Chapter 023: I, Too, Am a VIP

"Getting membership cards?" The attractive female network administrator's eyes lit up as soon as she heard the three wanted to sign up, her enthusiasm surging. She knew that every card processed through her brought a commission.

"We offer three types: the standard membership card, the premium membership card, and the VIP card. The standard card requires a 50 yuan top-up and includes seven nights of unlimited access. The premium card requires a 100 yuan deposit, comes with a 30 yuan bonus, priority access to computers, is billed at 0.8 yuan per hour, and also offers seven nights of unlimited access. The VIP card requires a 200 yuan deposit, comes with a 100 yuan bonus, is billed at 0.7 yuan per hour, includes fifteen nights of unlimited access, and grants access to the VIP lounge on the second floor, with complimentary tea, snacks, and even a night-time meal during overnight sessions. Which card would you like?"

"What!? That's pricier than the other place!" Lin Jia patted his pocket, feeling the 131.1 yuan inside. Lao Si quickly calculated, stepped up to the two, and said, "Sure, it's more expensive! But the service and environment here are way better than those dingy internet cafes that charge 0.5 yuan an hour. You get tea, snacks, and even supper if you top up 200 yuan—it’s almost worth it! Plus, the computers here are much better; playing Legend won’t lag at all! And you can use the VIP lounge’s machines, which should be awesome!"

"I don’t have enough money..." Lin Jia tugged at his trousers. His pocket was full and heavy, but there was only a little over a hundred yuan—not quite enough for VIP.

The eldest patted Lin Jia’s shoulder. "Don’t worry! We’ll sponsor you! Lao Si, do you have enough?"

Lao Si grinned mischievously. "Heh! Told my mom it was a classmate's birthday, and got 300 yuan. I can lend Lin Jia 100. How about you, eldest—do you have another hundred? Lin Jia says he’s out of cash..."

Lin Jia hurriedly said, "Just lend me a hundred. I found a bit over a hundred myself. What about you, eldest?"

The eldest sighed, pulling out a wallet. "You said you didn't have money, I was afraid Lao Si didn't either, so I brought my little stash. Together, we have enough..." He took out 600 yuan and handed it to the female administrator.

She beamed as she quickly counted the bills, registered their details, and handed each of them a plastic card the size of a business card, printed with the name, address, contact number of the "Science & Technology" Internet Cafe, and the numbers 027, 028, 029.

After locking the cash drawer, she smiled hospitably and led the three brothers upstairs. The second floor had only fourteen small private rooms: five single-computer rooms, two rooms with two computers, three with three computers, and four with six. Not many young people in this residential area were willing to pay for private rooms; otherwise, this upscale "Science & Technology" Internet Cafe wouldn’t lose business to those black-market cafes that charged just 0.5 yuan an hour. When Lin Jia and his brothers arrived, only one single room was tightly shut—the rest were mostly empty.

The three brothers chose an empty three-computer room. The administrator turned on the air conditioner, started up the computers, and soon returned with a pitcher of iced chrysanthemum tea. Smiling, she said, "If you need anything, just send a message to machine 001 through the management software." With that, she closed the door and left.

"Whoa!" Lin Jia was surprised as he sank into the yellow wooden sofa, testing its bounce. The circular wooden sofas had a soft cushion at the center, making it comfortable to nestle in. If you wanted to sit cross-legged like a monk while gaming, you could. With the air conditioner set to sixteen degrees, the sponge cushions didn't feel hot at all.

Lao Si picked up the mouse and howled excitedly, "Wow! It’s all optical gear! Amazing setup!"

The eldest scoffed at the two. "Country bumpkins! What’s there to marvel at? Hurry up and log in! After missing a day, everyone probably left us behind!"

She unceremoniously removed her sandals, sat cross-legged, and launched the Legend client.

Lin Jia and Lao Si chuckled, poured themselves two big mugs of iced chrysanthemum tea, and hurriedly logged into the game.

After logging in, they found themselves in the same system city, "Earth City," where they'd logged off previously. The chat box was filled with complaints, streaming like hacker data: "It’s lagging so bad!"

"How are we supposed to play like this?"

"My gear! All exploded!"

The three brothers squeezed out of the crowded safe zone, testing the speed. It seemed manageable; apart from the occasional pause while running, it wasn’t unbearable. Still, judging by the packed safe zone, lag was rampant—most likely due to too many players online.

After a day offline, they saw many players had already reached level 20. But the brothers weren’t worried—those were probably the ones who played all night, now too sleepy to keep up. The brothers, well-rested, would soon outpace them once they logged in again.

The only Thunder server for Legend was now overloaded. The official game kept broadcasting a message in red font, assuring players they were working to resolve server speed issues and asking for patience.

Lin Jia and his friends weren’t bothered. They actually had the advantage; while others suffered from severe lag, they could play normally—a rare privilege, especially given that most Chinese internet cafes used mediocre machines and connections, ill-suited for a wildly popular online game like this.

The owner of Science & Technology Internet Cafe—whether for future prospects or optimism about the city’s growth—had set up this massive, luxurious venue along the lakeside in the workers’ residential area. There were rumors that the city center would soon expand toward this area, but even before anything was set in stone, the owner had made this bold investment.

While most internet cafes still used outdated machines, low-end setups, and dial-up connections, the owner of Science & Technology had bought the latest 17-inch flat-screen monitors, high-end computers, and invested heavily in a 10-megabit fiber optic broadband. This made owners of low-end and black-market cafes jealous, suspecting that with fees just one or two cents higher, the Science & Technology owner might not even cover internet and electricity costs.

Whatever the case, Lin Jia and his brothers benefited from the owner's wealth, enjoying priority access to 10-megabit broadband.

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(Trouble: A brother who seems to be from Wuhan mentioned that internet access there costs 2 yuan. To clarify, the protagonists are not in Wuhan, but in a small city nearby. Don’t mention 0.8 yuan per hour—at that time, with so many internet cafes competing, some even charged 0.5 yuan. Also, the timeframe isn’t 1997, but late September to early October 2001! Thanks to Brother Qinglong for your support!

PS: Announcement! Starting from this chapter, this book officially begins its push for the new book rankings! If you’ve read this far, please vote! Endless gratitude! Click the button below to vote! I’ll try to update as quickly as possible!)

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