Chen Fan's reaction was even more exaggerated. He only snapped out of his daze when half of his soymilk leaked out of his cup. In a flurry of motion, he gave Happy a thumbs-up while gritting his teeth to endure the pain and rushed into the bathroom as well.
"What's wrong with them?"
When she saw everyone rushing into the bathroom, the flush on Xu Xin's face gradually faded away. She took the initiative to divert their attention away from the awkwardness that stemmed from their close contact moments ago.
"Well…" Once Happy composed himself, he explained with extraordinary calm, "It's fine. They're used to eating in the bathroom."
Chapter 40 - Butterfly Effect
The trio did indeed finish their breakfast in the bathroom. When they returned to Happy and Xu Xin, the atmosphere was very strange. In the end, when Happy gave them a reminder, Bai Lang began the introductions with a stutter.
"I know all of you! You're the ones who created South China Martial Artists Ranking Board, right? You're the programmer, Chen Fan is the developer, and Qi Ci is the designer, right?"
Xu Xin was a very amiable person, unlike some beautiful girls who were very unapproachable. She smiled and accurately pointed out everyone's role. She was so natural in her actions that she made the four boys look at each other at a loss. At the same time, an indescribable pride rose in their hearts, and they could not help but puff out their c.h.e.s.ts.
"Xu Xin, you're also interested in the South China Martial Arts Ranking Board?"
"Yes." Xu Xin nodded vigorously and started a conversation. "Many of my friends in the dorm play the game, and they watch the changes in the South China Martial Arts Ranking Board every day. They're very enamored with the powerful players there, like Tea Words, Phoenix Dances, and Rascal. They watch their progress every day."
When they heard this, the Three Lonely Wolves looked at each other, and their spirits lifted. Even though the people Xu Xin paid attention to were not the three of them, they were still very satisfied that the students of the University of South China were interested in and liked their website.
"It's a pity that we girls are not very good at this sort of stuff. We take a really long time when we practice a single martial art. That's why I'm really impressed with those whose martial art realms are high."
Xu Xing looked really adorable with a regretful frown on her face.
When the two boys heard this, a thought flashed in Happy's mind. Unable to help himself, he suddenly blurted out, "Where do you usually practice your skills?"
"Well…" Xu Xin answered without hesitation. "Well, we usually practice our skills on some wooden training dummies and the wild beasts in the mountains." When she saw Happy put an expression as if he had expected her answer, she could not help but be curious. "What is it? Is there something wrong?"
At that moment, even the Three Lonely Wolves understood why Xu Xin and the other girls were so slow in their progress with their martial arts.
As the realm of their martial arts increased, the threat brought by wooden training dummies and wild beasts lessened. Once they reached the sixth realm, it was very hard for those two things to provide any experience points, so it was only natural that they could not increase their realm after that.
But it had not been long since World of Martial Arts had launched. The girls had to have not had a prolonged exposure to martial arts. Hence, they did not know the hidden rules, which was why they did not make any progress.
Xu Xin blinked, but she did not take offense. She laughed and said that as a girl, she did not play this game to wander around as a martial artist, and so, it did not matter whether her skills with martial arts were high or low. She only liked the atmosphere and environment of the game, and she also had a fondness toward the feeling of being a swordswoman. She enjoyed brandishing her longsword, which she would never get to experience normally.
The four youths smiled.
"By the way, South China Martial Arts Ranking Board is just in its beginning stages right now. What other functions will you install for it in the future?"
Xu Xin, who had given a surprise visit, was clearly much more interested in the website the Three Lonely Wolves designed. Her eyes sparkled, and she questioned them with sparkling eyes.
"Yesterday, I saw another similar website online, and it launched an offline trading platform. They used the webmaster's information and reputation as a guarantee to provide a trading platform for items among the people in World of Martial Arts, but that function is only for the people in a certain area. They also provide an item safety guarantee system."
"There's something like this?"
Bai Lang, Chen Fan, and Qi Ci were instantly interested. They ignored Happy and started chatting with Xu Xin.
Happy did not mind. He listened to them quietly by the side.
Based on his memories, South China Martial Artists Ranking Board would soon add new content. It would provide an offline trading platform before many similar websites, and it would run pretty successfully. However, he did not expect that Xu Xin would actually join the discussion for this function.
The offline trading platform was very simple.
It would be open to all on-campus students in the University of South China. As long as they mentioned their identity and class, the traders involved could complete the trade within the campus while the Three Lonely Wolves bore witness to it. In fact, because of the university, there was not even a need for the Three Lonely Wolves to appear. The students could just complete the trade on their own.
Trades included the buying and selling of martial arts manuals, weapons, and equipment, as well as the exchange of in-game money with RMB.
The players could quickly and safely gather all the equipment they needed, and some of the richer students could even use RMB to get more in-game money.
Happy remembered that once South China Martial Artists Ranking Board launched this function, the most shocking trade came from a student called Lu Hu, who usually kept a low profile. He spent 50,000 RMB in exchange for in-game money from all the students in the University of South China! At that time, the ratio of RMB to in-game money was 1:10, which meant that 1 RMB was equivalent to ten taels of silver crumbs. He had bought five hundred taels of silver crumbs and then created the first University of South China Sect in World of Martial Arts in one go.
Xu Xin's visit caused the Three Lonely Wolves' eyes to sparkle. Soon, they had a detailed outline of the offline trading platform. While they nodded repeatedly, Bai Lang brought out his notebook and attentively took notes.
"Xu Xin's opinions are very valuable. Why don't we add her name into the list of developers of South China Martial Artists Ranking Board? What do you think?" Right after he said those words, the Three Lonely Wolves and Xu Xin looked at Happy, who leaned against the wall in a lackadaisical fashion. They were tempted by the idea.
"Me? Can I?"
"Of course!"
"If the department princess joins us, the popularity of South China Martial Artists Ranking Board will skyrocket!"
"I vote yes with both my hands!"
After Happy said this, the matter was settled.
In his previous life, South China Martial Artists Ranking Board was managed and operated by the Three Lonely Wolves from start to finish. But it took a small, accidental turn, and now, Xu Xin had a close connection to South China Martial Artists Ranking Board.
Happy smiled, but he had another plan in his heart.
However, Xu Xin's visitation caused the Three Lonely Wolves to spend most of the day talking. The four of them were excited as they discussed the future development of South China Martial Artists Ranking Board. When noon arrived, Happy sent Xu Xin away from the boy's dorm under the signal from the Three Lonely Wolves.
The university was very quiet and peaceful.
"Happy, did you know?" Xu Xin suddenly turned around and stared at the boy who followed behind her quietly. Her eyes were still shining with endless enthusiasm and joy. She also sounded very e
xcited. "In truth, I wanted to be a swordswoman when I was very young, but I never got to fulfill that dream!
"When I saw all of you create South China Martial Artists Ranking Board, I was really envious. It was as if I had truly blended into the world of martial arts, but even that can't compare to the excitement I feel now. I can't believe that there will come a day when I will become one of the developers. I feel as if I'm dreaming, as if all those powerful martial artists are in my territory. It feels so great. How should I thank you?"
"Marry me?" Happy answered without hesitation.
When Xu Xin's face gradually turned red due to embarrassment and annoyance, Happy could not help but laugh because of how adorable she looked.
"Haha! Don't worry, I definitely won't ask you to marry me. But could you answer one question?"
"What question is it?" The embarrassment and annoyance Xu Xin felt faded away. She nodded, and curiosity showed up on her face.
Without any hesitation, Happy asked the question that had puzzled him for years.
"What sort of boys do you like?"
When she heard such a straightforward question and remembered the accident that Happy caused because of his actions last time, Xu Xin's face turned red. Her gaze drifted about, and she was instantly at a loss as to what she should do. She did not dare to meet Happy's gaze.
In the end, when Happy could no longer hold his laughter, she realized that he was teasing her again, and she stomped on her feet before she fled with her head lowered and her cheeks flushed.
Chapter 41 - Develop the System
Just as Happy had expected, once the idea of the trading platform within the university was conceived, practically all the students responded to it. Deals were made like mushrooms after a rainshower, popping up continuously on South China Martial Artists Ranking Board. Of course, the person who shocked the entire university by using 50,000 RMB in exchange for in-game money also appeared…
Just like this, the Three Lonely Wolves earned their first bucket of money through the new content in South China Martial Artists Ranking Board. The boys and the girl searched for a decent restaurant to celebrate this matter.
Because of what happened last time, Xu Xin did not have the courage to talk to Happy. Their topic of conversation remained on how they should further develop South China Martial Artists Ranking Board.
Happy did not mind this. While everyone was excited, he dropped in a few sentences of some ingenious ideas that came far in the future. It attracted the attention of the Three Lonely Wolves and Xu Xin. Their eyes sparkled as if they were afraid of missing out on any of his words.
"Not bad!" Bai Lang's face was red as he slapped Happy's shoulder. "If I knew earlier on that you had so many great ideas, I wouldn't have let you have such an easy life. From now on, you're also one of our developers!"
"That's right! If we join the offline ranks of the official website and compete with other similar websites, we'll definitely be able to rouse more zeal among the students of the University of South China. We might even catch the eyes of the higher management of World of Martial Arts…" Chen Fan and Qi Ci looked at each other and nodded.
If Xu Xin's suggestion had allowed them to create a platform from which they could make money on their website, Happy's suggestions would allow their website to gain a higher profile and higher grade.
"But if you really register to become part of the official website, you will definitely have more responsibilities, and you'll be busier than before." When he said this, Happy paused for a moment before he laid out his requests before everyone's contemplative gazes. "I'll make things clear beforehand. I'll only be responsible for gathering information in the game and making suggestions. You'll still be the main people who'll be handling the website. You know that I don't know how to do those things, and I lack interest in doing them as well."
"Tsk."
Qi Ci rolled his eyes in disdain.
"Off with you. You just can't let go of your status as a Murong Clan disciple. Alright, alright, as long as you can continue giving us suggestions like this, we won't bother you…"
"Deal!"
Under the others' gazes, Bai Lang pushed his glasses up in a very gentlemanly manner.
"I'll handle the website. Young Black, you continue with the offline trading platform. Qi Ci, you handle public relations. Happy, if you and Xu Xin have any good ideas, remember to tell us."
"Then that's settled!"
"Cheers!"
Among the clear sounds of wine glasses clinking against each other, no one noticed Xu Xin's curious and admiring glance shift toward Happy. There was a hint of puzzlement in her gaze.
*****
During that period of time, Xu Xin often joined their discussions!
As for Happy, he was actually very free during those days.
The suggestion and some of the plans about their website joining World of Martial Artists was already enough to make the Three Lonely Wolves busy for a period of time. Hence, even though Happy said that he would keep an eye on the developments within World of Martial Artists, he was actually practicing his martial arts every single day so that he could break into Gate Realm.
There was no other choice!
Within three days, all the "powerful" players ranked in the top 100 on South China Martial Artists Ranking Board would have a very eye-catching "Gate Realm" tag attached behind their names.
And there were more than ten players who had at least one of their martial arts in Grandmaster Realm. There was a faint golden light around that skill of theirs, and it looked incredibly noble and grand.
All these small additions were because of Happy.
Even though they were just tiny details, many of the students in the University of South China rushed off to tell about it to their friends. They were incredibly envious of those who had the golden skills and tags, and to receive them, a crazed martial arts training season began.
*****
Around two months passed like that!
The new and old players had now gained some degree of understanding toward World of Martial Artists despite being clueless about it before. Some of the players who initially did not bother each other and got along well also started to show how extraordinary they were!
As one of the important cities in China, Gusu City accommodated more than one hundred thousand players. They were usually scattered throughout different shops or carried out tasks at the sect nearby. At the same time, they also silently studied the low-tier martial arts. Every single person had the grand dream of being able to soar high in the sky one day!
Great players in Gate Realm had a faint white layer of aura surrounding them, and they began to frequently appear in and outside the city. The way they carried themselves was, of course, different from other people!
After all, they were in Gate Realm!
The phenomenon of activating one's qi realm was known as realm activation. The qi which filled the players' Dantian region would rush out and surge to their bodies! The air around them would be pressurized, and the strange phenomenon would appear.
Realm activation in Gate Realm was very weak. It could only affect the flow of air around the player. If they improved and reached Blessed Realm, the effects would be more obvious. The air around them would become thicker, and it would be very easy for the players to cause fog to form around them.
As the strongest disciple in Gusu City's Murong Clan, Happy had still not reached Gate Realm, and it would be a lie to say that he did not feel any pressure.
But he was not anxious at all!
Over the past few days, he spent every single day hunting around Black Wind Mountain in search of Black Wind Mountain Bandits who were separated from their group.
He had gained some rewards from it.
He had around four thousand taels of silver crumbs, and that money was all from Black Wind Mountain Bandits. He also received around twenty low-tier martial arts. Among them were Black Wind Blade Technique, Black Tiger Fist, Black Cloud Sword
Technique, and Black Snake Staff Technique.
He also obtained quite the number of Jinchuang Ointments and other small items.
The duplicate martial arts manuals were not useful to Happy, but he could still earn some money if he sold them. However, he already had nearly silver notes worth six thousand taels of silver crumbs and was not lacking in money. Hence, he decided to keep the ones he could use and divided the ones he could not to Whirlwind Young Li, Eastern Green Gate, Qian Kunzi, Azure Wolf, Xuan Kun, and Xuan Zhong.
Low-tier martial arts manuals could be bought in some sundry shops and pawn shops. However, each of them cost from five hundred taels of silver crumbs to one thousand taels of silver crumbs. The variety was not great either. Also, they could not buy manuals from Black Wind Mountain from the shops, unless someone pawned one of them in a pawn shop. But the price then would be higher than one thousand taels silver crumbs.
Whirlwind Young Li and the others were very happy to receive them.
However, when Happy returned to Gusu City at night, he ran into a dejected-looking Whirlwind Young Li and a livid Eastern Green Gate at the entrance to Murong Mansion.
The two of them were whispering to each other. When they noticed Happy get close to them, they quickly stopped speaking, but Happy still heard a few words which instantly made him frown.
This name had appeared very frequently lately. It was the first player-created sect in Gusu City, and it had monopolized a few spots outside the city. Its players were very arrogant, and it seemed like Eastern Green Gate and the others had crossed swords with them.
Chapter 42 - Gusu City, Dragon Tiger Sect
People need to adapt to different situations.
As sects were built, people were exploited and resources were monopolized. This was something very common in World of Martial Arts. It was also the one thing that most easily triggered competitions and fights. Happy had seen such things plenty of times in his previous life, and he had even taken part in them.
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