Chapter 1 A Start

Xu Jingming opened his eyes to see a simple room. In the room, on the bed, a one-eyed man was snoring like thunder.

"This is the house I rented!" Xu Jingming was shocked. At this moment, his body was shrouded in a hazy light. Any player would be shrouded in light when logging in. At this moment, the natives could not see the player.

The natives could only see the player after the light dissipated.

Three seconds after logging in, the light dissipated. With a flip of his hand, Xu Jingming held a flying knife in his left hand and placed it on the one-eyed man's neck.

*Bang.* He slapped the one-eyed man.

The sleeping one-eyed man was awakened by the slap! He was a little dazed.

What's going on? Where am I? Is it day or night?

The one-eyed man regained his senses and saw Xu Jingming in front of him and the cold flying knife on his neck!

"Hero, spare my life! Just say what you want," the one-eyed man immediately said.

"Why are you in my house?" Xu Jingming said.

"I, I saw that this house hasn't been entered or exited for days, so I came in to take a look," the one-eyed man said ingratiatingly. "I have nowhere to live, so I temporarily slept here at night. Please spare me, hero."

"Did you take my silver?" Xu Jingming stared at him.

"No, I didn't find it." The one-eyed man's heart stirred when he heard this. This old house had hidden silver?

Xu Jingming then withdrew the flying knife. "Get out!"

The one-eyed man smiled obsequiously as he sat up. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving." As he sat up, his hand suddenly lashed out from the blanket, a cold glint sweeping toward Xu Jingming. But as he lashed out, his eyes widened, and a bloody hole had appeared in his throat! He didn't even see Xu Jingming make a move.

"A hoodlum dares to attack me." Xu Jingming shook his head. In his eyes, an ordinary hoodlum's attack was indeed as slow as a snail. After killing the hoodlum, Xu Jingming checked the hoodlum's corpse and immediately walked out of the house.

It was night, and a waning moon hung high in the night sky.

Xu Jingming walked to the small courtyard. The courtyard was piled with firewood. The pile of wood was quite heavy. Xu Jingming gently lifted it from below with one hand, requiring thousands of pounds of strength. He immediately saw a package pressed under the wood pile.

"The silver is still here." Xu Jingming nodded slightly.

"The rules of this Blood Rain World are also harsh. When players log off and disappear, they can carry other items with them, but they can't carry gold or silver." Xu Jingming sighed. Gold and silver were extremely valuable in the Blood Rain World.

Therefore, silver notes, gold, silver, and other items could not be carried offline.

If one wanted to log off, one had to hide silver notes and other items well! If one was careless, they could be stolen.

"There's no need to turn on the 'intelligent AFK' function for this little bit of silver," Xu Jingming thought to himself.

Intelligent AFK meant that the physical body still remained in the Blood Rain World and was manipulated by 'intelligence'! In terms of reasoning and logic, the intelligence was no less inferior to a player. However, in combat, the intelligence was much weaker and followed a fixed routine! At most, it could only unleash the strength of a third-rate expert.

In some special situations, such as having to be online for a long time but having things to deal with in reality, 'intelligent AFK' was needed.

The intelligent AFK service was charged at 100,000 Cosmic coins per year.

So expensive!

Xu Jingming returned to the house, rolled up the hoodlum's corpse, and carried it away in the dark. The place he rented was just an ordinary old residence with poor security. He directly threw the corpse into the ruins half a kilometer away, where corpses were often found and officials would come to clean them up.

…

In the morning, Xu Jingming was eating breakfast at a street-side shop.

Many poor people passing by looked enviously at the steaming shop, but those who could afford to eat in restaurants, teahouses, and breakfast shops were all rich! A large meat bun cost one dao coin, which could buy a pound or two of rice. It was much more cost-effective to eat at home.

"Lanyue City is a big city, but the people's livelihood is still so difficult. The government and gangs are squeezing the commoners together." Xu Jingming sighed inwardly. The current era of the Blood Rain World was a period of imperial decline and chaos.

The city was considered orderly. Outside the city was truly lawless, with bandits rampant and human life as cheap as grass.

"It's about time. I should go to the Fei family." Xu Jingming placed five dao coins on the table and got up to leave. A waiter immediately collected the dao coins and began to clean the table.

A moment later.

In front of the Fei family's mansion, Xu Jingming arrived with a gun case on his back. A servant led the way. "Guard Jing, Miss has instructed us to wait here for you. Please rest in the front hall first. Miss will come to see you later."

Xu Jingming nodded and followed him to the front hall.

In the front hall, a tall man was sitting there, leisurely enjoying tea. When he noticed Xu Jingming being led in, the tall man immediately stood up happily and said with a warm smile, "I am Luo Baichuan."

"Jing Ming." Xu Jingming also cupped his hands.

"Brother Jingming is also invited to be a guard?" Luo Baichuan smiled. He also noticed the gun case on Xu Jingming's back.

"Yes." Xu Jingming nodded.

Luo Baichuan said enthusiastically, "Brother Jingming, please sit down quickly. We'll be working together in the future. I used to be in the Black Axe Gang…" Luo Baichuan liked to make friends and kept talking to Xu Jingming, almost revealing all his secrets.

Xu Jingming simply chatted along, but it was the kind where Luo Baichuan said ten sentences and he said one.

After chatting for half an hour.

Finally, two women walked in. One was still a girl, and the other was a cold and stern woman.

"Hello, Brother Luo, Brother Jing!" The girl walked in, saw Xu Jingming and Luo Baichuan, and smiled brightly. "Let me introduce you. The one next to me is our Flying Sword Hall's Eldest Senior Sister, Qiu Tong. This time, I'm going to the capital, so I'll have to trouble the three of you!"

"We will naturally do our best," Luo Baichuan immediately said. Xu Jingming and Qiu Tong also cupped their hands in response.

"This trip to the capital is long, arduous, and dangerous. Therefore, our Fei family is very cautious in choosing guards. The three of you are specially invited by me. The other guards are chosen by my father," the girl, Fei Xinlan, said as she sat down, not hiding anything.

Xu Jingming and the other three chatted with the young lady. Soon, the butler, Zhang Bo, arrived.

"The three of you," Butler Zhang Bo said, "To go to the capital, you need to verify your identity plaques along the way! Especially in the capital, the identity checks are strict. Have the three of you registered your household? If not, I'll take you to the government office now to register and get your identity plaques."

"I've registered," Qiu Tong said softly.

"I registered half a year ago," Luo Baichuan said with a smile. "Without an identity plaque, you can't even deposit silver in the money house, so I had to register."

Xu Jingming got up. "I haven't registered."

"Guard Jing, please come with me quickly," Butler Zhang Bo said. "I'll take you there. You can register and get on the record in the morning."

Xu Jingming nodded.

Identity plaques were equivalent to ID cards on Blue Star! During the most stable period of the Blood Rain World's imperial rule, every commoner had to register and receive an identity plaque. Without an identity plaque, you couldn't go to other places.

Of course, management was lax in various places now, and the government's control was very weak in many places. Almost none of the commoners outside the city were registered, and even most of the commoners in the city hadn't registered their households.

…

On the street.

Butler Zhang Bo, Xu Jingming, and two servants walked together.

"Guard Jing, I heard that you blocked quite a few moves from Elder Feng Lao of the Flower Moon Gang in the previous battle?" Zhang Bo asked with a smile.

"I was still at a disadvantage," Xu Jingming said.

"It seems you're close to the realm of first-rate experts," Zhang Bo said with a smile. "The master knows about your matter and specially instructed to increase your employment fee to 100 taels per month."

Xu Jingming was quite grateful. "Thank you, Master Fei, thank you, Butler Zhang."

Although he had now reached the first-rate realm, he was indeed inferior to Elder Feng of the Flower Moon Gang when they fought! Based on that battle record, the Fei family had increased the fee so much… They were indeed very conscientious employers.

Xu Jingming himself couldn't say, "I have already reached the first-rate realm."

Because in the Blood Rain World, the 'first-rate realm' was very vague! After all, the natives didn't have panels and couldn't see their combat power buffs! They could only determine their approximate level based on actual combat.

If Xu Jingming wanted to prove that he was a first-rate expert, he would have to rely on actual combat to prove it!

******

Because the Fei family's butler, Zhang Bo, came forward, the government office was very fast. They quickly registered Xu Jingming's household, and the government also kept a record. They also carved the plaque from valuable 'black jade stone.'

Plaques also had material differences. Ordinary ones were made of wood or bamboo, better ones were made of stone, even better ones were made of metal, and even better ones were made of precious materials.

Black jade stone was a type of jade stone, with a dark color and luster. It became even more smooth when played with.

On the plaque, a few strokes depicted Xu Jingming's appearance. At least it could determine the general face shape and features.

It also recorded that Xu Jingming's hometown was 'Shizipo Village, a hundred li east of Lanyue City.'

It also recorded his age and the date the plaque was engraved.

"Identity plaque." Xu Jingming held the black jade stone plaque and sighed inwardly. The record was quite detailed. He immediately inserted it into his belt and carried it with him.

…

In the next few days, after receiving his first month's salary, Xu Jingming went to an official money house to deposit the silver! He deposited a total of 'one hundred and fifty taels' of silver. Because the smallest denomination of official silver notes was 'fifty taels'! And depositing silver also required a handling fee!

There was no way. Xu Jingming couldn't carry more than ten pounds of silver to the capital. It was much more convenient to deposit it as silver notes, and he wasn't afraid of robbery!

"Once we leave this time, I don't know when we'll be back." Master Fei looked at his old house with a complex mood.

Fei Xinlan was also very reluctant to leave.

She had grown up here since she was a child, and she had a lot of affection for every tree and blade of grass.

"Old Zhang, this Fei family's old house will be left to you and the others to take care of in the future," Master Fei said.

"Yes, Master." An old man responded. There were also some servants around him. The Fei family still kept some servants to maintain the entire old house for a long time. Of course, most of the other businesses had long been sold.

"Let's go."

Master Fei and Fei Xinlan got into a carriage that looked relatively simple. Two maids also entered the carriage to serve them.

"What a large sum! The horses for the guards are quite strong and handsome. They are all good horses." Xu Jingming rode a steed. It was his first time riding a horse in the Blood Rain World, but he had tried it in other virtual worlds before! After all, in the past month or so, in addition to trying to escape the Dark Abyss, he had also experienced many virtual worlds, but only superficially.

Riding a horse, army battles, arena competitions… He had tried a lot, and after reaching cellular-level control, riding a horse was also very easy.

The team quickly left the north gate.

"Lanyue City, we're leaving." Xu Jingming, Luo Baichuan, Qiu Tong, and many other guards looked at it reluctantly. Many of them had left their hometowns, and once they went to the capital, it would be difficult for them to return in this lifetime.

But for the sake of their future and a brighter future, they were willing to go to the capital.

"Lanyue City is the first city I came to in the Blood Rain World, and it's also nominally my hometown in the Blood Rain World," Xu Jingming also said with some emotion.

"Drive!"

Riding his horse and following the team, Xu Jingming didn't look back and went north.

…

After leaving the north gate, the team traveled along the official road.

The horses were strong and handsome, and the carriage was a luxury item made by top craftsmen. It looked simple on the outside, but it was excellent in terms of cushioning. Sitting in the carriage, after the cushioning, the vibration was completely within the acceptable range. Fei Xinlan also opened the curtains and looked curiously at the outside.

"I heard it's very chaotic outside the city," Fei Xinlan whispered. She had only wandered around outside the city gate at most and had never gone any further.

"There's a government in the city, Blood Rain Guards, many families, and gangs, all of whom want the city to be stable," Master Fei said with a smile. "But it's different outside the city. The outside is vast, bandits are as numerous as cattle, and human life is truly as cheap as grass."

Fei Xinlan nodded slightly.

"So people outside the city all want to settle down in the city." Master Fei also looked out the window. "We have to rush to the capital. The journey is long, and this road is not easy."

Fei Xinlan was very curious, "Not easy?"

As a young lady who had never traveled far, she only felt that everything outside was so new.

They set off in the morning and stopped in the open space on the road at noon to eat the food they brought with them.

"In one morning, we traveled more than 100 kilometers and didn't encounter any bandits. Didn't they say there were as many bandits as cattle outside the city?" Fei Xinlan muttered as she sat on the grass, eating delicate pastries.

Qiu Tong, who was sitting next to her, said calmly, "Junior Sister, the horses purchased by the Fei family are all top-quality horses. Such a team… Bandits will know it's not easy to mess with at a glance! Because slightly weaker forces can't afford to buy so many good horses and wouldn't dare to be so flamboyant! Ordinary bandits don't dare to come and die."

"Good horses?" Fei Xinlan shook her head. "I heard that some famous horses in the world can travel thousands of miles a day. My family's horses are nothing."

"You're talking about horses that can travel thousands of miles a day. You can't find one in the entire Lanyue City! One is worth ten thousand taels of silver," Qiu Tong said. Suddenly, she saw a group of people emerging from the forest in the distance. Qiu Tong smiled. "Junior Sister, didn't you say there were no bandits? The bandits are here!"

Xu Jingming, Luo Baichuan, and the other guards all looked at the distance.

"Bandits?" Master Fei was very calm. He had experienced great storms when he was building his family business alone.

There were hundreds of people in the distance, holding bows and arrows and other items. The leader was a red-clothed man dressed rather enchantingly.

The red-clothed man spoke, his voice resounding loudly around, "What a team! These steeds are all good horses. I wonder if the master of the team can take pity on us? Give us some silver, and our hundreds of brothers haven't had a full meal for several days."

"I'll give you ten taels of silver. Get out of here quickly," Butler Zhang Bo shouted.

"Ten taels of silver?" The red-clothed man laughed dumbly. "Is the master of the team joking? At least three hundred taels of silver! That's the minimum. This little bit of silver must be nothing to the master of the team…"

"Guard Jing, Guard Luo, Guard Qiu, Guard Fan, Guard Yu, the five of you, kill them off," Butler Zhang Bo then ordered.

Upon hearing this, Xu Jingming instantly pulled out the two sections of the long spear on his back, and with a twist, they were locked together.

Luo Baichuan also took out two hand axes from behind him.

Qiu Tong instantly drew her sword.

*Swish swish swish swish swish!*

Among the guards, five figures rushed out at the same time, like five arrows heading straight for the bandit group.

"Entry-level experts." The red-clothed man's pupils shrank when he saw this. He could determine that they were all entry-level experts from their running speed.

"Shoot the arrows." The red-clothed man ordered.

Immediately, fifty bandits shot arrows at the same time! There were also other bandits holding throwing weapons. To be able to form such a large bandit group and still survive to this day, they naturally had some strength.

Under the arrows and throwing weapons, five figures fearlessly charged into the bandit group. For a time, bandits fell like grass, and many bandits were thrown up into the air, flying seven or eight meters high.

"What?" The red-clothed man was shocked when he saw this scene. "These five people are all at least second-rate experts."

As the bandit leader, he was a second-rate expert himself. He believed that with the cooperation of his gang members, he could threaten some third-rate experts. But 'second-rate experts' were much stronger than third-rate experts in terms of environmental control and actual combat.

"They sent out five people at random, and they're so powerful?" The red-clothed man shouted loudly, "Retreat!"

He turned into a red stream of light and fled the fastest! Hundreds of bandits fled in panic, scattering in all directions.

The five great guards stopped and began to return.

"How are the five newly recruited people?" Master Fei watched from afar and said with a chuckle.

The silver-haired old man next to him nodded slightly. "The other four can be considered second-rate experts. However, Guard Jing's spearmanship is quite extraordinary. The invisible spear intent surrounds all directions, intimidating the enemy. He seems to have reached the first-rate realm."

"First-rate realm?" Master Fei's eyes lit up.

"I can feel that pressure." The silver-haired old man nodded. "Master Fei has hired a good helper this time."

Master Fei laughed heartily and was in a great mood.

The first-rate experts beside him were all Blood Rain Guard experts sent by his son. The other guards were all second-rate experts, but now it seemed that there was another first-rate expert.

First-rate experts were very rare in the Blood Rain World. If they were willing to join a gang, they would be like elders and honored guests of the Flower Moon Gang. They could easily become rich! Very few were willing to be guards for others.

Generally, it had to be a wealthy family or a truly prominent figure to be able to command some first-rate experts. For example, the Fei family's eldest son.

"In any case, with one more first-rate expert, this journey will be smoother," the silver-haired old man said.

Master Fei nodded slightly. "I'm more at ease with Guard Jing by my daughter's side. Remember, on this journey, my daughter Xinlan's safety is the top priority. I'm an old man with one foot in the coffin. Everything is for my daughter's safety."

"Don't worry, Master." The silver-haired old man nodded. "Three great experts were already arranged to be by Miss's side, and now there's Guard Jing."

Master Fei nodded.

In fact, he didn't know if listening to his son and going to the capital was right or wrong!

After all, the journey was long, and even if the guards were strong, he was worried about something going wrong along the way. He was an old man, so he would just die, but his daughter was still young.

…

After defeating the bandit group, the Fei family's team soon embarked on their journey again, heading north towards the capital.