Chapter 18: The Man Who Lifted the Barbell

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

“Isn’t there a new virtual online game called ‘Boundless World’?”

“Our Hanming Studio focuses on that game.”

Li Minghao replied immediately and looked at Mo Han meaningfully.

Mo Fan frowned when he heard the name of the studio.

What the heck!

What an old trick.

Calling it Hanming Studio?

Seeing Mo Han’s smile, Mo Fan felt that she seemed to be happy about this.

No, he had to remind her!

“Why is the name of your studio so weird?” Mo Fan asked Li Minghao bluntly.

Hearing Mo Fan’s words, Mo Han was immediately displeased.

“What’s so weird about it?”

“Brother—I know what you’re thinking!”

“Hanming Studio was established several years ago, but I wasn’t even around back then!”

“You’re thinking too much. It’s only recently that I came to know Li Minghao.”

Under the table, Mo Han kicked Mo Fan once again!

Mo Fan sucked in a cold breath as he thought to himself.

You are really ruthless. Can’t you be gentle? I am your brother, you know?

“That’s right. Mo Han and I have only known each other for less than a week. Tong Yuan was the one who introduced her to me.”

“I’m treating you guys today mainly to celebrate Mo Han joining our studio.”

Li Minghao explained in a neither servile nor overbearing manner.

He was afraid that Mo Fan would misunderstand.

Mo Fan glanced at Li Minghao and then at Mo Han. Then, he suddenly realized something crucial.

…

They had a very luxurious lunch.

Mo Han and Mo Fan ate comfortably as if nothing had happened, while Li Minghao seemed apprehensive.

He only wanted to ask Mo Han out today, but Mo Han insisted on bringing Mo Fan over.

The originally romantic lunch was completely ruined by Mo Fan.

Lunch was soon over.

Mo Fan glanced at the bill. The total was $12,720.

In this day and age, those who could eat in restaurants were either rich or noble.

Ordinary people could not afford to eat in restaurants at all.

Li Minghao paid the bill and was about to send Mo Han and Mo Fan back.

Unfortunately, Mo Fan rejected his idea.

…

Watching Li Minghao drive away in a magnetic levitating car, Mo Fan’s eyes lit up.

With his speed of earning money in the game, it would not take long for him to buy such a luxury car.

“Brother, you’re so stupid!” After Li Minghao left, Mo Han looked at Mo Fan and shook her head.

Her ponytail swayed a few times.

“I’m just too concerned about you!” Mo Fan immediately smiled sheepishly.

Mo Fan kept his attention on Li Minghao and did not think too much about him.

But when Mo Han kicked him a second time…

He realized that his younger sister was using him as her shield!

“Sister, how long has Li Minghao been courting you?”

“It started right after we met. Fortunately, he’s a decent person. He’s been helping me a lot in the studio these past few days. He had always said that he wanted to bring me out for a meal. I couldn’t reject him this time, so I made you come along with us.”

Looking into the distance, Mo Han’s eyes shone with a crafty glint.

Then, she glanced at Mo Fan in disdain. “But what made me speechless is that your reaction is really not very good. You kept embarrassing me earlier! No wonder you can’t find a girlfriend.”

“Alright, alright. I know you’re amazing! You’re amazing, okay?” Mo Fan immediately nodded before adding. “Anyway, you should be careful not to be fooled by his appearance.”

“I know! Every time I travel to and from work, I’m always with Tong Yuan. You don’t have to tell me what to do since It’s not the first time that I’ve been courted by guys.”

Mo Han revealed a pleased expression, Mo Fan gritted his teeth when he saw her smug look.

Are you trying to imply that I don’t have anyone to court?

Humph, just you wait!

Mo Fan took a deep breath and changed the topic.

“By the way, what level are you in ‘Boundless World’?”

“Not that high, I’m only Level 8…”

“Brother, are you playing that game too?”

“Yeah, I’m also playing.”

“What level are you?”

“Let’s keep it a secret for now. I’ll tell you more about it later.”

Mo Fan found it difficult to continue this conversation.

He was still a wild monster in the game, and there were many things that he did not understand at all. Moreover, he was quite infamous in the game. If it affected the real world and someone wanted to harm him, Mo Han might become a part of the collateral damage.

Mo Fan was prepared to tell Mo Han everything about him once he had reached a certain level of strength.

“Humph, it’s okay if you don’t want to tell me. I don’t think you’re good at the game anyway!”

Mo Han’s expression remained nonchalant as she continued to walk forward.

Mo Fan sighed helplessly before following her from behind.

…

Mo Han and Tong Yuan were very good friends.

Both of them once lived together in Mo Fan’s old house. Of course, Tong Yuan still had to pay Mo Han a sum every month in exchange for her stay in the old house.

As the house was too small, it was inconvenient for two girls and a boy to squeeze together.

Mo Fan was forced to move out.

It has been several years since then.

After sending Mo Han home, Mo Fan returned to his rented apartment.

Looking at the tidy room, he felt a little guilty towards his sister, Mo Han.

Mo Han treated him very well, but he could not give her much.

As the guys courting Mo Han became more and more outstanding, Mo Fan would occasionally feel that he was useless compared to them.

All the money he had earned over the years went to paying off the loans of the old house.

Deducting his living expenses, there was almost nothing left.

He opened his computer and checked the balance in his bank account: $13,928.35.

This was what he had earned in a day after he started playing Boundless World.

Seeing the balance of more than 10,000 dollars, Mo Fan was instantly motivated.

He opened the official website of Boundless World.

Then, he opened the gaming equipment section.

[Brainwave Access Helmet: $1200]

[Enter the game through brainwave connection. The game’s realism is 80%. The maximum pain threshold is 20%.]

…

[Nerve Access Helmet: $3999]

[Enter the game through cerebral nerve connection. The game’s realism is 90%. The maximum pain threshold is 50%.]

…

[Ordinary Gaming Capsule: $7999]

[Enter the game through full-body nerve connection. The game’s realism is 99%. The maximum pain threshold is 90%.]

[The Gaming Capsule contains the Life-Sustaining and Excrement functions. The nutrition liquid in the capsule can last for 7 days.]

…

[Luxury Gaming Capsule: $12,999]

[Enter the game through full-body nerve connection. The game’s realism is 100%. The maximum pain threshold is 100%.]

[The Gaming Capsule contains the Life-Sustaining and Excrement functions. The nutrition liquid in the capsule can last for 30 days.]

Mo Fan looked at the helmet he bought at a discounted price on the table.

It was a second-hand brainwave access helmet.

Brainwave access and nerve access were both completely different concepts.

Just like a normal wireless mouse and a cabled mouse, there was a huge difference between the two.

Anyone who played games would understand.

As the saying goes, a beard lathered is half shaved.

If one wanted to play the game well, high-end equipment was a necessity.

Mo Fan immediately ordered a luxury gaming capsule.

The balance in his bank account instantly became $929.35.

What was he trying to do earlier?

Rent a bigger house?

Hire a beautiful housekeeper?

He could not do any of those with his remaining $900.

Sigh…

It seemed like he had to enter the game and work hard once again.

He checked the delivery time of the gaming capsule.

It would take 30 minutes for it to reach his apartment.

Mo Fan turned off his computer and prepared to exercise.

He had been playing games for a long time. Understandably, he was in poor health.

Hence, after every gaming session, he would spare some time to train his body.

He clearly remembered what Qingyi Changfeng had told him previously.

As long as one’s body was strong enough in the world outside, it would also take effect in the game.

Mo Fan went to the only corner of his room and grabbed a 15kg barbell.

After picking up the barbell, Mo Fan was dumbfounded.

When he used this barbell in the past, it took him a lot of effort just to lift it off the floor.

But today, he managed to lift it dozens of times without even panting.

What was going on?

He was clearly not that strong, as far as he could remember.

Mo Fan increased the barbell’s weight to 30kg!

He could still raise it with ease.

Even after a few reps, he did not feel tired at all.

He continued to increase the weight!

50kg!

80kg!

100kg!

120kg!

After adding 120kg worth of weights, he finally started to feel out of breath.

Mo Fan looked at the 120kg barbell that he could still hold up into the air.

The shock on his face was evident.

Lifting something this heavy was unimaginable to him in the past.

Before playing “Boundless World”, he was still an ordinary young man.

Back then, it was difficult to even lift a 15kg barbell.

Today, his body had become stronger. It was an irrefutable fact.

He could not help but suspect that there was something strange with the game, Boundless World.

More than ten minutes later, Mo Fan put down the barbell, his entire body was covered in sweat.

As he showered, he realized that his physique didn’t visually change that much at all.

The parts that were meant to be big were big, while the ones that were small remained small.

He was neither fat nor thin.

What was going on?

Even if the game was transforming his body, there should still be some physical changes, right?

His muscles did not grow at all, so how did his strength increase so much?

It was completely unscientific!

After showering, Mo Fan came out and checked the gaming helmet once again.

There was no doubt that it was just a brainwave access helmet.

But after entering the game with this helmet, he became a wild monster.

After logging off, his physical strength had inexplicably increased.

He did not know if others had an experience similar to him.

“Master, you have a visitor!”

Just as Mo Fan was deep in thought, the smart speaker yelled out.

Through the holographic image at the door, he saw that it was a staff member of Boundless World.

Mo Fan opened the door.

A middle-aged man in work clothes smiled and asked, “Hello, I am Zhong Lin. An employee of Realm Corporation. Are you Mr. Mo Fan?”

“Hello, uh… Yes, I am! Bring it inside…” Mo Fan nodded and showed his identification card.

After confirming, Zhong Lin handed Mo Fan a receipt and instructed the staff to move the two large boxes into the rental apartment.

Mo Fan had already cleared out a place for the items.

A group of staff members worked for more than half an hour before they were done assembling the item. After they left, Mo Fan looked at the gaming capsule and praised it.

The gaming capsule was blue in color with white stripes in the middle. Its surface was as bright as a mirror. In one corner of the gaming capsule was the logo of Realm Corporation.

The capsule was an eye candy.

“As expected of a product made by Realm Corporation! Just this appearance alone is enough to entice many people.”

“Sigh… people are always willing to pay as long as they want something!”

Mo Fan walked closer to the gaming capsule and placed his palm on its surface.

A stream of white light flashed across the surface of the gaming capsule.

Then, the door slowly opened like a glass box.

The gaming capsule was mostly made of imitation silicon, with many neatly arranged wires and intricate connection needles.

Mo Fan took off all his clothes and went into the capsule.

Then, the capsule door slowly closed and various needles were inserted into Mo Fan’s body.

A sweet voice sounded in the gaming capsule.

“Hello, Mr. Mo Fan. Thank you for using a product of Realm Corporation!”

“Registering gaming equipment…”

“Registration successful!”

“Verifying identity…”

“Verification successful!”

“Nerve connection in progress…”

“Connection successful! Wish you a pleasant time in the game!”

Once the last lines disappeared, Mo Fan’s vision changed and he found himself in the game.