Mr. Know-It-All looked at the other person's murderous gaze and was already starting to regret it. He glanced at Eric Ford, who was also looking at him. Mr. Know-It-All jerked his chin toward him, meaning: "It was your idea, you go up and explain!"

Eric Ford steadied himself, mentally rehearsed what he was about to say, took a step forward, put on an honest and trustworthy expression, and opened his mouth, ready to speak.

Before he could say anything, the person at the front of the group across from them snarled viciously, "Damn it, where did the people go?!"

Eric Ford's open mouth closed again. He turned to look at Mr. Know-It-All, who was also looking back at Eric Ford in confusion.

Eric Ford thought for a moment and immediately understood what was going on. He held back a laugh and stepped forward to ask, "Are you looking for someone?"

The people across immediately started talking all at once: "Yeah, we're looking for two people. Did you see them or not?"

A flurry of discussion followed.

"Hey, I saw them go into the crowd, how did they just disappear?"

"Damn, they must be hiding!"

"That's a completely useless comment."

"The people are gone, and so is the treasure!"

...

As they spoke, the crowd dispersed. Some shook their heads and sighed, some were indignant, and some, still unwilling to give up, plunged into the crowd, hoping to spot some clue among the sea of identical faces.

Mr. Know-It-All walked forward, looking at Eric Ford, his left eye full of puzzlement, his right eye brimming with confusion.

Eric Ford said, "They're just like you were a moment ago—they can't recognize the two of us!"

Mr. Know-It-All's left eye switched to realization, while his right eye reflected relief.

"Alright, what are we still doing here? Let's go!" Eric Ford tugged at Mr. Know-It-All, who seemed a bit reluctant to leave with the others.

"Go? Go where?"

"Yeah, where to? There's nowhere to go!"

"Let's go sit in that teahouse!" Mr. Know-It-All pointed to a teahouse nearby.

"Only if you're buying!"

"It's not much money, fine, I'll buy!"

The two of them entered the teahouse and went up to the second floor.

"Hey kid, bring us a pot of tea!" Mr. Know-It-All called out.

"Acting like it's the real thing!" Eric Ford chuckled to himself.

The tea was brought over, and Mr. Know-It-All poured a cup for each of them, downing his own in one gulp.

"This... this is actually drinkable!" Eric Ford stared in shock.

"Of course, didn't I just drink it?"

"The information age, the simulation age!" Eric Ford sighed, taking a sip. He really couldn't tell any difference—it was just like drinking real water.

"Clearly you've never played online games. Which one isn't like this nowadays?"

"Really? Looks like I'm a bit behind the times!"

"Exactly! Now these games are so realistic, and more and more people are playing. It's like living in two completely different eras—it's like living two lives!" Mr. Know-It-All, now rested, started chatting away again.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"I saw you running pretty fast just now. What level are you, and why are you still wearing those clothes?"

"Level ten!"

"Level ten? Running that fast at level ten—you must have put about half your points into agility, right?"

"As expected of Mr. Know-It-All, you saw right through me!"

"Heh, most people don't put points into agility at the start. They put them into strength to boost attack and make fighting faster."

"Oh, I just noticed your agility is about the same as mine. What level are you?"

"I'm level 28. My agility is about the same as yours, but if I use my lightness skill, I can easily leave you in the dust!"

"What lightness skill do you have?"

"I'm from the Tianshan Sect. My lightness skill is 'Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada.' Ever heard of it? Bet you haven't!"

"You're right, I haven't. Is your lightness skill really that good? How does it compare to Wudang's 'Cloud Ladder Leap'?"

"So you know about 'Cloud Ladder Leap,' huh? Heh, 'Cloud Ladder Leap' isn't as good as mine in a straight line, but when it comes to vertical movement, I can't beat it!"

"What do you mean, straight line and vertical?"

"Straight line means running on the ground, vertical is basically jumping high!"

"Oh, then 'Cloud Ladder Leap' is cooler!"

"That's just personal preference. My 'Eight Steps to Catch the Cicada' can jump too, just not as high as 'Cloud Ladder Leap'!"

"Oh..."

"Have you joined a sect yet?"

"Not yet. I wanted to join Wudang, but I don't have the money!"

"You've trained to level ten and got nothing? Oh, I get it—you've been fighting animals, right? Animals don't drop equipment or money!"

"Ah, there's a setting like that? Then where can I fight to get equipment and money?"

"Around here, if you go out the north gate, there's a road to Black Mountain Stronghold with bandits. Your level is just right for training there!"

"Oh, I'll go check it out later!"

"Check what out? You should browse the web more and learn about the game!"

"Oh, right, about that hidden quest you mentioned—what's the deal with that?"

"Oh, that. The homepage says someone completed a hidden quest this afternoon—the first in the whole game to do it."

"Didn't the homepage say what the hidden quest was about?"