Huh? Isn't This A Galgame?-Chapter 61 - 58: The Descent of the Purple Forbidden Star?!_2

Chapter 61: Chapter 58: The Descent of the Purple Forbidden Star?!_2

Wen Nan took a look around, and everywhere he looked, he saw white level 1 to level 4 tags.

It seemed like this was a hall specifically for newbies to rest.

"Bronze?"

"Level 5, that high?"

"Came to the wrong place?"

"Hard to say, could also be a merchant here to speculate and resell."

Wen Nan: ...

Amidst a sea of white, that bronze badge sticking out on top of his head was indeed a bit too conspicuous.

Wen Nan: [9527, how do I remove this level tag?]

9527: [Player level information has been hidden for you.]

Glancing at his now empty headspace, Wen Nan, satisfied, put his hands in his pockets and strode into the hall.

After taking just a couple of steps, a figure followed him from behind, keeping a reasonable distance.

Wen Nan paused and turned to see Yu Shujun looking at him expressionlessly, still wearing that blue-and-white striped school uniform from before.

"You’re still here?"

Yu Shujun said coldly, "If you don’t want to see me, you can remove the binding sigil, Master."

Wen Nan felt like the other party told a not very funny joke, but he chuckled anyway and continued walking into the hall.

The stalls in the hall resembled exhibition booths, mostly retail stores selling different goods, some offering dining services, and others whose purposes were unclear from the outside.

Overall, these stalls could be divided into two categories—publicly operated shops built into the game and privately owned shops set up by players.

The publicly operated shops looked very understated, all small black block structures with floating signs on the roof bearing the word [Public] in formal script, followed by the types of goods sold, like daily necessities, clothing and bags, tobacco and alcohol, and snacks.

The privately owned shops, however, were built in all sorts of bizarre shapes and sold all kinds of things. Each sign would indicate the guild to which it belonged, with eccentric names like [Wild Zhenzi Research Center], [Green Guardian Alliance], [Suicide Squad], and so on.

There were also names with a very high rate of repetition, unmistakably knock-offs like [Feng Bing Huan], [Phoenix Water Huan], [Feng Shui Exchange], [Phoenix Ice Huan]...

Wen Nan thought it over and, to be safe, decided it was best to go browse the public shops first, where there should be openly listed prices and fair dealing.

He glanced at his own clothes; this set of loose-fitting sportswear was now fitting him like a tight suit. He felt that after only a few more steps, his back and crotch would rip.

So, he walked over to the black box labeled [Public: Clothing and Bags] and stepped inside.

The contents were pitifully sparse, with no shelves, only a few clothing sets embedded in the wall, and a backpack sitting in the corner.

This was cleaner even than Wen Nan’s wardrobe, which hadn’t changed much during his years in the hospital.

Behind the cashier’s counter stood a man in a suit with a combed-back hairstyle, presumably the NPC store clerk.

Wen Nan walked beside a set of casual wear and asked, "Can I try this on?"

"No, you cannot."

"Is there a bigger size of this style?"

"No, there isn’t." freewēbnoveℓ.com

Wen Nan raised a hand, wanting to touch the fabric to see if he could trigger a system introduction.

However, before his hand reached the clothing, the clerk screeched in a sharp voice, "Don’t touch unless you’re buying!"

Wen Nan turned to look at the clerk and suddenly understood why no players were to be seen in the public shops.

Still, if the price were right, Wen Nan wouldn’t mind such rudeness, after all, customer service is also something paid for—poorer attitude means fairer prices.

"How much is this set?"

"The pants are 3600, and the top is 5900."

These two thin pieces of fabric cost nearly ten thousand together?

"Why not just rob me?!"

"If you can’t afford it, get out of here... mmm, mm!"

In the middle of his sentence, the clerk suddenly shut up, his lips appeared sewn shut, struggling but unable to utter a word.

The terrified clerk ran back to the cash register, rummaging desperately for tools to pry his mouth open.

Wen Nan, hands still in pockets, turned and left.

Yu Shujun, who had been leaning lazily against the doorframe, turned and followed Wen Nan out.

Just out of the shop, Wen Nan turned and asked, "Did you do that?"

Yu Shujun’s face remained expressionless, simply saying, "He was noisy, Master."

Wen Nan shook his head and said nothing further.

He had lost interest in the public shops anyway and roamed aimlessly while calling up the system marketplace in his mind.

The entire marketplace interface was locked, with an announcement floating at the top:

[To avoid unnecessary conflict between players, the system marketplace will be closed when inside the game hall. Any equipment and items purchased in different maps will also be locked, please be aware.]

Alright then, it seemed he could only see what the on-site private shops had to offer.

"Mister, may I help you with anything?"

At the door of a shop labeled [Phoenix Ice Huan], a man in traditional Chinese clothing greeted him with a smile.

Wen Nan took a quick look behind the man, unable to discern what was sold there, and asked, "Do you have men’s clothing?"

The man smiled and said, "Yes, sir, please follow me inside."

Entering the shop, it was a quaint teahouse. The male clerk pointed to the table and chairs in the center, "Please have a seat and some tea, while I fetch the clothes for you two."

Yu Shujun remained standing by the door, not coming in.

Wen Nan sat down at the table and took a sip of tea. The clerk reappeared, holding several clothing sets, all in the same style, very much like the one on the clerk.

"There are different sizes here. I brought several sets, would you or your friend like to try them on inside?" The clerk’s gentle attitude felt refreshing.

Wen Nan cautiously asked, "How much?"

The clerk smiled, "No charge."

"Free?!"

"As long as you join our Phoenix Ice Huan guild, the clothes are a gift for new members."

Wen Nan’s eyes squinted. Strangely, it reminded him of those missionaries he encountered on the roadside in real life.

"No, thank you."

Wen Nan stood, politely smiling at the clerk, and turned to leave.

The clerk followed him, continuing his pitch, "We are a medium-sized guild with over a hundred members, and you can find a detailed introduction on the system community.

"You must be a new player who’s just gone through two map rounds, right? With your experience and level, the six major guilds in the community definitely won’t take you. You’d find it hard even to join mega-guilds with tens of thousands of members. Even large guilds with thousands, you might struggle with.

"We are the largest guild available to you at this level. Why face cold rejections from those large or mega-guilds when you can choose us from the start?"

Wen Nan walked more than ten meters before stopping, having been chased by the clerk all the way. Exasperated, he asked, "The six major guilds, which six?"

To ask such a question, one would have to be a newbie right out of the trial area.

This level of newbie probably wasn’t even level 2; they wouldn’t even qualify to join his guild.

Upon realizing this, the clerk’s demeanor suddenly chilled, smiling as he said, "That question is pointless for you. Not to mention the six major guilds only accept players who have cleared advanced maps; besides, this hall is for new players. The six major guilds don’t even have branches here, so you wouldn’t know where to apply."

Just as he finished speaking, a previously concealed building in the distance unveiled itself, revealing its true appearance—

It was an exquisitely built Chinese teahouse, with a rooftop sign displaying the three characters [Feng Shui Huan].

The clerk was astonished, "One of the six major guilds?! Why would they set up here in such a remote hall?"

Recalling past experiences, the clerk remembered only one situation would compel the six major guilds to set up a temporary branch in a newbie hall—

"Could it be that among this batch of newcomers, there’s a once-in-a-million talent?"