Chapter 26: Feeling Tense

“Yin, is this really mine now?” Xiaochui excitedly shook the personal network terminal strapped to her wrist.

“Yes. Since it’s fully immersive, when we log in, we’ll still be in our dormitory at Dexin Academy. After that, you have two options: keep your real-world data or switch to virtual data. If you choose to keep your real information, there’s a network resting area, but I wouldn’t recommend it—it’s easy to expose your real identity. Most people opt for virtual data, which means we’ll randomly appear in beginner villages across different states. From there, you can choose to continue the game or try other entertainments.”

“All virtual? Does that mean my personal info and appearance get reset too?” Xiaochui scratched her head. “But I like my bear body!”

Long Yin smiled. “No need to worry there. You can keep your appearance exactly as you like. In the virtual network, plenty of people love to stand out, and many reset themselves as card beasts. You won’t draw any suspicion.”

Xiaochui rubbed her fists together, clearly eager to try.

“Alright, let’s meet in the Texas beginner village in two hours. Log in!”

“Log in!”

The two personal network terminals flashed red dots, then turned green. One lay on the bed, the other sprawled on the carpet—one human, one beast—both entering the network.

First-time login brought some dizziness, but for Long Yin, with his SS-level mental strength, it didn’t affect him at all. He materialized in the dormitory, which looked identical to reality. He opened his personal interface, saw his real information displayed, especially the true-to-life avatar. Without hesitation, Long Yin hit reset, setting his age to seventeen. If the allowed adjustment hadn’t been capped at a ten-year difference, he would’ve made himself an uncle. The login location didn’t change—Texas it was. Skipping the irrelevant details, he went straight to resetting his personal appearance.

“My skin’s too pale—darken it! Eyebrows too thin—thicken! Eyelashes too long—trim! My gaze is too alluring—glasses, then! Flatten the nose, widen the mouth, lengthen the chin…” After a long while, Long Yin gave up in despair. No matter how he tweaked the damn face template, it stood out. Either stunningly beautiful or uniquely ugly, nothing fit his low-key desires. Finally, he compromised and dialed the attractiveness to zero. Looking at the delicate face, Long Yin clicked confirm with resignation. Thankfully, the virtual network was humane enough to let you adjust your looks up or down within a hundred percent. Even a dinosaur could become a beauty.

He let the virtual avatar spin before him a few times, found no issues, then chose virtual data. A halo formed beneath his feet—he soon found himself outside a thatched hut—the village chief’s house in the beginner village. Here, the chief would tell him which state he’d been transported to.

“Oh, little beauty, your arrival adds to the glory of the Federal State. Now, do you want to play the game or try other entertainment? The chief can send you anywhere for free!”

Long Yin rolled his eyes. Even with his attractiveness dialed down a hundred percent, the smart NPC chief still called him a beauty. Clearly, a mask was needed.

“Village chief, I need a mask. Here’s the network coin amount to exchange.”

“Oh, what a pity. But masks are expensive, are you sure you want one?” The chief spoke with regret.

“I’m sure.” No matter the price, Long Yin would pay. Being called a beauty was an insult for a grown man!

With ten billion in network coins and a plain mask, Long Yin was teleported to the Cardmaster Guild of the Federal State.

Each state’s Cardmaster Guild offered courses, but not the Federal State’s guild—it only handled cardmaster rank evaluations and the monthly cardmaster competition! The top-ranked cardmasters at each level received a hefty coin reward and personal guidance from a Federal Guild cardmaster. Though just an hour, it was enough to make every cardmaster flock there, since even an hour with a master was invaluable.

In a week, the Federal State Guild would hold the monthly cardmaster competition. You could sign up on your personal interface, and lately, more people had rushed in for evaluations. The rewards and guidance varied by level—no one expected a seventh-level cardmaster to coach a first-level winner. Even getting a fourth-level mentor was considered generous. So, nobody hid their rank; whenever they felt improvements, they’d register for evaluation and enter their level’s competition.

Long Yin scoffed. He had no intention of taking any rank evaluation. The prize money was trivial to him. He was already a palace-level cardmaster; peer discussions couldn’t interest him, and a ninth-level mentor? A mocking smile curled his lips. He’d be exposed in no time! His current age was seventeen, with only ten years’ leeway. It’d be clear he was at most twenty-seven. If a twenty-seven-year-old won the eighth-level competition, people would dig him out no matter what, even if it meant clashing with the Federal Bureau. That would be disastrous!

Still, Long Yin came for a look. Not for any reason, just because he liked the vibe.

Afterwards, he left without regret. He wanted to check out the arena—the entry fee was a hundred coins. He rolled his eyes at the greedy Federal network. Inside, he found himself in a room. Opening the interface, he saw the room number: 4448336. Long Yin inhaled sharply—the rooms were generated on demand. That meant the arena currently had 4,448,336 rooms in use? And these were only solo rooms, not counting duels or team matches.

As Long Yin browsed the hottest rooms, a bombshell exploded on the Federal channel—Player Zun had challenged Player Ze! The duel would be in Room 111 in five minutes! Room 111 had special conditions for entry—tickets were ten billion coins apiece!

Long Yin glanced at it—ten billion coins? He was stunned. Zun? Ze? Who were they? Would anyone pay that for a ticket? Was the game truly this insane? Evidently, Long Yin couldn’t fathom the madness of gaming.

Federal Channel.

—“Zun vs. Ze tickets! The battle of the Great Zun God is worth every coin! Must buy!”

—“Brother above, can you even understand such high-end combat? I’m paying the highest price for a full-angle, god’s-eye view!”

—“Damn, you two rich guys get lost. This fight has entry requirements. Didn’t you see ‘special conditions’? Ten billion coins aside, your physical or mental strength must be SS-level. The two gods made that a condition for the duel room. Silly, huh? Haha…”

—“SS-level? Is that their way of rejecting spectators?”

—“Not at all, you country bumpkin. Both are SS-level in constitution. Just because you don’t know, doesn’t mean there aren’t others. There are several gods with double-S! This fight is beyond our pay grade. Accept reality!”

—“Oh, what a painful realization!”

—I’m the News-for-Coins Guy: Free bombshell! Duel □□. Zun’s real identity is the Crown Prince of Dexin Academy, Texas. As for why he challenged Ze, Ze’s identity… Want to know □□? One question, one hundred billion coins!”

—“Ah, the news god has spoken. Zun is Dexin’s Crown Prince? If true, ah, as a Texan, the news god and Ze are in for a bad time!”

—“Bad time +123456789”

—“Texans, get lost. Do you know who the news guy is? Without influence, he couldn’t collect coins for news. Forget Dexin’s Crown Prince—even before the Young Emperor at the Federal Card Academy, he’d walk sideways!”

—I’m the News-for-Coins Guy: Are you courting death? Whoever you are, don’t drag me with you. Those who walk sideways before the Young Emperor always disappear. I’m just a humble citizen. Oh, Young Emperor news? One trillion coins per question!”

…

Long Yin hadn’t intended to watch, but the news guy’s free bombshell changed his mind. Dexin’s Crown Prince? The news guy’s info was never groundless, and his identity was shrouded in mystery—as if there was nothing he didn’t know in the network. If you wanted, and could pay his price, he would tell you anything!

So this was how interesting the Federal network could be. The news guy, Ze, Dexin’s Crown Prince… so many double-S gods? Hmm~ Long Yin felt it was worth ten billion coins to spectate—not for any other reason, but Zun’s true identity made him curious. How many double-S gods could there be?

When Long Yin paid ten billion coins and entered Room 111, he immediately felt the gaze of more than a dozen pairs of eyes, more suffocating than being watched by millions. Clearly, none were ordinary.

Those burning eyes seemed to pierce his mask, seeing the real him. Long Yin frowned and moved to a distant corner, away from the others.

“Ha, who’d have thought this duel would draw out a new double-S rookie! Looks like you’re SS in mental strength—rare! Hey, what’s your name?” A smiling youth approached Long Yin. Long Yin glanced at him, but the boy’s face seemed oddly blurry, even though he wasn’t wearing a mask. Shifting his gaze, Long Yin realized none of the dozen or so had masks, but their features were all indistinct, though they all seemed attractive.

Maybe he shouldn’t have come. With a sigh, Long Yin ignored the approaching youth and was about to turn and leave. Suddenly, a burning sensation flared on his neck, freezing him in place. Searching through the crowd, he soon noticed one pair of eyes had changed, gazing at him differently. Alarmed, he felt the heat intensifying, as if something was about to burst from his skin. His heartbeat accelerated, pounding so fast it threatened to break through his chest.

A hand reached for his mask, only to be seized by another, strong and well-defined.

“Don’t touch him!”

The voice was icy, metallic, laced with danger. The gaze fixed on Long Yin, inscrutable and intense. Long Yin frowned deeper. The youth looked seventeen or eighteen, his blurred features giving a cold, austere impression. Long Yin’s fingers surreptitiously moved to open his interface, but the youth grabbed his wrist, squeezing so hard that Long Yin cried out in pain.

“I’ll let you go when I’ve confirmed something.” With that, the boy reached for his neck. Long Yin’s face paled beneath the mask. If he’d doubted the youth’s identity before, now he was certain—this was the brat who’d bitten his neck years ago. If not for the chill inside him soothing the burning mark, that damn imprint would have erupted at such close range!

As the hand neared his neck, Long Yin didn’t hesitate—his massive SS-level mental strength surged outward, giving him freedom. He quickly tapped his interface for a forced logout. Forced logout had no delay—his mind returned instantly to reality, but there was a clear drawback: he wouldn’t be able to log in to the Federal network for a month!

Back in reality, Long Yin gasped for breath, wiping sweat from his forehead. Damn brat, only seven years old, yet brought him such pressure! Seeing Xiaochui still asleep, Long Yin felt sheepish. The other would probably log off soon, unable to wait.

Meanwhile, facing the empty room, Bai Ze’s expression turned pitch black. The other dared to force a logout? Bai Ze’s lips curled into a cold, wild smile. Good—now it was almost certain the other was the child from years ago. He didn’t know why the mark hadn’t appeared, but Bai Ze felt it—this was the one he’d been searching for, and he would dig him out!

The scene stunned the dozen onlookers. The smiling youth who’d tried to grab Long Yin’s mask was dumbfounded.

“Ze, who is he?”

Bai Ze shot him a cold glance and spat out four words: “None of your business.”

Pfft… the youth coughed up blood.

“I’m done! You win!” Bai Ze turned to Zun, his challenger, and then was enveloped in glowing rings, clearly teleporting elsewhere.

Zun, too, left with a dark, stormy face.

With the main characters gone, there was no reason for the spectators to stay. But after paying ten billion coins for entry, it felt a waste to leave without doing anything, so a chaotic brawl erupted. Voices rang out amid the melee.

“Hey, do you think Crown Prince Zun will be furious?”

“If he gets angry over this, he’s too weak. I’d rather know who that youth is—to make the Young Emperor show that expression!”

“I want to know too. Isn’t the Young Emperor only interested in the prospective imperial consort?”

“Does that boy look like the consort?”

“No…”

“Does the news guy have info on the youth?”

“He replied—still investigating. Damn, one sentence cost me ten million coins!”

…