Welcome to the World of the Strong [Unlimited Flow] 44p2

Chapter 44 p2: Transit Island

After Xiao Man went back, she sent someone to investigate Zhong Yu.

The man with glasses she had called over asked in confusion, “This person… is she the leader’s enemy?”

Xiao Man: “No, someone I met in the last instance.”

“…” The man with glasses: “If I remember correctly, leader, you went to a low-level instance last time, right? Then the person you met…”

Xiao Man smiled faintly and glanced at him. “This person is not simple.”

The man with glasses pushed up his glasses. “Someone who can make you say that they’re not simple… maybe we should pay attention. But in the end, the other party should just be an ordinary newcomer.”

Xiao Man nodded slightly. “Go and investigate first. I have a feeling that she’s definitely not a simple newcomer.”

The man with glasses agreed, then asked again, “Speaking of which, leader, what did you find out in the low-level instance this time?”

The emotion on Xiao Man’s face was a little thoughtful. “Nothing.”

Nothing at all.

She frowned slightly.

S-rank people had a very long vacation, so it was normal for the top ten people not to go to an instance for a long time.

But this did not include Shi Jun.

Xiao Man knew a little about Shi Jun. The other party was an instance-obsessed player. She didn’t care at all if she would meet with a mishap, let alone be afraid of entering a new instance.

So, her frequency of entering an instance was very high, far exceeding the frequency needed to maintain her rank.

And correspondingly, she could still maintain a stable level. Although there were occasional fluctuations, she could always maintain her first place.

But she didn’t know when it started, but Shi Jun had been staying on the Transit Island and no longer entering an instance.

This matter made the others a little surprised and doubtful.

But no one could get any news from Shi Jun and Wang Meng.

But without them knowing, a piece of gossip had been leaked.

That was, Shi Jun seemed to be observing a low-level instance.

Although she didn’t know if it was true or not, this news should not have come from nowhere.

So, Xiao Man had gone to a low-level instance to take a look.

But she hadn’t been able to observe anything.

But… there was still a gain.

Zhong Yu.

Which S-rank person had taught her that series of techniques?

The man with glasses didn’t continue to ask. Instead, he suggested, “In that case, why don’t you not go, leader? You can’t earn any points in a low-level instance.”

Xiao Man was noncommittal.

Then, the man with glasses, as if he had remembered something, asked, “Although I know it’s impossible, but leader, your level didn’t drop because of the low-level instance, right?”

Xiao Man raised an eyebrow slightly, then took out her phone and looked.

In fact, she hadn’t had time to look after she came out of the instance.

【Xiao Riyue (S-70%) received a rating of S in this instance, ranked first. No reward points.】

【Because the player’s level (S-70%) is higher than the instance level (C-70%), therefore, the system will deduct -375 points during the judgment.】

【Final judgment: Xiao Riyue’s level is S-70% → S-60%, and 5000 points are deducted.】

“…”

Xiao Man looked at her phone, then pursed her lips slightly.

To be honest, when she saw the news that her level had been lowered and her points had been deducted, Xiao Man was not very surprised.

Because her own level was much higher than the instance, and in the end, she had not cleared it with an overwhelming advantage, so it was reasonable that her points would be deducted.

Even if she had used an item to suppress her level, but this was just a superficial illusion. Her own level had not changed, so to some extent, she could still do whatever she wanted in a low-level instance.

But in this situation, although she was ranked first, her advantage was not great. Therefore, the system had finally judged that she could not maintain her original level.

And there was no doubt that the only person who had caused this was…

Zhong Yu.

Xiao Man smiled faintly.

The man with glasses: “Leader?”

Xiao Man turned off her phone. “My points were deducted.”

“?!” The man with glasses’ eyes widened in surprise. “How could that be? That was a low-level instance. You—”

With Xiao Man’s strength, wasn’t that a crushing victory?

Xiao Man shook her head slightly, then smiled. “So, that’s why I asked you to investigate and pay attention to this newcomer.”

The man with glasses: “Could it be because of her…”

Xiao Man nodded and didn’t continue. “It seems I have to go to an S-rank instance.”

And after her points were deducted, she would soon have her rank-maintaining instance. If she didn’t pass the rank-maintaining instance, then her points would be deducted again.

Xiao Man pinched the bridge of her nose.

A person’s results were related to the organization’s ranking. Xiao Man didn’t want to cause the organization’s overall score to drop because of her.

So, the matter of going to a low-level instance could be put on hold, or given up.

The man with glasses nodded. “Okay, then good luck.”

….

Jiang Yu had rested for a few days after she came back, and then she was dragged out to play by Qiao Zhishan again.

Unlike the last time they went to the amusement park, this time, the other party was dragging her to the shopping mall.

Jiang Yu was helpless for a moment.

She had thought that people who had entered the World of Strength and had stayed for a long time would probably lose some of their “worldly” desires. But it seemed that Qiao Zhishan had not.

Jiang Yu was a little unable to resist her coquettishness, so she had no choice but to go out with Qiao Zhishan.

On the way, Jiang Yu asked, “Isn’t it boring to go shopping on the Transit Island?”

Qiao Zhishan retorted with great interest, “Of course not! Even in the World of Strength, you can’t just conjure clothes out of thin air. So, these clothes are all real, handmade by the players, so they feel very real. And which girl wouldn’t want to go shopping and buy clothes? Even in the World of Strength, it’s still the same.”

“Is that so…” Jiang Yu didn’t know how to answer.

Qiao Zhishan nodded with certainty. “Besides, going into an instance is already torturous enough. Of course, you have to be diligent in finding some activities that will make you happy.”

Maintaining some activities that you would also do in the real world… that way, you can also feel that you haven’t derailed from reality, and you haven’t turned into a monster.

Then she said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Jiang Jiang. I’ll pay for everything this time!”

Jiang Yu said, “It’s okay. I don’t really need it.”

Her current ones were already enough.

Qiao Zhishan held her arm. “How can that be! You’re already so tired from coming out to shop with me. I can’t not do anything for you. I have to let you feel the warmth of family.”

Jiang Yu was helpless and was dragged by Qiao Zhishan into the shopping mall.

She carefully observed the situation here and found that the shopping mall on the Transit Island was similar to the real world. And whether it was the sales or the staff, they were all very orderly and harmonious.

It was not just because players were not allowed to harm each other on the Transit Island, but also because they seemed to have tacitly agreed that the shopping mall on the Transit Island was equivalent to a real shopping mall.

After all, no one would cause trouble in a real shopping mall. Therefore, it was also very peaceful here.

Jiang Yu’s gaze swept past the dazzling things one by one, and then she asked Qiao Zhishan, “The security here seems to be pretty good?”

Qiao Zhishan laughed. “Security… I haven’t heard that word for a long time.”

But after she finished laughing, Qiao Zhishan still explained to Jiang Yu, “This entire shopping mall was established and is operated by the fifth-ranked organization, the Blue Flower organization. Because the nature of this organization is very special, the players inside… hmm, you can think of them as life players.”

Jiang Yu raised an eyebrow slightly. “Life players?”

Qiao Zhishan nodded. “Like us, who clear instances to earn points, and don’t have any side jobs, are ordinary players. But they are different. They usually clear instances only because the system requires it. After clearing an instance, in the days on the Transit Island, they run side jobs. Because the things they sell are closely related to life, they are called life players.”

“Like these things you see in the shopping mall, they are all handmade by real people, not exchanged from the system. Of course, not everyone has these skills. Therefore, they learned the skill books and bought the raw materials before they made these.”

“In fact, there were not many life players at the beginning, and the Transit Island was far from being so… vibrant. It was when the leader of Blue Flower established the organization and gathered them all together that this series of facilities and things on the Transit Island slowly began to operate and have order.”

Jiang Yu roughly understood.

“Then… why doesn’t anyone cause trouble here? Is it just because they don’t dare to offend the fifth-ranked organization?”

It didn’t feel like something that people who had experienced instances in the World of Strength would do.

And causing trouble was not the same as killing each other. There would always be some people who didn’t like it and liked to cause trouble, right?

Qiao Zhishan said, “Although we ordinary players can’t use force on the Transit Island, Blue Flower is different. It is said that this permission was applied for by the leader of Blue Flower from the app system.”

“Anyone who has joined Blue Flower has the right to use force. But, with power, there are definitely restrictions. Although I’m not sure what the restrictions are, I can be sure that although they can use force, those with these permissions will not harm the innocent.”

Jiang Yu nodded slightly and understood. “But if they buy things and do business in the shopping mall, they can only get gold coins, right?”

Qiao Zhishan said with a smile, “The people of Blue Flower can exchange gold coins for points at a certain ratio.”

“…”

Players use points to exchange for gold coins to buy things. The sellers who receive the gold coins then exchange the gold coins for points at a certain ratio. In that case, the buyers don’t seem to be at too much of a loss. It’s not clear if the sellers are at a loss because they don’t know the cost, but the system that is responsible for the exchange is definitely making a profit.

It was a strange feeling. It was like a middleman making a profit.

Jiang Yu was thoughtful as she followed Qiao Zhishan around the shopping mall.

She had never heard of the fifth organization or life players before.

It wasn’t that this information was not allowed to be spread, but that it seemed to have become something that all the old players knew and had tacitly agreed on. Therefore, there were not many who specifically made it a popular science, and there were very few discussions on the forums, so Jiang Yu had not seen it.

Although life players accounted for a part of the population, to be honest, the matter of having to enter an instance at a fixed time was weighing on their minds. Very few people would really enjoy life in the World of Strength.

More often than not, they were forced to find some activities that could be used as fun.

Perhaps it was thrilling and exciting here, and there was a big difference, but when this difference was based on life safety, the attraction was not that great.

But if you did nothing and just waited for the instance to come every day, would you one day drive yourself crazy?

Jiang Yu looked at the various things here.

Should she… also learn more about life players?

Qiao Zhishan looked at her. “Jiang Jiang, what are you thinking about?”

Jiang Yu came to her senses and briefly told her what she had been thinking just now.

Qiao Zhishan: “Oh, you want to be a life player?”

“Not really. I just suddenly had an idea.”

Qiao Zhishan thought for a moment. “Actually, I don’t really recommend you to have a side job at this time.”

Qiao Zhishan said, “Look, skill books and raw materials all need to be exchanged for gold coins with points and then bought. But after the things are made, they may not be able to be sold immediately, so there may not be a profit in a short time. But you are still a newcomer now, and you need points. If you spend points and don’t get a return, it’s not good for you.”

Jiang Yu nodded and did not refute.

Qiao Zhishan: “And most importantly, if you become a life player, then if you want to make it big in the future, you will definitely have to join Blue Flower. Wuwuwu, I don’t want Jiang Jiang to go.”

Facing the suddenly coquettish Qiao Zhishan, Jiang Yu paused for a moment. She had probably not expected her to say such a thing.

Jiang Yu had thought that she was just a newcomer, and she had not spent much time with Qiao Zhishan, nor did she have a life-and-death friendship. For the other party to be so reluctant to part with her was something she had not expected.

Jiang Yu lowered her gaze. “I just suddenly had this idea. I don’t plan to implement it.”

It was hard enough for her to survive and fulfill her wish now. She had no time to develop a side job.

Qiao Zhishan blinked. “Really?”

Jiang Yu nodded.

So, Qiao Zhishan happily held her arm again. “Yay, Jiang Jiang is not leaving. Don’t worry. Although you can’t be a life player now, but I can help you buy a lot of things! Hehe.”

Jiang Yu helplessly followed her into the shopping mall.

Although she could not quite understand why Qiao Zhishan was so good to her, after a moment’s hesitation, she ultimately did not choose to ask.

When the two of them returned to the villa after shopping, it was already evening.

Jiang Yu glanced at it. On the first floor were Tang Ningning and Xu Chu, but Zhong Yu was still nowhere to be seen.

Although she and Zhong Yu had contacted each other by phone, she seemed not to have seen the other party come downstairs for several days.

Her injury… is it that serious?

Perhaps because Xu Chu was more of a housekeeper, no, more of an organizer and leader among these people, Jiang Yu felt that she should know many things. Therefore, when she saw Xu Chu, Jiang Yu asked, “Hello, have you seen Zhong Yu?”

Hearing the name Zhong Yu, Xu Chu raised an eyebrow slightly. She did not answer immediately. Instead, she asked Jiang Yu, “Why do you ask that?”

Jiang Yu said, “She said she was recovering from her injuries, but I haven’t seen her for so long. I’m a little worried if her injuries are very serious.”

Xu Chu was thoughtful. “You’re so worried about Zhong Yu?”

Jiang Yu frowned in confusion. “Of course.”

It’s just caring about a friend’s injuries. Why is Xu Chu asking so strangely?

Jiang Yu paused for a moment and could not help but ask, “Aren’t you worried?”