After paying, Ino skillfully led Shikamaru and Choji over to the computers.
These futuristic, high-tech computers thoroughly stunned both Shikamaru and Choji.
"That's strange. The environment here is so poor, but the computers are unexpectedly good."
Zhuge Liang, who had just placed the 30,000 Ryo into the cash register, looked helpless upon hearing Shikamaru's complaint.
'I damn well want to renovate properly, but the system won't let me.'
Why won't the system allow it?
Don't ask. If you ask, the answer is: no authorization.
"Shikamaru, Choji, let me tell you, this game is absolutely amazing... blah blah blah, blah blah blah."
The three sat down. Ino helped them turn on the computers, then thoroughly explained the precautions for playing the game, as well as strategies like where to find items in the game.
"Do you understand?"
"No problem."
"I understand."
After receiving affirmative replies, Ino helped the two enter the game before starting to play herself.
"This time, I'm going to learn even more powerful martial arts."
Just thinking about it—if one set of Pine Wind Sword Technique could significantly boost Ino's strength, wouldn't learning more martial arts boost it even further?
Therefore, she decided to play seriously this time.
Yesterday, she had only played with the attitude of just playing a game; her approach hadn't been very serious.
But today, her expression was exceptionally serious, as this concerned her actual strength... Leaving aside Ino's efforts to find various martial arts techniques.
Let's talk about Shikamaru.
When he entered the game, his first reaction was the same as Ino's yesterday: he thought he had fallen under a Genjutsu.
Fortunately, he remembered what Ino had said and realized this was just the world of a game.
Knowing he was in a game world, Shikamaru didn't act rashly. Instead, he first recalled Ino's instructions and reviewed how the game was generally supposed to be played before he began searching the starting room.
Thanks to Ino's guidance, Shikamaru quickly finished searching the starting room, accessed the main map, went straight to Nan Xian's Residence, and unlocked all the buildings.
With Ino's preliminary guide, Shikamaru's gaming journey could be described as smooth sailing.
He didn't take many detours, heading straight to the Fuwei Escort Agency and finding the Pine Wind Sword Technique.
"So, this is the sword technique Ino practiced?"
Looking at the Pine Wind Sword Technique in his hand, without hesitation, Shikamaru chose to cultivate it.
Instantly, just like Ino yesterday, many sword moves from the Pine Wind Sword Technique appeared in Shikamaru's mind.
Having learned the sword technique, Shikamaru did not follow Ino's advice to find those few 'trash' NPCs to practice martial arts with.
Firstly, he was naturally lazy and disliked playing games with a rigid purpose.
Secondly, if he followed Ino's guide completely, was she playing the game, or was he?
Therefore, regarding Lin Pingzhi in the other room, Shikamaru did not ignore him immediately after finishing the dialogue, as Ino had done.
Instead, after listening carefully to the entire conversation, Shikamaru chose to recruit Lin Pingzhi into his party.
"His Escort Agency was destroyed, and his parents are dead. Does this mean I have to avenge them?"
Shikamaru didn't really care about the revenge aspect. The reason he wanted Lin Pingzhi to join was simply so that if there was combat later, Lin Pingzhi could go first, allowing Shikamaru to slack off and avoid work.
As for practicing the Pine Wind Sword Technique?
He had already learned it anyway, so what difference did it make if he practiced it or not?
Actually, Shikamaru hadn't wanted to come here in the first place; Ino had dragged him and Choji along. He just wanted to go home and lie down comfortably.
However, since he was already here, and the game was unexpectedly interesting, Shikamaru dedicated a tiny bit of energy to playing it.
Shikamaru wasn't very interested in martial arts; instead, he was captivated by the game's storyline and its characters.
Lin Pingzhi seeking vengeance.
Tian Boguang, the Flower Thief.
The handsome, cultured scholar Duan Yu... While at Nan Xian's Residence, Shikamaru learned that the game's ultimate goal was to collect the twelve Divine Books.
These twelve Divine Books corresponded to twelve novels.
Although he hadn't read these twelve novels, he instinctively sensed that to collect all the Divine Books, he had to connect all these people and events together.
"A mystery? I like it."
Shikamaru preferred using his brain over brute force.
He checked the system time and saw that only a few minutes remained until the hour was up.
With so little time left on the computer, Shikamaru decided not to continue searching. Instead, he sat cross-legged and analyzed the limited information he had gathered to figure out how to play the game next.
That's right. Although it went against Ino's original intention, Shikamaru had indeed been hooked by her.
If Shikamaru couldn't'solve the mystery' and collect all the Divine Books, he would probably keep playing this game indefinitely... "Alright, the hour of computer time is up. Do you want to add more time?"
The hour passed quickly, and Ino and the two boys exited the game.
"Boss, why did the game ask me to select a set of martial arts to use in reality when I exited this time? What does that mean?"
This time upon logging off, Ino wasn't dissatisfied but filled with confusion.
"Have you learned more than one set of martial arts?"
Hearing this, Ino nodded and replied, "That's right. Besides the Pine Wind Sword Technique I started with, I also learned the Thunderbolt Saber Technique, Purple Mist Divine Skill, and Ladder Cloud Ascent."
The martial arts Ino had learned were all easily obtainable.
The Thunderbolt Saber Technique and the Purple Mist Divine Skill only required opening chests, while the Ladder Cloud Ascent required fighting Zhang Sanfeng—if you lost, he would give you the lightness skill manual.
Since Ino had already learned two martial arts techniques, one internal cultivation method, and one lightness skill, the game prompted her upon exiting to choose the martial art she wished to use in reality.
Only by selecting the martial art for real-world use could Ino smoothly employ it when fighting others.
For instance, Ino used the Pine Wind Sword Technique yesterday. If she chose the Thunderbolt Saber Technique today, then in reality, attempting to use the Pine Wind Sword Technique would feel extremely awkward and clumsy, completely lacking yesterday's grace.
"Let me explain it to you like this... blah blah blah, blah blah blah."
"I see."
After hearing Zhuge Liang's explanation, Ino finally understood.
"By the way, what's the deal with internal cultivation? Why can't I learn it in reality?"
Hearing this question, Zhuge Liang rolled his eyes at Ino and said, "You already possess an internal energy—Chakra. If you still want to cultivate internal energy, it's not impossible, but can you, possessing two types of energy, withstand the clash between Chakra and Internal Force? If it goes wrong, you might explode!"
This was actually the system's way of protecting the players.
When a player already possesses one type of internal energy, the other energy obtained in the game will not directly affect the player's body, preventing unnecessary tragedies.
Of course, Ino already knew the circulation route for the Purple Mist Divine Skill. If she wanted to, she could cultivate it in reality.
However, the system clearly wouldn't interfere with such suicidal behavior.