Chapter 63

Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW

Chapter 63: Saving a Collapsing Reality

Maintaining the posture of sitting at his computer desk, Luo Ji looked at the familiar yet strange room before him, feeling an inexplicable sense of being in another world.

At the same time, the change in temperature made him noticeably uncomfortable.

His consciousness was still lingering in a world of ice and snow, but the current space he was in had a temperature above 35°C.

This awkward and subtle sensation made him feel quite unwell.

He looked back and saw that his old fan in his room was still working with a ‘whirring’ sound.

This was truly an antique, the fan had been there since Luo Ji could remember.

According to his parents, this fan was older than him.

After so many years, it stubbornly refused to break down, constantly working.

It had long been out of production in the market, its quality was truly impeccable.

In comparison, the computer in front of him had probably been off for a while.

After pressing the power button on the host, Luo Ji breathed a slight sigh of relief seeing the computer start normally.

After all, he wasn’t living a wealthy life, and if the computer broke, it would mean another expense.

At the same time, considering the lifespan of the old fan, Luo Ji didn’t care about the stuffiness in the room and quickly turned it off.

As part of this home, after so many years, to be honest, he truly had feelings for this fan.

“Phone, phone…”

His gaze swept around the room.

His phone had been plugged in and charging by the bed, and it was still on.

He lit up the screen, and eleven missed calls were displayed, clearly all from the university. Luo Ji didn’t choose to call back immediately.

It was 3 AM, and because he had hesitated a bit when choosing the exit mode, due to the time difference, it was this late in the real world.

Calling back now would only accelerate the collapse of his real life, so he could only wait until tomorrow.

Incidentally, he ultimately chose the 1:10 time flow rate.

The time-stop option, while safe, was also very expensive.

Mirror Lake only provided 100 civilization points a day, right?

And pausing time for a day actually cost 1,000 points!

Although it was half-price during the novice period, and he had other sources of civilization points, he still definitely couldn’t afford it.

At the same time, after a bit of thought, Luo Ji clearly realized that the main function of the time-stop option was evidently to prevent invasions from other players.

After all, once time stopped, it was as if you were completely offline.

Other players naturally couldn’t invade a player who wasn’t online.

Simply put, you could pay a greater cost to avoid the risk of being invaded by other players, but considering this cost, it was clearly not a long-term solution.

Conversely, going offline while time continued to flow was actually a semi-online mode.

In their gaming circle, it was called ‘AFK.’

Your game character would be idling, and the game would continue running.

Although you might not actually be playing the game but doing other things, other players could still invade you.

These were the differences between the two modes.

However, under this premise, Luo Ji actually had another advantage, he was a newcomer!

He had a 6-month newcomer protection period in the other world, during which other players couldn’t invade him.

So, for him right now, the time-stop mode wasn’t particularly necessary.

Of course, considering that the tribal civilization’s development was not yet complete in all aspects, letting time flow too quickly would also be courting disaster.

If a plague or some other calamity suddenly broke out within the tribe, it would definitely cause his newly developed tribal civilization to instantly collapse.

Facts proved that Gao Su’s 1:10 time flow rate recommendation was currently the most stable.

He collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.

Although he hadn’t slept in a bed for a long time, Luo Ji, who had forgotten to turn on the fan after turning it off last night, was woken up by the heat early in the morning.

It was already late summer, why wasn’t this hellish temperature dropping at all?

He didn’t continue to lie in bed.

It was too hot, and he couldn’t sleep at all.

Even lying still would make him sweat profusely.

Dragging his heavy body, he went to the bathroom for a refreshing cold shower.

He finally felt a bit more awake.

He vigorously patted his cheeks.

Next, he had to salvage his collapsing real life!

He pulled out his phone and quickly dialed a number.

“Hello, Teacher Zhang?”

After the call connected, he was lectured, as expected.

However, after much persuasion, he finally managed to smooth things over, and his guaranteed admission slot was saved.

But the lost scholarship still gave him a pang of stomach pain.

Hanging up the phone, a relieved Luo Ji slumped onto the old sofa at home.

Next, all he had to do was go to the university to complete the enrollment procedures, and his almost collapsing real life could be successfully saved, at the cost of his scholarship.

As he was thinking this, his phone’s chat app suddenly rang.

Luo Ji subconsciously glanced at it, and saw it was Gao Su…

“Let’s meet in person in the real world.”

“There are some things we need to discuss face-to-face.”

“Reply to me as soon as you see this message.”

Luo Ji didn’t think much of this message.

After all, they now shared an additional identity.

Even if they were just regular online friends, having played games together for so long and sharing common interests, Luo Ji didn’t mind meeting up.

Thinking of this, he immediately replied.

“I’m in Z-City, where are you?”

“I know. Should you pick the meeting place or should I? You probably have to go to Z-University later, right?”

Gao Su replied immediately after receiving his message, causing Luo Ji’s brows to slightly furrow.

“He actually knows I’m a Z-University student? I’m pretty sure I never said I was admitted to Z-University…”

Harboring his doubts, Luo Ji directly asked.

“How do you know I’m from Z-University? I’m sure I didn’t say it.”

“We’ll discuss this in person later. If you’re uncomfortable, you can choose the time and place, but you should pick a convenient spot for a conversation.”

Gao Su’s reply was as fast as ever.

Luo Ji’s brows relaxed slightly.

After a moment’s thought, he finally replied.

“Alright, then. Today at 12:30 PM, the coffee shop diagonally across from Z-University. Any issues?”

“None. My mobile number is…”

In his reply, Gao Su directly sent a string of mobile numbers, indicating Luo Ji should save it.

“Just call me when you arrive.”

“Ok, see you then.”

After promptly saving the number to his phone’s contacts, the conversation ended.

Luo Ji exited the phone’s chat app.

As Gao Su said, he still had to make a trip to Z-University.