Night deepened, and the stars shone brightly.
On the second floor of a building in a quiet alley, wisps of cooking smoke rose, carrying a faint scent of life.
A pan-fried mini steak. A bowl of seafood noodles made with fresh shrimp, white clams, and fish slices. And a plate of fresh vegetable and fruit salad.
Hmm, this was Su Ran's dinner and late-night snack for today.
On the second floor of the Internet Cafe, which had been transformed by the system into a modern one-bedroom, one-living-room residence, the comfort level was quite good, and the facilities were complete. The refrigerator automatically refreshed with fresh ingredients every day.
After a hearty meal.
Su Ran held a cup of hot tea, leisurely leaning back in his chair, and once again brought up the system page.
"This system's personal store seems a bit like the Game Store?"
"Is there any difference?"
The third new function the system had just activated was: [System Personal Store]
Su Ran had already taken a look earlier when he was downstairs.
But he found that some items in the System Store were also available in the Game Store, and the only apparent difference was the price.
"System, what do you think?"
Su Ran was smarter this time; instead of slowly guessing and exploring on his own, it was quicker to ask the system directly.
And his system didn't seem aloof; it indeed spoke very straightforwardly, explaining in an emotionless mechanical voice:
"The Game Store is specifically prepared for player customers. The host can only use it conveniently, while the System Store is exclusively prepared for the host."
"To purchase items in the System Store, the host does not need achievement points, but rather contribution points."
"The acquisition of contribution points follows a different set of rules and algorithms. Theoretically, any action by the host that helps the Internet Cafe's operation and development may earn contribution points. Please explore the specifics yourself, host."
Contribution points?
Su Ran slightly frowned.
He remembered that some tasks in the mission list indeed had contribution points as a reward.
He couldn't help but check his current contribution points: 1220.
"So many?"
Su Ran was a bit surprised.
He had just noticed that the prices in the System Store were different from the Game Store, being ten times cheaper overall.
His current thousand-plus contribution points were actually equivalent to more than ten thousand achievement points in purchasing power.
From this perspective, acquiring contribution points seemed much faster than achievement points.
"This means that if I want to exchange for system items, it will be faster and easier than for ordinary players!"
"Heh, is this a special privilege the Internet Cafe gives me, the boss?"
Su Ran initially thought this was the only difference between the System Store and the Game Store, but then he heard the system continue.
"Besides including all items from the Game Store, the System Store also has a series of exclusive items specifically prepared for the host."
"Oh!"
Su Ran exclaimed, "Exclusive items? Why didn't I find them?"
"The host only needs to silently say'switch' in his mind."
Upon hearing this, Su Ran followed suit and silently uttered the word in his mind.
The next moment, the store interface indeed changed, and all the items were completely new:
[Daily Sign-in Lucky Draw: After purchasing, you can participate in a lottery draw. If you win, you will receive a mysterious prize. Purchase price: Free, limited to one per day]
[Boss's Special Unit 01: A computer exclusively for the Internet Cafe boss, not usable by players. Purchase price: 10000 contribution points]
[Magical Notebook: A notebook containing special magic. Text recorded on it seems particularly easy for others to understand. Purchase price: 100 contribution points]
[Dragon Soaring Brand Sportswear: Special fashion that can be worn into the game world, slightly increasing game status. Purchase price: 3000 contribution points]
[Charm Perfume: Increases the favorability of NPCs towards you in the game. Purchase price: 5000 contribution points]
[Perfect Camera: A DSLR camera that can be brought into the game world. Record every moment of your time in the game world. Purchase price: 500 contribution points]
...
...
These items were indeed all absent from the Game Store, with a variety of strange and wonderful things.
Su Ran was about to slowly browse through them line by line, but the system suddenly reminded him.
"It is recommended that the host prioritize exchanging for the items at the very bottom."
Upon hearing this, Su Ran looked puzzled and couldn't help but scroll to the very bottom of the store page. When he saw the items the system was referring to, his pupils suddenly contracted, and his heart rate accelerated.
"This is..."
[Bronze-level Realm Ascension Pill (Must Buy): After consumption, directly raises cultivation by 1 Star. Usable below Bronze-level. Those who have not condensed a Martial Qi Star Ring can directly condense a star ring upon consumption. Reaching Bronze 5 Stars allows direct advancement to Silver. Purchase price: 20 contribution points]
[Silver-level Realm Ascension Pill (Must Buy): After consumption, directly raises cultivation by 1 Star. Usable below Silver-level. Reaching Silver 5 Stars allows direct advancement to Gold. Purchase price: 200 contribution points]
[Gold-level Realm Ascension Pill (Must Buy): After consumption, directly raises cultivation by 1 Star. Usable below Gold-level. Reaching Gold 5 Stars allows direct advancement to Platinum. Purchase price: 2000 contribution points]
...
"This means if I buy these pills, I don't even need to cultivate?"
"One slash, 999?"
"The host's goal should be to focus on operating and developing the Internet Cafe, testing games, and providing a high-quality gaming experience for player customers, not wasting time on trivial matters like cultivation."
"Uh... alright!"
Su Ran was speechless, unable to retort.
But now he finally understood why he couldn't condense a star ring; it turned out the system wouldn't allow it.
Didn't the system say not to waste time on cultivation, but rather to focus on playing games well—oh, no, testing games?
So what was he waiting for?
Thus, Su Ran excitedly rubbed his hands and, without another word, first bought five Bronze Ascension Pills, spending 100 contribution points. He then bought five Silver Ascension Pills, spending 1000 contribution points.
He couldn't afford Gold Ascension Pills for now.
He took the purchased pills from the system's inventory and examined them in his palm.
Five Bronze-colored pills and five silver-colored pills were clearly visible.
Without much hesitation, Su Ran immediately swallowed one Bronze-colored pill first.
"Hmm?"
The effect was even faster than he imagined.
Su Ran immediately felt a large amount of extremely pure Martial Qi energy, almost without impurities, gush out from that pill.
Those Martial Qi energies were very joyful, as if they had their own sentience, and they even expelled all the Qi that Su Ran had absorbed into his body while playing games earlier, seemingly disdaining those Martial Qi impurities as too numerous and unworthy of being with them.
Afterward, those Martial Qi began to continuously gather and compress, concentrating in one place, until finally, at Su Ran's wrist, the Martial Qi materialized, forming a Bronze-colored circular ring shape.
In the five grooves of the Martial Qi Star Ring, one star shone brightly.
"Martial Qi Star Ring, Bronze 1 Star!"
"I've become a Martial Artist!"
Su Ran's face showed pleasant surprise.
Then he continued to take the second pill.
The Martial Qi energy in Su Ran's body erupted again, and those energies were drawn by the Martial Qi Star Ring, absorbed into the second groove, and the second star was also lit up.
After that, every time Su Ran took a pill, a star on the star ring would light up.
Until after taking the fifth pill, when all five stars on the star ring were lit up, they shone simultaneously with brilliant light, and then suddenly all extinguished.
"Crack! Crack! Crack!"
Then, the entire star ring began to shed its Bronze outer shell like a peeling skin, gradually forming a silver surface.
Silver star ring, Silver 1 Star!
However, Su Ran did not stop there. After finishing the five Bronze pills, he began to take the silver pills.
The process was exactly the same as before.
Silver Two Stars, Silver Three Stars...
Until the five stars of the Silver star ring lit up, once again, the white star ring's outer shell fell off, and gradually, streaks of golden light emerged from within, finally forming a dazzling golden star ring.
"It's done..."
Su Ran smiled with relief, but his smile was strained, because the next moment, his body seemed to begin undergoing transformation by the star ring. Energy continuously filled every part of his bones, blood, and cells...
An intense feeling of fatigue followed, like a huge mountain pressing down on him.
Su Ran then collapsed onto the bed, his consciousness gradually blurring, and he fell into a deep sleep.