Master of Trading Star Card Game - Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Start Playing

The next morning, Doctor Qin had completed the discharging formalities for Xie Mingzhe. Then Xie Mingzhe negotiated with the insurance company and paid his medical bills.

The medical insurance system in this world was perfect. The medical insurance for severe illnesses he had bought before included accident insurance, so all his medical expense was reimbursed. Xie Mingzhe was relieved. As the words went, “out of debt, out of pressure”. Although as a poor with neither savings nor debts, Xie Mingzhe bore less pressure and just needed to support himself.

After a busy morning, Xie Mingzhe was successfully discharged. After expressing his thanks to Doctor Qin, Xie Mingzhe turned and walked out of the hospital.

The sunlight outside was a little harsh. When standing in the sun again after a month’s sleep, Xie Mingzhe suddenly felt dizzy. He covered his head and took a few deep breaths, then the world gradually became clear.

All kinds of floating cars whizzed through the air, and it was a world with tall buildings. The mechanized city made people feel a little cold.

Xie Mingzhe stood on the street for a moment and actually felt the reality of his rebirth in the unfamiliar high-tech environment.

Said goodbye to AD 2018 and reborn in 3001. He had become another abjection teenager, Xie Mingzhe. Although his situation was not good in the opening game, he was confident that depending on his own ability, he could live well in this world because of two memories, his and the body’s original owner’s.

With a deep breath and a relieved smile on his face, Xie Mingzhe turned and headed for the nearby floating bus stop – with hands, feet and brains, he didn’t believe an alive person would be starved to death.

Arriving at the terminal of the suburb in a levitation bus, Xie Mingzhe walked to a dilapidated residential building according to the route in his memory. On the tenth floor, he saw a middle-aged woman waiting for him at the door. The middle-aged woman was very fat, but she wore a pair of high-heeled shoes. Seeing Xie Mingzhe, she rolled her eyes and said coldly: “You finally come back. I thought you have escaped from the rent!”

Xie Mingzhe handed over his case files and apologetically explained: “Mrs. Zhang, I didn’t mean to do so. I’ve been in the hospital all month.”

Mrs. Zhang refused his casebook and squinted at him, “In hospital? Are you trying to default on your rent with such an awful excuse?”

Saying in an ironic voice, she looked down upon the poor boy. Xie Mingzhe simply transferred 800 yuan to her with cell phone face to face, saying: “I’m sorry. I’ve been in default on rent for a month, which brings you some troubles.” Falling behind with the rent was his fault regardless of Zhang’s attitude.

After receiving the rent, the middle-aged woman asked at once, “How will you pay the rent for August?”

Thinking of his 200 yuan bank balance, Xie Mingzhe said, “I have a poor financial condition recently, so can I pay my rent when the new term begins?” He would get enough money for the rent if he had another month. However, Mrs. Zhang seemed difficult to be persuaded.

“Wait until your new term begins?” Mrs. Zhang raised her voice immediately and gave him a contemptuous look as expected, “Either pay it now or move away at once. You can turn to a charity for help if you can’t afford the rent. Don’t come to me.”

“……” Xie Mingzhe slightly frowned. He, especially Xie Mingzhe in this world who had suffered from indifference since he was young, had seen many sharp-tongued citizens. He didn’t want to implore others and simply nodded, “OK, I’ll move out as soon as possible.”

Xie Mingzhe didn’t beg Mrs. Zhang for help, which went beyond the latter’s expectations. Mrs. Zhang raised her head doubtfully, suddenly meeting the bright eyes of the teenager.

His eyes were completely different from that of the depressed boy she knew. He was confident, calm and had a clear conscience.

Seeing her head lifted, Xie Mingzhe smiled, “Goodbye. I don’t think we will meet again. Many thanks for your help.”

The polite and peaceful farewell made by such a cultivated boy made Mrs. Zhang embarrassed.

Looking at his thin, tall and straight figure from behind as he turned around to enter the room, Mrs. Zhang felt weird that the boy was much more energetic and handsome when he smiled, which was contrary to his depressed look before that made her sick. Unfortunately, no matter how handsome he was, he was just a poor boy with no relatives or friends. Would he be successful later?

Mrs. Zhang ignored the strange feeling and turned away frowning.

Xie Mingzhe swiped his card to enter the room.

The room was quite small. Aside from a bathroom, a bed and a wardrobe covered most of the area, leaving little space for him to stand. His suitcase could only be placed under the bed. Xie Mingzhe leaned over and opened his suitcase, which contained clothes, daily necessities, and an old computer.

He had all the memories of this body’s original owner, so he was not surprised to see these things.

After quickly packing his luggage, Xie Mingzhe sat on the bed and opened the computer to search for a keyword: “Part-time jobs.”

He quickly browsed a variety of part-time information and noticed a line of small characters: “Nirvana Game Studio near Capital University looking for temporary staff aged 18-25. We provide free dormitories (twin room) and food, but currently there is only one bed available in the male dormitory, so we only recruit male staff. Salary: 3,000 crystal coins per month.”

He met the requirement of age and gender, besides, this game studio was near his school, which was quite convenient. Moreover, “free dormitories (twin room) and food” could save him the trouble. However, what exactly was this game studio doing? Feeling curious, Xie Mingzhe sent a private message politely asking: “What is your game studio main for? I want to apply for this job.”

He quickly got a response: “We are a game studio providing boosting services mainly in Star Card Storm. We also repair cards for our clients. Appliers should have been playing Star Card Storm for more than a year, familiar with all the rules of this game. ”

Xie Mingzhe：“……”

Why didn’t you include this key requirement on your job posting?!

Xie Mingzhe had no experience with Star Card Storm, but he was quite familiar with game boosting. When he was in college on Earth, he was a part-time booster helping his clients raise to the highest level in League of Legends and Srike of Kings. An e-sports club even invited him to its team as a professional player, but at that time he just wanted to find a stable job after graduation, so he refused.

There were game boosters in the future world?

Working as a game booster was one of Xie Mingzhe’s specialties. Thinking of that, he quickly replied with excitement: “I haven’t experienced Star Card Storm before, but I worked as a game booster for other games for many years, which enabled me to get familiar with the business. Can I apply for this position?”

The other side wondered: “What game?”

Thinking of games such as League of Legends and King of Glory didn’t exist in this world, Xie Mingzhe dared not speak carelessly, so he said: “The games I played were popular among small crowds, but I have abundant experience as a game booster. I’ve learned something about Star Card Storm and I promise to master it in two days.”

The other side hesitated: “If you haven’t played Star Card Storm before, you are bound to lower our efficiency.”

Xie Mingzhe compromised at once: “How about I work as an intern and get half of my salary in my first month?”

The other side was surprised: “You mean you can accept the salary of 1500?”

Xie Mingzhe said decisively: “Yes!”

Working as an intern was better than nothing. The crystal coin in this world was about the same price as RMB (Chinese currency) in the earth’s era. 1500 a month was enough for a college student, and he could save some pocket money if he was economical. He would be paid 3000 a month if he was officially employed. Isn’t that fantastic?

Xie Mingzhe considered it quickly and made up his mind: “I’ll work as an intern and get 1500 payment first. You can hire me if I perform well.”

The other side replied in a while: “Come here and try it. See you two thirty in the afternoon.”

Xie Mingzhe said with excitement: “Thanks. I’ll arrive on time!”

Two thirty in the afternoon, Xie Mingzhe arrived for the interview with his packed suitcase.

He originally thought the game studio would be like an enclosed black internet bar, in which there were a row of computers and several indoors men who suffered from acne staring at the screen and typing emotionlessly on the keyboard.

However, when he arrived at the game studio, he was shocked. The rows of rotating seats and helmets looked neat and tidy, with a large virtual LCD screen in the center which was showing some data that were constantly updated.

Looking at these high-tech equipments, Xie Mingzhe thought he was in a space station of a science fiction movie.

A young man about twenty-seven or -eight came over, holding a cigarette between his lips. He, with messy hair, wore a crumpled shirt which seemed to be just picked up from the ground. The black circles under his eyes revealed a lack of sleep. He looked at Xie Mingzhe, who was looking around out of curiosity, in a way that he was looking at a monster. He asked, “You are the guy who has never played Star Card Storm but applied for the job?”

Xie Mingzhe had the brass to nod: “I haven’t played Star Card Storm, but I once provided boosting services in other games. I’m quite experienced in many games, and I will learn very quickly.” He worked hard to sell himself.

The young man laughed out loud, as if he had heard a funny joke.

Not feeling awkward, Xie Mingzhe looked into the man’s eyes: “I will try it first. If I’m not competent for this job, then I’ll go. Would you please give me a chance?”

Xie Mingzhe’s eye expression showed his sincerity and bravery, which touched the man. Then the latter waved to him and said, “Well, come over. It’s not difficult to get in-game materials. You can make it after practicing a few times under our guidance.”

The man said, while leading Xie Mingzhe into the next room. He handed him a brand new helmet: “Now that you had experience of providing boosting services before, you should know the rules in this line of business. We should complete the tasks our clients assigned to us as soon as possible, so you have to be very familiar with this game.”

Xie Mingzhe nodded enthusiastically: “OK.”

The helmet was sophisticated, so Xie Mingzhe carefully studied for a moment to understand how to use it, and asked: “Elder brother, what should I call you?”

Hearing that Xie Mingzhe sensibly called him elder brother, the man felt comfortable and relaxed his attitude: “My surname is Chen. Everyone calls me Brother Chen, and you can also call me like that. What’s your name?”

“Xie Mingzhe, you could call me… Xiao Xie.” Actually, Xie Mingzhe’s nickname was “Azhe”, which his close friends called him this way in the past. Just meeting Brother Chen, Xie Mingzhe thought it was better to let Brother Chen call him Xiao Xie, rather than Azhe.

“Xiao Xie, you could register an account first and then experience the game by yourself. This game is not complicated. You could know how to play in a few hours.” Brother Chen said, “If you have been familiar with the rules before 9 p.m., come to me.”

Xie Mingzhe answered him with a sound “ooh” and then carefully put on his helmet.

After wearing the helmet, the world in front of his eyes changed quickly. A few lines of characters floated in the air and it was a login screen for different games –  it seemed that this helmet could connect most holographic games. Star Card Storm ranked first, which was enough to show its status and popularity in the game world.

Xie Mingzhe clicked on Star Card Storm with hands.

The system sound rang with a crisp voice that sounded like a seven-year-old boy: “Welcome to the magic star card world! It is your first time to log in to the game, please create your account and bind your identity number”

Xie Mingzhe followed the instruction and created his own account quickly.

System sound: “Please type your role name and create your image in the star card world.”

His real image was immediately imported into the game screen as if it were as realistic as the image reflected in a mirror. Xie Mingzhe looked at the “virtual” himself that made him marvel at the advanced technology of today’s era.

He certainly would not play online games in his real image. If so, wouldn’t it be very embarrassed to meet the acquaintance in the future?

Xie Mingzhe thought it over for a moment and then decided to make some changes to the role’s appearance – 10 centimeters shorter and 30 pounds fatter than his real image, then add beards – all right, a chubby uncle with a kind smile.

As for the game ID, in order to make himself amiable, Xie Mingzhe named the role casually – Uncle Chubby.

At that moment, he didn’t expect that this name would set off such huge waves in star card world.