Speaking of the house I'm living in now, it's really something that makes people envious.
This house is a three-story detached small villa, located in a prime area right next to bustling Huaxia University—truly a golden location. I only rent out the first floor as office space, and that alone brings in over 8,000 yuan each month.
I had originally planned to rent out the second floor as well, which would earn at least another 5,000 yuan per month, but my little sister absolutely refused. She felt it was our own home and didn't want strangers moving in—she was already upset enough about renting out the first floor.
Anyway, we're not short on money. Our parents left us a decent sum, and with over 8,000 in monthly income, I didn't push it. It does make the place quieter this way.
Another thing is that before our parents passed away, they had planned for me to start a family and spent nearly 500,000 to completely renovate the house. The interior is luxurious, and I'd hate for anyone else to live in it too.
Speaking of Huaxia University, I can't help but feel proud—because I'm also a top-notch graduate from Huaxia University.
Huaxia University was founded 100 years ago by the state as a prestigious institution, and it's the only national key liberal arts university, with investments exceeding 3 billion yuan. After just over 50 years of development, it ranked among the top ten universities in the country, becoming the fastest-growing university in the world.
After another 50-plus years of development, Huaxia University's programs in management, economics, law, arts, and literature are all ranked first in the country. It has cultivated a group of outstanding talent, and many of the nation's current leaders are graduates of Huaxia University.
Today, Huaxia University is a national key institution on par with Peking University and Tsinghua University, and it's a world-renowned higher education institution. Naturally, those who get to study there are the best domestic students and outstanding international students.
So me getting into Huaxia University was no small feat, and I was full of bright hopes for the future.
But right around the time I graduated, I had no choice but to break up with my true love, Xue'er. Then my parents passed away, which left me deeply depressed. I just randomly took a job at a top 100 national company—Fengyu Enterprise—to mask the pain in my heart.
I was naturally excellent at my job, but after my immediate boss, that impotent old man's wife ran off with a man and all the money, he became hostile toward outstanding men like me, as if he thought I had seduced his wife away. He fired me, turning me into an unemployed drifter.
But it was precisely because of this incident that I gradually recovered my cheerful personality from the old days. It just proved the old saying： A loss may turn out to be a gain. My little sister even threw a big celebration for my return to my true nature.
So regarding the game "King," although I planned to become a legendary professional player and find a way to earn some money, I wasn't overly fixated on it. It would naturally be best if I could enjoy the fun of the game while making money.
Arriving at the pharmacy, I pulled my thoughts back, bought some antidotes, and ran out of Tianlong City, heading in the direction of Black Rock Tower as depicted on Dongfang Xing's map.
Zombie attacks are poisonous. If you get poisoned, you'll continuously lose blood.
Dongfang Xing's map indicated this, and since I've played so many games and know zombies are all this way, I bought some antidotes to make thorough preparations.
Damn！ Why is it so far? I sprinted for nearly an hour before vaguely seeing a few small hills. This should be the place.
Black Rock Tower is behind the woods on a small hill in the northeast corner of Tianlong City. Due to its remote location, few people set foot there. And according to the description on Dongfang Xing's map, after Black Rock Tower was sealed, five top experts used a formation to seal the entrance, making it inaccessible to outsiders. So it's practically virgin territory.
Running all the way here was very tiring, but I was delighted inside and full of confidence. I doubt there's any player as badass as me.
As the saying goes： Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. The level 10 to 15 monsters I encountered along the way truly tested my abilities.
I won’t even talk about monsters below level 15. As for level 15 black panthers, I take them down easily with just two or three slashes, making them cry like ghosts and howl like wolves, all disheveled and looking like beasts in human clothing—they don’t stand a chance. This fully showcases my super abilities and proves that I really am that freak.
A surge of pride rose in my heart, feeling that with a blade in hand, I hold the world in my grasp. The vastness of heaven and earth—who dares to compete with me? That’s the kind of lofty ambition I felt.
“Ding-dong, Tianmeng Continent now has 1,000 players who have completed their class change. All leaderboards are now open. Players, please check them out, climb to new heights, and leave your name through the ages.” Just as I was getting carried away with myself, the system made an announcement.
Broadcast three times in a row—every player in King’s, no matter when, where, or what they were doing, could clearly feel that glory. An unstoppable ambition swelled in their hearts, wanting to make a name for themselves in King’s.
No way—I thought I was pretty strong and way ahead of other players, but there are already over 1,000 players who have changed classes. Looks like there are still quite a few badasses in King’s.
“Ding-dong, Stone City, your level is 12. You have entered the King’s Top Ten Expert Leaderboard. Would you like to reveal your name on the leaderboard？”
“Don’t reveal it.” I’ve always said I need to keep a low profile, so naturally, I don’t want to—and won’t—show my name.
“Ding-dong, Stone City, your reputation is 1030. You have entered the King’s Reputation Leaderboard. Would you like to reveal your name on the leaderboard？”
“Don’t reveal it.”
Heh, not bad—I actually made it onto two leaderboards. Let me check the details.
Wow！ There are a ton of leaderboards.
Top Ten Expert Leaderboard： （Same level, higher experience comes first）
1st place, level 12, male, name hidden, Knight
2nd place, level 11, male, Li Huo, Warrior
3rd place, level 10, male, Tianhuo Lenghun, Mage
4th place, level 10, male, Fengyun Jinlong, Warrior
5th place, level 10, male, Sha Potian, Assassin
6th place, level 10, male, Haotian, Mage
7th place, level 10, male, name hidden, Mage
8th, Level 10, Male, Triple Leaf Raging Axe, Knight
9th, Level 10, Male, Slash For You, Assassin
10th, Level 10, Female, Rose-Purple Rainbow, Archer
Reputation Rankings：
1st, Reputation： 1030, Name Hidden, Knight
2nd, Reputation： 800, Name Hidden, Archer
3rd, Reputation： 430, Li Huo, Warrior
4th, Reputation： 380, Wind and Cloud Golden Dragon, Warrior
5th, Reputation： 350, Triple Leaf Raging Axe, Knight
6th, Reputation： 350, Haotian, Mage
7th, Reputation： 340, Six-Wing War Dragon, Warrior
8th, Reputation： 330, Skyfire Blade's Chant, Knight
9th, Reputation： 310, Rose-Purple Rainbow, Archer
10th, Reputation： 300, Slash For You, Assassin
Wealth Rankings
1st, Money Walks the World, Gold Coins： 1843
2nd, Carteron, Gold Coins： 1818
3rd, Wind and Cloud Magic Dragon, Gold Coins： 1632
4th, Triple Leaf Sunshine, Gold Coins： 1558
5th, Golden Leopard Electronics, Gold Coins： 1439
6th, Haotian, Gold Coins： 1310
7th, Skyfire Blade's Chant, Gold Coins: 1259
8th, Slash For You, Gold Coins: 1205
9th, I Love Gold Coins, Gold Coins： 1189
10th, Name Hidden, Gold Coins： 1055
Damn, I didn't expect to see a few familiar names on the rankings.
Skyfire Cold Soul should be that player who killed the Demonized Hedgehog King with me. His skilled technique and rich experience really impressed me. Besides, after killing the Demonized Hedgehog King, the Golden Blackstone Staff that dropped must have made him even more powerful, so it's natural he made it into the top ten.
As for Wind and Cloud Golden Dragon and that Wind and Cloud Magic Dragon on the wealth rankings, they immediately remind me of the Wind and Cloud Three Tigers who snatched my pet and got PKed by me. If they're together, they're enemies, and I'll probably have a few fights with them later.
There are two others I'm very familiar with: San Ye Maniac Axe and San Ye Sunshine from the Wealth List. Those two are old sworn enemies of mine, with plenty of grudges between us.
San Ye is one of the top hundred domestic enterprises, a famous clothing brand moving toward the global top hundred, with very strong financial power. San Ye Maniac Axe and San Ye Sunshine are the next successors of the San Ye Group, true rich kids.
Logically, they shouldn't know a commoner like me at all, but in the previous two games, my guild Eagle King, formed with my four elder brothers, and their San Ye Alliance somehow always ended up as natural mortal enemies. Guild wars, duels, boss stealing, public PKs — all were routine.
You could say that part of the fun for us in entering the games was killing each other, finding joy in that rivalry.
It looks like San Ye and his crew are planning to go all out in The King. With their abilities, plus the in-game gold-to-real-money exchange feature in The King, their massive financial resources should guarantee a strong performance.
But this time it won't be easy either, because The King's virtual technology and realistic gaming experience have attracted a flood of players. With all players nationwide in a single server, it's a massive number.
As the saying goes： There is always a sky above the sky, and people beyond people. There are probably quite a few players just as skilled as those two brothers.
Just look at Tianhuo Leng Hun and Fengyun Jin Long on the current leaderboards, and their distribution across all three rankings, especially the Wealth List. Without a certain guild strength, fighting alone would never get them that much gold. They're probably guild leaders from other games too, with considerable strength and many followers.
As soon as the three leaderboards were opened, almost everyone on them didn't hide their names. It seems they're all establishing their own prestige and increasing their fame, laying the foundation for building guilds later.
I bet that Haotian and Give You a Slash are no small fries either. To be on the Expert List naturally proves their extraordinary skill, and to be on the Wealth List shows they each have their own power.
And then there's Cateron （a domestic car brand, Fortune Global 500 company） and Golden Leopard Electronics. If it's really arranged by companies, and if companies start advertising in the game—with King now attracting 100 million players per day, such a massive number—other businesses will gradually move in too. If gold coins are enabled for exchange, there'll be an even fiercer fight.
King is truly stirring the clouds and rain, bustling with excitement！ In this King where heroes rise from all sides, dominating alone isn't that easy.
But that doesn't have much to do with us. I just want to make a little money somehow—can't be bothered with it.