Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 772 - 770: Restaurant

The square was bustling with people, reminding Li Ang of the scene when the Game Square first opened.

He stepped forward, following the crowd to the Sky Fighting Arena.

This modern skyscraper, already towering over a kilometer high, seemed to have expanded even more. But the distance to the surrounding buildings hadn't narrowed...

Had the square itself been enlarged?

Li Ang observed carefully and indeed, it was true.

The Sky Fighting Arena, the game mall, the sales office, and other System buildings all occupied more space than before. The registration spot in the middle of the square had been removed, leaving only three leaderboards floating mid-air.

With 24 hours left until the Gate Struggle officially began, the translucent words "Under Maintenance for Update" floated at the entrance of the Sky Fighting Arena, the main venue for the competition.

However, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of the players in the square.

They stood in place, whispering excitedly with acquaintances about the upcoming competition.

Initially, players not yet at Lv20 thought they would miss out on this major event, relegated to spectators watching others participate in the competition and earn rewards.

But unexpectedly, fortune favored them. The Sky Fighting Arena allowed Experience Points to be earned, and its rules enabling non-competitors to snatch participation rights gave these people a shot of adrenaline.

They also knew how difficult it was to defeat Lv20 players with a 10:0 score on the duel stage, and even if they did triumph, it was unlikely they would make it to the top five hundred.

But what if?

You've got to have dreams. After all, no one dies in the Sky Fighting Arena, and at worst, they could just spend money on medical teams for treatment after each duel.

"Alas, as the saying goes, 'The world bustles for profit, the world hustles for gain,'" a young, bald, handsome guy in red and black leather armor murmured softly. "Men die for wealth, birds for food. This Gate Struggle is likely to cause another storm of blood and violence..."

"Yes," a young man in a Flash cosplay standing next to him nodded and whispered. "I wonder what position we can secure in this competition that will set the future course of the Mortal Realm... Do you think we can win?"

"This competition is filled with strong contenders," a young man in a yellow-green Sea King cosplay outfit said lightly. "Elites from every major guild will participate, along with many talented players who are just a step away from Lv20. The outlook for advancing is not optimistic."

The attire of these three seemed familiar; each wore a blue Whale Badge on their chest. Together with a silent young man beside them, they were "Sunset Gold Smelter," "Geleluo Star," "Sure Win," and Li Ang's old acquaintance "Black Trojan" – the programmer quartet from the Whale Song Organization.

From their tone, it seemed they had also signed up for the Gate Struggle?

That made sense. The Whale Song Organization apparently had some influence in the real world and should be able to secure a share of regular Mortal Realm tasks, delegating them to members to resolve supernatural incidents and gain Experience Points to level up.

"If only the preliminary contest of the Gate Struggle had been set up like a real-world sports competition," lamented Sunset Gold Smelter. "Then we could climb to around the 50th floor and, using the intelligence from the Watcher's Society, figure out who was on that level. Combining their previous records and win-loss relationships, we could establish an agreed-upon schedule for our duels and stick to it strictly. By strategically managing our win-loss records, we could maximize our chances of advancing. Unfortunately, the preliminaries ultimately depend on comprehensive data. Any effort to game the system is doomed to fail..."

"It still comes down to strength... Without the power to crush everyone, one can only leave their hopes of qualifying to others."

Black Trojan shook his head, his peripheral vision catching sight of Li Ang not far away.

He hesitated for a moment, then walked over to greet him. "Brother Li, you're here too."

"Ah," Li Ang nodded, glancing at the other three members of the quartet who had followed Black Trojan. "Are you all here waiting for the Sky Fighting Arena to open?"

"Yes," Sunset Gold Smelter nodded with a smile. "But we're just here to participate; getting within the top five hundred for the rewards would be quite good."

"If you can get into the top five hundred, there's a great chance for the top three hundred or even the top one hundred," Li Ang said casually. "After all, following the first round of the competition, the major guild organizations will definitely invest a lot of resources into those who qualify. The equipment and items of the remaining competitors will then undergo a qualitative change. In such a case, players with backing will definitely have a much higher probability of qualifying again than Lone Wolf Players."

In the slaughterhouse game, many Excellent and Perfect Level pieces of equipment and artifacts have binding properties. Once bound, they cannot be freely gifted or sold. However, institutions at the level of the Special Affairs Bureau and the Supernatural Accident Place of the Federal Bureau of Investigation still have many unbound high-level equipment pieces in their stores for deployment. Thus, the current individual battle power leaderboard may not be definitive.

Thinking of this, Sunset Gold Smelter's mind stirred, and he asked subconsciously, "Brother Li, you..."

Previously, during the "High-dimensional Hacking" script mission, Sunset Gold Smelter had seen Li Ang's outfit of the Dragon Head Mask and white coat, confirming that Li Ang was the owner of the Immaculate Furnace shop.

In fact, the Immaculate Furnace shop had already caught the attention of many powers a long time ago. The think tanks in the Mortal Realm are not just for show. By observing the video materials provided by the Watcher's Society, tallying the hourly customer flow of each shop, and considering the price of goods and restocking time, it was easy to calculate the daily revenue of each shop.

The data derived by the Whale Song Organization showed that the profitability of the Immaculate Furnace ranked at the forefront of all the small private shops on the Game Square.

Considering that Li Rising works alone and hasn't joined any large forces...

The money he has could pile up to a top three hundred personal combat power ranking.

"Me?" Li Ang spread his hands and said casually, "It'd be nice if I could get a ranking. Aim for five hundred and strive for three hundred."

Hearing this, Sunset Gold Smelter shook his head and said, "Brother Li, you're too modest. After all, you're..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Li Ang knew he was referring to the Immaculate Furnace. "Actually," Li Ang said casually, "opening a retail store on the square was the biggest mistake I've ever made. Little money, lots of issues, tiring work. My original dream was to open my own family-style restaurant."

"Family-style restaurant?" Geleluo Star couldn't help asking. "What's that?"

"Similar to McDonald's, employing chefs from the Mortal Realm to cook meals," Li Ang said with a straight face. "However, we emphasize a family dining atmosphere. The waiters would sit next to the customers during their meals, constantly reminding them of dining etiquette and the correct way to use utensils, while simultaneously nagging them about getting married, going on blind dates, losing weight, or quitting their job to prepare for a civil service exam."