Heroes' Prison

Chapter 959 - 907: Emerald Dream

"I’m going to raid the Temple of Ahn’Qiraj now. You figure things out on your own for a bit, pick up any quests and follow the prompts to complete them." Monkey queued up and hurriedly threw this sentence to Huang Yi, as if he had something important to do.

Huang Yi nodded, not minding it, and continued playing on his own.

He played meticulously, reading the storyline for every quest carefully and reluctant to discard any equipment he acquired, gradually experiencing a simple joy.

"Damn! Black Beetle!" At this moment, Monkey suddenly shouted excitedly.

Huang Yi and Li Qiang were startled and quickly turned to look at Monkey.

"Why are you so excited?" Li Qiang asked, looking at Monkey curiously.

Monkey pointed to the computer screen and said to Li Qiang, "The leader of our raid group actually has a Black Beetle mount!"

"What is a Black Beetle mount? Is it really impressive?" Huang Yi asked casually, his eyes turning to Monkey’s computer screen.

On the screen, a player was riding a spider-like black beetle surrounded by many other players, seemingly all gathered to watch the mount.

Monkey swallowed his saliva, swinging the mouse to view the beetle from all angles, enviously saying, "Of course, it’s impressive! It’s the only one in the entire server! All the players on our server participated in the world quest to open the gates of Ahn’Qiraj, but only one person can get this mount. It’s even rarer than Orange Gear; he’s the only one who can have it, and no one else will ever get it!"

"The only one, my ass! It’s just unique to the server. There are at least dozens of World of Warcraft servers, and each server has one beetle, so there’s at least a few dozen of them!" Li Qiang said dismissively.

"Hmm? Server unique..." Hearing Li Qiang’s words, it was as if a light struck Huang Yi; his mind suddenly became clear!

When he was choosing a server in World of Warcraft, a light flashed in his mind, but the thought wasn’t complete. Hearing Li Qiang’s words now, everything became clear to him.

How similar was this Black Beetle in World of Warcraft to his Epic Equipment in The Second World?

In The Second World, every piece of Legendary or Epic Equipment is unique because each represents a unique history. Like his Bloodstained War Halberd, which was Emperor Somrett’s personally used weapon in history, with no duplicates. Among all 10 billion players in The Second World, only he could have it; no one else could obtain a second one!

However, he deduced earlier that Sharp Sword might also have a Bloodstained War Halberd and possibly some of his other Legendary Epic level equipment. Since Legendary and Epic equipment are unique, how did Sharp Sword acquire those items?

This question puzzled Huang Yi, and he could only guess that Sharp Sword had a method of equipment duplication, but how it was achieved remained unclear.

In his previous imagination, if there were truly a way to duplicate equipment, it would be akin to a manufacturing-type life skill, using some rare materials to replicate a piece of equipment.

If this were the method, then Sharp Sword should have asked to borrow his equipment first before replicating it, not seeking the process of obtaining these items.

Sharp Sword wanted Huang Yi’s process of obtaining the equipment, clearly intending to repeat such an experience.

But evidently, The Second World wasn’t able to repeat such experiences.

For example, Huang Yi’s first Legendary—Harbinger of Doomsday’s Footprints—was obtained at Bai Long Lake. Even if Sharp Sword knew how to acquire this equipment, returning to Bai Long Lake wouldn’t result in obtaining a second Harbinger of Doomsday’s Footprints.

Looking at it now, if The Second World had multiple servers like World of Warcraft a century ago, then all this could be perfectly explained. The uniqueness of Legendary and Epic Equipment is only within a server, but in another server, they could be obtained again.

If Sharp Sword were on another server in The Second World, then he could revisit Bai Long Lake and acquire the Harbinger of Doomsday’s Footprints again. Any piece of Legendary Epic Equipment could be obtained anew. Therefore, Sharp Sword needed Huang Yi’s process of obtaining the equipment to replicate his experience of getting those Legendary Epic Equipment on another server.

But soon, Huang Yi furrowed his brows; this speculation had a fatal flaw—only online games from over a century ago distinguished between servers, while The Second World isn’t a game from over a century ago! There’s no distinction of servers! If not for this trial, he wouldn’t have even known that online games were divided into servers, as this was technology from over a century ago, long obsolete.

The concept of separating servers has long disappeared in The Second World; everyone around the globe plays on a single server, and Era of Corporation wouldn’t have set up a separate server just for Sharp Sword!

Even if for argument’s sake, The Second World had two servers, the servers should be independent and not interfere with each other. If Sharp Sword were on another server, then Huang Yi wouldn’t be able to see him, and the two couldn’t possibly meet.

If it’s not because of different servers, how did Sharp Sword accomplish all this? Huang Yi found himself caught in a new dilemma.

Gradually, after an hour and a half, the students in the internet cafe logged off to return to school for classes, but Monkey remained at his seat, seemingly engrossed in his game.

"Monkey, why aren’t you going back to class?" Li Qiang turned to look at Monkey and asked.

"Huh? Class? Is that happening?" Monkey snapped back to reality, switched away from the computer screen to check the time in the bottom right corner, and, sure enough, it was time for the evening self-study.

He gritted his teeth and defiantly said, "Forget it, I’m not going to class. Our homeroom teacher’s out of town, so he probably won’t be checking in tonight." With that, he switched back to the World of Warcraft screen and continued playing.

Li Qiang lit a cigarette, patted Monkey’s shoulder, and smiled slightly: "You’re just like me back in our Legendary days, often skipping classes to play, and eventually I didn’t even get admitted to college!"

The number of people in the internet cafe dwindled. Huang Yi, Li Qiang, and Monkey sat side by side, each playing their respective games.

"Let the autumn wind carry away my longing, carry away my tears. I’m still waiting silently at the agreed place..." The public speakers in the internet cafe continued to play pop songs, with sorrowful melodies drifting through the air.

"Does anyone want fried rice or noodles?" Suddenly, a loud voice approached from afar. A middle-aged woman carrying a tray with several empty bowls took a round through the internet cafe, calling out as she walked.

"Boss, give me a portion of egg fried rice," some internet users gestured and hurriedly shouted to the middle-aged woman but didn’t take their eyes off the screens, playing the game for every second they could get.

Li Qiang suddenly touched his stomach, turned to look at Monkey and Huang Yi, and said, "I’m starving. Let’s go! I’ll treat you both to some late-night snacks."

"Sure! It’s rare for Brother Qiang to treat us. Plus, I just finished my dungeon run, and later after snacks, I can continue with my Emerald Dream tasks," Monkey immediately nodded, stood up, and said with a smile.

Huang Yi didn’t refuse either; he only had eighty bucks left, so it was much appreciated to have someone treat him.

The three shelved their machines and left the internet cafe, walking down the stairs and out onto the street.

The street was lit by rows of dim yellow streetlights. Occasionally, cars drove by on the road, while the late-night snack stalls on the roadside were bustling. Some street vendors were making spicy hot pot and fried rice, with many customers sitting outside, drinking beer, eating snacks, and chatting loudly, filled with the bustle of everyday life.

Li Qiang puffed out his cigarette stub and sighed, "Remember five years ago, me and a few brothers who played Legendary together often went to the Zhao Huang food stall by the Chenjiang River, ordered a pot of spicy snails, got a few bottles of beer, and enjoyed the view of Chenjiang while talking about Legendary. It was like paradise... Alas, those days aren’t coming back."

"Where are they now?" Monkey asked with a yawn.

"Some joined the army, some went to work in Dongguan, and one brother is in jail! I’m the only one still playing, and as for the brothers I met in-game, I don’t even have their contacts anymore," Li Qiang sighed, his eyes slightly moist, "Let’s go, I might as well take you guys to Zhao Huang to relive those days." With that, he led the way.

Ten minutes later, the three of them arrived by a river. Not far ahead on the riverbank, there was a bustling food stall, with diners enjoying late-night snacks, some eating crawfish, some eating snail noodles. The aroma drifted over, making one’s mouth water.

The dim bulbs of the food stall shone on the nearby river, shimmering in the cool night breeze. Sitting by the river, eating snacks and drinking beer, was indeed a very enjoyable experience.