Apocalypse: Everyone Levels Up, I Return to the Time Before the Server Opened - Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Sorry, But We’re Really Not Short on Gold!

“Qingyue!” Zhao Mingyuan’s eyes lit up when he saw Ning Qingyue, and he quickly walked over.

Beside him, Zhao Hanyan curled her lips and followed along.

As soon as they got close — before her older brother Zhao Mingyuan could speak — Zhao Hanyan giggled and said, “Oh? When did you two get to Zhouxing City? I thought you didn’t even have enough gold coins to pay for the teleportation array!”

Ning Qingyue snorted, “Sorry, we lack everything but gold. You two set out a whole day earlier, how come you haven’t changed classes yet? Seems to me the ones short on gold are actually you!”

Whenever these two met, they always argued first.

Whether it was Zhao Mingyuan or Ning Qianjun, they were both already used to it.

“Pfft, liar!” Zhao Hanyan didn’t believe it at all and sarcastically said, “Do you even know how much class transfer costs? Still claiming you’re not short on gold?”

“How much does it cost?” this time it was Ning Qianjun who asked.

When he and his sister had arrived in the city earlier, they were already shocked by the 100,000 gold coin entry fee.

So they had just rented a place to stay.

To their surprise, because of their identity as outsiders, even the rent was outrageously high!

Just a basic room for one day cost 100 gold coins. It felt like daylight robbery!

Because of this, the Ning siblings were now extremely sensitive whenever costs were mentioned.

They also recalled something the mysterious NPC had warned them about before teleporting: In big cities, strength wasn’t what mattered most.

What mattered most was money!

Without money, you couldn’t even take a step forward!

“It costs 500,000 gold coins!” Cheng Bankun answered eagerly, and added proudly, “I’ve already paid it!”

“What?! That much?!” Ning Qianjun’s eyes widened in shock.

Ning Qingyue was also stunned.

The entry fee alone had been outrageous, but the class change fee was even worse!

No wonder they kept hearing about players causing trouble on the way here.

So this was the reason!

Seeing the siblings’ shocked expressions, Zhao Hanyan finally looked satisfied.

She had arrived at Zhouxing City a day earlier and reunited with her brother Zhao Mingyuan.

When she herself had faced the 100,000 entry fee and learned about the 500,000 class change cost, her reaction was just like theirs!

Even though the Zhao family wasn’t short on money, gathering 500,000 gold coins early in the game was still incredibly difficult.

Now that wealthy players were flooding the market to buy coins, the exchange rate had already shifted several times.

From 1:1 just a few days ago to now 10:1. Ten RMB to get one gold coin!

So 500,000 gold coins now meant 5 million RMB.

Even powerful families like theirs wouldn’t just casually spend that much on in-game currency.

Of course, there were exceptions like Cheng Bankun, whose family was involved in the gaming industry and had started investing early.

That’s how he managed to come up with the transfer fee.

“So? Not talking big anymore? Still not short on gold?” Zhao Hanyan laughed smugly.

Off to the side, Zhao Mingyuan looked warmly at Ning Qingyue and said, “Qingyue, I have over 400,000 gold coins on hand. I can lend them to you so you can change class. If that’s not enough, my sister still has over 100,000, so together it’s just enough…”

“Big Brother!” Zhao Hanyan interrupted angrily. “Didn’t we agree you’d change class first? Now you’re giving the money away?!”

She was exasperated. She’d just gained the upper hand, now her brother was bending over backward to flatter the other side!

Didn’t he care about saving face?!

“Yan’er, your sister Qingyue isn’t an outsider,” Zhao Mingyuan said helplessly.

“Whether she’s an outsider or not, let’s wait until she actually marries into our Zhao family!” Zhao Hanyan snorted.

Sure, she often called Ning Qingyue “sister-in-law” in jest, but she never seriously wanted her to marry into their family.

The two had been rivals since childhood, always at odds.

There was no way she’d accept something like that.

In truth, she knew Ning Qingyue didn’t want to marry her brother either, nor did she want anything to do with the Zhao family.

But her brother Zhao Mingyuan had apparently made up his mind and was constantly groveling.

It drove Zhao Hanyan mad!

“Don’t worry,” Ning Qingyue said coldly, “I won’t take a single thing from your Zhao family.”

She didn’t even glance at Zhao Mingyuan.

She was afraid she might feel sick just looking at him!

A womanizer, always chasing girls and changing companions and, worse yet, now infected with STDs?!

And they expected her to marry someone like that?

She’d rather die!

Yes, she might have been born into a noble family, unable to choose her fate or marriage.

But she could control her own life and death!

“Big Brother! Did you hear that? She said it herself. She doesn’t want it! So don’t go forcing it on her! If you’re not going to use that money, I will!” Zhao Hanyan chimed in quickly.

You still have a sister, remember?! Stop always siding with outsiders!

Zhao Mingyuan ignored her and kept looking at Ning Qingyue.

With the same calm expression, he said, “Yan’er said you two reached Level 10 a while ago but were delayed because you were waiting for an NPC? Is that true?”

“What’s it to you?” Ning Qingyue frowned and glanced at him coldly.

Zhao Mingyuan chuckled, “No offense. Just wanted to remind you: the NPCs in this game are strange. They lie, threaten, and even kill players. They’re not like NPCs in other games. So be careful and keep your distance.”

This time, Ning Qingyue stayed silent.

Instead, Ning Qianjun spoke up, “We trust our own judgment. No need for your concern. Maybe you ran into a shady NPC, but the one we met was a great person. If you don’t believe me, ask your sister. She stole him from us and even got some good rewards!”

With that, he glanced at Zhao Hanyan.

She froze.

Why was he dragging her into this?

Zhao Mingyuan also looked at her, so Zhao Hanyan had no choice but to admit,

“That cloaked guy really was pretty nice. Not like other NPCs who make a big fuss about being recruited. And he was generous too. He gave me a potion that permanently increased 50 attack and 50 defense!”

As she said this, she couldn’t hide the pride on her face.

Around them, many players gasped in surprise, then envy and jealousy followed.

“Damn! Why didn’t we have NPCs like that in our Novice Village?!”

“Same here!”

“A potion that increases permanent stats? That’s worth more than some epic gear!”

“Damn, these rich folks have money and luck!”

Amidst the chatter, nobody noticed that the influencer who had clashed with Cheng Bankun earlier, along with his group, had quietly slipped away from the area.

No one cared, except Cheng Bankun, who messaged someone privately to track the guy down in real life and teach him a lesson.

He couldn’t stand it. He’d never been slapped in public before, even in a game!

He was furious and wanted revenge!

“Oh, right!” Suddenly, Ning Qingyue remembered something and turned to Zhao Hanyan.

Now she was the one wearing a smug, boastful smile.

“You just asked me if I was still talking big, if I still had gold?” she said. “Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I really do have 500,000 gold coins.”

With that, she opened her inventory.

Clear as day: [Gold Coins: 501,366]

They’d already had tens of thousands of coins.

They’d purchased more later.

After spending 100,000 to enter the city, they still had over 500,000 left!

“Wha— What…?” Zhao Hanyan had been proudly bragging about her potion, but when she saw the amount of gold in Ning Qingyue’s bag, she froze.

Even Zhao Mingyuan’s expression changed slightly, eyes filled with thought.

All around them, the players who had been watching gasped and rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

But it was real: over 500,000 gold coins!

Zhao Hanyan was the first to recover.

She said with forced disdain, “What’s there to show off? My brother and I together have about that much too!”

She said it, but inside, she was uneasy.

She’d been tracking the siblings’ gold-buying offers and knew they paid less than she and her brother did.

So how had they managed to gather enough?

But Ning Qingyue kept smiling and replied, “Sorry again, but the 500,000 gold coins in my bag? That’s just mine alone.”

Ning Qianjun then nodded and showed his own inventory.

[Gold Coins: 507,139]

Silence.

The entire crowd went quiet.