OFR – Chapter 128 Tower jumping and killing!

“Ding! Once again, we warmly welcome you to Black Skynet.”

On the screen, fiery red flames formed a line of Chinese calligraphy. After a moment, the text shifted to display a dark red list:

ID: Leng.
User Rank: Not yet ranked; currently at visitor level. You need 1,000 experience points to upgrade to 1-star rank.
Gold Coin Balance: 0.
Transaction History: None.
Favorite Shops: None.

Mu Bai glanced at the list and realized this was his personal dashboard.

After casually closing the personal page, a detailed introduction about Black Skynet appeared at the center of the black webpage:

“Dear esteemed user, welcome!”

“You are the 1,268,687th global user of Black Skynet. Black Skynet is a network world beyond the jurisdiction of any nation. Here, you will find a world of rare item transactions, a world for socializing and connecting, and an unknown world waiting to be explored.”

“Since your current rank is visitor level, you can only access the trading world and can only purchase items that are visitor or 1-star ranked. Once you reach 1-star rank, you will unlock the ability to create a shop. The highest user rank in Black Skynet is 6-star.”

“Ding! For every gold coin spent on Black Skynet, you will gain 1 experience point. Based on your detected location (Huaxia), each gold coin requires a recharge of 100,000 RMB.”

Mu Bai read through the introduction, realizing that this newly unlocked black market network far exceeded his expectations.

Initially, he had assumed it was just an underground, unregulated marketplace for trading goods.

But now, Mu Bai understood how wrong he was.

From its bold, defiant tone against all laws, it was clear that this wasn’t some shady, low-profile dark web.

It was a world standing at the pinnacle of the food chain—an elite network accessible only to the most powerful individuals globally!

What shocked Mu Bai most was the user rank system.

After examining the details carefully, he noted that spending one gold coin earned one experience point. Thus, to gain the 1,000 experience points needed to upgrade to 1-star rank, he would need to spend 1,000 gold coins.

In other words, it would require a spending equivalent to 100 million RMB just to reach the 1-star rank. How much would it cost to climb further up the ranks?

Ten billion? A hundred billion?

Even with his Virtual Tycoon System, Mu Bai was astonished. The sheer cost was staggering!

He had once thought of himself as a formidable virtual tycoon.

But after seeing Black Skynet, Mu Bai realized the road to becoming the ultimate virtual tycoon was much longer than he had imagined.

After a moment of shock, Mu Bai casually clicked on the Trading World—the only section he could access.

As he tapped on the “Trading World” icon, red flames erupted across the webpage. When they disappeared, a layout resembling an advanced version of Taobao appeared.

The trading platform was divided into various categories, including Intelligence, Tasks, Fine Wines, Antiques, Jade, and more, with each category seeming exorbitantly valuable.

The platform also boasted over 100,000 shops, complete with a sales leaderboard.

Browsing the leaderboard, Mu Bai noticed that the most popular items were concentrated in the Intelligence and Tasks categories. These two categories dominated roughly 70% of the leaderboard.

Curious, Mu Bai clicked into a few top-ranked shops and discovered that their descriptions were concise and cryptic—completely different from Taobao, where product details were laid out in exhaustive detail.

The shops shared three common traits: simplicity, directness, and mystery.

1. [Intelligence Skynet Shop]
   • A shop that has dominated the sales leaderboard for six consecutive months.
   • “Here, you can inquire about any intelligence you need by contacting the shopkeeper. Inquiry costs: 1 gold coin per 3 minutes. The cost of purchasing intelligence is separate.”
2. [Tianya Inn Shop]
   • A super-popular shop in the Tasks category.
   • “You can post any task here. If we accept your task and fail to complete it, we will refund ten times the cost. For details, please privately message the shopkeeper. Inquiry costs: 1 gold coin per 5 minutes. Task prices are separate.”
3. [Golden Hour Wine Shop]
   • The top-selling shop in the Fine Wines category.
   • “Offering the finest wines from around the world. If you want to purchase wine, request a price list for free. Consultation costs: 1 gold coin per 10 minutes.”
4. [Yunshen Flower & Herb Shop]
   • Specializes in flowers and herbs of exceptional rarity, with top-tier offerings labeled as quasi-priceless.
   • “For inquiries, pay a 1 gold coin deposit. If you don’t purchase, the deposit is non-refundable. If you do purchase, it will be deducted from the price.”

Mu Bai spent quite some time browsing Black Skynet and realized that none of the items were clearly marked with prices. Everything operated on a “pay-to-inquire” basis. If you were serious about buying, the transaction details would only be revealed upon contacting the shopkeeper.

This level of mystery and exclusivity made Black Skynet stand out—and it underscored the immense wealth required to play in this elite world.

All shop inquiries require contacting the shopkeeper.

Furthermore, almost every shop’s inquiry fee starts at one gold coin!

Such exorbitant consultation fees would be unthinkable on platforms like Taobao, Tmall, or any mainstream e-commerce site today.

This gave Mu Bai yet another profound realization about Black Skynet.

However, at this moment, Mu Bai wasn’t planning to purchase anything. After all, his Mystical Space’s planting and breeding slots were already full, and buying more items would only leave them idle.

So, after browsing Black Skynet for a short while, he logged out.

As the ink-black page disappeared from his screen, Mu Bai understood—his journey as a virtual tycoon had only just begun.

Feeling a wave of drowsiness, Mu Bai yawned and glanced at the time on his phone. It was already past 10 p.m.

“Hm? It’s already after 10? Let’s see how Wen Tian and Heartache are doing in their match!”

Mu Bai hadn’t forgotten about the competition on Douyu. He closed the browser and logged into the Douyu streaming platform.

Within seconds, he entered Han Xiaoxiao’s livestream.

But as soon as he joined, he was greeted by an overwhelming wave of barrage comments flooding the screen!

“666! Wen Tian is a beast!”
“Holy crap! Is this the legendary unstoppable force?!”
“Hahaha, a showdown of Li Bai vs. Li Bai, and the so-called ‘Invincible Li Bai’ Heartache has a record of 0-5! This is just…”
“Wen Tian is insane! He’s just standing in front of the tower motionless, and Heartache doesn’t even dare to attack!”
“This must be what they call the aura of ‘I remain immovable, while he trembles in fear!’”
“This guy must really be the true King of Solo Q, Wen Tian! Incredible!”

“Hm? So many comments?”

Intrigued, Mu Bai turned his attention to the two players battling in the livestream.

He saw Wen Tian’s character standing calmly in front of the enemy tower, while Heartache didn’t dare to make a move. Wen Tian was casually cutting off Heartache’s minion wave, crippling his gold income and progression.

Having died five times already, Heartache’s earlier attempts had proven one thing: the opponent before him was undoubtedly the strongest King of Solo Q—Wen Tian!

Heartache could now deeply empathize with the pressure felt by pro players who had previously faced off against Wen Tian.

It was an unprecedented, terrifying kind of pressure.

Sitting on his couch, gripping his phone tightly, Heartache’s thumbs were trembling slightly.

He had never imagined Wen Tian could be this powerful—so powerful it was absurd!

Extreme mechanics. Flawless awareness.

What might be considered rare, highlight-reel moments for others were as routine as farming jungle creeps for Wen Tian.

After dying five times and being denied farm for so long, the gold gap between Heartache and Wen Tian had reached a staggering 3,000 gold.

To experienced players, a 3,000 gold deficit was a terrifying gap—nearly the equivalent of two major items!

Heartache no longer dared to step out from under his tower, pinning his hopes on the chance to secure a counterkill using the turret’s protection.

“I just need to hold out! I can’t afford to lose!”

Heartache’s breathing became labored, his heartbeat accelerating.

This wasn’t just any match—countless viewers were watching. It was also a highly anticipated showdown of Li Bai vs. Li Bai.

If he lost, his reputation as the so-called “Invincible Li Bai” would become the biggest joke in the King of Glory community.

Now, Heartache dared not relax for even a moment.

He focused intently on Wen Tian’s every movement, analyzing and predicting his next action.

But he failed.

Because Wen Tian did nothing at all.

Minutes passed. As Heartache’s tension peaked, uncertain how long Wen Tian would continue denying his farm, a single message suddenly appeared in the in-game chat.

That simple message made Heartache’s heart pound so fast it felt like it would leap out of his chest.

And following that brief message, the entire livestream chat exploded with a barrage of comments.

Because this was the definition of dominance. This was what it meant to be invincible.

In that moment, Wen Tian set the standard with his actions:

With nothing but his blade, he dove the tower alone and secured the kill.