Star Wish Club

Guangwei Street is one of the most prosperous commercial streets in Shanchengshan, located right next to Shanchengshan First Senior Academy. Long Ming often came here when he was in school, but he had not returned since graduating. After two years away, the place had changed a lot. It was even more prosperous than before, with many new shops opening on both sides of the street. "Hah~" Long Ming exhaled softly and walked forward. Soon Long Ming arrived at a star café called Yue Lan, the best in the area. He had been there a few times before. This star café had updated its equipment after Civilization Paradise launched, transitioning to a new line of business. But there was no choice. After all, Civilization Paradise was officially registered, and its impact was incomparable to any previous game. If it did not transform, the only outcome would be elimination. Long Ming walked in and entered the hall of Yue Lan Star Café. He glanced around and found that although the layout had not changed, there were slight modifications. The computer workstations in the hall had all been removed, replaced by a giant projection screen. It showed video footage of players exploring Civilization Paradise. Many people gathered here to watch. As for the former private room area inside, all equipment had been replaced with helmets for guests to use. Long Ming walked straight to the counter. At that moment, a waitress wearing black stockings and a bunny girl outfit, with an outstanding appearance, smiled and said, "I am Xiao Wei of Yue Lan Star Café. Would you like to go online?" "Hmm, I heard you have game pods here." "Yes, our Yue Lan Star Café is equipped with the latest model of game pods." "May I ask how it's charged?" Long Ming then asked Xiao Wei about the specific fees. "The game pod costs 200 Shan coins per hour. In addition, the game pod comes with three-dose nutrient agent, each dose costing 1000 Shan coins." Xiao Wei glanced at Long Ming's clothing, then introduced the specific fees to him. "So expensive?" Hearing Xiao Wei's words, Long Ming's heart sank. Calculated over three days, the cost would be as high as 17,200 Shan coins. The money in his hands was far from enough. In fact, Long Ming knew that game pod sessions were expensive, which was why he had specifically borrowed 10,000 Shan coins from Wang Yang. But he had not expected the price to be so outrageous. This far exceeded his capacity to bear it. Although he could scrape together the money, if this instance exploration failed, it would truly be trouble. Xiao Wei heard Long Ming's words and smiled. "It is indeed expensive. But unfortunately, there are many people in demand. Our star café's game pods are all booked until a week from now, so even if you want to use one now, there are no machines." "Alright, thank you." Hearing Xiao Wei's words, Long Ming helplessly gave up and turned to leave. Soon Long Ming walked out of Yue Lan Star Café. He stood by the roadside watching the laughing young men and women on the street, his expression somewhat melancholy. This time it was trouble. Even with money, he could not rent a game pod. Papapapapa~ At that moment, lively firecracker sounds erupted not far away. Long Ming also looked over at the sound, only to see that a new star café had opened diagonally across from Yue Lan Star Café. A group of girls in uniform, with stunning figures, smiling faces, holding megaphones shouted: "Xingyuan Star Café grand opening sale, everything 50% off!" Hearing this, Long Ming's heart stirred. Everything 50% off? If this star café also had game pods, wouldn't it only cost 8,600 Shan coins? If so, he could barely afford it. Thinking this, Long Ming immediately walked toward the newly opened Xingyuan Star Café. When he arrived in front of Xingyuan Star Café, he found that this star café was huge. It had actually rented two six-story buildings clad in beige stone panels on the exterior. After all, this was one of the most prosperous commercial streets. Not only was rent expensive, but it was hard to lease even with money, let alone rent two buildings at once—and connected ones at that. If he remembered correctly, these two buildings were originally shopping malls. Additionally, Long Ming discovered that although both buildings belonged to Xingyuan Star Café, their functions seemed different. The left building was labeled Xingyuan Star Café, the right labeled Star Wish Club. Long lines of people queued at both entrances. Long Ming then went to the back of the Xingyuan Star Café line and queued, afterward curiously looking toward the club's line. He saw a girl in a pink maid dress with cat-ear hair clips enthusiastically shouting at the people in line. "Star Wish Club is recruiting pioneers of Civilization Paradise. Professional players and retired personnel are given priority. Once accepted, six insurances and a housing fund will be paid, 16-month salary treatment is enjoyed, game equipment can be used for free, and there are additional benefits." At that moment, a man wearing black-rimmed glasses and with a frail body excitedly said to his companion beside him, "The benefits and treatment are so good!" "It is quite good. But A Tao, I heard the assessment is also very strict. Many people fail." "What's there to fear? I'm a professional gaming expert!" Just then, a burly man standing in front of them turned his head to look at the two and snorted coldly. "What's the use of being a professional expert? Civilization Paradise isn't playing games. What's needed is real skill." "You say I can't. Does that mean you definitely can?" A Tao immediately said somewhat unconvinced. "Nonsense. I'm a retired person who has been on the battlefield. If I couldn't afford a game pod and they provided them for free here, I wouldn't come." The burly man in front replied arrogantly. A Tao immediately fell silent. Hearing this, Long Ming also showed a thoughtful expression. He had not expected these clubs to be willing to offer such generous compensation to recruit personnel. It made Long Ming somewhat tempted. But he quickly nipped that thought in the bud. Given his physical condition, just coughing twice would scare people. Moreover, clubs like this required high-intensity training, which he was completely unsuited for. Time passed second by second. Soon Long Ming reached the entrance. At that moment, a beautiful woman in a blue uniform, with a beautiful face and full of youthful vitality, led Long Ming and said, "Sir, please come inside!" "Hmm." Long Ming then walked in. The entire Xingyuan Star Café hall appeared luxurious and spacious. Furthermore, the design concept referenced the opposite Yue Lan Star Café, and they designed this place as a viewing hall. Using the latest equipment, it projected live footage of Star Wish Club's experts going through instances. This attracted many passersby to stop and watch. Long Ming also stopped, watching the projected image. He had not expected games could be live-streamed. Inside the live footage at this moment, an agile man tied a rope to a high-rise balcony, grabbed the rope, and slid straight down. "So cool!" "As expected of Lei Ge, so awesome!" The crowd on site shouted excitedly. Long Ming also felt somewhat excited watching this scene, so he walked toward the counter. "Hello sir, I am Xiao Qi. May I ask how I can serve you." At that moment, a girl in a black-and-white maid dress, with an oval face and cherry lips, enthusiastically greeted him. "I want to ask: does your 50% off event include game pods?" "It's included." "Then please help me open one." Long Ming immediately said to Xiao Qi. "Sorry sir. Since our new store is having an opening event, there are really too many guests, so all game pods are full." "Then when will there be game pods?" "The earliest is three days from now." "Thank you." Hearing this, Long Ming turned and left with some disappointment. Soon Long Ming walked out of Xingyuan Star Café. He stood at the entrance and sighed softly. He had not expected that just a spark of hope would be extinguished so quickly. It seemed he now had to choose one of two: either give up and go back, or raise some more money and go from star café to star café looking for game pods. Just as Long Ming was preparing to leave, suddenly a somewhat unexpected voice came. "Yo! Isn't this Long Ming?" (End of chapter)