Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
Time-Space Merchant Life
墨書 Inktalez
Bai Tang stared at the translucent dialogue box floating in mid-air, unable to speak for a long time. Had she crossed over, or was she brought into the game?!
Bai Tang understood her current situation, but she didn't want to accept it at all; she didn't want to cross over! What would happen to her parents? Who would take care of them?
Born in the late 1980s, during the implementation of family planning policies, the Bai Family had only one child: her. Bai Dad and Bai Mom doted on their daughter immensely. When Bai Tang was just one year old, Bai Mom became pregnant again, and it seemed like it was going to be a boy. Grandma Bai took Bai Tang back to their hometown to raise her, allowing Bai Mom to give birth to the child. However, Bai Mom and Bai Dad refused; Bai Mom terminated the pregnancy and devoted herself entirely to raising their daughter. After learning about this, Bai Tang felt both touched and pressured, vowing to honor her parents well in the future.
Bai Tang had always been a very obedient child. Although she loved to play a bit, her studies were good, and she smoothly entered university and graduated to work. After five years working in a coastal city, Bai Tang resigned from her job, citing the reason that she wanted to return home to accompany her parents. Although Bai Tang was quite capable, her reason for resigning was so compelling that with just one phrase—"The tree wishes for calm but the wind does not cease; the child wishes to care for their parents but they do not wait"—her boss had no choice but to sign off on her resignation.
After resigning, Bai Tang did not immediately return to her parents' city. Instead, she bought a large amount of snacks and piled them up in her rented room, deciding not to go out for a month and live a decadent life of eating and sleeping whenever she felt like it. The past five years had really worn her down; she was inherently a lazy person who had to work hard just to support herself. The office politics made her want to quit many times. Now that she had finally shed those burdens, why shouldn't she take it easy?
Today, as Bai Tang just opened her computer and logged into the online game she was playing, an unscientific meteor crashed through the window of her rented room and hit her on the head. Then everything went black; when she regained consciousness, she found herself in a forest.
"The map function is activated. Confirmed: Forest outside the South Gate of Yangzhou."
A mechanical voice echoed as a translucent map interface appeared before Bai Tang's eyes. A flashing blue dot represented herself, while several green dots nearby represented NPCs; there were no red dots indicating monsters.
Bai Tang touched the rough trunk of a tree beside her; it felt coarse. She stomped her foot on the ground and felt its hardness—she finally confirmed that she wasn't dreaming! She had truly crossed over and had done so with a game system!
Game system? Bai Tang's expression suddenly changed drastically as she quickly reached for her chest. Thankfully, although it was a bit flat, it was still there; then she touched below her abdomen and breathed a sigh of relief—she was playing as a male character in the game! Luckily, the game system hadn't turned her into a shemale!
"Control panel!" Bai Tang silently thought, and sure enough, the map disappeared while the control panel appeared in front of her.
Inventory, attributes, skills... Bai Tang clicked through each one. The inventory contained thirty-six slots provided by the system; most items were potions for health recovery and mana restoration, along with some status-clearing items. The warehouse was also accessible; so was the shop, although this shop only sold health and mana potions.
Opening the skills tab revealed all the skills she'd learned; although some were grayed out, many were still usable.
When she clicked on the attributes tab, what caught her eye was Bai Tang's game avatar—both the equipment and hairstyle matched perfectly with her game character: dressed in a festive blue silk robe with an exquisite jade pendant hanging at her waist and holding a folding fan made of white jade bones. She looked like a graceful young gentleman—thankfully, her face and body still resembled Bai Tang herself. As for the other attribute values, after taking a glance, she didn't look again; honestly, as a liberal arts student, she wasn't sensitive to numbers at all. In-game attribute increases relied entirely on help from online resources.
Her level was decent—level sixty-five—while the maximum level was one hundred twenty. If she wanted to level up further, it would be quite a long road ahead. She wondered what kind of world this place was; whether it was safe or dangerous. If it were a martial arts world, this level might barely qualify as an elite expert; but if it were a high-risk cultivation world, then level forty-five would be utterly insufficient.
The most important thing right now is to find the local indigenous people and ask them about the general situation of this world, then plan the next steps. Bai Tang came out from the gang's base—this base is incredibly useful, equivalent to a portable space where one can hide in case of danger. However, the gang base has its limitations; only members of this gang can enter. Currently, there is only one name on the gang member list: Bai Tang. The button to recruit new members is greyed out, meaning that for now and in the future, the Zhongdu gang will only have Bai Tang as its sole member. Others wishing to enter the gang base can only do so as guests, but their time is limited to five minutes. Once the time is up, they will be automatically ejected from the gang base—Bai Tang opened the map and rushed towards the direction of those dozen NPCs.
A dozen green dots were moving in one direction; judging by their speed, they were not walking but likely using some form of transportation. However, no mode of transport could match the speed granted to players by the game. Bai Tang activated her Lightness Skill; even the speed of a Boeing aircraft couldn't compare to hers—she remembered that she was playing a cultivation game, and besides Lightness Skill, she could also fly with a sword. However, without understanding her surroundings, Bai Tang chose to act discreetly.
Soon, Bai Tang spotted the NPCs. A few people were riding horses, and there were two carriages that seemed to belong to a wealthy family going out. Just as Bai Tang was thinking of how to strike up a conversation with the man at the front who had an unusual presence, an unexpected event occurred: one of the luxurious carriages suddenly had its axle break, causing the people inside to tumble out.
"Madam!" The most imposing man shouted as he turned his horse around to save his wife, but it was too late; he watched helplessly as the woman was about to fall to the ground when a white figure sprang out from the side, catching her back and alleviating her fall so that she stood steadily on her feet.
"Madam!" The man jumped off his horse and rushed over, followed by maids from both carriages.
Bai Tang took a step back and released her hold on the woman’s back; she remembered she was disguised as a man.
"Master!" The woman called out in panic as she fell into the man's embrace and began to cry softly.
The man quickly comforted her and once her emotions calmed down a bit, he handed her over to the surrounding maids and turned to Bai Tang with a bow of gratitude: "Thank you, young sir, for saving my wife!"
Bai Tang returned the gesture in a manner similar to his: "It was just a small effort; no need for thanks!"
"I am Lin Hai; may I ask your esteemed name?"
"Lin Hai? Lin Ruhai?" The man's name reminded her of a certain minor character from Dream of the Red Chamber. While crossing over, she had been playing games while revisiting the plot of Dream of the Red Chamber, wanting to write a fan fiction about it.
"I am indeed Lin Ruhai. Do you recognize me?" Lin Ruhai's eyes filled with caution and suspicion. This young man's sudden appearance was too coincidental for him not to be wary. As Salt Patrol Envoy, many wanted to get close to him; even more wanted to infiltrate his circle as spies.
No way! Could it be this coincidental? She actually crossed over into the world of Dream of the Red Chamber.
"I have heard that Yangzhou's Salt Patrol Envoy Lord Lin's courtesy name is Hai; I didn't expect to meet you in person!" Bai Tang said tentatively.
"That's me." Lin Ruhai's acknowledgment confirmed to Bai Tang that she had crossed over into the world of Dream of the Red Chamber, and she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. The world of Dream of the Red Chamber, after all, was quite peaceful. Although there was an emperor, someone like her with a level sixty-five game character would pose no threat. Level sixty-five was equivalent to Master of the Nascent Soul Stage; even if Jinghuan Fairy came knocking, Bai Tang would still have the strength to fight back. Of course, it would be better if she didn't have to face such a formidable native boss!
"My apologies, Lord Lin, I am Bai Tang."
"Young Master Bai must be new to Yangzhou? Are you here for leisure or to find someone?" Lin Ruhai confirmed that Bai Tang was not from Jiangnan; her accent sounded like she came from the capital. Could she be a subordinate of some prince? Lin Ruhai appeared calm on the surface, but inside he felt apprehensive. Ever since he became the Salt Patrol Envoy, several princes had tried to win him over, but as a trusted confidant of the emperor, he naturally rejected their advances. Yet he wondered which prince's scheme this was.
"I am originally from Yangzhou. Over ten years ago, I went north to study, and now I have returned to my hometown at my parents' behest. However, it has been so long since I left home that my memories of Yangzhou have become hazy. I got lost in the woods before even reaching Yangzhou City and heard the sound of hooves approaching, which led me to encounter Lord Lin." Bai Tang fabricated her background and reasons; they wouldn't stand up to scrutiny, but she didn't care. She hadn't planned on staying in Yangzhou for too long.
"In that case, Young Master Bai should accompany us!" Lin Ruhai invited, thinking to himself: Let's see what tricks you have up your sleeve.
"Very well!" In fact, she could have gone alone; her map already displayed the location of Yangzhou City. Bai Tang decided to travel with Lin Ruhai not just for information about this world but also out of curiosity.
Lin Ruhai was cunning; it would be difficult for Bai Tang to extract information from him. However, she asked only common questions that ordinary people would know the answers to. Lin Ruhai wouldn't fabricate lies to deceive her, and soon Bai Tang learned some general information about this world: the dynasty was called Great Shun Dynasty; Prince Yizhong's rebellion had just passed; and Jia Mansion's second wife had given birth to a jade pendant-bearing son...
"Master! Master! It's bad! The lady is bleeding!" A maid pulled back the curtain of the carriage and shouted loudly. Lin Ruhai was startled and quickly rode his horse over to the carriage.
"What happened to the lady?"
Comment 0 Comment Count