CH 43.1

Bai Lixin opened the attribute bar and checked his points.

The previous performance score was 12,000, plus the 60000 points obtained from the [Deep Sea Mermaid] copy, his total performance score was brought to 72,000.

10,000 points get you raised by a floor, and he was now on the 72nd floor of the 999-storey tower.

With one copy, he had gained 60000 performance points, 60000 mall exchange points, a growth type S grade prop and a mysterious crystal ball item.

It was very fruitful.

There were two kinds of points in this game.

One were the performance points, which are linked to the floor you live on, and didn’t have any other use.

The other type were the mall exchange points(redemption points) which are equivalent to the common currency of the game world and can be consumed.

Bai Lixin opened his friend bar.

Zhou Guang’s avatar was dark.

He didn’t have many friends, and aside from Zhou Guang, he had only added Xia Chi, Li Cancan, Liang Xi at the beginning, and the two people he added in the second copy, Huo Yunjun the businessman, and the healthy younger Song Lei.

Liang Xi and Huo Yunjun’s avatars wrre in red, while Xia Chi, Li Cancan and Song Lei’s are in white.

Red meant they were in a copy, while white meant they are still in the safe zone game lobby.

Grey, on the other hand, signified death.

Bai Lixin’s consciousness went to his profile,  and rested on the line “To be edited” that was next to his name. He deleted his name, and retyped a few words.

[Floor 72.]

After editing the content, the second thing Bai Lixin had to do was to take a nice bath.

The living environment on the 72nd floor was indeed better than the 50th floor.

Below the 50th floor, the dormitory was a one-room, one-bathroom apartment of 30 square feet. The compact washroom had no bathtub, only a shower head.

On the 72nd floor, the environment became an 80 square feet living space. Bai Lixin even starting to get a little excited about what the rooms on the 100th floor and above would be like.

Escape system: [The rooms between the 51st and 100th floors are all uniformly styled. The layout of your previous room was directly panned here, the computer is still your original computer, and the bed is also the original bed.]

[However, players can use points to replace these initial arrangements, either by replacing the single bed with a double bed or by replacing it with a more upscale and comfortable bed. The computer can also be replaced. Everything you see with the naked eye can be replaced, except for this room.]

There’s a house DIY! Good!

Bai Lixin came out of the bathroom. His hair was still wet and a damp vapour lingered around him. His eyes were soft, carrying a lazy and relaxed aura.

The private chat interface buzzed and Bai Lixin slowly sat down on the single sofa he had just bought.

He opened the chat window while lazily wiping his hair.

He wore a pure white bathrobe with a belt tied loosely around his waist. When he raised his hand, a large area of skin peeked out from the crossed lapels.

As soon as the chat was opened, Bai Lixin saw Xia Chi’s name bouncing around like a little flea.

He clicked on it and the entry was a line of exclamation marks.

Xia Chi: [!!!!!]

Xia Chi: [72nd floor? What 72nd floor? Brother, have you reached the 72nd floor now?]

Bai Lixin: [Yes, I just rose up today. I was MVP of the last copy so I was given a personal copy. I got 60,000 performance points in it.]

Xia Chi: [! 60k performance points!!! Shit, that copy must have been particularly hard!]

Bai Lixin fell into a short silence.

Was it difficult?

Not really, it was just depressing.

The few copies he had participated in so far all gave him a feeling of malice and depression, especially the last one.

Bai Lixin: [That copy has been closed.]

Xia Chi: [Another one has been closed? Brother, I would like to join you to be the copy terminator.]

Bai Lixin: [Stop talking about me, what about you, what level are you on now?]

Xia Chi: [Two days after you entered your copy, I entered a new copy. I was lucky and it was a 3 day copy. I got out a little earlier than you and I’m now on the 25th floor.]

Bai Lixin: [25 floors, that’s pretty good, well done.]

Xia Chi: [Unfortunately, I still haven’t found Tan Yue’s whereabouts.]

Bai Lixin: [Don’t rush, take your time. The system told me that there is another game lobby on the 50th floor. It’s a very popular gathering area for players so I will help you and see if there is a whereabouts of your friend.]

Xia Chi: [Thank you brother, do you still remember what Tan Yue looks like?]

Bai Lixin searched his memory, and a face of a teenager with a toothy smile came back to him, [Don’t worry, I have a good memory.]

Xia Chi: [Wuuu, brother, I want to come up there and see you! Wait for me, I can definitely get up there in a few more days.]

Bai Lixin laughed, [You’re speaking as if I can’t go down.]

Xia Chi: [By the way, Liang Xi entered a 4 day copy. It’s a fairy tale book world and he’s doing pretty well so far. The Zhou Guang thing gave Li Cancan a big blow, but I made a point of visiting her before entering the copy and she was much better by then.]

Xia Chi narrated the situation of several other people, and Bai Lixin quietly looked at the noisy chat box, the pressure of his whole body slowly drawing away from his joints.

The game lobby on the 50th floor…it seemed like it was time for him to go and relax. And by the way, see how to get that prop that the system was talking about.

He chatted with Xia Chi for a while longer before the two said their goodbyes.

With his wet hair almost dry, Bai Lixin changed his clothes and went to the elevator.

The elevator slowly descended to the 50th floor, and the moment the doors opened, his eardrums were assaulted with the electronic sounds of the gaming hall.

In front of him was an old-fashioned gaming lounge decorated with neon lights

It was extremely exaggerated and retro.

He stepped out of the elevator and was in no hurry to walk in.

Around him were occasional players entering the gaming lounge, some with deathly expressions, some excited, and some extraordinarily apprehensive.

There were those who entered the game hall, and there were those who left.

A few of the players who left the lounge had pale faces, while others were jubilant.

Escape System: [Player, you can invite other players to join you in the gaming lobby.]

Bai Lixin retracted his foot that was about to walk inside: [How do I invite?]

Escape System: [You have the right to enter the 50th floor of the game hall, so the game hall is open to you for free. As an honored guest of the game lobby, you have the right to invite a lower tier player to join you in the game.]

Bai Lixin asked: [How?]

Escape System: [Each invitation costs 5,000 points, and you can invite specified players to participate as teammates.]

Bai Lixin: [There is still such a good thing? It’s just as well that I have more points than I have room for.]

Escape System: […Uh, so does the player want to invite teammates?]

Bai Lixin: [I’ll ask.]

Bai Lixin opened the private chat window and clicked on Xia Chi’s name.

Bai Lixin: [Xia Chi?]

Xia Chi replied in seconds.

Xia Chi: [Brother, I’m here!]

Bai Lixin: [Brother will bring you to the 50th floor game hall in a while, are you willing?]

Xia Chi: [Now?]

Bai Lixin: [Yes, is it inconvenient?]

Xia Chi: [No, I want, but how am I going to get there?]

Bai Lixin: [Change your clothes and wait a moment.]

After finalizing with Xia Chi, Bai Lixin continued to ask the escape system: [Invite him.]

Escape System: [Ding! Please specify the team name.]

A horizontal bar dialog box appeared out of nowhere in his mind.

The cursor in front of the dialog box jumped twice.

Bai Lixin’s frowned.

He was bad at naming.

Bai Lixin: [It’s better I invite my teammate first.]

The escape system’s voice was a little happy: [Sure. Please open your friends bar and select the player you wish to invite. A friendly reminder: You can only choose one teammate, and only once. If the other party refuses, this invitation will fail and the points will not be returned.]

Bai Lixin: [Tsk, you’re a bit of a money pit.]

Escape system: [It’s all game settings, what does it have to do with this dutiful system.]

Bai Lixin didn’t bother with the already twisted escape system, but followed the guide and opened the chat window, selecting Xia Chi’s name.

Escape System: [Ding! Player Xia Chi has agreed to the invitation. Teleportation will take place in five seconds. Friendly reminder: As player Xia Chi is a low floor player, he does not have the right to participate in the 50th floor games, he only appears as your companion. Therefore all the points he spends in the game will be deducted from you.]

Bai Lixin snorted, [You didn’t say anything about this friendly reminder earlier.]

Escape System: [I was going to say that but the player operated too quickly. What bad intentions can a dedicated support system have? Hehehe.]

Bai Lixin: “……”.

What’s with the “hehehe” at the end?

This escape system in my head has changed a lot from the time in the Deep Sea copy.

The tone of voice used to be a cold, calm current, but now it’s like a broken robot, the whole thing is wrong.

Was this system crazy?

Bai Lixin: [There’s nothing wrong with you, is there?]

Escape System: [Thanks for your concern player, I’m doing great, awakening feels so good.]

System, isn’t your awakening going in the wrong direction?

As the last seconds from five fell, a white light flashed and a dazed Xia Chi was teleported over.

Xia Chi saw Bai Lixin and his originally dull eyes lit up like a dog seeing its master.

He scurried to Bai Lixin as soon as he lifted his feet, and his eyes looked straight at him, “Brother, long time no see!”

Bai Lixin vaguely seemed to see a tail waving.

Bai Lixin suppressed the hand that wanted to pat his head and he coughed gently, “Long time no see, this is the game hall on the 50th floor. Go, go in and have some fun.”

Xia Chi turned his head to look at the game hall not far away, his black grape-like eyes reflecting the gorgeous dappled neon light and shadow.

“This is a scene I’ve only seen in documentaries.” Xia Chi’s face was a mixture of excitement and shyness, “If I saw this game hall in the real world, I would immediately rush in, but this is an escape game.”

“Won’t there be traps inside?”

Bai Lixin shrugged, “Who knows? Just go in and find out. By the way, how good are you at naming things?”

Xia Chi tilted his head to look at Bai Lixin, “Huh?”

Two minutes later, Bai Lixin saw how good Xia Chi was at naming.

[Ding! Congratulations to the players, the team name “sweeping the streets with a plug-in” was successfully created, wishing both players a happy game.]

Bai Lixin: “……”

[All games on the 50th floor game room are paid items, each entry point requires 1000 points.]

[Ding! Player detected as a two-player team, consuming 2000 points.]

[Ding! Welcome, two distinguished guests, to Punk Paradise!]

The two walked into the game hall one after the other, and were immediately dazzled by the frenzied and manic light inside.

Bai Lixin tilted his head to look at Xia Chi, and saw that under Xia Chi’s cautious eyes was an unconcealed excitement.

This game lobhy was not only retro in appearance, but the game apparatus inside was also retro.

There were crane machines, blind boxes, racing car games, hip hop dancing games etc, and even the most retro PK machines.

The PK machine was a machine with up, down, left and right buttons plus two red and green buttons that allow you to play against a machine or a human.

The game room was filled with many players and most were gathered in front of each game.

Bai Lixin, “Let’s take a look around the place first.”

Xia Chi’s eyes were dazzled by the dazzling gaming apparatus from the moment he entered the place, and he kept looking around as he absentmindedly responded to Bai Lixin, “Yes, brother.”

As he said this, he came to a shooting game.

There was a basket and a digital display hanging on the wall. Half of the display showed a countdown and half showed points. The wall inlaid with the basket was covered with a particularly saturated red and purple wallpaper, and there was a punk style everywhere.

It costs 100 points to play once, and the challenge was divided into two stages. Successful challenges earn 150 mall exchange points. Points are not refundable for failed challenges. Each player can only challenge once per day.

It costs points to live in this safe zone game lobby, and a day in the safe zone costs 50 points.

100 points were equivalent to two days of survival. This game wasn’t so difficult, and it’s the equivalent of a welfare mini-game that stalls for time for some players, which is why the number of challenges is set.

It’s a sort of a welfare game that the escape game gives to players.

Apart from this shooting game, Bai Lixin found several other games that could also be called welfare games. The points consumed and gaining few points.

Games with a very low risk level and a high success rate are the preferred items for players new to Punk paradise.

One, to practice and the other to get back some points.

So when in front of these game items, the players’ expressions were calm.

Xia Chi stared at the game with bright eyes, “Wow, it’s so retro, it’s really retro here brother.”

Bai Lixin, “Wanna play?”

Xia Chi withdrew his eyes and shook his head sharply, “No, I was just curious, I had never seen it before.”

The two continued on their way, Bai Lixin’s purpose for coming to the game hall was to find the prop card that could specify a copy. But so far, all the point items he had seen were just to gain points, and there were no props that appeared.

After passing through the welfare mini-games in the front, Bai Lixin noticed that the players’ at the back had much more solemn expressions and it was obvious that the cost of these games had become much more expensive.

But high cost, also meant high return.

“Bai Lixin? Xia Chi?”

A voice drilled into their ears amidst the noise of people.

Bai Lixin and Xia Chi looked over and saw a man running over from afar.

When that person ran closer, Xia Chi happily called out, “Song Lei? What a coincidence, you’re here too!”

Song Lei was a veteran player who had completed the [Blood Clan] copy with them. He had entered this immersive escape game earlier than any of them and also climbed up to the 50+ floor early.

“Yeah, I’ve been soaking in here every day for the past few days, just to relax and adjust back to my previous state.”

Song Lei had previously been trapped in the Inner World for the [Blood Clan] copy for decades and had tasted various aspects of life. He had been adjusting his state after escaping from that copy.

“You’re here for entertainment too?” He shot a glance at Bai Lixin and a look of amazement flashed in his eyes.

Instead of wearing his usual white shirt, Bai Lixin had changed into a loose knitted thin sweater. The sweater was pure white, and Bai Lixin’s already delicate and porcelain skin was made even more delicate with this soft jumper.

The lighting was a bit retro and dim, and under the dim light, Bai Lixin’s eyes dotted with stars seem to be covered with a hazy mist. The originally normal color of his lips had also become much redder. His expression was calm and gentle, yet the depth of his eyes carried a sense of noble detachment.

He appeared in the game room, yet he did not fit in with the surroundings, as if he had fallen from the immortal realm. The hustle and bustle was around him, yet he could not be invaded.

Song Lei stared for two seconds before he consciously turned his eyes to Xia Chi, “Did Bai Lixin invite you?”

Xia Chi, “Yes, brother brought me along to play.”

Song Lei looked at the two of them hesitantly, “How can it be just for fun? Going inside is the props area. There are a lot of chips, but the stakes are also big. If you are just playing, then its better to stay in this area, earn some props or something, then move on. The group of people inside are all wolves, be careful.”

He glanced at the empty hands of the two of them, “You haven’t exchanged the points coins yet?”

Bai Lixin didn’t speak much, and Xia Chi just answered, “We just came in a few minutes ago.”

Song Lei turned around and pointed in a direction, “Turn a corner from this path, and you will see the service desk where you can exchange credit coins. After you win, you will also get credit coins. When you have played enough, take the coins earned and you can exchange for points at the front desk.”