Chapter 45: The Wager Approaches

With just a few short words, Lu Kuan could almost see the other party’s arrogant, commanding demeanor, as if they were looking down from above.

“Heh, that’s exactly the style of the Supreme Celestial Court—so high and mighty.” Lu Kuan scoffed, then, after a moment’s thought, followed the message’s instructions and found a voice chat room on the forum.

There were three people in the room’s list. As soon as Lu Kuan entered, a young man’s voice rang out: “Old Lu? The ID matches—are you the one who got first place in the advancement quest?”

The other’s tone was interrogative and rude. Lu Kuan glanced at their IDs and replied unhurriedly, “May I ask who sent me the private message?”

“Hey, didn’t you hear me ask you a question?” The young man, seeing that Lu Kuan ignored him, pressed aggressively.

Lu Kuan couldn’t be bothered with people who didn’t know how to talk. He said coldly, “If no one has anything to say, then goodbye.”

With that, Lu Kuan was about to hit the leave button, when another voice finally spoke in the room: “Wait, don’t go. We just want to confirm your identity.”

“There’s nothing about my identity that needs confirmation,” Lu Kuan’s mood was already sour. He cut straight to the point, “You must have seen the application I sent to the Supreme Celestial Court earlier. You contacted me because you have what I want?”

There was a few seconds of silence before the other responded, “We’re very interested in what you have, and quite surprised that someone outside the professional circle was the first to advance. So we want to make a deal with you.”

“I’m listening,” Lu Kuan replied coolly.

At this point, the young man from before spoke up again, “Five thousand, for your ‘Lost Prosthetic.’ And whatever purple gear you got from your class quest, we’ll pay fifty thousand for it.”

Lu Kuan nearly laughed out loud at the absurdity.

He’d been tolerating their nonsense, hoping to catch some news about the Ranger’s awakening quest. He hadn’t expected these people to set their sights on him instead.

Five thousand for the Lost Prosthetic? “Whatever purple gear, fifty thousand”? Did they really think he was such a pushover?

“A bunch of idiots.” Lu Kuan spat out coldly, then exited the room without another word.

Though he’d occasionally heard people refer to the Supreme Celestial Court as the “Pretentious Celestial Court,” today was the first time Lu Kuan truly experienced it for himself. He hadn’t expected that even years ago, the culture of the Supreme Celestial Court was already like this.

“Forget it. Clearly, I’m just not cut from the same cloth as you so-called experts.”

Lu Kuan didn’t want these events to ruin his good mood. Checking the time, he set out for the internet café.

During the day, the café was much quieter than the bustling crowds at night. When Lu Kuan arrived, Liu Xueliang and his group had just gotten there as well and were teasing the cashier at the front desk.

But the moment Liu Xueliang saw Lu Kuan walk in, his face darkened instantly. He stared at Lu Kuan with undisguised hatred. His humiliation in the game last time, especially in front of a beauty like Wu Xiaoxiao, was the greatest disgrace of his life.

“Heh, I thought you’d be too scared to show up. Aren’t you afraid your dad will beat you if you lose your necklace?” Liu Xueliang sneered, glaring at Lu Kuan as he forced out the words.

Lu Kuan’s lips curled into a faint smile. A truly shrewd person would never say such things at this time. If Lu Kuan were in Liu Xueliang’s shoes, he would have kept silent, won the bet, taken the necklace, and only then sought revenge in whatever way he pleased.

Such provocations were nothing but child’s play in Lu Kuan’s eyes.

Seeing Lu Kuan’s expression, Liu Xueliang felt the helplessness of throwing a punch into cotton. Knowing Lu Kuan had made quite a splash lately only made him angrier, and he nearly lost his temper.

At that moment, a voice called down from the second-floor stairs—it was Xue Da: “Everyone here? Come on up.”

Only then did Liu Xueliang remember whose turf this was. He forcibly suppressed his anger, pointed a finger at Lu Kuan, and ground out, “Just you wait!”

Lu Kuan, looking unconcerned, followed Liu Xueliang and the others upstairs. Xue Da led them into the manager’s office.

“Did you bring your stuff?” Xue Da got straight to the point.

Liu Xueliang pulled out a delicately packaged box from his bag and carefully placed it on the table.

The box was made of semi-transparent synthetic crystal, and inside was a black-and-white gaming helmet with strong, elegant lines. The left ear of the helmet bore a red “S-S” marking, signifying its status as a super model.

Lu Kuan couldn’t help feeling excited.

This particular model was a platinum limited edition. Due to cost and lengthy production cycles, in his previous life, even after more than a decade of “Echoes of the Gods” being in operation, only one batch of these S-S platinum helmets was ever released, totaling just two thousand units.

What set it apart was its “realism.”

The helmet received and converted the game’s virtual data. Ordinary helmets had a conversion rate of about 70%, luxury models reached 75%, but the platinum version boasted an astounding 90%.

The difference was significant—take, for instance, archery in-game: with higher realism, Lu Kuan could more accurately sense changes in the environment, such as wind direction, and adjust his force and angle accordingly, greatly increasing his hit rate.

This helmet, Lu Kuan was determined to have!

“What are you daydreaming for? Where’s the necklace?” Liu Xueliang shot Lu Kuan a sideways glance, annoyance in his tone.

Lu Kuan paid him no mind, took the jade pendant from his chest, and handed it to Xue Da. Xue Da had a box ready and was about to put it away when Liu Xueliang interrupted, “Hold on!”

He gestured to an elderly man behind him, “Let the expert take a look first. Wouldn’t want certain people slipping in a fake.”

Xue Da looked to Lu Kuan, who simply spread his hands nonchalantly. So Xue Da placed the necklace on the table. The old man approached, examined it with a magnifying glass, then rubbed the jade for a while before finally setting it down.

“It’s genuine,” the old man nodded to Liu Xueliang and stepped back.

With no objections from either side, Xue Da put both items away and, in front of everyone, locked them in the office safe.

“Tomorrow morning at eight, the entrance exam results will be released. Be here on time,” Xue Da instructed.

Both nodded in acknowledgment. With business done, Liu Xueliang and his crew left in a huff, and Lu Kuan took his leave as well. He hailed a cab to a tobacco and liquor shop in the city and bought several cartons of premium cigarettes.

Having lived a whole lifetime, Lu Kuan understood well that instead of unrealistically demanding his father quit smoking, it was better to make sure he smoked the best.

On his way home, Lu Kuan contacted the internet company—once he had the platinum helmet tomorrow, he would be gaming from home, and the current internet speed would never suffice.