Liming City's second-hand market was tucked away in the narrow gap between two main streets.
At the entrance stood a rusted archway. Beyond it, stalls were packed densely together on both sides, selling just about everything imaginable.
Some vendors claimed to be selling used goods, yet the items on their stalls looked suspiciously new.
This was especially true for the electronics, which appeared pristine but were priced twenty percent lower than retail. Clearly, their origins were far from legitimate.
The sounds of haggling rose and fell in waves, making it feel like a wet market, though it carried an extra layer of desperate bitterness—the kind that comes from people needing to save every last cent.
In a corner of the market, a piece of cardboard lay flat on the ground with several lines scrawled in black marker:
"Our home became a contamination zone. My brother and I are penniless and fleeing as refugees. We haven't eaten in a long time. Please, kind souls, have mercy..."
【Tom】 and 【Jerry】 squatted behind the cardboard, dressed in rags and covered in grime.
A chipped bowl sat before them, containing a few scattered bills and coins lying at the bottom.
Occasionally, someone would walk past. Some didn't even look, others cast a disgusted glance, some spared a little money, and a few offered food.
Whenever that happened, 【Jerry】 would press his palms together and repeat, "Thank you, kind soul. Thank you, kind soul. May you have a life of peace."
His expression was one of humble piety, looking exactly like a genuine beggar.
【Tom】 wasn't nearly as invested. He kept his head down, his eyes darting around the crowd.
"It's just a game, and yet here we are, playing the part of beggars. This is so embarrassing," 【Tom】 whispered, his voice low enough for only the two of them to hear.
【Jerry】, however, had accepted it quite well. He said calmly, "There's no shame in making money. Just think of it as experiencing life."
"In reality, even if I were starving or forced to take out high-interest loans, I'd never beg in public like this."
"But in a game? There's no need to worry about dignity. Besides, it's a unique life experience. As a beggar, we don't have to worry about food or drink, and we can even make some money. It's much better than what other players are dealing with."
At this point, he glanced at the money in the bowl and began calculating excitedly. "I've crunched the numbers. Begging here for a day brings in at least eighty yuan. Plus, kind people bring us food, so we don't have to worry about our next meal."
"I've already decided. Our first pot of gold will come entirely from begging!"
【Tom】 was speechless. At that moment, 【Jerry】's face held a level of devotion he had never seen before.
After a few seconds of silence, 【Tom】 finally couldn't help but whisper, "The character models in this game look almost exactly like the players. Aren't you afraid of being recognized by someone you know?"
【Jerry】 shrugged. "So what if they see me? I'm just playing a game."
Once he put on the mask of a character, he felt he could finally be his true self.
【Tom】 stopped talking and just squatted there, listlessly picking at the cracks in the pavement with his fingernails.
【Jerry】 continued to press his palms together toward passersby, and the money in the bowl steadily grew.
However, 【Jerry】 was still mindful of his friend's mood. Seeing that 【Tom】 wasn't enjoying himself, he said, "If you don't want to beg, just log off for a bit and check the forums. See if anyone has posted any new guides."
【Tom】 gave a faint grunt of agreement, stood up, and moved to a deserted corner. With his back to the crowd, he found the exit button on the system interface and vanished.
...
More than half an hour later, 【Tom】's figure reappeared in that same corner. His eyes were bright, and the corners of his mouth were turned up.
He hurried back to the cardboard and squatted down, his tone excited. "A pro player just posted the latest game guide!"
"What is it?" 【Jerry】 was using a straw to poke at a container of eight-treasure porridge someone had given them. The porridge tasted a bit strange.
【Tom】 was beaming. "That guy is an accountant in real life and is great with books. After entering the game, he got a job at a big company in Liming City with a great salary!"
"The post is very detailed about how to pass the interview and convince the boss to hire you. The guy said that as long as you have the skills, the companies in this game will actually hire you."
"You don't need to pick up a special quest beforehand. It's the same process as in reality—submit a resume, interview, and wait for notice."
"He said he only used one sentence: 'If your company runs into any tax trouble, I can go to prison in your place.' The boss hired him on the spot as a financial specialist and even gave him a month's salary in advance!"
【Jerry】 swallowed the odd-tasting eight-treasure porridge, his expression full of surprise. "You can actually play like that? Using real-world knowledge and skills in the game?"
【Tom】 felt a bit of regret. "Why didn't I think of that? It's all because of my own stereotypes."
"The pro player summarized it in his post. This game isn't like old-school MMOs. Players shouldn't just think about leveling up and killing monsters. Instead, they should treat themselves as part of this world and integrate into society. That's how you get the most out of the early game."
"Integrate? Is it to increase the immersion?" 【Jerry】 muttered, suddenly feeling a bit of discomfort in his throat.
【Tom】 said, "This game has no newbie protection period. If you don't integrate, you won't even have food to eat. We're begging here right now precisely because we had no other way, right?"
【Jerry】 set the eight-treasure porridge on the ground as something suddenly occurred to him. "We've already been flagged by the Management Bureau. That's going to be bad for our future development."
The smile froze on 【Tom】's face. He had almost forgotten about that. Earlier, they had been hit by a falling object on the street, leaving them bloodied, and then they were hauled away as monsters.
They had been taken to the local Management Bureau. It was a massive place, but they were kept locked up, and the security was so tight they couldn't explore at all. So, they had logged out and vanished from the spot.
Two suspicious individuals vanishing silently from a Management Bureau interrogation room... even a fool would realize they were now on a permanent record.
"We're screwed. It's our own fault for being too reckless and messing around before we understood how this game works," 【Tom】's face crumpled.
【Jerry】 sighed. "If it comes down to it, we'll just have to delete our accounts and start over."
【Tom】's expression darkened further. These were closed beta accounts!
Pfft!
【Jerry】 suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
【Tom】 was horrified. "What happened to you?"
【Jerry】 didn't know what was happening either. He opened his status bar and immediately saw a new status: 「Poisoned」.
"I'm poisoned? How?"
"Poisoned?" 【Tom】 froze, his gaze instinctively shifting toward the bowl of eight-treasure porridge.
【Jerry】 followed his gaze, and it suddenly clicked why the porridge had tasted so strange.
"Damn it, someone poisoned us!"
To poison a beggar... the NPCs in Liming City really were wicked!
Rate on N.U.
