Inside the room.
The summer quilt was neatly folded at the head of the bed, and on the off-white sheets, a vivid splash of red stood out starkly...
At this moment, Chen Lang was sitting by the bed, staring intently at the poster on his phone screen.
He was certain, this was the girl, no doubt about it.
After pondering for a moment, Chen Lang took a screenshot of the poster, then opened WeChat and sent it to a group chat.
The group had only three members: Chen Lang himself, and his two best buddies, Guan Suo and Chen Ming.
The three were college classmates and the closest of friends, known for their shared love of basketball and decent skills, earning them the nickname "Black Elbow Iron Triangle," quite famous during their university days!
Chen Lang, standing barefoot at 1.76 meters, played as a forward, known for his precise jump shots and unbeatable elbows!
Chen Ming was slightly shorter than Chen Lang, just over 1.70 meters, played as a guard, swift-footed, capable of sweeping down two opponents with one move!
As for Guan Suo, over 1.90 meters tall and weighing more than 200 pounds, he was the powerhouse under the basket, known for blocking shots right in the face!
After graduating, the three stayed in this coastal sub-provincial city to develop their careers, though none had made significant progress.
Guan Suo worked at a decoration company, occasionally having business dealings with Chen Lang, while Chen Ming was a programmer, nearly bald after just a year of work...
Ding!
Before long, the two replied to the message.
[What's up, Langzi, feeling lovesick?]
[Langzi, you've finally come around. I've been saying if our Iron Triangle teams up, we can definitely make a name for ourselves in the game!]
Clearly, Guan Suo and Chen Ming had different interpretations of the picture Chen Lang sent.
[Do you guys know this girl?]
Chen Lang ignored their teasing and replied casually, not holding much hope.
After all, there were many promotional posters for Tianyan, with different people chosen for each city, and not just one person.
Take Qinghai City, for example, there were seven posters in total, each featuring different people, both men and women, and that girl was just one of them.
[Of course we know her, isn't she Mingzi's goddess!]
Guan Suo replied.
[Nan Xi, a sophomore at Zhonghai University, one of Tianyan's representatives in Qinghai City. That's all I know, nothing more.]
Chen Ming added.
"Nan Xi..."
Chen Lang murmured to himself, finally knowing the girl's name.
[What's up, Brother Lang, are you planning to pursue her?]
Guan Suo continued to gossip.
[Hell no!]
Chen Lang replied, then put down his phone and lay back on the bed.
The morning sunlight streamed through the window, casting a glow on the white walls. Chen Lang stared at the ray of dawn, his gaze drifting, lost in thought.
"Damn it... let's do this!"
After a long while, Chen Lang took a deep breath, as if making a significant decision, and suddenly sat up from the bed.
He then picked up his phone and opened the Tianyan official website.
Yes, he was planning to venture into the game. Since he was currently unemployed, this might just be an opportunity.
Tianyan, the second world for humanity, claimed that anything was possible!
Of course, the main reason was that the girl named Nan Xi would most likely enter the game too!
On the Tianyan official website, there were two types of game helmets: a standard version priced at a thousand bucks and a premium edition priced at ten thousand.
Chen Lang didn't fuss, directly ordering a standard version, though he would have to pick it up at a nearby sales point.
After reserving the helmet, Chen Lang didn't dawdle, got up, and left the room.
In the living room, Jiao Jiao was sitting on the sofa watching TV, munching on a large bag of chips. She glanced at Chen Lang as he came out but didn't say anything.
As for the young man, he was nowhere to be seen, busy with something else.
After going downstairs, Chen Lang grabbed a quick breakfast at a street stall near the community gate, then took the subway to the nearest helmet sales point.
He had drunk a bit too much last night, and his old bicycle was left behind, much to his dismay, but he didn't have the mind to retrieve it now...
Half an hour later.
When Chen Lang arrived at the nearest helmet sales point via subway, he was stunned by the scene before him.
Two long queues snaked around, stretching at least two li, which was quite an exaggeration...
"Don't they know they can order online?"
Chen Lang muttered to himself, then strolled leisurely into the sales point, holding his phone up to the sales clerk.
"Hello, I ordered a game helmet online!"
"Hello, sir, please queue at the back to collect it."
The sales clerk, a young woman in her twenties with a pretty face, glanced at Chen Lang and said politely.
"I ordered it online."
Chen Lang repeated.
"Sorry, sir, this line is for online orders, please queue at the back to collect."
The sales clerk explained with a smile.
Though she was busy, her attitude was impeccable.
"Kid, hurry up and queue, who here hasn't ordered online?"
"Think you're special!"
"..."
Chen Lang was speechless, feeling a bit awkward under the disdainful gazes of the crowd.
Ten minutes later.
Chen Lang finally reached the end of the line, with hundreds of people ahead of him!
"When will this end..."
Chen Lang sighed helplessly, seeing the situation, it might take until evening.
"If you don't want to queue, you can buy the premium edition helmet, no queue needed, and they deliver it to your door."
The young man in front, also a bit impatient, snickered quietly upon hearing Chen Lang's words.
"Premium edition..."
Hearing this, Chen Lang couldn't help but twitch his eye. That's ten thousand bucks, he hadn't saved that much in a year of work, what a joke.
Half an hour later, as the temperature rose, it started to get a bit hot. Chen Lang barely moved forward a dozen or so meters, while another thirty or forty people joined the line behind him.
"Fuck it, not queuing anymore!"
Seeing the slowly moving line, Chen Lang gritted his teeth, took out his phone, opened the Tianyan official website, and directly ordered a premium edition helmet, then walked away casually.
Yesterday, he got fired by his boss, receiving a compensation of twenty thousand, so he could afford it now.
...
"Only sixteen thousand left..."
In the room, Chen Lang looked at the balance in his bank card and sighed helplessly.
Now jobless and without income, the sixteen thousand seemed like a lot, but it would barely last six months.
Just the rent alone was six thousand a quarter...
"This money better not go to waste!"
Chen Lang sighed softly, then began browsing the Tianyan official website.
Since he decided to venture into the game, it was best to be prepared. Although the Tianyan website offered very little information about the game, some basics were available.
He ordered a simple lunch delivery at noon and continued browsing the game website in the afternoon.
Tianyan had seven main professions.
They were: Swordsman, Mage, Archer, Knight, Assassin, Priest, and Berserker.
Among them, Swordsman was the most popular, capable of both offense and defense, truly the domain of experts.
Mages were more favored by women, excelling in area attacks and control, and were the fastest to level up among the seven professions.
As for Archers, they were the kings of single-target long-range attacks, with strong continuous output attributes.
Assassins, as the name suggests, moved in the shadows, coming and going without a trace, high burst and high agility, the nightmare of Mages and Archers.
Knights, commonly known as tanks, had high defense and health, standing firm against all odds, known as the indestructible fortress.
Priests, commonly known as healers, mainly focused on healing, with some control abilities.
The last one, Berserkers, could enter a berserk state, with unparalleled explosive power, ignoring defense in attacks, but the only downside was their lack of durability in close combat.
Of course, these seven professions were just the main ones, with many other life professions available, though the website didn't provide details, only stating: please explore after entering the game.
Besides a brief introduction to the seven professions, the Tianyan website also described the history of the Tianyan Continent.
In short, the path of immortality was extinguished, the continent shattered, darkness descended, and the revival of the Tianyan World was entrusted to you, the warriors...