Online Game: Me, with Unparalleled Comprehension

After eating and drinking his fill and taking a hot shower, Wu Feng changed into loose pajamas and lay back down in the gaming pod.

The hatch closed, and darkness descended.

When she opened her eyes again, she was now in Wu Changfeng's view.

The village was completely shrouded in night.

The sky was a deep, inky blue, dotted with a few scattered stars, and a crescent moon hung obliquely in the sky, casting a cool, hazy light.

The daytime hustle and bustle seemed to be filtered out by the night, leaving only the scattered shouts of players in the distance, and... complete darkness.

Wu Changfeng was stunned for a moment before realizing that it wasn't a problem with his eyesight—the thatched houses on both sides of the road had their doors and windows tightly closed, and not a single ray of light could be seen coming out.

The NPCs have all disappeared.

Or rather, they all went home to rest.

Only a few houses remained—for example, the blacksmith's furnace at the east end of the village had long since gone out, and the cloth banner at the entrance of the general store swayed slightly in the night wind, with no light leaking through the cracks in the door.

The entire village seemed to have been suddenly stripped of its soul, leaving only the tireless and excitedly running around.

"This is so damn realistic..." Wu Changfeng muttered to himself.

He stood in the shadows at the corner of the village, watching several players carrying torches—they had gotten them from who-knows-where—run past noisily, shouting things like "Night battle at Black Wind Pass" and "Double drop rate," before quickly disappearing at the end of the dirt road leading north.

Shaking his head, Wu Changfeng turned around and walked towards the center of the village.

He remembered there was an inn there, the only building in the newbie village that could be called an inn: a two-story building, mainly made of wood, with a dilapidated lantern hanging at the door.

The lanterns emitted a warm, dim light, making the village seem like an isolated island in the darkness.

As you get closer, you can see a wooden plaque hanging crookedly above the door, with the four characters "Ping An Inn" carved on it, and most of the paint has peeled off.

Push the door open and go inside.

A pungent smell, a mixture of musty wood, cheap liquor, and a faint aroma of food wafted towards me.

There were four or five square tables in the lobby, but they were empty at the moment.

Behind the counter, a woman in her forties, wearing an apron, was working on an abacus. She looked up when she heard the door open.

She had a light yellow sign on her head that read "Innkeeper's Wife," and her face was ordinary, showing signs of exhaustion from overwork, but her eyes were still quite bright.

"Sir, would you like to stay at the inn or have a meal?" The voice was a little hoarse, but still quite enthusiastic.

"Check in. I'd like a quiet room." Wu Changfeng walked to the counter.

"Fifty coins a night," the proprietress said, holding up five fingers. "Hot water included, breakfast extra."

It's really not cheap. Wu Changfeng did the math in his head, but still counted out fifty copper coins and handed them over.

After selling all the equipment and copper coins in my backpack, I still had a few hundred coins left. Combined with the little I had saved from doing quests, it was barely enough.

"The room on the second floor, towards the back, is quiet." The proprietress took the money, pulled a brass key from under the counter, and handed it to me. "Go up the stairs, turn left, and it's at the very back. I'll have the waiter bring the hot water up in a bit."

As Wu Changfeng took the key and was about to turn around, a clear "gurgling" sound suddenly came from his stomach.

He paused in his steps.

Wait a minute, I just finished eating in real life.

Almost simultaneously, a distinct, empty hunger pang came from the abdomen of the virtual body.

Wu Changfeng frowned and subconsciously brought up the character interface.

Below the health and mana values, a new line of small gray text, previously unnoticed, has appeared:

Hunger level: 27/100

Hunger level?

He stared at the number for two seconds, then felt the emptiness in his stomach, and his lips twitched involuntarily.

That's really... realistic.

Even the feeling of hunger is simulated. It seems this game not only requires you to fight monsters and level up, but also to eat on time, otherwise you might experience negative status effects, or even affect your attribute performance.

The proprietress seemed unfazed, grinning, "Sir, are you hungry? We have freshly steamed buns, braised beef, and hot noodle soup. Would you like some?"

Wu Changfeng took a deep breath.

Fine.

"Send one to the room. Keep it simple, just enough to eat."

"Alright. Two steamed buns, a plate of braised beef, and a bowl of vegetable soup, that'll be fifteen coins for you," the proprietress announced quickly.

Wu Changfeng then counted out fifteen coins.

Holding the key, I turned and walked up the creaking wooden stairs.

The second-floor corridor was narrow, and oil lamps hung on the walls, casting a dim light.

Find the innermost room and use the key to open the wooden door.

The room was small. There was a wooden plank bed covered with a faded coarse cloth quilt. There was a square table and a chair. In the corner was a wooden shelf with a copper basin on it. The window was closed, covered with yellowed window paper.

It was simple, but clean enough.

Wu Changfeng sat down in the chair.

He sat there waiting for his meal.

About five minutes later, there was a knock on the door.

A skinny young man, around fourteen or fifteen years old, carried in a wooden tray with two white steamed buns, a small dish of dark brown beef slices, and a bowl of vegetable soup with a few specks of oil floating on top.

"Please enjoy your meal, sir." The waiter put down the tray, brought in a pot of hot water, and then left, closing the door behind him.

The food was simple, even coarse.

But the virtual sense of smell faithfully captured the aroma of steamed buns, the savory fragrance of braised beef, and the subtle, plant-like sweetness of vegetable soup.

Wu Changfeng picked up a steamed bun and took a bite.

The texture... was very realistic. It was rough, grainy, with the characteristic slightly sour and sweet flavor of fermented flour. I chewed a few times and swallowed.

The hunger in my stomach was immediately relieved somewhat.

He glanced at the interface.

Hunger level: 27 → 32

It really will go up.

He picked up another slice of beef. The meat was a bit tough and a little salty from the braising, but it was very flavorful. It was a bit tough to chew, but after eating it, his hunger level jumped to 38.

After taking two sips of soup, the warm sensation slid down my esophagus, and my hunger level dropped to 45.

After he finished eating the two steamed buns, the plate of beef, and the bowl of soup, his hunger level had recovered to 89.

A feeling of fullness came over me, and my stomach was no longer empty.

Wu Changfeng put down his chopsticks and bowl, looked at the empty tray, and remained silent for a few seconds.

This setting... it's so realistic it's speechless.

But then, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

It's troublesome, but if you look at it from another angle—

Players need to eat, which requires spending money.

Food costs money, lodging costs money, equipment repair costs money, martial arts training costs money, medicine costs money... expenses are everywhere.

Especially for those wealthy players and large guilds who are focused on progress and want to quickly establish an advantage, their demand for in-game currency will be a staggering figure.

Today, Luo Tiancheng is buying 100 coins for 100 yuan, which is already a very high price.

But as more wealthy players flocked in, guilds began recruiting on a large scale, stockpiling resources, and vying for territory...

The exchange rate of game currency will likely continue to rise.

After all, "Jianghu Dream" only has one major region and no sub-regions.

With all players crammed into the same world, competition will be incredibly fierce, and spending will skyrocket.

This is a huge market.

And he, with his extraordinary talent, happens to be positioned at the very top of the supply side of this market.

The prospects are very promising.

But Wu Changfeng quickly calmed down.

To gain more and faster in this market, the prerequisite is that you have enough strength.

Blacksmith need its own hardware.

If you don't build up your attributes and improve your martial arts skills in the early stages, you won't be able to defeat monsters in high-level maps or even touch elite bosses in the later stages. How can you talk about efficiently farming money and making in-game currency then?

The penalty of death is so severe that if the vehicle overturns, the losses will be enormous.

Therefore, all time and resources in the early stages should be prioritized for improving capabilities.

With increased strength, monster-killing efficiency will be higher, allowing you to access higher-level maps, fight more valuable monsters and bosses, and produce more scarce resources.

This is what constitutes a virtuous cycle.