???
The terrifying presence of the oppressive woman finally disappeared. Lin Danwei and the others visibly relaxed, their breathing no longer shallow from anxiety.
"That woman was terrifying…" Lin Danwei placed a hand over her chest as if to calm her racing heart. She was still just a student. Never in her life had she witnessed such brutality up close.
"I still don't understand how we ended up in a place like this," Hu Yan muttered gloomily. "And now we're expected to risk our lives doing missions where death might come at any moment."
Huang Ming's initial fear had already faded with time. Accepting the harsh reality, he even managed to smile faintly. "Honestly, I consider myself lucky. If I hadn't come here, I would have died in a car crash."
"What? You too?" Hu Yan exclaimed.
"You were almost hit by a car as well?"
"Not exactly…" Hu Yan revealed a shaken expression. "I was exploring an abandoned mental hospital for inspiration and accidentally fell from an upper floor."
"Miss Hu, Mister Huang…" Lin Danwei suddenly joined in. "Something similar happened to me too. I was in a car crash."
Sitting nearby, quietly listening to their conversation, Li Xuan frowned slightly. They were all brought here after narrowly avoiding death? But that wasn't the case for him. Just before he arrived, he had been eating lunch.
"Could it be that we all experienced an accident before being sent here?" Lin Danwei speculated aloud.
Their eyes all turned toward Li Xuan, curious about his situation.
"More or less," Li Xuan lied without changing his expression.
Still, the idea settled in his mind. He might be different from the others. Perhaps fundamentally different.
"I knew it!" Lin Danwei clapped her hands with excitement and smiled like a child. "That means the Main God saved our lives!"
Then she turned toward the glowing orb, brought her feet together, and saluted like a soldier, sincerely offering her thanks.
So optimistic…
Li Xuan looked at her with an unreadable expression. Just a moment ago she had been crying, and now she was all smiles, as if she had already forgotten that the Main God would soon send her into a world where she might die.
The others, perhaps believing that newcomers should bond quickly, kept chatting. A few times they tried to include Li Xuan in their conversation, but his cold and brief replies made it clear he had no intention of getting too close.
Eventually, they stopped trying.
Li Xuan silently approached the glowing orb and reached out to touch it. His hand passed through as though it were made of mist.
No reaction. The system didn't prompt him for a sign-in.
"So it has no physical form? Just a symbolic projection?"
Touching the orb was clearly not how one communicated with the Main God. As Ye Miaoyi had explained earlier, the correct way was to focus one's mind and silently call out "Main God" with the intent to connect.
Li Xuan had only tried to touch it to see if he could sign in.
"Well, if there's nothing to sign in with…"
"Main God."
With the thought focused in his mind, he whispered the words.
Instantly, a translucent interface materialized before his eyes, filled with countless categories and options, densely packed across the screen.
[Bloodlines]
[Offensive Skills]
[Defensive Skills]
[Mental Skills]
[Medical Supplies]
[Weapons]
[Armor]
[Equipment]
…
Each main category opened into dozens of detailed sub-options. There was even a "Popular Exchange" section.
A Reincarnator could also mentally request the system to filter and display items matching specific criteria.
In the top left corner, his current balance was displayed: a pitiful five hundred Reincarnation Points.
Out of curiosity, Li Xuan tapped into the "Popular Exchange" section.
He had no intention of buying anything from it. He only wanted to see what it contained.
[Viscount Vampire Bloodline]
Exchange Cost:
2000 Reincarnation Points
1 D-grade Plot Reward
Note: Low-tier bloodline with potential side effects.
[White Jiangshi Bloodline]
Exchange Cost:
2500 Reincarnation Points
1 D-grade Plot Reward
Note: Low-tier bloodline with drawbacks.
[Single Tomoe Sharingan]
Exchange Cost:
4000 Reincarnation Points
1 D-grade Plot Reward
[Spatial Accessory (1 cubic meter)]
(Selectable form)
1000 Reincarnation Points (Upgradeable)
…
Each item could be clicked for a more detailed description, but Li Xuan didn't bother. He had no intention of redeeming any of these yet.
"What should I use these five hundred points for…"
Li Xuan pondered carefully.
According to Ye Miaoyi's suggestions for newcomers, a handgun was the most practical starting option.
A firearm, even a simple one, could still kill a veteran with multiple world experiences if it hit a critical spot. Against threats in various worlds, it was often the only means for a rookie to strike back.
Especially in worlds where firearms did not normally exist, it could prove unexpectedly effective.
And the price was manageable. A standard handgun, along with some bullets, cost only 400 Reincarnation Points. That left 100 points for purchasing medical supplies.
Ideally, pairing the gun with the [Basic Firearm Proficiency] skill would be best, but that skill cost 300 points. Most newcomers could not afford both.
So anyone who exchanged for a gun had to train intensively within the next two days. Without proper practice, they would be no better than a blind man holding a sword. Without effort, they risked embarrassing themselves or worse.
Luckily, within one's personal room, consumables like bullets could be generated freely. Though they could not be taken out of the room, the environment also allowed for network access and tutorials to assist with training.
Without hesitating further, Li Xuan exchanged for a standard handgun.
Moments later, a pistol and several bullets appeared in midair before him, hovering silently and waiting for him to claim them. The gun's design was unfamiliar, likely an uncommon model, but the Main God had thoughtfully included a user manual.
Li Xuan picked it up and weighed it in his hand. It had a good heft.
Over two years of signing in back in the real world, Li Xuan had already extracted valuable skills from a soldier he had carefully "groomed" as a target. His hand-to-hand combat was upgraded from beginner to advanced. Among those extracted skills was:
[Proficient Firearm Handling]
This skill had come from those consistent "coincidences" where Li Xuan kept meeting the same soldier over and over, brushing past him just enough to trigger sign-ins.
Why had he not upgraded it beyond proficiency?
Because, after a while, the soldier had begun to look at him with growing suspicion. After all, having a stranger constantly bump into you in public and then touch you would raise alarms in anyone. Eventually, the man began avoiding him altogether.
With the remaining 100 points, Li Xuan exchanged for some basic healing supplies.
Lin Danwei, Huang Ming, and Hu Yan had been quietly observing him all along. When they saw items appearing from thin air in front of him, their eyes widened in amazement. Realizing what was happening, they immediately closed their mouths and activated communication with the Main God as well.
Holding his new items, Li Xuan glanced at them briefly, but he did not care much. His only thought now was to find a place to rest.
As he passed by the obese man still lying unconscious, he noticed the bleeding had stopped. Though the blood stains were still there, the man's breathing was steady, and his complexion had regained some color. He was alive and stable.
"Not my problem."
Li Xuan picked a random door and grabbed the handle. The moment he touched it, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Please configure the appearance of your personal space]
This was the voice of the Main God.
His sign-in system never spoke.
Before him appeared a gallery of possible room templates. He could also fully customize it. When asked about size limits, he discovered that the room could be expanded to the size of two football fields for free. Anything larger would require spending Reincarnation Points and Plot Rewards.
He selected a traditional Chinese-style home with an adjacent courtyard. He added a large training ground behind a closed door so he could exercise without rearranging the rest of the layout.