On the side of the counter, the wall covered in old stains suddenly rippled like the surface of a pond.
The light there twisted and converged, eventually forming an oval portal about a person's height that emitted a soft, white glow.
Su Rui was startled and instinctively assumed a defensive stance: "Boss, what is this...?"
The monster merchant also realized that something new had appeared. It abruptly pulled the fan away from its face and looked at the portal of light with suspicion, then back at Cheng Shuili. It was clear that even it had never seen such a thing.
Cheng Shuili was seeing it for the first time as well, but fortunately, she knew the origin of this thing.
Amidst the surprised gazes of the monster and Su Rui, Cheng Shuili stepped forward without hesitation and entered the portal.
The oval portal of light sent out a few ripples. After her figure disappeared, the ripple-like waves slowly smoothed out, leaving only a wall that had returned to normal, as if everything that had just happened were merely an illusion.
Su Rui widened her eyes and looked at the monster merchant huddled behind the counter in disbelief.
The monster merchant was equally astonished, its chin dropping to a degree that made Su Rui suspect it would dislocate, and in fact, that was exactly what happened.
With a "clatter," the monster merchant's chin actually fell onto the counter, making a crisp sound.
It scrambled to grab its chin and haphazardly pressed it back into place before staring at Su Rui with empty eye sockets and asking: "Where, where, where... where did she go?"
Su Rui hadn't expected that this monster merchant, who claimed to know everything, would have a day where it would ask her questions.
Moreover, the grudge of becoming a slave was irreconcilable; it would be strange if Su Rui answered it.
She snorted coldly and leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.
No matter what Cheng Shuili went to do, she had entered from here, so Su Rui could just wait in peace.
Seeing her attitude, the monster merchant was initially a bit angry, but thinking of the last experience, it didn't dare to ask more. It just curled itself tighter, glancing at the wall that had returned to normal from time to time, and raised a hand to scratch its hairless head.
It was truly baffled. It had lived here for so long and didn't even know there was a door here, yet these two humans, who had only been here twice, actually knew.
It was truly bizarre.
The area outside the door returned to silence, while the inside of the door could be described as bustling.
This was not the cold data space Cheng Shuili had imagined, but a warm and cozy scene.
Several furry balls of light were huddled together, staring at a floating light screen and chattering.
"What's the situation here? 293, why didn't you report this proactively?"
"Wasn't that previous bug big enough? Humans have already seen our joke once. The commander-in-chief previously set dozens of rules, and now there is only one left: do not lose face in front of humans!"
"Then why don't you lower your voice? Don't forget we are on duty now! If a human really came in, wouldn't we be losing face?"
The furry ball of light that spoke first seemed quite dissatisfied with this remark. It turned around, wanting to jump up and give this guy who kept talking back a hit.
But as soon as it turned around, it met Cheng Shuili's calm, waveless gaze.
The ball of light: "!!!"
It froze instantly, and the light on its body solidified.
The several balls of light next to it also seemed to have been pressed on a pause button, huddled together, motionless.
Cheng Shuili looked at these furry balls that clearly didn't look like a "regular system" and raised her eyebrows slightly.
So, behind the so-called system interface, this group of... things was managing it?
After a stalemate of a few seconds, the ball of light that turned around first reacted abruptly. The light on its body flickered violently, and it forcibly spoke in the electronic voice that players often heard:
【Warning. Unauthorized access detected. Verifying permissions...】
A slightly smaller ball of light next to it seemed to think this was stupid and whispered a reminder: "She is holding the Legendary Construction Voucher, she has permission..."
Cheng Shuili's gaze moved back to the ball of light that had spoken, and she even felt a bit embarrassed for this guy.
【...Permission verification passed.】
The ball of light finished speaking with a stiff upper lip, its electronic voice almost breaking.
【Player Angry Crow Takes Flight, human Cheng Shuili, welcome to the Rule Service interface!】
It tried hard to maintain a serious posture, but the slightly trembling halo exposed its nervousness.
Cheng Shuili looked at the few furry balls of light in front of her that were trying hard to pretend to be serious and professional, yet could not hide their panic. She found it somewhat amusing, but her face still maintained a calm expression.
She shook the Legendary Construction Voucher in her hand slightly and asked directly: "I want to know the detailed information about the novice safe zone protection service."
The balls of light seemed to heave a sigh of relief and relaxed quite a bit.
The ball of light that spoke initially seemed to be the leader of these few. It cleared its non-existent throat and answered with a stabilized electronic voice:
【Service Name: Novice Safe Zone Absolute Protection Barrier.】
【Service Effect: Provides 30 natural days of absolute protection for a player safe zone established using a specific credential. During the protection period, the safe zone is immune to any declaration of war, invasion, reconnaissance, and malicious interference at the rule level by external forces.】
【Service Price: 1,000,000 game coins.】
【Purchase Conditions: Must be purchased and activated before the safe zone is officially established or within 24 hours after establishment. The fee must be paid in full at once.】
Although she had been mentally prepared, seeing the system give this price so formally, Cheng Shuili's heart still sank.
It really wasn't that easy to gain a foothold.
"If... I cannot pay the full amount at once, is there a possibility of installments or loans?" Cheng Shuili asked tentatively.
She thought of her 500,000 debt; one doesn't worry when the debt is high. If she could trade for precious development time with a loan, it might not be a bad deal.
【Refused.】 The electronic voice of the ball of light was emotionless, 【Rule services are not offered on credit.】
Another small ball of light whispered an explanation on the side: "This is set by the underlying rules, we can't change it... and, this is already a discounted price!"
Discounted price?
One million game coins is still a discounted price?
Cheng Shuili raised her eyebrows and looked at the small ball of light.
The leading ball of light seemed to glare at its talkative companion, then turned to Cheng Shuili, its tone carrying a kind of formulaic pride:
【The Novice Safe Zone Absolute Protection Barrier is the greatest kindness and investment the system bestows upon potential players, and its value far exceeds what can be measured by currency alone. Please evaluate your own abilities and opportunities cautiously.】
The subtext was obvious: not being able to afford it is your problem, not the price's problem.
Cheng Shuili was silent for a moment.
She knew that bargaining here was meaningless; the system's rules were cold and absolute.
But since she was already here, Cheng Shuili didn't plan to leave just like that. "What services do you have here? Can you show them to me?"
Since the balls of light were in the business of serving, they naturally had no reason to refuse when a customer wanted to see.
The few small balls of light busied themselves for a long time before finally lighting up the glow on the leading ball of light.
A semi-transparent list interface immediately unfolded in front of Cheng Shuili.
The items on the list were numerous, and the text was in a language of an unknown race, but just like in the dungeons, these things were automatically translated into her native language.
【Rule Service List (Partial preview, insufficient permission to display all)】
【Novice Safe Zone Absolute Protection Barrier: Price 1,000,000 game coins/30 days.
Safe zone prestige initial value increase: Price 30,000 game coins/100 points.
Recruitment of special talent guidance beacon (random): Price 20,000 game coins/time.
Defense facility reinforcement module (basic): Price 15,000 game coins/set.
Information shielding field (anti-reconnaissance): Price 40,000 game coins/month.
One-way trade preferential agreement (designated faction): Price starts from 100,000 game coins (requires recognition from the other party).
......】
The list was long, with dozens of items, covering almost every aspect of safe zone construction from defense and talent to diplomacy and information warfare.
The prices were also dazzling, with almost none below five digits.
Cheng Shuili browsed quickly, secretly clicking her tongue in her heart.
This was not a service list at all; this was clearly a money pit!
Every item looked very useful, but every single one was expensive.
"These services... if I purchase them after the safe zone is established, is that also okay?" Cheng Shuili asked, pointing to the last few items.
【Yes.】 The leading ball of light answered, 【But some services, such as rule template customization and initial prestige increase, have the best effect and highest cost-performance ratio when purchased at the initial stage of safe zone establishment.】
Another ball of light whispered: "Just like when you humans play games and brush for an initial account..."
Cheng Shuili: "......"
She suddenly felt that this group of light balls was a bit too grounded.
The mysterious and majestic veil of the system had almost shattered in front of these few furry customer service representatives.
She took a deep breath and pulled her attention back to the main topic.
Although the services on the list were good, they almost all pointed to one thing—game coins.
Without game coins, she couldn't buy anything.
Thinking of this, Cheng Shuili asked again: "Besides game coins, do you accept barter?"
The light on the leading ball of light flickered rhythmically, as if it were retrieving information, and then answered with an electronic voice:
【Not accepted! Rule services only accept game coins as the sole means of payment!】
Fine, it was still a store that only recognized game coins.
Cheng Shuili felt a bit helpless. Finally, she took one last lingering look at the dazzling yet unreachable list and turned around decisively.
Since she already understood the situation, there was no need to waste time.
"Understood, thank you."
She didn't talk any more nonsense and walked straight toward the portal of light. Her figure merged into the light and disappeared within it.
After she left, the space inside the light portal was once again filled with the chattering of the balls of light.
"She's gone, she's gone!"
"That was close, was she trying to haggle just now?"
"293, your refusal just now was so stiff! What if she complains about our service attitude?"
"Shut up! Not to mention that we are acting according to the rules, what could be wrong? Can players even find the complaint page? Hurry up and do your work, quickly put away the interface!"
"Next time before duty, I must apply to load the silence-is-gold module..."
......
Outside the light portal, Cheng Shuili's figure reappeared.
Su Rui immediately stood straight and looked over nervously.
The monster merchant behind the counter also secretly pricked up its ears, clearly harboring thoughts of snooping.
But Cheng Shuili didn't have time to care about them.
When she entered, she didn't even feel like she was passing through a channel, but when she just came out, it felt like she had stepped into outer space. The intense sense of weightlessness and spatial confusion almost grabbed her instantly!
And just when Cheng Shuili thought something terrible was going to happen, the door spat her out like it was spitting out trash.
That feeling came and went quickly, but for those who had experienced it, it was truly too long.
"Just now... what was that situation?"
Cheng Shuili still had some lingering fears and couldn't help but look back at the light portal, whispering to herself.
"Boss? What's wrong?" Su Rui approached with concern, scanning the surroundings vigilantly, thinking that some monster had appeared inside the light portal.
Cheng Shuili quickly collected her thoughts, just about to shake her head, when she heard the reminder from 001.
【Boss, you just completed a huge transaction, you need to confirm it.】
The eyebrows that had just relaxed furrowed again because of this sentence. She asked back almost instinctively: "What?"
Although 001's main body was on the vehicle, as could be seen from the last time it unlocked the door, this guy essentially followed Cheng Shuili.
It was also because of this that Cheng Shuili was not surprised that 001 knew what she had bought.
But the problem was......
She didn't buy anything!
Just as Cheng Shuili was stunned, a... no, a series of pages popped up automatically in front of her!
A line of striking text came into view:
【Transaction completed: Purchased Novice Safe Zone Absolute Protection Barrier service, deducted 1,000,000 game coins.】
Cheng Shuili's pupils contracted suddenly.
The pages in front of her were still flashing frantically, and notification information surged out like a bursting levee. Dozens of identical deduction records were brushed past every second!
The balance of her game coins was plummeting at an unprecedented speed, instantly breaking through negative one million, negative two million, negative three million......
And it was still falling continuously, soon breaking through eight digits, although it was negative.
However, what was most important now was not how much money she owed, but what the situation was right now?!
Forced buying and selling shouldn't be done like this!
Cheng Shuili didn't react at first, but now, seeing the balance on the account about to break through nine digits, a trace of determination flashed in her eyes.
It could indeed be that a bug had occurred again.
But the amount this time was so huge, the system would definitely handle it, right?
She couldn't hesitate anymore!
No matter what the situation was with this crazy deduction, she had now indeed been deducted an astronomical number of game coins. According to the rules, she should have already obtained that million-value "Novice Safe Zone Absolute Protection Barrier" service!
If she didn't create the safe zone now, was she going to wait for the system to discover the problem and create it after the "wrong" transaction was retrieved?
Opportunities must be seized, they will not come again!
She stopped paying attention to the deduction notifications that were still frantically refreshing, took a deep breath, and took out the golden Legendary Construction Voucher.
After selecting the territory of Black Feather, she pressed to use it.
"Hum!"
An invisible wave centered on Cheng Shuili suddenly spread out in all directions!
The space of the entire gas station seemed to freeze for a moment, and even the constantly refreshing system notifications showed a brief stutter.
That Legendary Construction Voucher turned into countless flowing golden runes in her hand, rotating around her, and finally converged into a golden pillar of light that penetrated the sky, enveloping her within it.
Rate on N.U.
