Familiar Yet Strange City

Han Che climbed up the flood control slope from under the bridge by the river, crossed the highway, and weaved through the traffic.

He stood on the street, somewhat bewildered.

The surrounding area is filled with towering glass curtain wall buildings, vehicles shuttle along wide roads, and pedestrians hurry by.

The air smelled of car exhaust, as well as the aroma of baking wafting from the corner coffee shop.

Everything was so similar, so much like his previous life's world.

After graduating, he went to work hard in the city of his dreams, but life was never quite as he wished...

But now he feels like he's back!

Looking back, following the river he had teleported to, upstream, he saw helicopters circling low overhead.

The center circled by the helicopters was the black sphere he saw in the live stream, which was the portal for players to enter the Tidal Prison!

"So they're still this close!" This further confirmed Han Che's guess that these teleportation portals were connected.

Well, it's alright. Although being in the water isn't very respectable, it's at least better than appearing directly at the heavily guarded teleportation portal.

He looked up at the huge electronic GG screen across the street.

The screen was playing a promotional animation showing fully armed soldiers moving through ruins, guns spitting fire, before raising red trophies high in their hands.

The scene then shifts to a player operator bravely fighting and then leaping to save a teammate, ending with a freeze-frame of someone holding a large red object in both hands.

Han Che recognized the person in the picture; it was Li Hao.

The image of him holding a main battle tank model in his hands is as sacred as that of a savior.

Han Che narrowed his eyes; it seemed this red item was truly important to the player world.

As he continued his walk, almost everything he saw along the way—from the GG signs he saw and the conversations of passersby he overheard to the merchandise displayed in shop windows—was related to dangerous areas, ever since he climbed out of the river.

The bus stop posters featured star operators from various esports teams, and the convenience store entrance was plastered with club promotional stickers. Two students in school uniforms walked by, arguing about what kind of technology the newly released "Big Red" would bring.

Han Che paused, the poster in front of him showing Neghros standing behind two half-crouching shield soldiers, his gun aimed at him from a first-person perspective.

The white-masked man aimed with one eye, the dark muzzle of the gun pointed at the audience outside the poster, creating an overwhelming sense of oppression.

Han Che chuckled; it seemed he had already gained considerable influence.

He continued walking along the pedestrian path. His immediate priority was to find a way to make money, so he walked into a coffee shop and casually sat down at a corner seat.

"Turn on the live stream."

The live streaming website was opened on the phone provided by the system. Han Che found the 78 Club live stream room he had watched before. It was not broadcasting at the moment, and the live stream room was playing a pre-recorded video.

The top right corner of the screen displays the streamer's information: Club 78, Akai escorts the dam from a first-person perspective, the camera moves quickly, he aims, fires, and moves smoothly... killing two Asara soldiers who were standing in the street shouting.

Han Che looked at it for a while and felt that there was no useful information, so he opened the customer service private message.

"Hello. I have some weapons and supplies from a dangerous area that I'd like to sell. I heard your club takes these kinds of things?"

Click send.

"Hi, you need to trade supplies offline at our club. I'll send you my location."

The location was then sent to Han Che's phone. He opened the electronic map, held the phone, and turned it around to align the direction of the arrow on the map with the direction indicated by the location.

It's not exactly close here.

The commonly used applications on the phone provided by the system have been downloaded in advance, and there is already a balance of 10 in the payment tools.

Without a doubt, this is what he calls his personal balance.

We don't have enough money to pay for a resurrection yet, but it's getting late, and walking there would take too much time.

Let's take the bus; every little bit helps.

Following the map, Han Che walked to the bus stop and, while waiting for the bus, subconsciously observed his surroundings.

The lightbox on the platform also displayed information about dangerous areas, and two girls next to them were excitedly chatting about how soon it would be time for casual visitors to enter these areas.

"Ugh! I really want to go too! That guy from the next class went last time and made over ten thousand in one trip!"

"Wow! Really? Did he get the club to protect him?"

"Just invite them!"

"We can't even afford tickets, yet he has money to hire escorts. He's really rich!"

"But you might not be able to make enough money in Dam Zero. If it were me, I'd go to the newly opened prison! Maybe I'd become rich overnight!"

"Ugh! That place is terrifying! It's so eerie and complicated! And that boss! It's so scary!"

"Really? I think he's quite handsome..."

The bus arrived, and both girls boarded. Only then did Han Che regain his composure.

Get on the bus and sit down in the back by the window.

"Hehe, you have good taste!" Han Che thought to himself, secretly pleased.

Outside the car window, the cityscape slowly moved past.

Skyscrapers, shopping malls, parks, schools... the city's outline overlapped with his memories of his previous life, yet there were some subtle differences.

The content of countless GG cards is almost all about Li Hao's recent rise to fame, with occasional GG cards for everyday consumer goods interspersed among them, rushing by.

About half an hour later, he got off at a station that looked somewhat remote.

This place is some distance from the bustling city center, and there are no skyscrapers or numerous light-polluting signs.

Most of them are modern-looking but not very tall office buildings and factories.

Building B is a seven-story gray-blue building that looks quite old, but there are many signs hanging at the entrance, one of which reads "78 Club".

Han Che walked into the building. The lobby was somewhat dimly lit, and various notices and "GG" were posted at the elevator entrance. He pressed the elevator button and went up to the seventh floor.

The elevator doors opened, revealing a glass door with the 78 Club logo affixed to it.

The door wasn't locked, so he pushed it open and went inside.

Inside was a small space with several desks, piled with documents and monitors.

The place seemed a bit messy, but it was full of life. The air still smelled of instant noodles and takeout.

There was only one young man in the open area, wearing headphones and watching a video on his computer screen.

Han Che took a few steps closer and saw that the screen was from the exploration team's first-person perspective.

The young man noticed someone was there, turned around, and took off one of his earphones.

"Hello, who are you looking for?" The young man looked very thin, with a head of messy black hair, big eyes, and looked quite young, probably in his early twenties.

"I've contacted your club's customer service to sell supplies," Han Che said.

"Oh...it's you." The young man stood up, pulled up a chair, and said, "Please sit down. What's your name?"

"Han Che".