Chapter 8: Multiverse OmniNet Player Exchange Forum
Night had fallen.
To save on fuel, commoners rarely lit lamps at night. Just as night began, Moonstone Town was already shrouded in darkness.
Li Xue tiptoed through the door, wanting to pretend nothing had happened and go back to bed, only to turn around and see a burly figure holding a candlestick.
"There is no church in town, it's not safe at night."
Norma sighed. This child had been lively and active since she was little. The priest of the Earth Mother Goddess praised Li Xue for her curiosity, but as a mother, she was more worried about her daughter's safety.
"Where did you just go?"
"I went to help Grandpa Mayor transcribe notes."
A small sense of guilt welled up in Li Xue's heart. She was telling the truth, but she hid the fact that she had gone to see the newly arrived Lord alone.
She knew her mother would definitely not agree with her actions, so she had acted first and would report later... although she hadn't really reported anything yet.
"It's a good thing you want to help, but don't stay out so late in the future."
Norma glanced at her daughter and turned toward the stairs.
"The old man is really something. He's been taking up more and more of your time lately. Sooner or later, I'm going to make him pay you wages."
"It's fine, I can actually use the knowledge I've learned..." Li Xue muttered softly, "Arithmetic and drafting techniques aren't exactly useful for serving drinks to drunks in the shop."
The proprietress did not argue and climbed the steps in silence.
Although the church of the god of order and justice provided free lessons for school-aged children, decent jobs were not easy to find.
Only large cities needed professional scribes, clerks, and other literate workers. Most of these jobs were already occupied by the younger generation from non-commoner families like wealthy merchants and military officers. Even if children of the lower class learned the same knowledge, it was difficult for them to find work; it was better to master a craft to earn a living.
As for a remote place like Moonstone Town, it had nothing to do with being 'decent' at all.
"Li Xue is back? Good to have you back."
A thin middle-aged man glanced at the mother and daughter, gave a greeting, and then lowered his head to count the pile of coins in front of him. Most were copper coins, with a few silver coins scattered among them.
Seeing this scene, Norma seemed to remember something, and her expression turned a bit grim.
"Is it time to collect the money again?"
"Why so soon? Didn't they just come a month ago?"
"I don't know." The man shook his head, his expression somewhat numb. "When has the Death Scythe Gang ever reasoned with anyone?"
"Is there enough money?"
"I don't know, but Li Xue needs to hide. She can't let them see her."
The man turned his gaze toward his daughter, and a bit of softness finally appeared on his stiff face.
"Just like the previous times, go hide at Grandpa Mayor's house. Don't let anyone find you."
"...Okay."
Li Xue nodded, but in her heart, she already had a better place in mind... "Death Scythe Gang... I didn't expect anyone would be eyeing this broken place of mine."
Inside the brightly lit Lords Mansion, Luo Yi pondered the news he had heard from Li Xue.
The reward the girl sought was very simple: when the Death Scythe Gang came to town to collect debts, let her hide in the Lords Mansion to lay low.
It was a clever request that required almost no cost from Luo Yi, but as the Lord, he could not sit idly by and ignore these uninvited guests.
"I wonder if there are any Transcendent members in the Death Scythe Gang."
"If not... I should be able to handle them."
The previous battle had allowed Luo Yi to understand his own combat power.
Commoners without any magical item protection were like dust on a table before him, scattered with a single breath.
No wonder the commoners at the bottom of this world didn't dare to resist no matter how they were oppressed; the gap between a Transcendent and an ordinary person was truly that vast.
Of course, even an average Transcendent could not be compared to Luo Yi, who possessed Terraria and OmniNet.
The "Terra Body" feat alone was enough to make Luo Yi stand tall among Transcendents of the same level.
"Then again, the situation in Moonstone Town is simply too terrible."
Rubbing his temples, Luo Yi casually placed the town meeting materials he had finished reading on the table and took a deep breath.
Looking at the data on population and farmland, the prospects of Moonstone Town weren't just bleak; they were pitch black.
A town of nearly a thousand households was actually scraping by by mining stone from abandoned mines; it was simply inconceivable.
Furthermore, most of the townsfolk were heavily in debt, and it was all high-interest loans.
As for farmland, this group of miners simply didn't know how to farm. Their harvests throughout the year were pitifully low, forcing them to buy grain at high prices from nearby towns.
If Luo Yi had arrived a year later, Moonstone Town would likely have become a supply base for human traffickers and slave traders.
"No wonder the previous Lord squeezed the people dry and then just ran away, not even bothering to be a local tyrant."
Shaking his head, Luo Yi relaxed his mind and closed his eyes to rest.
"Tomorrow, I'll meet the so-called 'Death Scythe Gang' first. At the very least, I'll get rid of these loan-sharking parasites."
Theoretically, the people of Moonstone Town were now his property. The Death Scythe Gang was stealing Luo Yi's resources, so there was no problem with him intervening.
"Speaking of which, OmniNet seems to have unlocked a new feature..."
Thinking this, Luo Yi summoned the OmniNet interface.
[Do you wish to connect to the "Multiverse OmniNet Player Exchange Forum"?]
"Yes, yes, yes, that's the one. Confirm connection."
[Generating forum identity... Retrieving recommended forum sections...]
[Recommended sections are as follows:]
[1. pan-plane communication section (Automatically searches for posts from nearby planes)]
[2. Newbie-Team Exchange Section (Restricted to Level 10 and below)]
[3. Class-Artificer Exchange Section (Restricted to "Artificer" class)]
[4. Trade-Cross-Realm Trade Section (Can post buying and selling information)]
[5. Locked - Requirements for section opening not met]
Luo Yi browsed through them; the sections recommended by OmniNet were all very practical.
The pan-plane communication section was essentially a general discussion area where both new players who had just joined OmniNet and legendary powerhouses could speak freely, though it was also filled with a lot of spam because of that.
The remaining sections were easy to understand. Teaming, classes, and trading were all exactly what their names implied. Having played many online games, Luo Yi felt as familiar as if he had returned home.
Luo Yi casually clicked into the Newbie-Team Exchange Section, and a scrolling forum interface popped up before his eyes.
On both sides of the interface were real-time updates of online chat messages, while the middle contained posts sorted by time. It felt like browsing a livestream chat and a forum simultaneously.
[(Lv3) Druid-Malthael: Recruitment for Whispering Forest dungeon, Challenge Rating 4, Nature-aligned classes preferred]
[(Lv9) Barbarian-Slothus: Any Arena 1v1 duel enthusiasts? Purely for practicing combat techniques; whoever uses spells is a goblin]
[(Lv5) Walker-Monk-Bai Mo: My hometown is being eroded by a disaster. Seeking a priest who worships the god of order and justice to assist with purification. I will pay the teleportation costs, and there will be a heavy reward afterward]
Player information in the forum was automatically generated in the format of Level + Title + Class + Name; if there was no title, it was left blank.
For instance, Luo Yi was (Lv2) Artificer-Luo Yi.
Luo Yi was curious about how OmniNet titles were obtained and whether they had extra effects, but this section was not the place for asking questions; he would have to go next door for that.
After browsing for a bit, Luo Yi was deeply moved by the vibrant and thriving environment of the multiverse, but then he discovered an embarrassing fact—he had no money.
OmniNet came with many accessible and convenient features, such as the ability to teleport players from different worlds into the same dungeon when teaming up through OmniNet.
Another example was the Trade section, where one could buy items or post acquisition info and have goods delivered directly across worlds.
Of course, these features all cost money, and the currency was the "omninet disaster coins" Luo Yi had obtained earlier.
100 omninet disaster coins were not a small amount for a newcomer, but they wouldn't last long either.
"It seems other people's version of OmniNet is different from mine."
Luo Yi noticed that he obtained rewards through "Adventure Cards," while most players went to grind dungeons.
However, by relying on the Teaming section, Luo Yi could also join other players' dungeons, and vice versa.
"How interesting. Time to go back."
After posting a question in the pan-plane communication section and waiting for a reply, Luo Yi exited the OmniNet interface and yawned.
When he woke up, there was the familiar OmniNet prompt.
[A new day has arrived; it is time to embark on a new journey]
[You have obtained a "the fool" card]
[Please draw a card for your next adventure]
Rubbing his eyes, Luo Yi picked up the newly obtained Adventure Card and glanced at it casually, only to be jolted wide awake.
"Wait..."
"What the hell is a Tungsten Steel Mechanical Factory?!"