Second pet? I don't even have my first one!

Yang Jian's Hearthstone was bound to the inn for a fee.

After returning to the city, he was in the return area of the inn's basement.

There weren't many people here. It was nighttime in the game, and the monsters had all been significantly buffed.

Although the experience points were higher, the monsters were also harder to defeat.

Few dared to go out and fight monsters, and even fewer ventured far!

Of course, having to pay to bind here might be the main reason!

After all, for most people, it didn't make much difference where they returned to the city!

The two sisters' return point was still in the square outside.

Yang Jian wasn't in a hurry and decided to wait for them to arrive.

“I’m going offline to rest. What about you two?”

The Xia family sisters exchanged glances.

“We’re not in a hurry. It’s almost dawn anyway!”

“Exactly. When it’s dawn, I still want to see how intelligent this NPC really is!”

Yang Jian chuckled.

What do you mean?

Didn't you notice it just now at Nat Pagle's place?

Were your eyes chasing flies?

“Alright, if you have nothing to do, go browse the stalls in the square and see if there are any good items. Anything that can be purchased with Xia Yuan, buy it all back!”

“Got it, no problem, Boss Yang!”

After finishing the important matters, Yang Jian checked the cooldown of his talent skill!

[Talent: Devour (White)]

[Description: Devour a white equipment no higher than your level, inheriting all of its attributes. Can be stacked infinitely.]

[Cooldown: Remaining time 17:09]

[Upgrade Condition: 21/50]

[Current Devour Attributes: Attack +201, Defense +51, Inventory Slot +8]

Hmm, I truly have the makings of a great emperor!

Leaving his character at the inn, Yang Jian went offline directly.

The outside time was inverted with the in-game day and night; it was currently 5:30 PM.

He set an alarm on his phone to go online in seventeen minutes, devour an item, and then come back out.

He contacted the guy who sold guns and asked him to send more bullets.

Although the studio's location was near the outskirts of Linhai City, it was still a central area.

In broad daylight, the young man dared not deliver bullets to him... When he was fighting the Boar King, seeing the world announcement indeed felt like a full display of prestige.

However, when he calculated the costs, the time and material expenses were completely uneconomical.

To put it bluntly, these Bosses were all meant for teams.

But now Yang Jian wanted to solo them... no wonder it was so difficult!

Yet, thinking of the generous spoils and reputation points, he felt it wasn't a loss to fight them!

After all, currently, this seemed to be the only way to gain reputation!

Although Yang Jian still didn't know what this reputation was actually for!

Arriving at the gym, he found many people working out inside.

“Boss Yang, you’re out too!”

“Yeah, playing inside made me feel more and more mentally exhausted…”

“Have you seen the post by a player named Professor Cheng online?”

“I’ve been leveling up all this time, so I didn’t pay attention. I’ll go check it now!”

He found the post, which discussed mental issues both inside and outside the game.

He quickly scanned through it.

The main content essentially stated that playing this game all night would allow you to go to work feeling refreshed the next day.

However, if you continued to strive in salvation during the day, you would quickly feel fatigued.

This Professor Cheng suspected that players in the game possessed a real physical body!

This body also needed ample rest; otherwise, a series of fatigue reactions would occur.

For example, mental exhaustion, lack of focus, falling asleep while fighting monsters… Of course, according to interviews with over a hundred players by the doctor.

Individual circumstances varied, and the onset of fatigue also differed.

Simply put, players with higher levels and attributes were less likely to feel fatigued!

...There was much more corroborating content below, which Yang Jian didn't bother to read through one by one.

However, Yang Jian did not exit the post.

After all, the comments were much more interesting than the main text!

Time Traveler: To summarize, does this mean I now have two accounts, and when one gets tired, I switch to the other, and when that one gets tired, I switch back to this one? Is that what it means?

Peppa Pig: Upstairs, that’s a great summary. You actually understood what theOP (original poster) said!

Lonely Little White Flower: Big brother is so amazing, explaining such a complex matter so clearly… Time Traveler: Hehe, really? @Lonely Little White Flower, hehe, let’s add each other as friends and chat privately!

...Tourist 337581: I just want to know when new slots will open… That’s my second life, how can you hold my life hostage and not give it to me?

Tourist 157983541: I applied for a game helmet and ended up in a queue of over 100 million. I envy the brothers with six-digit numbers above!

Bi Luo Jing Feng Yu: This game is full ofWeird (strangeness) everywhere; everyone should play it carefully… Yang Jian didn't continue reading the comments but opened various rankings to check.

Level Ranking.

First place: Yueyin Qingya, Level 6 11%, Class: Mage.

Second place: Bi Luo Jing Feng Yu, Level 5 97%, Class: Daoist.

Third place: Luòzǐ Wúhuǐ, Level 5 89%, Class: Summoner… Sixth place: Tianmu Zhenjun, Level 5 73%, Class: Hunter… Yang Jian thought that even if he couldn't surpass Zhou Yue, he could at least be second place!

He didn't expect there to be other experts!

Equipment Ranking.

First place: Frost Ring (Purple), Anonymous

Second place: Pioneer Staff (Purple), Anonymous

Third place: Apprentice Robe (Purple), Anonymous

...Fifth place: Tidal Amulet (Purple), Tianmu Zhenjun

Sixth place: Sand Crab Defender (Purple), Anonymous

...Blue equipment started appearing from eighth place, and Yang Jian reasonably suspected that all purple equipment currently available was in the hands of studio players.

And five of them were concentrated in the hands of the formidable Zhou Yue!

In fact, from every perspective, their side's strength was terrifyingly powerful.

As he was watching, Yang Jian’s alarm went off.

Right, the CD time was up.

He got up, returned to the office to log in, and the talent countdown had just reached zero.

He devoured the equipment he had already prepared, decisively went offline, and let Comrade Tianmu Zhenjun rest well.

Yang Jian reset his alarm for 59 minutes and then went to the gym.

This time, Zhou Yue was also there.

“Our top-ranked sister has gone offline?”

Zhou Yue had just arrived and was still walking slowly on the treadmill.

Seeing Yang Jian, she simply pulled him to the adjacent lounge.

“The company email received thousands of job applications this afternoon…”

“That’s good news! How many game helmets does the company still have?”

“Due to the purchase limit, we only managed to buy two hundred and twenty in total under the name of a game studio. We’ve used 15, so there are 205 left!”

“Only 205!”

Previously, they had no fame or popularity.

Such a game could only attract ten people at most!

Recruiting studio personnel later would require careful consideration.

Yang Jian decided to personally interview everyone!

At the very least, he wanted to try and see if his Heavenly Eye could perceive any potential talents they might awaken!

After a full day of gaming experience, he realized that this game was entirely talent-driven!

Look at the Xia sisters; their techniques were incredibly crude!

But so what?

Their talents were explosive!

Many with exquisite techniques were still struggling with Level 3 and Level 4 wild monsters.

The sisters, working together, could easily handle Level 8 monsters!

“Have them filter the applicants, prioritizing those from Linhai City. Locals are easier to manage. Also, make sure to clarify that game helmets cannot be taken out, and we provide accommodation and meals here!”

These things had been said many times, but Yang Jian couldn't help but emphasize them again.

Later, when problems truly arose, members who were in other cities would be completely useless.

Only by concentrating their strength could they accomplish great things!

Currently, there weren't many idle helmets on the market, so Yang Jian could take his time and pick slowly.

After discussing business, the two started lifting weights!

After all, this world might undergo drastic changes at any time, so physical fitness was still very important!

Even if it just meant being able to run a little faster when the time came?

At 9 PM, Yang Jian logged in again.

In between, he had already logged in twice, as he still needed to time the talent CD!

He wanted to upgrade his talent to green as soon as possible and see how much improvement it would bring!

Actually, the outcome was predictable.

But there was still a glimmer of hope.

The first thing he did upon logging in was to find his class mentor to turn in the quest.

“You’re here? You finished the quest so quickly?”

“I finished the quest last night, but you weren’t here when I came over!”

Huang Bin nodded.

“War time is one thing, but normally, you still need to maintain a regular schedule! Where are the quest items?”

Yang Jian submitted a total of 342 Boar Hearts, and after thinking about it, he added the Boar King’s Heart!

[Ding, congratulations! You have over-completed the quest ‘Guard the Farmland’ from your mentor, Huang Bin.]

[Reward: Newbie Village Reputation +500, Gold +1, Skill Book: Second Pet!]

“I didn’t expect you to hunt so many boars and even take care of the Boar King along the way! I was originally going to give you Tame Beast, but now that I think about it, I’ll give you my treasured skill book that I’ve kept for many years!”

Yang Jian: Second Pet? I don’t even have the first one yet!