Resigning went more smoothly than expected...
Of course, perhaps the Earth OL character template of an older single youth + orphan played some part in that?
Or perhaps the unit’s annual commendations had been a lost cause to begin with?
Yi Qingfeng was not willing to think too much about it.
In the end, he still failed to cut cleanly from the past with a single stroke. Instead, he spent an entire afternoon completing the handover with some unlucky soul temporarily dragged over to take the blame.
Perhaps taking more time to observe and try things out would have been the steadier approach.
But Yi Qingfeng was no longer willing to waste his time on this.
He was already thirty—he had enough savings to support himself through a bit of willfulness...
“Fuck? You really resigned?”
Seeing Yi Qingfeng in the middle of handing things over, a familiar colleague stood there in a daze.
Talking big about quitting was a classic power fantasy every grassroots workhorse had to taste.
But actually putting it into action was another matter entirely...
In any case, if nothing bigger happened.
This would probably become the hottest internal gossip topic for the next half month.
As for after that?
National Day was coming. Gossip that failed to catch a good timing would never stay trending for long...
Until he walked out of the unit’s front gate.
Yi Qingfeng did not look back...
…………
…………
Yi Qingfeng did not linger in town, but went straight to the county seat.
He was preparing to buy some supplies.
Of course, these things were sold in town too.
But buying a motorcycle helmet + labor protection gloves + an axe right after resigning did not seem particularly appropriate...
The Omninet panel that appeared before his eyes did not only contain the information he had previously seen.
Apart from that information, there was also an interface he could switch to with a finger.
There, another display appeared:
“
Daily Instance (Not Officially Unlocked):
1. The Unmissable First Time:
Instance Type: Apprentice Trial
Instance Challenge Level: None
Instance Difficulty: Easy (Trial instances cannot select or unlock difficulty)
Instance Monsters: Low-level Goblins
Instance Reward: Unlock Daily Instances and other basic permissions
Instance Death Penalty: Soul Weakness (one calendar day)
Instance Description:
Just like the first step countless legends take toward their epic journeys:
Find that pack of goblins, then smash their skulls!
”
Daily Instance—without a doubt, this was a phrase filled with déjà vu.
For any contemporary game enthusiast, it was hardly an unfamiliar term.
But when it appeared through this system called the Omninet, Yi Qingfeng was not so certain anymore.
Everything was not that unfamiliar, yet also not that familiar...
On the instance description page, Yi Qingfeng found the option to teleport into the instance.
Of course, he did not rashly try it.
He possessed the caution and restraint of a thirty-year-old geezer.
And speaking of which:
Even if one were going into the wilderness to catch rabbits, one would not go empty-handed...
Some tools still had to be prepared.
Goblins, Yi Qingfeng knew about them.
They were a type of monster widely used in various games and novels.
Generally speaking, they were synonymous with weakness and fodder.
But precisely because the images derived from them were too diverse.
Yi Qingfeng could not say what kind of goblins existed in this Omninet instance.
No matter what, he figured they should be stronger than a dog...
Following that line of reasoning, if a pack of goblins was greater than a pack of dogs...
Yi Qingfeng looked at the newly bought axe, and suddenly felt it was not quite so handy after all...
…………
…………
Though it was already White Dew, the temperature still had not dropped.
But compared to midsummer, much of the heat had dissipated.
Relying on the might of the air conditioner, Yi Qingfeng put on an old cotton-padded coat.
Being a little hot was still better than being hacked down...
And compared to his formerly exercise-deprived body, his current body did not seem all that much stronger either.
But to Yi Qingfeng himself, it was an entirely different feeling.
It was probably like—the difference between the same computer having run continuously for a week, and after it had been shut down and restarted...
Only, in Earth OL, the human version of a reboot was clearly not very pleasant for the individual.
Among many everyday items, a cotton-padded coat made for decent protective gear:
On this point, anyone who had been bitten by a dog would immediately empathize.
As for the motorcycle helmet?
Every motorcycle brat who had paid tuition could deeply feel its true value.
As for those who had not paid?
Many times, there was often no chance to pay tuition anymore...
By comparison, the Omninet’s trial instance had much higher fault tolerance.
Yi Qingfeng had previously tried tapping on this so-called “Soul Weakness.”
A corresponding explanation appeared above it:
“Soul Weakness state: the character’s all attributes and recovery efficiency decrease, and some skills are protectively restricted from use. (Source: Omninet Version Basic Database)”
This was also why Yi Qingfeng, fully aware that he had not made perfectly thorough preparations, still intended to open the trial instance.
At worst, it would just be a hard day—he would recover even faster than from a cold...
Yi Qingfeng thought so.
Thus, after putting on the labor protection gloves, Yi Qingfeng tried swinging the axe in his hand a few times.
He did not know whether it was the result of wearing a cotton-padded coat in such weather, or whether some other restless factor was surging through his blood.
Yi Qingfeng could feel a wave of dry heat.
And so, no longer hesitating, Yi Qingfeng directly tapped Enter Instance in the void.
The next moment, following his action, new text appeared on his retina:
“Omninet Notification: Transmitting character to trial instance...”
It was coming!
In the last corner of his vision, what Yi Qingfeng glimpsed was the chat software still open on his computer desktop...
…………
…………
“Omninet Notification: Transmission successful. Character has been successfully transmitted to the trial instance...”
When Yi Qingfeng recovered his senses again, he found himself amid a mountainous area overgrown with shrubs.
Looking around, low bushes and disorderly rocks surrounded him.
Dry grass and withered plants wrapped in gravel painted the land into a desolate scene...
And when Yi Qingfeng instinctively raised his head, he saw a field of stars utterly different from Earth’s.
This breathtaking sight kept him from acting at once.
Until—he heard a string of rapid, low growls...
It was a kind of cry Yi Qingfeng had never heard before.
It resembled a dog’s bark, yet was even sharper.
And unlike the cries of animals he was familiar with, which often carried all kinds of meanings.
The instant he heard those roars, he could sense the undisguised cold malice and evil within them!
Theoretically speaking, judging good and evil from a sound was an extremely abstract act.
But in this moment, Yi Qingfeng felt that ferocity without any basis at all!
And so, the engine forged of flesh and blood began to roar thunderously!
Scorching breaths, through the windproof visor, blurred everything before him!
And without any further obstruction:
A group of short humanoid monsters burst out from the shrubs not far away!
Battle was on the verge of breaking out!