Chapter 16 No Man's Land He didn't understand why Nan Ke had approached him...
Jiang Yang slept soundly until it was almost time to check out, his dreams floating and sinking, something he couldn't quite grasp or let go of.
Pushing open the door, the scene flashed back to the elevator he had taken before entering. The attendant was standing in the elevator, and when he saw Jiang Yang get off, he bowed slightly and said, "Mr. Jiang, Mr. Nan is waiting for you in the restaurant."
The only person he knew with the surname Nan was Nan, and he finally remembered what he had forgotten.
Collecting debts!
This is very important!
"Why don't you sleep until tomorrow afternoon?" Nan Ke said irritably, a delicate coffee cup swaying in front of her, a small spoon between her fingers.
Jiang Yang touched her nose, sat down opposite Nan Ke, and muttered softly, "Too expensive..."
Ten thousand points in one night, even if the bug fix department pays, is still a lot for Jiang Yang who only has two thousand points.
My heart aches! It hurts so much!
"Have you registered yet?" Nan Ke fiddled with the panel, which indicated that gifting was temporarily unavailable.
"Yes, Mr. Nan wanted to see me, so I came first." The waiter handed over a menu, but Jiang Yang was immediately deterred by the prices after flipping through it. "Thank you, just a glass of water will do."
Nan Ke sighed, speechless. "What do you want to eat? It's on me."
"Oh, you're too kind," Jiang Yang said with a smile, raising her hand without hesitation. "Waiter, I'd like to order!"
We only ordered an extra crab meat soup, since the crabs are very plump and delicious this time of year.
"So you really just arrived?" Nan Ke still couldn't believe it, even though he had already checked the list as soon as he got back.
"Yeah, aren't I amazing?"
“No,” Nan Ke carefully chose his words, “to be precise, you are more like someone born for judgment.”
Then he poured cold water on the situation, saying, "But usually, such people also die quickly due to the trial."
"Do you think he's still alive?"
Jiang Yang shifted her gaze to the waiter not far away. Nan Ke followed her gaze, somewhat uncertain, "These waiters are recruited from among the players. They say it's to provide players with extra opportunities to earn points, and it won't affect their status as players. You mean, he...?"
"I don't know," Jiang Yang blinked. The meal was served, and he unbuttoned his collar and took small sips of his drink.
The marks from where he had been bound around his neck had faded considerably, and Nan Ke sensed a hint of gossip. "Your neck..."
"It was done by the bug fix department," Jiang Yang said, not intending to hide it.
"You just arrived, what have you been doing?" Nan Ke asked, even more curious.
"It's like this: I got a ticket that should have allowed me to go straight into No Man's Land, but I got caught in a bug and was pulled into your Trial, and then I was ranked pretty high, so I got reported."
What he said was half true and half false, but Nan Ke's attention was on the first part of the sentence: "You entered this no man's land on your own initiative?"
"No... what else?" Jiang Yang raised her head.
"Most people in the No Man's Land are suddenly and inexplicably pulled into the first trial. After the trial, they enter the No Man's Land, and once they are in, they almost never get out."
Nan Ke was unusually serious. "I've only heard that a very small number of people came in with tickets, so don't tell anyone else about it."
"Okay!" Jiang Yang obediently said. There was a thin layer of crispy rice on the surface of the soup, which made him squint his eyes because it tasted so good.
"But why did you choose to come to the No Man's Land?"
Jiang Yang finished the last bite, wiped her mouth, and said, "Looking for someone."
"who?"
"My boyfriend," Jiang Yang said, her eyes flashing with venom.
Nan Ke took a step back. "Who is it?"
"I forgot," Jiang Yang said, breaking down instantly.
"What if he's already dead?"
"Then let's desecrate the corpse."
Nan Ke's inner monologue: Is this my boyfriend? Or is he really not my ex-boyfriend?!
Nan Ke sighed, "Now that we've finished eating, let's go. Once you've finished registering, I'll transfer your payment for this time to you."
Jiang Yang leaned back on the soft leather sofa and patted her stomach. "No rush. So you came here just to give me money?"
"I hate talking to people like you," she said, then stopped herself from standing up. "I'm going to put Xie Lu on trial next. He's not suitable to be with me. Do you want to come with me? The pay is the same as Xie Lu's."
"Normally, how often should we go to trial? Are people being sent to their deaths this frequently these days?" Jiang Yang also learned to be sarcastic.
"The fixed trials are based on your ranking. The higher your ranking, the longer the interval between trials. If you want to join a trial in between, you can bid at the auction or join someone else's trial. Sometimes, when the Tower is recruiting, there will be such assessment competitions."
"Then how do you know Xie Lu isn't suitable to be with you?"
"The fixed trial will provide basic information about the trial a week before it begins."
Jiang Yang thought for a moment and asked one last question, "My next trial will be monitored by the judge. If I'm with you, will he be monitoring you?"
“Yes,” Nan Ke nodded, speaking gradually, “So if you choose to come with me, I will share information about this trial with you in advance and answer any questions you may have about the No Man’s Land. Would you like to consider it?”
"Well, for the sake of this meal, I'll agree."
When they took the elevator to the restaurant, the waiter swiped the card. When they arrived at the registration floor, there were only Nan Ke and Jiang Yang in the elevator. Nan Ke swiped the card and explained, "After you register, you will be given a card similar to an ID card. Your usage permissions in No Man's Land will be adjusted according to your ranking. If your permissions are not high enough, you will not be able to enter some floors on your own."
"So... No Man's Land is a building?"
"Well... to be precise, it's a tower. If you don't choose to open it to the public, your area of activity is the Judgment Tower."
The elevator quickly arrived at the registration desk, which was surrounded by a transparent glass wall when viewed from the inside.
Jiang Yang didn't know which floor she was on; she could only see lights scattered across the rooftops of buildings outside, making everything seem incredibly small.
What is "opening up to the outside world"?
"Most of those outside are unions, and a small portion are privately owned. The dangers and resources you encounter in different towers are different."
Do you have a union?
"No, the union still has to deal with the tower, I don't want to go."
As they stood talking, someone handed Jiang Yang a magnetic card. Jiang Yang took it, turned it over and looked at it, and said, "So fast?"
"After you come in, something will scan your identity. If you haven't registered, it will be automatically registered. It won't be long before someone brings it to you."
[Player Jiang Yang completes Borderlands identity registration]
[Unlock Shop Access]
In addition to items unlocked based on the number of Soul Weights he possesses, the shop has added some items that can be purchased with points.
Borderlands Friends Feature Unlocked
Player Nan Ke has sent you a friend request.
[Trial Team Function Unlocked]
[Internal communication function of the trial team unlocked]
[Final Judgment Feature Unlocked]
The accommodation level in the Trial Tower has been unlocked.
The cheapest accommodation was 500 points per night, so Jiang Yang booked one night to see how it went.
[The entertainment floor (restaurants, lounges, and entertainment) of the Trial Tower has been unlocked]
[Player Nan Ke initiates a cooperation agreement with you regarding the Zero Train Trial]
"What is this?"
"We've reached a cooperation agreement, so only the points I pay you will be counted in your points ranking. Spending them won't lower your ranking; otherwise, they won't count."
Player Nan Ke is gifting you 100,000 points.
Remaining points: 102,000
He booked too early; he thinks he should have booked the 1000 one now.
Borderlands leaderboard updated in real time.
[Overall Ranking - Jiang Yang: 699th]
(Overall Ranking: A comprehensive ranking based on player strength, points, soul weight, etc., weighted by different proportions)
[Ranking on the Strength Ranking - Jiang Yang: 358th]
(Power Ranking: A ranking based on player strength, mission completion rate, and achievements)
[Rankings - Jiang Yang: 731st]
(Leaderboard: Points earned through cooperation between players, rewards from observers to players, and rewards for completing trials are all included in the leaderboard for ranking.)
[Soul Ranking - Jiang Yang: 447th]
(Soul Ranking: Soul Weights obtained by players)
[Beauty Ranking - Jiang Yang: None available]
(The rankings are updated weekly after each observer casts three votes, which are then reset to zero.)
After registering, Nan Ke said goodbye to Jiang Yang and they agreed to meet again in three days.
Jiang Yang didn't go back to her room; instead, she swiped her card in the elevator and went to the lounge area.
The energetic dance music was practically vibrating right next to his ears. Jiang Yang went to the bar, ordered a juice, and found a corner to sit down.
The men and women around me were either in a state of depression or despondent.
Taking a small sip through the straw, Jiang Yang silently prayed in his mind, "Assistant, how can we leave this no man's land?"
"There are three spots available each month for the trial of the unclaimed lands. The top three players will be selected based on their strength ranking. Once they win, they can leave the unclaimed lands."
"What if it fails?"
"The defeated player will voluntarily sacrifice their soul to the Tower of Judgment."
There was indeed a trap.
However, as long as there is a chance to leave, there is nothing to fear.
Three days passed quickly, and Jiang Yang explored all the places within his access permissions.
The entertainment area is further divided into three levels. He cannot yet enter the casino and auction house. The bottom level is like a huge flea market where any transaction can be made, including buying and selling players.
Jiang Yang spent most of his time here, and also subtly obtained some information that he wanted to know.
For example, Nan Ke.
He didn't understand why Nan Ke approached him.
A player ranked number one on the leaderboard.
On the morning of the fourth day, Jiang Yang received a message from Nan Ke, who had arranged to meet someone at a restaurant.
However, he did not expect that Nan Ke would bring Huang Er with him.
Huang Er's first words were, "How about you consider renting your puppet to me?"
A note from the author:
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This chapter mainly fills in some background information about the Borderlands universe. The next chapter will be about the second trial. The latest update should be the day after tomorrow. I may need to sort out the outline again. Wait for me!
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