Chapter 7  : Penalty of Death

“Have you heard? That streamer ‘Miss Panda’ has applied for funding from the Confederation Office to get a team of experts to help her develop her in-game…”

Two female players sat next to Ji Ye’s table with their food. One of them had a rather envious look.

“She’s from a provincial city, right? That’s a bigger city than ours. I heard that the capital, Yan City, has gathered many senior academicians to provide comprehensive guidance to those who passed the trial…”

“Those guys passed their trials and got some kind of talent, unlike us…”

The speaker sipped her lemon juice and she spoke with a jealous tone.

Sitting there meant that they were masters of their respective fields of expertise. Therefore, no one would believe that they were inferior to others in the trial. They believed that they lacked luck.

But the difference in their futures was starting to show!

“Brother Zhu, you must have gotten a Perfect Talent Skill, right?”

Upon hearing the topic of ‘talent’, Hou Qian’s eyes lit up as he looked at Fatty Zhu with anticipation.

“Ahem. No, unfortunately. It’s only a Superior one. It’s not that easy to get a Perfect!”

Fatty Zhu awkwardly coughed and shook his head with a sigh.

According to the “experts” on the forum, the rank of a rewarded Talent Skill was also the final score for that player, once they completed the trial.

As a gaming expert, Zhu Mo’s greatest pursuit was “Perfect.” However, the difficulty of his mission proved it to be impossible.

He had spent most of his life living in a safe environment on Earth. To be suddenly thrown to a foreign world full of deadly monsters left him shocked and flustered, much less know if he could return. How could he make a perfect decision every single time without making any mistakes?

The analysis on the forums still believed that obtaining a “Perfect” talent in the trial did not necessarily mean that everything needed to be flawless. They believed that it was only necessary to achieve the best in a certain aspect.

However, this was undoubtedly an extremely difficult task!

“That’s especially because we didn’t know whether death in the Land of Inheritance meant real death. When everyone faced problems in the trial, they only prioritized their lives and did not dare to take any risks…”

“Otherwise, I am actually confident that I could achieve perfection in a certain aspect.”

Fatty Zhu tipped his neck and emptied a large can of beer. However, he looked at Ji Ye’s reaction from the corner of his eyes.

Ji Ye’s expression was as calm as before when he heard his words.

Fatty Zhu’s eyes widened.

He judged that Ji Ye had at least obtained a Superior talent like him.

In fact, it might even be a ‘Perfect’ talent that was almost impossible to achieve.

He didn’t say much, but his appearance made many female players secretly peek at their neighbors. He seemed to be unfathomable!

However, he actually didn’t say anything, although his talent was indeed only at the ‘Superior’ level.

However, there was still the word “Rare” behind his Talent Skill. He felt that it should not be inferior to a Perfect talent!

“That’s right, we had no idea that we wouldn’t really die. It was too unfair for us from the first batch!”

Hou Qian nodded his head vigorously. He obviously agreed with Fatty Zhu.

It was unfair for the first batch of people who entered the Land of Inheritance to participate in the trial when information was scarce!

Unbeknown to the first batch, the Land of Inheritance had already compensated them for such a disadvantage. The Talent Skills they had earned in the end were automatically of a higher rank than what their performance deserved.

For the testers who passed, the worst talent they earned was Refined. And Superior (Rare) actually meant Excellent (Rare).

From here and on, later batches would have to rely on their luck to get good Inheritance talents.

“Dying comes with a pretty bad price, though!”

Frustrated, Hou Qian dismembered the large mitten crab on his plate with a fork as if he were picking a lock.

While it was true that “death” in the Land of Inheritance had nothing to do with actual death, those who had recently died would receive an “hourglass” in their minds. They were forbidden from “logging in” again before the timer ended.

What was more, the following attempts would always send them to the most cruel wilderness. They would not be afforded started items like Healing Jade Pendant or Communication Helmet.

Under such circumstances, it was entirely possible to imagine that this batch of people would die very soon after reentry.

After returning to Earth, they realized that the countdown of the hourglass in their minds would prolong by about ten times.

Clearly, with each death, the time needed to log in was increased by ten times!

“After knowing that I will spawn in the wilderness with the highest mortality rate upon logging in again, I haven’t logged in for the past few days.”

“I was thinking of waiting until the second batch of candidates are chosen. With the rules of the Land of Inheritance akin to a game, there might be options that are similar to partying up.”

“Brother Zhu, do you think it’s possible that when the time comes, the spawning point will be determined based on the relationship between the people in reality?”

Hou Qian looked at Fatty Zhu with anticipation and excitement.

“Maybe…”

Fatty Zhu wanted to say no, but didn’t wish to disappoint Hou Qian.

Indeed, to die-hard fans, whatever their idol said was right.

“By the way, Brother Ji, what kind of trial did you encounter?”

Hou Qian, who had been talking to Fatty Zhu for a long time, finally turned to look at Ji Ye.

“Man vs. Wild!”

Ji Ye forked some barbequed steak into his mouth. His tone was very calm.

“Man vs. Wild. Wow. That sounds even more miserable than mine. It’s like…”

“Wait a minute, Brother Ji… In other words, you completed the trial by surviving for more than a month in the wilderness?”

The skinny Hou Qian’s eyes widened as he looked at Ji Ye like he was looking at a monster.

“Something’s happening!”

Before the equally shocked Fatty Zhu could say anything, a gamer in the canteen suddenly shouted.

“Guys! Someone on the forum announced that those still in the trial have received a new mission. It will lead us to a gathering base for all the human players, as well as clues regarding the second batch of players!”

Ji Ye and Fatty Zhu looked at each other before putting down their trays and quickly getting up.