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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nA Scout, a Gunner, two Energy Manipulators, two Heavy Armor Warriors, and a Light Armor Warrior, as well as a Doctor. These were eight members of the ten-member party Mu Wu had assigned to him. When he was led by Mu Zi to the meeting spot, there was still one player who hadn’t entered the party channel yet.

nAmong the eight players, there were four female players, dividing the team equally between men and women. Feng Luo realized that he recognized all of the players in this squad with the exception of a gentle-looking female Doctor who appeared to be in her twenties. Obviously, this was a deliberate arrangement by Mu Wu.

n“Hey, Brother Feng!”

nAs Feng Luo approached them, the first one to greet him with a wide grin was a gigantic man in his forties who weighed more than 250 pounds at about five and a half feet in height. His profession was Light Armor Warrior. However, despite the dark brown set of light armor that he had equipped, each individual component was nearly bursting with rolls of body fat, creating the illusion that it was a set of heavy armor rather than the light armor it was designed to be.

nThis man’s surname was Meng, known to many people as Mr. Meng. In reality, he owned more than a dozen shops in the bustling area near Nightless City, which he had rented out, enabling him to lead a leisurely life of collecting rent.

n“Brother Feng!”

nClinging to Mr. Meng was an attractive female player who was wearing an energy robe that signified her profession as a Wind Energy Manipulator. She too smiled widely as she greeted Feng Luo. She was an employee of Nightless City, her ID stating that her player name was “Orange.”

nShe was not some kind of “special worker.” In reality, although Nightless City did not prohibit that certain kind of transaction, they did require that their permanent employees refrain from getting involved in such activities. This woman was known to be “Fatty” Meng’s lover, and a very favored one at that.

n“Ah, Manager Feng!”

nStanding on the other side of Mr. Meng was a skinny guy who was barely 1.65 meters tall. With a weight of around 100 pounds, he was the absolute opposite of Mr. Meng. His surname was Jiao, and as he had founded a meat processing plant. People had taken to addressing him as Chairman Jiao. He had draped himself in a flowing earth-yellow energy robe, indicating his profession of Earth Energy Manipulator.

nHe also had a female companion at his side. She had a tall stature and carried herself with a confident, assured air. She was a Heavy Armor Warrior. Golden bronze skin peeked out of the gaps between her armor, and her entire person exuded a vibrant energy.

n“Hi, Brother Feng!”

nThis female player was also a Nightless City employee, employed as a professional fitness trainer at the fifth-floor gym. She knew Feng Luo fairly well.

nMr. Meng and Chairman Jiao may have differed dramatically in size, but nevertheless, they were best friends. They were even known by a phrase that served as a sort of nickname for the two of them: “Jiao doesn’t leave Meng.” These two frequented the fifth-floor gym and the second-floor bar at Nightless City, which happened to be Feng Luo’s usual haunts. That was how they had gotten acquainted with each other after bumping into each other several times.

n“Little Feng, so you’re joining our party as well!”

nThe fourth person to speak had an extraordinary status, as could be inferred from how he addressed Feng Luo. He was also a Heavy Armor Warrior around age 40 like Mr. Meng and Chairman Jiao. This person was known as Chairman Qian, a diamond-level VIP customer of Nightless City. Feng Luo had no clue as to the extent of his assets or properties. His game ID was also very intriguing, calling himself “Lots of Money.”

nHowever, contradicting Chairman Qian’s ID was the fact that his equipment wasn’t very good. It was just slightly better than that of normal players. Additionally, at Level 43, he also had one of the lowest levels among them all except for Feng Luo.

nCompared to him, the equipment of the last member of the group—a Machine Gunner—appeared pricelessly luxurious. The Gunner weighed around 45 kilograms, the rare eight-barreled railgun nicknamed “Death Ripper” was placed innocuously next to this player’s feet, and attached to a wide tactical belt was a golden IMI Desert Eagle. It was the same model and make as the one Feng Luo had except with a larger caliber, as well as a kukri blade.

nThe combat suit this player wore was also fairly extraordinary. If Feng Luo was not mistaken, it ought to have been installed with a smart control microchip that enabled automatic regulation of body temperature and chameleon-like camouflage, lowering the possibility of detection. It was also made up of multiple layers of bulletproof material. Thus, its protection was even comparable to some light armor SUV-bulletproof bodysuits.

nBesides that, she was at Level 48, the highest among all of them. Yes—this player was a “she”! Not a he!

nThis exceptionally high-level player, who possessed premium equipment comparable to that of Red Queen—equipped with the extremely violent machine gun known as the Death Ripper, capable of explosive firepower—appeared to be a female player in her late twenties.

n“Little Feng, why haven’t you visited the PVP arena recently? I have not found a decent sparring partner for a quite a while. Last time I dragged Mu Zi to spar, he couldn’t even last for one minute. No fun at all!”

nAs Feng Luo came over, she removed her helmet, revealing a head of short blond hair, clear blue eyes, and an easy smile.

nStanding next to Feng Luo, the Scout Mu Zi lowered his head as he heard what she said, as if remembering a terrifying experience.

n“I’d definitely play with Sister Rui if there was a chance!” Feng Luo said with a smile.

nThis woman was also a diamond-class VIP customer, and despite what her youthful appearance might have suggested, her actual age was somewhere in the thirties. Of course, the people of the Star Federation had an average lifespan of over 110 years, which made over 30 seem fairly young. In fact, even the one who looked the oldest among them, Chairman Jiao, had an appearance resembling a 30-something Earth dweller. The development of technology had undoubtedly benefited people most in terms of lifespan.

n“Fatty” Mr. Meng seemed very happy to see Feng Luo, but when he noticed Feng Luo’s level on the party channel, he spoke his mind. “By the way, Brother Feng, you’re a little low in level, aren’t you? I, as your brother, have already reached Level 46. Do you need me to set aside some time to assist you?”

n“No doubt, I can’t measure up to Mr. Meng in gaming ability,” Feng Luo complimented jokingly.

n“Tsk, tsk, Brother Feng. That’s nice to hear. To be honest, your Brother Meng grew up playing virtual reality games. No matter what game it is, I’ll definitely be one of the top players. If you don’t believe it, you can ask Lao Jiao. When he’s defeated, I’m the one who will lead the rescue team to help him find his way back.”

nSkinny Chairman Jiao raised his head as he replied with a face of derision, “Come on, Lao Meng. What kind of sh*tty expert are you? If it weren’t for me covering for you every time, you would have been destroyed by your opponents during PK.”

n“Wow!” replied Mr. Meng. “Would a certain someone surnamed Jiao please speak based on your conscience…?”

n“What do you mean I don’t speak based on conscience? I’ve only spoken the truth!”

n“You scumbag! How about we have a duel to verify that!”

n“Why not? Come at me!”

nSeeing that the two of them were about to start quarreling, Feng Luo deliberately changed the subject. “So, virtual reality games already existed during your childhood? I didn’t know that.”

n“Virtual reality games had been around for a long time. At least hundreds of years,” Mr. Meng said that with a tinge of wistfulness. “It’s just that none of those games was 100 percent realistic like War, and their NPCs were also a lot less intuitive and intelligent. Therefore, it was nearly impossible for them to gain the support of the federal government to promote them. Currently, most of these games have become so unpopular that they had to shut down their servers, including classics that had been around for decades.”

nChairman Jiao nodded in agreement. “Indeed, this game’s playstyle may not be as unique as some older games, and the weapons and technology featured here are somewhat outdated. But in terms of how real it feels, it would absolutely annihilate its competitors. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have attracted so many players to play it. In fact, in the process of playing, I occasionally question if this game was truly made with human technology!”

n“So you think there is some involvement by intelligence from outer space?” Mr. Meng scoffed immediately. “The problem with your theory is, even after many years, we are still unable to discover any civilizations sophisticated enough to be on par with humanity, let alone to surpass it.”

n“The universe seems endless! There is a 100-percent chance that a more advanced civilization exists…”

nThe dispute between the two was resumed once again. Feng Luo wisely did not pay attention to them this time, instead turning to the female Gunner next to him who was maintaining her firearms.

n“Oh yeah,” he said. “Sister Rui, who’s the missing member? Why isn’t he or she here yet?”

n“Hi everyone, sorry for being late!”

nJust as Feng Luo finished asking his question, a tall, long-legged beauty in a red energy robe with white accents walked over and smiled at him. “Hi, Brother Feng!” she said.

n“Little Witch?”

nFeng Luo had never imagined that the last member would be Little Witch. It seemed that Mu Wu had high hopes for her, going so far as to assign her to this team.

n“This is my classmate, Little Snow,” she said.

nThe identity of the last member, the Doctor, had finally been revealed. Little Witch linked arms with the female Doctor and introduced her to them with a warm smile.

n“Hi, guys!” said the Doctor with the player ID “Little Snow.” She seemed very shy. Presumably, the presence of several heavy hitters on the team had stressed her out a bit.

nMr. Meng’s chubby face was slack with surprise. “Classmate? Little Witch, the two of you are still students?”

n“We are Business Management students at First Business School!” Little Witch replied with a smile. “We have already completed the free courses, so we are currently working part-time while studying.”

nThe Star Federation’s education system was a combination of free and paid education. Every citizen could enjoy free education for up to 15 years, and after that limit, any extra education had to be paid for out of their own pocket. There was no age restriction for students, so even if someone was 70 to 80 years old, it was still possible to enter school for further studies. Other than that, there was no strict time limit, so students could spend time in the virtual pod before attending classes as long as they could pass their academic certification. This was the era of free learning.

n“Hey, the mecha is here!”

nMu Zi’s voice attracted everyone’s attention. Three six-meter-tall units of Level-45 C-45 Bear-type Mechas, famous for their impenetrable defense, were loaded on a large energy vehicle that was slowly pulling over in front of the ruins. The 50mm autocannon on the mecha’s back and the miniature missiles in the side-mounted missile launchers glinted in the rays of the awakening sun.

nThe arrival of the mecha also signified the end of the preparation for today’s mission.

nThe mission is about to commence.

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