Chapter 24
Chapter 24: Starwish Club
Guangwei Street is one of the busiest commercial streets in Mountain City, right next to Mountain City First Advanced Academy.
Back when he was in school, Long Ming came here often, but he has not returned since graduation. After two years, the place has changed a lot. It is even livelier now, with many new shops on both sides of the road.
He let out a slow breath, then walked forward.
Before long he reached a star café called Moonwave. It was the best one in this area, and he had visited it a few times before.
After Civilization Paradise launched, this place upgraded its equipment and shifted to new business. There was no choice. Civilization Paradise is officially registered, and its impact is far beyond any game in the past. If a shop does not change, it will be eliminated.
Long Ming stepped inside and entered the Moonwave Star Cafe lobby. He looked around. The layout was mostly the same, but a few things had been changed.
The old desktop computers in the lobby were gone, replaced by a giant projection screen.
On it, videos of players exploring Civilization Paradise were being shown.
A lot of people had gathered to watch.
In the private rooms, all the old devices had been swapped out for helmets for guests to use.
Long Ming walked straight to the bar.
A waitress in black stockings and a bunny outfit, pretty and smiling, greeted him and said: “I’m Little Wei from Moonwave Star Cafe, would you like to go on a machine?”
He asked calmly: “I heard you have game pods.”
She nodded and said: “Yes, we have the latest model game pods.”
He asked: “How do you charge?”
Little Wei glanced at his clothes, then explained the prices: “The game pod costs 200 Mountain Coins per hour. The pod is also set up for three nutrient injections, and each dose is 1,000 Mountain Coins.”
“That’s so expensive,” said Long Ming.
Hearing the numbers, his heart sank. If he used it for three days, the cost would reach 17,200 Mountain Coins. He did not have that much money. He had known game pods were pricey, so he had borrowed 10,000 Mountain Coins from Wang Yang, but he never expected it to be this extreme. It was far beyond what he could handle. Even if he scraped the money together, if his dungeon run failed, he would be in real trouble.
Little Wei smiled and said: “It is expensive, but many people want it. Our game pods are fully booked until next week. Even if you want to use one now, there is none available.”
He said: “Alright, thank you,” then turned and left.
Soon he walked out of Moonwave Star Cafe.
Standing by the road, he watched young men and women laughing and chatting. He looked a little lost. [This is trouble. Even if I had the money, I still could not rent a pod.]
Crackling firecrackers sounded in the distance.
He looked up. Across from Moonwave Star Cafe, a new star café was opening.
A group of curvy girls in matching uniforms held loudspeakers and called out with bright smiles: “Starwish Cafe grand opening, everything half price!”
Long Ming’s mind stirred at once. [Half price?] If they also had game pods, then it would be only 8,600 Mountain Coins. If so, he could barely afford it.
He headed straight for the new Starwish Cafe.
At the door, he saw the place was huge. They had rented two six-story buildings with off-white stone cladding on the exterior.
This was one of the most expensive streets in the city. It was not just the rent. Even with money, it was hard to secure a place here, much less rent two connected buildings at once. If he remembered right, those two buildings used to be a mall.
He also noticed that while both buildings belonged to Starwish, they seemed to have different functions.
The left building was labeled Starwish Cafe. The right building was labeled Starwish Club. Long lines stretched at both entrances.
Long Ming joined the line for Starwish Cafe, then glanced curiously toward the club’s line.
A girl in a pink maid dress with a cat-ear headband called out warmly to the people in line: “Starwish Club is recruiting pioneer players for Civilization Paradise. Professional players and retired military get priority. Once you’re accepted, we provide six insurances and one housing fund, 16 months of pay, free use of game equipment, and additional benefits…”
A skinny man in black-rimmed glasses said excitedly to his companion: “The benefits are amazing!”
His companion replied: “They are, but A Tao, I heard the test is strict. A lot of people fail.”
A Tao lifted his chin and said: “What’s to fear? I’m a professional gaming ace!”
A burly man in front of them turned, gave a cold snort, and said: “Being a pro gamer is useless. Civilization Paradise isn’t a video game. What matters is real skill.”
A Tao bristled and said: “You say I can’t do it, but can you?”
The big man answered proudly: “I’m a retired soldier who has been to war. If I could afford a game pod, I wouldn’t have come. They have them free here.”
A Tao fell silent.
Long Ming listened, looking thoughtful. He had not expected clubs to offer such strong pay to recruit people. For a moment he felt tempted. But he quickly killed the idea. [Not for me. I cough a few times and people already worry. A club like that means high-intensity training. I can’t handle it.]
Time moved along, and he finally reached the entrance.
A young woman in a blue uniform guided him in and said: “Mr., please come inside.”
“Mm,” said Long Ming as he stepped in.
The Starwish Cafe lobby was luxurious and spacious. Its design clearly took notes from the Moonwave across the street. They had turned it into a viewing hall.
Using the newest setup, they projected live streams of Starwish Club experts running dungeons.
Crowds of passersby stopped to watch.
Long Ming also stopped. He stared at the projection, surprised. [It can even livestream?]
On the screen, an agile man tied a rope to a balcony, grabbed it, and slid straight down.
People around him burst into cheers: “Awesome!” “No wonder it’s Brother Lei, he’s fierce!”
Feeling excited, Long Ming headed to the bar.
A girl in a black-and-white maid dress with an oval face and cherry lips greeted him warmly and said: “Hello, Mr., I’m Little Seven. What can I do for you?”
He asked: “Does your half-price event include the game pods?”
She answered: “It does.”
He said: “Then please set one up for me.”
She gave an apologetic smile and said: “I’m sorry, Mr. Our opening event drew too many guests, so all the game pods are full.”
He asked: “When will one be available?”
She said: “The soonest is three days from now.”
“Thanks,” said Long Ming.
He walked out of Starwish Cafe feeling disappointed. He had just felt a bit of hope, and it was snuffed out immediately. Now he had to choose: give up and go back, or raise more money and hunt for a pod from café to café.
He was about to leave when a slightly surprised voice called out: “Yo! Isn’t that Long Ming?”