Exit VirtuLink

"The street to the northwest of the town," Sprite Tina still wasn't quite used to Ethan Brooks' extremely straightforward style of getting straight to the point and said somewhat dejectedly. As she spoke, she directly transmitted a map into Ethan Brooks' consciousness.

Ethan Brooks walked briskly in that direction and soon found the Card Repair Shop. It was a three-story building, but the shop's sign, which featured a muscular man striking a pose, didn't seem to indicate that it was a card repair shop at all.

With some doubt, Ethan Brooks entered the shop, and the interior facilities truly surprised him.

The floor was made of oak wood, and the walls of the room were lined with mirrors. The room was filled with dumbbells, barbells, treadmills, chest expanders, and boxing sandbags. Many people dressed in workout clothes were exercising inside. Ethan Brooks couldn't see any difference between this place and a gym on Earth.

"Welcome to Kaka and Lulu's shop. How can we assist you?" As Ethan Brooks was observing the facilities inside the shop, a cheerful and energetic voice sounded behind him.

Ethan Brooks turned around and saw a man with a buzz cut, a bronze complexion, an extremely well-built physique, and a kind smile. The man was smiling at him and said, "I'm one of the owners of this shop, Lulu. Are you here to get a fitness card or do you have other business?"

Ethan Brooks looked at the man and couldn't help but think that he seemed more like a fitness coach, but he still stated his purpose: "Mr. Lulu, I've happened to acquire some ability-enhancing cards. Can they be used here?"

"Oh, so you're an adventurer. Please follow me upstairs," Mr. Lulu said after hearing Ethan Brooks' intention and led him upstairs.

On the second floor, Ethan Brooks saw the facilities there: some beds, some spherical devices like those used for pilot training, and other equipment.

"These are the card repair machines," Mr. Lulu said, pointing at the facilities.

"You insert the card you want to practice with into the card slot of the machine, and you can use the card repairer. The card repairer will create a virtual environment where you can practice the content on the card. It can also deepen the memory of practice and has an induction simulation function to increase the success rate of use. It can also eliminate errors and make your learning more precise," Mr. Lulu explained.

"What about the cost?" Ethan Brooks asked.

"Eighty thousand Euka per learning card."

Ethan Brooks wasn't short of money and immediately used the VirtuLink Treasure Book to withdraw eight hundred and eighty thousand Euka for the owner: "Eleven cards."

He then led Ethan Brooks to a machine that looked like an empty space capsule and said, "This is the most advanced card repairer. You can get ready to go in. The time ratio of this card repairer to real time is eight to one, which means one hour in reality is eight hours inside. You can set the cards you want to practice in the card slots in order."

Ethan Brooks glanced at the card slots next to the machine. There were twelve slots for placing cards, and next to them was a computer-like setting.

Ethan Brooks nodded. The store owner, Mr. Lulu, taught Ethan Brooks how to use the machine. Ethan Brooks communicated telepathically with Sprite Tina and asked, "Tina, how should I arrange the order of practice?"

Tina's voice came through: "Ethan, based on my calculations, the best order for practicing the cards is Basic Meditation, Basic Footwork, Basic Body Movement, Basic Physical Techniques, Basic Combat, Combat Specialization, Flowing Cloud Force, Skeleton Strike, Basic Weapon Application, Gun Specialization, and Air-Piercing Gun Technique. This will optimize the learning effect and save time."

Ethan Brooks nodded, summoned the VirtuLink Treasure Book, and placed the cards on the card repairer in that order.

"Hehe, it looks like you're ready. Then change your clothes and get into the card repairer to start practicing," Store Owner Lulu said to Ethan Brooks.

Following the store owner's instructions, Ethan Brooks changed into a set of clothes, sat in the space capsule-like machine, and put a mask over his face.

"Well, let's get started!" the store owner said, and with that, he activated the machine. Some liquid flowed into the space capsule-like card repairer, and Ethan Brooks felt as if he was melting into the liquid inside the capsule. He soon dozed off... "Ethan, Ethan, wake up," Tina's voice sounded in Ethan Brooks' ear.

Ethan Brooks slowly opened his eyes and found himself in an empty space, surrounded by a vast expanse of white with no end in sight, except for a room behind him.

"The House of Spirit and Time?" Ethan Brooks muttered quietly. This room looked too much like that one.

"What are you thinking? This room is the virtual practice space created by the card repairer," Sprite Tina tapped Ethan Brooks on the head.

"Ouch!" Ethan Brooks jumped up at once. "Tina, how did you get in here?"

Sprite Tina fluttered in the air and said, "High-level VirtuLink sprites have the ability to connect with most electronic products. I was afraid you wouldn't know how to use the card repairer, so I came in too."

"It's good that you're here. Teach me how to use this card repairer," Ethan Brooks said to Tina.

"Sure, press the gem on the bracelet and think about..."

...

Eleven hours later, most of the customers in Mr. Lulu's shop had already gone home to sleep. Mr. Lulu was on the second floor, deeply engrossed in a novel in his hand.

"Gurgle gurgle~~" Suddenly, the space capsule where Ethan Brooks was located began to emit the sound of bubbles bursting.

Mr. Lulu quickly walked over to the space capsule, pressed a few buttons, and the liquid inside the capsule slowly receded. Then the hatch opened, and the owner looked inside.

"Hey! Are you okay?" the owner asked Ethan Brooks.

Ethan Brooks reached out, grabbed the edge of the capsule's hatch, and with a sudden leap, he nimbly jumped out of the hatch like a cat!!!

Ethan Brooks landed on the ground, first performing a backflip, then executing several incredible moves that even a yoga master would find hard to replicate. Then he stood there, trembling uncontrollably.

Suddenly, Ethan Brooks burst into wild laughter: "Hahaha! Is this the feeling of power? Can I take revenge now?"

He sprinted towards the wall on one side of the second floor and ran straight up it. After running vertically for three or four meters, he somersaulted in mid-air, followed by five or six backflips, and then landed on the ground.

"This level of agility is beyond even a world champion gymnast. A basic physical technique card is this powerful!" Ethan Brooks had stopped laughing and regained his usual composure.

Inside the card repairer, Ethan Brooks had gone through the content of the eleven cards. The so-called "learning" involved Ethan Brooks feeling an inexplicable urge while studying a card, as if his body was driving him to perform certain movements. In front of him, a shadow demonstrated the actions for him.

Ethan Brooks followed those movements. If the similarity exceeded 90%, it was considered a successful action.

After completing each set of movements three thousand times, an assessment program would appear.

For example, the basic footwork assessment involved a confined space where Ethan Brooks had to move according to the footwork to avoid some lethal attacks.

The same applied to gun techniques and combat skills, except that a virtual opponent would fight with Ethan Brooks, and he had to use the skills he had learned to defeat them.

In reality, it would be impossible for Ethan Brooks to master these skills in just eight hours, but inside the card repairer, whenever he wanted to use these techniques, he would feel an urge to act. As long as he followed through, he could naturally use those skills. After using them once, his body would record the movements like riding a bicycle, becoming more proficient.

Moreover, Ethan Brooks never felt tired inside the card repairer.

This was the function of the advanced card repairer.

Thus, the eight hours of practice for each card yielded the results of twenty or even thirty years of real-world training.

If martial artists in the real world knew about Ethan Brooks' training speed, they would probably be envious to the point of jealousy.

After changing his clothes, Ethan Brooks left the card repair shop.

By this time, it was already the middle of the night.

Ethan Brooks found a hotel through the map, paid the room fee, and checked in.

"Tina, I'm in trouble. I accidentally spent over thirteen hours in the game. If I go out now, I might run into my roommates. What should I do?" Ethan Brooks, now equipped with a set of skills, wanted to return to the real world but was unsure if he would encounter his roommates and how to explain the situation.

"Don't worry, Ethan. I just calculated that the time ratio between the VirtuLink game and the real world is thirty to one. Less than an hour has passed in the real world. You can relax," Sprite Tina said to Ethan Brooks.

Ethan Brooks felt a weight lift off his mind and then asked, "So if I don't log into the game for a month in the real world, does that mean over two years will have passed in the game?"

"No, Ethan. I've already scanned through the VirtuLink terminal. You are in the original dimension, and you are the only person using the VirtuLink terminal. Therefore, no matter how much time passes in the real world, when you re-enter the game, it will always be within three minutes after your last exit. But remember, this is a privilege for the sole user within a dimension. If more than one person in this dimension uses it, the time flow will become one to thirty," Tina said to Ethan Brooks.

Ethan Brooks thought for a moment. He didn't understand the principle behind it, but he grasped what Tina was saying.

"Alright, I'm going to log out now," Ethan Brooks said.

"By the way, Ethan, as the owner of the Glory Noble Collector's Edition terminal, you have the right to bring three items into the real world for every month you spend in the game. Would you like to use this feature?" Sprite Tina said to Ethan Brooks.

Ethan Brooks replied, "Of course. What do I need to do to bring the items out?"

"Use the exit card. When you use the exit card, three storage spaces will appear. You can choose whether to place the treasures inside and bring them back to the real world. If the items brought back to the real world are carried on your person or stored in the VirtuLink the next time you enter the game world, they will still be effective in the game world, and bringing them out again will not consume storage space," Sprite Tina explained to Ethan Brooks.

Ethan Brooks immediately summoned the VirtuLink Treasure Book and flipped to the page with the exit card.

"Exit card, activate," Ethan Brooks said, pressing his finger on the exit card. A few seconds later, with a "bang," three boxes appeared in front of Ethan Brooks.

"Ethan, these three boxes are dimensional boxes. You can place any treasure inside them, but only one item per box," Tina said to Ethan Brooks.

Ethan Brooks thought for a moment, then took off the Precision Ring he was wearing, opened one of the boxes, and saw a bright white light emanating from inside. He placed the Precision Ring into the box and closed the lid.

"I'm ready. Will my skills and abilities be brought out as well?" Ethan Brooks asked, suddenly feeling a bit uneasy.

"Don't worry, Ethan. Martial arts skills can be brought into reality without any special items," Sprite Tina reassured him.

"Alright, let's log out!" Ethan Brooks shouted.

"Okay, place your finger on the bracelet and think about exiting VirtuLink," Tina instructed.

Ethan Brooks followed Tina's instructions, and the exit card gradually turned silvery white.

"Wait for three minutes. After three minutes, you will be back in the real world," Sprite Tina said to Ethan Brooks.

Ethan Brooks nodded and waited with relief.

When the three minutes were up, a silvery white magical circle appeared beneath Ethan Brooks' feet. He gradually became blurry within the circle, and finally, his entire body turned into a stream of silvery white light and disappeared from the hotel room!