Chen Zihao approached the doors of the QR pod cafe and two glass doors slid opened. The lobby was a large room with seating place on both walls and in the middle, screens hung from the walls displaying different scenes, and a large reception desk was near the back wall. Chen looked at the different screens, one showed a scene in the plains and a team of three cultivators fighting grey wolves, another was of someone standing near the shore of a mountaintop lake fighting against someone who looked just like him, yet another was an alchemist sitting in front of a furnace refining a pill, and the last screen his glanced at had a cultivator running through the jungle fighting monsters and men.
'How did they travel to some many places?", Chen wondered, 'there are definitely not any plains here, this is an island."
Curious, he walked towards the reception desk where five lines were formed. Behind the desk, three women and two men stood apart from each other and they all had screens that they used while talking to the customers. The line was moving quickly and within two minutes, Chen was standing in front of the line.
"Welcome to Sun and Moon QR pod cafe, sir, is this your first visit?", the female employee asked.
"Yes, how did you know?", Chen asked.
"Your robe sir", she replied with a smile.
"Oh, of course", Chen laughed at himself.
"How many people will be in your group?", she inquired.
"I am alone", Chen replied.
"Please swipe your card here", the employee instructed, "Just a few notes to pay attention to: since this is your first time, remember you can mentally or vocally exit, snacks are ok in your room but repeatedly leaving a room or pod dirty can cause you to banned from returning, so press the cleaning button before you leave, also, there is no limit on the time of use but once you are unable to pay, the pod will shutdown, and finally, any damage will have to be compensated and you will no longer be welcomed here. Your room is W27, head down the west hallway until you see the room."
Chen thanked the employee and turned towards the hall she pointed at. He walked down the hall, found the door, and swiped his card to open it. The lights inside the room brightened the room in the way that didn't hurt his eyes, as he viewed the pod sitting in the middle of small room. The door of the pod was open, awaiting his entry. Chen stepped into the pod and looked around inside. The inside was well lit and a screen was sitting at the front of the pod. On the left console, a slot for Qphones and cards was located, and a helmet was seated on the dashboard.
Chen inserted his card and the screen went from a screen saver mode into a new screen.
A female voice suddenly was heard, "Welcome Chen Zihao, please stay still until the door is closed."
The door in the air slid down and even though the pod was closed, it still felt roomy.
The voice continued, "As a new user, I am required to inform you of some important information. Your cultivation information is only available on your card and will not be recorded by this pod. If there are any changes to your cultivation and they are not reflected by this unit, the user must be rescanned and have the new status uploaded into a Qphone or card."
As the voice spoke, the screen also displayed visual representations of the instructions and information.
"Also, when your session is finished, speak the cleanup command to start the process or press the button located here", the voice added, "Now please wear the helmet and prepare for the lights to dim."
Chen grabbed the helmet and placed it on his head as the lights dimmed first, and then extinguished. As he laid back in the chair, the helmet activated and his vision changed from a dark pod to a bright room that resembled a luxurious courtyard.
The voice said, "The following modes are available: Monster hunting, Arena battle (solo), Arena battle (group), Mirror Battle, Profession Simulator, QV shows, QCinema, Cultivation Instructor."
Chen Zihao already knew what he wanted to do when he first heard of the pod.
"Mirror Battle", he said.
"Select your battlefield", the voice told him.
Chen found a forest scene that he liked and selected it.
"Select a weapon or scan yours", he heard.
He took out his weapon and placed it on the scanner and thirty seconds later, the pod beeped. He took his weapon back and stored it in his storage bag. A moment later, a sound was heard behind him, and when he turned around, he saw his sword sitting on a table.
"Please exit through the front door to enter the battlefield, the opponent is all the information that has been scanned, so it would only use attacks, movements, and other tactics based on that. If you see your opponent perform an attack or combination of attacks that you have never performed, there isn't anything wrong with the battle. The pod analyzed the information provided by your scan and performed attacks and moves based on your potential."
Chen paused at hearing this and then picked up his sword and headed to the front door. When the door opened he saw a clearing in a bamboo forest, and then he saw himself walk into the clearing and draw its sword.
Shi Peng had entered the island just like everyone else. He had exchanged many materials and resources that were useless to him for more currency and had checked into one of the more luxurious hotels. He had plans to shop and experience the QR pods, his first priority was to visit the most expensive restaurant in town. He invited a few of his friends and they all agreed to eat first and then go checkout the other sights in town. He rode a taxi bike to the 'Golden Dragon', a restaurant built on a cliff overlooking the lake.
As he entered the restaurant he heard, "Do you have a reservation, sir?"
He saw a two women and a man bowing and greeting him at a large stand near the front door.
"Yes, Shi Peng and six others", he replied while holding his Qphone he had purchased.
"Excellent sir, would you liked to be seated now or seated with the whole party", the hostess with green eyes asked.
"I will wait", Peng answered.
"We have a waiting room with indoor and outdoor seating. Please come this way", the host told him.
Deciding to sit outside, he went through the door and found a group of recliners near the balcony's edge with a wide view over the lake. The chairs were expertly made and very comfortable to sit in. As he sat there he saw a waterfall from his seat, a rainbow was barely visible. All manner of birds were flying around and when he looked down he could see schools of fish swimming in the lake. Occasionally a hawk or eagle would dive into the water and would fly off with its catch. Deer and boar would walk and drink the water.
"Here you were, Senior Brother Shi", a sweet voice called out.
Peng smiled and greeted, "Junior Sisters Su and Gong, Junior Brothers Fang, Hao, Fan, and Yang".
The six approaching people returned the greeting.
Peng stood up, "It's a wonderful view, shall we eat outside?"
The two girls clapped their hands.
Junior Sister Su said, "Since you suggested it, I will go along."
Everyone agreed with her statement.
Peng walked towards the host stand, "We are all here and ready to be seated."
The hostess with red hair and brownish red eyes smiled, "Would like a table inside or outside?"
"Outside of course", Peng replied.
The group followed the hostess to a table outside overlooking the waterfall.
"If you place your Qphone or card on the table, the menu will appear. After you select your dishes, press confirm. Since you are seated here, your meals with be made by Chef Han Quan in the outdoor kitchen. Once your food is ready, it will be served by your server, Fu Yun. If there are any issues, Fu Yun will handle them, Please enjoy your meal", the hostess bowed and walked back inside.
All the guests took out their cards and watched as Peng took out his Qphone.
"Don't you think it was a waste of spirit stones to buy that artifact?", Junior Brother Fang asked.
As he looked through the menu, he stopped and looked at Brother Fang, "Do you think that this will be the only time we will come here? Also, I'm fairly confident that my master will meet with that Boss Wei to apologize and try to buy what is needed to make these artifacts work back in the sect."
"Don't you think someone we'll try and take this place for their own?", Junior Brother Han inquired.
"Unlike me master, I haven't forgot the stories of the master of this island. He is very old and powerful and Boss Wei was correct. Our sect master is at the Nascent Soul stage currently, and it is rumored he will breakthrough to the Void Refinement stage soon. The senior that lives here was supposedly at the Exalted Immortal stage trying to achieve Nirvana. Obviously if he had achieved it already, there would have been heavenly tribulations visible for everyone to see, so it's obvious he saw potential in this Wei Huoran and took some time off to train a closed door disciple", Peng explained.
The grouped order their food and chatted some more, some of them only ordered dishes that were safe, while others were adventurous and ordered dishes they hadn't heard of before. They watched as Chef Han expertly made the food and plated it before the server using some drone technology delivered the food. They started eating and it didn't take long before they complimented the food generously. A couple of them half joking around tried to offer a job to the chef. He smiled and turned them down saying that he is under contract for at least ten more years.
As the group finished their meal and walked out of the restaurant, Shi Peng said, "That was an excellent way to start the day, let's head out to the town. "
Everyone was in a pleasant mood as they traveled towards the shopping center in the taxi.