Chapter One: Splendor
Once all the data was displayed, Wang Luo saw the world before him begin to collapse. The massive screen in front of him started to peel away, revealing the starry sky beyond—vast, cold, and beautiful. The ground around him gradually started to give way as well. Wang Luo clenched his fists, trembling slightly, then closed his eyes.
Everything around him grew calm, and when the chill had faded, Wang Luo finally opened his eyes.
He found himself standing within a grand golden hall. Behind him stood a pale yellow door, towering above, firmly shut. Along the walls on either side of the hall, countless reliefs depicted scenes from history. In the very center of the hall rose a colossal diamond-shaped column of light.
“It’s all done.” A familiar voice spoke from behind him.
It was Yang Wentian. Wang Luo glanced back at the door.
“The scene’s over. Once the settlement’s finished, we all end up here,” said Yang Wentian, pointing at the door. “That thing’s just for show—no one actually walks out from inside.”
Wang Luo nodded, saying little. “Is there somewhere to stay here?”
“Of course! Every comfort you could imagine.” Yang Wentian gestured toward the diamond pillar. “That’s the marketplace. Beyond it lies everyone’s private space.”
As he spoke, Zhou Yingxiong appeared behind them, mouth agape, utterly astonished.
“Let’s go,” Yang Wentian said.
Wang Luo and Zhou Yingxiong followed him ahead. “Is that pillar the ‘main god’ of this place?” Wang Luo asked.
“No, it’s just an auction house.”
“Oh, well, that’s more or less what I thought.”
As they walked, Wang Luo suddenly noticed the environment shift. His two companions were still beside him, but the three of them had stepped into a forest. It was dark—as if it were night. Wang Luo was about to speak when countless flashes of lightning lit up, etching themselves into the gray sky.
Flames erupted all around. Startled, Wang Luo heard Yang Wentian laugh.
“It’s just the hourly chime.” As Yang Wentian chuckled, the forest, the gray sky, the lightning, the fire—all vanished, and they were still in the great hall. “Beautiful, isn’t it? It happens once every twenty-four hours. Today it’s thunder; sometimes it’s a tsunami, or a volcano.”
The hall had grown crowded. People of all colors, men and women, mingled, argued, and the place bustled like a marketplace. A few glanced at them, but paid no mind.
“Near the entrance, you only see your teammates or those you did missions with,” Yang Wentian explained to Wang Luo and Zhou Yingxiong. “Once you cross this threshold, you’re in the main hall.”
“There are some strange rules here. Sometimes you can’t speak with others—everything comes out as static. Sometimes, even without disguises, you can’t recognize each other… I don’t really get it. Let’s go formalize our team partnership. Between teammates, those issues usually don’t occur.”
After working together in the last scenario, this suggestion seemed perfectly natural. Wang Luo raised no objection, nor did he show any surprise.
This allowed Yang Wentian to breathe a quiet sigh of relief, releasing the tension in his hand inside his pocket.
The sheet of paper with a column of “hypotheses” written on the left was already crumpled in his grip.
Mutual Assistance Pact (Access Level 7): Allows up to five people to form a temporary team. Members who enter the pact can reveal their attributes and talent skills to teammates, and tasks are considered completed jointly. The team gains a small temporary shared space. If team members attack each other, 2000 universal points are deducted and their stamina cap is reduced by 5% for three hours.
It was not a particularly binding contract, but the advantage was its low cost (200 universal points) and simple signing process (surface agreement among the people involved). Yang Wentian had signed many such contracts before—and been betrayed just as many times.
Recalling those betrayals, he sighed, then handed Wang Luo the contract bearing his own fingerprint.
After all three had signed, the contract turned into a burst of violet light that settled upon each of them. “Let’s check out the marketplace,” Yang Wentian suggested. “Honestly, things went smoothly earlier, but the rewards weren’t much…”
“My talent is called ‘Coordination’,” Wang Luo revealed, showing his talent. “I don’t think it aligns much with what I actually did, but it should have some value.”
That can’t be right. Over three hundred percent completion… All thanks to your planning, and this is the talent you get?
Yang Wentian found Wang Luo’s displayed talent odd, but simply shrugged and said nothing.
“I have three talents…” Zhou Yingxiong said a bit awkwardly, displaying his skills.
Skill 1: Sacrifice—Designate a teammate; within one minute, transfer 30% of damage they receive to yourself. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Can only be used on one teammate at a time.
Skill 2: Team Awareness—For each teammate nearby, gain 1% HP; for every three teammates, damage taken is reduced by 2%. Your individual loot and rewards are reduced by 33%.
Skill 3: Will to Survive (Growth)—Your desire to live shines through. When on the brink of death, gain 2 points of mental strength; when suffering non-physical attacks, damage is reduced by 4.
“That’s impressive,” Yang Wentian remarked. “Three talents?”
Zhou Yingxiong still seemed dazed, unaware of how extraordinary that was. In truth, even Yang Wentian wasn’t certain how rare three talents were. Generally, members of the space would never casually display their talents to others—not even formal teammates, much less temporary ones.
“I don’t have any talents,” Yang Wentian said honestly. “My first scenario completion was 46%. I guess Old Zhou got three talents because our total completion was so high—372%.”
Wang Luo said nothing to this guess, not even changing expression. With that, the topic ended, and instead of following Yang Wentian’s suggestion to train, they began exploring the marketplace at Wang Luo’s request.
“Just put your hand inside,” Yang Wentian instructed. “Tap ‘search’. Everything on sale will appear. If you want something cheap, set a price filter. The more you use it, the easier it gets—it’s pretty handy.”
As he’d said, Wang Luo and Zhou Yingxiong soon mastered the use of this grand auction house. Some items were offered by people like themselves, available for bidding or fixed price; others seemed to be sold by the space itself, with unlimited quantities but higher prices.
Wang Luo spotted a “Conversion Scroll,” which could transform items from the original world or ordinary objects from the Infinite World into equipment with attributes or skills—but it was only for looking, as the price was eighty thousand universal points, while all his assets combined amounted to only five hundred.
Within his price range were things like minor potions, a few offensive or crafting skill books, and some basic standard gear.
Glancing at his own talent, he selected a “Forging” skill book priced at 120 points.
When he withdrew his hand, the purchase interface vanished. Wang Luo examined the skill book and chose to use it.
Notification: You have learned Basic Forging.
Notification: You have learned Basic Smelting (0/5000). You can now process suitable ores into metal ingots.
Notification: You have learned Basic Casting (0/10000). You can use metal ingots to craft equipment you are capable of making.
Notification: You have learned how to create Basic Armor, Basic Shortsword, Basic War Boots, Basic Greaves, Basic Helmet, and Basic Shield.
Notification: You can acquire new blueprints in scenarios or purchase them in the trading hall.
Wang Luo checked the materials required for these two pieces of equipment and immediately understood why the skill was so cheap.
Basic Armor: Defense +3, Durability 5. Materials: 10 metal ingots.
Basic Shortsword: Attack +3, Durability 5. Materials: 8 metal ingots.
The rest were similar… Just now, when Wang Jian had checked materials in the space, he’d seen iron ingots selling for 700 universal points each, while a basic shortsword was selling for 300 points…
So, it really was a skill for the wealthy to train… Still, perhaps there would be other opportunities…