Absolute Death Game

Stretching out lazily, the group arrived at the dining hall, where a sumptuous dinner awaited them, featuring both Western and Chinese dishes. There were fried golden chicken legs, chicken wings, hot dogs, as well as Chinese dishes like sweet and sour spare ribs and Moo Shu Pork. As for main courses, there were burgers and rice, and even desserts like fruit salad to finish the meal, all meticulously prepared and visually appealing enough to whet anyone's appetite. For some reason, Xiao Buli found his appetite better than it had ever been. Usually, after a whole day of gaming, due to the lack of physical calorie burn, his appetite was poor and he could hardly eat anything, but today, he devoured a huge plate of food and still felt it wasn't enough. However, it seemed that he wasn't the only one with a hearty appetite—everyone else was eating ravenously. When they were almost done, they inevitably started sharing their gaming experiences, exchanging what they had learned that day.

Sun Bin knew that he had transferred to a farmer to help people till land. Han Baiqiang, on the other hand, had become a blacksmith's apprentice, reportedly because the village blacksmith saw potential in his 13 points of stamina and 13 points of Strength. However, he hadn't officially started learning Forging yet and was instead helping the blacksmith mine ore in the nearby caves. Unfortunately, mining as a skill was relatively hard to level up; it hadn't even reached LV5 yet, so he had only mastered a two-handed weapons specialization skill, and nothing more.

"Wow, Han, I didn't expect that. Will you be able to forge some equipment for us in the future?" Li Baocheng said in a tone that was half flattery.

"Of course, no problem," replied Han Baiqiang, clearly unable to resist being praised, immediately boasting, "Just wait until my skill level is higher; I'll cover you guys' equipment then."

Xiao Buli just smiled and said nothing, for he knew that once the month was up and he became an official employee, he would have to follow the company's arrangements, and he didn't believe what Han Baiqiang said would come true.

Li Baocheng, however, didn't seem to have thought of this and was so excited he didn't know what to say. On the other hand, Sun Bin, upon seeing this, couldn't help but snort coldly, seemingly displeased at having his thunder stolen. Han Baiqiang pretended not to notice and turned to Li, "By the way, Li, what profession did you transfer to?"

"I've transferred to a butcher, currently helping the village hunters by dissecting prey. I just leveled dissection to LV3 and learned Dagger Mastery, but haven't learned any other skills yet. The hunter said once I level dissection to LV5, I'll get another skill called 'Backstab.' He also mentioned that if I help him handle all his game, he'll teach me hunting skills," said Li Baocheng nonchalantly, his pride, however, not so well concealed.

After some thought, Xiao Buli understood why Li Baocheng was so proud. Since the death of a character could result in the loss of a job, ranged professions were evidently much safer than melee ones. He guessed that Li Baocheng probably also had this in mind, aiming to become a hunter so that he might later become an Archer or a similar profession.

Should he also consider transferring to a similar profession? After all, he had Taming Skills, and if he learned ranged attacks as well, he could let his pets tank the monsters while he shot Arrows from behind—that would be quite comfortable. But after some consideration, he gave up on the idea. With the high degree of freedom in this game, there was no telling how many powerful professions there were; it was probably best not to limit his sights to any one fixed profession just yet.

Returning to his room, Xiao Buli, feeling bored, flicked through the channels on TV, his mind continually revisiting the scenes from the game he had played that day. Though he was only starting to explore the game, it was already beginning to attract him—be it the near-perfect realistic graphics, the unique NPC interaction system, or even the somewhat cumbersome way of acquiring skills; it was nothing like the online games he had played before. However, he was not one to be swayed by personal preference; although the game was interesting to him, he didn't think it would be accepted by the majority of gamers out there. Perhaps some hardcore gamers who enjoyed difficult games would become devoted fans, but for most casual gamers, the slow pace of even not being able to leave Newbie Village in a day was unlikely to gain quick acceptance.

For players accustomed to games with auto-navigation, fixed dialogues, and level-up rewards prevalent in domestically produced games, this kind of game that required thoughtful study was unlikely to be a success.

And while the graphics were realistic, they might not necessarily appeal to the majority of Chinese players who prefer a more splendid style.

What a headache. Just when I had found a great game, I found myself unable to get involved. It seemed that staying put at this company was the only option for now, to see if there would be an update in the future.

Emotionally, I didn't want the game to change and become simpler just to please the players, but logic told me that unless the game became a bit more user-friendly, it would never take off in the competitive Chinese online gaming market and might even end up being a dismal failure, ultimately dying without a trace.

While thinking this, I stayed a while longer. After letting my food digest a bit, Xiao Buli made his way to the treadmill by the window. During their time at the studio, he and his colleagues would often exercise together because sitting in front of the computer for long periods could indeed be tiring. He picked up a dumbbell from the side and gave it a couple of lifts. Hmm, not bad, but his muscles were sore, as if he had already overdone his exercises. It seemed like Li Jian's physique was probably something he had worked on after joining the company. After all, being idle since five certainly requires men to do something with their excess energy. With the sound of music coming from the computer speakers, Xiao Buli began his workout, sweating profusely. His body wasn't too shabby. But today, he felt especially tired. After bathing and climbing into bed, his body began to ache all over, as if he had been feeding pigs all day. It looked like he would really need to keep up with his exercise routine. Before he could turn over, Xiao Buli fell asleep.

When Xiao Buli woke up the next day, besides a sore arm from being pressed down, the rest of his body felt fine. After moving about a little and washing up, he left the room. After breakfast, the group arrived early at the studio's entrance to wait for Li Jian to open the door.

"WELL, WELL, WELL," laughed Li Jian, sporting large sunglasses, finally arriving late in what seemed like an attempt to keep everyone on their toes. Upon reaching the door, he checked his watch and waited another minute, making sure that the hand pointed to nine before casually opening the door.

Without waiting for the door to open completely, Li Baocheng and the others squeezed in, settled into their spots, and among them, Xiao Buli who had some manners, nodded at Li Jian as a form of greeting when he entered.

Skills like "breeding" seemed to level up even more slowly as they progressed, and even though I was getting proficient with the minigame, achieving an A-level rating each time, it wasn't until after two in the afternoon that Xiao Buli saw the LV8 upgrade notification flash. No wonder it took Li Jian so long just to level up his "Lumbering" skill; it was probably fast for an average person. But at that moment, a problem arose: we were out of pig feed.

"Oh drat, because you worked so hard, all the pig farm's feed has been used up. So please, go out to the wilderness beyond the village and bring back some piggrass," said the owner of the pig farm.

System prompt: The pig farm owner wants you to bring back some piggrass. Do you accept this quest? Yes/No.

PS: There is another chapter tonight.