Starting from Zero

Chapter 18

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Book 4, Chapter 18

Treasure Crisis

I performed all sorts of militarydrills for threes days in front of the general and colonel. In the end, theysigned on a purchase contract worth 130 billion, and planned another 180billion, which needs to be discussed over with the central committee, as theysaid.

            I finally relaxed myself after I sent them on their plane. I keptstanding straight along General Yan in these days and now my waist hurts. Anarmyman selecting weapons feels a lot like women browsing clothes. We triedthrough everything on the list in the three days. I"d have already given up ifnot for such a big contract, and the fact that this is father"s order.
　　
　　    Ihurried back to the office to contact father. Despite my looks, I still loveguns and swords, just like most boys. And since I have more background than "mostboys"...
　　
　　    "Heyboy! You done the job?"

           Is he in a...forest?
　　
　　    "Idid! 130 billion settled. Another 180 billion will have to wait. Whatever theirdecision is, it won"t fall below 100 billion." I patted on my chest."By the way, where are you? Is that a rainforest behind you?"
　　
　　    "I"min the ecology simulation lab. These plants are the first ones we"re going tosend into s.p.a.ce. How do they look?"

He picked up a giant, red...object."A new type of fruit I planted. It"s big AND juicy! You want some?"
　　
　　 "Uh,no thanks. Hey dad, I want my reward now."

            Strike while the iron is hot. It"seasier to ask for stuff when dad"s satisfied with my work.
　　
　　    "Decidedalready?" His dropped his smile. "Don"t tell me you want somethingfrom the base?"
　　
　　    Ijust looked at him with a hopeful look. An obvious answer.

            "Alright. Remember, no funnychoices."
　　
　　    "What kind offunny choices?" I need to see if that thing is on his blacklist.
　　
　　    "Nobio weapons!"
　　
　　    "I"mnot a terrorist why would I need those?"
　　
　　    "Nonuclear weapons!"
　　
　　    "Donuclear powered ones count?"
　　
　　    "Nuclearpowered? Is it big?"
　　
　　    "Nope.Smaller than my car!" That"s true. The iron unit is only about 2.5 tons.
　　
　　    "Justtell me what it is. I"ll see if I can allow it." He lost patience.
　　
　　    "AnICA unit!" 　　
　　

   "Oh,that one..." He considered. "If you insist...But! I"ll have to removesome of the parts first. Tell doctor Wong, I"ll speak to him."
　　
　　    "Understood!"I dashed out of the office and dragged the aged head researcher back in.
　　
　　    "He"s here."
　　
　　    Fatherspoke to him: "Mr. Wong, I need you to modify one of the iron armor andgive it to Sairin." 　　
　　

"Huff...huff.No-no problem. How do I do it?"
　　
　　    "Takeaway all the weapons."
　　
　　    DoctorWong looks surprised. "You mean everything? The unit is just an emptysh.e.l.l without the weapons."
　　
　　    Ijoined them. "If you remove those, can you get something else onto itinstead?" 　　
　　

            "Whatdo you want?" Father seems worried that I"d ask too much.
　　
　　    "Thec.o.c.kpit in there feels way better than my bed. Can you try to install the gamehelmet into the armor?"
　　
　　    "Shouldn"tbe a problem." Father nodded to the doctor. "Do anything he asks aslong as it"s not a weapon. I"ll pay you later."
　　
　　    "Ofcourse, sir." The doctor rolled up his sleeves. "Let"s go drop someweight for the big guy."
　　
　　    "Drop--what?"

I didn"t understand his words until I saw the pile of various components on theground that were just taken off the armor. The original armor weighs 2.73 tons, andnow it"s only 0.97. I knuckled at the armor"s body which gives out a sound likeI"m knocking at an iron bell.

           "There"s...nothing in there anymore?"
　　
　　    DoctorWong looked at me with an "of course" expression. "It"s amilitary weapon. What do you expect if you remove all the killer tricks? Thepower unit and computer are pretty tiny compared to the others."
　　
　　    "c.r.a.p.This is lame."

I think I need to do something to make it up, or an emptyiron sh.e.l.l is too boring.

   "Since you"re done with removing, now help me load somethingto it."
　　
　　    "Yousay it. We got everything here." 　　
　　

            "First,this one." I pointed to a device on a nearby container.
　　
　　    "MolecularCamouflage Unit? What for?"
　　
　　    "Well,just do it. Oh and this." I carried a bigger air thruster over. "Sinceit"s less than a ton it should fly if I have this right?"
　　
　　    "Shouldbe." The doctor ordered the engineers to do their work while he watched memessing around the items.
　　
　　    "This."　　
　　

"...TBDField Generator. What are you gonna do with that?"
　　
　　 "Don"task. Anything besides weapons right?"

Actually I"m only looking at theprices. I take anything that looks expensive!

"This one, this thing here...andthat!"
　　
　　 "OrganicDetector... Electromagnetic Anomaly Probe. Super Computer??"

After tenhours, I"m looking at my final product while all the technicians plus thedoctor lays on the ground. Now this super toy of mine costs 10 million! Youwon"t find any crazier toy in the whole world now.

Also, the doctor agreed toequip a Taser Gun into it (after listening to my carrot-and-stick speech forthree hours). At least it"s not a paper tiger now.

           The weighbridge showed it as1.3 tons. All those costly stuff can only fill it up so much. There"s no pointin putting all the parts all around the armor so the doctor stuffed them to onelocation. Now there"s a big storage area on the armor"s back.
　　
　　    Theonly tools I"ll actually be using is the camouflage and wireless connector. Thefirst tool can make the armor appear as anything, I can disguise it as anordinary car and run on the roads when no one would notice what it truly is. Theconnector will allow my helmet to play the game anytime, anywhere. They didn"teven do anything to my helmet, because the game helmet is exactly the same withthe armor"s original controller helmet. They only need to transfer some data to it.
　　
　　    "I"mleaving!"

            I drove away from the base with the armor fixed on top of my car. Thecamouflage system will completely hide it from naked eyes.
　　
　　    NowI"m itchy to try out my new game room. The armor is still a bit too big for thedepartment hallways. I can try to steer it carefully but one mistake and I"llb.u.mp into walls or even people. And I don"t think the stairs can support thisthing. I decided to enter the room through the balcony. The armor is only at halfweight now so it"s easy to jump into a building.
　　
　　    Itried my best but still accidentally stepped on the balcony bar, bending it. Imoved it into the right position after some efforts. There are still twists andturns but shouldn"t draw too much attention now.

I didn"t find Wayne in thedorm. Where did he run off to again? Whatever. I turned off the camouflage andlogged into [Zero].
　　
　　

            "HeyZiri!" A private message from Hawk. He sounds in a hurry.
　　
　　    "I"m here. What"s the matter?"
　　
　　    "Wefound a player trying to sell equipment." His seems more hurried now.
　　
　　    "Wellgo ahead. You want it? Do you have enough money? Don"t ask me. That robe cost meeverything I had, and that"s only because Yuri lent me some. I only have 300crystals on me. Take them if you want."
　　
　　    "That"snot what I"m talking about! Do you know what is he selling??"
　　
　　    "What?Artifact?"
　　
　　    "Oneof the Chinese Nation Treasure part!"
　　
　　    "Saywhat?? Nation treasure? Where?"

            Ok, that"s not something I should ignorenow. I wasn"t expecting we found the second piece so fast!
　　
　　    "Theauction site at the middle of the G.o.ddess City! Be quick! I saw j.a.paneseplayers wondering around. I think they"re trying to break up out nation setstoo!"
　　
　　    "Haveyou talked to the seller?" 　　
　　

"Notin person. I heard he"s a wizard called [Arch Necromancer]. The NPCs told us heregistered the equipment on the morning yesterday. We couldn"t find you or Wayneanywhere."
　　
　　 Icalmed down myself and thought this over.

            "I won"t go there for now."
　　
　　    "Butwhy??" He jumped.
　　
　　    "It"salready in the auction, we can"t get it unless it"s bought-in, or do you haveenough money for it? I won"t help even if I go there!"
　　
　　    "Whatare you going to do then? Nothing?"
　　
　　    "I"lllook for money!" 　　
　　

           "Huh??"Hawk gave me a "you"re kidding me" look.
　　
　　    "I"mgoing to try buying it off!" I explained again.
　　
　　    "Theattributes are already revealed. That thing"s at least 500 thousand crystals!"　　
　　

"Ohs.h.i.t. Now this is trouble." I complained. "Tell me the attributesthen! What is it anyway?"
　　
　　 "ATaoist equipment, [Robe of the Primordial Lord], Defense 700, doubles the powerof all your Taoist skills, +50% element resistance, +25% MP regeneration, anda pa.s.sive skill that reduces all damage you take by 20%. A Taoist can just take aWarrior head-on if he wears this thing! Do you remember that rabbit boots we sawon Golden Coin?"
　　
　　 "Yeah?"　　
　　

   "They"refrom the same set! The boots is part of the Primordial Lord outfit!"
　　
　　    "d.a.m.nit. Now we can"t lose it. Ok I"ll go think of something!"
　　
　　    "Alrightbut make it fast! The auction is tomorrow evening!" 　　
　　

"Gotit. I"ll try!"

I cut the chat and sat on the ground. What to do what to do what should I do??

Exchange real money?

No. Father said there"s no end once you started throwingmoney into a game. And I shouldn"t start it in the first place.

So the onlyoption is to earn money in the game. But how?? I still got some serious debt onmy a.s.s for crying out loud!

           Maybe try to do some business? But what kind ofbusiness brings so much money within two days?
　　
　　    Rarestuff is always precious. So what is rare? Good equipment and companions. Accordingto Hawk, an average level companion egg can usually sell for tens of thousandsof crystals on the market. Should I go farm some eggs and sell them?
　　
　　    Icontacted Hawk again. "Hawk! Do you know what kind of companions sell bestin the game now?"
　　
　　    "Why do you ask?"　　
　　

"Eggsare expensive right? I"ll go get some to sell!" 　　
　　

            "...That"sright! I forgot you have good capture skills!"
　　
　　    "Tellme!" 　　
　　

           "I"mnot sure but higher leveled ones are always more expensive. We don"t have timeto lift the prices so try not to get anything TOO high, or no one would buy it!Consider your level, find some average companions around level 500. They shouldattract enough buyers."
　　
　　    "Whatdo you mean average companions?"
　　
　　    "Balancedones. Your companions all have certain specialties like very fast or something.They"re good but not many people will choose them. We need to find companions favored by all people!"
　　
　　    "Ok,ok! I"ll see to it!" More explanations will just make the matter worse atsuch a moment. "You help me find some buyers first!"
　　
　　    "Rogerthat!" 　　
　　

So,level 500. That means mini bosses around cities.

I teleported to the gra.s.slandoutside G.o.ddess City and rushed towards the high level area. The G.o.ddess Cityis one of the three main system cities. There are tons of players here.

           Thanksto my wizard robe (10 thousand crystals!!) and the bracelet, people would justsee me as a common mage. The only problem is the robe looks too luxurious. AndI can"t hide my face either. The robe hides my cape as well.
　　
　　    Theplayers watched in amazement as a fake wizard dashed straight into the depth ofthe gra.s.sland. Sometimes I pulled several monsters, and I just dodged them.I still caused the players to drop their jaws . They never saw a wizard whocan move so fast. Monsters that managed to get close almost did nodamage. What kind of wizard runs inside monster crowds without even using hismana shield??
　　
　　    Isuddenly realized a problem. What if all the monsters run wild all over thefield? This is the first time I"m trying to capture monsters on open ground. Idon"t want to run a marathon after them!
　　
　　    Ilooked around the place and all the player groups who are grinding together.

Eurika!

"Hiring bodyguards! Good payment!"

            I can find some people to help meherd the monsters. They may not kill them easily but I only need them to keep monsters in check.
　　
　　    I"msurrounded by the nearby players in the next second.
　　
　　    "Howmuch??" A high-pitched male voice.
　　
　　    "Howmany people you hirin"?" A deep male voice.
　　
　　    "For howlong?" Even females are interested!
　　
　　    "Whatmonsters are you killing?" That sounds like a student.
　　
　　    "Immediatecash?" A trader!
　　
　　    Thescene is getting too chaotic. I raised my hands to silence them.

"Deepinto the gra.s.sland, against level 500 monsters. Teams only, no solo players!"

            That"s because teamwork would be of help. Players who don"t know each otherwill cause troubles.
　　
　　    Somepeople left after I said that. Either solo players or those who don"t feel safeagainst level 500 targets. 　　
　　

Ilooked at the remaining people and proposed my conditions. "This is urgent,we"ll be working overnight, starting right away. We take some rest late todaybut start working early the next morning. Until 4 pm tomorrow."
　　
　　 Someonespoke: "Piece of cake. What kind of gamer doesn"t stay up late?"

Ofcourse there is. More people left.
　　
　　 Only a small number stayed. They stood in three groups, apparently theyoriginally belong to three different teams.

I continued: "I"ll hire all ofyou if you agree. I need lot of people here. 300 crystals. You decide how toshare the money and any drops you may find. I won"t ask. But I won"t provideany potions and consumables either. 50 down payment, another 50 when you logoff tonight, 50 when you log in again, and the rest when we finish."
　　
　　 Theybegan to count people to see how much money each one can earn out of this.

Theleft group has five players, two male Warriors (again, this is only a generalt.i.tle, I don"t know what sub-cla.s.ses they are), one female Elven Archer, afemale White Mage and a Priest. Now that"s rare, usually only girls playpriestesses.

The middle group, one female Warrior, two male Black Mages, a maleSwordsman.

The rightmost team, three male Elven Archers, a Priestess, a femaleTaoist, and a ....woman wearing wizard robe with a two-handed sword on her back.No idea what she is.

           15 people. If shared evenly, everyone will get 20 crystals.That"s pretty good income. (*)
　　
　　    "I"mgoing to catch monsters as eggs. You still get the payment if I fail, but if Isucceed I"ll pay another two crystals to each one of you. I"ll be pointing outmonsters and your job is to prevent the target from escaping."
　　
　　    "Noproblem. We"re in!" The Priest from the first team stepped out. It seems he"sthe leader. Huh, but I thought one of their Warriors is.
　　
　　    Thefemale Warrior from the second team agreed on their behalf.

The spokesman, Imean spokeswoman, for the third team is the female player whose cla.s.s I didn"trecognize.
　　
　　 "Nowthat you all agreed to partic.i.p.ate, I"ll give you 20 minutes to get prepared. Besure to bring enough potions or anything you may need. Come back here whenready, late comers will be left out!" 　　
　　 Theyfell into discussion. Each team sent a member back to the city for supplies. Ornot, the third team sent two people, probably because they have the mostmembers?

The remaining people waited with me. It"sboring enough so their leaders decided to chat with me.

"Are you grindinga support cla.s.s?" The unknown woman asked.
　　
　　 "No,I"m a combat cla.s.s." 　　
　　

"Then...isn"tit too hard for you?" The female Warrior said, "Eventhose professional Breeders won"t have much luck, and you"re not a professional."
　　
　　    "Doesn"thurt to try." Not going to tell too much to someone I haven"t known forlong. "Like I said, you still get the payment if I fail, so don"t worry. Bythe way, the task seems hard enough, but you all accepted. I thought I wouldn"tfind so many helpers. You will lose levels if you die right?"
　　
　　    ThePriest spoke. "Why not? The pay is good. I"d accept even if I lose a level for it." 　　
　　    "Good?You mean, 20 Crystals for each one?" I didn"t think much about the paymentbecause 300 crystals were all I had. "That"s like, the lowest pay rate forDragon Fate employees."
　　
　　    "DragonFate??" The female Warrior exclaimed. "Well I ain"t compete withpeople from that place. You know how people would throng for a position there. Yourlowest pay is higher than some of the managers in other companies! Do you know 20crystals means three days worth of my salary?"
　　
　　    "Idon"t even have income. Student, heh." The unknown cla.s.s spoke up. "Iused to spend money on the game and get items or pay for game time cardsbefore. If I can find such jobs often then I don"t have to eat cheap buns allday."
　　
　　    Everyonechuckled. The female Taoist put an arm around her. "Hey sis, come to meand I"ll treat you to instant ramen bowls. That"s at least better than buns."
　　
　　    "Ha-hahaha!"People laughed this time. Though I don"t really feel like joking, with the hotmatter at hand. There"s a good chance that our Nation Treasure will get takenaway by j.a.panese players if I don"t do something. This is no joke, you don"twant to lose your flag item to someone else during nation wars!

I"m confident inmy capture skills but there are always accidents. What if I don"t find enougheggs in time? I need a plan B!
　　
　　 Maybejust take it by force?

Possible, but too risky. If I"m a player with a NationTreasure and knows someone"s gonna take it away when there"s no chance ofprotecting it, I"d just log off and never get on again. At least they"ll neverget hands on it.

No. This is not safe. Besides they can just do that the momentthey buy the item. So this means I need to prevent them from winning the auctionin the first place!
　　
　　 Everyoneelse is chatting while I"m struggling with my mind. They look more and moreacquainted now. Good, since better teamwork will help a lot.----------------

(*) This means $30 for playing a game overnight. Not bad.

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