2 Chapter 2: Entering the game

Jogging all the way, it took about half an hour before Jiang Ming finally returned to the slum.

Jiang Ming touched the silver box in his pocket. Though he was still panting heavily, his expressions revealed his excitement. Jiang Ming wiped the sweat from his face and walked towards the slum area that was as messy as a garbage dump.

What he had never noticed was that, around twenty to thirty meters behind him, a black stray cat had been staring straight at him, following after him whenever he walked, and pausing whenever he stopped.

"Hey, Xiao Ming, why are you sweating so much? Do you wanna come here to Sis' place to cut your hair and take a shower? I'll give you a discount."

When he passed by a hair salon with flickering lights, a beautifully dressed woman around 30 to 40 years old waved to Jiang Ming.

Jiang Ming smiled awkwardly at the woman, and walked away quickly as if fleeing, while thinking in his mind, 'With a record of one against five, I can't stand it. Even if I'm paid for it, I won't do it. Besides, I'm still an innocent virgin, how could I give it to you?'

"Xiao Ming, why did you walk back today? Where is your BMW tricycle?"

Jiang Ming hadn't walked a few steps when the uncle who was selling clay oven rolls at the roadside joked at him.

Jiang Ming smiled and shook his head. "The car is broken so I sold it, Uncle Li, give me two rolls."

"Xiao Ming, you have a parcel."

When passing the door of the only delivery company in the slum, a girl shouted out to Jiang Ming from the inside.

'My parcel? I sent my sister to study abroad three years ago, and I just contacted her some time before. It's impossible for her to send me a parcel. So, who is this parcel from? Could it be sent to me by a loving 'customer'?' 

Jiang Ming was a little confused. He walked into the courier shop, signed the receipt, took out a fist-sized package, and saw that his name was indeed written on it. However, the name of the sender was covered by some ink that was accidentally knocked over by the delivery girl and could not be seen. He shrugged his shoulders, then walked home holding his parcel.

　　...

While nibbling on the dry rolls, Jiang Ming passed through several smelly streets and finally returned home.

He opened the creaking door then groped for the light switch. Switching the lights on, a humble house of about thirty or forty square meters appeared in front of him. He looked at some recycled furniture and supplies stacked in the room, and a slight smile of self-scorn appeared on his lips.

Walking around the piles of objects that cluttered the room, he came to the bed and sat down. He inspected the package in his hand closely, then opened it.

 "Huh?"

After unpacking, he found that there was a beautiful black box inside. He was taken aback for a brief moment. Seemingly having realised something, he quickly opened the box.

What was revealed inside the box was a cyan pendant watch, which was exactly the terminal of 'Divine Land'.

"The 'Divine Land' terminal! Who would give me such a valuable present?" Jiang Ming thought in utter surprise as he looked at the cyan pendant watch in the box.

The 'Divine Land' terminal was divided into three ranks, Bronze, Silver and Gold.

The Bronze terminal simulated 78% reality and was priced at 28,888, the Silver terminal was associated with 88% reality and priced at 288,888, and Gold terminal with 98% simulated reality was priced at 2888888.

As for the Crystal terminal that he got, there were only three in the entire Hualong Country. It was said that the degree of virtual simulation can reach 99.99% of reality. It was extremely precious, and even people who could pay for it may not be able to buy it.

Although the bronze terminal in his hand was of the lowest rank, if he hadn't gotten the crystal pendant watch, the price of the bronze terminal would still be an astronomical cost, not something he could afford.

Therefore, to receive such a lavish object worth nearly 30,000 dragon dollars in such baffling circumstances, it would be weird if he wasn't shocked.

"Ring Ling Ling..."

At this moment, his worn-out Nokia phone rang.

"Huh? I remember no one knows my phone number except for her. Could she be calling me?"

After he left the Yama Guild, he only gave his mobile phone number to one person, and that was his lover, Lan Xin.

But on the day before the final contest of "Glory", he was betrayed by people from his guild, and his wrist tendon was severely injured, leading to the loss of the last game of the championship.

He originally thought that he would win for sure, so he bet his shirt on him winning the game, preparing to propose to Lan Xin's family after his victory. However, such a turn of events caused him to lose everything. Furthermore, he was kicked out of the Yama Guild because he had become a maimed person.

Disheartened, he left the bustling city and went to the slum area, struggling to make his existence possible.

The sudden call reminded him of his glorious past. His eyes dimmed; lighting up a cigarette, he ignored the phone ringing.

"Ring Ling Ling..."

Soon, the phone's ringing went off. But after a while, the phone's ringing sounded again.

Intermittently, his cell phone rang thirteen times and stopped thirteen times.

"Ring Ling Ling..."

The phone rang again, Jiang Ming dropped the sixth cigarette butt, sighed, picked up the phone, and pressed the answer button.

"Hahaha, Brother Ming, you finally answered the phone. I'm Xiao Dong, do you know how long it took me to persuade her to give me your phone number..." An excited voice came from the phone.

Xiao Dong, named Liao Wendong, was a member of the Yama Guild and his only friend who knew him well. After he left without saying goodbye, the two had lost contact.

Hearing the sound from the phone, Jiang Ming lit a cigarette again, remembering what Lan Xin had said to him the last time they met. "Ming, I can understand how you feel now, and you can call me after you regain confidence. I won't call you during this time, and I won't tell anyone your mobile number. Remember, I'm waiting for you!"

Shaking his head, he asked in a low tone, "Xiao Dong, were you the one who sent me the 'Divine Land' terminal?"

"Ay..." Liao Wendong sighed, "It's indeed me who sent it to you. You quit playing games because you couldn't hold the mouse, but this game doesn't need a mouse. I hope you can get out of the shadows from three years ago and get refreshed, so I bought the terminal for you. I don't know your exact address and only know that you live in the slum area, so that's where I mailed it. I didn't expect that you've really received it. It's so..."

"Thank you!" Jiang Ming took a deep breath of the cigarette and whispered, his deep eyes seemed to gaze through the smoke.

The other side of the phone became silent.

Not long after, sounds of sobbing could be heard from across the phone.

"You're a man! Suck it up, don't cry!"

Jiang Ming shouted to the other side of the phone, but his hand holding the cigarette wiped the corner of his eye unconsciously, and his hand became stained with his tears.

"Brother Ming, I miss you," Liao Wendong said softly.

"Go away, I'm not gay!" Jiang Ming shouted again.

The other side was silent for a while and then continued. "Brother Ming, there's something that I've been thinking for a while and decided that it's best to tell you."

"What's the matter?" Jiang Ming asked, confused.

"Sister Xin... is going to be engaged to Yan Hong today. There are still two hours until the engagement ceremony. If you rush over now, you could still..."

"No need to say anymore, if there's nothing else I'll hang up."

Hearing Liao Wendong's words, Jiang Ming's body trembled, his eyes became moist, and a tear fell to the corner of his mouth. He licked the bitter tears at the corner of his mouth and laid on his back, saying.

"Brother Ming! Do you know what Sister Xin told me when I asked her for your number today? She said that whether you are rich or poor, she would be willing to marry you!" Liao Wendong roared, "Three years! She waited for you for a whole three years! Did you know that she would stare blankly at the series of digits on her phone every single day? And you never called her even once. Some time ago, because of the pressure by her family, and because she lost all hope from you, she agreed to Yan Hong."

Liao Wendong shouted again, "You know Yan Hong. He is a scumbag. Can you bear to see your beloved woman marry a scumbag?"

"She has her choice, I have my choice. I'm just a garbage collector. How can I give her happiness if I can't even support myself? Yan Hong is not bad. He's the son of the boss Yan Luo. He is rich, so she should be able to live a happy life..."

"Bullshit... Do you know..."

"Okay, if there's nothing else I'll hang up."

Jiang Ming didn't wait for Liao Wendong to finish speaking and hung up the phone. He turned the phone off and threw it to the side, and his face was flooded with tears.

"Wahhhhhh..."

Liao Wendong's words obviously gave Jiang Ming a strong blow. Deeply anguished, he clenched his hands together, buried his head between his legs, and started crying loudly.

He didn't notice that, as he was crying, some objects in the room started shaking.

After crying for a long time, he sat on the bed in a daze for three to four hours before he finally stabilized his emotions. After smoking a cigarette, he took out the crystal pendant watch and the bronze pendant watch and held one in each hand.

"The world of games, I'm back! You're the only thing that truly belongs to me!"

With that said, Jiang Ming wiped away the tears from the corner of his eyes and wore the crystal pendant watch around his neck. He lightly pressed a button next to the pendant watch. The next moment, several silver needles were ejected from the back of the pendant and plunged fiercely into his chest. Immediately afterwards, the three hands on the pendant watch began to rotate wildly.

When the three hands of the watch stopped at Divine Land Yuan calendar Year 0001, 12 o'clock in the game, Jiang Ming's sight went black, his body fell on the bed, and his consciousness appeared in another place.

"Whoosh..."

Just after he entered the game, the black cat leaped in from the crack of his shabby door.

Its glowing blue eyes glanced at Jiang Ming who was lying on the bed, and then at the bronze pendant watch in Jiang Ming's hand. Its eyes rolled in a circle as if pondering, and then it slowly walked to the bronze pendant watch.

The cat picked up the bronze watch with its mouth, and gently tossed it, and the chain of the watch was strung around its neck.

Looking at Jiang Ming again, it jumped down from the bed and walked into a dark corner under the bed. Laying on the ground, it pressed the button next to the pendant watch with its claw. In an instant, a few silver needles ejected from the back of the pendant watch and pierced into its body, pressing close to its chest. The chain around its neck adjusted immediately, becoming a nice fit around its neck.

Eerily, a smile appeared at the corner of its mouth. It then closed its eyes and laid on the ground.