Chapter 8
Deep down, Lu Chuan still had the instinct to buy real estate.
And right now, money was the last thing he lacked.
In a strange world, the fastest way to gain a sense of belonging was to buy a home of your own.
Back in his previous world, with his income, buying a place alone had been nothing but a dream.
Now, Lu Chuan happily arrived at the sales office.
“How much is a square meter here?” Lu Chuan calculated his savings and figured he could afford a luxury flat.
“Sorry, sir, we don’t accept money here. Only game points or game items.” The sales agent beamed when she saw Lu Chuan walk in.
Fair-skinned, handsome, clean, and neatly dressed—he carried himself with calm dignity.
Obviously a player, or at least a player’s family member.
People from the shantytowns could never dress so decently, and they always carried a certain inferiority when stepping into player cities.
“You don’t take money?” Lu Chuan froze.
What kind of backwards nonsense was this?
“Yes, sir, only game points or items,” the sales agent repeated. “If you’d like to use money, I suggest you first buy a game item at an auction, then come back. A semi-detached villa here costs just three C-rank items—or only one if it’s a defensive-type item. A 200-square-meter flat requires five D-rank items. Here’s the full price list.”
She handed him a sheet of paper.
In this Infinite World, everything revolved around players.
Ordinary people could maintain a basic standard of living, but just survival—nothing more.
To rise above others in this era, one had to become a player.
If only the game allowed direct transfer of points, none of this would be necessary.
Points couldn’t serve as currency, but items bought with points could be traded.
Lu Chuan thought it over. He’d keep the puppet—useful later. The Bible wasn’t much use to him, though. A single D-rank item couldn’t buy a luxury flat, but it was enough for a small single apartment. That would do for now.
“I’ll take a small apartment.” Lu Chuan decided it was best to secure a home first.
“Very well, please show me your family certificate or guild certificate.” The saleswoman smiled warmly.
What?
Lu Chuan blinked. “I think I get what a guild certificate is, but what’s a family certificate?”
She gave him a subtle look, then explained professionally: “A family certificate proves that you’re a relative of a guild member.”
“And if I don’t have one?”
“Sorry, then you can’t buy property.”
“I see. Then I’ll have to ask my cousin for one.” Lu Chuan’s expression stayed calm, not betraying the fact that he couldn’t buy. “I thought I could just purchase with items.”
He left amid the sales staff’s polite smiles.
This world was outrageous!
He had dozens of pounds of gold on him—gold, the ultimate hard currency, useful even inside dungeons! Yet here in the real world, it was worthless? Instead, game items served as the universal equivalent? Unbelievable.
This completely excluded ordinary people.
And any “currency” that couldn’t circulate couldn’t generate wealth at all.
For the first time, Lu Chuan truly felt the malice of this world.
When System #888 finished upgrading and returned, it was surprised to see Lu Chuan crouched in a corner, frowning deeply.
Huh?
How had its all-powerful, cunning, shameless host suddenly become so dejected?
“System, this world really does need a God of Wealth.” Lu Chuan said seriously.
[Host, your awareness is remarkable.] System 888 praised. [Host, my skills have upgraded. You’ll see them in action once you enter the next dungeon. What’s your plan now?]
“What do you suggest?”
[My suggestion is that you act alone as much as possible. That way, no one will notice anything strange about us. After all, I brought you here from another world, so your habits are very different from the locals. If someone spots the irregularities, it’ll be troublesome. That’s what my past hosts always did.]
“Perfect. Then I definitely can’t act alone.” Lu Chuan immediately rejected it. “System, thanks for ruling out a wrong answer.”
System 888: …Thanks a lot.
“I just tried to buy property, but I couldn’t. You need items or family/guild certificates. I think these player-built cities must have guilds behind them. Only guilds could pull off a monopoly like this.”
[Yes, Host. In this world, game guilds are supreme—especially the Five Great Guilds. They control many dungeons and world secrets. We must not be discovered by them…]
“So I’ve decided—I’m going to join one of the Five Great Guilds, and preferably grab myself a guild leader’s seat.” Lu Chuan declared boldly.
Huh?
System 888 was once again shaken.
[Host, this…]
“System, if I want to become the God of Wealth, I must first control the means of production. Do you know where wealth comes from? Wealth is the means of production of the laborers, and it is created by exploiting the surplus value of their labor. If I want to be the God of Wealth, I have to first seize the means of production, make all the wealth of this world flow, and only then will the gold in my hands truly have value!”
Moved to tears.
System 888 was really crying this time.
…Host, you really refuse to take even the slightest detour.
“Besides, have you ever seen a world’s richest man who got there by fighting alone? If you can’t lead a team, you can work yourself to death and still never be the richest. And if I can’t even be the richest, how could I ever be the God of Wealth?” Lu Chuan said righteously, his eyes gleaming with the light of a true capitalist.
“Throughout history, it’s always been more common to plot and usurp a throne than to sail across the seas to carve out a petty kingdom.”
The game Evil World had existed in this world for centuries. The great guilds had been contending with it for just as long, hoarding countless items and skills, and mastering who knew how many hidden secrets.
Could such a massive legacy be handled by Lu Chuan alone?
Since he couldn’t defeat them, the only option was to join them.
Better yet—he would inherit it all himself.
“System, let’s first bring these game guilds under our control, conquer the world, and make it all a stepping stone on my path to becoming the God of Wealth!”
Lu Chuan felt his future blazing bright.
He could already see endless riches beckoning him forward.
“System, help me check—which of the five guild leaders is closest to dying, and whose underlings are dumb enough for me to easily wipe out? I’ll just pick the softest persimmon and snatch their throne early.” Lu Chuan flexed his arms, full of fighting spirit.
System 888 suddenly wanted to fly back to the heavens.
Maybe it should call a colleague down.
The War God System would probably suit its host better!
*
Abyss Guild, one branch.
“Teacher, look at this newcomer [Arrival of the God of Wealth]! The time he rose up matches exactly with the end of my dungeon run—he must be the one!” [Hunter 081] was one of the stronger students at the guild’s academy, but after inexplicably missing out on a high evaluation in the newbie dungeon, he naturally couldn’t swallow the loss.
All the instructors had gathered.
They didn’t care much about one student; what they cared about was this [Arrival of the God of Wealth].
“Boss, I already checked—the Star Guild doesn’t have a member with that nickname.”
“Noah Guild either.”
“Resurrection Guild doesn’t have one.”
“Ocean Heart Guild also said no.”
“Then maybe he belongs to some small guild?”
“Idiot! If a small guild suddenly had someone break into the top ten of the Newcomer Ranking, they’d be bragging everywhere to recruit fresh blood!”
The instructors of the Abyss Guild began studying the matter seriously.
In fact, it wasn’t just them—the other major guilds were also investigating this sudden [Arrival of the God of Wealth].
The game Evil World had run for centuries in this world. The guilds, using the lives of countless players, had uncovered many of its secrets.
Ordinary people in their shacks always thought players stood high above, but they didn’t know the truth: at least ordinary people could keep on living, while players often died horribly in their very next dungeon.
How to improve survival rates and clear rates had become a central focus of every guild.
That was why the system’s published leaderboards—the “Newcomer Potential Ranking,” the “Class Rankings,” and the “God-tier Ranking”—were so important for guild recruitment.
The “Newcomer Potential Ranking” was particularly crucial.
After all, class rankings could be roughly gauged even without the system. And those on the God-tier list were already famous with their own territories.
But only the system truly knew the “Newcomer Potential Ranking.”
A spot there didn’t guarantee a future place on the God-tier list, but nearly 99% of God-tier players had once been ranked as promising newcomers.
In other words, investing in them early was like recruiting a future powerhouse in advance.
The Five Great Guilds weren’t united—they fought constantly, poaching each other’s people, clashing in dungeons and even in reality.
Each God-tier player was a force capable of shifting the balance of war!
“There are only 100 slots on the Newcomer Potential Ranking. The top ten are usually dominated by super-geniuses trained from childhood by our five guilds. They’ve been practicing dungeon skills since they could walk, and even then we filter the very best. For this [Arrival of the God of Wealth] to burst straight into the top ten on his first appearance—that’s no ordinary feat. A newcomer only drops off the list after clearing more than five dungeons. For him to rise so fast, he must have earned at least two A-rank evaluations, maybe higher.” One player analyzed.
“Not just that. Take our Abyss Guild’s prodigy, [Crybaby]. She cleared four dungeons with three A’s and one A+, and she’s only at rank 13. Now she’s dropped to 14. And that’s confirmed—my mom’s cousin’s husband’s uncle’s niece is [Crybaby]. No mistake.”
“So that means he must have gotten at least two A+ ratings, maybe even unlocked over 90% of a dungeon for an S-rank!”
“Even if it’s a newbie dungeon, that clearance level is terrifying.”
The Abyss Guild players gathered, hoping to use [Hunter 081]’s lead to locate their newbie dungeon, then somehow trace [Arrival of the God of Wealth].
If they could find him and recruit him, the reward would be enough to move them from this backwater city to the central guild headquarters!
[Hunter 081] still wanted to complain, but seeing his instructors acting like they were intoxicated with their analysis, he realized he’d missed his chance to befriend a future god-tier player—and couldn’t help but regret it.
If only he had tried harder to make friends with that player back then.
“Alright, I happen to have a B-rank item that lets me enter a designated dungeon for a while,” said the principal of the academy—a B-rank player.
“You’re sure it’s the dungeon [Haunted Construction Site] (Novice Version)?”
“Certain.”
“Good.” The principal nodded and pulled out his game item.
Every dungeon could be a gateway to another world. Even low-level ones might mutate into higher-level dungeons.
For example, an A-rank map could be restricted by the system to a fixed area, thus dropping to C-rank or lower.
“Use item ‘Shuttling Time.’ Enter dungeon [Haunted Construction Site] (Novice Version).” The principal tapped his game panel.
[Warning: Item cannot be used.]
[Dungeon [Haunted Construction Site] is locked. Currently unavailable. Thank you for your understanding.]
*
Inside the dungeon.
Hubbard, George, Bruce—these high-level NPCs were all kneeling obediently on the ground, hardly daring to breathe.
The city was emptied of all other life—they’d all been relocated. Only after “inspection” would they return.
Only these three NPCs had the qualifications to undergo inspection without mutating.
A massive monster descended from the sky.
Its body stretched beyond sight, covered in countless limbs and organs—just one glance could give nightmares for life.
Endless, suffocating, polluting even with its breath.
Standing atop it was a man with golden hair, wearing a black uniform and a military cap.
His face was breathtakingly beautiful, like the product of infinite dreamscapes.
But such beauty carried an inhuman terror.
One glance was enough to drive someone insane.
Hubbard and the others dared not lift their heads. They only prayed these two ancestors would leave quickly.
Heavens, what sins had they committed to draw a Burier here?
“Senior, are these three little snacks for me?” The monster sprouted another tongue hungrily.
“They’re here for inspection.” The man patted the sword embedded in the monster’s head. “Take human form—you can’t control your power like this, and you’ll kill them.”
“Senior, you’re strong, so you get to say whatever you like.” The monster grumbled but obeyed. It was Number 18, while its senior was Number 9.
The difference between double-digit and single-digit ranks was as vast as the gap between it and the three little snacks below.
Soon, the golden-haired man landed, and beside him appeared a two-meter-tall humanoid creature with hair like countless venomous snakes.
“This building of yours has been renamed,” Number 9 observed immediately. “Why?”
“P-please… let us explain slowly.” George gasped for breath, feeling the suffocating oppression at such close range, wishing he could just die on the spot.
“No need.” Number 9 cast a glance at Number 18.
Immediately, a strand of Number 18’s hair pierced through the center of George’s forehead, then through Hubbard’s and Bruce’s as well.
Their memories began playing above their heads like a movie reel.
“Senior, this looks fine. This new player cleared the dungeon by making a transaction acknowledged by the instance to rename the building.” Number 18 reported. “If there’s no problem, can I eat these three little snacks now?”
“Use your brain.” Number 9 watched Lu Chuan in the memory for a long moment, his tone indifferent. “A newcomer player couldn’t possibly possess such wealth, much less buy an entire building.”
“But they really did receive money,” Number 18 still didn’t see the flaw.
“That was their own money. Just a simple triangular debt cycle.” Number 9 pressed down his cap, making his judgment. “It was deceit, yes, but still a legitimate way to clear the dungeon. Quite interesting.”
“This player is fine. I’ll mark him and report to the Main God.” Number 9 turned away, but his side glance cut across Number 18. “Change back to your true form. We’re leaving. A low-level dungeon can’t withstand our power for too long—the mutation must stay within normal limits.”
“Senior, you can obviously fly yourself…”
“Change.” Number 9 cut him off bluntly.
“Yes, Senior.” After transforming, Number 18 felt the sword stuck in his head by his senior sting even more.
Number 9 always preached about maintaining sanity and staying in human form, but his moods were so erratic that he had hacked Number 18 more times than he could count.
Forget it. At least there was now a player being targeted by Senior—that poor guy was even worse off. Number 18 consoled himself this way.
A few minutes later.
Hubbard, George, and Bruce regained consciousness.
Everything about Number 9 and Number 18 had been erased from their minds.
Only, it seemed an extra eye had sprouted on their foreheads.
But then again, humans always had three eyes, didn’t they?
Everything was perfectly normal.
Author’s Note:
Let’s straighten things out.
Lu Chuan’s original world was our world. The infinite world he crossed into had no nations or armies, because it had already been devoured by Evil World. Now, the world only has players and ordinary people, with order maintained solely by the great game guilds.
Lu Chuan’s plan to seize a guild leader’s seat is no different from plotting to usurp a throne in our world. Since in-game skills also work in reality, god-tier players are no different from nuclear weapons.
