The moment his consciousness returned, Zhang Fan abruptly sat up from the sofa, the familiar surroundings of his apartment coming into view.
The daylight outside was bright, with sunlight streaming through the gaps in the curtains and spilling onto the floor.
He picked up his phone, the ink-style "Death" app icon quietly lying on the screen, proving that everything from last night was not a dream.
He glanced at the time on his phone.
Nine o'clock in the morning.
"Huh?" Zhang Fan was stunned. "What's going on? I remember it was already night when I entered the game, and I stayed in there for at least seven or eight hours? How did time pass so quickly? How is it already the next morning as soon as I log off?"
An astonishing conclusion immediately formed in his mind.
"Could it be... the time flow between the game and the real world is 1:1?"
This discovery shocked him, and immediately, another more pressing issue made him jump up from the sofa.
"Damn it... I'm late for class!"
Only then did he remember that he had a class this morning.
He hurriedly changed clothes, washed his face haphazardly, grabbed his backpack, and rushed out the door, sprinting towards the Mars Era teaching building.
...
In class, Zhang Fan couldn't concentrate at all.
Today's lesson was about human anatomy, and students occasionally asked questions, but all these sounds turned into meaningless buzzing in his ears.
His mind was filled with "Death Jianghu," "Heaven Rewards Diligence," "One Wen for a Hundred Bucks," "Woodcutting Skill," "Jianghu Forum," these crazy words.
The atmosphere in the entire classroom was unusually low.
The incident with Wang Yun was like a persistent dark cloud hanging over everyone's hearts, and many classmates, like him, were distracted and absent-minded, just going through the motions.
Finally, class was over.
Zhang Fan took out his phone, opened his last month's pay slip, and looked at the "Monthly Salary: 9000 Yuan" figure. Then he thought about how he earned three hundred bucks in just ten minutes in the game.
This huge contrast was like a heavy hammer, completely shattering his last bit of attachment to his real-world job.
"This job, I can't do it anymore! Even a dog wouldn't do it!"
He couldn't, and absolutely wouldn't, waste his precious time on this job any longer.
Every minute and second in the game could mean immense wealth!
Having made up his mind, Zhang Fan felt a sense of relief.
"Director, I want to apply for unpaid leave."
"What? Mr. Zhang, you..." The director looked shocked.
Zhang Fan's reason was compelling. He claimed that the incident with Wang Yun had caused him severe psychological trauma, leaving him physically and mentally exhausted and unable to continue working normally, and he resolutely requested a leave of absence.
Despite the director's repeated attempts to persuade him, saying he was an excellent teacher at Mars Era, Zhang Fan's mind was made up.
In the end, he smoothly completed all the procedures, completely liberating himself from the nine-to-five grind.
Returning to his small apartment, Zhang Fan felt an unprecedented sense of ease and freedom.
"From today on, I'm a professional gamer!"
He hummed a little tune, took out the ribs he bought a few days ago from the fridge, and prepared to make himself a lavish feast to celebrate his glorious "unemployment."
He placed a large piece of rib on the cutting board, raised the kitchen knife he had used for years with his right hand, ready to chop it open with brute force as usual.
However, just as he brought the knife down, a sudden change occurred!
In his mind, all the insights about the [Woodcutting] skill, the understanding of weak textures, automatically surfaced!
In his vision, the ribs before him were no longer ribs but a piece of "wood" filled with countless fine textures and veins!
The gaps between the bones, the connections between the fascia and muscles, all transformed into clear "weak textures"!
At that moment, his arm seemed no longer under his control, but rather guided by a kind of muscle memory, moving the wrist in an extremely coordinated and effortless manner, bringing the knife down!
"Crack!"
A crisp, unbelievable sound.
No bone fragments flying, no strenuous smashing.
The kitchen knife seemed to have a life of its own, sliding precisely along the gaps between the bones, and the entire rib broke apart with a smooth, clean cut, without a trace of excess bone fragments.
"Whoa, fuck!"
Zhang Fan stood there dumbfounded, holding the kitchen knife.
He looked incredulously at the perfectly dissected ribs, then at his own hand, his face full of disbelief.
A few seconds later, a thought that made his blood boil crazily sprouted in his mind.
"Could the abilities from the game... be brought into reality?!"
This discovery was even more shocking and exhilarating than earning three hundred bucks!
This was no longer just about making money; this was the evolution of life! This was the beginning of transcendence!
He no longer cared about stewing ribs, eagerly scooped a few mouthfuls of leftover rice, and couldn't wait to open his phone and launch Death Jianghu.
"What decent person doesn't play games?" Zhang Fan found an excuse for his gaming addiction. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
Just like how everyone who reads books is supposedly a perv.
It's a perfectly normal hobby.
He wanted to enter the game immediately!
Zhang Fan now had his heart set on roaming the Jianghu.
He wanted to verify more things! He wanted to become stronger!
In the real world, it was already afternoon, but in [Death Jianghu], dawn was just breaking.
The moment his consciousness returned, a whiff of ancient sandalwood incense filled his nostrils.
Zhang Fan was now in the solemn and majestic Ancestral Hall at the center of Apricot Blossom Village.
Unlike the dimness and flickering candlelight when he logged off last night, the sky was now just beginning to lighten.
Pale blue light squeezed through the gaps in the heavy wooden doors, casting long beams of light on the dusty floor.
Outside the Ancestral Hall, there were a few crisp and loud crowing of roosters, along with the indistinct, smoke-filled voices of villagers in the distance.
The entire village seemed to be slowly awakening from a night's slumber.
Zhang Fan pushed open the heavy doors of the Ancestral Hall, and the cool morning air hit him, invigorating his spirit.
He habitually opened the semi-transparent attribute panel in front of him to check his current status.
When his gaze fell on the [Satiety] section, he was stunned.
That section displayed a green, incredibly healthy number: [100%].
"(⊙o⊙) Wow! Logging off and back on automatically refills your status?
This is a godsend for idle players! Other games at most pause consumption when you log off, but this game refills it completely!
That's a lot of money saved!"
Zhang Fan was overjoyed.
You see, last night he had to eat two buns worth two hundred bucks to bring his satiety back to a safe level.
This discovery meant he could save a significant amount of "meal money" every day, which was fantastic news for a "broke" person aspiring to be a professional gamer.
Satisfied, Zhang Fan closed the panel, ready to hum a tune and head to Wang Daniu's house on the back mountain to continue his "woodcutting career" and start today's grind.
...