A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 11 Desert Island

Jiang Shuzhou was sleeping peacefully, but some people couldn't fall asleep.

The White House, United States.

"How do you do things?!"

"Does our great United States really not have a single capable person left?"

"Why is it still unclear who's behind this lousy game?"

President Trip, who had just taken office, fired off a series of questions, and his face turned red with embarrassment.

At first, only her neck was red, but now not only her neck is red, her face is also completely red.

It's not that he has a bad temper; it's mainly because these people are truly useless.

"It's one thing if you can't figure out the secrets of the game pods! But I ask you, are you really genuine old-school capitalists? Why couldn't you even control the price of gold coins? Our proud dollar hegemony has been shaken again! This time it's even more outrageous! It's not even a real currency anymore!"

"Do you know how many people actually use a game currency? These days, a lot of trade is done through the game's auction house to avoid taxes. Do you think anyone would believe that?"

As President Tripp raged on, Commissioner Smith rolled his eyes.

Not to mention that since the game starts at 10 p.m. in the United States, many people are either going to sleep or starting their decadent nightlife, so who has time to pay attention to the game?

More importantly, the United States adheres to individualism, and even if many people did receive gold coins, they probably wouldn't inform the government.

Of course, all of the above are reports that Commissioner Smith is preparing to submit after the president has calmed down. As for the real reason?

Of course, I'd take the money! Being able to directly exchange game currency for real money is simply wonderful!

I'll buy it at the original price, then negotiate with the seller to resell it at a premium...

How many zeros would I need to add to my Swiss bank account? I don't even want to think about it.

Commissioner Smith, in a good mood, paid no attention to the president's anger. In any case, this president would be out of office in a few years. Besides, this president was also a big capitalist. He should be happy to have such a way to avoid taxes!

"Everyone, let's put everything else aside for now. Our most pressing issue is taxation!"

A representative from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) has spoken.

Should in-game currency transactions be taxed? How much should we tax? Most importantly, how should we collect it?

"Why should we care about all this? Why don't we just go to the game company and ask for it?"

"Just admit you're out of your mind! Do you think we can even find a game company?"

"How am I supposed to collect taxes if I can't even find the game company's address?"

Soon, the meeting room descended into chaos as everyone voiced their opinions and engaged in heated debates for their own interests.

Such scenes are taking place in conference rooms in countless countries, with almost every country grappling with the various problems brought about by the game.

This completely unregulated game can cause absurdly many real-world problems, and more importantly, people can only adapt to it.

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Jiang Shuzhou didn't know whether others slept well or not, but he slept quite well.

Jiang Shuzhou slept until 10 a.m. the next day. After washing up, he checked and found that he was not hungry and there seemed to be no side effects.

"It seems the product description was true; I'm actually not hungry at all."

Since he didn't need to eat, Jiang Shuzhou naturally decided to play "Starbound: Descent," since it was a game that actually made money and was also very fun.

Astral Descent! Launch!

The feeling of being detached from consciousness returned, but Jiang Shuzhou was already used to it.

"WC, what's that smell?!"

"vomit……"

As soon as he logged into the game, Jiang Shuzhou smelled an extremely unpleasant odor, like the smell of fermented, unwashed socks mixed with stinky tofu and durian.

He casually tore off a piece of cloth and covered his mouth and nose.

He decided to go and see what was going on.

"This game is truly... disgusting."

Contrary to Jiang Shuzhou's expectations, the smell wasn't due to the pirates' decadent lifestyle and lack of hygiene causing anything to spoil.

On the contrary, it's because the pirates were a bit rotten; to put it simply, they were stinking.

"Ugh... this ship is no good."

Despite saying this, Jiang Shuzhou did not plan to abandon ship for the time being, mainly because the situation outside was unclear and he did not know what was on the island. Moreover, although the ship was stranded and could not be sailed, the lifeboats on board were still usable, not to mention that they could be used as temporary shelters.

Wrapped in a cloth retrieved from the cabin, Jiang Shuzhou planned to give the ship a thorough cleaning.

The procedure involved throwing the body out and then burning the area where the body was located to suppress the stench.

Holding a large cloth bag, Jiang Shuzhou picked up the corpses scattered on the ground as if he were sweeping up garbage.

As the saying goes, killing is a momentary pleasure, but dealing with the crematorium is a different story. The more satisfying it was for Jiang Shuzhou when he killed, the more painful it is to clean up the mess of vomit and severed limbs now.

"I should have thrown them away while they were still fresh."

Perhaps because of the game, even though the scene in front of him was censored in an 18+ game, Jiang Shuzhou felt no fear, only disgust and regret.

His heart was filled with desolation. Why did this stupid game have to be so realistic? Even aliens wouldn't make a game like this.

The first thing I do when I wake up early to play games is to clean up junk files.

"This is completely different from the fantasy world I imagined!"

Fortunately, after two hours of hard work, Jiang Shuzhou finally finished cleaning up.

Fortunately, Jiang Shuzhou has a high agility attribute, which not only makes him fast but also agile, allowing him to finish everything so quickly.

As for where to throw it?

Of course, throw them into the sea. Otherwise, why would you leave them on an island to continue rotting and stinking?

Instead of throwing them into the sea, they could promote ecological recycling.

Now that the source has been disposed of, it's time to deal with the residue.

Just as Jiang Shuzhou was about to climb down the rope ladder on the deck, something suddenly occurred to him.

The ship is already aground, so why use a ladder?

Wouldn't it be better to just cut a hole under the boat?

Anyway, they'll be using lifeboats later. This wrecked ship is currently stranded, and he can't possibly sail it away by himself.

Without hesitation, Jiang Shuzhou took his pirate scimitar and made a large opening in the bottom of the ship's hold.

"This makes loading and unloading much easier, and it saves us from the risk of the rope ladder breaking one day."

Looking at the road he had paved, he felt that everything he had done before was worthwhile.

Unfortunately, the wood on the boat couldn't be used to start a fire because it was too damp.

Following the opening, Jiang Shuzhou finally stepped onto land.

To be honest, he was still a little unaccustomed to it. The ground beneath his feet had changed from hard wooden planks to soft sand, and a sense of security and comfort arose spontaneously.

What's most comforting is that the suffocating stench gradually dissipates into the air with the sea breeze.

He turned to look at the grove of trees not far away. Now, it was time to get to work.