Let’s Squander A Billion First!

Chapter 623 -623: Asking the Immortal in the Netherworld (5)

Chapter 623 -623: Asking the Immortal in the Netherworld (5)

Hu Shuo led Chuzheng to a metal door, beside which was a screen for entering a password.

Hu Shuo signaled for Chuzheng to wait a moment.

After Hu Shuo entered the password, the metal door slowly slid open, parting to each side.

The room was large and filled with a sense of technology, with a strong metallic feel.

After Chuzheng entered, she passed through another door before seeing a bed — empty.

“Miss Chuzheng, please come in.”

Chuzheng: “…”

There was another room inside, and this one had an even stronger sense of technology; at least in the outer room, some furniture was still visible.

But in this room, there were only machines, and more machines.

All kinds of equipment filled the room.

In the middle of the room, there was a game pod.

Inside the game pod, a man lay quietly, with the semi-transparent lid blurring the man’s outline.

“Six months ago, the gentleman fell into a coma for certain reasons,” Hu Shuo glossed over the matter and walked over to check the equipment, “Recently, his equipment has also started having issues.”

Chuzheng: “…”

No one told me before I came that the employer was in a coma!

Hu Shuo continued, “Miss Chuzheng, are you able to resolve these strange occurrences?”

Initially, they did not consider supernatural causes.

After all, they were all materialists dealing with technology every day; they wouldn’t think of such matters.

However, as modern civilization flourished and the culture of old declined, not just in Jingnan City but across the country, it was hard to find a capable master.

Later, Su Tiyue recommended that he seek out Chuzheng.

Only then did Hu Shuo, with a mindset of grasping at straws, invite Chuzheng.

Chuzheng surveyed the room, her tone indifferent, “I’ll handle it if it’s non-human; human causes are not my concern.”

She paused before adding another sentence, “No refunds.”

“…Was that previous feeling of grandeur an illusion? Why does this seem like dealing with a shrewd merchant?”

But a person recommended by Professor Su certainly wouldn’t be a swindler.

“Then, Miss Chuzheng, what do you think…?”

“Take me around.”

“Okay… okay.”

Hu Shuo led Chuzheng around the entire house once more before returning to that room.

“Miss Chuzheng, did you find anything?”

“Nothing.” This place is clean. “Are you sure it’s not human-caused?”

“Miss Chuzheng, we’ve had people check inside and out before, added a lot of surveillance, without leaving a blind spot, it’s definitely not human-caused,” Hu Shuo assured.

“Oh.”

Chuzheng stared at that game pod.

It was produced by the Fanxing Group, but looking at the model, it appeared to be a new version not yet released on the market.

At the tail end of the game pod, there was a pattern.

It was somewhat like the solar system, but it had nine planets, orbiting in crisscrossing trajectories, each with a ring, so it certainly wasn’t the solar system, probably just Fanxing Group’s company logo.

Chuzheng felt it looked somewhat familiar…

She looked at her wrist, at the intelligent wristband on her fair left arm.

She removed the wristband and flipped it over.

The pattern on the back was identical to the one on her game pod.

“Is this produced by your company?” Chuzheng handed the object to Hu Shuo.

Hu Shuo looked at it puzzled for a moment, unsure, “It resembles a past product of the company…”

Eventually, Hu Shuo said, “This must be a product from quite some time ago, it’s discontinued now.”

Hu Shuo revealed a metallic wristband on his own wrist, “Look, this is our latest product. Would you like it? I can give you one…”

Chuzheng’s face remained expressionless, “What’s its function?”

“Er…” Hu Shuo explained, “This was developed for holographic games, and although it’s discontinued, the system hasn’t been shut down. You can still log in to any game produced by Fanxing with it, but the experience might be somewhat inferior.”

“What games does your company have?”

Hu Shuo didn’t know how the conversation had suddenly turned to this topic, but considering Su Tiyue’s warning, he could only introduce them to Chuzheng.

Now that holographic technology had matured, the games produced by Fanxing Company spanned various genres.

Shooter, role-playing, puzzle —whatever you could think of, they had it.

“Just these…” Hu Shuo’s finger stopped scrolling at the end.

“There’s one more page,” Chuzheng said, looking at the screen.

Hu Shuo frowned slightly, as if he didn’t want to continue.

But meeting Chuzheng’s cold gaze, Hu Shuo felt a chill down his spine, and without thinking, his finger had already slid across the screen. He had no choice but to say, “This game isn’t online yet.”

On the screen, the grand word ‘Fanxing’ loomed large, the background showing real-life photography of clothing from ancient to modern and future times.

There was a slogan at the bottom.

—Travel through time, stand at the pinnacle of the world, exclusively tailored for you, embark on a journey of dreams meant just for you.

“The game, named ‘Fanxing,’ was originally scheduled to launch this year, but due to technical issues, the project has been shelved,” Hu Shuo admitted, wiping away a cold sweat.

Chuzheng stared at the promotional phrase on the screen, as if deciphering its hidden secrets.

Something was wrong…

The whole affair was off.

Her wristband wasn’t purchased from any of Fanxing’s outlets, but after she completed a job, the employer had sent her a bank card along with this wristband.

She wouldn’t reject extra compensation.

The wristband was pretty, so she casually wore it, and after getting used to it, she was too lazy to take it off.

But…

Something was wrong!

–

“Why did he fall into a coma?” Chuzheng suddenly pointed to the gaming pod.

Hu Shuo’s heart pounded violently.

Why was this kid’s line of questioning so wildly erratic?

Weren’t they just talking about games?

How did it turn to his master all of a sudden?!

“Miss Chuzheng, are these matters important?”

“Of course,” Chuzheng confidently replied. “Understanding my employer helps me find the cause.”

Hu Shuo: “Do… do you really need to know?”

Chuzheng calmly asked, “Do the police need to investigate from multiple angles when looking into a case?”

Hu Shuo had no counterargument: “They… they do.”

“So do I need to?”

“You do…”

–

“Miss Chuzheng, I trust Professor Su, and since you say it’s for the good of our master, I trust you too,” said Hu Shuo.

Chuzheng nodded.

“The master fell into a coma because of this Fanxing game,” Hu Shuo said with a somewhat stern expression. “Fanxing is a role-playing game. Players can select scenarios and characters, and then dive into the game. Inside, they live through the life of that character, whatever kind of role you want to experience, you can accomplish it in this game.”

Fanxing, as the flagship game soon to be launched by Fanxing Company, naturally had more than just this little surprise up its sleeve.

It also allowed multiple players to enter the same scenario.

For example, in an ancient scenario, someone might choose to be the emperor, someone else a general, and yet another the concubines of the harem…

These players could all play together in the same scenario.

This was somewhat similar to team play in other games, but the difference was that in one scenario, there could only be one winner.

This meant that they had to fight and love each other within this setting.

The player who chose the emperor function must lead the nation to a golden age.

The player who chose the general must ascend the throne.

The player who chose the concubines must become the ruler of the harem.