Chapter 145: The First Pot of Gold

The Trade Center is the most luxurious and imposing building in every major city, a 90-story modern office skyscraper. Its first and second floors serve as the Exchange Center, with the first floor acting as the credit deposit hall and the second floor as the credit withdrawal hall.

This is always the most crowded place, for wherever money circulates the fastest, that is where the highest popularity lies—and that statement is indeed correct.

When Wuhua arrived at the second-floor hall, the receptionist NPC politely said, "Respected guest, since the amount you wish to withdraw is quite large, we need to conduct a 15-minute verification of your account and identity information. Please take a rest in the VIP area."

Wuhua nodded. He fully understood this. Theoretically, the game company does not welcome players who withdraw large amounts of credits because it means the company is losing money, but in reality, the game company is more than eager for you to withdraw. Due to the exchange rate ratio, the game company is actually making a profit.

The VIP area is a small parlor in the corner of the hall, offering the finest service. After ordering a cup of green tea, Wuhua sat on the sofa and admired the urban scenery outside.

After a long while, the door was pushed open, and the NPC receptionist led in another person. This person was clearly also a customer withdrawing a large amount, and had come here to sit and wait.

"Bring me a cup of coffee, no sugar." That person was dressed in a suit and had quite a handsome face, exuding the effortless charm of a refined young gentleman in his every gesture. After sitting down and noticing that Wuhua was the only other person in the VIP area drinking tea, he couldn't help casting a glance at Wuhua.

Wuhua also lowered his gaze to look him over.

As the saying goes, an expert only needs to make a move to reveal their caliber. Almost simultaneously, the gazes of both men fell upon each other's hands, and then both of them couldn't help smiling.

A gunman's hands usually share a few distinct characteristics: the fingers tend to look somewhat like a woman's—long and slender; secondly, there are calluses on the wrists, palm joints, and index fingers, hard and yellowish calluses that make the hand bones appear almost protruding; lastly, the fingernails are trimmed extremely neatly.

Looking at Wuhua, the man smiled and said, "Brother, you must be an expert with firearms."

Wuhua also smiled. "Aren't you as well?"

Both men burst into laughter. The man produced a pack of green Marlboros and handed one to Wuhua. "Brother here is surely no ordinary man of weak strength. Since you can come here, you are naturally a big shot." With that, he produced a business card with both hands.

Wuhua took it, looked at it, and exclaimed in surprise, "So you are actually the renowned big boss of Tianyu Corporation, Vast Horizon."

Vast Horizon was slightly startled. "Brother seems to know me quite well? I have yet to ask for your esteemed name."

Wuhua couldn't help laughing. "I wouldn't dare claim an esteemed name; I am Mad Crazy."

Vast Horizon's face showed a look of astonishment. "So it's you! No wonder President Tie always says you are like a divine dragon of the legends, completely impossible to pin down. You helped us take down Zenith, eliminated Azure Starry Sky, and even dared to oppose the Polaris Corporation. Brother, you're a celebrity! Come, I toast you with this cup. Back then at Blue City, I wasn't able to make it back in time. Today, I thank you in person."

He downed the coffee in one gulp as if it were liquor.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Vast Horizon said, "Brother Crazy, any interest in joining Tianyu? We certainly won't treat you unfairly."

Knowing that he was trying to recruit him, Wuhua smiled and replied, "I appreciate the kind gesture, but I've grown accustomed to a life of freedom."

Vast Horizon smiled. "Actually, I knew that even President Tie's Qimen Corporation couldn't hire you, let alone my Tianyu."

Wuhua had no choice but to exchange a few more polite remarks with him.

After chatting congenially for a while and adding each other as friends on their receivers, the NPC receptionist entered, and Wuhua stood up and headed toward the hall.

"The current withdrawal exchange rate is 9.4 to 1. For one million points, the service fee is only 1%. Does Mr. Crazy confirm the exchange?" asked the NPC receptionist, while the electronic screen behind her flashed with a dazzling glow.

Wuhua nodded and handed his crystal card to the NPC receptionist. Soon, he watched as the number of credits on the card rapidly decreased on the screen like a countdown, while the amount in his linked Bank of China card quickly increased, finally stopping at the value of 105,319. This also meant he had a net income of 105,300 RMB.

Wuhua let out a long breath, a heavy stone dropping from his heart. This was his first pot of gold dug out in Star Wars. The joy was indescribable—it was earned through his own sweat, countless brushes with death, and bloody struggles. This sense of accomplishment was simply unforgettable.

Facts proved that his initial decision to resign and plunge into gaming was a brilliant one. This money was enough for him to get by in the real world for six or seven years.

Walking out of the Financial Center, Wuhua came to the insurance company building established by the Federal Government. Strictly speaking, this was the player storage warehouse in the game. Every player owned an individual safe capable of holding 10,000 units of items. The game company kept every player's safe, items, and identity information strictly confidential. Of course, this service was also free.

If you needed a larger-capacity safe or other insurance items, you had to pay.

The elevator stopped on the 20th floor, and Wuhua walked into the room belonging to his designated number. This room, utilizing virtual space technology, was formed by identity-scanning rays. It opened automatically when a player arrived and vanished immediately upon their departure. There was never any possibility of theft or impostor claims, and the service was universal across all major cities.

Wuhua took out the green-tier AUG and the purple-tier Desert Eagle, stroking them carefully. As he stroked them, he sighed. After such a long time together, these two most loyal friends were about to retire. They had completed their glorious mission, making monumental contributions to their master's conquests, following their master through countless life-and-death trials without ever leaving his side.

Wuhua had never experienced the feeling of shedding tears, but at this moment, he actually had the urge to weep. No one understood his affection for firearms; whether in the game or in reality, his entire life was deeply intertwined with guns, a complex that only true gunmen could truly comprehend.

Yet, the waves behind push the waves ahead, and each new generation replaces the old. Technological progress would inevitably render them obsolete, but Wuhua still couldn't bear to part with them. Therefore, he decided to place these two firearms in the safe forever. No matter how poor he might become in the future, he would never sell them—not for all those brilliant counterattacks or desperate survivals, but simply for the trials, hardships, and unswerving loyalty they had shared all the way here.

Wuhua dismantled the barrel and components of the AUG, meticulously applied gun oil to them one last time, neatly placed them into the gun case, and slowly locked the safe. From this day forward, they would sleep peacefully here.

***

At dusk, in a 20th-floor apartment in the Jiulong District's Shu State Residential Area in City C, the aroma of food filled the air.

Ah Jie and his girlfriend had been waiting by the dining table for a long time. Today, Wuhua was doing the cooking himself. His culinary skills belonged to the "supreme grand newbie" level. Ah Jie's girlfriend was named Su Tian, yet she was filled with anticipation regarding Wuhua's cooking.

"You'd better not look forward to it," Ah Jie laughed. "Under normal circumstances, as long as he doesn't forget to add salt, it's already a miracle."

The dishes were served, and Wuhua said nonchalantly, "Have a taste. That's no brag—I guarantee it won't be any worse than the food in Star Wars."

Then he watched as Ah Jie and Su Tian grimaced while chewing, and Su Tian kept frowning as she ate.

"How is it? Not bad, right?" As for the things he cooked, Wuhua always adhered to the Three-All Principle: eat it all, sweep it clean, and grab it all.

Ah Jie raised his head and smiled. "Not bad, really not bad. A huge improvement compared to last time. At least he didn't burn the rice."

Wuhua chuckled, a trace of gratitude nevertheless flashing through his heart. He had intended to invite Ah Jie out to eat, but Ah Jie, considering his finances, was unwilling to waste money, so the three of them had gone to the supermarket to buy groceries and cook at home instead.

"Huazi," Ah Jie said, setting down his chopsticks and putting away his smile, "I'm planning to go away for a while."

"Go away? Where? Traveling?" Wuhua asked curiously.

A trace of worry flashed across Ah Jie's face. "Let's call it traveling. I might not be back for ten days or half a month."

Wuhua rarely saw him wear such an expression; presumably, he had unspeakable reasons. However, he never asked too many questions, respecting his friends' privacy.

Ah Jie was indeed a bit strange. Wuhua had never seen him go to work, yet he never worried about food and water. Although he was also striving hard in Star Wars, whenever he had free time, Ah Jie acted like an old man—cooking, taking walks, visiting parks, playing Chinese chess... These were his favorite pastimes, and he never grew tired of them. For a fine young man to love such things was something Wuhua couldn't quite figure out, but he undoubtedly regarded Ah Jie as a very good friend, even a brother.

"Traveling sounds good too. Let's not talk about that. As long as you're happy, as long as you're happy," Wuhua said, lowering his head and shoveling rice into his mouth furiously.