course, it is possible.” Jiang Fang answered. “The rule of the game is that you can keep your wish and make it at the end of the game. As long as someone makes the wish for ‘all players who have played this game to resurrect’, not everyone will have to take risks.” 

“It is stupid to pin your hopes on others.” Nan Zhou shook his head in a disapproving manner. “Who knows who will be number one? What if they make a wish to let just themselves leave? What if they wish that this game will continue?”

Jiang Fang smiled. “Don’t underestimate people’s ability to pursue a comfortable life.”

He watched Nan Zhou who was eating and listening carefully. He wanted to reach out to squeeze this person’s ear before after hesitating a few times, he finally touched his own lips.

“When first entering, people always think about saving enough points to fight for first place, just like Liu Xiao in our trial level.” 

“Do you remember what he said? He had just finished the first task and wanted to rise in the rankings, so he spent points to choose PvP mode.”

“He is a newcomer so there is a sense of urgency. Then what about players who have gone through a few instances?”

“They almost died again and again, seeing the deaths of their teammates or others with their own eyes. Can normal people accept it so easily? Will they be more active when doing the tasks or try to escape?”

“People aren’t machines. Even if they run at full capacity at the beginning, they always have to eat and relax. The moment you relax, you don’t want to move. It is easier to place your hopes on others.” 

“In any case, for some people, it is impossible for them to reach first place no matter how hard they work. It is better to let themselves be more comfortable under limited conditions.”

Jiang Fang immediately pointed at the opposite casino, his voice gentle. “This is a place where people can be comfortable and indulge in escape.”

Jiang Fang’s tone might be relaxed but his words caused Shen Jie’s group of three to have goose bumps. Wasn’t this the case with their own journey? They all experienced the positive response at the beginning to the slight numbness now. The moment they got back to the safe point, they just wanted to eat, sleep and rest for seven or eight days before reluctantly doing the next task.

Nan Zhou wiped the whipped cream from the corners of his mouth, not shaken at all. “I don’t care what they think. I’m going to take first place.” 

Jiang Fang smiled and handed him a tissue. Nan Zhou held the cream tart and looked at the casino opposite them. “How did Qu Jinsha rank second by opening a casino?”

“Trading points through the trading system,” Yu Tuisi answered.

He had recovered from the medicine and like Nan Zhou, he was obviously interested in Qu Jinsha’s path.

Nan Zhou asked, “What is the trading system?” 

Yu Tuisi knew they were genuine newcomers and wasn’t surprised by Nan Zhou’s question. “The trading system isn’t built into the system. You need to find a wandering NPC at a safe point like Rust City or Paper Gold City. Every safe point will have such an NPC. Talk to them, buy something from them and read the trading rules before activating it and the trading system will open for you for free.”

Nan Zhou understood. Previously, only Lin Yihang had bought things in Rust City in their team so the trading system wasn’t turned on for him and Jiang Fang.

“Once the trading system is turned on, one-on-one or team-to-team deals can be made with mutual consent.”

He looked at Nan Zhou. “For example, I want to trade 1,000 points for the A-grade item in your hand. As long as we negotiate the price, enter the trading system and place the 1,000 points and A-grade items in their respective grids, we just need to press the confirmation button and the transaction will go through. There is no middleman to take a cut.” 

“However, the NPC responsible for the guide at the beginning doesn’t inform players about this. The player needs to explore it on their own. This is the reason why Sufeng and I spent quite a bit of time exploring the various safe points after entering.” Yu Tuisi exhaled and continued. “As for Qu Jinsha.. his casino only gambles using points. At the door, someone will charge an entrance fee. It is 200 points per person. Once you enter, the casino will draw from these funds to pay those who win. According to the game played, the casino will take 1-5% commission. He makes a profit from this.”

“What if I use items?” Nan Zhou took out the summer homework book that he didn’t have time to study carefully. It was an A-grade item. “Isn’t it possible to reverse time again and again with this?”

Yu Tuisi shook his head to deny Nan Zhou’s idea.

“Firstly, items often have a restriction on the number of uses and it is a waste to use it on gambling.” 

“Secondly, no items can be used at the safe points.”

Nan Zhou exclaimed. “Ah…”

Nevertheless, his questions weren’t finished. “Why is his business so good?”

Jiang Fang was the one who answered. “Due to the gambling points.” 

Yu Tuisi gently nodded to confirm it. “After all, doing the instances is a matter of life and death. It isn’t a big deal to lose here while there might be a huge profit if they win. Who would want to risk their life when there is a chance to sit back and make a profit?”

Yu Tuisi didn’t say the rest of it. The places where trades occurred wasn’t just the casino. As the name suggested, it was a city where they indulged in a life of luxury. There was no shortage of men and women who would sell their bodies for 100 points.

Jiang Fang raised a hand to his lips and chuckled softly. “A gambler’s mentality is like this.”

Yu Tuisi looked at him. “There are indeed big winners whose points have risen from the hundreds to within the top 20.” 

Jiang Fang was calm. “That is because Qu Jinsha allowed them to win.”

Yu Tuisi refuted, “It might also be luck.”

“Are you talking about luck when it comes to casinos?”

Yu Tuisi narrowed his eyes slightly. “You seem to know casinos very well?” 

Jiang Fang answered, “There are casinos in Ukraine. I’ve worked there and have seen a bit.”

Li Yinhang who was in the audience, “……” Now she had another thing to add to Jiang Fang’s identity of an unemployed person and music exchange student.

The curious Nan Zhou once again raised his hand. “If this is the case, why is Qu Jinsha only ranked second?” It stood to reason that he was completely capable of being first.

“It is because he has to pay a high rent and hire NPCs every month. Paper Gold is a place where every square meter of land costs money and NPCs have to be employed to maintain order and keep losing players from running away. On the other hand, they can also restrict and supervise Qu Jinsha. It is an absolutely impartial existence.” 

Yu Tuisi paused. “Secondly, after entering, the casino will provide free beer, drinks, desserts and snacks. Many people go in to eat and drink and then end up gambling. I have to admit that the atmosphere of the casino really makes it easy for people to indulge. If you are a person with a weak mentality then once you go in there once, there will be a second and third time.”

Nan Zhou used the small fork to scrape the cream on the bottom of the plate and his eyes lit up.

The author has something to say:

Nan Zhou heard, “@#@&，@#￥[email protected]#￥! Desserts%……#”