Entering the city gate between the two fortresses, Jiang Hao found himself standing directly on a bridge nearly 20 meters wide. Ten colossal stone statues, each almost a hundred meters tall, stood side-by-side on either side of the bridge. Fortunately, they were all positioned within the canyon, the bridge only reaching their waists. If he had been standing on the bridge, Jiang Hao probably wouldn't have been able to see their faces. Some held shields, some wielded greatswords, some were drawing bows and nocking arrows, and some carried massive axes; each statue stood tall and imposing, resembling war gods.
They must all be heroes of the human race, right?
Crossing the massive stone bridge meant he had crossed the canyon leading to the city gate. Now truly inside the inner city, Jiang Hao saw rows of guards in white armor, standing watch at intersections or patrolling the city. Various tall buildings stood amidst the city, some imposing, some sacred, and some imbued with a mystical magical aura. Above, a colossal airship drifted south towards Jinling City. Its shadow fell upon Jiang Hao, who then realized that the airship was probably the size of a basketball court.
Jiang Hao looked up and saw a tall, milky-white building directly in front of him, with a pointed spire atop its dome, resembling a Western cathedral. That must be the priests' quarters, right? Jiang Hao walked towards the cathedral and stood at the foot of the steps. Only then did he see a teleportation array in the square in front of the cathedral, a white vortex constantly spinning.
Jiang Hao didn't linger. He turned left and circled around to the northeast corner of the church, then followed the stone path to the east side of the cathedral. To the east of the stone path was a row of tall buildings, with shops on the ground floor facing the road.
The first shop was decorated in a particularly grand style, occupying four storefronts. In the small square in front of the entrance, there was a stone tablet that read: Black Dragon Hall.
Wow, you found it so easily?
Jiang Hao's main purpose in coming to Jinling City was to make money at the Black Dragon Palace!
Looking around but not seeing any of the tens of thousands of sows, Jiang Hao decided to go in and ask what the gold coin fishing quest was. However, before he even reached the gate, he was stopped by guards in black armor.
"Halt! Take another step forward and you will be killed on sight!"
WC is such a big deal, could this be some kind of military location?
"Um, I have a question. Isn't this where you can accept quests?"
"You can accept missions, but you're not qualified yet."
"qualifications?"
Jiang Hao looked puzzled. Could it be that his level was not high enough?
"Only by becoming a citizen of Jinling City can one be qualified to accept missions here."
"That's all I have to say. If you have any questions, please go to the government service hall to inquire."
"Get out of here! Don't stand in our doorway and delay our business!"
Jiang Hao understood, but his anger also flared. A mere guard in a game dared to act so arrogantly, as if no one but God could catch his eye.
How dare he be more arrogant than the old man who guarded the gate at his high school?
I guess they haven't experienced the harsh realities of society!
However, both guards had green health bars above their heads, so Jiang Hao couldn't attack them at all. He cursed them under his breath and continued walking forward.
We can only wait until tens of thousands of sows arrive before we can get a reasonable explanation from him!
The second storefront was a large, six-room structure, even more impressive than the first one. The entrance was decorated in a lavish, opulent style, and a small Chinese-style garden was built in the small square. On the artificial rock in the center of the garden, four large characters were painted in red: "Jinling Real Estate".
Jiang Hao found it unbelievable.
Holy crap? You're making real estate in a game? Who are you going to sell it to? Who would buy it?
Jiang Hao wanted to go inside and ask, but he was afraid that the eight gatekeepers at the entrance would have bad tempers. Just as he was hesitating, an NPC dressed in ancient costume ran out from inside the storefront of Jinling Real Estate.
"Oh, sir, please come in. There's hot tea inside!"
Why am I being so enthusiastic?
"Um, no need, I just wanted to ask, what does your big shop do?"
"Sir, look at Jinling real estate! As long as you have the money, we can sell you any property, land, or shop within Jinling City. To put it bluntly, even if you want the City Lord's Mansion, we can sell it to you if you pay enough!"
"Excuse me, how much would it cost to buy a shop like yours?"
"Oh my, sir, you've come to the right place. Let me tell you, don't be fooled by how quiet these shops are now. Once all the newbie players arrive, this will be the busiest street in the entire Jinling City. It'll be packed with people and red flags will be waving everywhere. You can do whatever business you want, and you'll make a fortune! Right now, we're having a promotion: a shop is only 100,000 gold coins."
Holy crap, they don't want money, they only want gold coins?
And one shop is selling for 100,000 gold coins!
Jiang Hao knew all too well how difficult it was to obtain gold coins in this game. Although he had already cleared two dungeons, the total gold coins dropped by monsters amounted to only 12 silver coins and 5 copper coins. If it weren't for the system's first-clear reward, he wouldn't even be able to afford the recovery potions he had.
"Um, if I want to buy a shop here, do I need to be a citizen of Jinling City?"
"Of course not! Sir, we only care about money. As long as the gold coins are in place, we can do the deal."
Jiang Hao pointed behind him.
"But to enter their shop, you need to be a citizen of Jinling City."
"So his shop isn't as big as mine."
Jiang Hao found the NPC's conversation amusing, so he asked a few more random questions. In the end, he didn't buy anything, since he was broke. However, the NPC didn't mind, shouting that meeting was fate and that they would meet again if they were destined to, and respectfully escorted Jiang Hao to the stone path.
The third shop was a restaurant, occupying four storefronts, with the four ancient-style characters "Jinling Restaurant" on the signboard at the entrance. The entire shop was decorated in a classic style, especially the second-floor railing, which was adorned with several large red flowers. It looked quite grand.
The shops further on weren't as impressive. Some sold equipment, some specialized in equipment enhancement, and there was even one that sold fake potions.
The shop owner was a blacksmith, and while his shop had a fairly complete selection of equipment, the highest-grade item he owned was a black iron scimitar. It was nowhere near the level of Jiang Hao's equipment.
The potion seller was an alchemist, and his healing potions only cost 5 copper coins each. They had the same effect as the ones Jiang Hao bought in the profession shop. Jiang Hao was overjoyed and immediately bought 100 bottles.
But to his surprise, after drinking the whole bottle, Jiang Hao didn't recover a single drop of blood! It was all fake, so he returned it on the spot!
I got excited for nothing.
Finally reaching the end of the stone-paved road, Jiang Hao entered the government affairs hall directly opposite.
There were no staff members in the lobby. After all, the game had just launched, and there wasn't a single player in the entire city of Jinling, except for Jiang Hao. Just as Jiang Hao was about to look for any NPCs, he saw a side door open, and a beautiful, graceful woman walked out.
It was Eliza, the woman he was looking for.
"Hello, how can I help you?"
The beautiful woman opposite him spoke first. Jiang Hao was somewhat surprised. Wow, Eliza was just like a living person, without any of the stiffness or rigidity of an NPC.
"Hello, this letter of recommendation is for you."
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