Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 108 Onboarding
The smell of Niulanshan liquor immediately put me on high alert.

"No, I won't drink Niulanshan. I'll have some beer instead."

"what?"

The fat man asked in surprise, "Weren't you known as the Niulanshan Killer?"

"This time, that time."

With a gentle lift of my hand, strands of text appeared in my palm—my "Gastrointestinal Enhancement" skill. I directly shared the skill illustration with Fatty. This kind of display is only visible to the player; no one else can see it.

"Holy crap... what kind of garbage skill is this?"

The fat man gave him a sympathetic look: "You're using your skill points on skills like this?"

"Not really."

I shared two more skill illustrations, namely the two major skills: Bio-optical Invisibility and Bio-electromagnetic Pulse. From childhood to adulthood, there have been no secrets between Fatty and me, so it doesn't matter if I show him all my skills.

"Fuck..."

The fat man was completely astonished: "Wow...where did you get those two skills?"

"After finishing the beginner village, I went straight into a three-star beginner dungeon. This is the dungeon reward."

"I rely on..."

The fat man grinned: "Please take me with you..."

"So my current alcohol limit is only three bottles of beer. If I drink that much, I'll definitely black out. Please don't try to persuade me to drink more."

"understood."

The fat man laughed and said, "Anyway, I'm happy today, so do whatever you want. I'll drink baijiu, and you can drink beer. After we finish, let's go out and have some fun. There's an arcade outside the neighborhood; I go there often!"

"Wow, what a great place! Let's go after we finish our drinks!"

"Absolutely! Let's go together!"

So the two began to eat and drink.

I glanced at the proprietress serving the food and asked, "Isn't this a small husband-and-wife restaurant? Why do I only see the proprietress? Where's the owner?"

The fat man glared at me: "Who do you think is wielding a big ladle and clattering around in the kitchen?"

"Got it, how the hell are you keeping fish in such a tiny cup? Drink it all!"

"Get lost! You, a beer drinker, have the nerve to accuse me of raising fish? Seriously, is there no justice in this world?!"

"Drink up, and stop talking nonsense!"

"Fine, you're a higher level, so you get to call the shots, you son of a bitch..."

……

After finishing his meal, the fat man readily pulled out a hundred-yuan bill, and the landlady gave him over forty yuan in change. It has to be said that the prices in "Star Abyss" are indeed quite good, belonging to the price level of the early 2000s. If it were the prices of 2027, hmph... this meal might not even cost a hundred yuan!

"Let's go play some arcade games!"

"go!"

The two went out drunk, arm in arm.

Outside the residential area, right next to the sex toys store, there is a small storefront covered by a dark blue cloth. Lifting the curtain reveals two rows of densely packed arcade machines, filled with smoke and fumes, frequented by both adults and children.

Further inside, there were some gambling-related "apple machines" being operated by several shady-looking people. On the outer edge, a few elementary school students in school uniforms were playing on several machines. They were all very alert, glancing outside every now and then, seemingly afraid of being caught red-handed by their parents or teachers.

This scene is so nostalgic.

"I'm going to buy coins!"

Fatty was determined to be a good host today, so he took out ten yuan and bought a full 50 game tokens. The game tokens here are so cheap, much more affordable than those shady little shops like Grandpa Li's that charge one yuan per token.

After that, the two went on a crazy rampage.

From Romance of the Three Kingdoms to Captain Hook, from Captain Hook to Famous Generals, and from Famous Generals to Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, his superb skills and rich experience left several elementary school students who skipped school to play games in awe.

So they played until evening.

"I'm hungry, let's go eat and drink!"

"go!"

The two left the arcade arm in arm and went back to the husband-and-wife restaurant. The fat man waved his hand and said, "Boss lady, cook some sauerkraut fish, braised chicken, crucian carp and tofu soup, stir-fry a few side dishes to go with the drinks, a bottle of Erguotou, and three bottles of beer!"

"okay!"

The still-charming proprietress smiled and said, "Xiao Yang, Ding Han, will you two be living in this neighborhood from now on?"

"almost."

I nodded and smiled, "Boss lady, we'll definitely patronize your shop often. Remember to give us two brothers a discount!"

"Yes, hit it with the force needed to break a bone!" the fat man chimed in.

The proprietress smiled and said, "Of course, you two can rest assured!"

And so, another round of feasting ensued.

The effects of the midday alcohol had worn off, and I drank two more bottles of beer. I forced myself to stop just before I blacked out, and then my mouth felt a little dry. Fatty and I each ordered a bottle of orange juice, and then we headed out.

"The moon is beautiful tonight..."

The fat man looked up at the sky and said, "There's a foot massage place across from the apartment complex that I've been to once. The masseuse number 66 there is quite attractive. I think we could..."

"Don't."

I coughed and said, "Young man, please suppress your animalistic instincts. Use the money you would have spent on a foot massage to buy bullets!"

"It's not impossible..."

The fat man grinned: "When are you planning to go out and level up? Take me with you. With you here, I'll dare to leave the city."

"Not urgent."

I pointed to the ceiling: "Brother, you still have a near-death injury mark on your forehead. Let's talk about it after tomorrow. I definitely can't leave the city in this condition."

"Ok!"

The fat man nodded emphatically: "Stay at my place for now. The bed is big enough to sleep in as long as you don't move around too much. What are your plans after that?" "I need to find a job first, otherwise the local police will easily spot me. If they find out I'm a player, I'll be in big trouble."

"Too."

The fat man said, "Why don't you come work for me? Our company is short-staffed."

What company are you from?

"I work at Luo Mei Mall, selling electrical appliances. I'm in the repair department, responsible for after-sales service for customers. I usually work in the plaza, repairing faulty appliances and solving technical problems."

"Oh?"

My eyes lit up. This department was quite suitable for me. Repairing electrical appliances could also earn me a lot of skill experience, and I could use this job to cover up my player identity.

As for Qin Lang, I believe that because of Cheng Feng's connection, he will help me conceal my player identity. If not, there's nothing I can do but find an opportunity to kill him.

What's the point of the Great Wall Watch Sentinel Captain? He's nothing to us players.

"Okay!"

I smiled and said, "Shall I go for an interview tomorrow?"

"Row!"

The fat man laughed and said, "Our repair department is under the after-sales department. The after-sales manager is called Lu Zifeng. Old Lu is a pretty good guy. But are you an expert in appliance repair?"

"Have you forgotten that my side job is in maintenance?"

"Damn, I forgot. What skill level are you? Some appliances are quite complex, like laptops. If your skill level is low, it might be more troublesome to repair them. I'm already at Basic Repair level 10, so I can basically handle all repair work. What's yours?"

He didn't get a second job advancement, so his repair skills couldn't be upgraded.

"Me? Level 10."

"..."

The fat man fell silent; his supposedly superior advantage no longer seemed to hold any advantage over me.

"Never mind, I'll call Lao Lu first."

"Row!"

So, the fat man stood under the tree, made a phone call to his boss, and bowed and scraped...

It seems that he didn't learn much about how to fight or level up in "Star Abyss," but he was quite adept at interpersonal skills and dealing with people in the workplace.

Shortly after, he hung up the phone and laughed, "Okay! I'll go straight there tomorrow. Old Lu said to just go through the motions and give you a broken machine. Once it's fixed, you can start working right away."

"Yeah, okay!"

……

It was late at night, around 10 p.m.

"drop!"

A message came from Cai Cai: "Brother Han, Kou Mei and I have arrived in Huaining City. Which district are you in?"

"Southern District".

“Okay, then let’s rent a place and find a job in the South City District, and try to be as close as possible.”

"Okay, you guys settle in first. We'll meet again after I'm settled here, and then we can think about going out to level up."

"OK!"

Cai Cai readily agreed.

Meanwhile, the fat man was already snoring loudly.

I lay in bed, looking at the moonlight outside the window, smelling the fat man's stinky socks...

Damn, this place doesn't seem much better than Old K's room!

……

The next morning.

After the two boys finished washing up, I took out my cleanest and most presentable clothes and put them on. I went downstairs with Fatty, ate breakfast at a breakfast shop outside the community, and then took the bus with Fatty to the square where we go to work.

There are many people squeezing onto the bus in the morning, mostly elderly men and women. They have a lot of energy and even pushed off a fat person who had already boarded the bus.

I darted onto the bus and forcefully pushed the fat man, who was about to be squeezed out, back into the vehicle.

"Those getting on, move to the back! Hurry up, the doors are closing!" the driver yelled frantically.

The fat man sullenly muttered, "I really need to increase my strength, otherwise I can't even squeeze onto the bus as fast as these pensioners..."

"Shh, keep your voice down, or I won't help you if you get beaten up later."

"Yeah, two of them lying down would be enough to bankrupt the two of us brothers..."

The bus kept stopping and starting, and Fatty and I exchanged a smile, as if we had returned to the time when we had just graduated. We used to squeeze onto the bus every day to go to the job market, neither good enough for high-paying jobs nor good enough for low-paying ones, busy every day but accomplishing nothing.

……

After wandering around for about ten minutes, we finally arrived at the square.

The square is divided into two halves by a road. On the right, a building stands tall with the words "Luo Mei" on it. On the left, across the road, stands another building, much taller and more imposing than Luo Mei's, with a huge logo and the words "Yuening Mall" inlaid on its facade.

“Yuening…”

I was surprised; those two words looked familiar.

I've seen it countless times back in Xicheng. The documents Lin Qingying checks every day are almost always titled with "Yuening Group." Is there any connection between the two?

"Hmph, Yuening Mall..."

The fat man looked at the building across the street and sneered, "Our company's arch-rival, our main competitor. Don't bother looking. Although Yuening pays high salaries, the entry requirements are also high. People like us without education have no chance of getting in. Come on, I'll take you to get in."

"it is good."

I nodded and followed him toward the Luo Mei Building.

(End of this chapter)