Inside the top-tier penthouse of a high-end residential complex.
The ostentatious living room, mainly decorated in bright yellow.
The original owner’s expensive tea table set had already been moved aside.
On the carpet in the middle, five top-of-the-line desktop computers stood side by side.
The aquarium-style cases and keyboards and mice all emitted dazzling, colorful lights.
Highlighting the style of the room’s owner.
In front of this row of computers.
Five young people were fiercely gaming, their faces flushed with intensity.
Before long, as the screen showed their home base being destroyed by the opponent.
Zhang Long, around 1.78 meters tall, with the look of a high school student, slender, with delicate features and short white hair, stood up with widened eyes:
"How could this happen!"
"The other side must be hacking!"
"Otherwise, how could our Red Dragon Team, with our Health Care Skills at the entry level, still not beat them!"
After venting and cursing with a string of well-chosen words.
He glanced over at his minions and said fiercely:
"Let’s all report that assassin!"
"That guy got a pentakill on us twice, he definitely must be cheating!"
Having said that, Zhang Long was the first to click report.
Then, at the moment he clicked report, it seemed as if there were some response in the void.
After offering up something mysterious.
Zhang Long suddenly felt it in his heart, convinced that his report this time would be 100% effective!
A professional gamer was just about to shut down the computer and go out for a meal.
When he was stunned to find that his smurf account, which he had used to stomp noobs to keep his spirits high, had been banned!
"No way, can you really get banned for report abuse just by smurfing?"
"Even if you’re reported, doesn’t it have to be detected and judged multiple times by the intelligence system before an account is banned?"
"Did I just encounter what people say is the improbable, almost impossible, intelligence system misjudge?"
The professional gamer murmured to himself, already having an idea to make a video out of this incident.
He lost his appetite for food.
Just wanting to hurry up and edit the material, hoping to trend a little bit.
On Zhang Long’s side, because they were devastated in the last round, their confidence—only established a few days earlier through a verbal announcement—had suffered a serious blow.
Zhang Long didn’t plan to continue gaming.
He lay on the ergonomically designed chair he’d been talked into buying, only to feel... that the chair wasn’t all that comfortable.
Not as good as the sofas that had been in the living room before.
Suddenly, his phone rang.
Zhang Long frowned, pressed his headset, and answered with a trace of dissatisfaction:
"There are really no more shares left this month, not even for extra money!"
"I, Zhang Long, value integrity in business above all else!"
"If you want goods, come earlier next month."
After saying this, Zhang Long didn’t wait for the person on the other end to say anything more and hung up the phone authoritatively.
Then, basking in the adoring gazes of his minions, Zhang Long grandly gestured to take them all out for a big meal.
Zhang Long had only recently finished his college entrance exams and had been away from his high school identity for a short time.
Even though he couldn’t fully comprehend his own abilities, he had been as lucky as the god of fortune in snatching up parts of the Transcendent food supplies released online.
This allowed him to make a fortune through resale.
Beyond buying cars and houses in a spree of lavish spending, Zhang Long’s true pleasure still lay in showing off in front of his peers.
Then lost himself in the reverent cries of ’Big Brother’ from his fair-weather friends.
"Let’s go! Tonight we’re hitting up that new seafood buffet!"
"Little Linzi, keep logging into my account and ask the other classmates if they want to join, okay?"
"I’ll foot the bill for everything!"
Zhang Long slapped his chest, as if the words ’I’m rich now’ were emblazoned across his face.
As the front door opened.
Zhang Long and the four flunkies behind him were simultaneously struck dumb.
There stood a genteel man in a white suit with gold-rimmed glasses, accompanied by four burly men in black suits, right outside the door.
They were gazing intently at Zhang Long.
"Young man, you must be Zhang Long."
"Truly an outstanding individual."
"And these must be your classmates."
The man in the white suit smiled, his voice gentle but emanating a subtle chill.
It made Zhang Long and his group shiver involuntarily.
At the same time, Zhang Long’s expression changed for the first time.
The man in the white suit had whispered Zhang Long’s parents’ names and workplaces in secret.
Seeing the young man before him blush and avoid eye contact.
The man in the white suit smiled slightly, knowing that this operation was more than halfway successful.
"Don’t be nervous, we mean no harm."
"In fact, if we cooperate well, not only can you continue to make a lot of money, but your parents’ work positions can also be promoted."
"You all would like to learn Martial Path Divine Skills beyond just the Health Care Skill, right?"
The man in the white suit used threats and promises, employing them all without resorting to actual violence.
It seemed Zhang Long was already in their pocket.
Before Zhang Long could respond.
The elevator hall burst forth with a group of muscular men.
Leading them was an elder with hair as white as a crane’s but a youthful face.
Despite his age, he moved with vigorous steps.
And there was a faint blood light around him.
Even a novice Martial Artist could tell this was someone who had at least reached minor achievement in their practice.
On Water Blue Star nowadays, there were food supplies nourished by Spiritual Energy and specially modified Martial Path Techniques that made them easier for ordinary people to learn.
The difficulty of entering the Martial Path had quickly reached the point where if you had hands, you could do it.
But to go from entry-level to minor achievement, and then to major success, required more.