Beloved Little Treasure - Chapter 39 – 40

10 years ago, after “the Gate” that connected the real world with the monster world opened, some of the ordinary, everyday people received the power to hunt monsters within the Gate. They are known as “Hunters”.

Fang Heng was transmigrated to a parallel world and his soul was forced into the body of a man who had just committed suicide.Huh? What? Every human here was being forced to join a game? Those who refused would be killed?Wait? This suicide dude was a pro gamer?He had the highest S-rank talent sill, the Zombie Clone?Damn! The S-rank skill evolved! My zombie clones could auto hunt![Your zombie army has crafted Wooden Axe x720 when you were offline. You have received 1921 experience points for the Basic Crafting skill.][Your zombie army has chopped down 27,821 trees and gathered 128,973 pieces of wood while you were offline. You have received 2,171,921 experience points for the Basic Wood Chopping skill.]Just as the rest of the players were struggling to survive in the zombie apocalyptic game, Fang Heng's zombie clones were starting to clear every resource out of the forest.Hm... What an interesting game!

I am currently re-writing the first chapters of this story. They are quite rough and bounce around a lot and I can do better. At some point, I will replace these with the better chapters.Sometime in 2024 Aethon Books will publish the first volume of this story on Amazon, KU, and audible. This will mean the story will be stubbed. I will notify people far in advance of that.In the dystopian world of the future, life is rough when you live at the bottom. Jobs are non-existent. Far too many people live in poverty, crammed into huge buildings called Habitats. With no jobs in the real world, many people can only find work online in VR worlds as servants to the very rich. And it's getting worse. The old internet is unusable and hacked to pieces. The new system needs AI to run things, but all but one of them were destroyed. The last sentient AI is ordered to create a new game world so the rich can have a playground, and the corporations that rule the world can have a new global market place. Everyone wants a piece of the new game. The guilds are competing to be the first to find the dungeons and kill the biggest monster. The corporations are claiming land and putting in their online market places. Ozzy and his friends just want a paycheck.Four friends sign five year contracts as virtual serfs in a small village, and can't go adventuring at all to gain money. They don't have many choices. They can work as a blacksmith, barmaid and shepherd for all those years....or they can cheat and find ways to take advantage of the system and carve out a section of the game world for themselves, and earn a fortune in the real world.When they give you a mop and not a sword, you have to find the loopholes and change the rules.

“You mean that Prince Yu wants to marry me?”

“Exactly, young master, Prince Yu wants to marry you!”

“Hell no! Is he out of his mind? Even if woman is a rare species nowadays, as the prince, he could have a chance to marry one. Is it because he got excluded, or maybe he has sexual impotence, so he could only marry a man?”

“No, Prince Yu is charming, majestic, endowed with civil and martial virtues, and also in perfect health.”

“Then why would he marry me?”

“Maybe because of your reputation out there.”

“Reputation? Am I quite famous?”

“Of course. Young master, you’re far-famed.”

“Really? What did they say about me?”

“They said you are ugly, good-for-nothing, short-lived, a freak, with no morals, and shameless…”

…

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