Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God exchanged glances.
“Mingyu, I’d like to ask something,” Hong looked at the burly man before him. “If we join the Virtual Universe Company, what would we need to do, and what obligations would we have?”
“In the beginning, your power is weak, and the company is cultivating you. Therefore, the management is strict! You must obey the company’s orders, go to training, undergo life-and-death trials, and so on. However, as your strength improves, your freedom will gradually expand. Cosmic-level, Domain Lord, Realm Lord—the stronger you are, the freer you become. You will only need to act at crucial moments,” Mingyu replied directly.
Luo Feng and the others hesitated.
Being strictly managed?
Hong and Thunder God had both founded martial arts academies. How could they endure strict management from others?
“During the cultivation period when we’re weak, can’t we move freely?” Hong asked.
Luo Feng and Thunder God also stared at the burly man.
“There are holidays, designated holidays,” the burly man replied solemnly. “During the cultivation period when your strength is weak, the discipline is extremely strict. You must understand this! Holidays? You can meet and chat with family and friends through the Virtual Universe Network. So, holidays aren’t really that meaningful.”
Hong, Thunder God, and Luo Feng exchanged glances and all shook their heads.
They couldn’t accept it!
The cultivation period? Perhaps even at the Stellar-level, the Virtual Universe Company would classify them as being in the ‘cultivation period,’ strictly managed for hundreds of years or even longer. None of the three could accept it.
“Hmm?” Mingyu, the external steward, slightly frowned, sighing inwardly.
They couldn’t endure strict management!
He had encountered this situation many times before. As an external steward, he often invited talents to join the Virtual Universe Company. However, since these were talents, they had already been courted by various factions. Most of these gifted individuals were proud and unruly, unwilling to be strictly managed for a long time, so many rejected the offer.
But…
The Virtual Universe Company needed to strictly manage and indoctrinate its core internal personnel.
“We can’t accept it,” Hong said.
“Oh, of course…” Mingyu smiled. “What I just described was for ‘internal members.’ Our Virtual Universe Company is divided into internal and external members. Internal members enjoy many benefits but are subject to stricter management. External members, on the other hand, are much freer but receive far fewer benefits, nowhere near as good as internal members.”
“For example, I am an external steward,” Mingyu smiled. “If you become external members, although you won’t be able to receive evolution agents for free, you can still purchase them. The first dose can be bought at a discounted price. The second dose will be much more expensive. An ordinary external member can purchase up to three doses at most.”
“How much?” Luo Feng quickly asked.
“For bloodline evolution agents, the first dose costs 100 million Qianwu Credits. The second dose will cost as much as 1 billion Qianwu Credits,” Mingyu replied. “Bloodline evolution agents are rarely available on the black market. Only those with extraordinary connections can obtain them, and their prices are inflated to astronomical levels. Also, the Virtual Universe Company strictly prohibits the sale of evolution agents by external members. If any secret selling activities are discovered…”
“You will be executed!” Mingyu said casually.
Luo Feng immediately abandoned any thoughts of selling.
“These are some of the rules for becoming an external member of our company. Please consider whether you can accept them.” Mingyu, the burly man, pointed toward the screen, where numerous rules instantly appeared.
…
Five minutes later.
“Welcome to the Virtual Universe Company. From now on, you are external members of the Heilongshan Branch, temporarily under my jurisdiction. If you have any matters, you can email me directly,” the burly man Mingyu smiled.
“Yes, Lord Mingyu.”
Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God slightly bowed.
…
After leaving the battlefield and returning to their residence at Jiuxing Bay on Heilongshan Island.
“External members really are free!”
“Actually allowing us to join some ordinary organizations, and even permitting us to join places like the Qianwu Dojo. It’s really unbelievable.” Thunder God walked along the pebbled path by the lake, marveling. “Although we are forbidden from joining intergalactic organizations like the ‘Axe Battle Arena.'”
The martial division of the Virtual Universe Company is divided into internal and external.
Internal members are the most loyal and are considered the most important part of the company. They are absolutely forbidden from joining other factions.
External members, on the other hand, are much more relaxed.
For example, a Realm Lord from the Qianwu Dojo, upon invitation, could simply be listed as an external member of the Virtual Universe Company. Usually, when important conflicts arise, the company might call upon external members to fight. Otherwise, there are few restrictions on external members, as long as they don’t join other super factions of equal standing.
“The Virtual Universe Company simply doesn’t consider the Qianwu Dojo a threat,” Luo Feng chuckled.
“Haha, joining the Virtual Universe Company, Luo Feng. I originally planned for you to leverage the Qianwu Dojo’s power in the future. But if you can attain a high enough status within the Virtual Universe Company’s external ranks, that would be impressive too,” Babata said excitedly.
“Brothers, when purchasing the evolution agents, do you both have enough money?” Luo Feng asked.
“Enough.”
“Plenty, actually.” Both Hong and Thunder God replied.
Luo Feng sighed inwardly. His current funds were indeed tight. Using metal combinations with 89 times efficiency to rapidly evolve his inner world through voracious consumption… he believed he would break through to the Cosmic-level within less than a year. The cost of metals required for a Cosmic-level Golden-Horned Beast would increase by hundreds or even thousands of times.
By his calculations, his money wouldn’t be enough.
“My old master probably never imagined that his disciple’s disciple would possess a Golden-Horned Beast body. The Golden-Horned Beast truly is a money pit,” Luo Feng mused.
“Little Brother, after talking with the external steward, I’ve decided to sign up for the Galactic Mercenary Alliance,” Hong’s eyes gleamed. “Although I’m not yet eligible for the ‘Apprentice Mercenary Exam,’ I can’t wait any longer.”
“Same here!” Thunder God licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with wildness. “Dancing on the edge of a blade, that kind of life is full of excitement.”
“You two…” Luo Feng was taken aback.
“Little Brother, are you coming with us?” Hong asked.
“Join us?” Thunder God also looked at Luo Feng.
How many Earth warriors were cowards?
“Of course, let’s go together!” Luo Feng said.
“Haha…” Thunder God burst into laughter.
“Brothers.” Hong patted Luo Feng’s shoulder.
Looking at his two brothers, whose hearts were already ablaze, Luo Feng silently thought, “Adventure? Yes, I also want to seek adventure. Dancing on the edge of a blade is truly exhilarating!” Back in the wilderness zone, fighting against monsters for survival, that feeling was always thrilling.
“If Big Brother and Second Brother ever face an insurmountable crisis, I can always unleash the Golden-Horned Beast to save them!” Luo Feng mused.
The existence of the Golden-Horned Beast must remain a secret.
But when facing insurmountable danger, of course, he would unleash the Golden-Horned Beast!
…
In the Battle Arena Hall.
An extremely old green-skinned elder sat in a corner of the hall, holding a cup of water. His wrinkled forehead lifted, and his murky eyes occasionally glanced around. He was the overall director of the Battle Arena on Heilongshan Island—Manluo, a well-known old man here.
At this moment, the burly man Mingyu quickly approached and directly came before the green-skinned elder.
“Lord,” Mingyu said softly.
“How did it go?” The green-skinned elder’s murky eyes looked at him.
Mingyu lowered his head respectfully, “Lord’s guess was spot on. None of them were willing to join the internal ranks. They only joined as external members. And Hong is indeed impressive—Stellar-level ninth stage, with triple domain layers.”
“Triple domain layers?” The green-skinned elder’s eyes lit up. The previously murky eyes suddenly became clear and penetrating, as if filled with infinite wisdom, capable of seeing through one’s soul. Before this elder, Mingyu, a second-star cosmic mercenary, was extremely respectful—his reverence was purely from the heart.
“Yes, very good.”
The green-skinned elder nodded with a smile, his eyes returning to their murky state. “Discovering a ‘Level One Elite’ is quite good. After all, a ‘Special Grade Elite’ is something that can only be hoped for, not forced. Such a talented individual cannot be compelled. Their joining as external members is already quite good. Let them develop freely.”
“Yes,” Mingyu replied respectfully.
The so-called evaluation of Luo Feng and the others, the so-called observation for a month—all these words were instructions given to him by Lord Manluo. As for Mingyu himself, how could he possibly have the leisure to observe Luo Feng and the others for a whole month?
…
Earth.
Spring had arrived, flowers blooming. In Yangzhou City of the Huaxia Nation, a C9-class deep-blue triangular spaceship hovered above a castle. This was the spaceship they had just purchased, costing 11 billion Heilong Coins. For Luo Feng and the others now, this was not a large sum.
After all, the planetary defense system Luo Feng had installed cost dozens of times more than the spaceship.
“Don’t cry. Dad is just going out, and we can still meet in the Virtual Universe. Come on, be good, give Dad a kiss.” Luo Feng squatted in front of his two sons. The two cute and handsome little boys kissed Luo Feng’s face several times and hugged him tightly, clearly reluctant to let him go.
“Son.”
Luo Hongguo patted Luo Feng’s shoulder. “I won’t say much. Just take care of yourself out there.”
“By the way, where’s Luo Hua?” Luo Feng looked around.
Zhennan, who was seeing them off, quickly replied, “Luo Hua is in a critical phase of financial investment these days. It’s trading time now, and he dares not relax even for a moment. So he asked me to say goodbye to you and will apologize to you in the Virtual Universe later.”
“This kid.” Luo Feng shook his head and smiled.
…
After saying goodbye to his family, Luo Feng saw Hong and Thunder God also bidding farewell to their loved ones.
Then Luo Feng, Hong, and Thunder God boarded the spaceship with two servants.
“Whoosh!”
The deep-blue triangular spaceship slowly ascended, quickly flying into the atmosphere under the watchful eyes of their families, disappearing from their sight.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage