Chapter 13: Frugal Living (1/2)

Chapter 13: Frugal Living

Translator: OneshotwonderEditor: Tehrn

Wang Tong knew that the dog poop was a bad omen. As soon as he finished paying his tuition at the registration office, the admin assistant immediately informed him that all of the dorms were already taken because Wang Tong was late for registration.

The admin assistant put fake regrets on her face, but she could not feel pity for him after seeing his equally fake expression of helplessness. She had eventually agreed that she would try her best to arrange accommodations for him in three days.

With nowhere to go, Wang Tong walked the streets in a melancholic mood.

”What a s*itty school, I paid five grand in credits without event getting a room.” Wang Tong wouldn't mind living out in the open since he had done that on Norton all the time, but now he was in a civilized city; he could not sleep just anywhere on the streets.

He asked the price for the hotels around the school, but to his dismay, they were way above his budget. The cheapest one was five hundred a night which was too costly for Wang Tong who did not have an income.

”Curse these greedy landlords, do they expect students to be millionaires?”

To be fair, the astronomical cost of living on earth was not entirely due to greed, it was also because of Wang Tong's old nemeses, the Zergs. Thanks to their extraordinary ability to survive in harsh environments and expertise in guerrilla warfare, the Zergs were practically everywhere. Their complete extermination was extremely costly, if not impossible.

Humans were forced to focus their limited resources on densely populated cities. The housing prices had skyrocketed as people fled into the city to avoid the Zerg army's raid. The increase in prices had slowed down over the last few years thanks to a series of legislations passed by the Confederation, but these new policies still failed to bring the housing prices down.

Wang Tong did not care, nor did he have the time, to attend the school orientation where the teachers boasted about the rich history of the school. His priority right now was to find a place to stay.

He walked on the street until it was done; he stopped at an entrance to a shop that was decorated with bright flashing neon lights. A light bulb suddenly lit up in Wang Tong's mind.

”Yea, I can stop over here for a few nights.”

Tong waited outside until midnight so he would be able to pay the discount price for the overnight rate of fifty credits.

This place was called Dream-Heaven. It was not a bar, nor were there any drugs. In the ancient times, people would call it an internet cafe, later it was called the VR entertainment center and many other different names similar to that. In other words, it was a place where people go to enjoy the world of virtual reality. This was where the Blade Warriors originated from.

The specific store Wang Tong stayed at was called the Dream-Heaven, Branch D-187, one of the many under the largest VR entertainment company-DREAM, formally known as Yu Zhan. One of the seemingly ordinary workers from this company named Galber was eventually elected as a Councilor of the Confederation thanks to a game developed by DREAM. Galber remained as the Councilor for three consecutive terms, and many said that his quick ascent to power was largely due to his connection with the Blade Warriors, similar to General Li Feng who also had an intimate tie with the Blade Warriors before he entered the center stage of power. After the great war, The Blade Warriors disappeared from the public, and Galber's descendants didn’t remain in politics, they instead focused on their family business and grew the company DREAM into one of the largest enterprises of the Confederation.

Technology had progressed pretty far since the days of the Blade Warriors and given birth to many new forms of entertainment, but DREAM still invested heavily in the gaming industry, after all, the success of a game relied more on luck than advanced technologies.

There had been no revolutionary developments in the VR industry since the time of the Blade Warriors who had re-defined the entire industry.

History could mean little to the humans who were still alive. Although many great individuals had changed the course of history, their impact was intangible to the living, albeit being real. Memories of recent legendary heroes might still take form in tales and stories, but those who belonged to even older ages, like Confucius or Einstein, memories of these great humans were shapeless and blurred.

Wang Tong wasn’t here for games, neither did he have the interest. He laid down on the sofa and was getting ready to sleep. He decided to go to the school tomorrow again to make sure the admin assistant wasn't slacking at her job. It was his life after all; he could not count on anyone else to be responsible for his own life.

Wang Tong knew that he could afford to revive Charcoal with the savings that Old Fart had left for him, but without any income, Wang Tong decided to delay his plan.

”Kiddo, get up! I know you haven’t fallen asleep yet.”