Preparation

The next day.

Fang Yuan sat behind the counter and with his hand on his chin, he watched Luo Li, who was busy cleaning the various antiques in the shop.

However, although he seemed to be staring at her, Fang Yuan wasn't paying attention to what she was doing.

From time to time, he would adjust his body in his chair and his eyes would wander around the shop.

Even though Luo Li was busy, she noticed Fang Yuan's restlessness and became a little surprised.

She had known Fang Yuan for many years and usually, he would remain calm and unhurried, seemingly indifferent to what was happening around him.

But today, he appeared to be quite distracted, as if he was waiting for something.

This inevitably made her curious, but she didn't voice her doubts.

Time slowly went by and every few minutes, Fang Yuan would glance at the door and fidget in his chair.

"Ding, ding, ding!"

Suddenly, the bell above the door rang, as the door was pushed open and a young man entered the shop.

This man was a little fat, with chubby cheeks and arms, and he was wearing loose colorful satin clothes.

There was a frivolous smile on his face and from the eye-bags under his eyes, it was clear that he hadn't slept all night.

Seeing this man, Fang Yuan almost jumped out of his seat, but in the end, he managed to control himself.

"Brother Fang, I've gotten what you asked me for.", Cao Yang said with a smile and slowly approached the counter.

When he passed by Luo Li, he nodded his head in greeting, and he received a polite smile in return.

Luo Li's smile seemed to have made Cao Yang happy, as his steps became a little faster.

Soon, he reached the counter, pulled up a chair from the side, and sat down.

"Brother Fang, you have no idea how much time and money I spent on this thing.", Cao Yang complained and took a deep breath, while wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"Don't worry, don't worry. Are a few silver coins as important as our friendship", Fang Yuan rolled his eyes.

"Hahaha, that's true.", Cao Yang let out a laugh, and following his words, he reached behind and pulled a box that was tied to his back.

This box was about half a meter in width and two meters in length and was made out of oak wood.

As soon as Cao Yang placed it on the counter, the smell of wood hit Fang Yuan's nose and made him a little distracted.

However, Fang Yuan soon recovered, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

Without asking for Cao Yang's opinion, he pulled the box closer, and with a move of his hand, he lifted its cover.

As the box's cover was removed, two objects were revealed inside.

One of these items was a long sword with beautiful engravings on its hilt and there was its accompanying leather sheath laying beside it.

The edges of the silver sword were razor-sharp and seemed capable of slicing through anything that blocked its path.

Sitting on the side, Cao Yang commented:

"This is the only weapon I found that met your requirements."

"According to my father, he received this sword as a gift from a very famous blacksmith."

"When I wanted to take it, he almost beat me to death. If I hadn't sworn that it was a gift for you, he wouldn't have let me take it."

Saying this, Cao Yang felt a little embarrassed.

He couldn't help but wonder why his father favored Fang Yuan so much.

Is it possible that Fang Yuan is his father's illegitimate child?

"What's up with your eyes?"

Fang Yuan couldn't possibly know what Cao Yang was thinking, but he noticed that the way he was looking at him had become a little strange.

"No, nothing!", Cao Yang quickly shook his head and he would of course not be stupid enough to say his theory out loud.

Seeing that he was unwilling to speak, Fang Yuan didn't continue pressing him any further.

"Please thank Uncle Cao for me. I'll visit him whenever I have some free time."

Cao Yang immediately nodded his head: "Don't worry, I'll be sure to tell him."

Uncle Cao, the father of Cao Yang, was a businessman and one of the most famous and wealthy people in the town.

According to what Fang Yuan knew, Uncle Cao not only did business in Oak Town but had also expanded his "business empire" to the surrounding towns and cities.

Uncle Cao and his parents used to be close friends, however, since his parents had gone missing, Fang Yuan had only met him a few times.

Thinking of his parents, Fang Yuan shook his head and turned his attention back to the silver sword inside the wooden box.

He reached out, picked it up, and then waved it around casually.

The sword felt light and was quite handy in his right hand.

Fang Yuan found that although he hadn't exercised much, he could wield this sword easily.

After Fang Yuan played with it for a few more minutes, he placed it inside the box and then put the box's cover back.

Just as he was about to move the box to the back of the shop, he noticed that Cao Yang was still sitting across from him and was looking at him with eager eyes.

"What's up?", he couldn't help but ask and the eagerness in Cao Yang's eyes made him a little scared.

However, Cao Yang didn't seem to notice this.

"Brother Fang, there's going to be another mysterious gathering this weekend. Are you coming?", he hurriedly asked.

Fang Yuan was about to shake his head and refuse, but his actions suddenly stopped.

If it was before, he would have immediately refused this invitation, but now, he had changed his mind.

Despite what its name would suggest, the "mysterious gathering" that Cao Yang talked about wasn't a secret society that pulled the strings behind Oak Town, but a gathering of a group of young people with high status.

It's just that all these people happened to share a common hobby: they believed in the existence of supernatural powers and were constantly seeking to find them.

The mysterious gathering they organized was essentially a place for these people to communicate and share news.

Fang Yuan had participated in a few of these gatherings when he was younger, but as he gradually grew older, he felt that it was all nonsense and a complete waste of time.

On the other hand, Cao Yang was very dedicated and had been attending the biweekly gatherings faithfully.

"Is it this weekend? Okay, you can come over and we'll go together."

In the end, Fang Yuan decided to agree to Cao Yang's invitation.

Now that he had learned about the existence of Evil Spirits, Martial Artists, and Spiritualists, he started to wonder whether there was something deeper going on behind this "mysterious gathering".

Cao Yang was expecting that he would refuse and was already prepared to persuade him further when he heard Fang Yuan's words.

Instantly, he couldn't help but become excited and a smile appeared on his fat face.

"Okay, Brother Fang, you've finally woken up!", he said and clapped his hands.

As if he was afraid that Fang Yuan would change his mind, Cao Yang only exchanged a few more words, before jumping out of his chair and rushing out of the antique shop.

Shaking his head, Fang Yuan let out a chuckle and looked at the box containing the silver sword and its sheath.

He understood that all his preparations had finally been completed and became even more confident in completing the mission in the simulation.

He had the urge to conduct the simulation immediately, but seeing that Luo Li was still here and a customer may arrive at any time, he decided to wait first.

----

Time passed quickly and in the blink of an eye, night had fallen.

After sending Luo Li away, Fang Yuan locked the shop's door, and with quick steps, he walked back to his house.

Taking his seat, Fang Yuan took a deep breath to calm down, and then, he examined the three items that lay in front of him.

One of them was the now-sheathed silver sword that he had previously asked Cao Yang for, while there was also a wooden torch and his reliable ever-burning oil lamp.

Fang Yuan wasn't planning to bring any other item into the simulation, or to be more accurate, he couldn't afford to bring more items.

With a move of his mind, he brought up the system panel and then, he "clicked" on the [Beggar] simulation.

The familiar ominous red words flashed in his field of vision, letting him know which items he could bring into the simulation.

[Current Options:]

[Option 1: A Rusty Sword(2 Origin Points)]

[Option 2: A Small Dagger(2 Origin Points)]

[...]

[Option 11: A Silver Sword & Its Sheath(4 Origin Points)]

[Option 12: A Torch(2 Origin Points)]

[Option 13: An Oil Lamp(2 Origin Points)]

Fang Yuan only took a brief look at the long list, before choosing options 11, 12 and 13.

The moment he made his decision, he was pulled into the simulation.