Chapter 47

"Dujin! What on earth are you doing!"

A tall man strode over and grabbed Dujin by the collar. "Stop pulling your scams and swindling people around here, you hear me!"

Dujin shrank his neck defensively. "I'm not scamming anyone. I just want to earn a little money, that's all."

In the live broadcast room, viewers watched the scene unfold as the chat comments surged past like lightning.

[Holy crap, a scammer!]

[And here I actually got my hopes up for a second that a real holographic game existed.]

[That shady, sneaky vibe of his looks exactly like someone bootleg-selling optical discs.]

[If there really were a holographic game, twenty an hour? Hell, I'd pay two thousand an hour just to try it.]

[Scammers like this should be locked up. Don't let him ruin things for others.]

Cui Xiu kept a tight grip on Dujin, looking utterly exasperated. "Then tell me what you think you're doing. Were you seriously planning to sell bootleg discs to a kid?"

Dujin muttered under his breath, "I didn't say anything about selling discs. I asked her if she wanted to play a holographic game."

Snail Rice Noodle, standing nearby and overhearing the exchange, immediately stepped closer. "You can actually play a holographic game? You guys have that here?"

It better not just be some VR game wearing a holographic game's skin.

Seeing that he had a potential customer, Dujin immediately insisted, "100% genuine! It is definitely a holographic game."

"The internet is completely cut off right now, how are you supposed to let people play a holographic game?" Cui Xiu frowned deeply.

He just hoped Dujin wouldn't go around ruining the tourists' experience.

This was tied to whether their base could survive or not.

Sure, that Director Lü had set up a network for everyone, but that network was strictly a local area network—it only allowed people within their base to communicate with each other.

Aside from that, the office landline could receive calls from the tourist world, and the QR codes in the shops could process payments.

How on earth was anyone supposed to play a holographic game with that setup?

Realizing he was about to be dragged away, Dujin hastily shouted, "You can play! You really can play!"

Mi Tianxin looked up at him with her large, wide eyes. "Mister, you aren't lying to children, are you?"

"No way!" Dujin patted his chest. "I would never lie to you guys. If you don't believe me, just come with me."

Snail Rice Noodle narrowed his eyes. With so many people around, he doubted the guy could pull anything dangerous.

Besides, didn't he have his trusty livestream and protective gear?

He glanced at the small hovering orb recording the scene, then looked at his phone's livestream interface. "Brothers! Let's go check it out!"

"Oh right, quick plug: I am the famous anti-fraud blogger Snail Rice Noodle. Make sure to hit that follow button!"

[???]

[You're actually dropping a promo right now!]

[Snail Rice Noodle! So it was you! I was wondering who would be bored enough to sign up for this kind of three-no tourist group.]

[Hurry up and take us to see the holographic game.]

[Wait, does the apocalypse actually have holographic games?]

Seeing that these two tourists were genuinely determined to check out the holographic game, Cui Xiu had no choice but to tag along.

He had to keep an eye on Dujin. If Dujin pulled a stunt and scammed them, driving visitors away from their base, that would spell absolute disaster.

Dujin led them all the way to a rather shabby-looking room. In the apocalyptic world, he was just an ordinary person with no supernatural abilities.

It was only thanks to arriving at the Catching the Wind Base that he wasn't reduced to the lowest class of citizens like in other settlements.

At least here, he had a room of his own.

Before the apocalypse, he had actually made a living selling bootlegged discs. Deciding that disc-hawking wasn't making him enough money, he had racked his brain trying to figure out a new hustle.

Eventually, through a contact, he ordered a batch of stock that the supplier claimed was an adults-only game. He had handed over his money with a gleeful smile, ready to strike it big, only for the apocalypse to break out right then and there.

Dujin had fled for his life carrying a single gaming account, eventually ending up at the Catching the Wind Base.

It was only yesterday, when the boss told everyone in the base to think of ways to make money, that he suddenly remembered the gaming account he had purchased.

That account was a storage account, meaning the games stored within it could be copied over to other accounts—whereas games on standard, regular accounts couldn't be duplicated.

Duplicating games to other accounts meant profit. Of course, these games were entirely legitimate versions; they just didn't have many players.

Furthermore, the games in the storage account came with pre-approved licenses specifically intended for operating gaming experience stores.

Dujin had decided to try his hand at the trade again. Just yesterday, he had scavenged two obsolete helmets in the base and tested them out.

The helmets worked fine, and booting them up did indeed lead to a holographic game.

Except, motherfucker, the games inside weren't even remotely adults-only.

That was when Dujin realized he'd been scammed. He had no idea where these tourists came from or whether they even had these games back where they lived.

So, he figured he'd try to fool this little girl; maybe he could squeeze twenty bucks out of her and finally afford a decent meal.

Now, looking at the fat guy's expression, he figured this business venture was definitely going to work.

"Right in here," Dujin led the two into the room, pointing at the slightly worn-out helmets. "Don't let the beat-up look of these helmets fool you. The games definitely work."

Snail Rice Noodle rubbed his chin. "Ten bucks an hour!"

Dujin opened his mouth to object, but a sudden wave of guilt about the actual quality of the games made him hesitate. "Ten bucks... ten bucks it is. Consider it making a new friend."

[Damn! Why does this feel so sketchy!]

[Ten yuan? What if we play it and find out it's just Super Mario?]

[Go for it, Snail Rice Noodle! Try it out and let us know!]

[Ten bucks won't break the bank, and you won't get ripped off. Plus, aren't there base guards right behind you? If it's a scam, the locals will probably discipline him themselves.]

Snail Rice Noodle: "Scan the code!"

Dujin instantly flashed a wide, toothy grin and whipped out a QR code. He had pulled quite a few strings just to get this QR code working yesterday.

The thought of pocketing ten yuan momentarily filled him with overwhelming joy.

After Snail Rice Noodle scanned the code, Mi Tianxin followed suit.

Dujin fitted the helmets onto both of them and told them to lie down on the bed. "Once you're inside, just pick whichever game you want to play. There are tons of games in there."

Snail Rice Noodle still harbored a lingering sense of doubt, but a massive list of game titles suddenly materialized right before his eyes.

*Desert Island Survival, Passionate Battleship, Bubble Ball Paradise, Island Farm, Childhood Summer...*

He decisively selected *Passionate Battleship*. Just based on the name alone, if it were a movie, it would undoubtedly be a total trainwreck.

Still, he wanted to see whether the holographic games in this world were real or fake.

Naturally, he had to pick the one that sounded the most sci-fi.

Meanwhile, the viewers in the live stream were practically losing their minds.

[Crap! We can't see the games!]

[They just fell asleep, and now what?]

[Show us already! Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry!]

[What kind of games are even in there? I don't want to watch them take a nap!]

Just as they were complaining, the livestream screen suddenly split in two. On the left side, a tall, slender figure dressed in combat gear stood at attention in front of a massive battleship.

On the right side, a little girl was just waking up as she lay on a bed.

Clearly, they had already entered the game.

[Holy cow! The graphics are so realistic! Snail Rice Noodle made himself look so cool I almost didn't recognize him.]

[Is that really Snail Rice Noodle? Didn't they just slap some random TV show clip on here to trick us?]

[Hey! If you tap on one of the screens, it enlarges so you can focus on just that one.]

[I'm watching the little loli, sorry Snail