"Okay."
"Then I'll just briefly talk about the essentials. The main point is to thoroughly check the strategy for the secret realm before descending, and only go if you're sure it's foolproof. If you do that, you basically won't have any problems."
Doctor Gou was serious as he imparted his experience, "And there's a lot of fake experiences online. Some groups use this to make undeserved profits, so you have to be extra careful. When searching for information on secret realms, you need to scrutinize and discern carefully."
"Also, try not to go to secret realms designed for multiple people."
"If you're forced into a major event, try not to draw too much attention to yourself, so as not to become a public enemy."
"Don't go to solo secret realms either. If you end up in a dire situation, there won't be anyone to give you a hand. It's best to go to a two-person secret realm, especially the kind where if one person dies the other has absolutely no chance of clearing it on their own. These are the secret realms where you can safely trust your back to your teammate and are relatively safe."
"That's about it."
"..."
Chen Miao had started out full of anticipation, but by the end, his face had grown rigid, and he finally fell completely silent. What kind of strange advice was this?
Check the strategy before descending into a secret realm?
Don't stand out?
Avoid multi-person secret realms?
All of this was a mess, completely different from what he had wanted to hear.
"Doctor Gou, the secret realms you're talking about are those that have already been perfectly cleared, right?"
"Mhm."
"What about those secret realms outside the city that haven't been perfectly cleared?"
"Definitely don't go to those! Such secret realms are fraught with danger; you'd die without even knowing how. Only those who absolutely must fight for their lives would go pioneering in a secret realm!"
"..."
Chen Miao was silent again, unsure what to say for the moment. There seemed to be some logic to it, after all. Pioneering in a secret realm did seem quite dangerous, but the rewards were indeed substantial.
"Oh!"
Just then, Doctor Gou spoke again, "You said earlier you're of the Gunman Profession, right? I happen to have a good thing left over here, something I never sold and just kept at the clinic. Come back with me later and I'll give it to you."
"It's a good thing."
"You'll like it."
...
It wasn't long.
The meal ended amid laughter and cheerful talk. As they were parting, the gang leader who had finally introduced himself by his real name, saying he was Yuan Buping, tentatively asked Doctor Gou whether he should reveal to the public the news that the Sword Emperor was running a clinic.
If that news got out.
A great many people would come to the clinic, bringing money of their own accord, and they wouldn't do so too overtly. They'd employ means that the Sword Emperor liked, such as requesting skinning services.
Doctor Gou, however, shook his head and refused, saying he no longer wanted to live under the identity of the Sword Emperor and that he just wanted to spend the rest of his life as Doctor Gou, healing the wounded and saving the dying, bringing glory to the familial clinic to repay his parents' kindness.
And they all escorted Doctor Gou back to the clinic.
Doctor Gou came out of the clinic, carrying a somewhat fierce-looking weapon, and placed it into Chen Miao's arms.
"Here!"
Chen Miao looked at the weapon in his hands with a slight shock, recognizing its familiar appearance and the pure dark red color scheme. It was indeed a Thompson Submachine Gun, which was clearly much more useful than his Small Revolver.
And the weapon's panel quickly appeared before him.
"Weapon Name": HK Thompson Submachine Gun
"Weapon Grade": E-grade.
"Weapon Restrictions": Only 'Gunman Profession' and supernatural players on their promotion path may use it, and Player Level must be at least 2, with Strength Attribute above 12.
"Weapon Details": Damage Energy Coefficient ranges from 6-15, depending on the point of impact, with a maximum drum capacity of 50 rounds.
"Weapon Introduction": "When a man, wearing a trench coat and holding a Thompson Submachine Gun, walks against the wind, letting his coat flutter as he heads towards the monsters at the far end of the street, no woman can resist turning back for a glance as she runs away."
"Nice!"
Chen Miao nodded slightly, constantly stroking the submachine gun in his hand, a look of unabashed satisfaction on his face. It was truly a wonderful item he liked a lot, although he couldn't use it right away due to the restrictions.
That irritated him a bit.
Otherwise, he really wanted to rush to the outskirts and fire off a drum just for the thrill of it.
"Hey."
Doctor Gou added Chen Miao as a friend in the supernatural player character panel's friend search area while talking, "You've helped me quite a bit, and I don't have a lot to offer in return. But I did spend a good amount of time in this field over the past few years, even if I didn't achieve great success."
"Come by when you have time next, and I'll give you a proper rundown on how to deal with other professions, especially the fighters. They might seem tough and invincible up close, but over the years, I've killed more than a few of them."
"Multiplayer secret realms are dangerous precisely because the greatest risk comes not from the realms themselves, but from your teammates by your side."
"It's not illegal to kill people in the secret realms."
"I also have some Star Coins here; consider them a gift. It's only 3000 Star Coins, don't think it's too little, that's all I have on me. When I retired, I pretty much gave away everything to repay favors."
"Oh, right."
Doctor Gou suddenly remembered something, smacking his head, turned back to the clinic, and quickly returned, handing over a paper bag to Chen Miao: "Inside, there are 3 Free Attribute Exchange Coupons, along with a few materials that the Gunman Profession might need."
"Gunmen can craft their Occupational Weapons, but can also obtain other weapons."
"And the difference between these two types of weapons is..."
"Occupational Weapons are fixed; every Gunman at each level will definitely have such an Occupational Weapon, whereas the choice of other weapons is each Gunman player's own trump card."
"Furthermore—"
"Both Occupational Weapons and other weapons can be enhanced, but the enhancement on Occupational Weapons will be transferred to the Occupational Weapon of the profession you switch to."
"Whereas the enhancements on other weapons will reset to zero the moment you successfully switch professions."
"Enhancements are quite costly."
"If you plan on switching professions later, try not to waste too many materials on your other weapons."
"I don't know much about the Gunman Profession; by the time I came into my own, the Gunman was already falling out of favor, and I rarely ever saw one. In my view, it seemed like as long as you wear something with a high Energy Defense coefficient, you could just rush at gunmen and withstand their firepower."
"But..."
...
The group chatted for quite a while in front of the Big Sunflower Andrology Clinic, and Doctor Gou did indeed share all his understanding of the Gunman Profession, sparing no details.
And Chen Miao listened attentively.
There's no tutorial for beginners in this world; these are the kinds of detours that everyone has to take unless someone tells them otherwise.
As he was leaving, Doctor Gou ripped off the 'Big' character from the clinic's sign, revealing the original 'Small' character underneath.
"Now that I'm finally not worried that this 'Small' might jinx the business and deter customers."
"I can explore and expand the name passed down from my ancestors to its fullest potential."
So reflected Doctor Gou, having grasped the essence of commerce.