Chapter 34
“I never expected so much to happen later, even when he fell to demonic corruption.” The electric bike rounded a corner as Jiang Jitang frowned in thought. “Betrayed by all and close to disintegration. But for him to mention this specifically, could it be a feign of weakness?”
“And, he’s injured,” he recalled another matter.
“Master is worried about him?” Golden Eye asked.
“No.”
Due to physical limitations, humans here couldn’t use magic. But Parsons was a knight, a genius warrior trained and rigorously selected since childhood. What circumstances could have possibly injured him?
“You ask too many questions. Since you’re so idle, you must not be very hungry. I’ll eat the yogurt alone.”
Golden Eye: !
A bolt from the blue.
“Then are we going home?” the utterly deflated Golden Eye asked listlessly.
“No.”
Jiang Jitang turned a corner, pushing the electric bike to its maximum speed: “We’re going to the official Cube World branch. There are new tasks tomorrow, no time then. We’ll settle this cooperation matter today.”
The official Cube World department in Jin City was actually located in the urban village behind the market where Jiang Jitang lived. Sandwiched between a hair salon on the left and a bone-setting clinic on the right, with an old ‘XX Beauty Parlor’ light box sign outside – it was very down-to-earth.
“You can pop in for a beauty treatment while you’re here; we also offer sauna rooms, massage relaxation services, and more,” said Jiang Xingzhou, who wore a ‘Beauty Parlor Manager’ badge.
They were a legitimate beauty parlor, with experienced massage therapists. Players faced high stress, so relaxing here was beneficial for their physical and mental health. Afterward, they could get a haircut next door or work out some muscle kinks.
But she hadn’t rushed over just to promote this.
“Whatever conditions you have, as long as we can meet them, we definitely will.”
This sudden seriousness made Jiang Jitang secretly suspicious.
Previously, they were eager to have him as a healer, but never this urgent. He didn’t know what had happened, but this certainly increased his bargaining power.
“I’ve read the proposed cooperation terms. Everything else is fine. Working at least one day a month is acceptable, and treating a hundred people is also acceptable. Let’s set it for the first day of every month, one hundred people.”
“All on that single day?” Minister Jiang was shocked and hesitant. She’d never heard of anyone who could treat a hundred people in one day. Did his healing tool have no usage limit?
“Don’t worry,” Jiang Jitang said without elaboration.
This was a contract highly favorable to Jiang Jitang. As an external personnel, he enjoyed the benefits of a full-time staff member with high flexibility. A monthly base salary of five hundred thousand would also ease his recent delivery expenses.
Concentrating treatments on the first day of each month left the rest of his time free. Restrictions against civil servants engaging in business also didn’t apply to him.
So he had the freedom to take other healing jobs and run a shop, as long as it didn’t interfere with his treatment of official players.
“I also have some private secrets, inconvenient to share, and I hope you won’t inquire too deeply,” Jiang Jitang stated his final requirement openly.
“Of course, we can fully cooperate. Mr. Jiang, you might be underestimating your own value. Healers are rare and precious everywhere, especially after the Cube World update,” Jiang Xingzhou was equally candid. “We need you.”
“Update? Today?” Jiang Jitang remembered the conversation between the two players in the restaurant. He hadn’t paid much attention before, but it seemed he had missed witnessing a major event.
“Not long ago, someone cleared a ninth-order Cube World. This is the first success in half a year of many attempting ninth-order games. After that, Cube World issued an update notice.”
“That must be a very significant update notice,” Jiang Jitang guessed.
“Yes. Extremely significant,” the Minister said with a wry smile.
“The official announcement said this update would be released in three parts. The first part came out an hour ago. The content is: after this update, the number of clears for an instance is fixed. After five clears, the instance zone closes. But any instance that fails to be cleared three times in a row will detach from the game and appear in the real world.”
“The second part appeared half an hour ago. That was truly…”
Jiang Xingzhou searched for the right word: “An earthquake. A world-class earthquake.”
“How so?” Although Jiang Jitang was already pulling out his phone, he still asked.
Jiang Xingzhou looked at him intently: “After the Cube World update, all Cube games, besides dropping items, will now randomly drop Evolution Points and Redemption Coupons.”
“Evolution Points can be used on the player themselves, strengthening their physique and optimizing their talents. Artificial superhumans might no longer be a fantasy. This poses a challenge to all orderly nations.”
“And the Redemption Coupons…”
She paused, then continued: “Counting from the first day the Cube World appeared, if someone clears the twelfth-order Cube World within ten years and gathers ten billion Redemption Coupons, they can unbind from the Cube World, escape the fate of being terrorized, and redeem our Blue Star.”
“That’s right. Our planet has been taken hostage.”
“Our planet… was taken hostage?”
From the very first day the Cube World appeared, those in the know had pondered why it emerged. Was it just to maliciously torment these resurrected people?
Now they had an answer.
So their Blue Star had unknowingly become a selected slaughterhouse for some other entity.
But for some reason, the butcher offered them a chance. If they could beat the game and offer sufficient sincerity, they could buy back their planet.
This chance was infinitely compressed, hence the drop rate for healing items was adjusted to the minimum, but there was still a chance.
“What happens if we don’t redeem it?” the players subconsciously asked themselves.
They suddenly thought of the horror instances developed from real-world buildings or stories, and the trapped NPCs within.
If they failed, would the world gradually become like that?
“Now horror instances can appear in the real world. Do we have the ability to stop them?”
“I don’t know. I’m afraid even those player organizations wouldn’t dare promise anything. Only the official governments of various countries… but even they couldn’t learn the truth about the Cube World before.”
“The only good news is that it seems we can now reveal a little about the Cube World to the outside. Official intervention is inevitable.”
“Since the update is so major, why still not allow weapons?”
“Wow, you dare to dream. I can’t even bring a multi-function knife in.”
Players monitoring the forums for the latest update news were all unsettled, posting comments to seek the warmth of solidarity. They originally thought it was just about the players’ survival, but now it looked like the survival of the entire world.
How were they, of all people, supposed to bear such a heavy responsibility?
“It has been around for two years and eight months now. So… we have seven years and four months left?”
“Not ‘have left’, but ‘only have’. From the first appearance of an eighth-order Cube player to the first ninth-order Cube player, it took about a year. Of course, this batch of experts started tackling the ninth-order half a year ago, but it still illustrates the point. The higher the instance level, the harder it is to clear. There are still three levels left, and we only have seven years and four months.”
“Thanks, I’m panicking now.”
After reading the first page of the Cube World forum, Jiang Jitang closed his phone.
“I knew the Tree of Life doesn’t do meaningless things,” he muttered to himself. Golden Eye’s time-travel setting only brushed against the edges of laws, but the Mother Tree was the true master of time, space, and dimensions.
It must have seen this planet’s crisis and thus sent him the seed.
This world needed a little shock from the magical world.
Jiang Jitang also suspected the system knew about this, because it had warned him early on about the ‘special environment he was in’, and many of the rewards and mini-games it provided were closely related to the Cube World.
“I should have realized sooner. The ‘Wishing Star’ in the Wish-Fulfillment General Store isn’t just for the wisher; perhaps it itself came in response to the world’s consciousness,” Jiang Jitang mused quietly.
“Couldn’t they be a bit more polite with this tool? Even if they had explained clearly from the start instead of being cryptic?”
Although, whether they explained or not, he would have chosen to do this anyway.
“Minister,” Jiang Jitang, having decided to cooperate closely with the official organization, smoothly changed his address, “I’d like to learn how to fly helicopters and motorboats, as well as shooting. I wonder if the Minister has any avenues for that.”
He would surely simulate aircraft and motorboats using the Tasker’s Cart later. Better to learn early and be prepared.
“Of course there are. Those are actually among the benefits offered by our department.”
Instances could present all sorts of situations. They not only provided training for various vehicles but also offered lessons in combat skills, shooting, cold weapons, lock picking, parachuting, etc. The instructors were highly skilled experts hired at great expense. Well, some were experts dug up from prison.
They even cooperated with various universities. Department members could use their badges to audit any course of interest at top-tier universities. Unfortunately, this benefit had existed for over two years, and no one had used it yet.
Jiang Jitang was satisfied. He had no other questions.
“Pleasure working with you.”
“Pleasure working with you. By the way, would you like to choose a code name? Everyone here is used to using them.” Entering an instance without a code name is like going out naked – it feels very insecure.
“Code name… let it be Illman.”
Having secured a super healer for the team, Minister Jiang felt some of her anxiety and unease about the future lessen. She could even joke: “I really didn’t expect you to agree to join us here. Other places might offer better terms.”
These ‘other places’ weren’t just referring to civilian organizations, but also foreign powers.
Those few developed countries, whatever else might be said, were quite generous when poaching talent – high salaries, big villas, the whole package. As for the treatment after being tricked into going, that was a matter for later.
“I know,” Jiang Jitang looked directly at the Minister, “but my goal is stability maintenance. Working with the official organization is the most straightforward way.”
“Stability maintenance?” Minister Jiang was somewhat surprised by this answer.
Having contacted so many players, he was the first to choose official cooperation for ‘stability maintenance’… It suddenly felt like the perspective had broadened considerably.
“I can’t stand roads without greenery, and I don’t want to live in houses with property taxes. I’m quite satisfied with the environment I live in now domestically.” Every place has its own pros and cons, foreign countries have their good points too, but he might just be more suited for here.
“For this reason, I hope society remains stable, so I can continue my current life. Our interests and goals align, so I’m here.”
Put simply, only the official organization’s requirement was to return to normalcy as soon as possible and maintain social stability.
Other organizations might not; they might prefer to cultivate a few superhumans – given that players could now obtain Evolution Points and items, becoming superhuman wasn’t impossible.
Private players craved profit from this.
Profit drives people mad. Players who gain power, wealth, and prestige from this might forget their original intentions and subsequently wish for the Cube World to exist longer.
Human hearts are too complex. The state, as the coercive apparatus, is simpler and more direct.
They want social stability. Coincidentally, so does he.
“Stability maintenance, stability maintenance…” she murmured softly, finding the term extremely interesting. “So, are there any taboos? For example, types you won’t treat? Minor injuries? Or people you don’t like?”
Jiang Jitang thought for a moment, frowning: “Frontline players take priority. Critical injuries take priority. If there’s an emergency, don’t wait for the first of the month. Send the person to me immediately.”
Was this a taboo? Wasn’t it just sincere goodwill?
Jiang Xingzhou didn’t know what to say. In the end, she just extended her hand: “Thank you.”
“No, I haven’t finished.
“If there are non-official, wealthy players, you can let them ‘accidentally’ learn of my existence. VIP hidden model, can bring someone back from their last breath to full health. Of course, the fee is also VIP hidden model level.”
“Don’t make it too easy for them to find out. Make them work to inquire. The key is to make them understand that asking for a favor requires the right attitude. My skill and temper are inversely proportional. I’m emotionally unstable, prone to flipping out. They need to cater to my mood.”
“For non-official ordinary players, tell them joining the official organization comes with free slots. If they don’t join, then it depends on fate.”
Those with money support with money, those without support with their presence. Everyone finds their own place.
“If possible, play the bad cop. After all, healing resources are limited. It’s reasonable for the official side to want to keep it under wraps. But don’t leave them completely without hope. For example, let them succeed once every three tries. You can add a little personal touch, make it seem real.”
“For this extra income, non-urgent cases at the highest market rate. Urgent cases, multiply by two.”
“If they are foreign nationals, same number, unit ‘Dollars’.”
“And first-timers must have a referral. Social niceties, they understand that better than I do. We’ll split this money, you take twenty percent, I take eighty. Put it in the agreement, thanks.”
Looking at Jiang Jitang’s still upright and honest face, Jiang Xingzhou was silent for two seconds, then still reached out and shook his hand: “You young people really are quick-thinking.” She gets the money, the reputation, sets high thresholds to openly fleece the wealthy, and the key point is Jiang Jitang doesn’t have to put up with any nonsense.
“You’re too kind,” Jiang Jitang said. In his previous life, he was a feudal aristocrat. Maybe not great at infrastructure, but he did have some experience in exploitation and wealth extraction. “Let’s get rich together.”
