The Professional Rankings, in twelve volumes, each bearing the name of my lord.

The bandits came on strong, and Wang Miao's group had no choice but to retreat and stand by the roadside to let them pass.

Watching the bandits disappear into the distance, Wang Miao sighed.

"There might be Dark Artifacts active in Glory City. Now the bandits have arrived, and if nothing unexpected happens, there will be an Abyss invasion next year. Glory City is going to be quite lively."

The bandits' ostentatious display drew the attention of everyone in the city.

Many people took out their phones to take photos and videos.

"So many bandits have come? These must be real bandits, not cosplayers, right?"

"Judging from their walking posture and singing, they are very authentic."

"Although the bandits are quite capable, it's probably unlikely that they can get a share of the pie from the top guilds, families, and federal agencies in the entire region."

"At least these bandits are unlikely to be there; they're all only around level 30, which is the lowest level in Glory City."

Today, there will only be one trending topic related to Glory City.

The bandits are here!

On their way to the arena, the clones discovered that the shops along the roadside were quite profitable.

"Holy crap, 5 reputation points for a boxed lunch? 5 reputation points for an extra chicken leg? That's expensive?"

"Holy crap, 10 reputation points for a cup of mango pomelo sago? Why don't you grab it!"

"Holy crap, 500 reputation points for an essential oil massage? That's enough to buy an experience book! Both vegetarian and non-vegetarian?"

Upon discovering this situation, the clones had a sudden inspiration.

"Fighting in the arena, doing city-building quests, battling star beasts—it's exhausting and dangerous. Why don't we learn from them and open a shop here?"

"It's troublesome for them to transport supplies in; there's no way to teleport or drive them over those 100 kilometers outside. But for that old thief, transporting supplies in is a piece of cake!"

"Our logistics costs are zero, so we can wage a price war. Wouldn't this be tantamount to a monopoly?"

"Internet addict" said.

"I'm going to rent a 500-square-meter apartment and open an internet cafe! 5 reputation points per hour, get 100 free for every 100 you spend! Pretty generous, right?"

Blood Brother said.

"This place clearly needs someone to open a winery, a proper red wine winery, 100 reputation points per drop, right? Fair enough?"

Four points indicate this.

"I don't see any beauty salons here. I'm thinking of opening one here; I'm sure lots of ladies would patronize it!"

Upon reflection, Song Gua (宋卦) realized that this made sense.

Don't be fooled by how easily he and his clones come and go.

But in reality, any professional who comes to Glory City has to stay for at least a few nights to use up this year's quota.

After all, those 100 kilometers outside shouldn't have been traveled for nothing, right?

Just like the tourism industry, if people stay here, there will be profits to be made.

There's no better way to earn reputation than by doing business.

Immediately, the bandit army stopped in front of a fried chicken shop.

When the shop owner saw so many people standing at the door, he grinned from ear to ear.

"Hey everyone, what would you like to eat? Chicken cutlets, chicken strips, chicken cartilage, Coke, Sprite, Jianlibao—we have it all!"

The bandits pointed at the shop owner and said in unison.

"You, come out here, this shop is ours!"

The shop owner said with a smile.

"Surely... several hundred of you are newcomers and unfamiliar with the rules of Glory City?"

Bandits:

"We are the rules!"

The shop owner was still smiling, as if he had seen this kind of scene many times before.

He gave an explanation.

If you want to open a shop in Glory City, you must obtain the shop's land deed from the city lord; otherwise, the city guards will empty your illegally operated shop.

The city lord and the city guards are both NPCs.

They can fight in the city, but professionals can't fight in the city during peacetime; they definitely can't win.

How do you obtain a land title?

Every year at the end of the year, the city lord's mansion will hold a land title bidding war.

Each major power will send its strongest forces to take action.

Even federal officials will get involved in the competition.

Among the participants were many high-level players in their late third job advancement, some over level 80—but no Clerics were to be seen, as participating in such activities after reaching Cleric advancement would be somewhat beneath them.

The specific rules for the competition are very complex. In short, no single entity will be able to take all the spoils. All the houses and shops in the city will eventually be distributed among the top dozens of forces in the entire China region.

Among them, the three major clans and the five major guild alliances always secured the best locations, demonstrating their strength as the top tier.

After listening to the shop owner's description, Song Gua came up to him and said in a deep voice.

"I'd like a chicken cartilage toy and a Coke. Can I pay with cash?"

The shop owner was all smiles.

"In principle, it's not allowed, but everyone in our Sky Dome Guild is a fan of the bandits, so we'll make an exception for today!"

The other clones stepped forward one after another.

"I want Sprite."

"I'll eat chicken cutlet."

"You old scoundrel, buy one for me too!"

"You bastard, I want my Coke with ice, and my chicken cutlet extra spicy!"

The bandits left.

Everyone had a snack in hand, and they stopped singing, just eating with a "cool and smug" sound.

"Opening a shop is really troublesome. You can't just steal it. Honestly... This chicken cartilage tastes pretty good."

After finishing their snacks, the large group of several hundred people finally arrived at the arena.

The arena in Huaxia Glory City is a huge martial arts training ground.

Dust flies, horses gallop, plum blossom stakes, wooden dummy stakes, and archery targets—all very characteristic of Chinese culture.

But this is actually just an entrance for professionals to interact with NPCs.

After participating in ranked matches in the arena, you will enter a separate space.

An NPC dressed as a female knight-errant came before the group and said with a smile.

"Hello, hero. Is this your first time in the arena?"

In the arena, you can play ranked matches three times a day. Winning or losing both earns you 5 reputation points. Winning earns you rank points, and the higher your rank, the more rank reputation you earn each day.

You won't die during the match, and any injuries you take will automatically heal after the match ends, so fight with all your might!

Should I start matching with opponents immediately and improve my rank?

The female NPC is so realistic, she's practically indistinguishable from a real person. I even wanted to touch some of her clones to see just how lifelike they were.

As a result, they were warned that uncivilized behavior was prohibited, otherwise they would be kicked out of Glory City.

He immediately shut up.

"Start matching!"

The clones lined up in front of the NPC.

Once you enter this training ground, it's like entering a different channel; the people you see around you aren't necessarily all the people in the training ground.

In the other five Glory Cities around the world, people were also matching up.

Therefore, there are still many people playing ranked matches at the same time.

The matchmaking rules for ranked matches do not consider level, job advancement stage, or combat power; they only consider rank.

The bandits were all stubborn bronze level one!

To be honest, there aren't many people at this level.

Normally, either the matchmaking time is very long, or if you really can't find a match, you'll be matched with someone of a higher rank.

However, there are currently over four hundred bandits matching at the same time, so there is clearly no shortage of people.

As a result, many bandits encountered their own people and started rigging the game on the spot.

When cannon fodder encounters the main force, let the main force win.

When the main force encounters a cadre, let the cadre win.

Anyone who encounters the Song hexagram should let the Song hexagram win.

"This needs improvement. We'll have ranked matches played in shifts tomorrow. We can't keep having internal conflicts. We need to improve our rank."

Those who didn't encounter their own people basically crushed the opposing team.

After all, they are all S-level professions, and the strength of their professional talents is something that B-level and C-level professions can't compete with.

After finishing the arena battle, the hundreds of people went to the vicinity of the city wall to find the city construction NPC and receive city construction tasks.

Completing city-building tasks not only grants reputation but also strengthens Glory City's defenses, which is beneficial against Abyss invasions.

While the bandits were on their mission.

News of the clone has arrived from the capital city.

"You old scoundrel! Ye Chen has left campus. Should we ambush him?"

Song Gua stopped his current task and immediately switched places to go to the capital.

"Hehehe! Dark Dagger, here I come!"