Hall of Mourning

The ground they stood on was a platform about one meter thick.

As it began to slowly descend, Zhu Yan gradually saw the full view of the Hall of Mourning.

This place was much taller and wider than Zhu Yan had imagined; it could only be described as magnificent.

The unprecedented sight struck him, and he stared unblinking as the majestic power swallowed him once again.

It was an icy coldness seeping from the bottom of his heart.

The chill, mixed with a slight heat and numbness, extended from his chest to his limbs and head, causing Zhu Yan to tremble uncontrollably.

However, a powerful sense of pleasure closely followed, and Zhu Yan unconsciously curled his lips into a smile, feeling a surge of joy.

The two sensations intertwined, and an unprecedented sense of satisfaction overwhelmed him.

I am getting addicted...

This thought suddenly popped up, pouring cold water over Zhu Yan.

Addicted!

In an instant, this abnormal physical sensation vanished without a trace.

Zhu Yan regained his senses.

He pinched the palm of his hand tightly, focusing intently on everything here.

Their position was at the very top of the edge of the entire Hall of Mourning.

A chandelier as long as two stories hung from the center of the pitch-black dome, with hundreds of white candles burning on its frame.

The lighting effect of these candles was much better than those in the WE Cafe, illuminating the entire hall brightly.

Some irregular red crystals were strung randomly on the lamp, looking from afar like a flowing waterfall of blood.

The hall was divided into three levels from top to bottom, with a considerable empty space in the middle, allowing Zhu Yan to catch a glimpse of the entirety of each floor.

Though it was said to be three levels, the actual combined height of these three floors was equivalent to ten stories.

The second and third floors had dark brown, thorn-like railings, behind which many bizarre and disgusting-looking creatures came and went.

Looking down, the creatures at the bottom of the hall looked like mere ants.

Wow, Zhu Yan exclaimed, looking at the aerial corridors connecting the floors.

Just look. You are not qualified to go to the second and third floors.

The Doppelganger provoked Zhu Yan in a very foul mood; it looked starving.

The third floor is the Eye of the Abyss Club, which only receives extremely wealthy or powerful thriller creatures.

Their platform was already approaching the altitude of the third floor.

A woman in a gorgeous deep red dress stood on the corridor.

The woman's skin was a livid gray, and her whole body was festering and rotting.

Zhu Yan examined her closely, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his eyes, accompanied by a wave of dizziness in his head.

Trash player, the Doppelganger rubbed its hungry belly and hastily mocked. Uncomfortable? This is the price of carelessly looking at high-level thriller creatures.

Zhu Yan quickly crouched down to steady his body, feeling his eyes slowly recovering.

The platform was smooth, with no railings around it at all, and he did not want to fall off.

Who is that? he asked.

What kind of creature was that, dressed like an eighteenth-century noblewoman with syphilis?

I do not know, the Doppelganger said. My memory is limited.

The platform slowly descended to the bottom floor.

A Doppelganger wearing a male skin was already waiting there, signaling Zhu Yan to follow.

Once Zhu Yan stepped onto the smooth black floor, the small platform maintained its original speed and ascended back up.

Hello, player, the Doppelganger said stiffly. Exchanging currency, right? You need to open a personal account and bind it for mall payments.

As expected, he had to open an account.

Zhu Yan nodded and continued listening.

We have several tiers of account types here.

The Doppelganger led Zhu Yan toward the counter.

The counter was built very high and stretched in a long row, separated from the outside by what looked like thin, transparent glass.

Behind the counter, dozens of exquisitely crafted dolls were working simultaneously. Zhu Yan saw one of them busy counting gold coins the size of half a palm.

The Doppelganger introduced everything in a steady and indifferent tone.

The threshold for opening an account is five hundred Bone Coins.

That is fifty thousand yuan, Zhu Yan quickly calculated.

Exactly the reward from his first time clearing a dungeon.

The tens of thousands from the second dungeon clear could be kept for living expenses.

Five thousand Bone Coins makes you a C-rank VIP.

Five thousand Bone Coins, according to the current exchange rate, was five hundred thousand yuan.

Fifty thousand Bone Coins makes you a B-rank VIP.

Zhu Yan pondered for a moment.

This was a huge jump; fifty thousand Bone Coins was five million yuan.

One hundred thousand Bone Coins is an A-rank VIP, the Doppelganger continued. That is ten million yuan at the current exchange rate. I will not introduce anything higher, sir, as currently no player has that much money.

Zhu Yan nodded and asked, Are the privileges different for different VIP levels?

Of course, player, the Doppelganger said. If you have five thousand Bone Coins and are a C-rank VIP, the Hall of Mourning will gift you a rental quota in Flock of Birds Street. Everything else remains the same.

Five hundred thousand yuan just to get a rental quota in Flock of Birds Street?

Zhu Yan silently did the math.

What kind of place is Flock of Birds Street? he immediately asked. Is it any different from other places?

He had never heard of this place, nor had he looked closely at the map.

Players were Caged Birds, so would Flock of Birds Street be a gathering block for players?

The Doppelganger explained stiffly, You do not need to rush, player.

Flock of Birds Street... will not descend for about five months or half a year.

When the time comes, it will be one of the few blocks without dungeon descents or thriller creatures hunting for food.

Just as he thought, this was a habitat for players.

...It is also the lowest tier among these blocks.

Zhu Yan turned his head to observe the Doppelganger, noticing a sudden glint of hunger bursting from its eyes.

Sometimes, certain dungeons will reward houses that are immune to corruption, but the chances are very rare.

Zhu Yan chewed on this sentence in his mind and memorized it.

In the future, safe houses would also be a scarce resource.

However...

Although the Doppelganger did not say it, Zhu Yan always felt that the Carnival Paradise would not be so kind.

Could these players really survive by renting a house in Flock of Birds Street?

Then what about a B-rank VIP...? Zhu Yan continued to ask politely.

The threshold for a B-rank VIP was 50,000 Bone Coins, a full five million yuan.

A rental qualification and permanent residence purchase qualification in Flock of Birds Street, the Doppelganger said. Once your VIP level reaches A-rank, you can head to the Golden Cage District.

An A-rank VIP will be gifted a rental and permanent residence purchase qualification in the Golden Cage District.

That was ten million yuan.

Zhu Yan let out a sigh of someone who had never seen much of the world.

Ten million, just to obtain a qualification?

Of course, we will also give away the rental and permanent residence purchase qualifications for Flock of Birds Street at the same time.

Zhu Yan gave a hmm of acknowledgment.

Caged bird, caged bird.

Looking at the names of these two places together, there was simply a beautiful irony that one would be trapped to death no matter what.

Being a player in the Carnival Paradise truly had no future at all.

Oh, of course, any tier of VIP account needs to maintain its assets.

Once your assets drop, we will downgrade you depending on the situation.

Damn.

In other words, ten million had to sit in the account untouched, and he still had to shell out extra money to buy a house?

How terrifying.

Zhu Yan pinched the palm of his hand, glanced at the Doppelganger next to him, and said no more.

If he had the chance another day, he wanted to change his identity and try to fish for information.

The Doppelganger led him to a counter window and smiled at the exquisitely featured doll inside.

"A new player opening an account," it said. "Player, are you opening a VIP account or a standard account? You can always upgrade later."

Zhu Yan said, "A standard account."

What a joke. Fifty thousand was more than enough; he couldn't even scrape together five hundred thousand if he sold himself.

He only had a little over ninety thousand.

If the police department was willing to offer a four hundred and ten thousand bounty, he might just be able to scrounge up the five hundred thousand.

The doll stared at him with its glass-bead eyes, and Zhu Yan suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.

"Very well, player," it said coldly. "Please extend your left hand and present your player badge."

As if following a routine, the doll rattled off a long list of precautions at lightning speed. Zhu Yan had to prick up his ears and listen very carefully just to catch it all.

"We will open both a physical card and an online account for you simultaneously. If the card is lost, you can bring your left hand to the Hall of Mourning to report the loss and get a replacement..."

"If your left hand is lost, there is absolutely nothing we can do. Once opened, you can check your balance in the personal information and settings interface of the player's personal center."

"The balance will be the amount you exchanged this time. This portion of your assets has no minimum balance requirement and can be spent as you please."

Understood. Not being a VIP meant there was no risk of his card being canceled if his assets fell below five hundred bone gold coins.

"Once the online account is opened, you can choose to receive future clearance rewards directly in bone gold coins, or continue to have them issued in the currency of the uncorrupted world."

This was rather convenient; it would save him trips to the Hall of Mourning.

Once the police department caught on to what was happening, it would be strange if they didn't send plainclothes officers to surround the outside of Wanxiang Plaza.

"Alright," Zhu Yan replied, indicating that he understood.

He decisively extended his left hand, watching as the giant doll lowered its head and aimed its freezing eyeballs at the tattoo-like mark.